XJW4EVR

Joined

• started 180 topics
• posted 2,280 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by XJW4EVR

• 
  41

  NCAA College Football

  by snowbird in

  1. social
  2. physical

  anyone interested in posting game schedules and/or picking winners, similar to what is being done on the nfl thread?.

  i'll start with my state.. - october 30, 2010, auburn tigers will win over ole miss rebels.. - november 6, 2010, alabama crimson tide will win over lsu tigers.. thanks in advance for any and all responses.. syl.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  Should be TCU and Oregon. Auburn has an ineligible QB, and should have forfeited all the games Newton played. What's good for USC is good for Auburn.
• 
  12

  Russia get the World Cup? WTF?

  by oldlightnewshite in

  1. social
  2. current

  so russia get the 2018 soccer world cup, and qatar get the 2022 world cup.

  it's a real shame that they gave it to such crap venues.

  who's gonna want to go to russia?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  I hope the fiascoes that were the 2018 & 2022 World Cup selections will cause reform within FIFA, but then again I wish there were pink elephants.
• 
  35

  Explaining Biblical Contradictions Away!

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i can't - don't even try anymore.

  just a few to chew:.

  man then beast?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  1. Because the religion that I was taught from the age of 3 or 4 told me so - for about 45 years they told me so.

  Then you must "unlearn what you have learned". Until you understand that the bible is not what the JWs make it out to be, then you will be stuck in the rut you are currently in.

  Because if someone is going to base one's entire god-concept on the only book that explains him, and is claimed to be 'his book', and claims to show us how to worship that god-concept - it seemed entirely consistent to believe it was not just a bunch of myths and legends

  I look at it this way, having taken a number of comparative religion classes, what religious system best answers the following three world view questions:

  Why are we (humans) here (on earth)?

  Why are things so screwed up?

  How are things going to get better?

  The bible, IMO, is the only religious book, and Christianity, the only religion that answers those questions with any sort of correspondence to reality. Others may disagree on this view, and they are entitled to that belief. That still does not mean, however, that thier religious world view corresponds with reality.
• 
  32

  Christians?

  by phoebed in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are any christians on this forum???.

  if you found christ can you please let me know, so i can chat a little?

  you guys seem to be all kinds of stuff here... no judgments now!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  What I meant when I said that you do not have to belong officially to any church? I believe that lot of people are not comfortable to belong to a "church" - as "church buiding"- certain type of organization or denomination. I for example have a lot of dificulty to belong officialy to any organization - or denomination. There are so many. So which one is the right one?? Presbytarians? Baptists? Methodists? Pentecostals? Do you know what I mean? I believe that within all these denominations are the true Christians and false christians- depending on their personal relationship with Jesus. We are that church - we are members of the bride of Christ individually.

  I happen to believe in a rapture - and Christ will come and receive to himself his "church". That is what I meant.....Do you get it better now? My English sometimes is not that good and I apologize for that.

  I do not believe that any denomination is "the right one." This is where many former JWs mess up. There is not just one UNIFORM body of believers, but rather a UNIFIED body of believers (though more often than not we fight too much amongst ourselves). They all have points where they adhere to the bible and points where they do not. Where most of these denominations adhere to the bible is in essential doctrines (the Trinity, diety of Jesus, the bodily resurrection of Jesus), where they differ is issues that are non-essential (church government, pedobaptism vs. credo-baptism, speaking in tongues, the cessation of the gifts, Arminianism, Calvinism).
• 
  32

  Favorite Xmas Tunes?

  by undercover in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  someone started a thread asking everyone's favorite xmas movies.. how about favorite xmas music/songs?

  even when i was an active jw i had a soft spot for certain xmas music.

  the standards, the jazzy ones, the rocknroll ones.. while i like a lot of different ones...i even collected my favs onto a playlist that i keep for this time of year...there are a few that really stand out as my favs.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  My top three.

  O, Holy Night - I fell in love with that song when I watched Home Alone.

  Silent Night

  Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
• 
  37

  Need Help From British Football Fans

  by XJW4EVR in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i have closely followed the premier league for the last 13 matchdays, and i am getting ready to pick a team that i will not only follow this year but for the foreseeable future.

  i am not interested in chelsea, manchester u., manchester city or arsenal.

  all four remind me of teams i loathe in american sports (cowboys, yankees, celtics).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  So I watched Barcalona's 5-0 demolition of Real Madrid, and maybe I should root for Barca. I saw in this game everything I loved about Spain in the World Cup.
• 
  25

  Why Is There NOTHING Written In The Bible About Jesus' Early Years?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why doesn't the nt have anything about jesus on record prior to his baptism?

  after all, he was a perfect boy.

  you would think that little jesus would've been talked about by everyone in the town,.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  Why doesn't the NT have ANYTHING about Jesus on record prior to his baptism?

