JW Insider

I have no doubt whatsoever that we should NOT be devoted to imperfect men. The early congregation during the time of apostles was NOT supposed to be devoted to the apostles, only to the teachings of the apostles. The teachings of the apostles formed the foundation of the first century congregation. This is the very reason we need no apostles today, and it is why we have no apostles in the congregation today. (1 Corinthians 12:28, 29) 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. 29 Not all are apostles, are they?. . . (Ephesians 2:19, 20) 19 So you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens of the holy ones and are members of the household of God, 20 and you have been built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. (Ephesians 3:5) In other generations this secret was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by spirit, (John 16:13) 13 However, when that one comes, the spirit of the truth, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak of his own initiative, but what he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things to come. So one could also say that there are no new teachings, or new truths, to be learned after the time of the apostles. This does not mean that we should not have older men and teachers in the congregation, but they should be here to help lead the work, and encourage faithfulness, not make new teachings. New circumstances arise and therefore good teachers will help us make better application of the existing teachings in the Bible. But the Governing Body does NOT need to make new teachings, they are basically asking to be "keepers" or "guardians" of the doctrine that already exists in the Bible. If they come up with something new, such as an application of a Biblical prophecy to our own time, then this is a suggestion that we can keep in mind and watch for and hope for. These men have collectively studied the Bible much longer than any of us have, and they have access to a range of information about various situations from around the world that the rest of us do not have. But if they give us guidance for the end times, it's a suggestion about how they may believe the prophecy will likely play out. But we should never be "devoted" to their teaching. (Much less "devoted" to them.) Remember, too, what happened when a Council at Jerusalem (including apostles) decided to offer Bible-based counsel to all the congregations who had been affected by a serious error that members of the Jerusalem congregation had been perpetrating. (Prejudice against the uncircumcised Gentile converts to Christianity.) Paul accepted this counsel, and even though apostles were involved in promoting it, Paul treated it as only limited. For example, they said to: (Acts 15:29) 29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols (εἰδωλοθύτων ),. . . But Paul, evidently realizing the limited scope of this counsel, used the exact same word explaining the limited nature of their counsel: (1 Corinthians 8:4,8) Now concerning the eating of food offered to idols ( εἰδωλοθύτων), we know that an idol is nothing. . . we are no worse off if we do not eat, nor better off if we eat. Paul said it best when referring to the very men who made up that Jerusalem council: (Galatians 2:4-12) 4 But that matter came up because of the false brothers brought in quietly, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we enjoy in union with Christ Jesus, so that they might completely enslave us; 5 we did not yield in submission to them, no, not for a moment, so that the truth of the good news might continue with you. 6 But regarding those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me, for God does not go by a man’s outward appearance—those highly regarded men imparted nothing new to me. 7 . . . 9 and when they recognized the undeserved kindness that was given me, James and Ceʹphas and John, the ones who seemed to be pillars, gave Barʹna·bas and me the right hand of fellowship, . . . . 11 However, when Ceʹphas came to Antioch, I resisted him face-to-face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 For before certain men from James arrived, he used to eat with people of the nations; but when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself, fearing those of the circumcised class. And getting back to the idea of being "devoted to imperfect men" Paul had already explained his reasons for disagreeing with such a notion, in the wider context of Galatians 1 and 2, while minimizing any rumors about his contact with or dependence on or even "devotion to the teaching" of the apostles who came before him: (Galatians 1:10) . . . Is it, in fact, men I am now trying to persuade or God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I would not be Christ’s slave. . . . I did not immediately consult with any human; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before I was, but I went to Arabia . . . Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to visit Ceʹphas, and I stayed with him for 15 days. 19 But I did not see any of the other apostles, only James the brother of the Lord. 20 Now regarding the things I am writing you, I assure you before God that I am not lying. . . . Then after 14 years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barʹna·bas, also taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up as a result of a revelation, and I presented to them the good news that I am preaching among the nations. This was done privately, however, before the men who were highly regarded, . . . But regarding those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me, for God does not go by a man’s outward appearance—those highly regarded men imparted nothing new to me. . . . James and Ceʹphas and John, the ones who seemed to be pillars . . . . So, to what extent are we supposed learn from Paul's example and teaching? (1 Corinthians 4:1-17) . . .A man should regard us as attendants of Christ and stewards of God’s sacred secrets. In this regard, what is expected of stewards is that they be found faithful. Now to me it is of very little importance to be examined by you or by a human tribunal.. . . Therefore, do not judge anything before the due time, until the Lord comes. He will bring the secret things of darkness to light and make known the intentions of the hearts, and then each one will receive his praise from God. . . .“Do not go beyond the things that are written,” so that you may not be puffed up with pride, favoring one against the other. For who makes you different from another? . . . Have you begun ruling as kings without us? I really wish that you had begun ruling as kings, so that we also might rule with you as kings. For it seems to me that God has put us the apostles last on exhibition as men condemned to death, . . . For though you may have 10,000 guardians in Christ, you certainly do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus, I have become your father through the good news. 16 I urge you, therefore, become imitators of me. 17 That is why I am sending Timothy to you, because he is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my methods in connection with Christ Jesus, just as I am teaching everywhere in every congregation. Note that Paul considered himself a faithful and discreet steward, or guardian, but that there would be no need for any human tribunal to judge anyone "until the Lord comes." There was no need to go beyond the things written. Therefore, there was no need to favor any persons over other persons. No one should begin governing before the time came. While there may be 10,000 faithful and discreet stewards, or guardians, of the apostle's teaching, it was the apostle's teaching itself that provided the foundation to the congreation -- and thus Paul was like a father, a source of their learning from his teaching. In the future, even if Paul or another apostle never visited them again, people like Timothy would not teach anything new, but remind them of Paul's methods. Anyone who tries to "govern" or "rule" in advance -- in the area of doctrine -- is going beyond the things written. Obviously, you read these verses a little differently. I think we can apply these verses and still be very appreciative of the counsel, encouragement and guidance given by the Governing Body. .

