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Srecko Sostar

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  1. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from Witness in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    It is not. One thing flied through my mind about "throwing the food away". You can imagine the following situation: You work in a company, you are a hard worker, diligent, responsible and so on. The situation around you is such that other workers are waiting for their time to pass, they are not interested in the job, they do not have self-initiative, they do not care. Company management does not run a firm in a good way. After a lot of time in such a work environment, a diligent worker has had enough of everything and says: so what am I trying to do, why am I annoyed because of someone else's reluctance? And then because of that he raises his hands and lets some damage happen in the company or some work is not done. Perhaps some of these elders are also in such a mental state that they don’t care why the food box is thrown away.
    Charity means helping. Each JW assembly is a "charity company". Not only do they help themselves but also others who are not "theirs".
  2. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from Patiently waiting for Truth in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    Here we had severe weather, hail, much rain, strong wind, again, last night. 
  3. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from Patiently waiting for Truth in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    What a spirit guided this JW elder, Shawn Bartlett, who gave instruction and instruction to other elders as to why personal notes and other data should be destroyed. Why? According to what he said it is in this "spirit" --------- To Not be responsible for past actions. If there are no records of past events, then the events did not even happen, "legal world says" he explained.  ..... be as shrewd as snakes ??
     
  4. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to JW Insider in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    I think you are mostly right. And I was only trying to show how unreasonable the results could be if this was taken seriously. However, I doubt that Arauna is alone in a similar line of thinking that there must be something diabolical even in quotes like the following that she found in the UN documents:
    To this exact quote, you may have notice that she responded to it by saying:
    "SOUNDS LIKE THEY WANT TO BRING PEACE AND SECURITY !  SATANS VERSION OF JEHOVAH'S GOVERNMENT. See below where they talk of peace and security linked with sustainable development."
    So, this type of thinking might not be as absent from among us as you indicated.
  5. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to JW Insider in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    *** w20 November pp. 14-15 Take Courage—Jehovah Is Your Helper ***
    HELP FROM INDIVIDUALS IN AUTHORITY
    ...
    13 What help do we receive? When it is in harmony with his purpose, Jehovah may use his powerful holy spirit to cause people in authority to do what he desires. King Solomon wrote: “A king’s heart is like streams of water in Jehovah’s hand. He directs it wherever He pleases.” (Prov. 21:1) What does this proverb mean? Humans can dig a canal to divert the water of a stream in a direction that fits their plans. Similarly, Jehovah can use his spirit to divert the thoughts of rulers in a direction that is in harmony with his purpose. When that occurs, people in authority feel motivated to make decisions that benefit God’s people.—Compare Ezra 7:21, 25, 26.
    14 What can we do? We can pray “concerning kings and all those who are in positions of authority” when these individuals are called on to make decisions that affect our Christian life and ministry. (1 Tim. 2:1, 2, ftn.; Neh. 1:11)
    I notice that the Watchtower also includes this within the idea of paying back Caesar's things to Caesar, and even the idea of "being ready for every good work" is subsumed under the idea of performing "government" sponsored works:
    *** w90 11/1 pp. 11-12 pars. 7-8 The Christian’s View of the Superior Authorities ***
    7 Further, Paul’s exhortation to be in subjection to the superior authorities is in harmony with Jesus’ command to pay back “Caesar’s things to Caesar,” where “Caesar” represents secular authority. (Matthew 22:21) It also agrees with Paul’s later words to Titus: “Continue reminding them to be in subjection and be obedient to governments and authorities as rulers, to be ready for every good work.” (Titus 3:1) Hence, when Christians are ordered by governments to share in community works, they quite properly comply as long as those works do not amount to a compromising substitute for some unscriptural service or otherwise violate Scriptural principles, such as that found at Isaiah 2:4.
    8 Peter also affirmed that we should be subject to the secular authorities of this world when he said: “For the Lord’s sake subject yourselves to every human creation: whether to a king as being superior or to governors as being sent by him to inflict punishment on evildoers but to praise doers of good.” (1 Peter 2:13, 14) In harmony with this, Christians would also heed Paul’s admonition to Timothy: “I therefore exhort, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, offerings of thanks, be made concerning all sorts of men, concerning kings and all those who are in high station; in order that we may go on leading a calm and quiet life.”—1 Timothy 2:1, 2.
    Srecko brought up a point about how neutrality might be equated with lack of knowledge, but it is clear that knowledge would be necessary to distinguish whether those community works requested by authorities are not some form of compromise. 
    It's easy to imagine a group of Witnesses who are told by government authorities that they must clean up a polluted lake or waterway before undertaking some large building projects on its shores, or that they must clean up the toxins that can carry runoff into the water to protect animals depending on it. In spite of the recent article about neutrality, when such situation occurred, Witness lawyers (and others) actually lobbied the relevant government authorities for favorable rulings. Lawsuits were initiated by the WTS to overcome the costs of some of these decisions. I know that brothers were called in to gain a lot of knowledge about the situation before some of these actions were taken. But I also talked personally with one of the lawyers involved and it was my assessment that the spirit of Jesus' words here were not taken to heart:
