by pistolpete 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
HowTheBibleWasCreated - "It does not take long at all! One night! That was all it took to truly investigate evolution. Why? Because the bible reading in Genesis was wrong.. to many archeological and textual holes."
I'm guessing you were already primed for it, even if you weren't full aware of the fact.
Looking back, realizing that evolution was a reality was my rubicon, too.
PistolPete - "...No 607, means no last days. No last days means not being part of the Great Crowd that will survive the end of this system of things. Maybe just maybe, there is no paradise earth. That's kind of hard to swallow if a person has believed that for 40 or 50 years."
Yup.
And as HTBWC and I were saying, accepting evolution can't help but have a similar cascade effect...
...evolution means no Adam and Eve in Eden, which means no Adamic Sin, which means no need for a Ransom, which means - at best - their understanding of Jesus' "sacrifice" is flawed, or - at worst - unneccessary...
...undermining one of the integral foundations of Christianity itself (from their POV).
Also, don't forget that to varying degrees, all of their unique interpretations are geared towards reinforcing the fiction of "God's Exclusive Earthly Organization"...
...without which - by their own internal standards and rhetoric - they have virtually no legitimate reason or right to even exist.
evolution means no Adam and Eve in Eden, which means no Adamic Sin, which means no need for a Ransom, which means - at best - their understanding of Jesus' "sacrifice" is flawed, or - at worst - unneccessary...
...undermining one of the integral foundations of Christianity itself
Truth will slap you in the face, if you wait too long it will punch you in the face.
Pistol Pete:
Wonderful post! More people need to bring up discussion on Sola Scriptura and the other 4 main teachings of Martin Luther that took Christianity and put it on it's head.
I will point out one small thing - the Catholic Church rejects the concept of Sola Scriptura. The Church (Catholicism) does not believe the Bible should be taken literally in most aspects. The Catholic Church openly accepts evolution. Much of the Old Testament is looked at as merely allegorical works that contain some wisdom. There was even a Pope that stated that Christianity is not the only way to worship God.
The Bible is a disturbing book. Especially the Old Testament. Christianity, as a spiritual practice, is actually an amazing thing. Christianity as a religion of doctrine to be memorized and rules to be conformed to stifles the whole purpose of a spiritual practice. Unfortunately over 40,000 heretical sects of Christianity are so obsessed with this thing called "salvation" they miss the whole point - Heaven is on Earth. Life is a gift and happiness is now. We are just fine the way we are and the sooner we accept ourselves the sooner we get to living.
pistolpete, very interesting OP.
HowTheBibleWasCreated, you wrote:
"As a desert God of the Shashu people. In fact the archaic Jah or YHW is a throwback. The israelites only pickled up worship of YHWH very late likely after 900 bce judging by the name of Ahab's children."
Do you have any recommendations for books on that subject and similar subjects?
truth_b_known
I will point out one small thing - the Catholic Church rejects the concept of Sola Scriptura. The Church (Catholicism) does not believe the Bible should be taken literally in most aspects.
The Catholic Church openly accepts evolution. Much of the Old Testament is looked at as merely allegorical works that contain some wisdom. There was even a Pope that stated that Christianity is not the only way to worship God.
I did not know that
That being the case, if 1.4 billion Catholics don't view the Bible as the infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice-------to whom do they turn for Godly instruction?????On the other side of the spectrum, ----Little do they know what's really going on
Excellent question P. P.
The bible says over and over not to trust in man:
Psalm 146:3
Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
Jeremiah 17:5
Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Psalm 118:9
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes.
Isaiah 2:22
Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For why should he be esteemed?
So, free-will has consequences. It is scriptures like the ones above that literally drove me to Jesus for answers after I left the WT. Other things started coming to mind, like how Jesus was always asking people to come to him for rest, salvation, forgiveness etc. but, instead we always were directed to go to Jehovah by the WT.
God has chosen to JUDGE sin as opposed to stopping it for the time being. Personally, I enjoy my free will a great deal and are much more aware now of how my choices affect my future and others around me. With out free-will (and the tragedies like the WT that it inevitable allows for), I would not have the appreciation for Jesus that I have now.
He said, "Come to Me" ... and we disobeyed & went to the F&DS, not his fault. But, as a result I now know who the boss is. His words are right and his load is light, just like he said.
truth_b_known - "The Catholic Church openly accepts evolution. Much of the Old Testament is looked at as merely allegorical works that contain some wisdom."
Unsurprisingly, the WTS has held this up as "proof" that Catholicism is a "false religion". If the RCC sad "zig", the WTS would zag.
Why do some people --- , still believe in the Bible God who allowed them and their families to be deceived and trapped for years.?
PP: excellent OP. One answer is, that the belief in a first cause is deeply ingrained in our view of the world.
In 1915 ***, Albert Einstein asked " Where is the mighty Jehovah? " he saw himself in a struggle with "Der Alte" to wrestle cosmic secrets from a possible creator.
(he did not unhinge his hip in the process bsw) only some long held scientific facts., approximations
having proven to yourself that wt, and by extension scripture gives a wrong picture of reality, does not mean that there is ultimately no "J", an unfathomable creative entity.
*** chapter #3 in the book "Einstein in Berlin"
