JW Insider

I agree with the sentiment. I have been fooled by "reliable sources" in the past. And even the most reliable source might only be repeating something because they heard it from one or more reliable sources, which might themselves turn out to have placed unwarranted trust in unreliable sources. Or our reliable source may have misunderstood their reliable sources at any weak link in the chain. 'Let God be true though every man be proved a liar.' It bears repeating that everything stated here is a kind of opinion, even if we state it as if it is a proven fact. Even common sense deductions don't always hold up. Even "proven facts" don't always hold up. There are rules of evidence, logic and reason that make some deductions better than others, but that doesn't mean the conclusions are necessarily more correct than others.

I believe this is the general consensus of most major modern Bible commentaries. Even the expression "The Jews" as found in Acts is sometimes considered to mean the Jews who were now Jewish Christians. [believers still zealous for the Law, but unbelievers in "undeserved kindness" and Christian freedom from Law.] Galatians 5:4 implies "apostasy" in the expression: (ESV) You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. Interestingly, the only time the Bible uses the Greek word "apostasy" outside of the famous 2 Th 2:3, is in Acts 21:21 where Paul is the one being accused of apostasy from Judaism: (Darby) And they have been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews among the nations apostasy from Moses, saying that they should not circumcise their children, nor walk in the customs.

Yes, indeed. I'm very happy about this too. I've seen this happen for other types of abuse (1983, 1995, 2005), but have never personally seen it happen in a case involving child sex abuse. My father (in the 1970's) was part of a judicial committee that had to try to get a Witness disfellowshipped as fast as possible when police picked him up for a crime that would ultimately result in jail then prison time and, of course, some very bad press. The goal was to make sure that by the time the papers might have picked up on the fact that he was associated with our congregation, we could honestly say that he was a former Witness. This directive came directly from Harley Miller, who as head of the Service Department in those days, was sometimes considered to be "the Society." Elders at the time would actually joke that when someone said, "The Society says this or that" on policy, that they meant "Harley Miller says this or that" on policy. My father complied because the person really had sort of slipped out of the purview of the congregation and had been known for drunkenness and running (riding) with a questionable crowd of worldly people, some of whom had been in trouble for robbery, B&E, etc. Had they bothered to follow up with him at earlier junctures they might have disfellowshipped him then too. I brought this up as a question at Bethel in '76 and was told that there "many" cases like this. But Harley Miller is now considered to have been very "old school" and harsh in his tactics. While he was the running the service department however, I could see a potential counter-claim to what you say here: Another reason that could call this claim into question is that I have it from a reliable (Witness) source that the Society had already paid out "millions of dollars" long before Barbara Anderson went on that 20/20 program to expose a sexual abuse problem among the Witnesses. A primary goal, I'm told, was to pay for silence among victims.

There is definitely a principle of transparency that is lost even in some Western judicial systems. There is one type of case, which is often used as a case against such transparency in child sexual abuse cases. These are cases of incest. It is believed that irreparable harm is brought to the child victim if such cases were completely out in the open. Of course, as these cases go to criminal courts, the accusations become known anyway. For us, (Witnesses) it's also been a matter of learning that some sins are also crimes, even if we hadn't really treated them that way in the past.

This might be partially true, but I have not seen the evidence that there is a direct link between JW investigations and the linking of child abuse with Witnesses. We now have a couple sources of some data that goes back quite a ways and lets us know the number of cases that were investigated each year as a percentage of the population of JWs in a particular place where the data comes from. Even though the data sometimes goes back several decades, I see a very sparse number of cases from the earliest decades, and they often don't show up at all unless it was part of an ongoing series of accusations for a person who shows up as still having accusations from more recent decades. If the JWs had been investigating child abuse, and had rooted out two or three persons per decade from every congregation in the world, the total numbers would appear astronomical to those who merely want to spin an idea based on embarrassing numbers. (As the number of congregations rose, so would the total numbers rise proportionally in more recent decades.) Yet, the numbers themselves would be easy to explain in these terms. From the perspective of the investigations, the complaint is not the number itself, or even the proportion of accusations as compared with say Catholics (or colleges, or Olympic trainers, or ballet schools, or the Boy Scouts of America, etc.) The focus of outsiders has almost always included a need to investigate the process of our investigations. Our process produces questions that make outsiders cringe. How was it that in Australia the number of cases of sexual abuse that the Watchtower had admitted were on the order of "thousands" and the number that ended up being reported to the police were on the order of "zero"? How was it that persons in positions of authority had sometimes been given a pass to work with children again, and even had multiple accusations of child sexual abuse on their record? How was it that "the two-witness rule" could sometimes result in children being told that they cannot ever mention the fact that their abuser had abused them without the threat that children themselves could be accused of slander? How was it that in at least one case the accused sexual abuser who would later admit that he had threatened further harm to the child if the child turned him in, was still told that they had to meet face-to-face with such an accuser? And even when they did, the child was told that practically nothing could be done against the abuser, even when the elders on the judicial committee believed the child? I think you will find that these questions, in their own way, come up in many non-JW cases, too. But we have a "process" that sometimes has "demanded" (in effect) that a JW investigation will turn out this way. We are definitely not the only ones with the problem of trying to save the reputation of an organization and, because of that, forgetting about fighting for justice with respect to our "orphans." That is a subtext of many of these crimes in many different types of organizations. When it appears to an elder on a committee that we have an opportunity to either protect Jehovah's name or allow it to be sullied if the case were to make it to the police (or press) then this tendency will easily translate into protecting the accused, instead of protecting the victim. We may even have a greater tendency toward making this mistake because we think the stakes are so much higher in protecting Jehovah's name, than those on the outside who are trying to protect, for example, the reputation of a teacher in a school.