    (Matthew 5:40-46) . . .And if a person wants to take you to court and get possession of your inner garment, let him also have your outer garment; 41 and if someone in authority compels you into service for a mile, go with him two miles. 42 ... 43 “You heard that it was said: ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may prove yourselves sons of your Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good and makes it rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing?
    In the future, if WItnesses are told to build buildings that meet certain "green standards" to meet certain SDG's (Sustainable Development Goals) do you think that some Witnesses might rightly lobby against it, because these SDG's were suggested to governmental authorities by the UN, who only promoted them because they were a way of promoting "peace and security"? And we all know that when we support anything that combines "UN" with "peace and security" we are supporting Satan's schemes?
    A little bit of knowledge won't hurt us. We should not be ignorant of Satan's designs either:
    *** nwtsty 2 Corinthians Study Notes—Chapter 2 ***
    we are not ignorant of his designs: Paul does not just say that “we are aware of his designs.” Rather, he uses a figure of speech called litotes, that is, an understatement made in order to give emphasis by saying that the opposite is not true. (An example of litotes can be found at Ac 21:39, where Tarsus is called “no obscure city,” which means an important city.) Accordingly, some translations render this phrase “we are well aware of his schemes” or “we know his wiles all too well,” which conveys similar emphasis.
    This is a double-edged argument. Arauna is correct therefore to look to whether any of these "community works" are actually compromising. She correctly said she would have to "go along" with some of them even if she hated where they were coming from. But since we all stand individually before the judgment seat, we should all have a reason for the stand we take.
  6. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    Elders offer to throw the food away, instead of offering it to other organizations in need.  Is that doing it "better"?
  7. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from Patiently waiting for Truth in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    What sort of "neutrality"? "Neutrality concept" made by WT understanding?
    "My people will be silenced,(*destroyed) because there is no knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge," - Hosea 4:6
    May we say how lack of education in "knowledge" about secular and spiritual things is good way to be ruined? 
    Lack of knowledge about, what is and what is not "neutrality", is good example of this.
    JW members made prayers to God about... and letters, to Russian's "secular authorities".  I don't know what was content of their prayers. And don't know what was content of those letters. Perhaps somebody who have time and information would/will make comparison and comment about it.
    Of course, if prophecies (i.e. interpretations) are correct about that, that JW members are and will be under attack of secular governments (in this case Russia) in the "last days of last days" than what is purpose and benefit of "prayers" for JW members and for attackers in high position?
    What if "prophecy" is more powerful than "prayers"? Than JW "prayers" means nothing. They will not be "listened". 
    And vice versa, if "prayers" of faithful JW members can delete (or delay) fulfillment of "prophecy" about "last days" and attacks on them, than when "end" will come?
    In third scenario, two parallel "kingdoms" can live together and forever. Everybody looks for their own business. :))
  8. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from JW Insider in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    What sort of "neutrality"? "Neutrality concept" made by WT understanding?
    "My people will be silenced,(*destroyed) because there is no knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge," - Hosea 4:6
    May we say how lack of education in "knowledge" about secular and spiritual things is good way to be ruined? 
    Lack of knowledge about, what is and what is not "neutrality", is good example of this.
    JW members made prayers to God about... and letters, to Russian's "secular authorities".  I don't know what was content of their prayers. And don't know what was content of those letters. Perhaps somebody who have time and information would/will make comparison and comment about it.
    Of course, if prophecies (i.e. interpretations) are correct about that, that JW members are and will be under attack of secular governments (in this case Russia) in the "last days of last days" than what is purpose and benefit of "prayers" for JW members and for attackers in high position?
    What if "prophecy" is more powerful than "prayers"? Than JW "prayers" means nothing. They will not be "listened". 
    And vice versa, if "prayers" of faithful JW members can delete (or delay) fulfillment of "prophecy" about "last days" and attacks on them, than when "end" will come?
    In third scenario, two parallel "kingdoms" can live together and forever. Everybody looks for their own business. :))
  9. Thanks
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    I understand this better than previously, when Tom first brought it up on this forum a few months ago.    The organization did have to sign up to be a 503c distributor, but after speaking to Travel Well Holdings– a wholesale purchaser and distributor (whose name I saw on this video -
     I found that they, along with many other contract distributors, were awarded a Federal USDA contract to distribute the food boxes, as is generally known.  When the food banks became glutted with boxes, it was the food banks who reached out to faith-based organizations, to take part in the program. 
    The video has the same message as the news article.  They were told not to spread the news, including photographing the boxes. The speaker relates that they tried to decline the box saying they were not in need, but it was delivered anyway. Many other “faith-based” organizations, would specify which families would indeed benefit from the food, instead of elders throwing it away if rejected…stories coming out by others.  Many other religious organizations, follow more closely the understood definition of “charity”, while the org. appears to be clueless.   I was told that stricter guidelines were issued by the USDA in August, requiring a contract to be signed by the organizations, stating food boxes must, and will be distributed only to those who are “food insecure” and are lower income households.    
     
