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Anna

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  1. Like
    Anna got a reaction from The Librarian in JW forum   
    Best person to ask is the @The Librarian !
  2. Thanks
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in The WEST's war of words against CHINA. Starting with the Uyghurs.   
    By now, most people have heard about the "Weeger" issues in China. There are supposedly concentration camps, torture camps, medical experiments, thousands imprisoned, etc. When someone changed thousands to "for all we know, there might even be millions" the new number changed to "millions" without Western media even batting an eyelash. 
    So here's an opinion about it, which focuses on Xinjiang Province (also known as the “Uyghur Autonomous Region”)...

    There’s a lot of background to this, but the basic problem is geopolitical: The US wants to sabotage the growth of China as a world power in favor of the Western model of capitalism and imperialism.

    What imperialist Western elites see as China’s weakest links are its new Belt & Road Initiative (BRI: an infrastructure project to expand high-speed rail, telecommunications, and both dirty and renewable energy worldwide) and its relations with other Asian and Muslim countries (which are increasingly friendly). There has been a “New Cold War” against China since Obama’s/Hillary’s “Pivot to Asia” strategy (of which the TPP and the deployment of THAAD in Korea were a part), but especially renewed now since Trump’s propaganda and trade war. China is threatened by HUNDREDS of US military bases and nukes surrounding it (and Russia, Iran, etc.)!

    The basis for the propaganda has always existed, of course: “Tiananmen Square was a heartless massacre proving the unpopularity of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” “Hong Kong is being brutalized by Beijing,” “China is genociding Tibet,” and so on. I think most of these issues are lies — completely fabricated — or distortions of reality not presenting the whole story. The CCP, for example, is one of the most (perhaps THE most) popular political parties in the world, which hilariously perplexes international polling agencies and Harvard researchers time and time again.

    [See “Understanding CCP Resilience” by Harvard University. The writing is biased, but the researchers are forced to admit the fact that the Chinese people — and particularly underprivileged minorities — are in love with the Party.]

    This claim — “China is genociding Muslims” — is no different. The “1 million Uyghurs in concentration camps” and “forced to eat pork” are complete fabrications. They were alleged by one US official, and then some Western diplomats went along with it. Most of the recent “reports” and “statistics” (which extrapolated numbers to ALL of Xinjiang from a localized study!) originate from US-funded think-tanks, usually involving a man named Adrian Zenz. Zenz is a right-wing Christian fundamentalist who believes that he has been “led by God” against the unspeakable evil of China. In Western media, when they write “reports show” such and such, find their source; it’s typically Adrian Zenz.

    [See: https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/21/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher/ ]

    It has not merited an official statement by the UN. In fact, nearly every Muslim-majority country has praised China’s response to the rise of Islamic extremism and terrorism in Xinjiang Province.

    Speaking of which, how did this extremism arise in the first place? One answer is poverty and lack of adequate education. The other is the promotion and funding of Jihadist terrorist groups by the US and the West since the 1980s, first against the Soviet Union, and then again recently in Afghanistan, Pakistan, former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, and China — all of which have sizable Muslim populations. This includes some fundamentalist propaganda and especially weapons from U.S. allies in Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia (but which are now beginning to move closer to China).

    Everybody knows the history, how Obama expanded the wars into Syria and Libya by arming Jihadists, how Hillary admitted we aided Al-Qaeda, and how, going back even further, the New York Times praised Osama bin Laden himself on the cover as our “freedom fighter.” We also don’t need to review the aftermath. We all know how devastating it was, how many millions lost their lives due to the civil wars and US bombs. We also know how many lies we were told, about “weapons of mass destruction” and “chemical warfare.”

    China responded to Islamic extremism in Xinjiang Province — which shares borders with Pakistan, India, etc. — through poverty alleviation, education centers, and arrest/punishment for crimes (such as stabbing) or possessing incriminating materials (propaganda, knives, etc.). Most Muslim countries believed this response to be unprecedentedly good. Pakistan went so far as to say that this should be the “model for antiterrorism.”

    [See also: https://medium.com/@leohezhao/xinjiang-facts-vs-fiction-bdc2aa403c91 ]

    Another thing to research (with a skeptical eye of course) is the 2009 Urumqi Riots in China. These incidents, in which many ethnically Han Chinese people were arrested for retaliating against Muslim violence in Xinjiang, were ugly and brutal, and scarred the CCP and all the peoples of China, especially Muslims. Many Uyghurs also fled China to fight alongside ISIS and Al-Nusra “rebels” (Al-Qaeda) in Syria. This is well-documented! And these are typically the Uyghurs quoted in explosive “news reports” crying “My husband was murdered!!!”

    Some more facts: China has built thousands of mosques, both within China and throughout the Middle East and Africa. How can this be explained? The Uyghur population has nearly DOUBLED since 1990, as minority ethnic groups (like them) are guaranteed certain privileges and exemptions by the Chinese Constitution in order to (as the party states) “combat Han chauvinism.” How is this possible if they are being “genocided”? Road signs and schools use Arabic and Uyghur scripts along with Chinese. Many Chinese and Uyghurs intermarry! Do those sound like “genocide”?

