Has anyone heard this about Bethel?

by Mindchild 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  Mindchild

  Please tell me if I'm wrong about this. If I'm not, I'm actually pretty shocked...

  We all remember reading in the Bible how Israel once became rampant with sacred prostitution and the worship of phallic images. Although there is evidence that these phallic idols were widespread, it is difficult to realize just how ubiquitous they were because of the way the texts were translated. Please note the comments of T. Clifton Longworth in The Gods of Love: The Creative Process in Early Religion:

  We must frankly admit that the translators of our Authorized Version of the Bible, acting with the best of motives, have deliberately camouflaged much of the phallic symbolism in the Old Testament by mistranslation. The two usual sex emblems are often mentioned: thus the pillar which was so often set up and anointed was, of course, the phallus, or male symbol; while the Hebrew word deliberately mistranslated “groves” was the yoni, or female organ. (pp. 64-65)

  With this in mind, now read Genesis 28:18-19 which says:

  18The next morning he got up very early. He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19He named the place Bethel--"house of God"--though the name of the nearby village was Luz.

  -New Living Translation (NLT)

  This is the story of Jacob’s ladder and one of the earliest accounts of phallicism. If you have any doubt that this pillar wasn’t a sex symbol, read the following account at 2 Kings 23:14-15
  14He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.
  15The king also tore down the altar at Bethel, the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made when he led Israel into sin. Josiah crushed the stones to dust and burned the Asherah pole.

  What is my point then with all this? Is BETHEL named after a big stone cock! Excuse me, didn’t the Governing Body see this coming? Is this new light?

  Skipper

  "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings." - William Shakespeare
• 

  sf

  "...didn’t the Governing Body see this coming?"

  No, but I'm sure they saw "IT" cumming. And were willing and ready. hahahahaha

  sKally, non governmental klass...wcrestnpeace
• 

  Yerusalyim

  I'm not sure BETHEL was named for a big COCK, but it's full of a bunch of old pricks.

  YERUSALYIM
  "Vanity! It's my favorite sin!"
  [Al Pacino as Satan, in "DEVIL'S ADVOCATE"]
• 

  VeniceIT

  You know what's interestign is if you look up 'Bethel' in the Index. None of the references are a good thing

  Ven

  "Injustice will continue until those who are not affected by it are as outraged as those who are."
• 

  edward gentry

  mindchild.
  .
  Inspired! only you could have done it.

  In the way that irony works this surprises me not at all.
  Of COURSE its named after a giant DICK. What else could it be
  considering all the (symbolic) mental ejaculation taking place there.
  Its like the "Watchtower" name also.
  Syrely this is connected to the famous "Watchers" of "dark' writings.
• 

  OUTLAW

  HA-HA-HA,a big dick,housing a bunch of dicks,to train dicks,to get more dicks!!!...OUTLAW
• 

  edward gentry

  another one in similar vein demonstrating dark strains in the OT.
  What about Judges 11v 31.
  Judge Jepthah offers his daughter as a sacrifice for victory in war.
  Probably the Witness Bible nambypambies with the language, but the King James Bible describes her as "a burnt offering"!
  Made to Jah.
  It doesnt say anything about her "virginity" being sacrificed to Gods service.
  Surely a "burnt offering" can mean only one thing.
• 

  Mindchild

  If I have it right, the most shocking elements are that any supposed God would allow his organization to become a joke because of what they call their headquarters. Wouldn't you think that if there was some divine guidence that they would at least get this right?

  The second thing that comes to mind is that this organization encourages its victims to avoid anything associated with sex worship. Here we have a guy that loved his stone phallus so much that he used it for a freaking pillow! Would any idot use a rock for a pillow unless it really was something special to him? In other words, this was his prize stone dilldo that he probably thought gave him his mojo!

  So, as usual, not only does the Watch Tower Society screw up, they screw up totally big time and name their most precious building after some old guy's stone mojo! I guess then it would be okay to call all the people working at the top of this organizations, real dick heads.

  Skipper (the rubbing it in class)

  "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings." - William Shakespeare
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  Satanus

  Mindchild

  You have only scratched the surface of sex worship in the ot. See http://www2.prestel.co.uk/littleton/ra1gw08.htm for more. It's a bit old, but most of it is still valid.

  SS
• 

  betweenworlds

  I remember reading in a book (can't recall which one now) That the original building was a church, called bethel something or other (I think it was a baptist church) And when the WTBTS bought it, they never bothered to change the name.

  bw

  "Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education." - Chuang-tzu, Chinese writer (c.369 B.C.-c.286 B.C.).