     
    Interesting news article:
    https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/03/907128481/how-the-usdas-food-box-initiative-overpaid-and-under-delivered
  10. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    Pushback?  They are suing "apostates" for hate speech. Is that not enough pushback?  This is followed by Morris' murderous rant against "despicable apostates".  No turning the other cheek there.  
    This letter addressing Mr. Morris, was not written by me ,or Pearl Doxsey:
     
    Dear Brother Morris, 10/1/2020
    It is my sincere hope that this letter finds you calmer and less agitated.  I watched your video broadcast and saw how disturbed you became when talking about the destruction of “apostates.”  I feared for you as you became overtaken with murderous desire as you held, lit, and blew out a single small matchstick.  What spirit overcame you brother?  Whose father were you imitating?  Carefully consider John 8:44 and Isaiah 33:1.  Why do you assert God and Jesus are murderers when we are told through scripture who the murderer from the beginning was, the wicked one, the destroyer.    Ultimate justice will certainly come though through God and Jesus who have the ability to either protect or surrender individuals to the wicked one, but why do you project onto Them your own craving for destruction?  Who will be protected, false prophets with false teachings?  
    *False teachings such as Jehovah has a physical “mountain-like organization.” Where in the scriptures did the Father or Jesus ever tell people to attach themselves to an idol organization for salvation?  Nowhere!  But, the scriptures do prophesy of such a detestable thing to occur. Prophetic warnings abound throughout the Bible regarding the waywardness of God’s people, today, among a false prophet in the spiritual Temple of God, among his chosen…a detestable deed…subjugating anointed under the authority of not anointed Gentiles, elders/overseers.  What have you done!  “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Cor 3:16,17). 
    * False teachings such as Armageddon is a physical battle with God and Jesus using actual fire to destroy all those who are not a Jehovah’s Witness.  Look up the scriptures referenced, words are fire and swords (Jer. 23:29; 1 Peter 1:6,7; Psalm 104:4; Prov. 25:18; Psalm 55:21; Rev. 19:15; 1:16; 2:16).  Fire and sword are used by God’s prophets to destroy lies by false prophets. “That is why I will cut them down by means of the prophets; I will kill them with the words of my mouth. And the judgments on you will shine as the light.” (Hosea 6:5).  
    There you stood in the video broadcast, a bold-faced false prophet spouting false teachings, referencing Isaiah 66, condemning yourself.
     
    15 Look, the LORD will come with fire -
    his chariots are like the whirlwind -
    to execute his anger with fury
    and his rebuke with flames of fire.
    16 For the LORD will execute judgment
    on all people with his fiery sword,
    and many will be slain by the LORD.
    22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making will remain standing before me,” declares Jehovah, “so your offspring and your name will remain.”
    23 “And from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, All flesh will come in to bow down before me,” says Jehovah.
    24 “And they will go out and look on the carcasses of the men who rebelled against me;
    For the worms on them will not die,
    And their fire will not be extinguished,
    And they will become something
    repulsive to all people.”
    By the same word the present heaven and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. – 2 Pet. 3:7.  
    “Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot listen to my word.” – Jesus, [John 8:43].  
     
     
  11. Thanks
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    Am I reading that the elders were not volunteering their time to distribute the food boxes, but were paid?   The question is, were they then directed to give the pay received, to the organization?
     
