Rome was especially ruthless

by Yadirf 26 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  GinnyTosken

  Betweenworlds,

  Thanks for sharing a great quote:

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

  Ginny
• 

  betweenworlds

  Ginny,

  You are welcome. Reminded me of the teaching methods of a certain sect we all know and don't love so well.

  between

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

  4horsemen

  Yardif wrote:

  "I'll ask you the same question that I did Skeptic:

  quote:
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  Why is it that you automatically condemn God for bringing about the destructive forces of Armageddon when you don’t even clearly understand the issue? And if you think you do understand the issue, I’ll be quite for a moment and allow you to explain it to me. What is the issue, if you can tell me?"

  Condemn is the wrong word. Question is a better word.

  Why do they "goats" have to die at GT? Why cant they be pardoned?

  A parallel...

  The Israelites were delievered from Egypt. But before they saw the 10 plagues etc. As God's people, one might think they had better understanding of "true" religion than the other heathens.

  YET, despite being God's chosen nation, despite having more awareness of the 'true' god, despite witnessing the 10 plagues, they STILL were faithless. How many times did they murmur, whine, argue angainst Moses? Moses was upon Horeb less than 40 days before they had Aaron make the golden calf. Only some of those were killed for their idolatry.

  Later, whining again they refused to believe they could defeat the promised land residents. Here is the parallel... Instead of Jah whacking them out, he had them wander 40 years in the desert. Til the faithless were dead of natural causes. It may have been a crappy existence but it was life nonetheless. No flaming swords from the heavens.

  Contrast that with today. I would wager more than 9/10 the world has never had a personal witness. I would wager further that 99% of the world could not tell you 3 major beliefs/tenets of the Witnesses. Quick, name 3 main beliefs and explain them regarding Hindus. Times up. For your lack on knowing, Kali is going to kill you. Why?

  How about this from a 'loving' god. A god of 'justice' Why not remove Satan, his demons, and his system first. Then let the 6 billion have 40 years free from that influence, and see what you will see
• 

  Yadirf

  Tyydyy

  A)Would you please tell us why it was ok for god to kill all those children living at the time of the flood. B)Why was it ok for all women and children to die just because they happened to live in the "promised land". C)If god was really concerned about how horrible their worship was then why didn't he exterminate all the other religions of the earth?

  Oh my goodness, I can't believe that you don't have the understanding to answer those 3 easy questions. Really, it's very very simple ... as simple as A_B_C. If you seriously think about it, it will surely dawn on you. It's really a kindergarten challenge, trust me. Try, and see if you don’t find that to be true. Think!

  Yadirf

  Daniel 11:35 ... a prophecy that must be fulfilled before the "time of the end" gets underway.
• 

  Farkel

  : Why is it that you automatically condemn God for bringing about the destructive forces of Armageddon when you don’t even clearly understand the issue?

  The "issue" is (according to WTS dogma) that 99.9% of the world is going to die. Before we get into Armageddon, let's get into the Noachian Flood, Friday. Why did God kill all the babies then? Why does God think nothing of slaughtering innocent BABIES as the Bible said he did in Genesis with the Flood? There are tons of evidence that some or many children raised in the most evil of families turn out to be just fine, just as there is tons of evidence that children raised in the best of families become horrible criminals. Why does God think that he has to kill EVERYONE (including the innocent) to make sure whatever problem he is trying to solve at the moment will be solved. Is he that much of an idiot? Yes, he is that much of an idiot if one is foolish enough to believe in the Bible. He is a fuckhead, but I already said that. He's also (the Bible version of him, that is) imaginery, so don't criticize me for picking on your imaginery friend.

  It's time to shed your belief in an ancient tribal God and re-define your faith, Friday.

  Farkel

  "When in doubt, duck!"
• 

  Skeptic

  Thanks for the amicable greeting, and I hope that you’re getting along fine.

  Thanks. I am fine here, and wish the same for you.

  First of all, I’m really astonished when I hear someone say, as you just did: “If God existed …”
  I really have a difficult time relating to anyone being an agnostic, and especially an atheist ... particularly for those having gotten in more than a few decades of living among the glories of God’s creation. It’s really something that’s totally beyond me, I’ll have to admit.

  I can respect that. I understand why many people believe in God.

  You’re not really making a statement like that while having a clear understanding of the basis for God’s bringing about Armageddon, I’m fairly sure of that. But that aside for a moment, do you mean to say that there is NEVER any justification for a human life being ended by force?

  There are several reasons for a human life to be taken by force. Even innocent lives are sacrificed in times of war. These are usually called civilian casualties...

  My view of the death penalty is mixed and under evaluation. In principle, I am for it. In practice, there are valid arguments against it. Innocent people have been on death row. An unusual number of poor black people are executed compared to rich white people. There are a few people I'd volunteer to adminster the death penalty to though; Clifford Olson and Paul Bernardo and his wife Karla come to mind.

  What I cannot find justification for is genocide or ethnic cleansing. And that is basically what Armageddon is: the ethnic cleansing of non-JWs/non-born-agains/non-Christians, depending on your particuliar religious view. No or few excuses allowed for the unbelievers.

  Millions Hindus would be killed, yet they have never heard of the Bible or JWs or being born-again.
  Then you have Satan deceiving people into not following Jehovah properly. Is that fair?
  Then you have babies being killed because their parents have the wrong beliefs. Is that fair?
  Householders in field service are often too busy to be preached to. One man was wallpapering his house when I called. Because I could not convince him in 30 seconds to join my religion, due to the wallpaper soaking, he could die in Armageddon. That was when I started to realize that Armageddon was not just.

  Richard
• 

  joelbear

  I feel sorry for god if the best he has to defend him is Yadirf's snippy no answer replies.

  Joel