A Little About Me & What Is a Resurrection?

by Sea Breeze 11 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Sea Breeze

  A little about me first: I was a 4th generation JW who had major reservations about the WT growing up, but finally got on board at age 23 when I got baptized. Spent 8 very active years in, then 8 years out as an agnostic. Got saved in 2004 and been living the born-again Christian bible-believing life ever since. I serve as a trustee at a Baptist Church and on the board of directors of a K-12 Christian Academy with approximately 100 students. My kids went to a private Christian school since kindergarten, and the oldest in now headed to a top 10% university in the USA. They have never known the trauma, confusion, regrets and anguish that I grew up with.

  When my mother got sick, no one even called me. Not my dad, not my two older "JW elder" brothers, no one. I found out on the internet two weeks after she had passed. I think about her everyday. I am the worst possible kind of apostate in the minds of JW's - a former JW turned born-again Christian. I have done what Jesus asked of me, and that is to be willing to say good bye to my mother, father and entire family of origin if need be. I have done it, and have come out of the other side. That is not to say that is wasn't messy at times. But I have done it all the same.
  

  
  Having lived 60 years now, on both sides of the theological fence. I want to briefly give what I think are the two greatest deceptions of the WT.
  
  The first has to do with Jesus being our Mediator "for the forgiveness of sins" as described in Mt. 26: 27-28. I have posted on this topic frequently so I won't go into any detail other than to provide a link to a booklet I wrote on the topic.
  
  The other has to do with the common WT phrase "resurrected to spirit life". This one little phrase is absolutely loaded with misdirection. It is related the partial adoption of materialism by the WT.... the nature of man, the nature of God, the nature of resurrection, especially the bodily resurrection of Jesus and the nature of heavenly life.
  
  So, for all you other students out there:

  What do you think a resurrection is? Do you think there is more than one kind ? Is it spiritual? Is it bodily. Is it something else?
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  stan livedeath

  Is it something else ?

  Yep..its a hoax.
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  nicolaou

  Having lived 60 years now, on both sides of the theological fence

  We're about the same age, trust me, you haven't been on both sides of the fence until you've lived with unbelief for a while.

  JWs are just another subset of Christianity which in turn is a subset of Abrahamic faith which in it's turn is a subset of all religion.

  That ALL exists on one side of the theological fence. Us freethinkers, atheists, apostates, heretics and all the folks who simply never give religious faith a second thought are waving at you from the other side.

  It's nice over here. Come visit us.
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  smiddy3

  One thing that J.F.Rutherford said, that is fact .

  "Religion is a Snare and a Racket "

  Jumping from the pot into the frying pan does not solve anything, it`s still just wishful thinking.
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  punkofnice

  What do you think a resurrection is?

  Do you think there is more than one kind ?

  I imagine from a Religious standpoint it is a miraculous way of being brought back from the dead but remaining the authentic person.

  From a more secular perspective, were it possible, it would likely be more of a cloning process.

  Is it spiritual? Is it bodily.

  Is it something else?

  Again, I'd say a religious person would think you probably mean being raised to life in Heaven?

  I don't have any opinions, really. We'll either know or not in the end.

  
  
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  TonusOH

  I think that the simplest description of resurrection is bringing back a person to life. A physical resurrection would be bringing a dead person back to life, whether in their existing body or a new one. A spiritual resurrection would be one where the dead is brought back as a spirit/ghost or into a different realm than the physical (heaven/hell/etc).

  Further than that, it depends on how you view the person, whether as a self-contained physical being or as a soul inhabiting a physical body. In the latter case, it may be more akin to transplanting a soul into a body (physical resurrection) or not doing anything at all (assuming an immortal soul, which would not die and not need to be revived).
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  stan livedeath

  in all fairness--Sea Breeze has done exactly what ive suggested more than once on this site:

  If being a dub gets too much--simply go and pick a different religion--one less onerous. There is only one almighty god--and all religions worship it. So does it really matter which ? Ive yet to find a religion that claims to be false.
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  Beth Sarim

  ""Ive yet to find a religion that claims to be false.""

  Nailed it!!

  100% bang on. If I could hit that like but 1000 times,,I would.
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  Sea Breeze

  A physical resurrection would be bringing a dead person back to life, whether in their existing body or a new one. A spiritual resurrection would be one where the dead is brought back as a spirit/ghost or into a different realm than the physical (heaven/hell/etc).

  @TonusOH - I think your definition closely represents JW's and XJW's view. So, I'll look at that. I appreciate everyone's comments though, even my atheist / agnostic friends.
  
  Just want to introduce a few concepts and definitions here at first.
  
  1. Logic is a presuppositional-based chain of rational truth statements that do not contradict each other.
  
  2. Presuppositions are preconditions for intelligibility. They are assumptions that are present BEFORE your starts to examine anything.
  
  3. Worldview is the lens by which data is interpreted. In other words, we all have the same data but arrive at different conclusions based on the first two concepts above, which together constitute your worldview.

  Anyone have any problem with this so far?
  
  
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  enoughisenough

  My thinking is most in agreement with TonusOH...The resurrections that happened in the Bible were people brought back to life in their body. ( which was still intact as they had not been dead that long ) It is obvious that some died such deaths as their body would have to be reconstructed ( as in blown to bits ) Even if not the case, most who have died have become "dust" by now . The only thing I do believe, other than the recorded resurrections in the Bilbe, there hasn't been anyone resurrected from the dead, because the is for the last day and the trumpet hasn't sounded yet. Conjecture is the word! We don't know!