Showing posts with label charles taze russell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charles taze russell. Show all posts

Friday 3 March 2017

Comfort For Jews, believers and gentiles with 3rd temple and Hope and Expectation of Israel

English: The Dome of The Rock Mosque, in the t...
The Dome of The Rock Mosque, in the temple mount. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In 1925 Judge Joseph Rutherford wrote a book Titled “Comfort For The Jews,” at the time (1925) in sympathy with Pastor Charles T. Russell’s Discourse to the Jews, called “Zionism In Prophecy” www.zionstower.com which they had requested he give at the Hippodrome Theater in New York. There Pastor Russell expressed hope and belief that they would return and possess the Land. The 4,000 Jews there were thrilled to hear all this Christian Minister said for their Zionist Hopes and Prospects.

Rutherford of the Present Day “Watchtower,” lost hope for them because it did not materialize in 1925 as he had expected, Therefore, he cast off the Jews as having any part and were no better than Clergy of the Churches and without hope. This is the general view of Christians and Muslims today.

...

Some of the Jews in Israel would like to demolish El Aqsa and Dome of the Rock Mosques and build a Temple there as in the past. This is what Br. Frank had to say:
 The rebuilding of the Temple will be quickly performed after Jacob’s Trouble and after the New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31is made. Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 tell of the Blast that will take place in Israel, for Old Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock must be demolished to make room for the new Jerusalem. Ezekiel Chapters 40–47 provide details of the Third Temple, and Chapter 48 describes how Jerusalem will be rebuilt, the geographical relationship of the city to the Temple, the disposition of the land immediately around the city, and how the 12 tribes will be situated. IT IS ALL THERE in the Word of God; but we have our OWN ideas. It has symbolic Lessons as well

>  Please continue reading at
Charles Thornton his Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/charles.thornton.507/posts/1343027039076772
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Tuesday 18 March 2014

Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church

Coming from a 'huge' family in contemporary terms, I had lots of brothers and sister to quarrel with and we had some tussle or squabble at regular intervals. The tussles more than once in our childhood turned or became skirmish. We did dare to fight a bout. But it does not mean because we would have a brawl that we did not consider ourselves a sib or siblings of each other.

Even when we had a brush we were straight ahead there to stand up for each other. We would always be ready to stick up for each other and to cling together.

We wanted to make it through the days and the nights together, make it through the heartaches and make it through the things that crush the very Bones of the Soul, like the Southern Californian girl Roxanne would say it. {What have you learned?}

Like any child that has to grow up by falling and standing up, we fell down more than once and we had to get up more than once.  I, not believing in the Trinity and questioning lots of things, had to be collide with my parents, religious people and school teachers. Always posing many questions I can imagine I have been not an easy child and still may not be called easy. Questioning habits and being outspoken or not afraid to say my opinion, I more than once drove against walls.

Though I am convinced we are not brought into this lifetime without a mission and a purpose. Some may think we do have to fulfil all missions on our own, but I do think we also have missions we should try to fulfil together.
While our mission, in some part, might be a collective effort with others, our purpose, I have found, is singly our own to do with what we are meant to. In order to find our purpose, we must be willing to learn, not only about other people, but mostly, about who we are and what is our place in the grander scheme of things. {What have you learned?}
We do have our civil life in which we can pursue our dreams, but next to it we also do have our spiritual life, which might even be more important than many in the world would think.

The last few weeks I encountered many sites, from ex-christadelphians and from people against Christadelphians which said true but oh so many more untrue things. On several church-sites it is also presented that when there is no union in church that can not be the true church. But then they forget that they themselves seem to be connected with churches where there is even more disunity or different ideas going on than by the Christadelphians. When we look at the so called "true catholic church" there might be seen more differences between all the groups in that Catholic Church than you shall be able to find between the Christadelphian groups. In a way that is something which makes me so cross, that they can not consider that they all belong to one "church" or main group "The Christadelphians" and step over their little differences, feeling united all, willing to meet each other as brethren and sisters in Christ.