I agree with this idea, too. And as you mentioned a few other possibilities in your preceding paragraph, the few things that might change in the greater scheme of things could result in some longer-lasting benefits, too. As you said: And there are also longer-term benefits when any of the "evil" people (perpetrators or deliberate enablers) were in positions of responsibility, as is often the case, or when persons, through a misplaced sense of priorities or naivety, inadvertently contribute (enablers) are put on a correct path. As you said: I really appreciated that your comment was thoughtful and covered a lot of bases.

Even in discussions of religion and what we personally believe about God's judgment of others, no one should tell another person --in so many words-- that they are going to be judged adversely. Then again it's easy to creatively work around such judgmental words and still say much the same thing. We don't say: "You are going to hell!" (or Gehenna, or the lake of fire, or eternal oblivion). But as long as we don't make a habit of prickly accusations we could easily get away with "You are going to find yourself ending up in a place different from what you expect." To the person being judged, however, the meaning is ultimately the same thing. Yet, there are so many factors to consider: Is a person who may or may not be using their real name in a forum really ever making a personal attack on another person who may or may not be using their real name? A discussion forum is just a set of personal opinions, and a discussion forum that tends toward religious topics is just a set of personal opinions about sets of personal opinions. The whole point of religion is to stake a claim that our opinions and interpretations about things that are largely unfathomable can still somehow reach a level that we can call "knowledge." Biblical religion, perhaps especially so, is known for trash-talking other religions, and therefore any person who takes on another version of Biblical religion probably already knows that he or she should expect the kinds of judgmental opinions that are so common. Here are some historical examples that make the point: Look at Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:27. Did Elijah really have to imply that Baal was making a bowel movement? ( Holladay’s Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon says the verb could be translated as “bowel movement.”) For that matter did Elijah really have to massacre the prophets of Baal in the way he did? Was it so necessary to fling expressions of dung on false idols as was done so often in the Bible, in ways so that the expression "dungy idol" comes across as if it were using the "s" word? Note that before the Bible had used many expressions about the ultimate eternal fate of people that it sometimes creatively reminds us that a person deserved to be no more than, for example, dog p**p, or bird p**p. (Jezebel eaten up by dogs for example.) Anyway, the more creative idea that TTH had somehow dodged a future cosmic disaster by "Witness" not actually being one of the anointed was clever "trash talk." It was no more offensive to me than was a now-deleted initial post by Allen which referred to a generic list of unspecified sins or offenses by "Witness" that was so long as to be of Biblical proportion and which would result in bloodguilt before God at the time of judgment. Sure it was harsh and not clever, but what of it? We deal with topics about our belief in harsh judgments. The Bible itself is full of them. I vote for more leeway and flexibility. Besides, did you notice who really did have the world spinning the wrong way as their primary backdrop for the Monthly Broadcast at tv.jw.org for three months before it was corrected? I called it to their attention (as did others, I assume) after the very first monthly broadcast in October 2014, and the next two broadcasts still had the earth spinning in the wrong direction. They didn't fix it until January 2015, and since then all is right with the world for these last 43 broadcasts up through the very latest (July 2018).

I believe you mean the "phonograph" itself, not the "phonograph talk." The appliance itself was usually called a "phonograph" in both the US and UK, and the name "gramophone" or "grammophone" might have also been used by some, as that word remained somewhat more popular in the UK. But, I never heard that it was called a gramophone among Witnesses when it was introduced in 1934. It was just called "the phonograph" as far as I remember anyone from my family calling it. (My grandfather had one in Illinois, USA since the 1930's). Of course (depending on style and manufacturer) it could also be called the "Watchtower phonograph" "vertical [style] phonograph" "wind-up phonograph" "Watchtower record player" "vertical record player" "portable phonograph" etc. The talks were called "phonograph recordings" "records" "phonograph talks" "Judge Rutherford's talks" "recorded lectures" "recorded Bible discourses" "phonograph disks" etc. I have never seen one, but have been told that the Rutherford records were also available for old-style "transcription machines" which were usually larger and heavier than phonographs so they were rarely used portably at the door, but were used in the sound cars, and some of the congregations already owned these machines to play music and talks and voice recordings at the meetings for the previous 10-20 years. They had been invented in the 1880's (by Edison), and were already (1920's) a "staple" for large secretarial offices, and had regained popularity among a wider audience due to radio, both to record from the air, and for radio station programmers to pre-record interviews and performances that would be played on the air later. The older ones used cylinders, but more recent ones (1920's) took something like 16 inch disk records, not the smaller (10+ inch) 78's that the phonographs used. The November 1935 "Director" (related to Messenger, Informant, Kingdom Service, Our Kingdom Ministry, etc.) shows that recordings were available from the Society for both phonographs and transcription machines: The time spent in sound machine service is not to be included in the total hours house-to-house witnessing. Beginning at once, each publisher will report two items of time spent in the service. First, total hours house-to-house witnessing, as heretofore. (This is to be put in the regular space on the report form.) Separate from this there is to be reported the total hours spent with sound machines, including the time spent with phonographs, transcription machines or sound cars. Change the heading on the report form from "Total number of meetings" to "Total hours sound machine service", and in this space make the report of time spent with sound equipment. This applies to all pioneers, auxiliaries, company and sharpshooter publishers. What time is to be reported as "Total hours sound machine service"? Not the time spent in driving to meeting places, but the time spent in holding meetings. This is the time used in running lectures and musical numbers, in making announcements of the lectures, of meeting places, of radio broadcasts, and, in fact, all time in actual use of sound equipment, time at phonograph and transcription meetings, and in question meetings in connection therewith. Remember that this additional time and service with sound machines is in addition to getting in well over your quota of hours in the house-to-house witnessing with the literature. ... When a shipment of records is received, either phonograph or transcription machine, they should be immediately opened and checked. The contents should be carefully examined to see if the records are all in good condition.

