there is a site which anyone should visit it can be very interesting.. in that site you'll find information on history related to the book of revelation.
you'll notice that there is an interpretation that much suits to the people of the early christian times, than to the people of our time.
the logic is that when john wrote the apocalypse book, it had to be understood by the people of his time, with terms and symbolics that the early christians and others (like historians) would understand.
I will destroy the name of Babylon, and the remains, and the bud, and the offspring. [Is 14.22]
It has been said to be the name of ownership, the remains of it, the temptation to have things and the desire to possess. God does this for his disciples - a rich man shall hardly enter the kingdom. So the disciples may say happily with Peter - "behold we have left all things".
Bang
how do you feel about the killing of people in war ?especially those who do not share you ideals and there fore may encroach on your rights if they had authority over you?.
most of us having been witnesses would have justified opposers of god dying at armageddon because we believed they if left alive would ruin life for everyone else.. so if a political party or another nation gained power other you country that acted contrary to your beliefs to such a degree you though they would ruin or life or life style would you kill them in war?
If someone slaps you on the right, turn to them the left as well.
So by killing to preserve this life, it seems that you don't believe in the next, or indeed the Way to best do things for others.
And not to leave out a 'stab' at the WT -- Even if you don't pick up guns, are you supporting war by taking refuge in and sharing in the resultant peaceful conditions of the winners, the spoils, all sound and serene like - like undisturbed tombs ?
Bang
does our little crusade matter to the world?.
considering jw's make up such a small part of the worlds population to what extent do our beefs with the organisation matter to anyone unconnected?.
should our opinions of witness beliefs concern people more than witness themselves .should everyone have the right to make up there own mind and chose to be witnesses without us interfereing?.
If one person finds comfort by coming to understand that it's not their fault, but they've simply been the target of liars, then it becomes a joy doesn't it?
Well, I'm sure I've read at least one such story.
- and I've never been a jw, but it matters to me to know that there are some real people there also, that I shouldn't despair of them all.
Bang
basic doctrines.
the other night a passage in in search of christian freedom caught my eye.
after discussing how the watchtower targets certain doctrinal matters in the earlier stages of its bible study program for new converts, franz makes this observation:.
The basic doctrines of the WT seem to be --
"Do as we say, and you'll get things and you won't have to work anymore."
"Your lucky to be in our company because God is going to kill everyone else who aren't 'wise' like we are, isn't He lovely?"
"Everything that's going wrong in the world is all those other wicked people's fault, but the world will end soon and they'll cop it, so then, aren't we full of love - can't you see it?"
And my favourite - "Clean clothes bring you honour".
Whereas the basic doctrine of christendom seems to be what Christ said - "Do the same as the Samaritan".
Bang
2 peter 2:1-22.
2 however, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among you.
these very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects and will disown even the owner that bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves.
Meditating now -----------------------
False prophets? --- Well, that's obvious.
Speedy destruction. --- They're already in the dark about God and themselves. Yep, they're punished, and just like the others they won't change, they're into judgement and judgement's for them.
Way of the truth spoken of abusively. -- That's for sure, people mock christianity because of such who say they're christians.
Not slow moving. -- Yep. They're already out and in the dark.
Daring. -- Oh yes. Check out JW leaders, very big on accusations, and just like animals they think in terms of fleshy rewards.
Delight in their deceptive teachings. -- I've never seen such a scoffy yet ignorant smile on any other folk.
A heart trained in covetousness. -- Literally the JW spirit, envious, wanton and hating other's fortune.
Fountains without water. -- No doubt. A veritable source of poison.
They entice those who are just escaping from people who conduct themselves in error. 19 While they are promising them freedom, they themselves are existing as slaves of corruption. For whoever is overcome by another is enslaved by this one. -- I think no more needs to be said about that.
They get involved again with these very things and are overcome. -- What a sad thing it is to see people who realise they need to be kind and loving and seek divine help, then slip straight back into such a level of self-importance and selfishness as to still withhold their worldly goods and even justify it by instantly becoming accusers.