With the experience of the last few moths and some recent reactions from certain organisations who should know better, out of frustration perhaps, I ought it necessary to act and to write a "Declaration of independence" for 'my' ecclesia. [- Straight-away: To take away any misconception, know I never really consider the Belgian ecclesia as "my" ecclesia, because everything I try to accomplish I try to do it for the Most High, and not for myself. As a worker for God I would love to see His Word been spread in Belgium, and therefore I try to do all this work, but not for my own profit and not considering it as something which is "mine", because it belongs to God.]

In the Declaration of independence for the ecclesia Brussel-Leuven I mention different groups of Christadelphians.  This might give to some the impression there is much division by those Christadelphians, But when they would look close at their teachings and at their way of life, they would come to see that as a matter of fact they really belong more to one great family.


English: Picture of the Monastery of Our Lady ...
Picture of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek near Hulbert, Oklahoma. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Because Belgium is a so called Catholic country, I would like to ask to see that there are more differences between groups like the Jesuits, Franciscans, Black Fathers, White Fathers, Opus Dei, Apologetic Society, Saint Willibrord Society, Thijmgenootschap, Traditionalist Catholics, Tridentines, Lefebvrists, Society of St Pius X, Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, Servants of Jesus and Mary (Servi Jesu et Mariae, SJM), Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem (CRNJ), Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius (SJC), Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, Miles Christi (MC), Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek, Monastery of St. Benedict in Norcia, Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel,  Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI), Sedevacantists, Conclavists, which include the "true Catholic Church" the Palmarian Catholic Church  and many many others.

By the Catholics as by many protestant denominations you can find "conservative", "contemplative", "traditional", "modernist" or "liberal". In a way we may see such tendencies also by the Christadelphians; There we also can find very conservative groups , more moderate groups and more liberal or progressive groups, even in one group itself.

The same as, I find in my worldly or civil family, there might be people who do not like so much to associate with one or the other. Some nephews or nieces on the other hand may like each other very much or may like not the association with each other. This is something what many more Christadelphians should come to understand. That though they are loving to have a spiritual group or organisation, not willing to be part of this world, they are living in this world and are confronted with our own particular personalities. As such it always shall happen that they will meet people where they will have not such a nice report with.

It is not because we do not like a certain group, or do not like the way a person or group does something, that we would not, or should not consider them as brother or sister. There lies the difference of real brotherhood or sisterhood, the dna-string which can not be cut. In Dutch we would say "in hart en nieren" in "heart and kidneys", all those different groups in the Christadelphian denomination are really part of one millenarian Christian group which came out of the teachings  John Thomas, who coined the name Christadelphian.


John Thomas
John Thomas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Many from the sites against Christadelphians do accuse John Thomas of picking material of others and bringing teachings of other Christian writers together. They use it as a negative factor, I would use it as a positive factor. John Thomas, though he never saw himself as making his own disciples, in my eyes had the qualities of a good teacher in him. It is the task of a teacher to bring the right ideas together and to make a good plan or a good amalgamation of all the teachings. Bringing the biblical truth presented by many writers from different denominations, all together in a good constructed and easy to understand text, he succeeded very well in his task to teach the Gospel of the Good News.

For him it was not a matter to impose "his own" teachings onto others, but to bring biblical truth onto those to whom he could speak and to whom wanted to listen to him. After his bad experience at sea he believed that he had rediscovered 1st-century beliefs from the Bible and compared it with what he heard around him. He also exchanged ideas with many 'New World' or American Bible-Students. As many, like Charles Taze Russell came to listen to his teachings and where willing to go in debate with each other, they pollinated each other. Because there was such a fecundation made possible, they saw a progressive growth in the bible student movement. Through a process of challenge and debate and writing journals, John Thomas not only got followers, but also got others to think seriously about what at first looked controversial teachings.

I think Dr. Thomas would not have been afraid to go into debate and to take his Bible to compare it with others their Bible. He for sure was not afraid to compare his teachings with that of others. So why should we avoid such comparison or to be afraid to compare with others their teachings? It is by his preparedness to go in discussion with others that he could bring people together and bring people to believe in what he believed and what he was preaching. This way a number of people became convinced and set up various fellowships that had sympathy with that position, where John Thomas also never claimed to be the one and only to be followed or to be the patron of those ideas.

