by Black Man 19 Replies latest jw friends
aChristian--
Nicely written. Unfortunately, some religions fall into the practice of reading the Bible at face-value, and fail to remember the time period, who wrote the letter, and the reasons behind writing the letter.
Again, very nicely researched and written.
Ofcmad
"Noah was a drunk and look what he accomplished." The Metatron/Dogma
Dearest Englishman... may you have peace!
Angels, dear one, do not necessarily have 'destructive powers'. That is a misleading teaching of religion. There is ONE 'angel' (and actually, he is NOT an angel but a 'spirit') that has such powers... the "Destroyer"... Abaddon... the 'spirit of the abyss'... and his power is controlled by my Father and my Lord, who once again possess the 'keys' to the abyss.
Angels are, for the most part, merely messengers. However, they can be GRANTED powers of destruction; they just don't possess them in and of themselves. For if they did, those that render themselve 'demons' would do much more than inhabit people and cause them to, like, cry out stuff and cut themselves, wouldn't you think? I mean, even Satan's 'power' was limited. He could/can do no more than HE was/is allowed, either. And it is my Father, my Lord... and us... who 'allow' him. For the Light has 'power' over the darkness.
Job 1:12; 2:6
John 8:12
Matthew 5:14-16
Angels are in subjection to 'the holy ones' and my Lord's 'nation' of kings and priests. For by their co-rulership WITH him, they are made 'higher' than the angels, for HE has been exalted to a station higher than angels. That is why such woman must cover her head: by this, the angels know that she is acting by authority of one higher than THEM... and if they are not rebellious... they, too, will listen.
Dearest Patio34... may YOU have peace, as well!
Dear one, the 'Bible' was indeed compiled by men... FOR men... and in particular clergy. However, the 'scriptures' (which are not all contained in the Bible canon as we know it), were written for ALL of the Household of God, Israel... male, female, Jew, Greek, slave, freeman, rich, poor... etc.
That is why to understand them, we can continually 'search' them... or we can go to the One about whom they are 'written' and by the spirit that he 'pours out'... be 'taught'. Thus, we were told that rather rely on the 'false stylus' of the scribes, "Do not put your trust in earthling man... to whom NO salvation belongs."
Jeremiah 8:8
The 'Bible', the 'scriptures'... all that has been 'written'... has been tampered with to some degree. Is it not better then, to go directly to the 'source' of water for purity, than to drink what has been processed by the contrivance of earthling man?
Just a thought.
Again, I bid you both peace!
A slave of Christ,
SJ
Wow, aChristian... this must be one of your all-time favorite subjects, huh? <g>
Anyways, say... Black Man, I was wondering about something... you said in your opening post something about a... a... a... GOT-DAMN headcovering? I was just curious about what that was--in all my 30+ years of association, I'd never heard of such a thing.
Does it make reference to the color? Or the material? The overall weight of the article? Is a GOT-DAMN headcovering a "dirty" headcovering? Was it a GOT-DAMN headcovering before or after the CO made his profound observation? Is it that the angels look upon it as a GOT-DAMN article of clothing, seeing that it forces them, whenever they see one, to always remember that they ain't such tough shit--I mean, after all, above them is the seraphs and the cherubs and then the mighty Arch, not to speak of the Man himself. Hmmmm... curious... very curious. A GOT-DAMN headcovering. Hmm....................
You know, Black Man, while I'm here I may as well tell you something that applies, not only to you, but to several of the other posters here. It's a very fine thing that I didn't run across an elder with your common sense sensibilities as I began my research and eventual exit of the organization years ago. If I had, I'd very likely still be a dub.
Still, that GOT-DAMN headcovering has me scratchin' my head, big fella. Must be a New Yawk thang?
peace, bro-ham,
todd
I've been away for a few and am just getting back to responding to posts.
AGuest: I really appreciated your insight. Like TJ, I must agree that this must be a topic that you've given a lot of thought to. My big thing was how can anybody (heavenly or earthly) seriously consider someone whose sporting a downey napkin on their forehead. The JW requirement just seemed pretty assinine to me. Anyway, I dig your posts Shelby. Thanks & Peace, my sista.......
TJ: A NYC thang? Nah, just one of those scratch-your-head-while-wondering-aloud-what's-going-on type of things. peace and got-damn, my brotha.........
Billygoat: You were evidently one of the more sensible ones. I can sympathize with how you felt.
AChristian: Like Shelby you've done a lot of research into this. Peace & Thanks....
I must have forgotten to post earlier.
An elderly sister with a non-believing husband also used a GOT-DAMN head covering, Black Man.
To be precise, whenever I was at her house, she would slap a pot holder on her head and say the prayer. What a riot.
Another very faithful pioneer sister ALWAYS kept a scarf in her bag, just in case it would stumble someone to see her pray without a head covering.
Wierd.
Lisa
(ps, could you please write to me?)
LDH,
I have missed this for a long time. Anyway, it's something how peeps bought into this. How have you been by the way?
Hey Black Man,
I've been my usual here-and-gone; sarcastic, sexy self. LOL!
Take a look at my story on the "calling all bethelites" thread--I bet you knew these dudes! PM me!
Lisa
Hello All,
Black Man, my brudda, I feel your pain.
Just wondering though, does a sister have to wear a head covering just when she is offering prayer or when she is carrying out any duty that a brother would normally take care of? As I stated in a previous post, I know of a cong in NY where sisters are working behind the literature and magazine counters. There are "qualified" brothers available, however the elder body seems to be on a mission to break these men down. I guess the point I am trying to make is, for an organization that is so much about presentation, how can it be that sisters must cover their heads when offering prayer(usually only for cong book study or home bible study), but in a more visible situation, such as at the KH sisters can carry out ministerial duties without a head covering? Is it just me, or does this smack of hypocrisy and stupidity?
EC
Dear Black Man,
I've been meaning to write you earlier but my english teacher stood on her tippy toes and barked to the class: "Hey! Who's typing??!!" Anyways, I enjoyed your thoughts very much so though I never really thought twice about the head covering rule I did always feel like the scripture they used to support it was pretty weak.
At 22 I still battle with the notion of the role men play in my life. I used to always think that a good boyfriend had to be in control, had to somewhat tell me what to do and be in charge of all decisions. To me a man was not a man unless he was in control. I did not understand where that was coming from for a long time. Even after being in an abusive realtionship for a year and a half, once I was ready to start dating again I was still looking for the "thug" in a man.
The it just hit me one day in psych class when my professor was talking about the role religion plays in our life. DUH! For so long I was looking at my family life (but my father has always been a great man so that made it even more confusing) then I figured it was just me looking for the "bad boy") But now I understand it completely.
Being a JW-the mental state it puts you in...I wonder if it will last a lifetime. I am much more stubborn now. I've been told I'm a bit of a firecracker. My boyfriend always jokes that the most he's ever seen me submit is when we're in bed.
I hope I did not ramble. I was just very intrigued by your stroy and am glad that you were able to appreciate the "weaker vessels"
From,
Still-A
Yo, Lisa,
You've got a PM.
StillA:
That conditioning is something, ain't it? But I think you're on the right road in understanding where it comes from and how we're affected by it.
Enlightened:
According to the j-dub BS, sistas must wear headcoverings when they pray and/or conduct a bible study in the company of a man. They don't however have to wear one when handling some of those mundane responsibilities around the hall. Of course, none of these rules have no foundation or basis in scripture.
