Posts by myelaine

110

References to YHWH in ancient documents

by Doug Mason in

page 15 of awake!

2017 provides an image that shows hebrew writing with the statement: “the personal name of god written in ancient hebrew characters appears abundantly in early manuscripts of the bible”.. alongside that image, the awake!

provides a listing to show “the rendering of ‘god’s name’ in various languages”.. the facts do not support either assertion that the watchtower society makes:.

myelaine

https://www.nehemiaswall.com/nehemia-gordon-name-god

60

Jesus fulfilling old testament prophecies like his legs not being broken

by Isambard Crater in

what are everyone's thoughts on this, how his legs weren't broken, he was pierced with a spear and he wore a thorny crown?.

i'm pimo and very much not wanting to believe, but like the daniel statue prophecies, these ones about jesus stick in my mind and give me "hmmm, maybe" moments..

myelaine

dear Isambard Crater...

Paul was able to convince jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah using the OT years after the events. Because he had to defend the gospel publicly they likely had their own arguments as to why Jesus wasn't the Messiah.
That's the question the bible answers. Is Jesus the Messiah that was expected?...there is no argument from any of the jews as to His existence or His miracles.
The OT prophets spoke about a man who would come to REDEEM israel (the people group). Paul was able to show from the OT who the redeemer was, how he would redeem, why he needed to redeem and what manner the redemption would be ie: immediate physical or eternal spiritual.
So, I guess my question to you is: are you looking at the OT to simply believe that Jesus existed? (Because they wont help you believe He existed any more than the NT will) besides, like james said, " even the demons believe." (james 2:19)
No, searching the scriptures to find belief is futile imo. BUT, if you look at yourself and believe you need someone to redeem you from sin, then the bible will show you who that redeemer is. Paul could convince opposing jews in his day that Jesus was the promised redeemer, and the same scriptures can convince you too.
If you don't think you are a sinner in need of redemption then what is the point in "believing"...really?

love michelle

8

Forget the Christian Doom and Gloom Messages - Does the evidence show the humans are better or worse off?

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

what does the evidence show?.

"...two distinguished scholars have tried to introduce a little reality into the debate about the world's trajectory.

swedish intellectual johan norberg and harvard university's steven pinker provide a persuasive antidote to the apocalyptical school of journalism.

myelaine

The thrust of the christian "doom & gloom" message about society involves something that can't necessarily be measured. It's about a sickness in the "spirit" or character, if you prefer, of a person. Having said that, the societal push for mental health awareness is a lot more pronounced now and is steadily being recognized as a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Suicide by young and middle aged people seems to be incomprehensibly rising. Regardless of whether society represents itself as better than ever, there is an undercurrent of "doom and gloom". It shouldn't be labelled as christian doom and gloom if it affects society at large.

Interestingly, the scripture that talks about what the last days will be like, isn't talking about "the world" but the people in the professing church as evidenced by the words, "having a form of godliness, but denying its power".

Take care, people.

love michelle

182

Words for the Day; please share

by compound complex in

jw
friends

greetings, word lovers:.

in my job, i work with words and wrangle them into shape, well, in a manner of speaking.

one word might be mistaken for another, a word with either a similar or identical sound.

myelaine

I didn't know gruntled was a word but, it's more pleasant than being disgruntled 🙄

and using the word plectrum in a sentence rocks 😎

63

We Pass the Bread and the Wine Just like in the Bible! But, why is forbidden to eat?

by lusitano o tuga in

see what bridget azaz did!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzbe5yo7uq4.

myelaine

lusitano o tuga...

so, you're not going to partake of the emblems because the Holy Spirit is drawing you to but, because your "flesh" wants to see the look on their faces?

Do you think there is cause to reconsider your motives?

63

We Pass the Bread and the Wine Just like in the Bible! But, why is forbidden to eat?

by lusitano o tuga in

see what bridget azaz did!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzbe5yo7uq4.

myelaine

dear TheWonderofYou...

The wall of separation wasn't the law. The wall of separation that paul sought to remove was religiously imposed customs that said that jews and gentiles shouldn't "mix company". He even called peter out for playing the hypocrite because he returned to his former way. On learning the truth that God does not call gentiles "unclean" (sheet incident) he started having contact and ministering to them, eating etc. then when "certain men from james' company" came to jerusalem he separated himself again in the "manner of the jews"...even teaching this separation, according to the text. That's what was separating the Body...paul taught that there was no longer jew or gentile, free or slave because all are one in Christ. Much like in OT times when gentiles joined the jews they were required to uphold the law, they became one with israel...israelites.

The burden the fathers couldn't bear wasn't the law either. The penalty for breaking the law, however, is a different story. Moses murdered a man...without the grace of God in the sacrificial system God's justice would have seen him forfeiting his life for his crime. The NT says that the law is holy, just and perfect. scripture also says that God doesn't put more on man than he can bear. It would be wholly unrighteous of God to require obedience to a law that he knows they couldn't "collectively" ever keep. Jesus rebukes the pharisees for placing burdens on the people by way of contravening the law. Jesus says that He didn't come to abolish the law but to "fulfill" it. And that anyone that teaches it is done away with will be least in the kingdom.

