Srecko Sostar

Do you really believe in that?
I can believe that they believe in that :)))

(2 Corinthians 3:1-3) 3 Are we starting to recommend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some men, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts and known and being read by all mankind. 3 For you are shown to be a letter of Christ written by us as ministers, inscribed not with ink but with the spirit of a living God, not on stone tablets but on fleshly tablets, on hearts.  

Where they get what appears like a degree in Theology signed by none other an Leon Weaver Jr. himself.

@JW Insider
Did the 1st century christians or apostles get degrees in the Christian ministry?

if I'm freely commenting, I think that link between religion and politics has existed since ancient times and it is not strange or forbidden. If you are reading Bible reports, like events related to Saul, David, and the priests and prophets, you will see that even then there were links and interests between spiritual and secular. There were spiritual leaders of the people and political leaders of the people. (priests and kings) They sometimes worked harmoniously and sometimes were on opposite sides.
Priests and prophets had the authority to set up a king, but the people could have set the king too, more precisely to say, the elders of the people. That is very clear from 2. Samuel 5:3.
The duty and obligation of the prophet, the priest is to care for the interests of the people, to be their shepherd. A similar role exists for the king. Therefore, it is not possible to completely separate religion from politics. If some bible verses can be interpreted how god forbid or condemn  relationship, bonds between church and state  other bible reports gave us other view on the same issue.  
After all, does not the Book of Revelation describe the rulers of the heavenly kingdom with two opposing titles in one - kings and priests?

if I'm freely commenting, I think that link between religion and politics has existed since ancient times and it is not strange or forbidden. If you are reading Bible reports, like events related to Saul, David, and the priests and prophets, you will see that even then there were links and interests between spiritual and secular. There were spiritual leaders of the people and political leaders of the people. (priests and kings) They sometimes worked harmoniously and sometimes were on opposite sides.
Priests and prophets had the authority to set up a king, but the people could have set the king too, more precisely to say, the elders of the people. That is very clear from 2. Samuel 5:3.
The duty and obligation of the prophet, the priest is to care for the interests of the people, to be their shepherd. A similar role exists for the king. Therefore, it is not possible to completely separate religion from politics. If some bible verses can be interpreted how god forbid or condemn  relationship, bonds between church and state  other bible reports gave us other view on the same issue.  
After all, does not the Book of Revelation describe the rulers of the heavenly kingdom with two opposing titles in one - kings and priests?

Melody's Interview at 2017 "Don't Give Up" Regional Convention". 
Last year my wife and I attended an Assembly in Orangeburg, SC, where a brother in an interview on stage was proud that he had not said a single word to his disfellowshipped father in over 20 years.   We were sitting up close and could see his face in person, and on the large monitors. His declaration of cruelty was followed by intense applause from the audience. 
We were stunned and horrified.
This video was originally posted on YOUTUBE by the mother of Melody, at a Regional 2017 Convention where she is proud of having shunned her sister, who is disfellowshipped, but many adverse comments on YOUTUBE made her ashamed .....  and she took the posting down.  
I got this video copy from the  Russian equivalent of YOUTUBE web site,  RUTUBE.COM.
After she details her cruelty to her sister, the audience reaction is vigorous applause.
THIS IS WHY the Russian government and most of the people HATE Jehovah's Witnesses.
Oblivious, clueless, extreme cruelty, in the name of righteousness.

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Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is often credited with the statement
" I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

CRUELTY IS A TWO WAY STREET .....
We demonstrate cruelty by destroying whole families to discipline one person
The Russians show cruelty by banning an organization filled with righteously inclined people.
We have our shunning.
They have bayonets.
 Guess who is going to win in the "who can be the most cruel" cruelty contest?

WT JWorg try hard to explain how, what, in which circumstances, who, why, why yes, why not .... all at all making rules on rules. But as James correctly said, you dear Ucylmd have to update information on that subject. :)) because it is not simple for JW member to be in line with instructions that can be changed very fast. Just part of text from JWorg official site;
 "We cannot here cover every situation that may arise, but let us focus on two basic ones....In some instances, the disfellowshipped family member may still be living in the same home as part of the immediate household. Since his being disfellowshipped does not sever the family ties, normal day-to-day family activities and dealings may continue. Yet, by his course, the individual has chosen to break the spiritual bond between him and his believing family. So loyal family members can no longer have spiritual fellowship with him..... In other cases, the disfellowshipped relative may be living outside the immediate family circle and home. Although there might be a need for limited contact on some rare occasion to care for a necessary family matter, any such contact should be kept to a minimum."
I have JW family out of my home/house. Last year, i meet my mother accidently (for first time after my living JWorg) on street and said, Hello Mum , she turn serious face/head and passed. My three brothers in blood and their families  also cut contacts (silence). But in fact i have no need for their society, no sorrow, no sad because of this. If it is "normal" to applause in congregation, convention to Melody role model, then it is quite normal to me also to not feel any regret and to applause myself for my courage to stand firm for my perception of the truth.
 