  12. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to JW Insider in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    No. I never saw any evidence provided by the UN with respect to this man from Ethiopia. I never saw any evidence from you either. Just a claim with no evidence.
    Your assumption and judgment are both wrong in this case.
    Perhaps you have been watching for a longer time, and perhaps, as you say, you don't have the kind of time to watch. But I get the impression that your sources are not from watching the UN anyway, but they come from conspiratorial, racist, lying and/or biased sources. I like to look at the viability of as many sources as I can, and I agree that this can be very time consuming. And I also don't think people should merely repeat slanderous accusations without taking some time to research these claims first.
    It's easy to claim things you don't agree with are simply "irrelevant." If you have evidence, point to it. Show it. Give a link to the person who claimed that the WHO president genocided his own people, for example. I think there is none. But there is quite a bit of evidence that this was a lie from racist and politically motivated sources. I go where the evidence takes me, and it's not my fault when evidence for one way or another seems to "dominate."
    We all have more important things to do. But I don't have anything against providing evidence. Evidence can come from scholars on all sides of a controversy. We can listen to all of them. And evidence doesn't have to come from just scholars and experts, either. An average person like me can take a video of something and it provides good evidence, too. An average person can track down an expert's contradictory statements, or admissions of making false statements, and this can provide evidence, too. (I just found an amazing admission of false statements by someone this morning and I'll make a post about it when I get time.)
    I've given up on this forum a couple of times. But it's the only forum I use. I have a FB account I haven't written on in 4 years, and I have a Twitter account to read news, but I never write anything there. Also, this is a diverse group willing to talk about a lot of different subjects. I don't think any of us know many people at our Hall that would be comfortable with a lot of these topics. So I typically tend to come back after a few days.
    I hope your move goes well, and I hope to see you on these pages again.
  13. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Patiently waiting for Truth in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    @César Chávez  I want to examine this paragraph of your :
    Here itself, it can be seen as those that think the Watchtower plays a role in every person, personal life. They don't. Jesus didn't, the apostles didn't, those sent by Jesus didn't. The "act" of the apostles just like Jesus commandments were to make a spiritual guideline in order for each individual to cleanse themselves from their old ways and return to God with a clean and fresh attitude that would lead to their own personal salvation. That is in essence what the Watchtower is about. The key word here is "choice", it hasn't changed since Jesus made it known.
    Well it does in the lives of JWs. How? Because JWs believe what the GB tell them to believe, and the GB's method of communication to the congregants is the Watchtower. So the Watchtower, which is studied every week, does play a very big role in every JWs life.  The GB tells the congregants that 'only the GB', are the F&DS. The GB tells congregants that the rest of the Anointed should not congregate together, the GB saying that if the Anointed did congregate together it would be working against the Holy spirit. These messages are sent via the Watchtower magazine, so they do play a big role in congregants lives. 
    So the big difference. Jesus and the Apostles didn't 'control' people's lives. The GB should think about this.
    Spiritual guidelines. Yes. And for their own personal salvation, yes.  Not salvation by the CCJW organisation. Not baptism into the CCJW organisation. 
    "That is in essence what the Watchtower is about."  NO it isn't.  The Watchtower is one means of control that the Governing Body uses. The only choice is to be in or our of the CCJW. But if in, a person has to obey GB man made rules. 
    I still cannot understand why you use the word Watchtower as if it is people. It isn't. It is a business side of the religion and it is a magazine. It is the Governing Body that controls that business and magazine. 
    So maybe you should "Reflect on your own words."        And you also, Have a good day.  
  14. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    Exactly, Tom.  So, when reading these two scripture in the last book of the Bible -  Rev  11:1-3,7; 13:6,7
    …how can any organization other than the Wt. know who the anointed are, in order to tread the Temple of God, “make war” and conquer the saints, as all of your leaders are already successfully doing?
    You know Tom, I have never showcased myself, but have always “showcased” Jesus Christ, the Father and the Body of Christ/priesthood of God, and their role in the last days.  Only when you began prodding me about my anointing, was there any focus on me; and that was for your own selfish writing motives.  
    Yes, they do.  
  15. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in Watchtower, Records Management and "Superior Authorities" theories   
    Great quotes.    
    We can resist God’s truth, or be molded by it. If we resist truth, we are molded by lies.   Here’s the Expanded Bible’s interpretation of verses 14,15:
     So we have driven away justice,
        and ·we have kept away from what is right [ righteousness stands far off].
    Truth ·is not spoken [stumbles] in the ·streets [public squares];
        what is honest ·is not allowed to enter the city [L cannot enter].
    15 Truth ·cannot be found anywhere [is lost/gone; or fails],
        and people who refuse to do evil ·are attacked [become prey].
    When the governing body is approached by other individuals, especially anointed with questions on their doctrine…when they are approached with scripture (God’s Word, Truth) that contradicts what they may teach, they are resisting…’keeping away from’…God’s TRUTH.
    If that person pronounces Christ’s truth loud enough, stating they refuse to do “evil” – which does not stem from Jesus Christ, they are attacked; sought out like prey, and “killed”. (John 16:2-4; Rev 13:1,2,5-7,11,14,15; Rev 11:3,7)
    Elders have been known to stalk people’s homes to track their movements. Elders seek out the dissenters, to interrogate and disfellowship. (Luke 21:12)
    "But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, (Col 2:8) and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name's sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives."  Luke 21:12-19
    Mr. Anthony Morris recently attacked apostates, with the label, “despicable”.  Why?  They are exposing his lies on all levels, and he would rather remain in darkness, than do what is right.  
    “What is honest is not allowed to enter the city” (Isa 59:14) 
    Rev 17:18
    https://4womaninthewilderness.blogspot.com/2012/05/where-is-true-religion.html
     
     
     
     
  16. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Patiently waiting for Truth in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    The GB obviously are. Defective 'priests' offering false sacrifice and getting their results from the Devil. Having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power. 
  17. Thanks
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in "PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK JEHOVAH", FOR USDA FOOD BOXES   
    It looks like the organization is consorting with charlatans. 
    "charlatans" -  a person who pretends to have skills or knowledge that the person does not actually have.
    2 Tim 3:13 – “But evil people and *charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.”
    *γόης góēs, go'-ace; from γοάω goáō (to wail); properly, a wizard (as muttering spells), i.e. (by implication) an imposter:—seducer.
    It is pure wizardry, for the organization to convince its members that "Jehovah" is the source of delivered food boxes.
     