Paul said that he wouldn't have known what sin was if it wasn't for the law and in 1 john 3:4-5 scripture says that sin is lawlessness...or trespassing of the law. 1 john 2:1-2 says that if we do sin or trespass the law, Jesus is our advocate with the Father. Jesus Himself showed this with the woman caught in adultery. He advocated for the woman and then told her to sin no more...as in stop trespassing the law.

Remember scripture says (to paraphrase) that the law is only a problem for people who don't obey it? That's because being "under" the law means you will be subjected to the penalties/requirements of the law. If you uphold the law you are not "under" it...you don't feel its weight, so to speak. Jesus took away the list of penalties/requirements which were against us as sinners who trespassed against the law. His yoke is light because we are no longer held to the penalties of the law...that weight that so easily ensnares us. (We are justified by our faith in Him accomplishing that. Abraham was justified by his faith that God would provide a lamb...he believed God's promises to him and so knew that his son would be spared) Jesus paid for those sins in full, having nailed them to the cross when He became sin for us. He satisfied the penalty for sin. He didn't abolish the law. Galatians 3:10-14 says the MAN who transgresses the law is cursed...it doesn't say the law is a curse. Again, Jesus became the sinner on the cross, He didn't become the law on the cross.

--"Paul is vehemently opposed to any attempt to persuade the Gentile-Christian communities to hold certain days (Gal 4: 8, Col. 2: 8ff.), For they represent for him a relapse into a life of works "--

By his own admission, paul didn't teach anything contrary to the law. So he couldn't have taught it was replaced by grace for the gentile. For one thing the teaching that is opposite the law is lawlessness, not grace. Galatians 4:8-11. Paul here is saying that before they knew God they served OTHER gods (which are weak and beggarly) by way of observing days, months, and seasons...he fears that they want to return to their bondage to those gods. This in no way says that the feasts ordained by God are weak and beggarly. To the contrary, it was during these holy convocations that God said He would meet with His people!!

Knowing that Jesus and the NT writers were torah observant should cause us to look at the NT scriptures through the same lens. By not doing so, some of the teachings are contrary to each other, ie: paul contradicts himself and others. As it is, we are looking at the NT scripture through the lens of what turns out to be the anti-semitic bias of the proto-catholic church. Mainstream christianity isn't even reading with the intent to understand any more. When it comes to anything to do with the law for christians they read with the intent to argue. Unwilling to learn from the word they learn, follow and argue for the teachings of men.

Justin martyr didn't like the jews and taught replacement theology, that gentiles who believed in Christ were the new chosen people. The NT doesn't teach this, the closest the text comes to this concept is when we read JtB say that the axe is at the base of the tree and then he calls the jews to repentance. He calls the pharisees vipers for the same reason that Jesus rebukes them...their traditions of men were making the word of God void. It was their manmade religious structures that were getting the axe...not the jewish people as the chosen people. So yeah, justin martyr was an apostate from the teaching of the apostles in the NT.

15

Watchman2U - The Inspection & Test is on Jehovah Witnesses.

by Watchman2u in

watchman 2u.

letter one – jehovah witnesses are all accountable who swore an oath to jehovah god at baptism.

you jehovah witnesses in spiritual judea are clinging onto the temple that will not save you.

myelaine

The OP sounds like he/she has some connection to a fellow poster (who hasn't been on for quite some time) named ablebodiedman. He has a youtube channel as well but I can't remember the name of it.

15

Watchman2U - The Inspection & Test is on Jehovah Witnesses.

by Watchman2u in

watchman 2u.

letter one – jehovah witnesses are all accountable who swore an oath to jehovah god at baptism.

you jehovah witnesses in spiritual judea are clinging onto the temple that will not save you.

myelaine

Thank you Watchman2u...

I'm sure that your brothers and sisters appreciate your word to the WTBTS on their behalf. It would be comforting to know that they're not alone with their thoughts.

xo

63

We Pass the Bread and the Wine Just like in the Bible! But, why is forbidden to eat?

by lusitano o tuga in

see what bridget azaz did!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzbe5yo7uq4.

myelaine

Excellent artical about the timeline of early apostacy; who, what, when, why and how.

https://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/2017/04/06/from-a-d-70-to-a-d-135/

63

We Pass the Bread and the Wine Just like in the Bible! But, why is forbidden to eat?

by lusitano o tuga in

see what bridget azaz did!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzbe5yo7uq4.

myelaine

TheWonderofYou...

In a previous post of yours you pasted a writeup about the history of the early church and that customs were attested to by early church fathers. My argument is that it was the wall of seperation between jew and gentile (which paul fought to break down) that occured during that time in the infant church when more people of the gentiles were coming into the church (in leadership roles) that the apostasy happened. So I would suspect that these early church fathers would support the "new way". Remember when moses went up the mountain it only took the israelites about forty days to lose the plot.

the early church met as often as they could but the scripture says that the church went to synagogue to "hear moses"...that is done on the sabbath which means they likely still kept the 7th day sabbath as the sanctified day of rest in addition to meeting other days.

I don't know that breaking bread automatically means passing the elements and not a fellowship meal as paul states that some would show up and eat and drink everything so that others would go away hungry.