    In short, there’s a real propaganda campaign ramping up. It’s very possible (and very stupid) that a war with China is brewing. The illegal actions against Huawei (the world leader in 5G technology) are yet another example. Unfortunately, our entire social media experience from the top-down is manipulated by elites, the ones who own it and all the other media we consume.

    It is extremely tempting to fall into peer pressure these days and deny real research about this issue because it makes one look like a "genocide denier." Revealing what the research shows makes one seem "evil" for not following what others think. And that is exactly how propaganda works in the modern age, all while the details and research required to become informed are increasingly in the hands of mega-monopolies like Google and CNN.
    Sometimes, one can learn from the mistakes of these same media companies, too. Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube can quickly ban someone who get complaints against them for showing evidence that goes against Western propaganda. SkyNews just ran a story about claimed Uyghur torture, and they used footage of prisoners in blindfolds. Embarrassingly, it turned out to be SkyNews' own footage from a few years earlier of a prisoner transfer of Han Chinese, not Uyghurs. It had nothing to do with torture, or Muslims. (Blindfolding prisoners during transfers is common practice in many countries.) The original report knew this, but the footage was re-used to fit Western propaganda. There have been many such examples. Another time it was footage of the U.S. capturing Muslims that had nothing to do with China or Uyghurs. Another time it was footage from Thailand or Indonesia repurposed to supposedly show Muslim Uyghurs in China. People have pointed out mistakes in claiming certain persons were Uyghurs just because they looked like they were wearing Muslim garb, which turned out to be a style from Muslims unique to other countries.
  3. Thanks
    Anna got a reaction from Arauna in Wasn't Jesus' supposed parousia/advent to be recognized only by those who had spiritual insight at the time?   
    I've only been checking in to read posts and for the last couple of days not even that. Although this is off topic here, I still want to pursue this discussion. I did make some notes when I read your post first, but that was several days ago. In any case, It's not everything I want to say, and I have probably missed some things because I haven't had the chance to really think about it properly and do relevant research (it's our CO visit). Anyway, here are some of the questions I have come up with.
    I don't have any references right now,  but wasn't Jesus's supposed parousia/advent to be recognized only by those who had spiritual insight at the time? In other words it wasn't going to be a fanfare for everyone in the whole world. I know it wasn't originally expected in 1914, Russell pointed to other dates before that, but close enough that it could be said that those Bible students expected the glorious manifestation of the Christ, albeit invisible, seen with spiritual eyes, in their lifetime. And as time progressed it was decided that 1914 had been the year when this happened. (Although that there is a contradiction in itself because it was to be recognized and celebrated WHEN it happened not after the fact).
    You mentioned "(2 Timothy 4:8) From this time on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me as a reward in that day, yet not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his manifestation".
    So was this crown of righteousness given to all of Christs followers 'in that day' when Christ was made king in 33 CE?
     
    If I understand it correctly these are the two timeline options. I probably got it all wrong so please correct me.

    Option A
    1.Jesus became king when he was resurrected to heaven in 33 C E. He battled with Satan and threw him down to the earth.
    2. At the same time his invisible presence began, because he was to be present (in "spirit) with his followers, overseeing the congregations.
    3. Synteleia: he will arrive to judge the nations at Armageddon, "where every eye will see him".*

    Option B
    1. Jesus was made king over the anointed/ congregation in 33 CE.
    2.  At the same time his invisible presence  began, because he was to be present (in "spirit) with his followers, overseeing the congregations.
    3. Synteleia: In 1914 he became ruling King and battled with Satan and threw him down to the earth.
    4. He will "arrive" to judge the nations at Armageddon when every eye will see him.

    One problem I can see is that when he arrived/will arive (synteleia) it would be a joyous occasion, welcoming the king with fanfare etc. This though would only be a joyous occasion for those who were Jesus's subjects, for Jesus enemies it would mean their end. 
    I haven't really written everything down that I wanted to because I am running out of time again.
    I would like to have these terms clarified please:
    Coming, arriving and presence.
    Got to goooo! 🏃‍♀️
     