@Eoin Joyce Sorry about that. I meant "....Jesus does NOT speak out against bankers."

How WE see us: How some RUSSIANS sees us:

Best I've ever done is $300, two free meals, and an extra night in Paris. I've also had to pass up an offer of $500 due to timing and prior appointments.

Not that it matters, but I'd like to add my own opinion that a third world war is just as UNlikely today as it was 10 years ago and 20 years ago. (It is also just as likely.) Things can change again quickly, of course, and a potential stand-off due to USA-Korea "posturing" raised a red flag last night, but it likely not going to flare up again for a while. We are probably supposed to get all worked up whenever the general climate of the world becomes more on edge and it probably sounds wrong not to go along with the idea that the whole world could blow up at any minute. I don't think the Biblical end of this system has much to do with the kinds of multi-pronged tensions that the world continues to face. The end can happen at any time, with or without any specific cry for "peace and security" and with or without any specific interpretation of Bible prophecy that we have anticipated.

Good! Because, for a minute there, I thought I recognized one of our local elders, there on the right.

That's a bit extreme, don't you think? http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/jehovah-s-witnesses-supreme-court-jurisdiction-judgement-application-appeal-wall-1.4069481 "One of the three appeal court judges dissented — arguing that congregations are private organizations akin to bridge clubs, whose decisions 'are not enforceable promises and have limited, if any, impact outside its small circle.' "

@Witness OK. You made me look. I wanted to see if "my company" was listed there, too. And it was. By "my company," I mean the company I retired from after 27 years. I've even attended the GSAM Summits in New York and elsewhere, not to pay attention to them, but just to provide a presence so our name could be among the list of hundreds of other financial institutions. We paid for the summit and sometimes sent substitutes rather than the fund asset managers, just because we needed our name listed among many other companies, and because our company managed over a trillion dollars in assets from some of those same companies on the list, especially their retirement accounts for example. But I didn't really think I'd see the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society on the list. At the time, I suppose they were already planning to centralize all the excess funds from all the congregations up to their various branch headquarters, and then, in some cases, move all the excess branch money up to the central New York headquarters. In addition they were and are still in the midst of between 1 and 2 billion dollars worth of real estate sales online. I know that it might look bad to some, but this is not an "unrighteous" thing. Remember that Jesus also said in an illustration: (Matthew 25:27) 27 Well, then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my coming I would have received it back with interest. I know he wasn't talking about real money in the final application of the illustration, but in principle, Jesus does speak out against bankers.

In the letter it almost looks like Russell is referring to a Brother "Fetal." What I'm sure he means is that both of them know a brother in or around London whose name starts with "F" (probably a leading Pilgrim, Colporteur, speaker, or brother who has been been organizing Bible Students in London). 19th-century writing used this practice of reducing a person's name to an initial a lot more often than we do today. The Watch Tower publications still use this practice now and then, based on very similar reasons: *** w87 8/1 p. 25 A Young One Praises Jehovah *** His mother asked him: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The boy . . . replied: “I want to become a special pioneer like Brother F——.” *** w54 8/1 p. 460 Last Stop—British Guiana *** To be told “I’m not interested” or some other positive refusal is a very rare occurrence in house-to-house witnessing. You are more likely to hear, as a brother did after the convention from a new Bible study interest: “I understand that in your organization they call you Brother H——, so may I call you Brother H——?” The other expression "et al" just means "and others." So that basically this last sentence probably means that Russell is sending love to Henninges and all the dear ones he will now be associating with including Brother F and others. (I have no idea who Brother "F" might have been.)