  So the birth narratives, and Luke's accounts of two visits to Jerusalem don't count?
• 
  7

  Does The Type of God You Worship Determine The Love You Show Others?

  by XJW4EVR in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am currently reading timothy keller's the reason for god.

  the book has two sections.

  the first is a general apologetice work with no new insights.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  Hi Tammy,

  No, after reading this, my thoughts went right to the JWs, and my experience with them. That is why I specifically asked if readers agreed with my application of these quotes to the JWs. When they (JWs) speak of Jehovah, they do not speak of him in terms of his love, but his sovereignty and power. He is very much an aloof figure that sits up in heaven, waiting for us to sin in order to pound us into a grease spots. There is no grace (what JWs call loving kindness), there is no mercy, only justice and power.

  I believe that the power issue within the JWs rises from their Arian beliefs regarding the nature of God. While Oneness Pentecostals are an exception, I have found Modalistic groups are far more balanced because God did not exist in a vacuum prior to the creation of the Son (Arianism).
• 
  120

  Start preparing now for 2011 memorial night demonstration ! Sunday, April 17, 2011, after sundown

  by koolaid-man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  now is a good time to start making preparations for the memorial night demonstration at your kingdom hall sunday, april 17, 2011, after sundown.

  the evils of the watchtower org.have to be exposed and this is an ideal time to do it.

  many around the world have been adversely affected by their association with jehovah's witnesses.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  Demonstrating at what is their most holy of nights is inappropriate.

  And it only enforces their persecution complex.

  The best "demonstration" is by living a happy and productive life away from the JWs.

  Perhaps it is inappropriate, but it will shock them. The purpose of protests, from the way I understand them, is not for those who are being protested, but to inform the public of something that is wrong.

  The JWs have the Memorial at a large theater in Glendale, CA. The theater is on Glendale's main street, and would be a great place to picket as they have two or three Memorial's at the location during the night.

  The best part is that there are a number of nice bars and restaurants to gather afterwards and get to know each other afterwards.
• 
  7

  Does The Type of God You Worship Determine The Love You Show Others?

  by XJW4EVR in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am currently reading timothy keller's the reason for god.

  the book has two sections.

  the first is a general apologetice work with no new insights.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  XJW4EVR

  I am currently reading Timothy Keller's The Reason For God. The book has two sections. The first is a general apologetice work with no new insights. The second part, however, gets down to the implications of Christian doctrine in the lives of followers of Jesus. In a chapter in which he is dealing with the Trinitarian doctrine of God, he states the following on page 216:

  If there is no God, then everything in and about us is the product of blind impersonal forces. The experience of love may feel significant, but evolutionary naturalists tell us that it is merely a biochemical state of the brain.

  But what if there is a God? Does love fare any better? It depends on what you think God is. If God is unipersonal, then until God created other beings there was no love, since love is something that one person has for another. This means that a unipersonal God was power, sovereignty, and greatness form all eternity, but not love. Love then is not the essence of God, nor is it the heart of the universe. Power is primary.

  When I read this today on my lunch break, I was stunned as Keller seemed to me to have unwittingly described exactly what is wrong with the JWs. The pursuit for any JW is not the pursuit of love, but the pursuit of power. The power of holding "priviledges", becoming a MS, becoming an Elder, and moving into the more powerful positions within the Elder Body, e.g., Watchtower Study Conductor, Presiding Overseer, Service Overseer, et al. For JW women it is marrying a man that is moving up in the Org, as having a husband with those ambitions will give the wife power.

  Ultimately, I think that the JW view of Jehovah (that he is not a trinity) fits Keller's description, and because Jehovah is all about power, then it only follows that those who worship Jehovah are motivated by power. Keller also describes power in rather unflattering terms (page 59):

  The tendancy of religious people, however, is to use spiritual and ethical observance as a lever to gain power over others and over God, appeasing him through ritual and good works. This leads to both an emphasis on external religious forms as well as greed, materialism, and oppression in social arrangemements. Those who believe they have pleased God by the quality of their devotion and moral goodness naturally feel that they and their group deserve deference and power over others.

  How does a person gain power within the JWs? By simply doing the things that are required: Performing the right amount of hours in door-to-door work, answer with the appropriate comment, be seen with the right people, etc. Once a male meets the requirements, then that male will be moved into a position of power, and that male can then get the "deference and power" he feels he deserves from the rank-and-file.

  My question is, do you think that Keller accurately describes how things are in the Org? Do you agree with my application of Keller's thoughts on God and how it applies to the JWs? Does the type of God they worship reflect the lack of love they show to others, especially to those that are not JWs?