     
  4. Upvote
    Anna got a reaction from Patiently waiting for Truth in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I understand what you are saying but I was mainly referring to character and personality traits rather than the environment someone grows up in, although that does have a certain role in shaping people. My point was that humans are humans wherever they are, their intrinsic qualities are basically the same, so with that in mind, Jehovah would surely give everyone a chance equally to get to know him regardless of upbringing or culture. We know Jehovah is impartial. But the problem is, it is logistically impossible to reach the billions of people in India especially those whose living conditions prevent them from having access to the internet. Recently, we heard how the brothers and sisters in Africa had trouble accessing our programs because of the lack of internet and how this was solved using local TV stations, which is also automatically resulting in a witness. Perhaps something like that would be possible in India? In any case, I am not worried, and like you, I leave it in Jehovah's hands because he is a righteous judge and he will not destroy anyone unjustly. I just brought it up because many don't think of areas outside of what they already know. I just wanted to bring attention to it 😁.
  5. Like
    Anna got a reaction from Srecko Sostar in JW forum   
    Best person to ask is the @The Librarian !
  6. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    (John 10:2-18) 2 But the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens to this one, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. . . . . 9 I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved, and that one will go in and out and find pasturage. 10 . . . I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance. 11 I am the fine shepherd; the fine shepherd surrenders his life in behalf of the sheep. . . . 14 I am the fine shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I surrender my life in behalf of the sheep. 16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those too I must bring in, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.
    Sometimes we think of expressions like "life in abundance" or "life in themselves" as only applying to the "little flock." But there is nothing that specifically says that the other sheep do not also attain "life in abundance" or even "immortality." (And yes, I realize it is not a WT teaching that the other sheep may attain immortality.)
    It has long been applied especially to the "other sheep."
    *** w73 6/15 p. 380 A Way of Life Opened to Mankind ***
    “Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.”—John 4:14.  Does this everlasting life that Jesus gives mean that all who live everlastingly must go to heaven? By no means. For the prophecy at Revelation says of the crystal-clear water of the river of life: “The spirit and the bride keep on saying: ‘Come!’” Now, the bride is the Christian congregation of which Christ is husbandly Head. (Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:23; 2 Cor. 11:2) These who share heavenly life with Jesus Christ number 144,000 persons. (Rev. 14:1, 3) The ‘water of life’ is offered by the spirit and the bride to yet others. It therefore symbolizes God’s provision for earthly life, everlasting human life in perfection on an earth transformed into a paradise, suitable for perfect humans.
    Paul speaks of the those who are changed in the "rapture" and those also resurrected to heavenly bodies as "immortal" and "incorruptible." But the "incorruptible" nature appears to refer to the type of body they have, not necessarily that they can never be destroyed if unfaithful.
    (1 Corinthians 15:53-55) 53 For this which is corruptible must put on incorruption, and this which is mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this which is corruptible puts on incorruption and this which is mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: “Death is swallowed up forever.” 55 “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”
    And we already believe that "flesh and blood" cannot inherit the kingdom for the "other sheep" too, at least in the following sense:
    (Galatians 6:8) 8 because the one sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but the one sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.
    I don't think it's worth speculating that any will actually rebel, especially after the 1,000 years settles the great legal case against Satan, and will have proven the stupidity and fruitlessness of rebellion. But my point is that there is no scripture that claims that the other sheep or great crowd will not have immortality and eternal life. Even those terms (eternal life and immortality) are not really distinguished in the Bible, only in our doctrine.
    I see nothing wrong with our doctrine, and I think it makes sense, but we should always be careful to distinguish interpretation imposed from the Bible and interpretation imposed on the Bible.
  7. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I think it was clear that Arauna was referring to humans, not animals. Jehovah was the first to create beings that died, and they died before Satan could cause Eve and Adam to rebel.
    Are we back to discussing Furuli's book again? That's the way he spells immortality in at least one place, too.
    Just to go off topic a bit more, the view on whether animals died prior to Adam has been pretty consistent. One of the reasons that some fundamentalists need to deny the age of dinosaurs is that they don't want them to have died until Adam sinned. We also used to insist that the animals prior to Adam didn't kill each other for food, going back to Russell, Rutherford, Franz, but this is not insisted upon anymore. Of course, Russell also believed that since animals were so much lower than humans that Jehovah could have used evolution to develop them into their specific kinds.
    Going back only half as far as Russell we have a 1950 Watchtower that gives a good answer that's still consistent with current teachings, about how animals lived and died, and will be expected to live and die, even in the new system. (Also happens to cover that point about the kind of death that is destroyed in the lake of fire.)
    *** w50 10/15 p. 399 Questions From Readers ***
    ● Revelation 21:4 says that in the new world there will be no more death. Does this mean that even animals will not die then?—M. I., New York.
    This text does not mean that all death will be eliminated. Rebellious human creatures will die during Christ’s millennial reign, and those siding with Satan at the end of the thousand years will perish. (Isa. 65:17, 20; Rev. 20:7-10) True, Revelation 20:14 shows death destroyed and thereafter Revelation 21:4 says there will be no more death, but the death referred to is death due to inheritance from Adam. Men will not then degenerate and die because of Adam’s transgression, but at any future time Jehovah God could execute any willful rebel that would disrupt the peace of the new world. Hence Revelation 21:4 speaks only of the Adamic death of humans, and has no application to the animal realm.
    As to whether animals will die in the new world we cannot be dogmatic. It appears that men will not kill them for food, nor will animals prey upon one another. In the new world Jehovah’s original purpose relative to food supplies will be realized, as stated to Adam and Eve: “See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are found all over the earth, and all the trees which have seed-bearing fruit; it shall be yours to eat. To all the wild beasts of the earth, to all the birds of the air, and to all the land reptiles, in which there is a living spirit, I give all the green plants for food.” (Gen. 1:29, 30, AT) If that outstanding carnivorous animal, the lion, is to “eat straw like the ox”, surely no others will be meat-eaters. (Isa. 11:6-9) Incidentally, this shows that Revelation 21:4 does not eliminate all death of organic life, for plants will die to become food for men and animals.
    But merely that animals will not be used for food does not prove they will live forever. There is reason to believe they will die. Man’s disobedience in Eden did not bring death to animals—they had been living and dying and many forms becoming extinct for thousands of years before man’s creation. The new world will eliminate the effects of Adam’s disobedience, but that does not concern animal death. The status of the beast has remained unchanged since its creation—it lives out its life span and dies. At no time has it had set before it the prospect of eternal life.
    Man’s position is different. Adam had hope of eternal life set before him, but that hope vanished when he failed to pass the test of obedience. Had he passed that test he doubtless would have eventually eaten of the “tree of life”. Through Adam all men lost the opportunity of eternal life, but through the ransoming work of Christ Jesus the opportunity is restored and men of good will may hope for eternal life in the new world. None of this concerns animals.
    If a man is willfully wicked and scorns the ransom, he will never gain eternal life, though he lives for a few years now. He loses the better position of opportunity that is open for mankind, and drops into the same position as that of animals, a position that offers no opportunities of eternal life. Of such ones the inspired apostle Peter wrote: “But these men, like unreasoning animals born naturally to be caught and destroyed, will, in the things of which they are ignorant and speak abusively, even suffer destruction in their own course of destruction.”—2 Peter 2:12, NW.
    If animals had opportunity for eternal life, why would these men who lose such opportunity be compared to them? There seems to be no Scriptural basis for arguing that animals will live forever in the new world, but rather that they will continue being born, maturing, bringing forth offspring, and dying. Argument to the contrary seems to be based largely on sentimental grounds.
     