Bad use of (parentheses). "Liverpool (for London)" is what I meant. The PSL Johnson story is quite interesting. He had worked with Russell, too. In fact PSL Johnson was the one who tried to keep Russell from starting the "New Covenant" apostasy, so it wasn't the first time he had been involved in controversial problems. Henninges was loyal, but his wife had been involved in controversial problems, and his wife's brother had died "under Russell's roof" years earlier.

Thanks @Queen Esther for posting this. Here's what it looks like it says to me: March 21, 0 [1900] Dear Brother, Just a word of greetings to accompany lists I am now sending - not knowing what use you might have for them before reaching London. I have written you more at length by type-writer not yet ready. Glad to know of your safe arrival and glad to hope that you are still well & that the Lord's blessing attends your efforts to know his name & to bless his flock. My love to you & to all the dear ones with whom you are now associating - Bro. F. et al. Yours in our dear Redeemer C. T. Russell It would appear, therefore, to be a letter to Brother Henninges, who Russell had just sent to London and who had just arrived at Liverpool (for London) in March 1900. He was probably making use of lists of potential properties to use as a warehouse for publications. It would be the beginning of the first branch in London, also opened in 1900. Brother Henninges found a suitable warehouse on April 23, 1900. http://ibsaproperty.com/ For some modern history of IBSA. Some very nice London properties for sale.