Already from the beginning the New World saw several groups associated with John Thomas which met under various names, including Believers, Baptised Believers, the Royal Association of Believers, Baptised Believers in the Kingdom of God, Nazarines (or Nazarenes) and The Antipas. Some of those groups still continue their activities today.


Christadelphian Hall in Bath/England
Christadelphian Hall in Bath/England (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
John Thomas did not like it that people just would follow him or would take him as 'a god' or only special leader.  Jesus should be the leader and not a specific organisation. It was Robert Roberts, who in 1864 began to publish The Ambassador magazine, who formed a structure for the community of those who followed the teachings of John Thomas. But the debates did not stop in the many different groups and some did find to have clear doctrines or rules to which members of their community should keep. The different ideas were not always appreciated by everybody and brought some into discord. The disagreement and way of handling then as today disenchanted several people. Some might have had a dream of a peaceful Christian community and had to face people who acted childishly or with envy. This jealousy and contempt for others created different streams or little groups. A century later it looks like nothing has changed yet. Several who left the Christadelphian community uttered their voice of being disenchanted. And for me this nearly would have been the same reason I would have left the community.

It was a sore disillusionment how certain organisations, which I considered of much importance in the community, acted against each other and took repercussions against my own person, because I did not want to pull "one string". The foolhardiness of two parties insisting on their right of ruling in Belgium and not willing to have people from each organisation meeting with each other, so that they could be with more, was going against the grain with me.  Particularly when both parties started throwing all sorts of accusations to each-other and to us, who tried to reconcile both parties.

My fault was also that I had concentrated to much on 'organisations' instead of trusting God, Who is the One Who calls people in His time, and not ours. I did not forget that, but I perhaps wanted to press the time a little bit more, having our ecclesia grow. This way I could receive a good lesson. Up unto recently my eyes have been on an organisation I really thought their main concern was to do missionary work, and to have as many brothers and sisters in the world, having better opportunities to meet with each other. I was mistaken.
One of the parties might perhaps have hoped that I would become so disillusioned that I would leave the community for what it was.

But perhaps they overlooked something, or better did not take into account those who by the years either where children from one of those great teachers, the Christadelphian forefathers or 'granddads'. Or those who by the years had also found that this (the Christadelphians) was a Christian community which kept to the right teachings, according to the Word of God and did not want to hold on to doctrines laid up by people.
Like in a big family it is in time of trouble that brothers and sisters can show that they are there for each other. And that is what happened the last few days.

It is in such small, and sometimes very hidden actions, that valuable relief can be given, and proof is been given that there is more unity and brotherhood than the world can see by first glance. Those, from places far away, who gave little pads on my shoulder, gave proof that there is more to the Christadelphian community than can be seen from outside, or others want to believe.
Knowing the time of encouragement and daring to take action, is what shows to be a brother or a sister.

People may accuse the Christadelphians having several groups separated from the main body of Christadelphians, but they should look at the people in those several groups, who still have the same string as the founder of the community, and are willing to be part of the one great family, though there might, by now, be many households all over the world.

Outsiders, ex-Christadelphians, those against Christadelphians and non-trinitarians, like to focus on the shortcomings of the people who run the many Christadelphian organisations. They do not see beyond those organisations and their leaders. They also forget that in all the other denominations you can find similar divisions. Often they forget that it is even worse in many other denominations.

In Belgium we have seen many battles going very strongly between many religious groups. Lots of people lost their lives for their religious conviction. Many religious leaders tried to pull more people to them but also abused their position to enlarge their power, fill their pockets with money or even to abuse children; or bishops helping them to get away with it (in the Catholic church). Some would say
"Truth can’t change, nor can it be devalued by the unworthiness of those who are supposed to defend it, or the blindness of those who can’t get the message – often, because they have never been taught it properly " {Convert To The One Church, Not To Francis.}
Instead of navel-gazing, some in the Christadelphian world would better not have such an introspective view of their closed community, but would better open the doors to look more what happens outside their community. Others who spit on the Christadelphian community would also better to the same exercise.