  8. Upvote
    Anna reacted to TrueTomHarley in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    It is good to write books.
  9. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    Thanks, that was a big miss on my part. I did a few jw.org searches and google searches, but misremembering the exact phrase. It's even still available right there in the FAQ directory. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/shunning/
    I didn't click it from Learn more about us and our beliefs. because that looked like the place where the site lists out the 15 major beliefs: (https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovah-witness-beliefs/)
    The problem is that previously the shunning article was there if you went to the FAQ page https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/
    Currently if you click on that FAQ link, you get 16 articles and the shunning article is no longer included among them, and there is no place to click for more. (I assume this is why the Wayback Machine stopped picking it up in 2019.)
    Thanks for the correction.
  10. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    @Witness referenced a recent Watchtower article from 2013 that shows that the word "shunning" is interchangeable with "disfellowshipping."
    It was also in the same 2013 Watchtower where an article was referenced on jw.org:
    *** w13 8/1 p. 2 Table of Contents ***
    READ MORE ONLINE | www.jw.org
    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES—Do You Shun Former Members of Your Religion?
    (Look under ABOUT US > FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)

    The Frequently Asked Questions section is still there, but that particular article has been removed. You have to go to the Wayback Machine (internet.archive.org) and look for the article that was picked up 62 times between August 30, 2012 and February 6, 2019. (There have been 16,777 captures from the jw.org website on the Wayback Machine from 2012, and the most recent was today). The article in question says:
    Do You Shun Former Members of Your Religion?
    ... We do not automatically disfellowship someone who commits a serious sin. If, however, a baptized Witness makes a practice of breaking the Bible’s moral code and does not repent, he or she will be shunned or disfellowshipped.
    And we can go back to the 1970's up through 2016 (and website up to 2019) to see that the word "shun" was commonly used as part of our vocabulary for how we should shun disfellowshipped persons. The 1988 case has been mentioned above as it was reported in the 1988 Watchtower.
    The shunning article was removed from the website in February 2019 about 15 months after the Canadian case in 2017. Just before the Canadian court presentation in 2017, the October 2017 Wathtower said this:
    *** w17 October p. 16 par. 19 The Truth Brings, “Not Peace, But a Sword” ***
    For example, Jehovah instructs us to “stop keeping company” with unrepentant wrongdoers. (1 Cor. 5:11-13) Despite our pain of heart, we must avoid normal contact with a disfellowshipped family member by telephone, text messages, letters, e-mails, or social media.
    This is exactly at odds with Gnam's claim that normal family life goes on.
    2017
    *** lvs chap. 3 p. 40 par. 19 Choose Friends Who Love God ***
    He may choose to leave the congregation himself, or he may have to be disfellowshipped. If this happens, the Bible clearly says that we should “stop keeping company” with him. (Read 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; 2 John 9-11) This can be very difficult if he is a friend of ours or a member of our family. But in a situation like this, our loyalty to Jehovah must be stronger than our loyalty to anyone else.—See Endnote 8.
    2019
    *** od p. 200 Part 2: Christian Living ***
    17. If an announcement is made that someone is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, how should we treat him?
    • “Stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.”—1 Cor. 5:11.
    • “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him.”—2 John 10.
    2016
    It was in the 2016 Assembly where the following part of the program even included a dramatic example of how family members don't allow family life to go on normally:

