Anna

It is to be noted that both Rolf Furuli and Gerard Gertroux are both Jehovah's Witnesses.
 

There are several actually. Here is one of them:
 
 

The problem is, it's not that clear cut is it? Or rather, our understanding of it isn't, our understanding is progressive, and that's the point. Just like understanding how the body functions was progressive for medicine (and still is).

I don't
I am not quite sure what you are implying Jesus did, that we don't so today, but as you say, he condemned the religious leaders because they were far removed from doing God's will, therefor their supposed authority to "disfellowship" had no value or meaning in Jesus's  eyes anyway. He talked to anyone who would listen and gave us a good pattern to follow, in that we will talk to anyone about God's Kingdom, just like Jesus did. My good friend talked to a homeless drug addict for several months, and saw that this person was very receptive to learning about the Bible, so a Bible study was started. Now this homeless drug addict is is no longer homeless, or on drugs, but is one of our sisters.
When Elders disfellowship someone from the Congregation, they do so with the authority from the scriptures. In order to have God's favor and in order to be used by God those who represent him must be morally and spiritually clean i.e. the whole congregation, otherwise as Jesus says, he would remove his favor. Rev 2:5, Jesus also said he hated the deeds of the sect of Nicolaus (which was probably trying to infiltrate the congregation). So it does matter to Jesus and God whether the congregation is morally and spiritually clean or not. "“Remove the wicked person from among yourselves.” (1 Cor 5:13)
Of course elders must not become like Diotrephes:  "I wrote something to the congregation, but Di·otʹre·phes, who likes to have the first place among them, does not accept anything from us with respect.That is why if I come, I will call attention to the works he is doing in spreading malicious talk about us. Not being content with this, he refuses to welcome the brothers with respect; and those who want to welcome them, he tries to hinder and to throw out of the congregation: (3 John 9-10)

I met a group of Witnesses from Paris in a tour group - tagged along for a bit and enjoyed their company. Also a Japanese group of Witnesses, but without enough language in common to communicate. I'm sure there were other Witness tours that I missed. This was my fourth time here in 40 years, and I have been on a Witness-sponsored tour here before, too.
This was the first time I ever got to meet with some staff and get a little bit of a behind-the-scenes look. This was not because of anything I had done or researched, I was just taking advantage of an opportunity. (A BM project leader was meeting with the non-Witness roommate of a relative of mine at his college in 2015 and I got to meet the same person at the university at that time.) The roommate's project was not religious: it was related to restoring pigmentation and original color to old statues and paintings. But I found that this project leader had been in archaeological digs in Sudan and had studied the Kushites. I asked him what he knew of the claim that the Bible's mention of Tirhakah of "Cush/Ethiopia" had been doubted by authorities until the discovery of statues of him (or rather, the correct translation of inscriptions on previously discovered statues.) It had supposedly been doubted because the Sennacherib Prism (and Taylor's Prism) along with the mural pictorials at Nineveh had mentioned many of the same points from 2 Kings 19, but it never mentioned the diversion from Tirhakah's intended attack on Sennacherib when he was threatening Hezekiah. The prisms mention Hezekiah and some of his actions.
The British Museum houses the Taylor Prism mentioning his first and second incursion to Hezekiah without success, a mural from Nineveh that includes the battle of Lachish, a statue of Tirhakah and, of course, the Rosetta Stone that held the key to the correct translation of the inscriptions. So this particular instance of Bible corroboration is often pointed out in tours.
At any rate, many Bible tours are given by many different religious groups, as the British Museum was set up in such a way that it encourages (and intrigues) persons with Biblical interest. Various items are still labeled with Bible stories in mind:
Gilgamesh and the Flood. Abraham's home of Ur and Ur's "Ram in a Thicket" motif. What did the Tower of Babel look like? What Pharaoh was the Pharaoh of the Exodus? If Jehu, or Hezekiah, or another Bible personage is mentioned or alluded to, it's often mentioned in the descriptions of items. The British Museum is one of the best places to give a tour of Bible related items.
Several of the museum staff are very happy to accommodate well-meaning researchers whose only goal is to provide more accurate information when giving tours, for example. Apparently, a few people take advantage. And of course, there are those who go through and give outlandishly wrong information in their tours, just to push an agenda about UFO's or racial issues. I am uncomfortable with the way a lot of the tour guides claim that this or that artifact "proves" that the Bible is right. They often support the Bible's historical narratives perfectly, but no material item "proves" the Bible is right, just as the Bible doesn't "prove" that the artifact is right.
Still, there is a lot of wonderment and even a kind of thrill at finding corroborating evidences carved in stone, almost contemporaneous with Biblical events. I am always amazed and appreciative of the experience that such a museum can provide to a Bible believer.

