For those in the Watchtower who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible

by opusdei1972 21 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  opusdei1972

  The Watchtower says:
  
  
  9 While most major books of religion say very little, if anything, about God, the Bible acquaints us with Jehovah God and his activities. It helps us to see the many facets of his personality. The Bible reveals God not only as an all-powerful, wise, and just God but also as a God who loves us. (Read John 3:16; 1 John 4:19.).... (w12 6/15 pp. 25-29, paragraph 9)
  
  Of course, let us read the following facet of his personality:
  
  2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
  3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. (1 Samuel 15:2-3)
  
  
  So, Jehovah God ordered to kill without mercy all Amalekites, even innocent children, because of what this people did some centuries before. It was in accordance of Jehovah's law:
  
  
  5 You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion, bringing punishment for the error of fathers upon sons, upon the third generation and upon the fourth generation, in the case of those who hate me; 6 but exercising loving-kindness toward the thousandth generation in the case of those who love me and keep my commandments.(Exodus 20:5-6)
  
  So, sons die for the fathers’ sins. But wait a minute. I found other verse who states the contrary:
  
  The soul that is sinning—it itself will die. A son himself will bear nothing because of the error of the father, and a father himself will bear nothing because of the error of the son. Upon his own self the very righteousness of the righteous one will come to be, and upon his own self the very wickedness of a wicked one will come to be. (Ezekiel 18:20)
  
  So, many centuries later, Jehovah God changed his view, now sons do not die for the fathers’ sins.
  
  The Watchtower says:
  
  Moreover, the Bible tells us: “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34, 35) (w12 6/15 pp. 25-29, paragraph 9)
  
  
  This seems not to be the case for the God of the Old Testament. Let's read the following verse:
  
  Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 14:21)
  
  So in other words: "let the pagans eat rubbish, because you are a holy race, but they are dirty men". So, this reading can't be spiritual food for those who are not Jews.
  
  Then the Watchtower says:
  
  EVIDENCE THAT HAS CONVINCED MANY
  
  13 There is other evidence of the Bible’s inspiration: the internal harmony, scientific accuracy, fulfilled prophecies, unusual candor, power to transform lives, historical soundness, and satisfying answers to the questions mentioned in paragraph 1. ....(w12 6/15 pp. 25-29, paragraph 13)
  
  About internal harmony, there are more than 100 contradictory statements in the Bible. See them in this link:

  http://www.answering-christianity.com/101_bible_contradictions.htm
  
  About scientific acuracy, read how this is false in the following link:
  
  http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/misreading-the-bibles-scientific-accuracy
  
  About fulfilled prophecies, The Bible rarely predicts the future with accuracy, even the Bible admits that one prophecy failed. Ezekiel prophecied that Tyre would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, but it did not happen:
  
  Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon used his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it (Ezekiel, 29:18-19).
  
  For more about Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre, read the following link:

  http://www.theskepticalreview.com/TSRmag/5error96.html
  
  Furthermore, the Ezekiel's prophecy about the 40 years of desolation of Egypt did not happen. The records clearly prove that Egypt was never desolated for 40 years. Read the following links for a detailed analysis:
  
  http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/992front.html
  
  http://www.sanityquestpublishing.com/essays/BabEgypt.html
  
  And here is where Leolaia presented one of the most detailed records of Amasis' reign, which prove that Nebuchadnezzar could not desolate the land of Egypt:
  
  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/186163/4/Ezekiel-29-12-Prophecy-of-the-Desolation-of-Egypt-for-40-years#.U83JxXLyOPs
  
  
  Also, one of the most prophetic books of the Old Testament, the Book of Daniel, is a forgery of the second century BCE. To prove this, read
  "Good History in the Book of Daniel" by Farrell Till, in the following link
  
  http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/985good.html
• 

  Crazyguy

  That's one thing the JWs never mention, is how many contradictions the bible has.
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  disposable hero of hypocrisy

  Oh oh.

  One of the key things that kept me believing all these years was the Daniel prophecies....

  I'm going to have to read this carefully..
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  opusdei1972

  Hi disposable hero of hypocrisy

  In the past I thought that the book of Daniel was one of the best proofs of how the Bible predicted accurate history, but now I know it is a forgery of the second century BCE pretending to be a book written in the sixth century BCE.

  Read also "Bad History in the Book of Daniel", by Farrell Till:

  http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/984bad.html
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  disposable hero of hypocrisy

  Damn you, I need to do some actual studying now!
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  9 While most major books of religion say very little, if anything, about God, the Bible acquaints us with Jehovah God and his activities. It helps us to see the many facets of his personality. The Bible reveals God not only as an all-powerful, wise, and just God but also as a God who loves us. (Read John 3:16; 1 John 4:19.).... (w12 6/15 pp. 25-29, paragraph 9)

  .

  Actions always speak louder than words. "The Bible says..." a lot of things about god's alleged wonderful qualities, but taken at face value, the stories in the Bible reveal that god is a dick.

  "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it, a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." - Richard Dawkins
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  Focus

  "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it, a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." - Richard Dawkins

  And, Shirley, Dawkins is (from my POV) almost an apologetic for the cult.