Perhaps we better listen also to "the one who likes to be cleansed", Mundabor, a Catholic who writes:
This is why many, like me, criticise the Pope – and boy, how could one not do it who has eyes to see! – without this denting their Catholic faith in the least. On the contrary: if my faith is tested by a bad Pope, I will strenghten my faith by clinging to the Church even more closely; praying more; learning more about Her; praying more for the wayward Pope; putting all my trust on heaven, not on the reckless statements of a man drunk with popularity, and as vain as a peacock. {Convert To The One Church, Not To Francis.}
It is not by criticising an organisation or more organisations that we would not like them or would be totally against them. Out of concern we do have to come out of our personal little shell.

Sometimes we may not like it ourselves, to quarrel or to lay open a dispute, but only by trying to go in debate we can perhaps fall and have to stand up again, but shall give ourselves opportunities to learn and grow and to show how we need each-other and how we care for each other. It is this caring for each other and more important, caring for the Truth that should keep us going.

We should not be afraid to avoid strong regulating organisations, being afraid we shall not be able to feel united as brethren and sisters. We also should not be afraid to face those unpleasant moments, and should not try to hide them. Better we should be open and honest, showing how things go and how we do try to cope with such circumstances, helping each other to fall not to badly  and even more help them to stand up on stronger legs. As followers of the Word of God as it is written in the Holy Scriptures, we should guard our community that it no becomes enslaved by those who would like to take charge of it and would like to have controlling organisations. To avoid doctrinal teachings it is important that no such controlling organisations take over in the community. Independence and freedom for all members to discuss believes, teachings and organisations is what a community keep free from any wrong dogmatic teachings. It will always be better to have little different ideas, which can not all be right, than having one uniform idea where more teachings could be severely wrong or where people believe their dogmatic teachings are right and to be followed by everybody in the community. The Christian world is already full of such dogmatic churches and does not need another one.

The Christadelphians should be content to be a construction of different necessary parts in the Body of Christ.

We should also learn to be not so uncomfortable and more willing to take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake:
 for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).

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Wednesday 5 February 2014

No reconciliation possible between CBM and Duncan Heaster from Carelinks

It is really frustrating to have to admit that in the Christadelphian world it is like everywhere else in this world, that we do find people who are more interested in their own position than in the welfare of others.

For months now, several Belgian brethren and the CBM linkman for Belgium Chris Edwards have tried to come to a reconciliation between Duncan Heaster, Carelinks and CBM (The Christadelphian Bible Mission). We where surprised to find Duncan Heaster under the members of Christadelphians for Unity and as such we did hope he had come to other thoughts and intentions for the Christadelphian Community, wiling them to unite. But we got a wrong impression, he even tries to get more division in the Christadelphian community and succeeded in a certain way. (It will make him laugh at us.)

Like in many denominations the Christadelphians have by the years become victim of different opinions between its members and got different groups of which some did not want to work together with the other. Such division in Christian communities we do consider very bad.


English: cover of the Photodrama of Creation
English: cover of the Photodrama of Creation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In Christianity there are even groups who say that they are the right group because they have no division, but mostly we can see that they themselves are also an offshoot of an other denomination. For example you can find the Jehovah Witnesses who always claim to be the only right denomination because they have unity in their ranks. They forget they themselves came from a schism-group in the Biblestudent world. They even claim that their founder was brother Charles Taze Russell (a pupil of our brother Dr. Thomas), though he never founded that organisation. Several people who left the Jehovah Witnesses also formed other denominations, like the Nazarene Friends and many ex-Jehovah Witnesses groups.

Christendom has many many divisions, but it is not different by other religions as the Muslims and Hindu's. also in those religions you can find many different denominations or groups with different believes. as prophesied in the Bible we have come in to the days where those different groups will come to oppose each other and even will go fighting one against the other.

With much regret we do have to say to interested people in the provinces of West and East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg that we can not offer them a meeting place, because Carelinks does not want to let us know where they have ecclesiae in those places.