Perhaps this restriction is mitigated by the principle in Titus where the verse says that wives should be "workers at home" which could easily be interpreted to mean that they should not work outside the home. Yet the primary principal appears to be so that the word of God may not be spoken of abusively. In different cultures, or as cultures evolve and change, certain practices that once distracted from the message no longer distract. (Titus 2:4-5) 4 that they may recall the young women to their senses to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sound in mind, chaste, workers at home, good, subjecting themselves to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be spoken of abusively. A custom among Greeks and Romans at the time was that most wives did not leave the house. Marriage usually meant that a woman left her mother and father's house and might never see them again. She would be kept safe through childbearing at home, and there could be no question about the paternal inheritance rights of the son because this practice protected women from seduction and predators while the husband was away working. For those women who did leave the house, the practice might still have been to have the women sit separately from the men in the congregation, as they did in Jewish synagogues, which might be partly why they had to wait to ask their husbands when they got home.

Yes, I think by mentioning his brothers, he is referring to more than just a neighbor and I believe he likely meant all Christians in principle, but more specifically all anointed Christians. I think this is clear in Hebrews 2:10 - 3:1, where Christ's "brothers" are explicitly described as "partakers of the heavenly calling." But that might only make it worse. My point starts with the explanation of the Matthew 25 parable as it was given in the ka book (God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years - Has Approached). The explanation shifted from what Jesus said in the parable to a point about how the other sheep since 1935 have come to the aid of the anointed, and the point of the parable is shifted to a new meaning coming from a separate parable in Mark 9:40 and Matthew 10:45 focusing on the "drink of water" and the fact that it was only because these other sheep knew fully that it was Christ's brothers they came to assist by joining them because they had literally and physically been thrown in prison and had literally hungered and thirsted. *** ka chap. 14 pp. 277-278 pars. 47-48 Earthly Subjects of the Kingdom of God *** Rather, those whom the parable-teller Jesus designates as “sheep” and calls “righteous” do discriminate fearlessly. They intelligently and deliberately do good to Christ’s “brothers” because they recognize these to be such. They believe these “brothers” are imitating Jesus Christ and are doing the work that he commanded them to do. It is for this reason that their acts of assistance to Christ’s brothers have a special merit in his sight, for acts of that kind have a real Christian motivation. Such view of matters Jesus made clear to his apostles, when he said: “He that is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink on the ground that you belong to Christ, I truly tell you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Mark 9:40, 41) “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink because he is a disciple, I tell you truly, he will by no means lose his reward.”—Matthew 10:42. The historical records reveal that during their work of preaching the good news of God’s kingdom and making disciples of people of all the nations down to the year 1935 C.E., and thereafter, Christ’s spiritual “brothers” have literally hungered and thirsted, they have needed clothing, they have been strangers and homeless, they have got sick and even been put in prison unjustly. Here's one from a 1995 Watchtower: *** w95 10/15 pp. 25-26 pars. 9-12 What Future for the Sheep and the Goats? *** Ever since Satan was cast down to earth, he has made the remnant a special object of his fury, bringing on them ridicule, torture, and death.—Revelation 12:17. Is Jesus saying that everyone doing a small kindness to one of his brothers, such as offering a piece of bread or a glass of water, qualifies as one of these sheep? . . . On the contrary, Jesus twice called the sheep “righteous ones.” (Matthew 25:37, 46) So the sheep must be ones who over a period of time have come to the aid of—actively supporting—Christ’s brothers and have exercised faith to the extent of receiving a righteous standing before God. Over the centuries, many such as Abraham have enjoyed a righteous standing. (James 2:21-23) Noah, Abraham, and other faithful ones count among the “other sheep” who will inherit life in Paradise under God’s Kingdom. In recent times millions more have taken up true worship as other sheep and have become “one flock” with the anointed. (John 10:16; Revelation 7:9) These with earthly hopes recognize Jesus’ brothers as ambassadors of the Kingdom and have therefore aided them—literally and spiritually. Jesus counts as done to him what the other sheep do for his brothers on earth. Such ones who are alive when he comes to judge the nations will be judged as sheep. If the other sheep are now preaching the good news with the anointed and aiding them, why would they ask: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink?” (Matthew 25:37) There could be various reasons. This is a parable. *** w66 3/15 p. 192 Questions From Readers *** Those among them who manifest a love for righteousness and who do good things for Christ’s brothers out of respect for the fact that they are his spiritual brothers or anointed disciples, are really showing a favorable disposition toward and support of the King Jesus Christ himself. (Matt. 25:34-40) If these persons