The Watchtower has shown that "paradise" can refer to heaven, future on earth, and even a spiritual "condition" on earth since 1919. The last one, of course, is the third meaning of "paradise" which is the spiritual condition into which "a united theocratic society" has been brought into since 1919, per the quotes below which discuss whether the "New Heavens and a New Earth" of Isaiah are already here. *** w83 3/15 pp. 24-25 “Be Joyful Forever” *** “New Heavens and a New Earth” . . . However, let us now examine Isaiah 65:17-19. Here the prophecy refers to Jehovah’s creating something new. Therefore, this “Jerusalem” must be the “New Jerusalem” that is now brought forth as “the daughter of Zion,” betrothed to the Bridegroom-King, Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 62:11) Jehovah says of this “bride”: “Here I am creating Jerusalem a cause for joyfulness and her people a cause for exultation.” Great is the joy of this heavenly “bride” in being brought to her full membership of 144,000, and in seeing also God’s creating of “a new earth”—a united theocratic society among mankind.—Revelation 21:1-5. . . . 14 Logically, therefore, it is with regard to “the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” brought with Christ, her bridegroom, into the governmental “new heavens,” that Jehovah says: “For here I am creating Jerusalem a cause for joyfulness and her people a cause for exultation.” (Isaiah 65:18) But how does the “new earth” enter into this joy? “A New Earth” Rejoices 15 It is not only in the heavens but also right here upon this earth that Jehovah has brought forth “a cause for exultation.” For he has laid the foundations of “a new earth,” a godly society among humans that will expand until, in due course, it fills the entire globe, to Jehovah’s praise. (Isaiah 11:9) It was in the year 1919 that Jehovah caused his wifely “Jerusalem above” to bring forth a “land”—a most prosperous estate—into which he ushered the remaining ones of his spiritual Israel on earth. (Isaiah 66:8, 10, 22) This “land” has proved to be a spiritual paradise, and it is here that Jehovah’s people have been assembled as the nucleus of the “new earth.” There has been no need to wait until after the final tribulation to enter that spiritual paradise. It is already here! 16 Now that Jehovah’s people have been brought into this fruitful “land,” the grand prophecy of Isaiah chapter 62, relating to Zion, “the Jerusalem above,” has been fulfilled. The Isaiah's Prophecy book goes into the 1919 date more explicitly, but even the image of getting along with cobras, and lions and lambs getting along are worked into this view. *** w83 10/1 pp. 4-7 Can You Enjoy a Paradise Now? *** Can You Enjoy a Paradise Now? A PARADISE exists on earth today. It is extending farther and farther and is being enjoyed by millions of people. You, too, can be a part of it. Is this some idealistic dream? Not at all, for we are not speaking about a natural, earthly paradise but a spiritual one. “What do you mean by a spiritual paradise?” you ask. Put simply: An organization of Christians who have made over their personalities to conform to God’s requirements and who are united in his true worship may be said to be in a spiritual paradise. Where does the Bible give indication of a wonderful spiritual situation like this? What evidence is there that such a condition exists today? The Wolf With the Lamb There are a number of Bible prophecies that describe conditions that call to mind a paradise. A delightful description of such a paradise is found at Isaiah 11:6-9, which reads as follows: “The wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the maned young lion and the well-fed animal all together; and a mere little boy will be leader over them. And the cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down. And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand. They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.” Just imagine how pleasant it would be to live in tranquil surroundings like those described here, with total peace existing in such a marvelous way! This would restore the Paradise conditions that existed in the garden of Eden when animals and humans lived in that garden in perfect harmony. (Genesis 1:30; 2:8, 9, 19, 20) True Christians eagerly look forward to enjoying these grand blessings on an earth-wide scale in the future under the rule of the Messianic King, Jesus Christ. His rulership is described in Isaiah 11:1-5, the verses immediately preceding the ones quoted above. But are these sure-to-be-realized future blessings under the Kingdom rule the only fulfillment of Isaiah’s words? No, this prophecy might also be said to portray a transformation of human personalities. In what way? Answers 18th-century Bible scholar Matthew Henry: “Men of the most fierce and furious dispositions, who used to bite and devour all about them, shall have their temper so strangely altered . . . that they shall live in love even with the weakest, and such as formerly they would have made an easy prey of.” And another Bible scholar, Joseph Benson, wrote during the last century: “Men of fierce, cruel, and ungovernable dispositions shall be so transformed by the preaching of the gospel, and by the grace of Christ, that they shall become most humble, gentle, and tractable, and shall no more vex and persecute those meek and poor ones, mentioned [in] verse 4.” Imagine that! Humans discarding former aggressive traits and putting on, instead, personalities marked by peacefulness and love! Not that such persons lose their identity. Isaiah does not say that the wolf becomes a lamb, but, rather, that its disposition changes so that it dwells peacefully with the lamb. Similarly, in keeping with Isaiah’s words, humans with beastlike traits—who perhaps killed, exploited or otherwise victimized their fellowman—make over their personalities, getting along with other people who are peacefully disposed like the lamb. When such a situation comes to exist among people, the grand consequences may be spoken of as a spiritual paradise. But are Isaiah’s words really being fulfilled today? A Spiritual Paradise—When? A corresponding prophecy in the book of Isaiah helps us to locate the time when this marvelous spiritual condition begins to be realized. We read at Isaiah 2:2-4: “It must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it all the nations must stream. . . . And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” Notice that a similar transformation is described—people becoming peacefully disposed, ‘beating swords into plowshares.’ When would this happen? “In the final part of the days,” answers the Bible prophecy. As has been shown many times in The Watchtower, this system of things has been in the last days since the year 1914. Therefore, we must now be living in the time when Isaiah 11:6-9 is having an application. A grand spiritual situation must now exist! ‘But where?’ you ask. Taming the Personality The taming of personalities, as shown by Isaiah’s prophecy, is being repeated many times over among sincere persons who, upon learning Bible truth, have ‘made their minds over’ and ‘put on a new personality.’ (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23, 24) Consider the following example: David is a big, brawny young man who grew up on a farm in Minnesota, in the United States.. . . Yet this formerly violent young man did not retaliate! He just walked away. What a remarkable change in personality! This “wolf” is now getting along peacefully with “lambs,” serving as an elder and as a full-time minister in the congregation. . . . The above experiences can be multiplied over and over again in the 45,000 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide. . . . But it is not that Jehovah’s Witnesses take the credit for achieving the condition pointed to at Isaiah 11:6-9. No, there is only one force in the universe that can cause people to make such drastic changes in their disposition. That force is God’s holy spirit. (Galatians 5:22, 23) . . . Why not learn more about paradise? See why Jehovah’s Witnesses enjoy such comparative peace, contentment, happiness and unity—things you no doubt readily associate with paradise. Learn how you, too, can enjoy such a paradise right now! The view that Isaiah is now being fulfilled is not intended to negate the view that it refers to future paradise, too.

Impressive! By the way, when I upvote some of your posts, it's not because I agree with everything in it, obviously. But that one, like some others, had more to agree with than disagree with.

