I have noticed a very disturbing trend. But I suppose when any religion owns it's deity (s) they can pretty much dress him any way they want.
Religions are changing Jesus from the kind peace-lover who advised his followers to "do good to those who spitefully use you" and "love one another, even your enemies."
Now, Jesus is fed up and he's coming back as a killer.
Anyone who has loved ones sitting in a pew needs to be prepared to see this changed Jesus that is being preached.
I always understood the "sword" to be words that cut, not an actual steel- forged implement. But religionists, just like WT, I suppose, are equating sword with fire and brimstone annihilation.
Some religions are teaching a new doctrine; well, maybe it's not new. Perhaps it's just the flip side of Jesus. Has the NT been completely contrived? When did this happen? 1611? Or later?
Cognitive dissonance : "A state of psychic tension caused by the simultaneous holding of mutually inconsistent attitudes or the existence of a lack of consonance between attitudes and behavior."
Are we to believe now that Jesus came to destroy the non-conformists and was never meant to be the pacifist good-guy?
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The New Testament would have us kiss the hand of the man thrusting the knife in our gut. Jesus supposedly said referring to the Pharisees that killed him, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." This is very bizarre since this came after Jesus had called them vipers, sons of Hell, and dead men. From the forgeries found in the New Testament a new love gospel was created.
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There are claims that Jesus was actually militant; a 'zero-tolerance' kind of guy.
And of course they have found a way to use scripture to make their case. Like "I didn't come to bring peace, I came to bring a sword."
I am sure WT will be using stronger and stronger divisional language as we go further into this regime change. They will be bombarding loved ones with scriptures like (Jesus said) those who love father, or mother, or children, more than they love me are not worthy of me. "
Is Jesus starting to sound a little schizophrenic yet? A bit heavy handed on the manipulating through guilt and loyalty?
Is this the same Jesus you grew to love and admire? Doesn't he seem to be going through a character change with these words?
This next one especially reminds me of Watchtower World. It's absolutely ludicrous that they took the FDS from a parable and made it into a "real entity" when it is so totally out of context for what the parable meant!
Well, this next one is the same way. When you go back and read it in the parable....it makes no legitimate sense being used like this.
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"But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me." Luke 19:27 (NIV)
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Does this really sound like the character of Jesus? This, like the FDS, is another parable taken out of context with deliberate attempt to manipulate a different kind of message.