Posts by Adam

9

Oh, the loyal Dubbies will EAT THIS UP...

by Michael3000 in

jw
friends

from the scifi e-mail list i belong to: .

bc is partnering with writer david seltzer (the omen) and producer gavin polone to develop a six-to-eight-hour limited series based on the apocalypse as foretold in the book of revelation, variety reported.

nbc hopes to roll out the series right after its broadcast of the athens olympics in late august, airing an hour a week as an event designed to create momentum for the fall season, the trade paper reported.. set just before the start of armageddon, the series will follow two central characters, a physicist and a nun, who are racing against the clock to see if the apocalypse can be averted.

Adam

I doubt the normal rank and file dubs will watch it. Oh, they'll want to. They'll hear their co workers talking about how good it is and see the advertisements touting it's great ratings and reviews. But from up on high the GB will tell them all they need to know about this tool of Satan and all about how this, that, and the other part are wrong and about how the fact that everyone else seems to like it shows just how bad the state of the wold has gotten.

Anybody know if there was an official JW response to the movie "stigmata" or was it just the catholics that got pissed over that one?

20

Did you ever feel at peace at a Kingdom Hall?

by Singing Man in

jw
friends

only a few times when i was in my late teens about the time of when armagedon was suposed to happen in 75 did i ever feel at peace.

the rest of the time i felt on edge and like my life was slipping away.

i also have felt like that if i had the realization that i was real close to jehovah or jesus, or just was spiritual in general i felt ashamed for it somehow.

Adam

I'm with nos. I felt at peace right before I fell asleep. That's about it. Waking up with my evil step mother staring at me with that look of "I wish there was a hell so I could tell you you're going straight to it" wasn't all that peacefull though. And the rest of the time was spent looking at other people wondering whether people thought I was a good enough JW, whether I should answer more, whether I should give more talks, whether I should spend more time in service. Lovely way to spend the teen years.

38

Egypt, back from the dead?

by peacefulpete in

the desolation of egypt .

jeremiah 43:8-13 .

then the word of yhwh came to jeremiah in tahpanhes, saying, "take large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick which is at the entrance of pharaoh's palace in tahpanhes in the sight of some jewish men and say to them, 'thus says yhwh of hosts, the god of israel, "behold, i am going to send and get nebuchadnezzar the king of babel, my servant, and i am going to set his throne over these stones that i have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.

Adam

Who does the Bible say the first man was? Is this just interpretation?

What a lame come back. Sure there are several things that the bible doesn't leave to interpretation. The the name of that fictional character in the children's story about a viscious bastard of a god killing every living thing, including innocent animals and innocent children, in a flood that encompassed the entire globe, was named Noah. No interpretation needed there. But what about all of the things that DO require interpretation? Care to address any of those?

38

Egypt, back from the dead?

by peacefulpete in

the desolation of egypt .

jeremiah 43:8-13 .

then the word of yhwh came to jeremiah in tahpanhes, saying, "take large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick which is at the entrance of pharaoh's palace in tahpanhes in the sight of some jewish men and say to them, 'thus says yhwh of hosts, the god of israel, "behold, i am going to send and get nebuchadnezzar the king of babel, my servant, and i am going to set his throne over these stones that i have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.

Adam

I think the site tries to make more of an impression by "volume" of arguments then by quality of arguments

Again, I must agree with you. It sure would be nice if they only had the realy solid arguements listed. But simply because you have to sift thru a lot of dirt, doesn't mean that there aren't diamonds there. I would like to find a site like SAB that has sifted out only the really tough issues and the ones with very defensable points of contention.

mis-understanding of basic theology

I guess it all depends on who's interpretation you wish to believe. The JWs think that all other christian religions have a mis-understanding of theology. The Catholics think the Mormons have a misunderstanding of basic theology. The argument from SAB you list is a perfect example. Every church will have their own take on how to respond. One would say that this part is literal and the other symbolic. Another would say the same thing, but switch around which ones were to be taken literally and which weren't. Yet another would say that they are both true at the same time because God can shape-shift. The issue of which parts throughout the bible should be taken literaly and which should be taken figuratively is one which so many different organizations and scollars have all formed their own opinons on, most of them with very convincing arguements for why their conclusions are the right ones. Related to that is the issue of what the figurative parts mean. Again, many people and organizations have put in a lot of research and have very convincing reasons why they feel that thier interpretation is correct. In the end, the bible leaves one to choose between one man's interpretation and another's without giving difinitive answers.

