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David Normand

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Everything posted by David Normand

  1. Whoa there buddy. Even Paul appealed to Caesar when he had the opportunity. Millions of Christians accept social security and other government benefits. Are you suggesting they should forego these things because they are supposed to be no part of the world? What about fire and police protection? Should we also forego assistance from these brave folks because we proclaim we are no part of the world? Of course not. After the same scripture you quoted above also states that governments are God's servants. They frequently do a measure of good and we all benefit when governments exercise their authority in a fine way.
  2. What is your point? As a religious organization they are due the same tax breaks that are given other religious organizations. At least in this country you generally cannot discriminate against a religious organization just because you object to their doctrine or how they spread their beliefs. As far as any deal to make renovations, i'm sure the city could sue over breach of contract if there were grounds.
  3. According to Strongs Concordance: G3552 νοσέω noseō nos-eh'-o From G3554; to be sick, that is, (by implication of a diseased appetite) to hanker after (figuratively to harp upon): - dote. Total KJV occurrences: 1 G3554 νόσος nosos nos'-os Of uncertain affinity; a malady (rarely figurative of moral disability): - disease, infirmity, sickness. Total KJV occurrences: 12 Basically, referring to them as diseased is allowable: at least according to Strong's Concordance.
  4. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/religious-groups-can-decide-own-membership-rules-supreme-court-says-1.3953336 Hopefully the link worked. Here is the text. OTTAWA -- A Jehovah's Witness who was expelled from a Calgary congregation cannot take his case to a judge, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in a decision that affirms the general right of religious organizations to govern their own affairs. In a 9-0 decision Thursday, the high court said the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has no jurisdiction to review the congregation's decision to shun Randy Wall over alleged drunkenness and verbal abuse. "In the end, religious groups are free to determine their own membership and rules," Justice Malcolm Rowe wrote in the decision, adding that courts will not intervene in such matters unless it is necessary to resolve an underlying legal dispute. Religious and civil liberties organizations took an active interest in the case, given questions about the degree to which the courts can scrutinize decisions by faith-based bodies. Wall, an independent real estate agent, was summoned in 2014 to appear before the judicial committee of the Highwood Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, a four-person panel of elders. He admitted to two episodes of drunkenness and, on one of those occasions, verbally abusing his wife -- wrongdoing he attributed to family stress over the earlier expulsion of his 15-year old daughter from the congregation. The judicial committee told Wall, a congregation member since 1980, that he, too, would be expelled because he was not sufficiently repentant. Members who are "disfellowshipped" may still attend congregational meetings, but they are permitted to speak only to immediate family members about non-spiritual matters. An appeal committee upheld the decision, prompting Wall to pursue the matter in provincial court. He alleged the congregational judicial committee did not give him proper notice, an adequate opportunity to be heard or reasons for its decision. The congregation argued that Wall's application for review should be tossed out because a secular court had no jurisdiction to review a religious tribunal's decision. In a submission to the Court of Queen's Bench, Wall said that his real estate clients -- about half of whom belonged to Jehovah's Witness congregations -- refused to conduct business with him any longer. A judge concluded the court had jurisdiction to hear the case on the grounds that being shunned had an economic impact on Wall. The provincial Court of Appeal upheld the decision, and the congregation then took its arguments to the Supreme Court. In its decision, the high court said the purpose of judicial review is to ensure the legality of state decision-making. However, in this case, the congregational committee was not exercising statutory authority. "Private parties cannot seek judicial review to solve disputes that may arise between them." Courts may only interfere to address procedural fairness concerns about the decisions of religious groups or other voluntary associations if legal rights are at stake, Rowe wrote. Yet there was no evidence that Wall and the congregation had a contractual relationship. Finally, the decision said, it is not appropriate for the courts to make decisions about religious tenets. Wall's lawyer, Michael Feder, called the ruling disappointing because it gives religious groups and other voluntary associations "a very wide berth even though their decisions can and often do profoundly affect their members' lives." "No matter how grave the effect of the group's decision, and no matter how unfair the procedure followed, the courts cannot ordinarily interfere." David Gnam, a lawyer for the congregation, welcomed the decision, saying the Supreme Court "swept aside years of uncertainty and conflicting court decisions" on a fundamental matter.
  5. Prophecies are rarely appreciated when they are being fulfilled and is is usually after fulfillment that people recognize that a prophecy has been fulfilled. Nothing wrong with keeping on the watch, but better to not get in to debt thinking that you won't have to pay it back. We don't know the day or hour, but we can certainly discern the season. Cheers.
  6. I saw this article yesterday. Very sad. The individual attacked first had just gotten out of the automobile and was attacked at the car. The other three got out and attempted to help the first victim. Lesson to watch out. Life comes at you fast.
