Religion in the news

[chuck83]

Church of Great Britain Labels Terms ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife’ Offensive

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/church-of-great-britain-labels-terms-husband-and-wife-offensive/ar-AA1mk16B?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W011&cvid=b545921a24f5497fb8079b9e8a10444f&ei=344

 

The Methodist Church Inclusive Language Guide

https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/31380/ilg-designed-update-december-2023.pdf

 

Edited January 1 by chuck83

[Parale]

19 minutes ago, chuck83 said:

Church of Great Britain

 

Wow, talk about manipulating the headline.

 

It's actually the Methodist Church.

 

Anyway, below is the actual current "The Methodist Church Inclusive Language Guide"

 

https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/31380/ilg-designed-update-december-2023.pdf

 

Also, as of "As of 31 October 2020, there were just over 164,000 people having made and sustained a commitment to Christian discipleship within the Methodist Church of Great Britain as active members of a local Methodist church. This translates into a decline of about 6,000 members since October 2019."

 

https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/22021/methodism_in_numbers_2021.pdf

 

(For context there where 139,106 active JWs in Britain last year, an increase of 1,938 from the previous year)

 

Edited January 1 by Parale

[chuck83]

7 minutes ago, Parale said:

 

Wow, talk about manipulating the headline.

 

It's actually the Methodist Church.

 

Anyway, below is the actual current "The Methodist Church Inclusive Language Guide"

 

https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/31380/ilg-designed-update-december-2023.pdf

 Yeah sorry. That was the one thing I meant to mention and forgot. 

[Parale]

2 minutes ago, chuck83 said:

Yeah sorry. That was the one thing I meant to mention and forgot. 

 

Sorry, that was no complaint about you - the actual MSN headline drops the 'Methodist' in the headline 🙄

[Patience87]

Has anyone seen this article? I was surprised to see JW made the list. However, I'm wondering where they got their data. I'm not correlating the number they show as relating to the US. I looked at last year's report and I only see about 1.2 million publishers (peak) in the U.S.?

 

Largest Christian Denominations in the U.S. (msn.com)

[Friends just call me Ross]

 

Wish more emphasis was put on what Jehovah's Witnesses DO  

than what Jehovah's Witnesses DON'T. 

 

No wonder Zoie didn't think we had any fun.   

[Patience87]

Right? I guess we shouldn't be surprised that they don't want to do any preaching for us 😉

 

Yes I agree that it could have been written better, but it is not surprising as the world often focuses on the negative rather than the positive. 

[trottigy]

44 minutes ago, Patience87 said:

Has anyone seen this article? I was surprised to see JW made the list. However, I'm wondering where they got their data. I'm not correlating the number they show as relating to the US. I looked at last year's report and I only see about 1.2 million publishers (peak) in the U.S.?

 

Largest Christian Denominations in the U.S. (msn.com)

 

Quote

6. Jehovah's Witness

Percent practicing in the U.S.: 0.8%

Estimated population: 2.5 million

 

We count "active publishers" and they count a person who "identifies as one"

 

So, if you were asked in a survey "if you had to identify with a specific religion which one would that be?" - If you were just raised in the truth but are not active you might say, "Well, I was raised as a JW." and they count that as a JW.

[Patience87]

OK, got it, that makes sense. Thanks! 

[Dages]

I guess they use the memorial numbers

[chuck83]

Church of Scientology is a 'criminal enterprise' that should face Mafia-like RICO charges: lawsuit

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/church-scientology-criminal-enterprise-face-090012863.html

 

Ouch...

[chuck83]

The Vatican desperately tries to clean up a mess of its own making

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-vatican-desperately-tries-to-clean-up-a-mess-of-its-own-making/ar-AA1mwgCc?ocid=sapphireappshare

 

It's getting bumpy there huh Harlot? 🤣

[Sofia]

7 hours ago, chuck83 said:

The Vatican desperately tries to clean up a mess of its own making

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-vatican-desperately-tries-to-clean-up-a-mess-of-its-own-making/ar-AA1mwgCc?ocid=sapphireappshare

 

It's getting bumpy there huh Harlot? 🤣

😂 Mat.12:25 a divided kingdom will fall 

[Witness1970]

On 4/28/2023 at 12:19 PM, Dustparticle said:

Interesting. Millions were involved, but not 31 Million.

 

It depends on how it is calculated.  There were 17 million killed (genocide), but, according to one website, if you add famine, disease, and war the number is said to be 70 to 85 million deaths. 2/3 of those deaths were civilians.

[LeolaRootStew]

10 hours ago, chuck83 said:

The Vatican desperately tries to clean up a mess of its own making

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-vatican-desperately-tries-to-clean-up-a-mess-of-its-own-making/ar-AA1mwgCc?ocid=sapphireappshare

 

It's getting bumpy there huh Harlot? 🤣

 

Quote

the initial document said that "no further responses should be expected about possible ways to regulate details or practicalities regarding blessings of this type."

 

While Fernandez and the Vatican can hand-wring and claim that the media and Christie misinterpreted the document and that its text affirms marriage as an indissoluble bond between one man and one woman, the fact remains that the vague language of the document invited such interpretations. And it was that public interpretation of the document that likely fueled the backlash by the bishops conferences. 

The faithful of the Catholic Church look to their leaders to provide unambiguous and clear teachings on moral issues, and priests and bishops, including Fernandez and Pope Francis, have a duty to provide it.