    But the actual word "shun" disappeared from the website in 2019 (so far).
  11. Upvote
    Anna reacted to TrueTomHarley in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I like how at the annual meeting, Mark Sanderson examined Hebrews 2:15, of how “through [Jesus’] death [God] might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil, and that he might set free all those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.”
    He then spoke of the Nuremberg trials, in which various Nazis who had committed unspeakable atrocities were asked the simple question, “How could you do those terrible things?” “What did they say?” he asked, and then related the answer they had given: “We had no choice. If we didn’t obey they would put us to death.” 
    “Those people could be manipulated,” Sanderson said. “They could be controlled. They could be made to do the most wicked things because they were afraid.”
    That’s manipulation. That’s control. That’s the consequence—shall we say it?—of not being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses benefiting from the program of spiritual food directed from the Governing Body. And here is Witness (and numerous others) sniveling about “brutal peer pressure!” The woman is a joke, as are all those who rage against the “control” of the GB. Had there been similar “control” among the Axis population, there would have been no need for the Nuremberg trials.
    https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2020/02/if-youre-going-to-bewail-manipulation-bewail-it-where-it-counts.html
  12. Haha
    Anna reacted to TrueTomHarley in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    A lot of them a kind of stupid—I doubt that will happen.
  13. Haha
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I clicked. I thought this line was especially funny:
    "That evening I prepared a protest sign: “Zenobia Lives!” but then I realized there would be no convention to carry it to."
    It hadn't occurred to me that apostates will no longer have a venue to carry their messages. I hope that none of them discover the Internet.
  14. Haha
    Anna reacted to TrueTomHarley in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I thought the point I was making is that he could have chosen a different word and thus prevent this thread from coming into existence. Isn’t that your point as well?
  15. Haha
    Anna reacted to Patiently waiting for Truth in The Purpose of This JW Forum   
    I think this Forum and others are used by GB helpers as a measuring stick, to find out people's attitudes towards the GB and it's teachings. I think it is used in 'research' to see how much the GB think they can get away with and how obvious their wrong teachings are. Any sensible business looks for feedback good or bad. And the CCJW is just another business at the moment. They make money from 'real estate' and push that money offshore to hide it. They can research forums and find out how much people 'of the world' know about their wrongdoings. Simples. 
  16. Upvote
    Anna reacted to TrueTomHarley in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I don’t even pretend to know how this works. I know what is the place of safety. I know what is my obligation to publicize it. Everything else involves matters “too great for me.” 
    Can you be some distance from the place of safety or not on millimeter? Dunno. “Is it only Jehovah’s Witnesses who will be saved?” someone asked my daughter, a need-greater. “Well—I’m not Jesus, and I don’t know,” she replied. What of the verse that you will by no means complete the circuit of Israel before the son of man arrives? How does that factor in? Will Jehovah pull some last minute trick like he did with Jonah?
    It is enough to know that he can read hearts. I’ll just do an Abraham and say, “is not the God of the entire earth going to do what is right?” After Armageddon, (let us assume that I find myself on the other side of it) I will look around, see who I see, and say, “I guess that is what’s right.”
    All we can do is what we can do. Between house-to-house, carts, internet, and just plain zeal, what we have done is a lot. Is the kingdom the burning issue in everyone’s mind that they consciously approve or reject, as much of our material would suggest? Or is it that people are consumed with the day-to-day and “take no note” of what is happening around them, as also much of our material would suggest? What is the interplay between the two?
    The issue is do people prefer government by God or government by men. The GB would be negligent to not continually stress the place of safety and call attention to verses that indicate you’d better be there. They would be negligent to not urge those there to prioritize their lives so as to join Christ in saying “Come,” They have not been negligent. Imitate them, says 2 Thess 3:7-9. Imitate their faith, says Heb 13:17, a faith that has manifested itself as deeds, because faith without works is dead.
    That is enough for me to go on. You don’t have to know every little thing. Not a sparrow falls to the ground unseen by the Father. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t fall. How many will fall, and why, and how many will stand?
     