  The gawd of the New Testament is worse. Not content with earthly torment, the concept of eternal torment (Hell) was introduced by Sweet Jaysus.

  Filthy, lying perverts...

  __

  Focus

  ("Anti-Pedophile" Class)
• 

  opusdei1972

  Just to clarify: I am not an atheist, I simply don't believe that every word of God is in the Bible. In certain sense I believe that the life of Jesus and the preaching of Paul were of meaningful value, but I don't believe that they were infallible persons.
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  I simply don't believe that every word of God is in the Bible

  Then how do you choose what parts to believe?

  If Jesus was not infallible, then that undermines the core concept of the entire Ransom concept, does it not? If the Ransom is in doubt, then a Christian is wasting their time being a Christian.

  If I read a book, any book, knowing up front that 50%, 75% or more is a lie, inaccurate, or nonsense, and I don't know (or can't know) what is true or not, is it worth reading at all? No.
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  opusdei1972

  Focus The concept of eternal torment was already in the believes of many Jews of the first century. This is why Jesus used this concept in his story about the rich and Lazarus. Josephus writes of the beliefs of the Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees in "Wars of the Jews" Book II, Chapter VII Paragraphs 10-14
  
  
  
  11. (154) For their doctrine is this:—That bodies are corruptible, and that the matter they are made of it not permanent; but that the souls are immortal, and continue forever; and that they come out of the most subtle air, and are united to their bodies as in prisons, into which they are drawn by a certain natural enticement; (155) but that when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, as released from a long bondage, rejoice and mount upward. And this is like the opinion of the Greeks, that good souls have their habitations beyond the ocean, in a region that is neither oppressed with storms of rain, or snow, or with intense heat, but that this place is such as is refreshed by the gentle breathing of a west wind, that is perpetually blowing from the ocean; while they allot to bad souls a dark and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing punishments. (156) And indeed the Greeks seem to me to have followed the same notion, when they allot the islands of the blessed to their brave men, whom they call heroes and demigods; and to the souls of the wicked, the region of the ungodly, in Hades, where their fables relate that certain persons, such as Sisyphus, and Tantalus, and Ixion, and Tityus, are punished; which is built on this first supposition, that souls are immortal; and thence are those exhortations to virtue, and exhortations from wickedness collected; (157) whereby good men are bettered in the conduct of their life, by the hope they have of reward after their death, and whereby the vehement inclinations of bad men to vice are restrained, by the fear and expectation they are in, that although they should lie concealed in this life, they should suffer immortal punishment after their death. (158) These are the divine doctrines of the Essenes about the soul, which lay an unavoidable bait for such as have once had a taste of their philosophy.
  12. (159) There also those among them who undertake to foretell things to come, by reading the holy books, and using several sorts of purifications, and being perpetually conversant in the discourses of the prophets; and it is but seldom that they miss in their predictions.
  13. (160) Moreover, there is another order of Essenes, who agree with the rest as to their way of living, and customs, and laws, but differ from them in the point of marriage, as thinking that by not marrying they cut off the principal part of the human life, which is the prospect of succession; nay rather, that if all men should be of the same opinion, the whole race of mankind would fail. (161) However, they try their spouses for three years; and if they find that they have their natural purgations thrice, as trials that they are likely to be fruitful, they then actually marry them. But they do not use to accompany with their wives when they are with child, as a demonstration that they do not marry out of regard to pleasure, but for the sake of posterity. Now the women go into the baths with some of their garments on, as the men do with somewhat girded about them. And these are the customs of this order of Essenes.
  (162) But then as to the two other orders at first mentioned: the Pharisees are those who are esteemed most skillful in the exact explication of their laws, and introduce the first sect. These ascribe all to fate [or providence], and to God, (163) and yet allow, that to act what is right, or the contrary, is principally in the power of men, although fate does cooperate in every action. They say that all souls are incorruptible; but that the souls of good men are only removed into other bodies,—but that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment. (164) But the Sadducees are those that compose the second order, and take away fate entirely, and suppose that God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is evil; (165) and they say, that to act what is good, or what is evil, is at men’s own choice, and that the one or the other belongs so to every one, that they may act as they please. They also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades."
  The Adventist and the Armstrong follwers make the same mistake that the Sadducees did. Christ condemned the Sadducees for their erroneous beliefs, He will condemn the Adventist and the Armstrong followers with them. Instead of preaching the gospel of Christ in truth, the Adventist and the Armstrong followers promise the wicked, the most wicked of all, "soul sleep" , "rest" and peace, while Christ promised the wicked eternal punishment. Soul sleep is music to the ears of the wicked. They love to hear how they won't be punished for their sins in everlasting punishment . The wicked do not repent because of the false gospel taught by the Adventist and the Armstrong followers. The atheist and the murder, the abortionist and the rapist, they all love the music of the promise of soul sleep" . But, how they hate the thought of everlasting punishment , lest they turn from their sins and repent.
  "Wars of the Jews" Book II, Chapter VII