TJ

Meanwhile at Bethel...

My comment was not about beards per se, but rather just an observation on brother Lett's choice of dress shirt, a purple-ish color which diverges from the standard white (and sometimes light blue) that is typically seen in these programs. Short of brother Lett starting off the program with a beard, I was just speculating that perhaps the colorful shirt was selected to send a message that we should be more relaxed in our view of what constitutes 'appropriate' dress and grooming. ...or maybe that's just the shirt he happened to grab out of the closet in the dark.

It's interesting that brother Lett chose to wore a colorful (purple?) dress shirt for this update. Looking back through the thumbnails of monthly programs and updates, white dress shirts have been the norm, with a sprinkling of light blue shirts. Perhaps this was purposeful?

(Moving this comment to the Update thread).

They also added "An Introduction to the Bible—Video" immediately after the Title Page.

I think one thing that may have changed is the audio version of Philippians 2:6. The wording was revised last year, but the audio didn't match; now it does. I too would appreciate a changelog!

This QFR seems to be reaffirming essentially what has been taught on this subject in the past. Jehovah can foretell certain events when he pleases, but it is apparent he does not predestine everything that will ever happen down to the smallest detail as some claim (e.g. Calvinists). Instead, he directs certain events to happen at specific times when it is within his purpose and he respects our free will to choose for ourselves how we will act. This is in direct contrast to the teachings of modern Calvinists who teach that if you are not anointed (or of the 'elect') then you cannot serve God faithfully even if you want to. Such a person is, according to them, actually predestined to destruction/hell by God. This seems to be one of the ideas the article is addressing when it says: "He does not set a destiny for each person; nor does he cause honesthearted people to do something that would lead to their destruction."

And this is the root of it. It's so obvious that some of these 'experts' are educated far beyond their intelligence; do they really not consider any of the consequences of trying to force government's 'sword' to compel your form of speech and expression? To actually force you to fellowship with a person that you do not want to associate with? Anyone is free to disagree with the (scriptural) practice of shunning, argue against it all day for all I care. But as soon as you try to try to force me to associate with someone I choose not to associate with, you really need to step back and consider, "Are we the baddies?"

The NWT appendix lists many English translations (marked by a pink/purple circle) that use a form of the divine name in the NT. As for 'mainstream' English translations, i.e. the ones commonly used in churches, there are monetary reasons for not using God's name in the OT, much less the NT. Still, you can find God's name in it's shortened form "Jah" within the term "Hallelujah" (literally, "praise Jah") in even the most mainstream English translations at Revelation 19:1,3,4,6. Here's Revelation 19 in the NIV, for example.

It's visible in the regular lineup now. https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/StudioMonthlyPrograms/pub-jwb_201505_1_VIDEO

The audio files for the book of 2 Chronicles is now available for download, which completes the audio version of the revised NWT!

My theory is that when they first made the background, they simply played the video exactly how the satellite recorded it, i.e. scrolling to the left or moving right-to-left. The earth spins left-to-right from the reference point of the sun, but most satellites move in the same direction as the earth's rotation (as this requires less energy to achieve) and some move even faster than the earth's spin. So if you were on the international space station, for example, the earth would appear to rotate right-to-left (i.e. in the 'wrong' direction). They just had to reverse the video to make it seem right, for the solar-centric audience. ☀️🛰️🌍 ...or maybe this?

According to certain traditions, while Paul carried on his ministry around the Mediterranean, the apostle Thomas extended his ministry eastward, landing on the Kerala coast of the southern tip of India and preaching there. Whether that's true or not, Charles T. Russell definitely made a stop in Kerala during his 1912 world tour. The 1977 yearbook contains this interesting tidbit under the subsection, "A Significant Visit": Russellpuram (also spelled Russelpuram) is located here: Here is an interesting, short documentary on this tale:

Any word on when the rare Igpay Atinlay language might be added? 🙃

The audio for the epistle to the Galatians is now available. I haven't seen that posted anywhere.