Eh, not a good point. Egyptians were among those who joined the Israelites right before this, so any JW would tell you they had a chance. Even in modern wars, tough decisions have to be made like dropping the bomb on Japan, to ultimately save far more lives.
How long did it take before you realized that you missed the obvious?
by pistolpete 24 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
-
Drearyweather
Wondering about all those Egyptian Men!!
Ok, so I read the story again. A group of men with spears and weapons pursing a group of families with children, women, and old people, sick people, etc. If I was among the Israelites, then I would have been happy to see those men drown in the red sea, than see my wife, kids and parents being killed or subjugated by them.
-
Drearyweather
I remember asking a circuit overseer if Adam in the garden of Eden needed a sword for any reason? He said no...So Jehovah invented the Sword, not man then? i asked. He looked confused,
I guess this discussion between you and the Circuit Overseer must have happened before 1994. The following is the answer given in a 94 WT article:
Consider another example from the early chapters of Genesis. After Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from the garden, Jehovah prevented them from returning. How? Genesis 3:24 says: “He drove the man out and posted at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning itself continually to guard the way to the tree of life.” Notice, “the flaming blade of a sword.” Did God invent swords?
We need not conclude that our loving Creator was the first one to make what we know as swords. Adam and Eve saw turning in front of the angels something that was blazing. What exactly was it? By the time Moses wrote the book of Genesis, swords were well-known and used in warfare. (Genesis 31:26; 34:26; 48:22; Exodus 5:21; 17:13) So Moses’ words “the flaming blade of a sword” enabled his readers to visualize to a degree what existed at the entrance of Eden. The information known in Moses’ day contributed to the understanding of such matters. And the language Moses employed must have been accurate, for Jehovah had it included in the Bible.—2 Timothy 3:16.
-
waton
Moses employed must have been accurate, for Jehovah had it included in the Bible.—2 Timothy 3:16.
It could also have been like the twirling baton of a cheerleader, or like the spinning prop of an aeroplane, hard to tell whether it is single or 6. bladed, ---anyway,
it was about the tree of life, which was perhaps a staple part of the humans diet, to sustain against nature's course? or was it just a kind of medication in case of-- an accident? and "the fall" went too far? and
why did the deity have the good tree not just shrivel up? he did it with the cursed fig with the snap of a finger so to speak!
I did not start to look at the unreasonableness of scripture until the " Superior Authorities" backflip in the eraly 1960s
-
snare&racket
Drearyweather you have blown my mind.....
That conversation has been rattling around in my head for decades. My parents had left the witnesses and returned in 1991, I started high school in 92 and I believe it was that year I was indeed working with the CO on the ministry. I even remember the weather and the village we were in.
I wonder if he wrote in, it seems so exact to what I asked?
I mistakenly thought I had asked it as an adult in the past, but on picturing who the CO was (Edward Molyneux, his facial expression is burned into my memory) I was a kid when he was our CO, starting high school.
Crazyyyy
-
Vidiot
I had issues with the hard-ass OT God and Revelation as a pre-teen...
...a little less so as a result of certain experiences as a teenager, though.
-
Vidiot
Drearyweather - "...'the flaming blade of a sword that was turning itself continually'..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM5Z6C5T9BE
-
mynameislame
When I saw the children's version of the story of Sampson, it dawned on me that the story is really best suited to a comic book. The drawing of Sampson running up a hill with the city gates stuck to his shoulders really hit that home.
That was a while after leaving though. When I was in I didn't really give much thought to whether or not things made sense. I also feel like my reading comprehension went way up after leaving.
-
Vidiot
mynameislame - "When I saw the children's version of the story of Sampson, it dawned on me that the story is really best suited to a comic book."
Noah, Samson, David... superheroes of the ancient Hebrews.
The Old Testament... the original Shared Universe.
-
Magnum
Concerning the question about why Genesis refers to Jehovah's providing a sword when humans had not yet invented such, the following Watchtower quote was provided as if it answers the question:
******Watchtower quote*******************************************************
Consider another example from the early chapters of Genesis. After Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from the garden, Jehovah prevented them from returning. How? Genesis 3:24 says: “He drove the man out and posted at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning itself continually to guard the way to the tree of life.” Notice, “the flaming blade of a sword.” Did God invent swords?
We need not conclude that our loving Creator was the first one to make what we know as swords. Adam and Eve saw turning in front of the angels something that was blazing. What exactly was it? By the time Moses wrote the book of Genesis, swords were well-known and used in warfare. (Genesis 31:26; 34:26; 48:22; Exodus 5:21; 17:13) So Moses’ words “the flaming blade of a sword” enabled his readers to visualize to a degree what existed at the entrance of Eden. The information known in Moses’ day contributed to the understanding of such matters. And the language Moses employed must have been accurate, for Jehovah had it included in the Bible.—2 Timothy 3:16.
******end of quote*******************************************************
I had that same question a long time ago, and I remember the Watchtower article which DID NOT answer the question.
The Watchtower answer is illogical. The wording in the Bible does not allow for the answer the Watchtower gives. If the Watchtower's reasoning is correct, then Moses should have written to his audience (which was familiar with swords) something like "he posted something that looked like a sword", not "he posted a sword." He couldn't have posted a sword; swords didn't exist.
What if I were teaching history to a 7th grade class, and I were describing a warship from the 1700s which lobbed a burning ball onto the deck of another ship. Suppose that ball was about the size of a basketball, and I told the class "The ship lobbed a burning basketball onto the deck of the other ship." That would be black and white wrong. Any students with decent sense would be asking, or at least thinking, "but, there were no such things as basketballs back then. "I could have rightly said "The ship lobbed a burning ball that looked about like a basketball onto to the deck of the other ship," but I could not have rightly said "It lobbed a basketball." Basketballs didn't exist then.
Words matter. The Watchtower is wrong - 100% wrong. No shades of gray.