  17. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    It's not unwelcome at all. I think that most of us have seen this idea in service and and in commentaries. And most of us have probably considered it (and dismissed it). It is such a big break from a "workable" understanding of Revelation and 1 Corinthians 15, that I dismiss it before I get very far into it. And that's because I see some potential contradictions among ALL the possibilities, but the idea that we are now in the 1,000 year reign seemed unworkable.
    I'm fine with trying to work it through again since it's been so long. I don't have any time to do this today, but I'll put a few thoughts out here to at least show why I had a problem with it.
    You believe that the 1,000 year reign of Christ began at the time he began to reign in the first century. So when does it end? At the time of tribulation/judgment/resurrection? When does Jesus hand back the Kingdom to his Father? When was/is Satan cast down, and angry for a short period of time? When was/is he abyssed? Are these the same periods. When is/was he let loose from the abyss? Yes, I believe that Jesus began to reign when he sat down at the right hand of God. 1 Cor 15:25 as much as says this. And, yes, we know from Col 1:13 that Christ already began gathering subjects to that Kingdom as soon as he was resurrected.
    My problem with it is that the 1,000 years appears to be a literal time in history with a beginning and an end. Otherwise the scriptures could not say "the rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended." If it has a beginning and an end, then why not see it as a special, literal time period during the time of the otherwise everlasting kingdom.
    (Revelation 11:15) . . .The seventh angel blew his trumpet. And there were loud voices in heaven, saying: “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.”
    I believe that this kingdom of the world did already become the Kingdom of God and Christ beginning when Jesus sat at the right hand of the throne of Majesty, at about the time of his resurrection, when "ALL authority was given him" and he could be called "King of Kings."
    (1 Timothy 6:15) . . .He is the King of those who rule as kings . . .
    But the biggest problem I have with claiming that we are already in the 1,000 year reign is that Jesus gave an indication that the end could come at any time, and that people could expect it, even in the first century. Paul said that the congregations could expect it at any time, even in the first century. He did not know if he or others alive at the time would live to see a "rapture" or if he or others would die first and be resurrected into the heavenly kingdom. 
    What kind of "1,000 year reign" could have started around 33, when Jesus was resurrected, but then might have ended at a judgment day, perhaps only 70 years later?
    Do you think that the 1,000 year reign is so symbolic that it refers to an unlimited time? If so, why does Revelation speak of the time when it is over, and why does Corinthians speak of a time when Jesus hands back the kingdom to his Father?
    I know that Russell thought he was already living in the 1,000 year reign, which is why his books were called "Millennial Dawn." But he thought that the 1,000 year reign began around 1874. When this was changed, it made sense to think of the thousand years as a time to prepare for, and accept billions of resurrected persons into the new earth (including the unrighteous). Practically it makes sense. If Satan had not yet been completely destroyed, it makes sense that in the overall scheme of showing Satan the verdict of his false claim, that this "court case" is completed with Satan witnessing his own failure before meeting his final fate.
    So there is a certain "practicality" to the 1,000 year reign as a special time when God through Christ takes his great power and begins ruling as king, even though he has always been king, and Christ too will be king from long before and eternally after. It becomes one of those special times when one can say in a special way:
    (1 Chronicles 16:31) 31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be joyful; Declare among the nations: ‘Jehovah has become King!’
    I understand that Satan could be destroyed at Armageddon and this same scenario could play out. I also know that your point of view removes the problem of the "second Armageddon" at the end of the 1,000 year reign.
    But we still have this, which can produce an issue for both points of view, but I think it is harder for your point of view:
    (Revelation 20:4, 5) . . .And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for 1,000 years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
  18. Haha
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in A cave in a remote part of Mexico was visited by humans around 30,000 years ago – 15,000 years earlier than people were previously thought to have reached the Americas.   
    Sometimes, it's what the scientist says that ain't necessarily so. (Apologies to "Porgy and Bess")
    Of course, we've all learned that people once came over from Asia to North America on a land/ice "bridge" between what's now Russia and Alaska. There weren't any road signs up back then, so they had trouble keeping their Bering Strait. 😊
  19. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in A cave in a remote part of Mexico was visited by humans around 30,000 years ago – 15,000 years earlier than people were previously thought to have reached the Americas.   
    The NatGeo article also admits that the findings are a bit controversial and could also have worked about as well in the other direction. (Polynesia to Peru, rather than Peru to Polynesia, with arguments in both directions.)
    For a couple of centuries, some of these theories by scientists who make a study of the early populations of the Americas have been permeated with racists. Their agenda has often been to promote superiority and priority of whiter populations over darker populations.
    Also, highlighting ancient Native American migrations and movement due to war and conquest has, for example, been utilized to defend the genocidal tendencies in European conquerors. That was not part of this story, but one of the articles that the NatGeo article links to about Thor Heyerdahl is revealing, and embarrassing:
     
  20. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in A cave in a remote part of Mexico was visited by humans around 30,000 years ago – 15,000 years earlier than people were previously thought to have reached the Americas.   
    This is quite interesting. I'm glad you brought it up as I need outside reminders these days, and no longer try to keep up with articles in National Geographic and Nature, etc. Unless prompted.
    I am concerned that the Mexican cave archaeologists have so little to go on. The supposed limestone tools were made from limestone that is already just outside the cave entrance. And much of the evidence is literally, "flaky." Just flakes of limestone that were chipped off larger stones. I assume they are holding back some of the best evidence, because the only picture in the article of the supposed tool evidence is this:

