BTEB - a stellar review of one of the most bizarre WT "study" articles ever.
Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-19-2014 WT Study (7 Shepherds, 8 Dukes)
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite 74 Replies latest watchtower bible
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heathen
Good point LQ , of course immanuel refers to the messiah the angels in the field told the shepherds , he will be called immanuel or with us is GOD . See they don't like that scripture because it refers to jesus as GOD , in many ways he was GOD , given authority over death and sin so he could forgive and heal the lame and sick .
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mynameislame
I have to admit i pretty much stopped reading when they said the elders were the dukes.
I know some elders that I thought were nice people and some I thought were sincere and even some that I considered friends but I never met an elder I would trust to have my back under any circumstances.
On a side note regaridng the dukes of hazzard references, have other people been watching the reruns on CMT? yeeeee hawwww......
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watson
Myname, I hope you were able to read paragraph 17.
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Newly Enlightened
Hey Billy, our question is, would you mind if we mention your 'gas grill' experience in one of our videos? ...we've been doing a series on WT money scams, Elder/CO mis appropiation of funds etc.... the viewers seem to enjoy those.
Please let us know, we will give you credit as Billy the ex-bethelite. or not, up to you.
thanks
Kim
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
NE, Sure. There are lots of examples. Anybody that's been an elder for more than a few years will have encountered something with the circuit or CO, if not their own congregation, that makes them say, "What...?"
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ProfCNJ
Thanks Billy and comrades for the helpful research and insights.
For a couple of months, I actually paused from being critical of WT articles and just focused on the positive aspects of the publication. However, I could not close my eyes on yesterday's article after my elder friend raised a question on Par. 4 "no evidence that Jesus was addressed as Immanuel." We were just discussing things privately while the WT study was on going. He actually shared the same Q with our Service Overseer before the meetings but the latter said he would research the material further. My elder friend smilingly concluded there was something wrong with that sentence. For me, I thought it was unnecessary to insert it for there were cross references-verses that would just contradict the assertion.
Then came paragraph 17 which further raised my antennae. More on this later.
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never a jw
I think the prophecy perfectly applies to the governing body. Not to long ago there were only seven members in the GB, recently became 8. Certainly 8 is abundance, like flies on my food. I think 0 is the right amount.
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Gentledawn
However, I could not close my eyes on yesterday's article after my elder friend raised a question on Par. 4 "no evidence that Jesus was addressed as Immanuel." We were just discussing things privately while the WT study was on going. He actually shared the same Q with our Service Overseer before the meetings but the latter said he would research the material further.My elder friend smilingly concluded there was something wrong with that sentence. For me, I thought it was unnecessary to insert it for there were cross references-verses that would just contradict the assertion.
Wow. Wish I could count how many times I heard that phrase : "lemme research that and get back to you" type-thing ... *time passes, only crickets chirping*. Nothing. Ask about it, and they either don't recall, change the subject, walk away, all of the above.
As far as the scripture in Matthew goes, Mary remained a virgin (a REAL, honest to goodness, hymen-in-place one, not a make believe Watchtower version) until after Jesus was born:
Matthew 1:20-25 (NIV)
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.---
On the other hand, Isaiah WROTE that he had sexual intercourse with his wife, and she in turn bore him a son:
Isaiah 8:1-4 (Living Bible)
8 Again the Lord sent me a message: “Make a large signboard and write on it the birth announcement of the son I am going to give you. Use capital letters! His name will be Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means ‘Your enemies will soon be destroyed.’” 2 I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, both known as honest men, to watch me as I wrote so they could testify that I had written it before the child was even on the way. 3 Then I had sexual intercourse with my wife and she conceived and bore me a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4 This name prophesies that within a couple of years, before this child is even old enough to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the king of Assyria will invade both Damascus and Samaria and carry away their riches.”
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Gentledawn
Oh, about that whole "Jesus was never called Immanuel" crap from the WT leadership. It reminds me of a saying/quote from years gone by (don't know who originally said it, but it gets used as a punchline a lot it seems):
"Who are you gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes?"
- So, in essence, the WT leaders are saying what an ANGEL told Joseph was actually bupkiss and false..? And yet he took Mary home anyway AND abstained from having sex with her? For what? If being a virgin is neither here nor there in prophecy?
- Or are they yet again denegrating Mary? Like how she gets NO credit whatsoever for instructing Jesus during his entire childhood and magically knows how to answer the teachers at the temple at age 12yrs? (Also notice he wasn't forced to get baptised at that time, despite knowing the "truth"(tm).) Jesus didn't miraculously become a carpenter. No WT articles dispute that he was taught by Joseph. Funny stuff. My sister pointed all of this out to me after I left the JWs. Felt like a bucket of ice water got dumped on my head... how could I have been so blind?