    "Churches distributing USDA food boxes are blurring the boundaries between church and state."
     
    Religious groups distributing Covid hunger-relief boxes are praying with recipients, taping Bible verses onto flaps, and soliciting donations. Some of these practices may violate federal regulations.
    In mid-June, Heather* received a 20-pound box of produce from a local branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on behalf of her grandmother, an active member of the church. It held potatoes, onions, apples, and a cauliflower—and came with an unexpected letter: “Dear Brothers and Sisters: We are certain that you agree that all praise and honor goes to our great God Jehovah for his abundant provisions to us!” it read. The letter went on to ask that recipients “keep this gift confidential,” and encouraged them to accept the boxes, even if they did not need the food.
    The box was one of 100 million distributed so far as part of the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farmers to Families Food Box program, the Trump administration’s flagship Covid-19 hunger relief initiative intended to provide emergency food aid to families in need. 
    The letter’s declaration that the boxes came from Jehovah—instead of taxpayers—represents a significant departure from standard operating procedure for federal food aid. So does its plea for confidentiality, which raised a red flag for Heather, who suspected that Jehovah’s Witnesses were saving the boxes exclusively for its members. (*Heather is an inactive member of the group, and we’re withholding her last name at her request). Also odd: The suggestion that recipients accept the boxes regardless of need. According to USDA guidelines, distributors paid by the government to assemble the boxes were supposed to guarantee they would be given to “only needy people.” 
    The letter regarding federal food aid comes from The Jehovah’s Witnesses Disaster Relief Committee. Request to keep the food supplies confidential raised concern for “Heather.”
    Letter from source “Heather” / Graphic by Tricia Vuong
    According to its packaging, the box was distributed by Travel Well Holdings, an airport kiosk company based in Santa Rosa, California, which in May received a $12 million contract to assemble and distribute the boxes as part of the program. (In a phone interview, Travel Well Holdings CEO Desiree Rodriguez said that the company was not aware that some of its boxes were being distributed alongside letters from Jehovah’s Witnesses.)
    In a phone interview, Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, confirmed that a local branch had circulated the letter with some boxes during the program’s early weeks, but without authorization from higher-ups. “The wording here does not represent necessarily what we have directed to our disaster relief committees,” Hendriks said. When asked if the organization was distributing to Jehovah’s Witnesses only, Hendriks said that the organization also delivers food boxes to non-believers who attend bible study or services.
    This blurring of lines between church and state when distributing the Farmers to Families food boxes is not unique to the Witnesses: The Counter found multiple instances in which churches promoted their own messages while distributing taxpayer-funded boxes, in potential violation of USDA guidelines. The issues range from relatively minor—like slapping church logos on each box—to more significant: apparently “saving” people at distribution sites, telling recipients the boxes are from God, and asking volunteers to pray “in person” for every single box recipient.
    According to federal regulationns, churches and other faith-based organizations are prohibited from mixing explicitly religious activities with federally funded food aid, “including activities that involve overt religious content such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization.” As a USDA program, the Farmers to Families Food Boxes are subject to these rules.
    Agency guidance issued in late 2016 pertaining to a separate USDA hunger relief program emphasized that any overlap between religious services and aid distribution is unacceptable. For example, prayer services must be separate in time and place from federally funded aid distribution; and while churches can put flyers out for recipients to pick up, they can’t attach them directly to food boxes. The Counter found evidence of both such incidents. For example, in Warner Robins, Georgia, the Eighth Day Church appears to have attached flyers to food boxes that read, “God is thinking about you,” and feature a Bible verse, according to multiple posts on its Instagram page. (Ironically, the Trump administration did insert letters from the President into many of the boxes, prompting some non-profits to worry they were violating their commitments to avoid political participation.) 
    In response to a list of questions, USDA issued a statement reiterating that all food box distributors were required to adhere to the above federal guidelines. It also added that: “A non-profit faith-based organization participating in the Farmers to Families Food Box Program is permitted to express religious beliefs in the distribution of food boxes, as long as the activity does not disrupt the distribution of USDA benefits or make receipt of USDA benefits contingent on participation in religious activities or assent to religious beliefs.”
    Though the agency’s statement leaves room for interpretation, some legal experts thought some of these instances crossed legal boundaries. “They are instances where it appears that benefits are being conditioned on engaging in religious activity,” said David Barkey, national religious freedom counsel for the Anti-Defamation League, referring to incidents presented by The Counter. “That is unlawful….People shouldn’t have to choose between going hungry and engaging in religious activity they don’t want.”
    Other legal experts we spoke with hedged a bit, saying that USDA’s positioning appears to tacitly permit churches to toe the line in their distribution efforts. “We’re coming close to crossing the line if we haven’t crossed it already,” said Chad Flanders, a professor of religion and law at Saint Louis University.
    The food box initiative has played a central role in the Trump administration’s hunger relief efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. The premise is simple: Distributors purchase food from farmers, pack it into boxes, and deliver it to non-profits, including faith-based organizations, which pass it out. First launched in mid-May as a short-term fix to severely disrupted supply chains, the program has since gone through two rounds of distribution worth nearly $2.7 billion. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing: USDA has faced criticism for contracting with inexperienced and unlicensed companies, overpaying suppliers for mediocre food, and inequitably distributing boxes by region. Yet last month, President Trump approved another $1 billion in funding for a third round of boxes to be delivered from mid-September through October 31.
    In the first two rounds of distribution, USDA placed few restrictions on the non-profits receiving the boxes. Food bank operators told us much of the program operated on an honor system: Non-profits were expected to deliver the food to people who needed it, and the onus was on them to ensure they were doing so safely and fairly. (The agency has strengthened food safety and eligibility requirements for contractors and recipients in the program’s third round, which began in mid-September.)
    This isn’t how federal food aid is typically handed out. When San Antonio Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper partners with faith-based organizations to distribute food in Texas—a common occurrence, as he estimates churches and other religious organizations make up about 70 percent of the food bank’s distribution—they have to sign a contract promising that they’ll handle the food safely, that they won’t sell it, that they can demonstrate each person receiving food needs it, and that they’ll respect recipients’ civil rights by refraining from coupling food aid with any explicitly religious activities. If Cooper’s organization hears that a church is requiring recipients to attend a sermon or participate in a prayer, it sometimes conducts an audit to address the problem. 
    Many of those guardrails seem to have fallen by the wayside with the Farmers to Families food boxes. The Counter identified several churches which advertised, simply, “free food,” available to anyone who asked for it. Come get a box, “even if you don’t need food,” a volunteer in Arizona said in a promotional video on Facebook. A USDA spokesperson pointed to a portion of the food box contract solicitation that read, in apparent contradiction of this claim: “Offeror must self-certify that nonprofits have capability to ensure that only needy people, or the food insecure population, will receive the food boxes through this program.”