Harley Miller. (In 1967 through 1970) In 1967 (same year I was baptized) we pretty much knew the reason that anyone was put on probation or disfellowshipped because up until about this time the reason was sometimes announced from the platform. Depending on the nature of the "conduct unbecoming a Christian" and knowledge of the infraction within the congregation, it might be announced the same week or the next week. The brother was the "literature servant" and the "accounts servant," and yes he would lose his privileges, and then gain them back in a few months. But the seriousness of the problem (to the point of disfellowshipping) was when he was caught trying to keep it hidden, and had been in trouble for the same thing two times previously. It was hard keeping things completely hidden, however, because of the extended family (his brother, cousins, nephews, uncles) --some Witnesses, some not-- who also worked for the same boss. In a congregation of only about 45 publishers, there was also unavoidable gossip, and everyone knew each other pretty well. (We sold our house to this brother's brother.) Some scriptures or some appropriate Watchtower comments would also be read from the platform. For example: *** w68 8/1 p. 455 Keeping Abreast with Jehovah’s Organization *** Since then God’s people have obtained a better understanding of many teachings. . . .They also understand better many Bible principles and requirements, such as the need to keep wholly separate from the military and religious parts of Satan’s organization even in employment. Jehovah’s organization being a moving, progressive one, those who would keep abreast with it must also make progress. . . . How can we who are Jehovah’s witnesses today keep abreast with God’s rapidly advancing earthly organization? A basic factor toward our doing so is obedience. . . . Of Jesus Christ while on earth it was stated that he learned obedience from the things he suffered. We too, then, must learn obedience.—Heb. 5:8; 13:17. There are four things that we must do to perfect our obedience. . . . So it was no secret. And because we knew, that's why I asked my father about his own labs in the electrical engineering dept of the university. They would get electronic military equipment and one of their major funding sources was a large yearly grant from the DoD. Sometimes the university would be expected to respond to requests for research the DoD needed.

I think that's still a good idea if you have time and want to do this. My connection was also very slow, only to this site, earlier today when I was on before.

I take it that this doctorate you speak of having was obtained after you were baptized. I say that because you have also spoken of conversations with Fred Franz, implying that these were in the 1970's and the fact that you had already made your decision in the 1970's not to go to Bethel, and you were glad you made that decision because of the apostasy of the early 1980's. Previously you claimed two doctorates and it sounded like they were both in theology. "Scholar JW" has also visited this site and I believe he was working on a Master's degree in a related field, and yet he speaks very much like an active JW, as far as I can tell. So I'm guessing that you are in agreement with me that the organization does not try to have "total control" against education as some have claimed. My father took engineering courses after he was baptized, and two other elders in a Missouri congregation were also professors at the same university. I do not have a doctor's degree and never planned to get one. My wife finished her first master's degree before she was baptized, and finished up enough credits for a second masters and then most of her post-graduate work while still pioneering. Just after baptism, she was both pioneering and still a school-teacher, so she was asked to give her experience at several regional conventions at the time, but she could not mention that she was still continuing her education, too. The little girl who was one of her students and who witnessed to her and left magazines for her was also a part of most of these assembly experiences. I don't think that a doctorate degree in most subjects is just an expensive piece of toilet paper, but I personally have never posted my degree on my LinkedIn page, or on my wall, either at home or anywhere, ever. It's still in the envelope it came in, and is in a file drawer. I mentioned it on my old resume of course when I was working, because it helped me get jobs in computer science. I rarely hired a person who did not have a degree, as my last company of nearly 30 years frowned on any hires without at least a B.S. or B.A. but I never worried what the degree was in. I found that plenty of good programmers and IT people got their degree in philosophy or English literature, for example. Tells me that we really didn't need to worry about higher education at all. Today, however, I think it's smarter for a lot of people not to get a degree at all (in the US). Depends on the type of work you will do. Times have changed, and there is often little chance that you can obtain enough work to pay off the student loans. I let all three of my children graduate from college, but that's because my wife and I were able to pay all their student expenses. I think it's fine if you can handle it, but I would not recommend it for everyone, and would never talk about higher education as if it's some necessary part of life. Work experience is more important, even if you struggle to find your place, and then if you make enough money, you can afford a degree (if you so choose). This doesn't work in every field or career, of course. For some things, professional careers and teaching careers, you must have the higher education. But no one should look up to a person or down on a person based on their choices regarding education.

I'm sure that thousands of people hold about the same view I have about higher education and the Watchower's view of higher education. And I'm sure that thousands of current JWs believe the Watchtower's view of higher education is much more extreme and negative than it really is. The Watchtower has sometimes equated higher education with immorality, drug use and other risky behavior. But it is not totally forbidden and if one can show that they are able to handle the demands of higher education and still keep up with congregational responsibilities there is never a backlash from official organizational channels, as far as I'm aware, although one might have to put up with some local prejudices against education. There is no TOTAL control as has been claimed. That goes for education, blood, shunning and a lot of things that are questioned. But there is still a lot of control, and to the extent this is true, we should be proud of it if we think it's correct. If we feel that something should be hidden from a tribunal of some sort, then we obviously are not proud of our view, or we are fearful of being persecuted for something we think is right. The kind of control that I don't think the Russian court is concerned about is the more subtle pressure that comes from judging. Persons who have participated in higher education are often told that they probably have "materialistic envy brewing" for example. Or else it might be implied that they are not paying attention to Paul's words when he said: "Do not be conformed to this world...." At any rate, for reasons I have pointed out many times, we should always be open and honest and give everyone a reason for the hope that we have whenever anyone demands it. We should really never have to be prepped for court unless we feel we are doing something wrong, or that we don't trust Jehovah's backing if we tell the truth. We should always be able to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God.