For us it is more important that people could come together, gathering in the name of Christ, studying the Bible together. We are not concerned so much if they do belong to this or that group of the Christadelphian community. but it looked like others are really concerned with whom we do want to have contacts. So certain Christadelphians asked us to take away article from this site or not to show others their name on this site - probably they would not like to be associated with us or with people we would like to associate with.

The whole situation escalated and derailed in such a way that the linkman for Belgium in Great-Britain resigned after a harsh reaction of his fellow brethren at the CBM Great-Britain. a new linkman for Belgium has been installed, but I did not have contact with him. I do hope we shall be able to co-operate nicely in the future.

Because our trials to associate with Carelinks several Christadelphians would not co-operate with us and do not like to have news from their ecclesia on our site. Without much news from Christadelphians it is no use that this site will keep its name "Christadelphian World". Therefore I do invite all readers of this site to give me some advice, either to keep its name and to continue trying to build up a community of lovers of Christ willing to live in the "City of Christ" (Christadelphia) or to be brothers and sisters in Christ (Christadelphian); or changing its name to "Christian World" or "The World we live in" or something else?
All suggestions are welcome.

I do agree I became very frustrated to find also in this denomination such a division. When I was a non-trinitarian Baptist I have seen thousands of Baptists having to change form denomination because the Southern Baptist Union became to strong and imposed the trinitarian teaching on all of its members.

I did already change twice of denomination, being born in an Old Conservative Roman Catholic Family, having been an acolyte, though always having questioned the Trinity, having become a Baptist, where I also encountered a very free unbounded spirit where many ideas were allowed to be said. Now once more confronted with people who want to have their person put in the forefront and be taken as the leader, though Jesus should be our leader and not one other human person.

Jesus (Jeshua) should be the cornerstone of the Church and it are his teachings we should follow, not the commandments of a human worldly organisation. Those who want to accept Jesus as their Saviour and would like to accept what this man has done for them, having really died and not having faked his death as a reincarnated god, should join hands and come together.

I do hope those people who want to take Jesus as their lord and cornerstone of their community, living in Belgium (Flanders, Antwerp, Limburg, Wallonia) shall understand our limits and that it is not our fault we can not bring them in contact with other Christadelphian communities which are not linked with the CBM. We just do not have their addresses and Carelinks does not want to have their members to have contact with members of our community.

Also the contact with other Bible Students do not go so smoothly. Also some of them do not want to meet with other members of our community.
With my Lifestyle magazine Stepping Toes I would love to see more serious Bible Students working together and sharing ideas. But also their I am confronted with not many writers willing to write for the magazine or willing to share their ideas. I am thankful to those who do not mind writing on that platform and not mind meeting with other believing people, trying to edify  each-other and helping each other to grow in faith.

I do hope the magazine shall receive some more contributors in due time, but for now I am already pleased some different ideas may be posed together on one platform. I would love to find readers of this site also coming to look at that platform where many ideas may be put together. Please do find Stepping Toes and enjoy the writings over there.

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2014 February 14: (18.08 hours):

For those who commented on this article and can not see their comment, I do apologise. This website was also some time off public, beyond my own wishes. Because a person and his organisation attacking me, a complaint was made about this site being inappropriate. Therefore it got censored. I did also ask Google to reconsider the complaint and hope all reaction will soon be again available to the general public.

Please see also my open reaction about this dangerous situation of censorship: Certain people trying to stem freedom of speech



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Monday 4 March 2013

Surprising figures about Jehovah Witnesses


English: George Storrs, former preacher, write...
English: George Storrs, former preacher, writer, editor, publisher (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Many Jehovah Witnesses may think the modern-day organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses began in the 1870’s.  In a way they are not totally wrong, but also not totally right, because the organisation of today has nothing to do with the root of that Bible Student Group from the early days.