38

Egypt, back from the dead?

by peacefulpete in

the desolation of egypt .

jeremiah 43:8-13 .

then the word of yhwh came to jeremiah in tahpanhes, saying, "take large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick which is at the entrance of pharaoh's palace in tahpanhes in the sight of some jewish men and say to them, 'thus says yhwh of hosts, the god of israel, "behold, i am going to send and get nebuchadnezzar the king of babel, my servant, and i am going to set his throne over these stones that i have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.

Adam

The "Skeptics' Annotated Bible" is very poor in many of its arguments:

I agree with you. Many of the things it points out can easily be explained, justified, or otherwise debunked. However, it points out THOUSANDS of inaccuracies, cruelties, contradictions and other disturbing aspects of this book and not all of them have an easy answer. I would think that the word of God wouldn't need so much patching up with explanations and creative interpretations. Some say that the issues arise because the bible was written and translated by man and therefore isn't the pure thought of god. Well then, if that is the case, then the bible isn't the word of god is it?

20

People You Meet At The Grocery Store

by DakotaRed in

here it is 11 pm and i just returned from safeway where i went for a few quick items at 10. safeway is only a few blocks from my house.

as i was looking at the meat counter for some good bargains, being the cheap dude i am, as well as broke, a not unattractive blonde lady walks up to me and starts in complaining about the cost of granola, saying there is no way in hell she will pay $3 for a granola bar.

now, i have heard of women who go to stores late at night to get picked up by guys and quite honestly, always thought it was bs.

Adam

Dude, if I were single, I would have been all over that. I lean more to the right (though I'm pro choice and applauded the Supreme Court's overturning of the Texas sodomy law) but I would have totally agreed with everything she said, then invited her back to the pad to talk more about it. Drunk chicks rule.

I've been accosted more than once by religious fanatics in grocery stores. I think that for some reason they have an affinity for spreading the word of dog around produce. One time I was with a co-worker who I knew to be a believer and, just being me, I made the comment that Easter is the most lame holiday because it's ALWAYS on a Sunday and you NEVER get a day off of work for it. Then some jesus freak behind us said "Pardon me, but are you saved?" I turned to find some older lady wearing that stupid grin and blank, thoughtless stare that you get from the faithful when they're trying to "help" a non-believer. I asked her "What do you mean? Saved from what?" Obviously she was unable to enter into even the most rudementary analysis of her inquiry 'cause she simply chose the path of least thought and repeated herself. "I mean, are you saved?" I told her I didn't have the slightest clue what she was talking about. So rather than attempt to explain herself, she simply asked my co-worker if he was saved. He said yes. Getting the answer she was looking for and apparently the only one her vacant skull would accept, she said "Wonderful. Bless you." Then she turned to me and said "You are in good company." Rather than waste my time with this robot, I simply turned around and moved on.

That co-worker was later fired for stealing. Yet in her mind he was better company than me simply because he uttered the word "yes." Religion is grand, ain't it?

38

Egypt, back from the dead?

by peacefulpete in

the desolation of egypt .

jeremiah 43:8-13 .

then the word of yhwh came to jeremiah in tahpanhes, saying, "take large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick which is at the entrance of pharaoh's palace in tahpanhes in the sight of some jewish men and say to them, 'thus says yhwh of hosts, the god of israel, "behold, i am going to send and get nebuchadnezzar the king of babel, my servant, and i am going to set his throne over these stones that i have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.

Adam

you make assertions without showing your source.

And lets just forget my post with nearly all necessary documentation provided.

38

Egypt, back from the dead?

by peacefulpete in

the desolation of egypt .

jeremiah 43:8-13 .

then the word of yhwh came to jeremiah in tahpanhes, saying, "take large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick which is at the entrance of pharaoh's palace in tahpanhes in the sight of some jewish men and say to them, 'thus says yhwh of hosts, the god of israel, "behold, i am going to send and get nebuchadnezzar the king of babel, my servant, and i am going to set his throne over these stones that i have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them.

Adam

Just one of many, many, many prophesies in the OT that were totaly false. The god of the OT has a crappy track record. Dunno about anybody else, but I like my dieties to know a little more about the future than this guy.