continue to pursue such a course of action, they will receive lasting benefits, for theirs is the prospect of life everlasting in Jehovah’s promised new order of things. It's easy to see a lot of things to criticize in these articles quoted above. For one thing the parable emphasizes the surprise and the lack of knowledge about why it is that these sheep are gaining a reward. But our current view requires moving away from this parable to a different parable to make it seem as though these "sheep" are 100% aware of who Christ's brothers are, and that they are doing this on purpose with full knowledge that they are helping Christ's brothers. Another thing is that there is no mention of preaching work in the parable, yet the primary method of fulfillment is preaching. (This preaching requires knowledge of the thing heard, and yet the parable highlights their lack of understanding about how, for example, Jesus separates sheep and goats.) Another is that Jesus spoke of a reward for simply showing small act of kindness with no evident expectation of a reward, but the proper fulfillment supposedly requires not just preaching in support of the anointed, but an ongoing course of action. "If these persons continue to pursue such a course of action, they will receive lasting benefits." The transition from coming to the assistance of anointed who were literally in prison, and literally hungry and thirsty had to be done carefully, because once it was no longer material support, the focus could not be on the food. The feeding of the "faithful and discreet slave" is the contradiction to the way in which Matthew 24:45 is read, where only the Governing Body feed others now. This illustration confuses that point by having the "other sheep" feeding the hungry Governing Body. Also note the inaccuracy of statements like: "Ever since Satan was cast down to earth, he has made the remnant a special object of his fury, bringing on them ridicule, torture, and death." If 1914 is true, then this statement may also have been true for another decade or so, when 8 persons went to prison from 1918-1919 and when some were ridiculed for believing in pyramids, and the failed prophecy of 1925. But since then, and even since the Nazi persecution in Germany, it was not primarily the remnant who have been the special object of his fury. The brunt of that has been heaped upon the other sheep. More recently there have been some updates to the specifics of the understanding, but it's still a core parable for a discussion of who will be saved: *** w15 3/15 pp. 25-26 par. 2 Loyally Supporting Christ’s Brothers *** Jehovah’s people have long been intrigued by this illustration and rightly so, for in it Jesus speaks about the fate of people. He reveals why some will receive everlasting life while others will be cut off in death forever. Our lives depend on our understanding the truths Jesus conveyed and acting on them. With so much at stake, we should ask: How has Jehovah progressively clarified our understanding of this illustration? Why can we say that the illustration emphasizes the importance of the preaching work? Who is it that receives the commission to preach? And why is now the time to be loyal to “the King” and to those he calls “my brothers”? . . . The outcome hinges on how they have treated the remaining ones of Christ’s spirit-anointed brothers on earth. With the end of this system so close at hand, how grateful we are that Jehovah has progressively shed light on this illustration and on the related illustrations recorded in Matthew chapters 24 and 25. . . . The illustration of the sheep and the goats shows that the anointed would have help. Therefore, one of the primary ways that those judged to be sheep show kindness to Christ’s brothers is by supporting them in the preaching work. What, though, is involved in providing that support? Does it consist only of material backing and emotional comfort, or is more required? . . . . The growing number of prospective sheep count it a privilege to support Christ’s brothers not only in the preaching work but also in other practical ways. For example, they give financial contributions and help to build Kingdom Halls, Assembly Halls, and branch facilities, and they loyally obey those appointed by “the faithful and discreet slave” to take the lead. In the current understanding, the changes are mostly about the time when the judgment that distinguishes sheep from goats, which has now been moved to the future instead of saying it happens now as "goats" react badly to our preaching work. The other sheep coming to the aid of the anointed with food, water, clothing, and visitation in prison now refers primarily to the ongoing preaching work by the other sheep, and minimally to "material backing and emotional comfort." And of course, as most of us rarely see or work with any of the anointed, the focus has moved in a greater way to showing loyal obedience to the Governing Body, also known now as the "faithful and discreet slave" who claim to represent the anointed. The implication of all the recent articles is that Christ's brothers, the anointed, also show they are sheep by loyally obeying the Governing Body. But many specific statements are still mostly about the "other sheep" supporting the "faithful and discreet slave" (GB) through loyal obedience, preaching and donations of resources. These are perfectly legitimate ways to show our appreciation, but it appears not be the scriptural meaning of this particular parable.

@Jack Ryan: Looks fake to me. Any evidence that it is real? Even if this had been made up to try to match the general timing of the alleged murder/rape spree of Arohn Kee, that would not be any evidence that the letter is real. I can see three small bits of "evidence" that makes me think the letter is likely fake.

