menrov

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Posts by menrov

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  29

  Newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls with the tetragrammaton within the Greek text

  by dropoffyourkeylee in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  big news from israel, some previously undiscovered dead sea scrolls have been found with portions of the ot in greek.

  it says the name of god is included in hebrew letters within the greek text.. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/world/middleeast/dead-sea-scrolls.html.

  "the new fragments contain verses from zechariah 8:16-17, including part of the name of god written in ancient hebrew, and verses from nahum 1:5-6, both from the biblical book of the twelve minor prophets.".

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  menrov

  Hence whenever they read and came to the name, they pronounced instead the word Adonai (Lord) or Elohim (God). Hence in making that first translation into Greek known as the Septuagint Version (LXX) the translators followed the Hebrew custom and translated the above substitutes for God's name into their Greek version.

  I now see that this statement is pure non-sense. Not pronouncing the name (as assumed it was becoming a practice) has nothing to do with how the Hebrew text (as it was WRITTEN, no how it was PRONOUNCED) into Greek. A translator would read the text and translate. The translator would find a Greek equivalent for the Hebrew words and names. So, as a Greek equivalent was to be found for each name, same would be the case for the tetragrammaton. I am sure they would be able to translate.

  Also, the assumption that the name of god was not pronounced, does not mean they did not know how it should be pronounced. I hardly use swear words, but I do know how to pronounce it.
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  16

  2021-June-1, For Elders in Canada--Judicial Matters!

  by Atlantis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just in case anyone needed this.. 2021-june-1, for elders in canada, judicial matters.

  announcement.

  https://filetransfer.io/data-package/ezxqcbaq#link.

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  menrov

  Hi, i got the same warning with the first link. Not that this is really a trojan, as some virus tools interpret certain sites as containing trojans.

  Anyway, second link was fine. THANKS!
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  156

  Remembering Rutherford

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  he seems to me to be the angriest and most ill-tempered of all the wt presidents, especially after his stint in prison and failed prophecies.. “regarding his misguided statements as to what we could expect in 1925, he [rutherford] once confessed to us at bethel, “i made an ass of myself.”” watchtower 1984 oct 1 p.24.

  rutherford died at beth sarim on january 8, 1942, at the age of 72.

  [220] cause of death was...carcinoma of the rectum..."[21] .

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  menrov

  Some salute or pay tribute to a flag or some other symbol, others to people who present themselves as guides or leaders. WT leaders have their power from the people who follow them. As with many religious followers, the R&F often are blind to the faults of these leaders. Fear is one element these leaders use to control their members. Promises is another one. Victimhood is yet another element to use to gain sympathy. Using small elements of "truth", blow it up as these elements are "life-saving" complete the suite tools these leaders use to remain in control.
  I think it is most hypocritical to go to court because students do no salute or somehow pay respect to the flag whereas at the same time, the WT organisation expels its members if they do not comply to their own set of rules.
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  17

  What did Jesus Teach the "Kingdom of Heaven/God" is?

  by truth_b_known in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the books of matthew, mark, luke, john, and the beginning of acts are filled with what the authors purport are statements of jesus.

  jesus is quoted as making several statements about "the kingdom of heaven" or "the kingdom of god".

  those statements are often given as parables that start with a phrase something like "the kingdom of heaven is like...".

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  menrov

  Reading what is written:

  Matt 28:18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you....

  There is no mention of a kingdom to be taught. It was about teaching the new baptized people to obey everything Jesus had commanded them.

  See what the statement Jesus made before he told them what to do (verse 18). You could say that the "Kingdom" is the life style one adopts when obeying the command made by Jesus, as Jesus was already King when he said these words. In other words, if you live with all baptized people that obey Jesus's commands, you experience the His Kingdom.
  Now as each religion made up their own version of what the kingdom is and what people should be taught, you can say that His kingdom actually does not really exist.

  Those who believe in the scriptures hope that his kingdom will one day be active on earth.

  
  
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  24

  I am still not able to solve this God's name paradox...

  by psyco in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am finishing to read the entire bible (nwt 2013) for my first time (my fault) and i wrote down hundreds, maybe thousands, of questions not clear to me, but one especially came in my mind meditating on god's name.. if i wanted to summarize the entire bible in one phrase i would say (even before the kingdom): god’s name sanctification.. god is jealous about his name.

  he does everything for the love of his name, and he wants to be called and prayed using his name.

  no doubt about all this (repeated several times in the bible), but it involves the pronunciation of his name.. god left us his name in the form of יהוה which is unpronounceable.

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  menrov

  The OP is talking WT language.

  Anyway, a more logical thinking approach:

  - why does God need to sanctify his name? Did he do something that de-sanctified (is this English??) his name?

  - if name was so important, why is only Jesus name used in the Greek books? Was the almighty not powerful enough to ensure his name would be in ALL scriptures?

  - Satan is supposed to be equally against God as he is against the son. So, why in the Hebrew scriptures you can find the consonants of his name and in the Greek scriptures the name of his son? If Satan wanted to have the consonants removed from the Greek scriptures, why not also in the other scriptures?

  - Why is someone who is above all, superior to all, cannot be touched, almighty etc JEALOUS. Jealousy means fear of losing something to someone else.

  - If the scriptures say he could make the stones cry out if his disciples are stopped (Luke 19:40), why not use the stones to ensure all people are aware of his name?