I was going through some research I had done a few years ago and came across something that referenced ROJW Healthcare Support and a note to myself to take a look at ROJW when I had the time. So I did a search for ROJW (an acronym for Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses).
The search turned up some interesting bits of information.
According to Dun & Bradstreet, ROJW was founded in 2011:
Since 2011, Rojw has been providing Nonclassifiable Establishments from Wallkill.
For a list of persons who have worked for ROJW:
https://bizstanding.com/p/rojw-24645954
Some of the people listed above have worked for ROJW since 1999 (the year that the Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses was established)
Several of the positions that are listed are professional and it appears, according to this website, that these are paid positions:
The average Base Salary for rojw is $89K per year, ranging from $74.5K to $104K.
It appears as though there are several paid positions within the ROJW. This is not unusual for a non-profit. It is entirely acceptable to pay people who work for non-profits. Not everyone who works for the WTS is a volunteer.
But, if you are a volunteer for ROJW, there are resources available for training through linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/title/volunteer-at-rojw
Note the courses available:
Social Media for Non-Profits
Public Speaking Fundamentals
How to Rock Social Media
Information Literacy
Grant Writing for Education
etc...
 
ROJW also has a clinical lab registered:
https://www.wadsworth.org/regulatory/clep/limited-service-labs/p523-0000
I found a fellow that works for ROJW Health Care Support who is a Referral Champion:
Referral Champions are members who have referred 10 or more colleagues to QuantiaMD. The more colleagues you refer, the more you earn.
If you love QuantiaMD and tell a fellow clinician, you can become a Referral Champion too, and earn Q-Points for doing so
This guy's photo is about a third down the page linked above:
Edward Thomas, RN-BC, OCN
Coordinator, Health Care Support, ROJW
Another ROJW enterprise is this one:
ROJW Interior Designers & Decorators
http://www.houzz.com/pro/hector-diaz87/rojw
I am not sure what the deal is with the above business, but Brother Hector sports a nice little blue lapel pin and a big smile.
- OrphanCrow
I thought i recognized the guy on the Houzz website.
He's a singer in the choir on the JW tv music videos.

He is in most of the JW choir videos.
Here again is his pic from Houzz its definitely him.

 
ROJW was officially formed in 2000, paperwork was probably prepared and started to go through the NY Secretary of State office in 1999. Prior to this, bethelietes and other special full time servants still took a vow of poverty and obedience just under a different Corporation. In 2000 there was setup 7 US corporations to handle matters in the US.
WTBTSPA- it is the parent corporation and publishes the material.
WTBTS-NY- they oversee operations such as printing the material.
CCJW- they are the corporation's that service department has control over, elders and co duties fall under this
Worldwide Order of Special Full-time Servants of Jehovah's Witnesses- is the corporation that oversees bethelietes and COs, construction volunteers and US BIFS. They oversee the actual person not the work.
Kingdom Support Services- oversaw the work at bethel, RBCs, transportation of literature and a few other stuff.
WTBTS-FL- they owned a orange grove at one time, but I think they got rid of it because ur became cheaper just to buy oranges.
WTBT-NJ- I am not sure what they do, I just know it exists. I believe all it does now is handle Stanley theater.
There is a corporation that handles the cemetery at wallkhill, but I forget it's name.
Recently there was added a new corporation to handle the US LDC operation
- Richard Oliver

Old data ... you have not been keeping up.

Your comment reminded me of how Br. Geoffrey Jackson told a prosecutor at the ARC that it would be presumptuous for the GB to claim it is God's sole channel. They back down under public scrutiny, because they realize how messed up and cultish it sounds.

Such things are corrosive to the soul.