    The article shows that there is doubt, too. For example:
    . . . Oregon State archaeologist . . . points out that cave environments also create plenty of naturally fractured stones that can be misinterpreted as artifacts. . . . He’s also troubled by the lack of other signs of human occupation in the cave deposits, such as hearths and animal bones bearing cut marks.
    “You can have a big list of all the things you might expect to see in a site, and [the Chiquihuite researchers] don't have anything except for some broken rock,” Davis says. “And if you take the rocks away, there’s really nothing.” While he calls the research “intriguing,” he’s reserving judgment.
  21. Upvote
    Anna got a reaction from Patiently waiting for Truth in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I tried to figure out, using averages, how many of (for example) those 1.3 billion in India could potentially become baptised Witnesses. Assuming that the people in India are the same as any other people in the world, no more or no less good/evil in their general character, and we use the ratio of Witnesses to the general population of say the USA, where there is about one Witness per 400 people or is it around 300? (the number is not accurate, just rounded off) that would mean that potentially there should currently be around  3,250,000 Witnesses in India. Using the ratio of 1:400. 
    The point I am trying to make is that the Indian people, (although steeped in false religion, through no fault of their own, just born into it) have just as much potential to become a Witness as someone in another country. There are only over 8 million Witnesses worldwide, how long would it take to preach to all those people in India so that they get the same chance and opportunity as people in other countries? Personally, I think Jehovah will judge their hearts without them ever having to be exposed to the Truth. Just like he will judge the hearts of those elsewhere who have not heard or had a chance to respond to the good news.
  22. Upvote
    Anna got a reaction from Patiently waiting for Truth in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    Yes, I find WT teaching about this a tad puzzling since as you say 1 Cor 15:25 seems quite clear.   BUT, v. 23 talks about those belonging to Christ during his presence, as if his presence is at a different time to when he was resurrected. I suppose it all hangs on when Christ's presence began then (I know you have discussed this a number of time).   Anyway WT explains it like this (I know you know how WT explains it)   Insight Volume 2 p. 169-170: This Kingdom is of greater proportions and bigger dimensions than “the kingdom of the Son of his love,” spoken of at Colossians 1:13. “The kingdom of the Son of his love” began at Pentecost 33 C.E. and has been over Christ’s anointed disciples; “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” is brought forth at the end of “the appointed times of the nations” and is over all mankind on earth.—Lu 21:24.    WT w02 10/1 p. 18-19 When Jesus ascended to heaven, he did not immediately take up the scepter of rulership over the peoples of the world. (Psalm 110:1) However, he did receive a “kingdom” with subjects that obeyed him. The apostle Paul identified that kingdom when he wrote: “[God] delivered us [spirit-anointed Christians] from the authority of the darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love.” (Colossians 1:13) This deliverance began at Pentecost 33 C.E. when holy spirit was poured out on Jesus’ faithful followers.—Acts 2:1-4; 1 Peter 2:9.  I must admit this is the first time I have noticed the reference "Jesus's first Kingdom"   w90 3/15 p. 15-16: AT PENTECOST 33 C.E., Jesus Christ, the Head of the congregation, began actively ruling in the kingdom of his spirit-anointed slaves. How so? By means of the holy spirit, angels, and a visible governing body. As the apostle Paul indicated, God ‘delivered anointed ones from the authority of the darkness and transferred them into the kingdom of the Son of his love.’—Colossians 1:13-18; Acts 2:33, 42; 15:2; Galatians 2:1, 2; Revelation 22:16.
    2. In what larger Kingdom did Christ begin reigning in 1914?
     At the end of “the appointed times of the nations,” Jehovah increased Christ’s kingly authority, extending it beyond the Christian congregation. (Luke 21:24) Yes, in the year 1914, God gave his Son kingly authority over the “nations,” “the kingdom of the world,” all mankind.—Psalm 2:6-8; Revelation 11:15.
     
    What's your argument with the above?
     