    “I cringed when I saw the ‘free food.’ That’s just not the message. So many people get hurt when that happens,” Cooper said. “What I believe is that this investment was to help those that were struggling. Help the farmers, help the industry partners, and help families in need. If the benefit went to someone else, then people were robbed of the nourishment.”
    In the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hendriks said the church’s suggestion that recipients accept a box regardless of need was meant to prevent members from downplaying any private struggles with food insecurity.
    “We didn’t want to give them the choice of rejecting it because many would have just said, ‘Somebody else needs it more’,” he said.
    Other churches inched even closer toward crossing the line between assisting the government in distributing food aid and using the events to promote their own views. Distributing boxes at Word of God Church in Oklahoma City, Brendon Laubhan said in an Instagram video that Revival America OKC volunteers were instructed to pray for every recipient, according to a video posted to Instagram. “We get free food from the government, and we’re giving it out, but the special thing is…we pray with every family that comes and gets food,” Laubhan said in an Instagram video. “We pray for them, we pray with them, we ask the Holy Spirit to come in their lives….We haven’t been turned down one time for prayer.” Laubhan did not respond to request for comment by press time.
    Barkey said that such a blurring of boundaries puts food insecure recipients in a difficult position, in which they may be willing to temporarily consent to faith-based practices that they don’t typically partake in, in order to secure basic needs.
    “If there’s religious activities occurring in the same parking lot, in the same time and space as the food distribution, I think that’s pretty coercive,” he said. “When somebody is saying, ‘What do you want me to pray for you?’…the bottom line is they shouldn’t be asking that question. They simply should be doing what other providers are doing, secular or religious, simply distributing the food.”
    In addition to prayer, some churches appear to be using their public-facing role distributing USDA food boxes to solicit donations. 
    “God has miraculously provided this food – FREE!” wrote Florida-based Church of Hope in an Instagram post announcing its plans to distribute 1,334 Farmers to Families boxes per week. Videos posted to the platform showed volunteers pressing stickers bearing the church logo onto boxes. “But it still costs us to rent the refrigerated trailer, to provide the diesel to keep the refrigeration going, and other items we need to make this all happen. We are asking for you to continue to go above and beyond by giving of your time, talent and treasure.”
    The plea underscores an ongoing criticism of the program: While USDA contracts are supposed to cover all food box distribution costs, many food banks and other nonprofits have complained that they’re incurring significant, unexpected expenses related to storage and last-mile delivery. A spokesperson for Church of Hope said that volunteers at the food box distribution “offered prayer if they wanted it.” 
    Elsewhere, at least one church appears to have celebrated “salvations” at distribution sites. “Today we just gave out 2,000 boxes of food….We had five salvations, over two hundred people prayed for….Did y’all have fun?” asked a representative of California’s Victorville First Assembly of God, in another Instagram video. The church didn’t respond to a request for comment.
     In Missouri, Christian non-profit Heavenly Hope included a postcard featuring Bible verses with each of the 17,000 food boxes that it has delivered so far, according to the organization’s president Beth Giesler. “Our whole thing is that it’s not about the boxes, it’s about spreading God’s love,” Giesler said in a phone interview. Facebook posts show the verses taped to food box flaps. When asked about whether the organization knew it was potentially violating federal guidelines, Giesler said: “If [recipients] chose to read [the postcard], they chose to read it. If they don’t, they don’t.”
    Taken on their own, some of these come just short of explicitly violating USDA’s guidelines—others may even cross the line. Taken together, however, they paint a picture of religious organizations across the country using taxpayer-funded hunger relief as an avenue to promote faith-based practices, particularly among families struggling with food insecurity. That is—if they’re reaching people based on need in the first place. Ultimately, it’s up to USDA to enforce its own rules and ensure that food boxes are being distributed equitably.
    “If the USDA [knows] about this, they should frankly say, ‘Hey, guys, stop it,’” Flanders said. “If they don’t—if they condone it—then we have the further Constitutional problem of favoring religion and allowing religion to use government funds to proselytize.”
    https://thecounter.org/churches-usda-covid-19-food-boxes-boundaries-church-and-state/    
  18. Upvote
  19. Like
    Srecko Sostar reacted to JW Insider in Prophecy & Signs, Truth & Conspiracy, Covid-19, the UN, Disgusting Thing, Truth and Conspiracies   
    I noticed that even with all that quoting from Agenda 2030, you found absolutely nothing that supported any of the conspiratorial fear-mongering that is so prevalent all over the Internet.
    I'm glad you finally looked it over, however. In the past you said: "Just read the documents." So I did. I've learned not to give so much credence to propaganda and conspiracy theories. It reveals that there has been, not just a lot of conjecture, but a lot of outright lying from those who tried to make us believe that those conspiracies are actually to be found somewhere in the UN documents.
    The UN's version of the 2030 agenda is here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld and it is a plan, basically from 2015, for countries that sign on, to set a good example over the next 15 years (from 2015) by resolving to eliminate poverty, and address many other types of injustice, along with pollution, climate issues, education, human rights, etc. They think they can manage to do good in all these areas by partnering with supportive governments, and other NGOs, and various other organizations which have also expressed optimism.
    Of course, we know that in spite of all the good it wants to do, the UN has little to no power. The World Economic Forum site you mentioned points to sites that show some of the SDG's (sustainable development goals) are so far off track that they are not realistically expected before the 2070's.
    I notice that you still see some of the goals as "bad" and some of the methods for trying to achieve them as "bad." I expect this old system in this old world to screw up almost any good goals and turn good into bad. But that is not the fault of the goals themselves. Many countries will set laws that say, for example: no more pouring of untreated sewage into a certain lake or river, or no more paying women less than men for the same job, or no more than 1 steer or 10 sheep per hectare of grazing land. But even if these laws are wonderful for people and the environment, there will always be people lobbying for a way to delay laws or make exceptions, because rising profits will always be more important in the short run, than good goals in the long run. And there's also ways that governments just get it all wrong. Look at the 20th century dust bowl days in the United States, or going after the wrong pests in China, or spraying carcinogenic pesticides everywhere. It's the way of the world.
    I notice, of course, that although you could find nothing in the UN documents that was "bad" you added comments throughout to make certain things seem bad.
    I should hope that an organization with the stated goal of promoting peace and security would "sound like they want to bring and security." The likelihood of overall success is practically nil, of course, but you think it's some sort of evil thing that they should want it? Why do you think peace and security is such a bad goal? You are supposed to be praying for governments to find ways to obtain peace and security. 
    (1 Timothy 2:1, 2) . . .First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made concerning all sorts of men, 2 concerning kings and all those who are in high positions, so that we may go on leading a calm and quiet life. . .
    Do you pray that those in high positions work for peace and security, so that at the very least we can continue to preach more freely, or even so that we can lead a peaceful life in this world?
     