My wife and I attended an Assembly in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and we sat close to the front ... during a demonstration a Brother in a group of four Witnesses sharing their experiences on stage,  proudly related that he had not spoken one word to his disfellowshipped father IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
This was met by a vigorous round of applause from the audience ... EXCEPT myself and my wife ... who were horrified at such cruelty.

a heartbreaking video has emerged online showing how far reaching and deeply ingrained this shunning policy is; a video showing JehovahÂ’s Witnesses clapping in applause as a little girl announces she is shunning her own sister.
Little Melody, and the sister she doesnÂ’t have.
The incident appears to take place at one of this years Watchtower conventions. The video was posted on youtube by the girls parents, apprently eager to share with the world how they had trained one of their children to pretend her sister didnÂ’t exist purely on the basis of religious dogma.
The video was comment-protected once viewers began expressing concern and displeasure at what they saw, but at the time of writing the video itself is still live and can be viewed below on the family’s youtube page. (EDIT 11/09/2017 – The video has been removed, but we have linked to an alternate site which has a copy)

t shows a little girl called Melody. She is ten years old, and was apparently baptised when she was 9. This means that Melody is now committed to the religion for life, and will be shunned if she ever leaves, or “unrepentantly” breaks any of its vast array of detailed rules.
During the interview, Melody explains that she has a sister who was “disfellowshipped,” which is the Witness term for one who is excommunicated; someone who was thrown out of the faith rather than leaving of their own accord. We are not told the reason for the disfellowshipping, but one can be subjected to it for a wide range of reasons such as pre-marital sex, celebrating Christmas or birthdays, voting, taking a blood transfusion, joining the military, or simply questioning any of the doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Melody states that her sister was trying to contact her, and asking her to stay in contact despite Watchtower decreeing that she be shunned. Remember, MelodyÂ’s sister has probably lost all her family and friends at this point; everyone she ever knew and loved.
Melody admits that she misses and loves her sister, but states that she was afraid that if she didnÂ’t cut her sister off completely, she might be tempted to keep some form of relationship going. Thus, she has decided to shun her completely, as Watchtower demands. She claims that this was to protect her relationship with Jehovah.
The audience of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses watching this announcement applaud.
Source

The Baptismal Oath was changed in 1985 to eliminate that loophole.
If you were baptized before 1985, you have the contractual right to demand they destroy your records, however they do not recognize you have any rights at all in that regard.
If you have family and friends that are JWs ... it's a hostage situation, and they can get away with it.

Each country has its own set of cultural WEIGHTED values, as we learned in this weeks 2nd half of the mid-week meeting ( I cannot get "Service Meeting" out of my head, and every time someone says they are going on an RV, I think "MotorHome". ... sigh) discussing legal triumphs and setbacks, and the Jehovah's Witness Sister and mother  in Denmark (if memory serves) who had custody of her daughter, but the courts in Denmark took the daughter away from her and awarded custody to the Father ... BECAUSE... they considered it in the child's best interest to award her to the Dad, because he could handle problem resolution and disagreement better than the Mother could.
Same with the Russians ..... they give a LOT of weight ... hence a "WEIGHTED" value ... to how we treat disfellowshipped families.  We are quite used to the idea that to discipline one person by expulsion, we also have to destroy their family relationships with everyone they have ever known, including their families and extended families ... BUT THE RUSSIANS DO NOT LIKE THAT.
IT IS ABHORRENT TO THEM.
They remember being under Lenin and Stalin where families were turned against each other for the "Purity of the State", and the millions of men, women, and children who suffered and died because of such atrocities.
These stories have been handed down now for nearly a hundred years, and are a part of their infamous history and culture, THE SAME WAY  that how we currently treat disfellowshipped people AND THEIR FAMILIES has become in the last 50 years.
In jANUARY 1947, a year after a World War to abolish and destroy tyranny ....  there were articles in the Watchtower about how Catholics excommunication of people institutionally was an abomination, and that disfellowshipping was immoral, and unscriptural. I have a copy of that article I will attach of there is disbelief, or you can look it up yourself.  If I find it, I will add it at a later time as an edit.
Different Cultures view different things as having COMPLETELY different importances.
There is the old story ( possibly true?) about Americans on Safari somewhere in Africa  who saw a tribal lawbreaker executed with spears for something he did, and they were HORRIFIED at the ceremonial brutality of it. 
Later that night, the tribal Chief came to the Americans and expressed his horror ... as he had heard that in America, they put people in cages for the rest of their lives, for similar crimes .. and he wondered how an obviously advanced Society COULD BE SO CRUEL?
Horror depends on what you are USED to.
I understand a great deal about cultural differences ... and understand how Putin could HONOR an INDIVIDUAL FAMILY before the nation for raising up exemplary children ... yet disdain and condemn an INSTITUTION, that to punish ONE person, turns family members against each other ... FOREVER.
As the Presiding Head of the Australian Royal Commission on Child Abuse, No. 54  asked of Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson under sworn testimony in court  ( paraphrased) " Don't you understand that that is CRUEL?"