David Normand

Nice bit of trivia about another place where the divine name appears. Looks like a natural conversation starter for the friends in that town.

While it is true that we don't have the ability to predict the future, we were told to be on the watch and to be in expectation for the end of this system of things. 

So true. Many more people in Russia ( as well as other countries) have received a witness about Jehovah because of this entire episode. 

Thanks Tom. Will look for it. 

Sad that people resort to such things. Hope the friends are being taken care of by their loving congregation friends.

12 hours ago, Eoin Joyce said:

"In America, most of us think of Jehovah’s Witnesses as that occasional Saturday nuisance" quoted by @JayWitness. (Interesting discussion by the way).

Well, here we have a paradox well known to philosphers. Can tolerance tolerate intolerance and survive? Or must the intolerant learn to tolerate the tolerant? An argument for unlimited or absolute tolerance makes no logical or Biblical sense to me. I mean, no-one should not have to tolerate tobacco smoke if they are a non-smoker.

Numbers 25:10-11 indicates a limit to tolerance from a Biblical perspective, modified later, for example, by statements such as that at Rom.12:17-19.

Christians are tolerant of the current state of affairs, as is Jehovah, but know that His tolerance has limits, and await His action as stated. Meanwhile, we are grateful where the attitude above prevails at present, but we will tolerate intolerance, opposition, and even injustice for as long as Jehovah does.

 

For me an interesting case in point is school or public prayer. Most, so-called, fundamental Christians believe it is their right to pray in public and for children to have organized prayers in schools. Upon occasion the discussion from the two groups, pro and con, can get quire heated. The pro group fails to see this as an endorsement issue and insist that their way is the only way. 

Thanks for the update. Will see what happens. That is the week of our regional convention in Winston-Salem North Carolina. 

I have heard the argument that since we don't know exactly how to pronounce it we should not even try. That really does not make any sense. We know where the original name was in the Bible, so at the lease the publishers should leave the four consonants and allow the reader to make their own decision as to how to pronounce it. As it now stands, you have billions of people who believe that God's personal name is God. What crust. There was no "J" in the Hebrew language so any name you come across that has a "J" in it is automatically pronounced wrong; yet, that does not stop people from using those names. Even Jesus was not pronounced Jesus in Hebrew so not using the original Hebrew pronunciation is no excuse for failing to acknowledge that the Almighty God has a personal name and fail to use it. 

Sadly, the vandalism has already started. I wonder though, should the vandals be arrested would they be found to be members of an extremist organization? Or are they simply acting on their own impulse. Who really is the extremist, the person who peacefully hands out Bibles and bible based information, or the group that seeks to suppress religious free speech by government action and physical intimidation?

Sad for the friends in Russia. Government is going to get hundreds of very lovely and well maintained buildings. Of course, they will probably be abused and trashed by the new occupants. 

So this pogrom is the fruition of the decision. Inspite of the warnings that this would be the result, the court ruled against us anyway. I recall when it was stated, "They may take your buildings, but they cannot take your faith." That is true, but the court really could not have cared less for the lives and well being of the citizens adversely affected. 

I really hope all the friends who read the article take note of the statement about witnessing. The brother said, ". . .  it seems to me now this should be the personal decision of each of our fellow believers in the country, how they will act in the future. They should take account of certain consequences that participation in religious activity may entail, . . ." So, they are not telling fellow believers what to do, but it is up to each one of them to make a personal decision. That is tough. However, I can imagine that it is easier for some of them who have gone through this before to make the right decision. It will be harder for the folks in non oppressed societies to make this decision. At least, that is how I think about it. 

Also, they may not have Kingdom Halls, or literature to offer, but they can talk about the Bible. This is a good reminder that all of us of the need to bone up on scriptural truths and spend some time now solidifying these teachings in our mind and heart and learn to rely upon the Bible without teaching aids. 