  7. I see nothing wrong with learning about other religions. It serves a useful purpose in helping the citizens understand other people. However, I do have a problem if the way they educate is to perform a daily act of worship in that religion. After all, it is possible to learn about a religion without participating. We learn about ancient Aztec religion by reading about it, not performing a human sacrifice.
  8. When you read the entire article you find the answer is yes. Basically, follow the rules, dress appropriately, and have a pleasant demeanor.
  9. So, after reading the source document it appears that she is very active in black lives matter and seems to believe that mankind has the ability to solve our problems. She may be right in that mankind has the ability, what they don't have is the will to facilitate solutions. People from all political stripes seem to be more interested in their pet causes or positions and no path of compromise is available to enact real and lasting change. Only God's kingdom has the ability to enact real and lasting change that will benefit everybody. Even pain and death will be done away with. No political movement by mankind has that ability.
  10. *** g90 2/8 pp. 3-5 Discovering ‘The Great Reptiles’ of the Past * The Genesis Account and Dinosaurs While the radioactive dating method is innovative, it is still based on speculation and assumption. In contrast, the Bible account in the first chapter of Genesis simply states the general order of creation. It allows for possibly thousands of millions of years for the formation of the earth and many millenniums in six creative eras, or “days,” to prepare the earth for human habitation. Some dinosaurs (and pterosaurs) may indeed have been created in the fifth era listed in Genesis, when the Bible says that God made “flying creatures” and “great sea monsters.” Perhaps other types of dinosaurs were created in the sixth epoch. The vast array of dinosaurs with their huge appetites would have been appropriate considering the abundant vegetation that evidently existed in their time.—Genesis 1:20-24. When the dinosaurs had fulfilled their purpose, God ended their life. But the Bible is silent on how he did that or when. We can be sure that dinosaurs were created by Jehovah for a purpose, even if we do not fully understand that purpose at this time. They were no mistake, no product of evolution. That they suddenly appear in the fossil record unconnected to any fossil ancestors, and also disappear without leaving connecting fossil links, is evidence against the view that such animals gradually evolved over millions of years of time. Thus, the fossil record does not support the evolution theory. Instead, it harmonizes with the Bible’s view of creative acts of God.
  11. What are you talking about? There was no mention that she was teaching them religion nor was she asking them to observe her religious views. If they wanted to have a Valentine Day party they were free to do so as they have done so in the past and it was organized by the student's parents. In this case the principal asked her to organize the party and she refused.
  12. This entire position of not using sisters because they might be put in a position to give brothers direction and violate scripture is just silly. When Paul commented about women instructing brothers he was specifically talking about in the meeting where brothers were supposed to take the lead. I mean really, what is wrong with sisters working behind the literature counter, handling microphones, directing traffic, or even directing friends to their seats. Oh well, times are changing.
  13. " Be Careful Brothers and Sisters " .... Caution !!! Matthew 10:16... Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves so prove yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves." Love you all Good advice surly. However, this particular story does not ring true. Mainly because of the implication that the angels and by extension Jehovah caused the death of the innocent person perhaps to teach her a lesson. Though there is no doubt that in Bible times Jehovah via the angels directly interacted with his servants on numerous occasions. Not sure Jehovah would do that today without giving clear warning about what he was doing. Second, there are many examples where Jehovah's people in modern were adversely impacted by people because they were witnesses. Think back to the second world war. In most of those instances Jehovah did not step in and thwart the agent of harm in such a way as to cause harm to somebody else. Don't misunderstand me on this point. Jehovah can and I am sure he does interact in our behalf when his act furthers his purpose, but in most cases his purposes is not impacted at all. There is no evidence in the example above that what these sisters were doing was so important and that the poison tacos being eaten by the woman's son was related to Jehovah's purpose. Could be, but based upon the information provided it is doubtful. This really seems like a story contrived by somebody to stir appreciation for Jehovah in some way, but sadly the likely result if it were shared outside of Jehovah's organization would be to heap scorn and ridicule upon Jehovah and his organization due to the fanciful nature of the story.Â
  14. I can see that. People are generally wary of information gathered about them and want to make sure it is not being used for nefarious purposes. I suspect the word will filter down that taking notes about a visit or not is up to you and if you so decide to take notes about a visit use your own paper. That being said I do recall a pioneer who after return visits would take out a paper and pen and in front of the householder would state that he was taking a brief of the visit and the question he left him with. I do not recall anybody ever objecting to him making notes in that fashion. Of course, that was back in the 80's. Times have changed since then.