You will cross paths with some of my cong then as they are on Bible related exhibit tours there this week also. Small world indeed!
Any pre-1st Century ancient references to the Tetragrammaton would be interesting, Hebrew or otherwise, secular or sacred.
Look forward to hearing about any other interesting findings.

I have been in contact with a couple research coordinators at the British Museum and one has already met with me twice in person this week. I meet another one tomorrow. I have been working from a list of questions, some of which are common questions from religious circles, and some of which are a little more specific to the interest of JWs. It's not that any one person can answer the questions but I can get good leads on recent, ongoing and upcoming research projects. I have found that when I want to contact someone who is working on a project that being able to say I spoke to so-and-so at the BM (or similar place) is an excellent way to start out.
My list of questions have included the following topics and research areas. In some of the topics I have dozens of specific questions already on my list. The general topics below might remind anyone of their own questions they might have always wanted to ask someone.
The earliest evidence of the use of a cross among Christians. Any Christian and Christian-related iconography prior to 200 C.E. Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, Persian, Greek research on chronology from about 750 to 400-ish B.C.E. Habitation/Population evidence of Israel/Judea/Palestine from 740 to 605 to 589 to 539 to 518 B.C.E. etc. Questions related to identities of rulers mentioned in Daniel Questions about the date of the death of Herod the Great Questions about the identification of the Pharaohs who interacted with Israelites Linguistic "crossover" from Egyptian, Phoenician, Hebrew in religious subjects (priesthood, circumcision, temple-related artifacts) Religion of the Canaanite-related people before and during the Israelite conquest Dead Sea Scrolls as they relate to Second Temple period, and Essene, early Pharisee, and early Christian traditions  
(I am here for more than a week, staying across from Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park -- also here for a wedding.)
 

Did she think, perhaps, that your memes contained a hint of insensitivity, or something even worse?

I don't
I am not quite sure what you are implying Jesus did, that we don't so today, but as you say, he condemned the religious leaders because they were far removed from doing God's will, therefor their supposed authority to "disfellowship" had no value or meaning in Jesus's  eyes anyway. He talked to anyone who would listen and gave us a good pattern to follow, in that we will talk to anyone about God's Kingdom, just like Jesus did. My good friend talked to a homeless drug addict for several months, and saw that this person was very receptive to learning about the Bible, so a Bible study was started. Now this homeless drug addict is is no longer homeless, or on drugs, but is one of our sisters.
When Elders disfellowship someone from the Congregation, they do so with the authority from the scriptures. In order to have God's favor and in order to be used by God those who represent him must be morally and spiritually clean i.e. the whole congregation, otherwise as Jesus says, he would remove his favor. Rev 2:5, Jesus also said he hated the deeds of the sect of Nicolaus (which was probably trying to infiltrate the congregation). So it does matter to Jesus and God whether the congregation is morally and spiritually clean or not. "“Remove the wicked person from among yourselves.” (1 Cor 5:13)
Of course elders must not become like Diotrephes:  "I wrote something to the congregation, but Di·otʹre·phes, who likes to have the first place among them, does not accept anything from us with respect.That is why if I come, I will call attention to the works he is doing in spreading malicious talk about us. Not being content with this, he refuses to welcome the brothers with respect; and those who want to welcome them, he tries to hinder and to throw out of the congregation: (3 John 9-10)

For many of us it is a fascinating area of interest.
Here are some suggestions. Maybe you can think of more:
Jehovah through Jesus the Head of the Congregation corrects them they get things wrong so correct them  they get things wrong again so correct them again  times change prophecy is fulfilled the world scene changes scientific advancements are made standards of morality deteriorate understanding improves ability to explain improves  understanding of Bible languages improves evidence is unearthed etc. etc. etc. etc. 

There's a 'whole lotta sinnn' that can go on in that way - if even "tomorrow" he will do the same thing again. Is it possible for God to have a clean 'people for his name' - as Acts 15:14 says he should?
It sounds as though you would have his people become as but one team on the football league - not much different than any other. God becomes the loser that way. His name suffers. People look upon Christianity and say 'what good is it? It's just a matter of squabbling over doctrine.'
 