One of the downloadable informational packets, like this one: https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal-resources/information/packet-recognition-in-european-union/ Found it.. plus a bunch of others. https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal-resources/information/ Downloadable Information Packets Who Are Jehovah’s Witnesses? An overview of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Europe, including a brief explanation of their core beliefs. Benefits of Publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses The religious literature produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses promotes understanding of the Bible and its practical benefits. Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Community Jehovah’s Witnesses are socially integrated, attentive to the needs of the community in which they live, and respectful of the right of others to adhere to their personal beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Their Public Ministry Jehovah’s Witnesses cherish their right to freedom of expression. In exercising this right, they share the Bible’s message of good news with their neighbors. Family Life Jehovah’s Witnesses highly regard family life and strive to apply Bible principles in a way that benefits each family member. They value the right to educate their children in their religious beliefs. Frequently Asked Questions Answers to ten frequently asked questions about Jehovah’s Witnesses. Medical Care Jehovah’s Witnesses seek nonblood medical management for their health-care needs. In exercising their right to bodily self-determination, they want the best medical treatment for themselves and their children. Conscientious Objection to Military Service International law recognizes conscientious objection to military service as a fundamental right. Jehovah’s Witnesses are grateful when governments show respect for their neutral political stand by providing alternative civilian service or by exempting them from military service. Political Neutrality Jehovah’s Witnesses are law-abiding citizens who subject themselves to governmental authorities while remaining neutral in political affairs. Recognition in the European Union An overview of the legal status of Jehovah’s Witnesses in European Union countries. Assembling Together for Worship Jehovah’s Witnesses appreciate the right to freedom of assembly and association. Their religious services feature Bible education and are open to the public. “Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moscow v. Russia” A summary of the European Court of Human Rights judgment in favor of the Moscow Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Wow. This is perfect! All of them are good. There is no reason to categorize the JWs as extremist, especially in a country with so much more REAL extremism on its plate. I don't know exactly what they mean by dozens of his students defended candidate and doctoral dissertations, however. Over the years, he has been quoted? But it is very true that our religion does not contradict almost any scientific activity. I only worry that he might throw in things like "his religion does not hinder the receipt of higher education." All the good he stands for can turn to nothing in court if they can poke holes in just one statement like that, assuming it was translated here without the necessary subtleties to make it true. The Ministry of Justice rep would not have asked if he hadn't been given a reason to ask, and this is why even Witnesses should be familiar with the arguments made against us. If three or four Watchtower articles are presented that contradict Brother Kantere, he may not be prepared for it. One can easily make a case that the Watchtower does hinder the receipt of higher education, and this is why Witness children in custody battles in the US have to be specially prepped or kept off the stand.

I don't see that as evidence that she was lying, per se. The WTS made many people leave their jobs during the 27 years between the time she was baptized and the time she left. I once pointed out the hypocrisy of three elders in our congregation working, as professors and engineers for the University of Missouri's engineering departments where the labs, especially, were heavily supported by money coming through military budgets of the Federal Government. Yet these same elders, including my father, were repeatedly required to reprimand and finally even disfellowship a brother and some of his relatives who, as a painter and handyman, could not always maneuver his boss into letting him off the crew that once a year was assigned to paint and provide upkeep to an abandoned army base. Their usual work had nothing to do with the army base. The problem, of course, was that the brother continued losing his job and was treated to longer and longer secular probabation, and therefore it was his ability to support his family. Yet my father would accept the black box from any airline incident, military or civilian. Also, the military was able to take advantage of various semi-conductor inventions that came directly through my father's lab and even his own work. It's not that they didn't question the Society about the rules, but the rules were always in favor of white collar jobs and prejudiced against blue collar and t-shirt jobs. This does not mean that Witnesses should be banned in Russia or anywhere else. Fortunately, the arguments by Petrova and other ex-JWs are very, very weak. The ideas that will likely resonate the most are the arguments about separation of families and the difficulties of getting back into normal societal acceptance after leaving JWs. I don't know what the rules are in Russia about privacy of treatment for psychological disorders related to depression and alcoholism, but a Witness here in the United States tells me that it's a good thing for JWs that she can't reveal patterns she is aware of. Then again, it's also good to know that depression and alcoholism are not requirements of citizenship in Russia. We've been led to believe that they were.

When a person is all over the place on issues, and is willing to switch his advisors at will, we can always hope that the entropy of chaos will produce one or two anomalies in our favor. He will definitely look for a few places to eke out a populist win as a counterbalance to undeniable failures, and this could become an option for him to try - but he will fear another failure in Congress. Another option is just to declare all failures as wins, and use the bully pulpit of Presidency+Twitter to make the claim.