 

How blessed are we that the GB goes to such great lengths to explain changes as simple as the wearing of beards by giving historical context and scriptural considerations so that we can understand and accept the change together.

 

I can't even imagine our congregation being as divided as the Catholic church after receiving new direction about the resurrection possibilities. Can you even imagine Bethel servants around the world publicizing that they are not going to recognize these changes, or, worse yet, other Bethel servants fighting against the first ones proclaiming that everyone will get a resurrection because that's how they interpreted the announcement? No!

 

Real unity is precious. I'm glad we have places like this forum where we can flesh out the details, but to be so publicly divided is an insult to the God they claim to worship. To drop bombshell changes on their flock and resent any need for further explanation when there is clearly confusion among them is astonishing. They are truly sheep without a shepherd.

[Dages]

23 hours ago, LeolaRootStew said:

 

 

How blessed are we that the GB goes to such great lengths to explain changes as simple as the wearing of beards by giving historical context and scriptural considerations so that we can understand and accept the change together.

 

I can't even imagine our congregation being as divided as the Catholic church after receiving new direction about the resurrection possibilities. Can you even imagine Bethel servants around the world publicizing that they are not going to recognize these changes, or, worse yet, other Bethel servants fighting against the first ones proclaiming that everyone will get a resurrection because that's how they interpreted the announcement? No!

 

Real unity is precious. I'm glad we have places like this forum where we can flesh out the details, but to be so publicly divided is an insult to the God they claim to worship. To drop bombshell changes on their flock and resent any need for further explanation when there is clearly confusion among them is astonishing. They are truly sheep without a shepherd.

I love this post a lot... We are the true disciples of Christ

[Doug]

On 1/3/2024 at 8:09 AM, Friends just call me Ross said:

 

Wish more emphasis was put on what Jehovah's Witnesses DO  

than what Jehovah's Witnesses DON'T. 

 

No wonder Zoie didn't think we had any fun.  

 

 

 

Yeah   .    .     It's always  CBD

Spoiler

 Christmas  ~  Blood  ~  Disfellowshipping

 

[Lee49]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67749215

 

TB Joshua: Megachurch leader raped and tortured worshippers, BBC finds

 

 Evidence of widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world's biggest Christian evangelical churches has been uncovered by the BBC.

 Dozens of ex-Synagogue Church of all Nations members - five British - allege atrocities, including rape and forced abortions, by Nigeria's late TB Joshua.

 The allegations of abuse in a secretive Lagos compound span almost 20 years.

 TB Joshua, who died in 2021, was a charismatic and hugely successful preacher and televangelist who had an immense global following.

 

[chuck83]

Senior Vatican official makes case for a married priesthood

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/senior-vatican-official-makes-case-for-a-married-priesthood/ar-AA1mCgRb?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=b501d541d81e472885f9e954f8b70352&ei=125

 

Say it ain’t so…! 

[Parale]

Interesting article in the New York Times about US 'Evangelicals' and how they are changing:

 

No Republican has had a closer — or more counterintuitive — relationship with evangelicals than Mr. Trump... The ardent support he received from evangelical voters in 2016 and 2020 is often described as largely transactional: an investment in his appointment of Supreme Court justices... But religion scholars, drawing on a growing body of data, suggest another explanation: Evangelicals are not exactly who they used to be.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/us/politics/donald-trump-evangelicals-iowa.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MU0.FhQf.F-UHmE02-11v&smid=url-share

[Lee49]

51 minutes ago, Parale said:

Evangelicals are not exactly who they used to be.

"What may matter more than endorsements and policy plans are Mr. "Trump’s embrace of Christianity as a cultural identity — and his promises to defend it."

    What is cultural Christianity?

Cultural Christianity is religion that superficially identifies itself as “Christianity” but does not truly adhere to the faith. A “cultural Christian” is a nominal believer—he wears the label “Christian,” but the label has more to do with his family background and upbringing than any personal conviction that Jesus is Lord. Cultural Christianity is more social than spiritual.

https://www.gotquestions.org/cultural-Christianity.html

 

[Kwabena]

Speaking of Christianity and Mr. Trump, I read an article sometime ago about him going to one of our Kingdom Halls in the USA during his administration. Was that true?

Edited January 9 by Kwabena

[Sheep]

Probably not. There was a photo on some social media platforms showing Donald and Melania Trump, supposedly in a Kingdom Hall. However, the photo was later revealed to show a cathedral, not a KH.

 

See (among others) this link:

https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-russia-media-social-media-ap-fact-check-793f9ddb649d4ff68aaa3a07418345f7

[Kwabena]

1 minute ago, Sheep said:

Probably not. There was a photo on some social media platforms showing Donald and Melania Trump, supposedly in a Kingdom Hall. However, the photo was later revealed to show a cathedral, not a KH.

 

See (among others) this link:

https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-russia-media-social-media-ap-fact-check-793f9ddb649d4ff68aaa3a07418345f7

Thank you very much because it was weird when I read that.

Edited January 9 by Kwabena

[Sofia]

The New Voice of Ukraine

Some Ukrainians refuse to take up arms due to religious beliefs — interview

 

https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainians-refuse-arms-due-religious-233600395.html

Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, and Ukrainian members of several other religious organizations refuse to take up arms even during the ongoing existential war.