An yes, but maybe the answer to rodent overpopulation will be in the new scrolls. We can trust Jesus to be ale to control animals.
"Snakes will eat dirt in the new order."
by Comatose 89 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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jwfacts
They too think snakes will eat dirt in the new order. /facepalm
Wow.
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BluesBrother
Even when I was a dilligent dub conducting a study with someone , I told him that we would have wait and see how this would turn out - it was ludicrous to take it at face value . For a while Brooklyn used to say this too, albeit among their daft prophecies about the "time of the end .
Man's Salvation book (1975) p 191/2
" Isa 11:6-8. Those verses described the wolf, the leopard, the lion, the bear, the cobra, the poisonous snake as doing no harm either to domesticated animals or to innocent children.22 However, here these potentially harmful animals must be used as illustrations in the prophecy, for such animals by thcould not be mentally affected by filling of the earth with the knowledge of Jehovah. So the real application of the pronoun “they” is to the residents of God’s spiritual paradise for his restored remnant of spiritual Israel on earth. These intelligent God-fearing persons are the ones that would be transformed in their dispositions and pursuits by receiving the “knowledge of Jehovah.”
But I see that more recently they have returned to the traditional ,literal explanation
Wt 2012 9/15 p10
"9 So we should not be surprised when we read in the Bible that peace will come to prevail between humans and animals. (Read Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:25.) Why not? Recall that when Noah and his family emerged from the ark after the Flood, Jehovah told them: “A fear of you and a terror of you will continue upon every living creature of the earth.” That was for the animals’ self-preservation. (Gen. 9:2, 3) Could not Jehovah remove a measure of that fear and terror, so that his original mandate would be fulfilled? (Hos. 2:18) What an enjoyable time awaits all who will survive to live on earth then!"
I guess that people like to believe what they enjoy believing............
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AndDontCallMeShirley
Everyone knows that lions, tigers, piranhas, etc. have big sharp teeth so they can eat vegetables....and dirt.
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Oubliette
Really? The GB members are going to eat dirt! That is SO COOL!
I wanna' be there to see that.
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goodsoul
Shark obviously will eat water plants..
..oh, shark is able to feel drop of blood few miles away. probably, god will use them to help injured swimmers.
Can I have one as a pet in New world? soo sweet!.. -
AndDontCallMeShirley
Oh, and snakes have venom solely to paralyze and kill dirt. It makes fast-moving dirt much easier to catch and eat.
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adamah
It's an unenviable position to be the creator of the Universe, since ultimately anything bad that happens in the Universe is only going to make you look like a jerk, esp when you try to blame your creations for failing to make them less-than-perfect.
The serpent story is just such an example, with soooo much to pick on.
So WHO made the serpent as the 'cleverest beast of the field', again? Wasn't that YHWH? And why would he do a silly thing like that?
Who made the serpent speak the same language as Adam and Eve, so they could communicate? Wasn't that the same YHWH, the one who later CONFUSED the languages of men at the Tower of Babel? Did He NOT anticipate even the slightest possibility for problems in allowing for animal/human communication to occur?
Odd about that issue, too: why didn't the serpent's ability to speak even come up in the entire dialogue in the account? Notice God DIDN'T say, "and because you deceived Eve, you will lose your ability to speak with humans!" NO, instead God sentenced the serpent to travel on it's belly (and presumably God forgot about the lizards, salamanders, gekkos, etc, since they are all extant four-legged reptiles that look like snakes with legs).
Also note that God didn't take the cleverness away as punishment: I've seen alot of animals, but I wouldn't exactly say the snake was the 'cleverest', compared to birds (crows are one of the few species that use tools), octopuses, dolphins, canines, horses, chimps, monkeys, etc. I'm guessing the writers of the Genesis account didn't have a whole lot of experience with animals outside of their area (sheep, goats, chickens, etc).
Adamah
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Jeffro
adamah:
So WHO made the serpent as the 'cleverest beast of the field'
Of course this is another ridiculous part of the story. But the JW claim that 'Satan used the snake like a ventriloquist's dummy' is even stupider because it contradicts the above claim. (The NWT says the serpent was "the most cautious", but the point still applies.) If Satan was 'making' the animal 'speak', any supposed intrinsic characteristic of the animal is entirely irrelevant.
NO, instead God sentenced the serpent to travel on it's belly (and presumably God forgot about the lizards, salamanders, gekkos, etc, since they are all extant four-legged reptiles that look like snakes with legs).
So... what did the legless lizards do wrong???
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adamah
Jeffro said:
Of course this is another ridiculous part of the story. But the JW claim that 'Satan used the snake like a ventriloquist's dummy' is even stupider because it contradicts the above claim. (The NWT says the serpent was "the most cautious", but the point still applies.) If Satan was 'making' the animal 'speak', any supposed intrinsic characteristic of the animal is entirely irrelevant.
Yeah, the Hebrew word is 'arum', which elsewhere in the Bible is translated as 'crafty', 'clever', 'cautious', or even 'prudent' or 'wise' (that's actually more likely, since the serpent was considered as possessing special insight into the secrets of eternal life, due to its ability to regenerate its skin). Obviously the translation of 'prudent' would be out of line in a Christian translation, since THAT wouldn't fit into the eisegesis of the serpent being Satan!
The 'ventriloquist' explanation is no solution, either, since why does the serpent get cursed by God for being involuntarily possessed (demonized) by Satan? It's no match: a freakin' animal vs Lucifer, the powerful fallen angel!! So the "ventriloquist" explanation becomes more of that "punish the victim" mentality (like how Leviticus 20:15 states that if some horny dude has sex with an animal, BOTH must be put to death. What did the animal do to deserve death!?!? "But God, that ewe came on to me!"....).
What the WT is doing is shot-gunning, throwing a plate of spaghetti against a wall to see if any of it sticks. It doesn't even matter if the ideas are contradictory: it's a buffet, a pick-your-own answer, served up cafeteria-style.
So... what did the legless lizards do wrong???
That's him, that's the culprit who misled Eve! Of course, he had legs BEFORE, but I'd recognize that face anywhere!!
I always thought the Adam and Eve story was an awful long way to go to explain why women are afraid of snakes....
(just like the Flood story was a long way to go for parents to explain to their children where rainbows came from, or the Tower of Babel story was a way to explain where all languages came from, or Adam and Eve story was a way to explain where humans and animals came from, etc. In all cases, the answer is that "God Dun It!".
Ancient peoples can be excused for not knowing any better, as they were only trying to explain the World about them with their ancient myths before science prevailed. But even more gobsmackingly ignorant is that so many modern people still believe in these ancient myths as literal truths, when we have scientific explanations available. It's quite sad, really, since it means most people aren't swayed by logic and reason as much as emotion and believe only what they WANT to believe).
Adamah