Czech Republic and JW's

[Dustparticle]

 

Now they want to ban us. 

 

https://bitterwinter.org/czech-republic-in-the-footsteps-of-russia-jehovahs-witnesses-threatened-with-liquidation/

[trottigy]

Thanks Dusty.

 

I am unable to find any other news source for this. Have you seen any?

 

note: from jw.org:

Quote

Fast Facts—Czech Republic

• 10,859,000—Population
• 17,296—Ministers who teach the Bible
• 219—Congregations
• 1 to 636—Ratio of Jehovah’s Witnesses to population

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/worldwide/CZ/

 

And didn't they just have an international convention there?

[Sheep]

1 hour ago, trottigy said:

Thanks Dusty.

 

I am unable to find any other news source for this. Have you seen any?

That often seems to be the case with stories on Bitterwinter.org. They are the only ones who report something on a particular country until later. I'm not sure why that is.

 

1 hour ago, trottigy said:

And didn't they just have an international convention there?

Yes. Prague in 2024.

[Brandon]

I asked SearchGPT and it took me a down a bit of a rabbit hole but eventually led me to this article, among other media: 

 

https://translate.kagi.com/https://info.dingir.cz/2024/12/cesti-svedkove-jehovovi-se-obavaji-zruseni-registrace

[Doug]

It seems to me the GB puts the spotlight on these efforts to deny our religious freedoms.  The GB advise us of these things and ask us to make it a matter of prayer.

 

But not in this case.  This seems to be intractable, as the last paragraph summarizes.  Either cease and desist or face de-registration.

 

Hard to know why the GB hasn't shared this.  It's not confidential.

[johnnyjw01]

Check this one:

https://bitterwinter.org/czech-republic-in-the-footsteps-of-russia-jehovahs-witnesses-threatened-with-liquidation/

[trottigy]

4 hours ago, Dustparticle said:

 

Now they want to ban us. 

 

https://bitterwinter.org/czech-republic-in-the-footsteps-of-russia-jehovahs-witnesses-threatened-with-liquidation/

 

3 minutes ago, johnnyjw01 said:

Check this one:

https://bitterwinter.org/czech-republic-in-the-footsteps-of-russia-jehovahs-witnesses-threatened-with-liquidation/

 

Thesee are the same, but thank you.

[Doug]

5 minutes ago, Doug said:

It seems to me the GB puts the spotlight on these efforts to deny our religious freedoms.  The GB advise us of these things and ask us to make it a matter of prayer.

 

But not in this case.  

 

The link Brandon shared says the branch did suggest brothers and sisters might send a respectful letter of protest and to pray.

Maybe we will get more information on an update.

 

This is an EU member state.  These issues have been adjudicated by the highest courts of the EU.   

[trottigy]

In case you have trouble with the "bitterwinter" site:

 

Quote

Jehovah’s Witnesses are asked to cease and desist from certain “activities.” However, they cannot cease and desist from their teachings about avoiding relationships with expelled members and blood transfusions, because they believe that these are mandated by the Bible, that the Bible is the word of God, and that Christians “must obey God rather than human beings” (Acts 5:29, New International Version).

 

 

[BLEmom]

Not much out there but found this for what it’s worth….

 

https://actfiles.org/czech-anti-cult-movement/

[Dolce vita]

15 minutes ago, BLEmom said:

Not much out there but found this for what it’s worth….

 

https://actfiles.org/czech-anti-cult-movement/

Thank you, Dawn, very interesting.

 

"It was the Lutheran centers for the study of cults that contributed to making the German National Socialist Party an extreme form of Nazism in its most brutal form known to history." We always come back to the involvement of BTG in all the horrors of history. A new Inquisition is perhaps being prepared before Jehovah settles everyone's fate.

[johnnyjw01]

3 hours ago, trottigy said:

 

 

Thesee are the same, but thank you.

I didn’t notice, oops 😅

[Doug]

1 hour ago, BLEmom said:

Not much out there but found this for what it’s worth….

 

https://actfiles.org/czech-anti-cult-movement/

 

It's "worth" a great deal.  It really pulls back the curtain on the so-called anti-cult activists and their symbiotic relationship with the news media.

 

It reminds me of a talk by Br Ralph Walls "Protect Your Thinking Ability".  His opening words are "The fact is, we are at war.  There is an intense battle to control our minds."

[Jwanon]

I think it's a good thing that more countries want to persecute and ban us. Jehovah will not stand seeing his people all around the world being oppressed, and he will act swiftly to put an end to all the evil deeds of the nations by triggering the Great Tribulation

 

Zechariah 2:8-10 “He who touches you touches the apple of His eye."

[Doug]

3 hours ago, Jwanon said:

I think it's a good thing that more countries want to persecute and ban us. 

 

I think frontal attacks, persecution, tend to bring the name Jehovah's Witnesses to the attention of more people than if the persecution hadn't happened.  In effect, it backfires on the persecutor.

People who hear about it and wonder why, what have we been up to?  People will think, "I know JW's. I can't believe what's being done to them".

 

So, in these last, last days (hours) , fresh persecution such as this in Czech Republic may further the reach of the good news.  If Jehovah allows it, we can handle it.

[just1-4all]

True story:

 

I went shopping for groceries about a month ago, a tall man in a white outfit was standing next to a display of baked goods. He made a sales pitch with a heavy European accent. I asked: "Where he was from?, he says "Russia originally". I said: 'Oh, interesting ... how was it living in Russia?' Long story short, the conversation got around to what is going on in Ukraine, the pressure on people to support the war effort, oppression of religious minorities, and so on. I got around to letting him know (I forget his name now), that I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses. He said: "Oh, they are good people. They have helped our country a lot" (he wasn't specific, perhaps I should have asked, but anyway ...) and I chimed in: "Yes, and they are persecuted." He says rather emphatically: "Yes, and I don't understand why?"  I wish I had a contact card with me 😔🤔 but I mentioned our website, many languages, and you'll find an answer to that question there.

 

It was so cool meeting someone native to that country who recognizes the good Jehovah's Witnesses do and that it doesn't add up that they are being persecuted. Certainly Jehovah will draw him if he's looking for the real answer to that.

[just1-4all]

The above is not to do with the title of this thread 'Czech Republic and JW's' of course, but seemed to fit the conversation nonetheless 🙂