  20. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from Patiently waiting for Truth in Watchtower, Records Management and "Superior Authorities" theories   
    This is amazing description. "The Truth", the WT's "truth" has stumbled.
    Can we expect...., can the truth be expected to stumble?
     
    Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill
    If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. - Mark Twain
    We are either in the process of resisting God's truth or in the process of being shaped and molded by his truth. - Charles Stanley
    Learn what is true in order to do what is right. - Thomas Huxley
     
     
     
  21. Upvote
  22. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in Faith, Teachings, Doctrines and Intellectuality. Reason and Feelings. Duty, Honor and Decision   
    I like his “critical thinking” on “new light”…
    (As a JW)…“You use the concept called ‘new light’.  ‘New light from Jehovah’, that’s the way every witness is taught.  Well, you gotta stop and ask the question; now, what you were teaching yesterday, you told me that was ‘light from Jehovah’.  Now today, you’re saying that Jehovah gave you new light on top of the light he gave you yesterday, but it’s exactly the opposite.
    And so all of a sudden you begin to see there’s a problem here.  This is not new light.  You’re just trying to fix an error that you made.”
    There’s a problem… (as JWs) we’re already making the assumption that the change (of) what they are going to now start teaching, we make the assumption, that it’s right.  That don’t mean it’s right!  Just because you changed what you were teaching yesterday, (and then) you’re teaching something new today, does not mean that your new teaching is any more right than the one you were teaching yesterday.”
     