  You can ask yourself: how many people in the world know the following brand names: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Coca Cola, Shell etc or even Maradona, Pele, Cruijff? Now compare this to how many people in the world are familiar with the name and which version of the name of the God of the bible?

  If his objective is to sanctify his name, would you not expect that after the thousands of years, that about all people in the world would at least know what his name is?

  Or may be it is not that important and you and WT are wrong? What do you think?
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  34

  Why did Jehovah Kill all the animals in the flood? What purpose did it serve??

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some of my jw family that is waking up posed that question to my jw family that is still hanging on to jw belief.. the stepbrother that posed that question told me;.

  "in all these years of being a jw, i actually never gave it much thought as to why jehovah had to kill millions of innocent animals that had nothing to do with mankind becoming evil.".

  i keep picturing in my mind, all the baby puppies and kitties that were destroyed by jehovah.

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  menrov

  @Johnamos, I guess the influence of the WT on your thinking skills is still significant. For your education: it was the God of the bible who said all men were evil and as a result, deserved to die. I just disagree with that statement as I believe children are not evil but still died in the flood.

  @FFghost, birds cannot swim...really? That's your counter argument? Still suffering from WT influence on thinking skills.

  You could consider reading the story and notice fish were not in the ark. Birds were as I guess most birds might be killed in the flood. Birds though that can eat fish could have survived. Its just a viewpoint, not a doctrine.
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  34

  Why did Jehovah Kill all the animals in the flood? What purpose did it serve??

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some of my jw family that is waking up posed that question to my jw family that is still hanging on to jw belief.. the stepbrother that posed that question told me;.

  "in all these years of being a jw, i actually never gave it much thought as to why jehovah had to kill millions of innocent animals that had nothing to do with mankind becoming evil.".

  i keep picturing in my mind, all the baby puppies and kitties that were destroyed by jehovah.

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  menrov

  Not all animals were killed. Fish and birds survived :-)

  But true, if the story is true, why kill all land animals. But also: why so many people? I cannot believe ALL people on earth were evil and deserved to die.

  And look now, has the world become so much better compared to the times of the flood? Or are there still evil people? Through Adam and Eve sin came into the world. Sin was not removed with the flood. So, a flood actually would never help if sin would not be taken away as well. Noah and his family continued to spread sin.
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  18

  Narrowly focused, sometimes illiterate

  by vienne in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  three of my sisters - there are five of us - were baptized as witnesses.

  one of them has gone from reading voraciously to only reading her textbooks and watchtower publications.

  this does not seem to be unusual among witnesses.

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  menrov

  I do recognize that on average, a JW is not widely interested in or well informed about other topics than those topics printed in the WT magazines. Not sure about the statement made by some (have high literacy skills) is true. Main reason I do not know is that when I was a JW, there were very few opportunities that would show their literacy skills. I think that those JW's that had followed a proper education and similarly found a good job showed literacy skills as expected. But those that lacked that education or job, showed poorer skills. But I guess that would equally be true in other religions.
  I do notice however that most JW's have difficulties to actually discuss (in-depth) general topics, form ideas and provide counter arguments.
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  7

  Russia v. Jehovah's Witnesses

  by vienne in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  interesting.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgwuu0vj2tm.

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  menrov

  Interesting in the sense that the views shared here are mostly about religious freedom and superficial knowledge about the WT organisation. I agree that most JW's are not extremists.

  However, certain stances or directions from the WT leaders can be considered "harsh" or even close to "mental manipulation". Think about what they teach about who rules the governments, how JW's should first check what WT prescribes in various situations, regarding the "ban" on voting, blood transfusion, birthdays, other national celebrations etc. And how all governments will be wiped out once their version of Armageddon starts.
  

  So, the WT has decided to present themselves on the outside as an open organization with spiritual freedom. However, in their magazine and inside teachings, their tone of voice is different. Look at their shunning policy!

  I am not saying the Russian government or justice system is correct in this case, but I can see what their concerns are. According to Romans 13:
  

  13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment 3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation 4 because it is God’s servant for your well-being. But be afraid if you do wrong because government does not bear the sword for nothing. It is God’s servant to administer punishment on the person who does wrong. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience. 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing.
  BOLD is mine.

  If a group claims to believe in the bible, these words should have influence on them. But WT teaches another gospel (from WT magazine May 2018):
  

  Satan exerts authority over all human governments.

  and:
  

  Satan and the demons use not only governments but also false religion and the commercial system to mislead “the entire inhabited earth.”

  In other words, everyone, every organisation, every religion is evil as they are ruled by Satan.

  Based on this, WT make their members behave accordingly. May be not extreme to all but some consider this as extreme.
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  11

  Canada: Jehovah’s Witnesses challenge constitutionality of B.C. privacy law

  by yalbmert99 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  once again, watchtower doesn't want to respect our human rights.

  https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/jehovahs-witnesses-challenge-constitutionality-of-b-c-privacy-law.

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  menrov

  “The big issue is the law itself is unconstitutional because there’s absolutely no exemption for religious practice, for religious ministers, for non-profit religious organizations that are not doing any type of commercial activity.”

  Hypocritical.

  “Our position is we shouldn’t go there,” said Jayden MacEwan. “This is really the government interfering with religious practice.

  Amazing how they (and other religious organizations) believe they are above or outside the law of the country. If the religious practice is breaching local laws, local laws should be leading.