Posts by opusdei1972

26

Source material: "144,000" and "anointed" in The Watchtower, 2000-2015

by Doug Mason in

a collation of statements made in the watchtower from 2000 to 2015 of "144,000" and "anointed".

http://www.jwstudies.com/wt_magazines_from_2000_to_2015_on_144000_and_the_anointed.pdf .

doug.

opusdei1972

I have gone through some steps until arriving in agnosticism. I am surprised by my quick change. Five years ago I still believed that the organization had 80% of Truth. So, I was a stupid WT apologist as a member of a Witness Forum. Then, I noticed that this religion is stupid, evil, and very wrong in many aspects, even in its interpretation of the Bible. However, I still believed in the Bible as the Word of God. Then I entered and was active in a christian forum of ex-witnesses. Then, some of them, believed not in every Bible passage as inspired or historical. For instance, some of them believed not in the virginity of Mary, or in the historicity of the account of Adam and Eve. Firstly I was angry for them, because I believed in the Bible as the Word of God, so I had strong debates in which I defended the necessity of the literalness of some Bible passages because these were quoted as such by Jesus and Paul. But, some day, I started to use my brain without passion, then I noted that the priest Raymond Brown and Bart Ehrman were right about many issues in which they show that many NT passages can't be historical facts. Then I discovered how evil was the OT, so I ended up in agnosticism. Now I am happy to know the truth. The truth is that the Bible contains many falsehoods, and the story of Jesus' resurrection is not reliable through the contradictions of the Gospels. So, we can't know for sure what happens after the death.

Paul said that he saw a light of the resurrected Jesus, and he also heard his voice, but we are not obligated to believe that, because Jesus did nothing to comunicate truth to his Church. The Fact is that the christian religion was always a mess, and if Jesus resurrected, then he transgressed on account of his omission, because his disciples were, and are guilty of many absurdities and lies in his name. So I doubt that he is the head of any church.

77

Neanderthal man

by scary21 in

jw
friends

my ex husband and father of my daughter was never baptized but is still a believer in the wt.. a couple years ago we were talking about evolution ( which he does not believe in ) i brought up the subject of the neanderthals and how we all have their dna except africans ( the ones that never left africa ).

he said neanderthals are apes and not humans and jw's do not teach that they are humans.

i said i believe they do.. in the life- how did it get here book, under the sub heading " the human family "is says " neanderthal man....... was undoubtedly human.. his response was " they are just talking about what other people believe " ahhhhh .

opusdei1972

I don't believe that current men can be found with a skull like that of a Neanthertal. Any thoughts?

77

Neanderthal man

by scary21 in

jw
friends

my ex husband and father of my daughter was never baptized but is still a believer in the wt.. a couple years ago we were talking about evolution ( which he does not believe in ) i brought up the subject of the neanderthals and how we all have their dna except africans ( the ones that never left africa ).

he said neanderthals are apes and not humans and jw's do not teach that they are humans.

i said i believe they do.. in the life- how did it get here book, under the sub heading " the human family "is says " neanderthal man....... was undoubtedly human.. his response was " they are just talking about what other people believe " ahhhhh .

opusdei1972

The Skeleton shown by LoveUniHateExams is interesting. The skull is not totally of a homo sapiens. It seems a transitional kind of homo erectus. What do you think?

2

The Gentile Times ended

by opusdei1972 in

they will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations.

jerusalem will be trampled on by the gentiles until the times of the gentiles are fulfilled.

(luke 21:24)this is vaticinium ex eventu.

opusdei1972

They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)

This is vaticinium ex eventu. So it practically proves that the author wrote this Gospel after 70 AD. He wanted Jesus to proclaim a prophecy in which Jerusalem will be destroyed and then after some gentile domain over the city, it would be restored, occupied and administered again by the Jews. And of course, it tells us that early christians of the first century, after 70 AD, were preaching a messianic early kingdom centered in Jerusalem rebuilt (Acts 1:6-7). This expectation was still in force until the end of the second century, because greek christians as justin and Irenaeus believed in it.

Jerusalem is now mostly occupied by Israel again, and the nation does not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. So, we should recognize that the Gentile Times, as defined in Luke 21, practically ended in 1948 (not in 1914), but the world continues as such.

10

Apocalyptic 2 Esdras 2

by Doug Mason in

await your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand.

be ready for the rewards of the kingdom.

... receive what the lord has entrusted to you and be joyful, giving thanks to him who has called you to heavenly kingdoms..

opusdei1972

I noticed that some portion of the prophecy against Babylon the Great was exactly taken from a portion of Isaiah. Have you noted it?

7

Why a Priest left his Church (AWAKE! FEBRUARY 2015)

by opusdei1972 in

these are my coments on some answers in the interview:.

why did you start doubting the church?three things troubled me.

the church was involved in politics.

opusdei1972

His conversion was around 1975. The same year in which one of the last Watchtower's prophecy failed. This guy was very fool.