Some would look at the last clause and immediately think it means, "See? We need to all be a part of an organization that is separate from the world." So then they perhaps they immediately copy the structures and hierarchies of the organizations of the world. In fact, "organization" when thought of as so all-important, might become one of the ways in which Christians become tainted by the world. Jesus said as much each time he said, in effect: "This is the way it is done in the world . . . .but that is not the way it is to be with you." (Matthew 23) 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the seat of Moses. . . . 5 All the works they do, they do to be seen by men, for they broaden the scripture-containing cases that they wear as safeguards and lengthen the fringes of their garments. 6 They like the most prominent place at evening meals and the front seats in the synagogues 7 and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called Rabbi by men. 8 But you, do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your Teacher, and all of you are brothers. . . . 10 Neither be called leaders, for your Leader is one, the Christ. 11 But the greatest one among you must be your minister. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. I see some evidence of Jesus' correctness even among us when a group of elders who are mostly corporate decision-makers are exalted to be seen (by many) as our spiritual Leaders, and even giving themselves a special title that implies they are "governors" of our faith. In fact, I think that what James meant in 1:27, in context, could have been more aligned with what Jesus said, quoted above, in Matthew 23:5: "All the works they do, they do to be seen by men." In other words, it was the worldly motivation behind works that was the problem. The desire to be seen, the showy display: (1 John 2:16, 17) because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. 17 Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire ,. . . In fact, the solution to the apparent contradiction between James saying "faith without works" and Paul's discussions against "salvation by works" is easily resolved by the question of faith and love as motivation. Works that mean anything are only the things we do in response to "underserved kindness" out of faith and love. (2 Corinthians 5:14) For the love the Christ has compels us. . . (2 Corinthians 6:4-7) but in every way we recommend ourselves as God’s ministers, . . . by love free from hypocrisy, (2 Corinthians 8:7) 7 Nevertheless, just as you abound in everything, in faith and word and knowledge and all earnestness and in our love for you, may you also abound in this kind giving. (1 Timothy 1:4, 5) . . .than providing anything from God in connection with faith. 5 Really, the objective of this instruction is love out of a clean heart and out of a good conscience and out of faith without hypocrisy. I'm not against organization of course. In the list of highlighted ministries in 1 Corinthians 12, the very implication is that these ministries will come together as members of one body. Of course, Jehovah can see the "body" even if the members appear separated physically, which they often are. I believe you recently used the example of Elijah, in Romans 11:3,4, when he assumed he was alone when Jehovah saw 7,000 with him. (1 Corinthians 12:27, 28) 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you individually is a member. 28 And God has assigned the respective ones in the congregation: first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then powerful works; then gifts of healings; helpful services; abilities to direct; different tongues. In addition to the overall implication of organization, here (and in other portions of the same letter) Paul highlights "abilities to direct" as one of the highlighted ministries. That's another indication that a congregation should be well-organized with persons who can take the lead in various ministries. Elsewhere, of course, Paul speaks of "order" in the congregations. So this isn't about speaking against organization, but I believe the final clause in James 1:27 is more related to doing good works without the taint of worldly motivation, desire or hypocrisy. James has a theme of doing works out of faith in God, otherwise he mentions several motivations that would taint these works as meaningless.

@Shiwiii I appreciate the points and the thought you put into this. I do not believe that all these verses prove the same point. But I agree with something that @Space Merchant had said about how these promises about the earth which are also prevalent in the Hebrew Scriptures, are often tied into Jehovah's overall purpose. I don't actually know that we can state definitively what will become of the planet, and in what way the Bible means that God will reside with mankind. But the overall view presented in Watchtower publications makes a lot of sense of these verses in their totality. Here we also have a scripture stating that the old Heavens is gone, dead, passed away. Could this be a restoration of the Heavens? What makes the heavens new is the new Kingdom, the new reign, the new order. We could say the same about the Earth. You make a statement showing that you also believe there is a new earth, possibly in some sense "physical," which the new Jerusalem comes down to. The rendering of a verse in 2 Corinthians, below, matches the ideas of Rev 21 & 22. I don't see it necessary to imagine the literal existing heavens hissing away for the verses to be fulfilled. I suppose it's a matter of whether we understand the same things to be figurative or symbolic and which ones we see as literal. I will live in them and move among them. I will be their God. They will be My people. 'So, come away from them! Be separate!' says the Lord. (2 Cor. 6:16,17 SEB)

Appreciated your commentary here. I have read such things in commentaries but often tend to forget the specific ways that these "lawyers" were taking advantage of a widow's property. I tend to try to think of ways that they might have been trying to use Scripture to take advantage of a widow's property. I can't think of the name of it, but I have a small book I once photocopied about Early Christianity and the Widows. It mentioned the early Christian novelette: "Acts of Paul and Thecla" (see also 3/15/2018 WT QFR) that reminds us that there really must have been a problem with traveling elders who took advantage of widows and others in ways reminding us of these scriptural warnings. (2 Timothy 3:6) 6 From among these arise men who slyly work their way into households and captivate weak women loaded down with sins,. . . (Titus 1:11) . . .because these very men keep on subverting entire households by teaching things they should not for the sake of dishonest gain. I noticed that an article here, linked below, ties the idea of a religious obligation in taking care of widows using both James 1:27 and 2 Tim 5:3-9, tying verse 4 more directly to verse 8 than we usually do: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/actat/article/viewFile/146038/135550 (1 Timothy 5:4-8) 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let these learn first to practice godly devotion in their own household and to repay their parents and grandparents what is due them, for this is acceptable in God’s sight. . . . 8 Certainly if anyone does not provide for those who are his own, and especially for those who are members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith.

We should preach because we want people to share the joy that we share. We don't preach because we are making choices about who seems most worthy of becoming a JW. If that were true I think we would be looking into better ways to get to territories we can't currently reach very well or very often. Instead we repeatedly hit the easiest territories, and the most popular in my congregation appear to be the ones from which our average demographic is mirrored. Rarely do I see a Witness go out of their way to speak to a homeless man or people in shelters. "Old Folks Homes" (assisted living) are worked hap-hazardly. We are not the ones doing any of the saving. Our preaching, in fact, is much like the way the mouth naturally speaks out of the abundance of the heart. It's a joy to share good things with our neighbor. In another sense, it's a bit like prayer. Jehovah can read our thoughts constantly and there is no specific need for Jehovah to listen to a specific prayer to know who we are what we need how sincere we are in asking for forgiveness, etc. But just like with another human, we should find our relationship with Jehovah to be warmer and closer when we take the time and focus to speak about our petitions, supplications, and burdens. It's our chance to speak out of the abundance of our heart.

