Mephis

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Posts by Mephis

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  12

  Just 10 more days. How are they going to spin the news on Oct 3 annual meeting?

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so they asked all the kingdom halls for all the money in their savings account and then make them give a monthly payment for the rest of their life.

  the reason for this was because the in-gathering is so great, that they need to build, build, build!.

  now the massive building will stop..

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  Mephis

  The end is nigh. And not even in so many words. Just hint and nod and wink. Instant dub excitement. Until the comedown.
• 
  74

  That's it! The Jesus stories are most reasonably explained as myth. History makes this obvious.

  by Island Man in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that jesus is just another one of several similar myths.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7teoa9ark.

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  Mephis

  However, just by studying the early church fathers and their writings (and they wrote A LOT) in just the first 3 centuries, it is easy to determine exactly what sound doctrine is, where and when heretical doctrine came in; and who was the culprit.

  
  So the bible is infallible because you decided it is infallible by deciding which writings passed around the first few centuries of Christianity you want to believe represent some form of orthodoxy - in spite of evidence to the contrary over such an orthodoxy existing (date for Easter, when Christ was scheduled to return, the lack of even factual agreement in the gospels, extent of Judaism acceptable being huge issue etc etc). That much of those writings didn't get included in the canon, that some of them seem to be very blatant forgeries well.. If it works for you, great, but you can't call out those who point out the circular logic going on there.
  Would suggest fact checking the claim that you make about re-creating the NT from quotations. It just ain't so. And the half (?) which can be re-created doesn't really help too much if the counter-argument is early C2nd forgeries seem to be present and included in the canon.
  Will have a read of your evangelical doctor by correspondence's book if it's about in my university library. The conclusion given to it on the Amazon view doesn't really fill me with great expectations of it disagreeing with the religion he joined aged 12. So fortuitous when that happens for theology students.
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  26

  Major events that Bible did not foretell!

  by iconoclastic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jws feel that their strength lies in the power of bible to foretell.

  however, an impartial analysis would show that bibles prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its propheciesespecially those that are very much needed for what it calls last days.

  to mention a few:.

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  Mephis

  I'm sorry you went through that iconoclastic. Was nice of them to make sure that you were eating enough and not starving to death to allow your miracle to happen. Not sure how it demonstrates terrorism is different in anyway, but a useful tip for any English speaker held hostage by terrorists for sure.
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  119

  Latest rumor - all WT construction "suspended", except for Warwick

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  heard 4th-hand, but from a full-on believer, so not likely to be an "apostate lie":.

  apparently, at bethel's morning worship this morning, it was announced that all worldwide wts construction is "suspended" for an indefinite time, except for the new world headquarters at warwick.. also, the "relocation" of remote translating teams is also suspended.. finally, there will be a "worldwide" reduction in bethel personnel.. all this came to me in a non-english language, and,as noted, 4th-hand.

  so it is possible something may have been lost in translation and/or in the multiple steps between bethel morning worship & me.. but if true, it would be quite stunning.

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  Mephis

  Maybe they've discovered that their insurance policy for the court cases and compensation claims isn't going to cover them. Depends on how much of what is being said is true and the timeframes involved. A sudden juddering halt to everything plus cutbacks would obviously mean they need a lot of money in a hurry rather than stupidly over-reaching themselves and needing to reassess. There's been letters about consolidating congregations and sharing halls too, hasn't there? Curious, curious.
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  74

  That's it! The Jesus stories are most reasonably explained as myth. History makes this obvious.

  by Island Man in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that jesus is just another one of several similar myths.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7teoa9ark.

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  Mephis

  Perry, you've chosen to answer the most minor of points raised in objection to your previous post. In fact one which really doesn't need answering as you say you're in agreement with everything but Ehrman's ability to use his knowledge to get tenure. The very fact that you and millions of Christians need to make the choice over which version to accept should really demonstrate the silliness of trying to argue for the infallibility of the bible. Which bible? How did you choose? Who chose the things which went into the bible you're saying is infallible? How did they choose? Why should anyone trust their choice? What if the Gnostics were right? What if Arian was? How do you know your own texts haven't been written or edited to support a belief which wasn't what Christ taught? And so on, and so on.

