I have always loved it when the seasons changes. I was always told that we would have temerate weather all of the time and the seasons wouldn't chage. I always thought I would miss the changing leaves, budding flowers after it has been so cold, and the snow. (In Mississippi, snow is fun because it is only a once every five years thing)
What did you not like about the paradise?
by reneeisorym 42 Replies latest jw friends
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REBORNAGAIN
That I would be stuck on this earth while the other phoney bolognies (144,000 JW's, i.e. psuedo Christians) made it into heaven.
LINDA
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Gopher
I don't like the sheer illogical nature of this promise.
Here's a thread where I posted about it:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/104879/1.ashx
"You Cannot Live Forever In Paradise On Earth"
The Watchtower Society has, for about seven decades, been attracting new ‘volunteer workers’ for its ‘field ministry’ with the promise of life forever on a paradise earth. Even the titles of its main study books since 1968 bear the promise: “The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life”, “You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth”, and “Knowledge that Leads to Everlasting Life”.
How logical is this hope that leads people to entrust the Watchtower with their time, energy and worldly possessions?
Examine the premise that the earth will become a paradise where people will live forever. It sounds so good on the surface! Let’s define “paradise” as a world without evil people and where harm comes to nobody.
Does the phrase ‘paradise earth’ appear anywhere in the Bible? The Watchtower teaches the idea, citing Psalms 37:29 where the righteous possess the ‘earth’ and live in it ‘forever’. Other translations, however, use ‘the land’ instead of earth, and ‘time indefinite’ instead of ‘forever’. Such translations make it appear that this verse applied to the restoration of the Hebrews to their own land, to dominate over it for an unspecified period of time. Anyhow, it is arbitrary to say that Psalms 37:29 MUST apply to a paradise earth. Other verses such as Matthew 5:5 speak of the righteous inheriting the earth, but again no paradise is mentioned. Revelation 21 speaks of ‘death being no more’, but again no paradise is mentioned. Anyone who gets paradise earth out of Revelation 21 is reading more into it than is there.
Would a paradise earth where people live forever be physically possible or emotionally satisfying? Jesus is recorded as saying ‘the road to destruction is broad, … whereas cramped is the road and narrow the gate leading to [everlasting] life’. The Watchtower responds to that verse by teaching that Armageddon will wipe out most of the people you see on earth today. Is the prospect of forever serving a God who is said to love mankind but anxious to wipe out the majority a cheerful one? Would you be relaxed in such a ‘paradise’, or nervous about getting on this God’s bad side?
Then consider this. What happens if the earth (in such a paradise) reaches the point of overpopulation, meaning there are not enough food and other resources available for continued growth? The Genesis account says that the first humans were told to ‘fill the earth’. What would happen once it is filled?
There are three possibilities, all of which are speculation and nowhere mentioned in the Bible. (Remember, God, I mean the Watchtower, doesn’t want us to speculate too much on the conditions in paradise.) God gives new laws restricting or prohibiting procreation. This means that there would be no more children, not to mention the major change in adult relationships. Is this anyone’s idea of emotional satisfaction? The Bible, in its book of Psalms, says that God would give to all the desires of their hearts (someday), so this idea is in conflict with the Bible’s own definition of paradise. God will put a halt to the natural procreation process. So people would go on getting married and having adult relationships, but God would make it impossible to conceive more children.
or:God will transport the excess residents of paradise to a new earthlike planet elsewhere in the universe. The Watchtower actually speculated about this in one of its publications used in the Congregation Book Study about 20 years ago. This is the most interesting possibility. If living forever would make it necessary to move some people to another planet, that would contradict the idea that the righteous would live forever ON EARTH. Since heaven is defined as anyplace beyond earth’s atmosphere, by definition any other planet would be ‘in heaven’ in relation to earth, where all the issues raised in the Bible are supposed to be settled.
It seems the idea of living forever in paradise on earth has no solid Biblical support, and it also is physically impossible and would be ultimately be emotionally unsatisfying.
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Paralipomenon
The whole living forever as a slave thing bothered me. For most witnesses they don't see it as slavery, but they wouldn't be free.
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reneeisorym
And the 1,000 years of remaining strong without being perfect
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Nowman
The idea of paradise earth was attractive to me, because really I did not want to be an angel anyway. I wanted my own flesh and skin. At this point in my life, who knows what is going to happen to me, but this is how I used to think about it.
NIkki
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sir82
I used to wonder about literature, as in novels, short stories, etc.
If no one ever dies, if there is never any conflict, if everyone is perfect and never makes mistakes, what on earth is there to write about, at least non-fiction?
And what about other forms of art? Art should "say something", be a means of expression...again, if everything is perfectly wonderful all the time for everyone, what is there to "tell" with art?
The most beautiful & memorable artworks & literature revolve around death, loss, suffering, redemption, salvation, permanent loss or just escaping permanent loss, etc...all moot and meaningless concepts after living 40 quadrillion years without actually ever experiencing anything like that.
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reneeisorym
That's a good point sir82.
I would miss Christmas lights and sex. After the earth is populated, sex will have to cease.
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serotonin_wraith
Living in a world filled with Jehovah's Witnesses.
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sweetstuff
I saw the Time Machine as a kid, after that, "paradise" had a whole new meaning, it used to freak me out, badly. Thinking of everyone walking around like automated zombies, with creepy smiles on their faces, saying Good morning Brother So and So.