Posts by behemot

4

Any one a fan of Calvin & Hobbes

by is there help out there in

jw
friends

i`t winter here in the east and i just love when the snow goons come out to play..

behemot

I am. Some of my favourite lines:

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.

Life's disappointments are harder to take when you don't know any swear words.

"Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?"
"I'm not sure that man needs the help."

"What state do you live in?"
"Denial."

The world isn't fair, Calvin."
"I know Dad, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favour?"

Behemot

32

Guys how old were you when appointed anything???

by oompa in

jw
friends

i was 19, a pioneer, and a mini-serve.......first literature, then territory, and account servant at 21.....of course a janitor/window washer too (not that there is anything wrong with that!...it paid well!

).....i turned down elder as i am very non-judgemental....but almost did it so i could let everyone off in committees......geeze how i wish i had been in in college gettin laid............oompaundercover inspired this thread btw........

behemot

17 - Baptised

22 - Ministerial servant

27 - Elder

40 - Resigned

41 - Faded

Behemot

10

Double standards

by behemot in

jw
friends

did you ever notice how double standard leads jws life?.

if someone whos joining the jws gets shunned by his family/friends, thats persecution, if a jw who joins another religion (or does anything outside the rules) gets the same treatment thats loving discipline.. if they are invited to another religions ceremony they wont go, viewing their participation as sharing in false worship; yet at the same time they keep on inviting members of other faiths to share in their own celebrations (memorial) and expect them to show up and participate.. they fight worldwide, even in courts, for freedom of speech, yet they dont grant such freedom to their own members.. they encourage people to question and closely scrutinize their beliefs; but they are discouraged to do the same themselves.. they expect people to read and study their publications; yet they wont touch other faiths literature with a stick for fear of getting polluted.. other examples?.

behemot.

behemot

Did you ever notice how double standard leads JWs’ life?

If someone who’s joining the JWs gets shunned by his family/friends, that’s “persecution”, if a JW who joins another religion (or does anything outside the rules) gets the same treatment that’s “loving discipline”.

If they are invited to another religion’s ceremony they won’t go, viewing their participation as “sharing in false worship”; yet at the same time they keep on inviting members of other faiths to share in their own celebrations (memorial) and expect them to show up and participate.

They fight worldwide, even in courts, for freedom of speech, yet they don’t grant such freedom to their own members.

They encourage people to question and closely scrutinize their beliefs; but they are discouraged to do the same themselves.

They expect people to read and study their publications; yet they won’t touch other faiths’ literature with a stick for fear of getting polluted.

Other examples?

Behemot

10

Ten Plagues of Egypt (mentioned WT 3-15-09)

by cameo-d in

i am sure this must have been posted before, but since the ten plagues are briefly mentioned in the upcoming wt, i thought it might be worth posting again.

perhaps it will provide an opportunity to pass this on to a jw friend as food for thought.. .

the lice & the flies - both plagues #3 & 4 can be grouped together because they are related by term - insect- due to the large masses of now dead frogs on land, insects would gather to feed on.

behemot

In fact, there is no solid evidence of the historicity of the exodus biblical account (for a discussion see Did the Exodus Happen?, in Neil Asher Silberman & Israel Finkelstein, The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, New York, Free Press 2001, p. 48-71).

P.S. I have to rectify something I mentioned in my first post on this topic: the tale about the seven plagues which I incorrectly ascribed to "J" is attributed by Van Seters to the most recent "D" (Deuteronomist) source, which is supposed to have been active during the exile.

Behemot

10

Ten Plagues of Egypt (mentioned WT 3-15-09)

by cameo-d in

i am sure this must have been posted before, but since the ten plagues are briefly mentioned in the upcoming wt, i thought it might be worth posting again.

perhaps it will provide an opportunity to pass this on to a jw friend as food for thought.. .

the lice & the flies - both plagues #3 & 4 can be grouped together because they are related by term - insect- due to the large masses of now dead frogs on land, insects would gather to feed on.

behemot

Mary is right: "natural" explanations don't explain why the plagues left the Israelites untouched. Assuming that the ten plagues are nothing more than just a literary creation is a better explanation imho.

