Should we be partakers of the Memorial of Christ death??

by wolfman85 32 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Mad Sweeney

  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

  and

  That belief is entirely arbitrary. To everybody gathered at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of inheriting the earth. If anyone who followed him would go to heaven, who was he talking to? He was not going to be alive long enough for many of those people to die before he did.

  You don't inherit things AFTER YOU are dead. You inherit things after someone ELSE dies. You receive an inheritance while you are still alive. It is an incredible jump to go from live, meek people inheriting the earth to dead, resurrected people, being resurrected onto the earth. That belief is every bit as arbitrary as your accusation that "every Christian goes to heaven" is. There is NOT ONE scripture that refers to earthly resurrection. It just doesn't exist.

  So if people aren't going to be resurrected on to the earth who in the world could he be talking to?

  Has anyone been resurrected on to the earth already? No.

  But there are SEVEN BILLION + people on earth. How could they possibly be here without a resurrection? They were born here.

  There is absolutely no reason to think a resurrection is required in order to have a planet full of people. We ALREADY HAVE a planet full of people.

  The scriptures seem clear: when judgment comes the meek will survive and the haughty will be destroyed. No earthly resurrection is necessary, nor is it indicated by scripture. AT ALL.
• 

  designs

  Define 'haughty'
• 

  tec

  Should we be partakers of the Memorial of Christ death??

  Well, at the very least... we should NOT deny Christ at the Memorial or any other time, if we hope to have union with him. Passing on the bread and wine seems to be a symbolic denial of Him, to me. (though I understand doing something out of ignorance/not knowing any better)

  Seems to me that all the early Christians gathered together in their homes and partook. Not just once a year, either, but every time they gathered together.

  Peace,

  Tammy
• 

  designs

  tec-

  You know if the early Christians were meeting 5 times a week like the JWs they would need to buy Wine by the Barrel
• 

  Essan

  I agree, I find the gathering together to purposefully NOT partake, but to hold the emblems and pass them on, to be a pretty disturbing ritualized denial of the sacrifice. If one were to design a purposeful symbolic rejection of Christ and his sacrifice, one could hardly do a better job.

  As you say though, most do this in ignorance. But it's still rather disturbing.
• 

  tec

  As you say though, most do this in ignorance. But it's still rather disturbing.

  I agree. And I did it on the one Memorial I went to. But I wasn't really thinking about Christ at all. I was thinking about following the rules of the witnesses. Therein lies the problem, imo - putting them before Christ.

  Peace,

  Tammy
• 

  WontLeave

  @Essan

  You talking about Eph 4:5? "even as YOU were called in the one hope to which YOU were called"

  Not all Christians are called. We already went through this. All who are called are in one hope.

  2Pet 3:13 makes it clear we are awaiting new heavens and a new earth; and he was talking to Christians.

  The 144k (literal or figurative #) are "bought from the earth" (Rev 14:3).

  I, for one, have no desire to leave the earth, do not feel "called" or "drawn", and look forward to perfect, naked women everywhere and an elimination of enforced monogamy (Luke 20:34).

  JW version of "Paradise" isn't even close. They believe there will be a Kingdom Hall on every corner and nuclear families in casual-dress attire will be prudishly living by more rules than ever. Perhaps this unrealistic ideal of the "new earth" is what throws most people off. There were 2 rules in Eden and 1 was totally unnecessary.

  Adam and Eve were never given rules about certain plants (marijuana, coca, peyote, etc.), certain sex acts, certain music, certain clothing, certain rituals, certain schedules, or any of the rules that came after Eden. People were intended to live on earth in relative freedom and religion is a curse on mankind (Gal 3:13). We aren't freed from the earth, because the earth isn't the problem. The truth/Christ sets us free from the bondage of sin and law.
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  Essan

  Wontleave, I'm talking about the entire NT and every single occasion where the hope of Christians is referred to. Anointing is spoken of as if all have it. The hope is explicitly spoken of as single. From the moment that Christianity is established, through every book of the NT, the heavenly hope of anointed Christians is the ONLY hope discussed for Christians. There is nothing else. There is no other type of Christian. It's this, or nothing. Christian, or not.

  The Bible never says "not all Christians are called". Never. How can you quote Eph 4:5 "even as YOU were called in the one hope to which YOU were called" and not see that Paul is explicitly stating they were ALL called and ALL have ONE HOPE???

  He doesn't say "even as some of you were called to the one hope that some of you have". He speaks for all because the one calling and one hope is what ALL had because that's all there is! All Christians are "called", it's one and the same thing. If you're not "called" it's because you're not suitable to be a Christian. Christian = "called" = "anointed" = heavenly hope. It's indivisible and one.

  You hope to live forever on earth. You don't feel 'called'. Cool. You're not called to be Christian and you're not a Christian. Why not be honest about it, rather than twisting the Scriptures?

  I hope you get what you want, I really do. And, who knows, you may. But not as a Christian. There is no such thing. The Bible is crystal clear. You'd be better off and perhaps even more likely to get what you want by abandoning this mutant and false 'Christianity' you have constructed for yourself which makes a mockery of the book you claim to follow.
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  Essan

  Double post
• 

  Mad Sweeney

  You'd be better off and more likely to get what you want by abandoning this mutant and false 'Christianity' you have constructed for yourself which makes a mockery of the book you claim to follow.

  Even better than that would be to abandon the mutant and false book.

  Define 'haughty'

  Anyone who doesn't agree with their religious superiors.

  BTW, I was speaking as a Bible believer, which I'm not. The book has some good qualities but it isn't the magical product of an invisible sky-being.