6

Jehovah reconsiders....

by freemindfade in

anyone read exodus 32 lately???

i consider the bible a work of fiction, and i consider the ot to be barbaric and the underlying theme for everything wrong with religion from jw to radical islam.

it's filled with man made analog thinking that people attribute to an all intelligent creature.

opusdei1972

Yahweh is a paranoic god, who deceived many of his prophets. Ezekiel had to publish many false prophecies though Yahweh ordered him to proclaim them. Note what the Jewish Ecyclopedia admitted:

In xxvi.-xxviii. Ezekiel had positively prophesied the capture and destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, but after thirteen years of fruitless labor the latter had to raise the siege and to arrange terms of peace with the city. Thereupon, in the above-mentioned passage, Ezekiel promises Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as an indemnity. Here, then, is an oracle the non-fulfilment, of which the prophet himself is destined to see. Yet he does not venture to change or to expunge it. Incidentally it may be stated that the transmission of oracles of which the prophets themselves were doomed to see the non-fulfilment is the strongest proof that they regarded these as messages for which they were not personally responsible, and which, consequently, they did not venture to change; they regarded them as God's word, the responsibility for the non-fulfilment of which rested with God, not with themselves. In view of these facts it must be assumed that although Ezekiel completed his book in 572, he availed himself of earlier writings, which he allowed to remain practically unchanged. (JewishEncyclopedia, Ezekiel , book of)

7

Why a Priest left his Church (AWAKE! FEBRUARY 2015)

by opusdei1972 in

these are my coments on some answers in the interview:.

why did you start doubting the church?three things troubled me.

the church was involved in politics.

opusdei1972

Yes Simon, he can speak with his former brothers in the priesthood at least, but he couldn't do that if he leaves the Watchtowerworld.

7

Why a Priest left his Church (AWAKE! FEBRUARY 2015)

by opusdei1972 in

these are my coments on some answers in the interview:.

why did you start doubting the church?three things troubled me.

the church was involved in politics.

opusdei1972

These are my coments on some answers in the interview:

Why did you start doubting the church?

Three things troubled me. The church was involved in politics. Misconduct among the clergy and parishioners was tolerated. And certain Catholic teachings did not seem right. How, for example, could a God of love punish people forever after death? Also, does God really want us to repeat prayers hundreds of times with a rosary? *

Ok, but Watchtower's teachings seem not to be right too. What about the blood ban and its flip flops?....on the other hand, Jesus taught the teaching of a hell fire in the story of the rich and Lazarous, and the Church Fathers used it to prove that the soul can be punished after the death. So, Jesus was responsible for that teaching, doesn' it?

What did you do?

With tears streaming from my eyes, I prayed for guidance. I also purchased a copy of the Catholic Jerusalem Bible, which had recently been published in Italian, and began reading it. Then, one Sunday morning as I was hanging up my robes after Mass, two men came to the seminary. They introduced themselves to me as Jehovah’s Witnesses. We talked for more than an hour about the Bible and what it says about the identifying marks of true religion.

You were also deceived by two witnesses trained in the deluded Fred Franz theology. You also knew nothing about the Bible, in which you may find more than 100 contradictions and many false prophecies.

.....

What did the other priests think of those visits?

I invited them to join in our discussions, but none took Bible study seriously. I, however, enjoyed it. I was learning wonderful things, such as why God tolerates evil and suffering—something that had long puzzled me.

Of course, most of the priests currently know that the Bible deceives many modern people. And about God tolerating evil, you seem to support the idea that we all have to suffer on account of an non-existent couple misled and tempted by a snake. Shame on you, because even Cardinal Pell (of Australia) admitted before Richard Dawkins that the story of Adam and Eve is a myth.

Did your superiors try to dissuade you from studying the Bible?

In 1975, I visited Rome several times to explain my views. My superiors tried to change my thinking, but none used the Bible. Finally, on January 9, 1976, I wrote to Rome stating that I no longer considered myself a Catholic. Two days later, I left the seminary and took a train to attend my first meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which turned out to be an assembly involving several congregations. Everything was so different from what I was accustomed to! Each Witness had a Bible and followed along with the speakers as they discussed various topics.

Yes, no one used the Bible because no priest can currently take it seriously. But,....ohhh, you mentioned the year 1975, how special was that year in Jehovah's calendar!!!. You omitted to mention the significance of it in this interview.

What did your family think about all of this?

Most of them bitterly opposed me. I found out, however, that one of my brothers was studying with the Witnesses in Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. I went to see him, and the Witnesses there helped me to find work and a place to live. Later that year, I was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

You firstly became a deluded priest, then you ended up in another and even worse absurd cult.

Do you have any regrets?

Not at all! At last, I feel truly close to God, because what I know about him is based on the Bible, not philosophy or church tradition. And I can teach others with conviction and sincerity.

Ok, you now know that Jehovah can kill babies without mercy (1 Samuel 15:3) and will destroy in Armaggedon all of those who do not believe in the flip flops of his paranoic faithful slave.

13

The god of the bible doesn't care and here's some proof.

by Crazyguy in

around 600 ad a man named muhammed created a book called the quran.

a few hundred years later the followers of this new religion called islam went on a holy crusade out of arabia to spread their religion.

in one key battle they were met by the ruling government army and were out numbered at least by 3 to 1. they could of easily lost and if god would of made sure of this most likely thier religion would of stayed an insagnificant religion of just arabia.

opusdei1972

Some proofs for the irrelevancy of the god of the Bible:

1) Slavery was not condemned by him, so it took more than 1800 years to abolish it.

2) Science has disproved many Bible statements.

3) In general, the Bible followers have produced no peace in this world.

4) No unity exists in those who claim to follow the Bible.

5) No prophecy in the Bible is truthful, on the contrary, most of them are false.