as i understand reza alsan's explanation of our view of history vs the ancients, the ancients were not so committed to recording accurate facts as recording ideas which, reza aslan stated , would be their understanding of truth.
it appears many have been quick to accept reza aslan's comments as having great weight.
he is a convincing speaker, i think mainly, because he believes what he says.
Perfect preservation?
The Additions to Esther is most likely the work of an Egyptian Jew, writing around 170 BC, who sought to give the book a more religious tone, and to suggest that the Jews were saved from destruction because of their piety. The additions completely change the tone of the book from what was originally intended from the Hebrew Manuscripts...and the additions were NEVER in the Hebrew scriptures.
the great crowd, the other sheep will live forever on planet earth.. years will move from centuries, millennia, and millions of years to billions of years.
after 4 billion years, the sky will fill as their milky way galaxy and its neighbouring andomeda galaxy collide, with amazing changes in gravitational forces.
what an amazing sight!.
@ Doug Mason:
"One billion years later, after surviving the collision of two galaxies, the Great Crowd of Other Sheep will experience the sun expand and self-destruct."
The Earth would most probably be pulled out of its orbit by the mixing of stars and their gravitational effect on each other.
The Earth however won't have to wait 5 billion years to get vaporized by the sun. Reason being that, as the sun slowly gets warmer and warmer throughout the hundred millions of years the Earth's oceans would vaporize creating a runaway greenhouse effect. This is supposed to happen a billion years from now.
The result would be no ocean, an atmosphere of water vapor that's 200 times our current pressure and temperatures over 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Great Crowd would have to move to Pluto.
which of these activities did you hate/bothered you the most?
rank them from 1-5 with the most hated to the least.. .
field service.
Field Service
During my final year as a JW I started having anxiety attacks out in field service.
2 - 4 day assemblies
I actually liked the 2 day, circuit assemblies. I stuffed myself with all that 'spiritual food'. I would even record them.
Giving Ministry School Talk - for men and women
I once gave a talk where I forgot to put on my tie. I was counseled, nicely, but I thought it was a somewhat trivial. I considered it amusing when I saw a sister, on stage, in her late 50s wear a head covering while talking to an elder who was half her age.
Watching 12 years getting baptized
Back in my day 14 years seemed to be the minimum. I believe I was 15 when I got baptized.
Watching young children getting disfellowshipped
The youngest df that I heard was about 14 and his younger brother who was not baptized and 11 was announced separately as disassociated.
embrace judeo-christian culture and values!
is this politician serious?.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h2ed8a8rxey.
Here is another example of a politician who's serious about instituting Old Testament civil law.
Charles Fuqua, the Republican candidate for the Arkansas House of Representatives, is the author of God's Law - The Only Political Solution, which states that Christianity does not invalidate the O.T. law!
embrace judeo-christian culture and values!
is this politician serious?.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h2ed8a8rxey.
Vidiot:
"...particularly when I realized that the WTS would absolutely play ball with them if these assholes ever came to power."
The Dominionists, particularly the Reconstructionists, would probably not have JWs as allies. The Witnesses and Mormons are simply too 'heretical' for them.
The Watchtower would consider them as part of "Babylon the great". Of course, why should that be a hindrance considering what happened with the UN?
i can't think of any chronology that has not been changed.
even their "absolute" dates are suspect.
smiddy:
"They had two dates for the end of 6000 year rule by Satan , the first in the late 1800`s and the second one was 1975 ."
They claim that they corrected a 100 year error in the original chronology. That made 1874 turn into 1975 (maybe there was another 1 year error).
In any case one thing that is never mentioned is their assumption that the years were supposed to be 360 days long instead of 365.25. They claim that the Babylonian year was 360 days long but that is utterly false. With an actual year you would have 365.25 X 7 = 2556.75 starting at 607 B.C.E. (according to their claim about that date.). That would give a 7 year period ending in 1949 (I may be off by a year.).
Correct 607 B.C.E. to 587 you add another 20 years. Let them spin that!
first post on here.
i've been lurking for 3-4 years and i mean i've been a mega lurker, doing marathon reading sessions for months or weeks.. sometimes i proceed by researching specific topics, or posters; other times just reading current discussions.
i'm particularly fond of "old" post, i.e 10-12-15 years ago.. i have laughed, smiled, got mad, cried etc, just reading some threads here.. as you can see i suffer from some kind of "accute lurkitis".
Tempest in a Teacup:
"I don't plan to leave the jws. Where I live, "religionlessness" is thoroughly non-existent. And I must say that jws represent a big part of my social life, and some kind of entertainment for me..."
"Why don't you establish friendships with 'worldly' people? I'm sure they can be pretty entertaining. More so than some of the Witnesses.
In any case, welcome to the forum.
jehovah's witnesses are taught that it will be joy to be around a lion or other such animal without fear in paradise:.
it truly will be paradise restored.
what of the joy to be around a lion or other such animal without fear?
this is what obama recently had to say about religion and how it is causing problems in the world... the prophecy is coming true!!!
we apostates are doomed!!!.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=afndil42e20.
But they look happy together.
i just wanna know why...after a thousand dang years, jehovah would even want to think about lettin go of the dude who started it all....satan.
why?..
like a thousand years is a long time, and people are supposed to be gettin perfect n stuff during this time, and the earth is supposed to be gettin all perfectionized.... so satan can f- - - it all up again?.
You got to admit, these people have a lot of enthusiasm. 