From the years 1870 through 1875 Charles Taze Russell, his father Joseph, his sister Margaret, along with several other interested friends and associates, such as the well studied Millerite pastors George Storrs, and George Stetson, were actively engaged in careful, analytical Bible Study.
Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916).
Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Russell started his own periodical entitled "Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence" with the issue July, 1879.
In 1881 "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society" was founded with the purpose of disseminating tracts, papers, doctrinal treatises and Bibles, and was officially chartered in 1884.

The different small groups in the 19th century who were looking for the Biblical truth brought forth many sorts of Bible students groups and organisations. Several of those seriously interested Bible Students began rediscovering long-lost Bible truths.

After  the death of Ch.T. Russell in1916  an immense and messy struggle for control of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society began at the Brooklyn "headquarters". Joseph Rutherford, the Society's lawyer, on a technicality that would have equally applied to him, summarily dismissed four influential members of the Board of Directors, and then literally tossed their belongings out onto the street. Pastor Russell's "Last Will and Testament" was both ignored and violated. Through legal and personal manipulations, Rutherford essentially appointed himself the second president of the Society, and within a period of only ten years turned the course of the Society around in a completely different direction, having discarded many of Russell's views, to the chagrin of tens of thousands of members. 
English: Picture of Joseph F. Rutherford from ...
English: Picture of Joseph F. Rutherford from the 1911 Bible Students Convention Souvenir Booklet. At the time this picture was taken, Rutherford was serving as chief legal counsel for Pastor Charles Taze Russell. Rutherford became President of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in 1917 and later renamed the movement Jehovah's Witnesses. Rutherford died in 1942. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1931 the Bible Students got some schisms because there where some disputes about the way Rutherford was going. The name Jehovah’s Witnesses was adopted by one of the split groups with the most of money. With their publications they managed to get even more income and financial grounds to build a whole empire.
Through the years those who did not want to agree with change in the teachings or new ideas of the Governing Body where cast out and had to find other ways to keep active in their faith. Shamefully lots of ex-Jehovah Witnesses where so disgusted by the Brooklyn Society they totally lost interest in the Faith and became atheist or a fighter against the non-trinitarians. Many ex-Jehovah Witnesses found themselves without family, but often also without believers around them who wanted to share the same love for God. A big problem that so many also got totally stuck in their thinking which was brought on by the organisation that all others in the world had the wrong believes and should be avoided. So many do not dare to make contact with other faith groups and often have no idea that there are many other non-trinitarian Bible Students.

The Jehovah Witnesses grew every year and became a very strong organisation.

Last year a second JW Survey showed again very revealing figures:

The results are available for download in PDF format on this link. They show that the overwhelming majority of 1,488 voters who participated disapprove with some or all of the Society's teachings and practices. Some of the more shocking statistics are as follows:

  • Only 5% of active Witness voters agreed with ALL Watchtower beliefs and practices
  • 70% of inactive voters stopped attending meetings because they no longer believe that Jehovah's Witnesses are the true religion
  • 61% of unbaptized voters believe Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult
  • 31% of anointed voters do not believe 144,000 is a literal number
  • 65% of active Witness voters believe some apostates may have legitimate concerns
  • 31% of serving elder voters consider themselves to be "secret apostates"
  • 60% of former Witness "apostate" voters have nothing against Jehovah's Witnesses but would like to see the Watch Tower Society dissolved
  • 49% of active Witness voters would either openly or secretly accept a blood transfusion
  • 60% of active Witness voters object to all forms of shunning
  • Three quarters of former Witness voters say they are being shunned by JW family members
  • 84% of inactive Witness voters would leave the organization if shunning were abolished
  • Three quarters of all inactive Witness voters experience "pre-emptive shunning" even though they are not disfellowshipped
  • Half of all serving elder voters feel elders are motivated by a desire for prominence and an ambition to succeed
  • More than 80% of active Witness voters DON'T believe elders are appointed by Holy Spirit
  • 58% of serving elder voters regret a decision they have reached on a judicial committee
  • Two thirds of active Witness voters don't believe Jehovah's Witnesses represent God's spirit-directed organization
  • 81% of all voters have known or heard of a Jehovah's Witness committing or attempting suicide
  • 60% of inactive voters experienced marital or family problems through their decision to become inactive
The Watchtower, Jehovah's Witnesses National HQ
The Watchtower, Jehovah's Witnesses National HQ (Photo credit: ad454)
No doubt the Society would dismiss the above statistics as merely representing the opinions of a few "bitter apostates," but one of the most interesting things about the JW Survey group their survey is that even active Witnesses who attend meetings have had a share in making their voices heard. The Society cannot claim to have the unquestioned loyalty of all those in its kingdom halls while increasing numbers of such ones are venturing online and making their voices heard through websites such as this.
Whether the Governing Body acknowledges these hundreds of people or not, the JW Survey group will continue to run the survey and gather the opinions of the "silent majority."
The 2013 Global Survey is now online!
In case you are a Jehovah Witness or are interested in their activities, or want to have your say, we would encourage you to react and why not to one-and-all to take part by clicking on this link to get started. 
If you are unfamiliar with how the survey works, please take your time to familiarize yourself with the instructions before proceeding - and be sure to read the questions carefully before casting your vote!
As to the results of last year's survey, these will still get posted to Brooklyn even if they go straight in the Bethel mailroom's bin. Why? Because when the media eventually takes an interest in the efforts of the JW Survey Group (which we believe they will) they want to be able to tell them that they have mailed their surveys to the Governing Body each and every year, and they never replied. Of course, they would rather the Governing body DID reply - but this is out of their hands. And even if the JW Survey can't force the Governing Body to take an interest in the opinions of hundreds of current and former Witnesses, they can still produce their UPS tickets as proof that they tried!
 For all those who love Jehovah it might also be an important step, because all God's lovers should become untied at the end. And more Jehovah Witnesses and ex-Witnesses should get to learn that there is more than only the Jehovah Witness movement. They and other Christians shall have to get to know that there are more non-trintiarian Christians than only the Jehovah Witness, who do witness for Jehovah. In some countries there are even groups who call themselves Jehovah People and as such could perhaps be better positioned to say that they are the people of God because they really bear the name of being the people of Jehovah.
But also other movements like the Nazarene Friends, Ex-Jehovah Witnesses, church of God, Church of Abrahamic Faith, Christadelphians, they all go for Jehovah and do their best to get to know the Only One God and to serve Him at their best.
In the world Christians who have their heart on the right place should dare to come out and say their ideas, willing to give signs to others so that they can correct or change direction.
For ex-Jehovah Witnesses and for those who have doubts about certain writings of the organisation it might seem as though there is little point in voting if the Governing Body isn't listening, but we honestly don't see things that way. The more the Governing Body ignores the many pleas for mercy and reasonableness, the more they prove themselves to be entirely unfit for the role they have assumed on the behalf of so many Jehovah Witnesses. So, with that in mind, please continue to add your voices to the project of the JW Survey Group - and spread the word among your friends too! Let the silent majority speak loud and clear...
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English: Personal bible study Português: Estud...
English: Personal bible study Português: Estudo pessoal da bíblia Italiano: Lo studio personale della bibbia Deutsch: Persönliches Bibelstudium (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Those who think people who talk about Jehovah are Jehovah Witnesses better look further and do find many other faith groups which also use the Name of God. It is namely not the sole right of the Jehovah Witnesses to use the proper Name of God.
For those interested to learn more about Jehovah and other faith-groups or churches which want to honour the Only One God, we do advise to have a look at other websites, like for example:
The Christadelphians or to get to know better the Christadelphian People What Christadelphians believe or look at the world wide community of Christadelphia with Christadelphia Worldwide communities or ecclesiae
  1. Charles Taze Russel Official Website
  2. Thomasites
  3. Unitarian Church of God
  4. Friends of the Nazarene
  5. Restoration Fellowship
  6. Bible Student Websites 
  7. Associated Bible Students of Central Ohio - Official Website
  8. Dawn Bible Students Association
  9. Biblestudents  
  10. Bijbelvorsers 
  11. Bijbelvorsers Webs
  12. Bijbelvorser = Bible Researcher
  13. Broeders in Christus  
  14. Belgian Christadelphian Ecclesia
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