We can try to guess what Jehovah's plan is, but a has been demonstrated time and time again we generally do not see how it will work out until it does. Christians in Jerusalem were probably concerned about what the future held in 67 CE, yet Jehovah made a way out for them that they could not see at the time. Everyone will be amazed when they see what becomes of this and other actions that will be taken by the actors in Satan's system. Be strong, have faith, trust in Jehovah and his loving organization. 

Very sad. I really thought by some of the questions that the Justices asked that they would have dealt with us in an even handed manner. They even allowed fabricated evidence. What a travesty. We will see what the future holds for our friends in Russia and how the situation will play out. 

It is truly inspiring when people such as this, without the safety net we have today in the brotherhood were able to stand up for the truth. These people felt so strongly about bible truth that they were wiling to risk liberty and sometimes even their lives to declare the truth about God and his Son. 

If the Russian state really want to make a splash they could have told the students, dress slovenly, be obnoxious, and argue with the press. Instead, it was almost a non-event except most of them did not get inside the courtroom. Still no reason why they were invited by the state though. 

It is a wise person who sees trouble ahead and seeks way to avoid it. (i am sure there is a scripture about this, but cannot seem to find it) 

Well, to be perfectly honest Obama never had the support to send bombs, missals, or boots on the ground to Syria. Donald doesn't either, but that hasn't stopped him from taking illegal action against a sovereign country. Yes, what Asaid is doing is deplorable, but he is the leader of that country. They are engaged in a civil war and USA wasn't invited to play. 

Wednesday the Donald said he was not aspiring to be president of the world, but only the president of the 
USA. So much for that. 

The first world war was started in a few days. What Donald did last night could easily escalate. Russia already announced they were sending more missal support to Syria. Just a matter of time before this entire episode escalates. 

Yes, and now it is continued to April 12th. 

Novakov tells an interesting detail, recently found in the materials of one case. It turned out that on one of the thrown publications there is an inscription testifying that this publication belongs to one of the Orthodox anti-sectarian centers!

This was towards the end of the transcript. Apparently the book belonged to another organization and used a planted "evidence" 

Adjourned until April 12th. 

Even though the judge denied all of the defendants motions, it was interesting that the judge then did agree about some of the questionable evidence. He even asked about what rights of the Russian citizens were denied. He is making some show of independence, but at this point it could go either way. 

This i one o those interesting scriptures that how it is translated from the original languages makes a huge difference in perspective. The NWT as well as several others indicate that it is the "wicket one" who controls things. While, the KJV states that the world lies in the power of the wicked. While one translation shows that it is an individual who is to blame, the other simply attributes things to wicked in general. 

12 hours ago, Melinda Mills said:

The picture part of the video at our Hall is not working for three weeks, can get only audio sometimes. (Three congregations share the Hall.) That should say something about qualifications. I watched all the videos on Youtube, although I tend to use my own presentation, incorporating some of the pointers only if I am really impressed.

We share out hall with three other congregations. Several weeks ago one of the other congregations adjusted the sound, and not knowing exactly what they were doing literally blew up one of the overhead speakers. At that point the kingdom hall operating committee decided to have a meeting with all the sound folks from all four congregations to go over protocol with respects to the sound system. Sadly, some brothers learn via hands on training and that is not always the most efficient or best way to learn. 

So true James. 

2 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Should the decision go against us, there will be much hand-wringing. We should keep in mind:

(Yikes! On another thread, I am flagged as an abuser and the entire thread is taken down! "Behave, TrueTom!" they said)

Being the Supreme Court, there may be no appeals left. If the decision goes bad on us, our Russian brothers become like the Hebrews 11 Christians, who walked about under duress, 'and the world was not worthy of them.' It happens with good precedent in a world not friendly to Christians. Jesus was not summoned before Pilate to receive a good citizenship plaque, was he?

I see your point; however Hebrews chapter 11 discusses pre Christian witnesses of Jehovah. 

Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait. It really does seem that the court has already made up its mind and is just going through the motions of a trial.