The holy commandment delivered into their heart has been marginalised in favour of "salvation", and from what? Some kind of 'end of the world' catastrophes?
Well, on the bright side, people get to be poor in spirit over it all.
Bang
well not the end of the world!.
but lets think like jws for a minute!
they clutch at every negative news item to show that the end is near.
Violence, and distrust of strangers, and groups of strangers, keeps many forms of mammals alive. Including the primate homo sapiens.
Before we had dealings with some JWs we didn't have distrust of strangers. But now it seems that every time we meet people who dress well, we wonder if they've got evil things on their mind, to the harm of our family. I imagine it'll take some time to get over it and trust people at their word again.
As for the end of the world thing, well, what a shameful bunch of crap they've been given up to, though I hope they don't tone it down - so the pit is clearer for the passers by.
Bang
i am a newbie here.
i am not a jw, never was and i don't think i will ever be.
my last statement is due to the fact that i did read a lot of posts from this forum and about the jws in other sites.
Hi AjaxMan,
It struck a chord with me when you wrote,
When she is acting so nice and personable with everyone, is she just acting?
Is her being nice just a "facade"?
Is her being nice and friendly just a way to try to convert people?
I'd like to know because I do love my friends and I certainly don't want fakes. Since she's a JW, I don't know what her true intentions are.
It's funny that, isn't it. It's like saying, "Because you joined yourself to people I can't trust, I never know what's really on your mind."
I often wonder how it is that Christ says, "...I don't know who you are". I'm sure it's not any sort of insult, but simply a matter of fact in regard to the intentions of the heart. If she is intent on jwism, be careful.
Bang
why i'm not a dub:.
we: maybe we cant solve all of the worlds problems, but weve already solved plenty of them so far, and there are a lot more we can solve if we give more of ourselves to help our fellow humans.. dubs: we cant solve all of the worlds problems, so why bother trying to solve any of them?
well just sell books, and youd better buy them.
That should be extended, well refined, and then printed and handed out to JWs - left in their letter box etc. Y'all should use those skills that you acquired from goin from house to house - and don't think that it wouldn't work, I imagine it'd be quite a kafufel.
I think I've asked this before, whose in charge of this website ?
Can a new section be made for contributions to effective anti-literature ?
Bang
one of my sister who is a jw is still trying to keep contact with us and she's is supposed to shun us.
the problem is that i don't know if i want to see her again, we have almost nothing in common and i see her just once a year but she continue to send us letters at every months and she always told us that she love us.
i would like to do something to make her realize that the wbts doesn't have the truth but i know that she will consider me as an apostate if i say something bad about the jw.. black holes are where god divided by zero.
Jayhawk,
I'm not a JW and haven't been one, but it seems that exjws indicate that what I would consider more irrelevant debates have a really strong effect - such as what happens with Sodom and Gommorah, or whether the borg had a library card.
I would have thought that matters of honour and dignity would be a really strong jolt for breaking the bond - things like Agreeing with a group or god who's very soon going to set fire to the kindly folk and pat some scribes on the head - or the dishonour (effeminacy of mind) in matters of kissin a demanding wicked ass, and so on.
Those who are out have let their yes be yes and their no be no, and I can respect that - but those who are in oppress their own soul's needs with all kinds of confusing evil. Like men and women, body and soul are intertwined and become one - but rather than listening to the soul 'in the house' they bring in tantalising things and promises to cojole or manipulate the woman (soul) into doing things they desire, a deception that is deceiving their whole self - and then say, "I'm happily married" - but you can tell who isn't.
I thought that giving things up cold turkey was effective, and I also thought that matters of honour help to make a stand, but then again, like I said, I haven't been there. I still wonder.
Bang
i thought this was hilarious, here is the link to the article.
of course take everything this paper offers with a grain of salt.. .
http://www.theonion.com/onion3745/bandaged_bin_laden.html.
Did he say, "do as I say, because your world will end soon and ankar is going to get you", or did he say, "I am the boss of you, I am the boss of you, kneel before our ankar he told us"
It's like I've heard that before.