  The idea of biblical infallibility seems tied up with the notion of 'one truth' waiting there to be found. One true understanding of what Jesus really said. And I'm not sure that was even true for the generation or two after Jesus was meant to have lived. The gospel writers can't even agree amongst themselves about basic facts related to his life, and there's sufficient evidence of multiple understandings happening very early on - some of those even being alluded to in what is currently in the canon.
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  26

  Major events that Bible did not foretell!

  by iconoclastic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jws feel that their strength lies in the power of bible to foretell.

  however, an impartial analysis would show that bibles prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its propheciesespecially those that are very much needed for what it calls last days.

  to mention a few:.

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  Mephis

  That's not a distinction which works across history iconoclastic. Terrorism typically has an aim, a goal, and the targets are chosen in order to progress that goal. War typically has an aim, a goal, and the targets are chosen in order to progress that goal. Sometimes that includes killing civilians deliberately. Sometimes that doesn't. The definition of terrorism is the use of terror/fear in order to progress a political aim. It's not a tool of just jihadis cutting people's heads off or flying planes into buildings. Fear as a tool for repression and control has a much longer history than that. And one which very much includes the time period when the new testament was being written.

  The concept of a 'crime against humanity' dates from when iconoclastic? Even the Lex Innocentium is late C7th AD, and that in no way is representative of any point of history before or since. Warfare is brutal and uncivilised, much as we sanitise or mythologise how we treat it.
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  26

  Major events that Bible did not foretell!

  by iconoclastic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jws feel that their strength lies in the power of bible to foretell.

  however, an impartial analysis would show that bibles prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its propheciesespecially those that are very much needed for what it calls last days.

  to mention a few:.

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  Mephis

  Not sure how much history you've read iconoclastic, but may I suggest that the idea of not targeting civilians during a war is actually the exception rather than the rule for human history. In the Roman world, as in many other time periods, targeting civilians was precisely how war worked. Genocide was a common tool of imperial control. Where genocide wasn't wholesale, it was typically because some elements of the population would have a future of slavery ahead of them.The idea that we're now in some sort of curious epoch of human history because civilians are targeted for violence really doesn't stand up.

  More generally, I agree with your point that the bible is very general with those prophesies which have no trace of back-editing. But the bible isn't alone in that. Most 'holy' books share the same approach. And those which don't are those without prophesy.
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  180

  What is the most bizarre counsel you received as a JW, from a JW?

  by Funchback in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there were many addressed to me.

  for example, i once had a sister tell me i was gambling because i liked playing skill crane (the machine where you have to try to pick up prizes like stuffed animals) at the arcade.

  i then fired back a her: "you saw the r-rated movie 'backdraft.

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  Mephis

  CO's wife turning up to eat dinner with pioneer mum. Summer holidays and the film Waterloo (PG rating, this was early afternoon British tv viewing in the late 80s) was on.Love me my historical stuff. She decided to come into the living room while dinner was being made. CO's wife then began to give a story about how violent films weren't what Jehovah liked and how watching violent things made you do violent things. I asked her about Joshua asking for the sun to stand still so he could kill his full quota of Canaanites for the day and the drama about that at the convention. She went back into the kitchen. 26 years later, I've still yet to mount a cavalry charge against the French.
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  45

  What language was Jesus most at home with?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  our former loving brothers and sisters have been instructed to think that, jesus likely spoke a form of hebrew and a form of aramaic.

  (aid to bible understanding-103-105).

  of course, there is no way to demonstrate the truth of that assertion or any other assertion about the languages that the common people of the land spoke.

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  Mephis

  The answers to the nine questions he raises really don't present a challenge to the current consensus about this. Greek was the language of the educated elite, even in Roman society Greek was the culture and language of aspiration. That does not translate into it being the common language of every day discourse - any more than the use of Latin or French or English by other cultural elites meant that either. As a simple example, what was the language of the Jewish revolt of 66 - 70 AD? At a time when coins were mass media for propaganda, this isn't Greek.

  
  
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  27

  More of What the Watchtower Didn't Teach You

  by CalebInFloroda in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  what kind of bible education did the governing body really give us?

  how much important information about it did the watchtower really teach us?

  how much are we missing out on if we are one of jehovahs witnesses?.

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  Mephis

  As a JW, I could answer no.10, and 3 of the 4 languages of no.1 and the second part of no.8. Excellent way to make a point for anyone willing to engage in a bit of thinking. My own realisation about how little I did know was triggered by having a relationship with a Church of England ordinand who would regularly take my 'bible knowledge' to pieces whenever I challenged her. She had the patience of the saint, thank goodness!