I can see what you mean. I parsed it wrong, as if you were implying that it was quite valid to potentially lose the point about her poverty in widowhood because it was so much more valid to focus on her whole-souled devotion despite poverty. I wasn't even saying you were wrong if this is what you meant because it was the theme of the example in the way Jesus used it. The point about the "fact" of poor widows seemed not irrelevant, but not any more relevant to the example than the fact that Jesus made up an example of a person being robbed in a Jewish-majority country under a commandment not to steal. It reminded me of how easy it was to misunderstand Jesus' expression about always having the poor with them. But all of the parables and examples give us a better idea of the situation amongst whom Christianity started, along with the material reality of their economic and political condition in many cases. I didn't think directly of the scribes contributing to her plight. Good point. A society that does not organize itself well enough to care more efficiently for all its widows crossed my mind. I wondered about the relationship of the Temple to the people in encouraging the following of the Law on this topic.

To me, it means just what I think you are implying. That they may be either accused or excused. When mentioning this verse to some fundamentalist believers at their door I get a response like "see, they will all be resurrected so that God can tell them why he is sending them all to hell." There is the resurrection of the righteous (to heaven) and the resurrection of the wicked (unrighteous) to hell. I think they miss that word "excused." By the way, you haven't said anything in a while that I had seen. It's good to see your comments again.

But we wouldn't want all Witness weddings to be from the same congregation! Circuit Assemblies and Summer Conventions provide for a wider selection.

Yes, I am referring to priority and emphasis. Of course Biblical and prophetic understanding serves an important need. It was especially important for the apostles to come to recognize how all the Hebrew Scriptures had, in their own way, pointed to Christ. Understanding this is just as important of a spiritual need today, assuming of course that the spiritual need is encouragement and motivation through a better understanding of God's love for us, and in order to emphasize what Jehovah has lovingly promised to those who love Him. (As you know, I do NOT think that it serves any true spiritual need, when, for example, we claim that a supposed claim of understanding of prophecy should be used to motivate people to follow because we have special knowledge of the times and seasons, as if we were some kind of prophet. It may serve the opposite of a spiritual need, and in fact motivate people to follow just because of a certain time period, or even tied to a certain date or generation. In addition, such claims often lead to stumbling others, when it turns out that we were only guessing, while presumptuously implying that we had been spirit-directed in these guesses.) I agree completely that Galatians 2:10 fits in this context. I had just barely stopped myself from mentioning it myself. On Mark 12:32, I heard no such comments, but I also don't know that I quite understand your point. It's easy to understand why there were constantly new widows and orphans to look after as times were harsh, and Judea and Galilee were basically in a constant state of revolt where Romans could impress any man into service for themselves, or execute them. Men risked their lives in rickety ships, among robbers, on dangerous construction sites, and of course pockets of armed fighters were regularly killing and dying until things boiled over in 66 - 74, with Jewish fighters holding out well into the second century. And, as Paul said, everyone failed to uphold the Law perfectly. James gives counsel in his letter that appears to fit the situation of Christians failing to uphold these precepts and the "kingly law" due to class issues, prejudice, etc. You almost seem to say that it was more important to think about the widows devotion than think about why she was not being helped out of her situation as a poor widow. This would be a bit like saying we should not wonder about why people were being beaten up and ignored in Israel when we can focus on the good deed of a Samaritan man who didn't avoid him like his fellow Jewish neighbors had done. In the context of this topic, however, I am also toying with a much more controversial point. Who is to say that there is not a small group of people somewhere, perhaps a family living next door to us, or in a small village in China, with whom Jehovah is even more well-pleased than he is with persons in our own congregations? If they are loving their neighbors, feeding the hungry, clothing and housing the poor, and emphasizing justice and support for orphans and widows, who is to say that Jehovah does not impute righteousness and "Christianity" on them for purposes of judgment? These persons may say in the judgment, "when did we do these things for Christ?" And he will say to them that because they did these good things for their neighbors, their fellow humans, that they did it to Christ.