Genesis:

God says that if Adam eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then the day that he does so, he will die. But later Adam eats the forbidden fruit ( 3:6 ) and yet lives for another 930 years ( 5:5 ). 2:17

As a punishment for killing Abel, God says Cain will be "a fugitive and a vagabond." Yet in just a few verses ( 4:16-17 ) Cain will settle down, marry, have a son, and build a city. This is not the activity one would expect from a fugitive and a vagabond. 4:12

God promises Abram and his descendants all of the land of Canaan. But both history and the bible ( Acts 7:5 and Heb.11:13 ) show that God's promise to Abram was not fulfilled. 13:15 , 15:18 , 17:8 , 28:13-14

Contrary to the prophecy in 48:21 , Joseph died in Egypt, not Israel. Gen.50:24

Deuteronomy:

God says that the Israelites will destroy all of the peoples they encounter. But according to Joshua ( 15:63 , 16:10 , 17:12-13 ) and Judges ( 1:21 , 27-36 , 3:1-5 ) there were some people they just couldn't kill. 7:24

This verse says that Ai was never again occupied after it was destroyed by Joshua. But Nehemiah ( 7:32 ) lists it among the cities of Israel at the time of the Babylonian captivity. 8:28

2 Samuel:

God says that Solomon's kingdom will last forever. It didn't of course. It was entirely destroyed about 400 years after Solomon's death, never to be rebuilt. 7:13, 16

2 Kings:

In Jeremiah ( 34:4 ) God tells Zedekiah that he will die in peace and be buried with his fathers. But this verse and Jer.52:10-11 say that he died a violent death in a foreign land. 25:7

Isaiah:

These verses falsely predict that Babylon will never again be inhabited. 13:19-20

This verse prophesies that Damascus will be completely destroyed and no longer be inhabited. Yet Damascus has never been completely destroyed and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities. 17:1

This verse predicts that there shall be five cities in Egypt that speak the Canaanite language. But that language was never spoken in Egypt, and it is extinct now. 19:18

Jeremiah:

God says he is going to punish Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians for what they have done to his people -- even though God Himself is the one who made the Babylonians attack and enslave Judah! As part of the punishment God will take the land of the Babylonians and "make it perpetual desolations." A false prophecy, since present-day Iraq is quite occupied. 25:12

AND THE BEAT GOES ON......................

25

Can anyone confirm this? New congregation consolidation 'unofficial' policy

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i recently was told by an elder in queens, that there are so many young people being df'd, marriage problems and divorce, that some congregations in the queens, bronx and manhattan areas are very small as a result of the above problems.

he said that there is an unofficial policy of the gb, that they don't like congregations with less than 75 publishers.

as a result, some kingdom halls are being sold and congregations with few publishers are being consoloidated with bigger congregations.

Adam

This tactic totally makes sense. The GB keeps people so seperated, different, and isolated from the real world that the individuals need a large group of fellow JWs to keep their sanity and continue to fulfill the necessary human requirement to belong and to associate with other humans. If a congrigation gets too small, members of the flock will naturally look to outside sources to fill this need since the smaller group isn't enough to do it. Looking outside will expose them to reality and undermine their commitment to the un-natural way of living that the GB imposes on them. I immagine that there is a critical mass of regular attendees that must be maintained to keep the group sustained. Once the number falls below that limit, mass exodus for that particular group is an eventual enevitability. I am sure that the GB has studied this in depth and taken these measures to avoid it.

16

New Light on 2005- Another False Prophecy?

by Tower Man in

jw
friends

i have a new article on my site about the watchtower's claim of the end by 2005. if you're not burned out on this topic yet, check it out.

my friend, cheryl, wrote it.

http://www.towertotruth.net/articles/last_generation.htm

Adam

Since 1879 anyone who became a Jehovah's Witness but who left the Watchtower is on that narrow road to destruction.

Ahh, the ~~few~~ growning majority, the proud.

This is so lame and I truly feel sorry for people who actually buy into this crap. I mean, don't they see that "the end" has been "right around the corner" for over 2000 years now? Don't they know about all the other "end is near" predictions by the JW's, by other bible based religions, and even by jesus himself? Ever since jesus told people that the kingdom of god was comming "soon" and that some of the people then living would see it manifested, bible based belief structurs have been predicting the immenent end of the world. You think people would have learned by now.