So what would you find if you only read the Bible?...........

by oompa 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  oompa

  I tried this a few years ago. I read the gospels right before the memorial. Jesus, I noticed, did not answer some questions his friends asked him. Instead, he would ignore their question and go off on a tangent. If you read the Bible without religious instruction of any sort would you conclude that:

  A seed bruised in the head dies, and he would be Jesus? Bruises hurt, but they do not kill.

  Jehovah always uses an organization? How is it Cyrus and many others did what they did and were not part of it?..........oompa
• 

  watson

  a pretty good history of early modern man, some good mythology, some nice songs, some pretty wise stuff, mystery, puzzles, riddles, etc.
• 

  JK666

  A bunch of crap! Oompa, call me, stuff is hitting the fan.

  JK
• 

  tula

  Oompa...may I add to your question? How does one really "keep without spot from the world"?

  What are the SPOTS?

  (is technology a spot? It's worldly. Does that mean no plasma TV and cell phone?)

  How do YOU define the SPOTS?
• 

  jwfacts

  What you would find depends on how you were raised. Raised in a Christian country to accept it as the word of God, you would try to reconcile all the inconsistencies, raised in a non Christian country you would see it as on par with other books that meld ancient history and religious lore.
• 

  WTWizard

  Try adding all the mayhem committed in the name of God. Did God need to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah just because the people were minding their own business, living as they chose? If everyone was homosexual, the cities would have died out on their own accord for lack of children to replace those that died. Did God have the right to destroy Canaan just because the citizens were not serving His selfish agenda but were bettering themselves? And what about the injustice favoring King David, who massacred Philistines just because they were not God machines?

  God is not in favor of true freedom. He would rather give people a fake choice. You can choose things that are going to better mankind, but God will come in and mess it up, ultimately to destroy you and your whole civilization. Or, you can sacrifice to the "higher cause", wasting resources and refraining from doing things that would be fulfilling to you without causing harm to others. The "reward" for that is to stagnate and suffer forever.

  To me, Jesus (and Satan) were the only Bible characters that even attempted to liberate man. Jesus attempted to get people to think on their own, not being dependent on their leaders. And so did Satan. Satan wanted Adam to think on his own, without waiting for permission from slowpoke, stagnation-mongering Baghead that we know is God. Jesus wanted people to think on their own without waiting for the hypocritical Pharisees to take their cut and give them permission. And to think the Watchtower Society states, quite boldly, that Jesus and Satan have nothing in common.
• 

  dogisgod

  Which translation? Which denomination? The Koran, the King James, the American Standard, the NWT. Just like other religions JWs only study to enforce what they are already taught. I don't know if it is possible to read any translation w/o their (the translators) "intent" to affect your thinking process.
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  bobld

  I sure would not find it beneficial.No I take that back, being a farmer it tells me how to get rid of unwanted cats.Drown them,sorry cats lovers.One more thing it sure tells you how to fight wars and kill people.It also tells you of sacred secrets which don't help anyone.Why write an instruction book for mankind that is totally useless.Who give a rats ass that some stupid shit riding an ass and hangs himself in a oak tree.Only to have 3 spears put into his heart taken down and gang beaten.Who wants to watch LA news report every figgin murder,shit happens.
• 

  MissingLink

  I'd sum it up like this:

  Old Testament = God is a dick.

  New Testament = Jesus says be nice.
• 

  Doug Mason

  I just wrote the following at another thread:
  
  The Bible is a collection of writings by many people spread over a long time, from the Iron Age to the time of the Romans.
  
  Each writer spoke to their own people, using their own culture, understandings, concepts, contemporary contexts (political, geographic, etc). They did not write to us or for us, but recorded their thoughts in their own styles for their own immediate audience.
  
  They used the full range of forms, such as poetry, narrative, and employed the range of language, such as hyperbole, parable, allegory, etc. The earliest book -- Job -- was a play. One can imagine it being played out on the desert sand in front of an ancient eastern audience.
  
  The writers came from a wide range of backgrounds: doctor, poet, king, fisherman, tax collector, priest, and this influenced their language and their understandings. Over time, later scribes made some amendments.
  
  The WTS treats the Bible as a flat board where they can jump around from place to place, joining together totally unrelated pieces. Go to the Bible and see the colors, the smells, the activities of the times.
  
  It no longer becomes, "is the Bible true", but rather "what message can I extract from their experiences".
  
  Men wrote as they were inspired by God, but he did not pen their words. These are their own words, describing their experiences.
  
  Doug