  15. Why not? I don't see any reason for sisters to be excluded from this assignment any way.
  16. Saw the same article. Thought the same thing. Government was not doing it to stamp out Jehovah's Witnesses. They were doing it in response to a public health crisis. Friends really should have taken heed of the government's action and stayed away. Oh well, time will come when the government actually ban's all religious meetings then we will have to take a stand for true worship. Until then though let your reasonableness be known to all men.Â
  17. After 30 years in the truth I have never seen a reception, play or dance at a Kingdom Hall. These sort of activities are normally done on a rented facility and not under the control of the elders. This is as it should be.Â
  18. Sad, but yes I see the Russian authorities stance. Until the court case is reversed some way then our friends in Russia will continue to be treated this way. We can expect nothing less from Satan's system of things. What we can expect is that this sort of behavior will be copied by other countries. Just a matter of time.
  19. Everything is vanity and chasing after the wind. Only God's Kingdom can give people a real purpose in life and a hope for the future.
  20. Not surprised. They are constantly consolidating branches and divesting of underutilized properties.
  21. December 15, 20172:52 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition In a far-reaching report on child sex abuse in Australia, a government commission is recommending that the country's Catholic Church lift its celibacy requirement for diocesan clergy and be required to report evidence of abuse revealed in confession. Those are among the 400 recommendations contained in the 17-volume final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, which is wrapping up a five-year investigation – the longest in Australia's history. "We have concluded that there were catastrophic failures of leadership of Catholic Church authorities over many decades," the report said. The Australian reports: "More than 15,000 people contacted the commission to share their experiences of abuse, more than 8,000 of them spoke personally with the commissioner about the trauma it caused, and approximately 2,500 cases have now been referred to police." The commission said the church failed to properly address allegations and concerns of victims, calling the Church's response to them "remarkably and disturbingly similar." The report also detailed abuse in churches of other denominations and at such institutions as schools and sports clubs. However, it concluded that the greatest number of alleged abuse perpetrators were found in Catholic institutions. The commission has concluded that 7 percent of priests who worked in Australia between 1950 and 2009 had been accused of child sex abuse.   Among the report's recommendations: — A national strategy to prevent child abuse, with a national office of child safety. — Making failure to protect a child from risk of abuse within an institution a criminal offense on the state and territory level. — Implementing preventative training for children in schools and early childhood center. — A requirement that candidates for religious ministry undergo external psychological testing. — Any person in a religious ministry subject to a substantiated child sex abuse complaint should be permanently removed from the ministry. Currently, Australian law exempts confessional evidence from the rules that apply to other kinds of evidence in court, according to The National Catholic Register. THE TWO-WAY Vatican Cardinal Charged With 'Historic Sexual Offenses' In Australia THE TWO-WAY Prominent Cardinal Returns To Australia To Face Sex Abuse Charges "We recommend that canon law be amended so that the 'pontifical secret' does not apply to any aspect of allegations or canonical disciplinary processes relating to child sexual abuse," the report said. It said that "Religious ministers, out-of-home care workers, childcare workers, registered psychologists and school [counselors] should be brought into line with police, doctors and nurses who are all obliged by law to report sexual abuse," according to The Sydney Morning Herald reports. "Without a legal obligation to tell police about abuses, many staff and volunteers failed to let anyone outside the institution know, the commission found," the Heraldreported. The commission called for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to ask the Vatican to introduce voluntary celibacy for clergy. The commission found that clerical celibacy was not a direct cause of abuse, but that it increased the risk of abuse when celibate male clergy had privileged access to children. In an official statement, Archbishop Denis Hart of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, apologized for past abuse, calling it a "shameful past" and said the commission's report "will be taken very seriously." However, speaking to reporters later, Hart said the commission's report "hasn't damaged the credibility of the church" and called the recommendations on the confessional "a distraction." "The seal of the confessional, or the relationship with God that's carried through the priest and with the person, is inviolable. It can't be broken," Hart told reporters. "I think everyone understands that this Catholic and orthodox practice of confession is always confidential," he said. Hart also pushed back on the subject of celibacy: "We know very well that institutions who have celibate clergy and institutions that don't have celibate clergy both face these problems. We know very well that this happens in families that are certainly not observing celibacy." The commission's findings follow numerous allegations of sex abuse by Catholic priests in Australia in recent years. In June, Police in Victoria charged Cardinal George Pell, now a high-ranking Vatican official, with sex abuse dating to his time as a priest in Australia in the 1970s and 80s. Pell has denied the allegations. The report concluded: "Tens of thousands of children have been sexually abused in many Australian institutions. We will never know the true number." the report concluded. "It is not a case of a few 'rotten apples.' Society's major institutions have seriously failed," it said.
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