TV is on in the next room: Just heard them list about a dozen areas in which Trump has reversed himself: China as currency manipulator, Yellen, export-import bank, etc., etc. It's what Trump called "choking" when someone else does it. Even Rex Tillerson who plays to the Trump crowd in US interviews, admits that he was very different when meeting with Putin, admitting to Putin that we had no evidence that Russia was complicit with Syria with respect to the "chemical weapons."

Good question. Although this was already answered. I'll try a different way: Notice that the New World Translation correctly translates the word "euphraino" as "celebrate" in Revelation 11:10, Luke 15, and . It's the same word used in Luke 12:19. You might not agree that it has the sense of "celebrate" but here is how the NWT translates it. The NWT does not always translate it with the term "celebrate" but notice the context even in those places, and you should see that the world "celebrate" is just as appropriate even when the NWT sometimes picks another word. In other words you could read those other verses as if they had the word "celebrate" in all those places. In fact you will find other translations that use the word not just where the NWT uses it, but some of these other places too. (Revelation 11:10) And those dwelling on the earth rejoice [chairo] over them and celebrate, [euphraino] and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those dwelling on the earth. (Luke 12:19) “You have many good things stored up for many years; take it easy, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.”’ [ euphraino, also, "be merry"] (Luke 15:22-24) 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quick! bring out a robe, the best one, and clothe him with it, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 Also bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let us eat and celebrate, [euphraino] 24 for this son of mine was dead but has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they started to enjoy themselves. [euphraino] (Luke 15:29) In reply he said to his father, ‘Look! These many years I have slaved for you and never once did I disobey your orders, and yet you never once gave me a young goat to enjoy [euphraino] with my friends. (Luke 15:32) But we just had to celebrate [euphraino] and rejoice, [chairo] for your brother was dead but has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” (Acts 2:24-28) 24 But God resurrected him by releasing him from the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held fast by it. 25 For David says about him: ‘I keep Jehovah constantly in front of me, for he is at my right hand that I may never be shaken. 26 On this account my heart became cheerful [euphraino] and my tongue rejoiced greatly.[Gk, agalliao] And I will reside in hope; 27 because you will not leave me in the Grave, nor will you allow your loyal one to see corruption. 28 You have made life’s ways known to me; you will fill me with great joy [euphrosyne] in your presence.’ When these Greek terms [euphraino/euphrosyne, agalliao, chairo] are used in such contexts, it should be clear that the idea of celebration is appropriate. Whenever you see the term "rejoice" in Scripture, you should know that celebration is appropriate. (I covered some of the "rejoice" verses in the previous post on this subject.) The NWT has also used the word "celebrate" to translate several of the places where these terms are used. Acts 2:24-28 ties these terms directly to Jesus' resurrection. And 1 Peter 1:3-9 includes the resurrection as a key part of what leads to our joy: (1 Peter 1:3-9) 3 Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 . . . 6 Because of this you are greatly rejoicing,[Gk, agalliao] . . . 8 Though you never saw him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, yet you exercise faith in him and are greatly rejoicing [Gk, agalliao] with an indescribable and glorious joy . . . I would like to add that even if you don't believe that any of these terms really mean "celebrate," it doesn't matter, because it's what I meant when I used the term "celebrate." When you ask where it is written that we must celebrate the death of Jesus, I would admit that the Bible never uses the terms for "celebrate" with respect to his death. When the NWT uses the expression 'celebrate the Passover' it's only in the sense of 'keeping' the occasion, as I mentioned in a previous post. None of the words implying a "celebration" are in the original Greek here. It's a more appropriate time to commemorate the seriousness of his death, and in effect a time to 'grieve' rather than celebrate: (John 16:20-22) 20 Most truly I say to you, you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice;[chairo] you will be grieved, but your grief will be turned into joy. [chara] 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has grief because her hour has come, but when she has given birth to the child, she remembers the tribulation no more because of the joy that a man has been born into the world. 22 So you also, now you have grief; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. That covers your questions #1 through #3 and questions #4 through #6 were obviously for someone else, since they had not bearing on anything I had said. As you should be able to see, the view is perfectly in accord with the verses you referred to: Matthew 26:17-30, 1 Cor 11:24, and especially Romans 12:2, where the context includes: (Romans 12:11-15) . . .Be aglow with the spirit. Slave for Jehovah. 12 Rejoice in the hope. . . . 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

After I pointed out the potential problems with it, Bible Speaks erased it. You can still find it in my quote of the original contributed article. The only thing I did is add some comments in brackets.