I would agree that it was a natural purpose for Christian meetings from the very beginning. Among Jewish Christians it must have been a primary purpose of those who meet together to find and discuss ways to practice true religion. (Hebrews 10:24-25) And let us consider one another so as to incite to love and fine works [looking after orphans and widows, for example], 25 not forsaking our meeting together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you see the day drawing near. Job showed he had understood it to be the same, as already quoted earlier. It had even become the core of the Law in Deuteronomy, where an expression like this one is repeated more than 10 times. (Deuteronomy 10:17-11:1) 17 For Jehovah your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the God great, mighty, and awe-inspiring, who treats none with partiality and does not accept a bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless child [orphan] and the widow and loves the foreign resident, giving him food and clothing. 19 You too must love the foreign resident, for you became foreign residents in the land of Egypt. ... 11:1 “You must love Jehovah your God and always keep your obligation to him and his statutes, his judicial decisions, and his commandments. It was one of the purposes of the great assemblies (Festival of Weeks, Festival of Booths, etc) to offer ways to care for orphans, widows, and foreigners of all economic classes among them: (Deuteronomy 16:13, 14) 13 “You should celebrate the Festival of Booths for seven days when you make an ingathering from your threshing floor and from your press for oil and wine. 14 Rejoice during your festival, you and your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, the Levite, the foreign resident, the fatherless child [orphan], and the widow, who are inside your cities. [Deuteronomy mentions the orphans and widows in this way more than 10 times] It was undoubtedly this same emphasis which was considered a way in which Jehovah, the God of love, cared for orphans and widows, stated in Psalm 146:7-9 7 The One securing justice for those defrauded, The One giving bread to the hungry. Jehovah is releasing the prisoners. 8 Jehovah is opening the eyes of the blind; Jehovah is raising up those bowed down; Jehovah loves the righteous. 9 Jehovah is protecting the foreign residents; He sustains the fatherless child [orphan] and the widow, Such actions are at the very core of true worship and holiness in Jehovah's eyes, as seen in Isaiah: (Isaiah 1:16-18) 16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove your evil deeds from my sight; Stop doing bad. 17 Learn to do good, seek justice, Correct the oppressor, Defend the rights of the fatherless child [orphan], And plead the cause of the widow.” 18 “Come, now, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be made as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson cloth, They will become like wool. The pronouncements against the wicked religious leaders of Jerusalem in Ezekiel referred to the way in which orphans and widows were treated. And it was part of the reminder in Zechariah about the opportunity for a clean slate with respect to the rebuilt temple. The same point was made in the very last book of the Hebrew Scriptures: (Malachi 3:4-6) And the gift offering of Judah and of Jerusalem will actually be pleasing to Jehovah, as in the days of long ago and as in the years of antiquity. 5 “I will come near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who take false oaths, against those who defraud the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless child [orphan], and against those who refuse to help the foreigner. These have not feared me,” says Jehovah of armies. 6 “For I am Jehovah; I do not change. I know that you were already aware, but it's easy to forget that not looking after widows and orphans, not paying a just wage, etc., could be put on the same level of sin as "sorcery." It's easy to forget that looking after orphans and widows was central to true worship. Back to the point about organization, it is ideal to think that the one organization which focuses so much on true teaching as its ministry would also be the one that is best at organizing an outreach to its own orphans and widows. But I bring it up in the way I did because I fear it's too easy to separate true worship from taking care of the less fortunate among us. The apostles devoted themselves to a study and understanding of Scripture in the face of what had just happened to the hopes they had pinned on Jesus. They needed to meet together to understand how Jesus fulfilled Scripture even in his death, and needed to be able to build up an even more sure hope for the future. Because of this, elders in prominent positions today have no doubt felt that it is their duty to do the same, often (I fear) to the detriment of those who lack material needs in the congregations. Governing Body members and their helpers spend much time organizing conventions that are more about Biblical and prophetic understandings than they are about ways in which we will help those in need in spiritual ways. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks of those who are poor in spirit (depressed?), humble (meek), and hungry for justice (righteousness). We tend to focus much more on those who are "conscious of their spiritual need," and those who are looking for "accurate knowledge." These things are all good, and a teaching ministry is very important, but I'm sure it's possible to spend too much time thinking and rethinking our changing doctrines, when some of the time spent spinning our wheels could have gone to organizing more efficient ways of taking care of material things, too. Perhaps the apostles already did this work for us in clarifying the foundation for the teachings about Christ, and their work has come down to us in the form of the Christian Greek Scriptures. There must be a reason that the Bible says that he who does not take care of his own is worse than a person without faith.

Perhaps it is one of the best ways to find the proper meaning of the following verses, among several others: (Matthew 5:18) 18 Truly I say to you that sooner would heaven and earth pass away than for one smallest letter or one stroke of a letter to pass away from the Law until all things take place. (Matthew 5:34, 35) . . .neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by earth, for it is the footstool of his feet;. . . (Matthew 6:10) . . .Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth. (Acts 3:25) . . .: ‘And by means of your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ (Acts 17:25, 26) . . .. 26 And he made out of one man every nation of men to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he decreed the appointed times and the set limits of where men would dwell, (Ephesians 1:9, 10) . . .It is according to his good pleasure that he himself purposed 10 for an administration at the full limit of the appointed times, to gather all things together in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth. . . . (Colossians 1:20) 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all other things by making peace through the blood he shed on the torture stake, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens. (Hebrews 2:5) 5 For it is not to angels that he has subjected the inhabited earth to come, about which we are speaking. (2 Peter 3:13) 13 But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell. (Revelation 5:10) 10 and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) 18 But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time came for the dead to be judged and to reward your slaves the prophets and the holy ones and those fearing your name, the small and the great, and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 21:1) 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth;. . .

What I miss most is the ability to put tiny, tiny notes in the margins and then, back when my eyes were younger, being able to give an impromptu talk on any Bible book or chapter just by reading the margins or "reading between the lines."

I happen to love carrying my songbook, Bible and other literature in my iPhone. My recently-deceased aunt played the piano at the Kingdom Hall for many years and they let her continue to play into the 1970's. For a few years (in the 1960's) she even played her Hammond organ and recorded a couple of albums professionally. She was more recently afflicted by Alzheimer's and lived with my parents for the last few years. In cleaning out my parents house last week we came across 2 fairly new iPads with cracked screens. Turns out that my aunt had gone up to the literature counter and asked for an iPad because she saw everyone else using one. My parents bought them as needed. She didn't get the "hang" of it exactly and damaged a couple of them. But I have heard of very few problems outside of the "going on-line" temptation during the meetings, and some dinging and buzzing for those who have data plans with theirs.