    The “new light” concept is a smooth way to cover over the darkness of continual falsehoods, and look how well that concept sells! “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”! (2 Cor 11:14)
    “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.   Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”  John 3:19-21
     
     
     
  23. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar reacted to Witness in Watchtower, Records Management and "Superior Authorities" theories   
    "No one calls for justice;
    no one pleads his case honestly.
    They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies;
    they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
    5They hatch the eggs of vipers
    and weave a spider’s web.
    Whoever eats their eggs will die;
    crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
    6Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing,
    and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
    Their deeds are sinful deeds,
    and acts of violence are in their hands.
    7Their feet run to evil;
    they are swift to shed innocent blood.
    Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;
    ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
    8The way of peace they have not known,
    and there is no justice in their tracks.
    They have turned them into crooked paths;
    no one who treads on them will know peace.
    9Therefore justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not reach us.
    We hope for light, but there is darkness;
    for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
    10Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall,
    groping like those without eyes.
    We stumble at midday as in the twilight;
    among the vigorous we are like the dead.
    11We all growl like bears
    and moan like doves.
    We hope for justice, but find none,
    for salvation, but it is far from us.
    12For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
    and our sins testify against us.
    Our transgressions are indeed with us,
    and we know our iniquities:
    13rebelling and denying the LORD,
    turning away from our God,
    speaking oppression and revolt,
    conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
    14So justice is turned away,
    and righteousness stands at a distance.
    For truth has stumbled in the public square,
    and honesty cannot enter.
    15Truth is missing,
    and whoever turns from evil becomes prey."  Isa 59:4-15
  24. Thanks
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from Witness in Faith, Teachings, Doctrines and Intellectuality. Reason and Feelings. Duty, Honor and Decision   
    Let me show you this video which I think has a few very important things for life, not only for JW members but also others who have dedicated their lives to some ideals and ideas.
     
  25. Upvote
    Srecko Sostar got a reaction from Witness in Watchtower, Records Management and "Superior Authorities" theories   
    Many readers of the WT magazine are aware that the interpretation of Romans chapter 13 verse 1, (also with 2-4 context),  changed in JW theology.
    It was once thought that the "superior authorities" were: YHVH, Christ and earthly representatives in the form of elders, that is, governing body. These are called "theocratic superior authority".
    "The above quotations from Paul’s letter to the Romans could never have applied to the political powers of Caesar’s world as wrongly claimed by the clergy of Christendom. The Caesars of this world have never demonstrated by their deeds that they are ‘God’s ministers to you for good’. Rather, exactly to the contrary, the Caesars have done evil by persecuting God’s faithful servants." - https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1952443
    I found 3 changes about this doctrine.
    Under Russell and up to 1929 WT understand that this is about secular authority.  “Evil as these Gentile governments have been, they were permitted or “ordained of God” for a wise purpose. (Rom. 13:1)” Studies In the Scriptures Series I - The Divine Plan of the Ages p.250
    Under Rutherford explanation has changed. From 1929 to 1962 they believed this: “The instruction of the thirteenth chapter of Romans has long been misapplied. The improper application has really been the basis for the false doctrine of the “divine right of kings” or rulers to rule and oppress the people. The apostle is, in substance, telling the members of the church that they should always be obedient to God, and that the motive for such obedience must be love for God and a delight in doing’ his will.” Watchtower 1929 Jun 1 p.163.
    In 1962, under Knorr, the Society returned to the original position of Russell. A statement in Babylon the Great Has Fallen! God’s Kingdom Rules! page 548 indicated there was a change in understanding. And, “For some years, until 1962, Jehovah’s Witnesses held that the superior authorities were Jehovah God and Christ Jesus. However, in line with Proverbs 4:18, light increased, and this view was adjusted.” Watchtower 1990 Nov 1 p.11.  It seems how WT organization was left the spiritual “light” received through Russell and "sank" into doctrinal "darkness" for some 33 years. And than they didn't find "new light", but old Russell's doctrine which they reintroduced into the belief system as a “new light”.
    What this introduction have with Management Records Doctrine/Instruction for elders? Whatever the interpretation of these biblical passages from Romans chapter 13, the fact is one: GB and the elders are disobedient to the "superior authority." In fact, they create an internal administrative system to avoid responsibility for their decisions and for their actions. No matter what the topic is.
    In 1:57 of video JW elder Shawn Bartlett mentioned one "company" and circumstances about it in the past. This shows how WT is not honest Corporation. Please pay attention on this example and other reasons about "devil" and "legal matters" he made in video to show elders on this seminar why they need to destroy data.
     
     
    Shawn Bartlett, the records management overseer for the Jehovah's Witnesses, explains the organization's new record-keeping policies during a 2017 seminar..webp
     
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