What I was speaking about is not a recommendation for what we as Witnesses should do, but about how quickly we tend to judge others and not give them the benefit of the doubt about their motives. When I am speaking about my own attitude toward Easter, I am not at all speaking of a formal, yearly celebration either, of course. I am only using the term Easter as a way to remind us of how quickly we pigeonhole people who would use the term Easter for a valid appreciation and celebratory rejoicing over Christ's resurrection. Yet for many people in many religions, they speak of wanting to do the exact same thing for their Easter celebration. In no way would a valid appreciation of Easter, in the sense of meditating on Christ's resurrection, diminish from our appreciation of The Last Supper and its meaning. So in a sense I only threw in the word "Easter" the way a Internet troll might try to see how fast someone would jump in and judge as if the word means the same to all people. It's absolutely true that the only ceremonial event that Jesus instructed his followers to observe was the "last supper." We don't know that it should be followed yearly because the Bible doesn't say, but this makes perfect sense and is easily defended. I suspect you are right about how most (50.1% or more) nominal Christians (churchgoers) celebrate Easter after the church sermon. I live in an area where there are three large churches, two of which were once synagogues 10 to 15 years ago, and they are attended by at least 1,000 cars between them, about two or three nights a week. Parking reaches to my house, three blocks away, on "Easter Sunday." Many are evangelicals and I've talked to them at their door and in some of their homes, of course. They give me a much more serious impression of what they think of their own regular church services. I'm only guessing that their view of Easter is similar. One of the churches is Baptist and they have built a kind of assembly hall across from the original church for their expansion needs. They tend to dress up in the cliche "Easter-best" of their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. It's a little bit comical, but I've seen a tendency to do the same at the Hall in recent years too. The Baptists are less likely to talk to Witnesses for very long around here. I wasn't aware of the flogging rituals for children. Sounds as evil as Halloween. I see all the Easter candy at stores and think of it as just purely secular, and didn't really equate that with Easter in any sense. But you are right about kids and therefore a lot of parents. It's probably just about all they remember about Easter. No it isn't. Those who are ignorant believe they are doing a fine thing, they are looking to the authority of the Church as their example and spiritual guide. The early Bible students thought it was a fine thing too. Why did they change? As we all know, they changed because Christmas is too steeped in pagan influences. This was obviously a very valid choice and, not that it matters of course, but I go along with it perfectly. If they hadn't made this decision, they obviously would have made many important adjustments to the way it was celebrated to avoid so much paganism, removing the lies about a gift-giving magic fat-man, etc. I agree that it sends a clearer message not to celebrate at all, and it no doubt was expected to make Witnesses feel more separate, if not from the rest of world, at least from Russellism. If we discover that it was done just to make a colder and more serious, hardened, focused group out of these would-be Witnesses, in the same way that Rutherford spoke out against marriage, courtship, and romantic affection, then I wouldn't be surprised if certain compromises about Christmas might be made. I am not recommending this. As we know, both the Rutherford-following Bible Students and the Russell-following (Christmas-celebrating) Bible Students both fared equally well in Hitler's concentration camps, so I'm not sure if anyone can say that removing Christmas was a factor in the seriousness of their resolve. I will have to disagree with you there. Your quoted scripture "(Luke 1:14, 15) 14 You will have joy and great gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of Jehovah. ." to me does not indicate John's birth was to be, or was, celebrated every year. I read it as a statement, that yes, many did rejoice over his birth, and verse 15 I believe was a projection into the future, again making a statement that when he grows up he WILL be great. No, I'm sure it was never about people celebrating his birthday every year, just that people would celebrate the fact of his birth and what it led to. I think the word "for" makes the celebration happen in the future, but can't be sure. My only point is that Jesus' birth would be celebrated even more on that same principle. If people should feel this way about the forerunner, how much more celebratory would they feel about the real thing? I was not making any comment about yearly formal birthday celebrations, only a comment about the logical step that most people would naturally see in this verse. Yes, good point. But that is mostly how I intended it when saying that I, too, "celebrate Easter," meaning, of course, that I am thrilled and joyous each time I read the Bible accounts of Jesus death and resurrection, at any time of year. I thought it was important that my children learn to share that joy, and children sometimes need more tangible reminders in advance, especially if we are going to do three family Bible studies, three evenings in a row, ending each with a question about how they thought the disciples slept (or didn't sleep) that particular night from Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A mental re-enactment of what happened Sunday morning, through Bible reading of the events of that morning, was my method of "celebrating" for several of their younger years, and now I would do it again for my grandchildren. Of course, I would definitely never call it "celebrating Easter" in front of them, but I do see it as a kind of ceremonious gesture or tradition. There have been recommendations for 'family worship night' that are not so different.