This one seemed to coincide with today's text, but with some unexpected examples in paragraph 9, 16, 18, 19 on reduction of Branch staff, and use of electronic devices. Put Trust in Our Active Leader—The Christ “Your Leader is one, the Christ.”—MATT. 23:10. ... 9 What can we learn from this account? We may not at times fully comprehend the reasons for new initiatives put forth by the organization. For example, we may at first have questioned the use of electronic devices for personal study, in the ministry, and at the meetings. Now we likely realize the benefits of using them if possible. When we see the positive results of such advancements despite any doubts we might have had, we grow in faith and unity. ... 16... André, a newly appointed elder, has always been attentive to changes in direction within God’s organization. He says: “The reductions in branch office personnel remind us of the urgency of the times and the need to focus our energy on the preaching activity.” [Edited to add: There was a time, not long ago, when the increase in branch office personnel was supposed to remind us of the urgency of the times, see below.] 18 If we perceive the spirit behind the instructions we receive from Jehovah’s organization and their beneficial effect on us, we will likely follow that guidance with joy. We certainly appreciate that reducing the amount of literature being printed saves money; using new technologies allows us to further the Kingdom work throughout the earth. Having this in mind, we may be able to use electronic publications and media more extensively if possible. In this way, we will reflect Christ’s concern to use the organization’s resources wisely. 19 When we earnestly uphold Christ’s direction, we strengthen the faith of others and contribute to unity. Reflecting on the reduction of the size of the global Bethel family, André remarks: . . . Times and methods change of course, but I remember many talks just before and after I applied to Bethel about how it was due to the urgency of the work that there would be a huge increase in branch office personnel: *** yb04 pp. 215-216) *** In 1976, I was surprised to receive a letter of invitation to Bethel. The words “urgent” and “immediately” were underlined in the letter. . . . I have now served at Bethel for more than 27 years. Although I have some physical limitations and have not had much secular education, I keep exerting myself so that Jehovah can use me. There are still urgent and immediate needs at Bethel! *** yb99 p. 28 Highlights of the Past Year *** The 50-percent increase in the number of publishers during the 1980’s had resulted in an urgent need for more space at Bethel. *** g75 1/8 p. 17 A Unique Family That Serves Others *** All of these who are now members of the Bethel family were moved by the urgent need of people to hear the good news of God’s kingdom, and so came to Bethel to share in furthering the preaching work from there. *** w08 5/15 p. 20 par. 17 While You Are Young, Choose to Serve Jehovah *** Have you considered . . . . Kingdom Hall construction, Bethel service, and the missionary field . . . . Since time is running out for Satan’s wicked world, entering these avenues of Kingdom service becomes more urgent every day. Will you go through the “large door” while there is still time?

Thanks for pointing this out. I thought it was unfair for the paper above (from 2017) to have focused on his racing hobby after a car accident that was more likely caused by distracted driving, the article says. His business was window-washing, but his wife apparently brought up the hobby because that's evidently where more people knew him from: He was well-known in model racing circles, npi. Looking up Jon Grainger Slot Cars on Google will give you pages of articles and images showing how well-known he was to hobbyists and competitors: Jon Grainger – The Digital Slot Car Association www.officialdisca.com/2017/11/jon-grainger/  Jan 25, 2018 - Jon Grainger of Norwich, UK, first took part in DiSCA competition in the Pendle Slot Racing hosted Group C series of 2013. Joining the Racing ... Jon Grainger (ferraif40), a life cut short - The Pit Lane - SlotForum www.slotforum.com › SlotForum › SlotForum Community Forums › The Pit Lane  Nov 14, 2017 - It is with great sadness that I'm sharing the news here that Jon Grainger, know on the forum as ferraif40, has passed away. I'm not aware of the full details of his death other than that he was involved in a car accident yesterday. ... ...So sad and shocking to hear that Jon's life has ... Merc W196 and Maserati 250F Streamline - Scratch building ... Dec 31, 2015 UK Slot Car Festival pre-1986 Racing British Classics - Page 3 ... May 18, 2014 News from 'Stryker Racing Slot Car Kits - News - SlotForum May 22, 2013 Stryker News; Ferrari 126C2 - Resin Kit - News - SlotForum Jan 21, 2013 His web site probably from about 5 years ago (https://strykerracing.weebly.com/about-us.html ) says the following about his hobby: About Us -ABOVE The main shape of the car is formed- Stryker Racing Slot Car Kits specialise in the production of 1.32 scale slot car bodyshells. Stryker Racing is ran by Jon Grainger, an 18 year old slot racer living in Norwich, whos interests lie between building beutifull models and racing them on the track. Hence the cars are not only fantastic models, but also hand picked thanks to their good diemensions, making them perfect for racing. Some of our models are made using 3D printing, but mainly cars begin their life in the hands of Martin Field, one of the very best model and pattern makers in the world. Martin is well-renowned, and has been employed by some of the biggest firms in the world, and has worked in many different countries. The main shape of the car is crafted in Ureol, an epoxy modelling board. Further details are soon added, using filler, brass tube and wire, and plastic. This is then coated in 'self etch' a filler which smooth’s out the shell in preparation for moulding. Further details such as wings, wing mirrors and wheel inserts are also produced by Martin and prepared for casting. The whole master is thinned out so that a two part mould can be produced, perfect for racing, as it keeps its strength, while losing excess weight. The finished master is then sent to Steve Francis, a London based caster, who works his magic with silicone and resin, turning the pattern into a resin slot car shell. Its a messy and smelly job, but despite this, Steve produces perfect replicas of the original master.