Behemot

10

Ten Plagues of Egypt (mentioned WT 3-15-09)

by cameo-d in

i am sure this must have been posted before, but since the ten plagues are briefly mentioned in the upcoming wt, i thought it might be worth posting again.

perhaps it will provide an opportunity to pass this on to a jw friend as food for thought.. .

the lice & the flies - both plagues #3 & 4 can be grouped together because they are related by term - insect- due to the large masses of now dead frogs on land, insects would gather to feed on.

behemot

Bible scholar John Van Seters claims that the story of the ten plagues is not an ancient tradition. It was "J" (the Jahwist source) who created a tale about a series of seven plagues (the other three were authored by "P", the Priestly source: compare Psalm 78:44-51 and 105:28-38, which both allude to a cycle of seven plagues) getting its inspiration from Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26 and the Ancient Near Eastern tradition of curses.

See his essay: John Van Seters, The Plagues of Egypt: Ancient Tradition or Literary Invention?, in «Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft» 98 (1986), pp. 31-39

Behemot

40

The End is Here....The JWs gleefully watch the economy crash!

by LovesDubs in

jw
friends

dont these idiots know yet that when it goes it takes them too?

have they not learned from the depression?

or either world war?

behemot

I wonder how the magazines printed during the "Great Depression" in 1929 dealt with the situation back then, and especially if the connection was somehow made between the financial crisis and the approaching of the end ... it would be fun to show them they were saying exactly the same things 80 years ago!

Anyone has access to that old stuff and can brief us?

Behemot

23

November WT: new policy for inactive ones?

by behemot in

jw
friends

the november 15 w.t.

(study edition) features these two articles:.

help those who stray from the flock.

behemot

OK, I just finished listening to the audio files of the two study articles, and all I can say is it's a false alarm: the studies do deal with how to help the inactive ones but nowhere they mention anything about disciplinary measures for those who are not receptive to the "loving assistance".

Only once (2nd study article, paragraphs 12-13) the word "discipline" is mentioned, and it is in connection with inactive ones that, in the process of being helped back to activity, confess that they left for fear of disfellowshipping after committing a serious sin. In that case, the article says that "loving discipline" may be in order, adding that if the individual recognizes his mistake, has abandoned the wrong conduct and is sincerely repented, then the elders will help him back into the flock.

Nothing new, then. Inactive ones may expect a call or a visit from the elders who will follow these articles up (by the way, they will be studied in the congregation during the first half of January 2009) but, other than that, I don't see any change of policy, so sorry for raising this storm in a teacup ... unless along with the articles comes a letter to the elders' bodies with further details untold in the articles. But I personally think this is unlikely.

Behemot

23

November WT: new policy for inactive ones?

by behemot in

jw
friends

the november 15 w.t.

(study edition) features these two articles:.

help those who stray from the flock.

behemot

The November 15 W.T. (Study edition) features these two articles:

Help Those Who Stray from the Flock

Help Them Return Without Delay

I didn't have access to the material, but I heard rumors that the articles enforce new procedures for inactive ones, i.e. that efforts are to be made to help them return and, if they don't respond, then they'll undergo some kind (what kind?) of disciplinary action.

Anyone has access to the articles and/or can post them for details regarding this brand new "loving arrangement"?

Behemot

16

Tobit, Testament of Dan and Apocalypse's "New Jerusalem"

by behemot in

"for jerusalem will be built with sapphires and emeralds, her walls with precious stones, and her towers and battlements with pure gold.

the streets of jerusalem will be paved with beryl and ruby and stones of ophir, and her lanes will cry 'hallelujah!

' and will give praise, saying, 'blessed is god, who has exalted you for ever.

behemot

Thanks Leolaia, amazing as always.

I'll check my PDF copy of Moffatt's Introduction and I just booked Charlesworth's book at my library.

Behemot