    (Goodness, we are all over the place now....So I will say Furuli....I wonder what his opinion is on this. I haven't read all his book yet, I zeroed in on the GB bit only so far).
  23. Upvote
    Anna reacted to JW Insider in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    I think we can probably figure out a rough timeline that Revelation 20 appears to show, and then, compare it to 1 Cor 15. If it doesn't make sense, we can see if our current understanding helps us to make more sense of it. I'm still thinking about it, mostly about whether I should even share what I'm thinking. I had some thoughts that were eerily similar to what TTH shared in the post where he said:
    And, as before, my comments on the example of Abraham were a bit different from TTH:
    I would have pointed out that if we were really doing what Abraham did when he said then, that we should be questioning this judgment, just as Abraham did. Perhaps that is one of the lessons. If we truly want to be God's friend then we should be ready to "argue" with Him. We should question the numbers, as Abraham did. We should question the sense of justice, as Abraham did. Ultimately, we would never question Jehovah's judgment after the fact, but we should always be thinking and questioning what justice should look like before the fact. It is important that we try to understand Jehovah's justice as best we can.
    To that end, I brought up whether we should question the WT's view of Armageddon as it was spelled out from the time when I was still very young. We seem to have backed off on using such numbers, but I know that many JWs still believe these numbers are about right. The following article is on the jw.org website: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1958762
    *** w58 10/15 pp. 614-615 What Will Armageddon Mean for You? ***
    Armageddon will be greater than any nuclear war fought on a global or even on a “space” scale. The Bible shows that Armageddon will be a war between gods and universal in scope. In it “Jehovah God, the Almighty,” and the “Mighty God,” his Son, Jesus Christ, will do battle with “the god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil. Involved in that battle will be all intelligent creatures, seen and unseen.—Rev. 11:17; Isa. 9:6, AS; 2 Cor. 4:4.
    Revelation 9:16 gives us an inkling of the size of Jehovah’s forces when it speaks of him as using, on a certain occasion, cavalry to the number of 200,000,000. And 2 Kings 19:35 tells of just one of these destroying a host of 185,000 warriors in one night. How many demon cohorts Satan has, the Word of God does not indicate, but from the description of the war in heaven at Revelation 12 their number can by no means be insignificant. That Satan’s demons are likewise powerful can be seen from the fact that one of them once hindered an angel of Jehovah for twenty-one days, until the archangel Michael came to his rescue.—Dan. 10:13, 21.
    As for humans upon earth, on the side of Jehovah will be all those fully dedicated to him and who are faithfully following Jesus Christ; compared with earth’s billions these are indeed few. They are the few that walk the narrow way or cramped road that leads to life. These will not share in the fighting but will merely sing God’s praises.—2 Chron. 20:20, 21; 2 Cor. 10:4, 5; Matt. 7:13, 14.
    On Satan’s side will be all the rest of mankind, more than 99.9 percent, even as we read: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” That includes all the governments of the world together with their supporters, the commercial, religious and social institutions. Even the professedly Christian organizations? Yes, because all such that are friends of the world are making themselves enemies of God.—1 John 5:19; Jas. 4:4.
    Yes, today the earth is filled with wickedness, much innocent blood has been and is being shed, both in war and in peace. Godless men are persecuting Jehovah’s servants and ruining the earth. Jehovah will express “indignation against all the nations” and “against all the inhabitants of the earth,” because “there is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery.” At Armageddon Jehovah “will cause justice to be done” speedily to “his chosen ones who cry aloud to him” because of being persecuted. At that time he will also “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”—Isa. 34:2; Jer. 25:30; Hos. 4:2, AS; Luke 18:8, 7; Rev. 11:18.
    God’s Word likens Armageddon to the Flood, to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and to the battle at Gibeon, where God rained down great blocks of ice upon his enemies. Armageddon will be the worst thing ever to hit this earth in the history of man. It will be marked by shocking surprise, consternation, fright, collapse of government, tremendous upheavals of earth, landslides, cloudbursts, overflowing flash-floods, rain of corrosive liquid fire and terror in the air, on land and in the sea. No wonder that “the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.”—Jer. 25:33, AS.
    @César Chávez pointed out that there are about 8 million Witnesses. (When compared to a global population that is nearing 8 billion, this is also just another way of saying that 99.9 percent of the world are not Witnesses.) 
    *** w58 6/1 p. 330 Why Dedicate Ourselves to God? ***
    Yes, all such would foolishly ignore the instruction Book of their Maker and his “traffic laws” for living. And yet that is the very course that more than 99.9 percent of earth’s population
    *** w55 11/1 p. 648 Using Wisely the Reduced Time Left ***
    Time spent in trying to accumulate wealth, fame or power or in trying to perpetuate this old system of things is wasted, and that is what more than 99.9 per cent of this earth’s population are doing.
    Of course, we don't know. CC has pointed out before that he thinks most Witnesses are not true Witnesses, with true faith. He has also made statements that question faith and loyalty of elders and ministerial servants. So perhaps the percentage of actual survivors is much lower than .1 percent from CC's perspective.
  24. Thanks
    Anna reacted to Isabella in MormonLeaks founders pay $15,000 to settle copyright suit with the Jehovah’s Witnesses   
    The Truth and Transparency Foundation — the nonprofit group behind the controversial MormonLeaks website — has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
    The settlement comes after the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the publisher for the religious group, sued the nonprofit, alleging it violated copyright when it published Jehovah’s Witnesses’ educational videos on its FaithLeaks website.
    The lawsuit alleged that the Truth and Transparency Foundation, run by Ryan McKnight and Ethan Dodge, published 74 copyright videos on its website. A post detailing the leak described the videos as content shown exclusively during annual conventions. Those who attempted to distribute or upload the videos were met with threats of a lawsuit if they didn’t take the videos down, the post says, which has included the Truth and Transparency Foundation in the past.
    The nonprofit had said it intended to fight the lawsuit, asserting the release of the videos is covered under a constitutional right to free speech. But after fundraising efforts came up short, the group settled the lawsuit instead.
    https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/07/20/mormonleaks-founders-pay/
  25. Upvote
    Anna reacted to Arauna in Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"   
    Appologies- could not highlight entire quote.   
    I have watched my brothers and sisters for the last few years standing in very public places with carts.  I have thought about this and seen how everyone walks by..... but one will see the odd person take literature. Usually there are several languages on a cart. 
    Word has got out because we have an Indian family in our group as well as a young doctor.  The Indian family attend our meeting from India. Many of the Indian students come to cheaper countries like Georgia to study for doctor - we had visitors on many weekends prior to the lockdown. Sometimes up to 5 visitors. We also know of 2 Philippine congregations in Saudi arabia.  Congregations formed by migrant workers.
    I think we should not underestimate the spread of our work - especially when it is so public! One cannot miss it.  Even le there is just one family in an area of a few miles..... they can stand with a public cart.
    I really believe jehovah exists and therefore truly believe that the angels are working alongside us to get those informed who need to be informed.  The marking work is going on as we speak!   Our persecution in many countries is also drawing attention to our work. Modi is a far-right president and it is bringing attention to the plight of christians..... right-hearted ones will see the discrimination.  Poor people are down to earth and have nothing to lose. They are often more astute than the rich and they are the ones who accept the truth.
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