I think we can be sure. You mentioned that I shouldn’t refer to God’s organization of the Jews, you said that was old, so then you referred to Jesus, as that being the new way. Well didn’t Jesus become the founder of Christianity?  Wasn’t it by divine providence his disciples became known as Christians, weren’t his disciples organized into congregations? I am sure you know the scriptures that talk along this theme, of not forsaking gathering together,....where two or three are gathered in Christ’s name.....to build one another up, you know about Paul’s letters being addressed to congregations, Jesus’ admonishing  the congregations (in Revelation), Jesus being the chief cornerstone of the congregation, etc. etc........
As for our day, well how else would you organize the global preaching work but by organization. Organization for many people has become a dirty word when it comes to religion. Why? Could it be because of organized religion’s bad reputation on the whole?
Of course, just because someone calls themselves a JW does not guarantee salvation, as the verse says: "but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will" so God's choice is based on those doing his will, as Jesus further says: " Therefore, everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does them...
You come with ONE report, one that you would call “old”, as it pre- dates Christ, and with an ambiguous end, to support your view that God doesn’t care what you do as long as you “believe”.  In verse 18 Naaaman explains that as a servant of his lord he will go with him to the temple of Rimmon, and because his lord hangs onto his arm (maybe he is old?) when he bows down, Naaman will have to go down as well, but he will not be doing this in worship, but only because his lord is using his arm for support.  He definitely did NOT “make worship to idols”. We know how “jealous” Jehovah is of anyone worshipping someone else other than him. Paul, when writing to the Corinthians showed the seriousness of it: “ No; but I say that what the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers with the demons. You cannot be drinking the cup of Jehovah and the cup of demons; you cannot be partaking of “the table of Jehovah” and the table of demons. (1Corinth 10:20-21) So I think it most definitely would have been a problem to JHVH!
You definitely cannot have it both ways. "Doing" and "obedience" play a major role even if God "picked" you for salvation, the ultimate result of whether he saves you or not is dependent on YOU, on your obedience:  Romans 6:  15 – 17: What follows? Are we to commit a sin because we are not under law but under undeserved kindness? Certainly not!  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey,  either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thanks to God that although you were once the slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over.
“ For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome”

I have often wondered what would happen if I landed on the Warwick front lawn in a helicopter,  showed up at the Lobby, unannounced, with several Halliburton #103 aluminum suitcases filled with hundred dollar bills, opened them and showed the money to the receptionist, and asked to see one of the Governing Body for a special, personal, guided tour of the new Headquarters facility.
Think they could fit me in the same morning?

Come on, he just felt as if. We all, including him, know it has nothing to do with actual facts, only the warm and fuzzy feeling of relief you get when you have got away from something safely.

KEEP AWAKE - THIS IS SHOWING UP - KEEP ON THE WATCH! ?
In the Congregations The latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many congregations. They have been identified as:
Bin Sleepin; Bin Arguin; BinFightin; Bin Complainin; and Bin Missin.
Their leader . . . Satan Bin Workin. He has trained these groups to destroy the Christian Congregation. The plan is to come into the congregation disguised as Christians and to work within it to discourage, disrupt, and destroy.
However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name of Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorist force. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whomever and whatever comes along. Bin Prayin does whatever it needs to uplift and encourage.
We have noticed that the Bin Prayin group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Doin, Bin Listenin to their Master . . . Jesus Christ.You can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin.
You Best Keep On the Watch!"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them." 
Contributed.

My guess is that they all had return tickets, but not for leaving immediately after a negative outcome. I think they couldn't know in advance how long the case would take.
In the international company I worked for up until I retired about 5 years ago it would be against the fiduciary responsibilities toward the shareholders to have 18 lawyers and officers of the company on the same airplane. Seriously!! 

Thanks for pointing that out, I never noticed! I wonder why the artist considered it inappropriate to include underarm hair.....must be an American thing....

You are quite correct, God is impartial and accepts every human, regardless of race or social status, "who fears him and does what is right". This brings us to the usual argument about what it means to do what is right, and in whose eyes. In other words can it be said that religion, just like race or social status does not matter to God either? The Bible seems to indicate that it does matter to God. It indicates that the impartiality does have a condition attached to it. And that is the whole point of "he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance". Then what does repentance mean? Who sets that standard? God does of course and he lets people know what these standards are through the pages of the Bible. 
That being said, just because Witnesses get all involved with their "own" problems, doesn't mean they do not have compassion with people of other faiths. It is understandable that they will focus on their brothers in the faith first though.
I know it's the "fashion" now for many to believe that ALL Christians in any denominations are acceptable to God as long as they live  a morally clean life and try to do good to others. And that is fine by me because who am I to judge? BUT, I also believe that God has not abandoned his pattern of having a people, a group, unitedly worshiping together like he did in ancient times, separate from the world around them, but this time from every "tribe and nation" not just the Jews. The Scriptures do indicate this on a number of occasions when referencing spiritual Israel, and those who would attach themselves to them as "foreigners" or "other sheep" to make one flock, not individuals standing by themselves out of all the various denominations of Christendom....

But is it true?
 

Others may not be commissioned by GOD, but they still have eyes and ears

And that faith is not blind either...

Thanks for pointing that out, I never noticed! I wonder why the artist considered it inappropriate to include underarm hair.....must be an American thing....

The secret caption is hidden in the file name ....

Sorry! Truly. It's just that I think we get a little bored, and this is merely a frivolous light hearted interlude while waiting on others to gather something groundbreaking and worthwhile discussing

Sorry! Truly. It's just that I think we get a little bored, and this is merely a frivolous light hearted interlude while waiting on others to gather something groundbreaking and worthwhile discussing