Posts by Lampokey

61

How does God communicate with us?

by JH in

in the past, god spoke to humans through angels, prophets, and jesus.

today, there are no prophets, angels don't show up anymore, and jesus isn't there to speak to us.. we can talk to god through prayer, but how does god talk to us?.

so, other than the bible which is pretty outdated, how can god communicate with humans?

Lampokey

"when my grandmother died I wanted to send the best flowers . I prayed and told God how i wish I could send beautiful flowers. I sent the cheapest but members of the family called and told me a blanket of red roses came from me and they put over her casket and was buried with her. I was in awe. If that wasnt God how did it happen? I was scared because I thought I would get a bill for flowers that I could not afford. Never heard a word." Yucca, Clearly , a loving human did this.It is delightful that you have people who care about you , even if their identies are unknown. If anyone ever ascribes the fulfillment of a wish to the power of petitionary prayer , they must recall those times they prayed and DID NOT get an answer. Crediting God with this outcome is as logical as crediting an astrologer with one succesful prediction out of a hundered. Sometimes you get lucky in life , more often you don't. It's down to random chance , that's all.

61

How does God communicate with us?

by JH in

in the past, god spoke to humans through angels, prophets, and jesus.

today, there are no prophets, angels don't show up anymore, and jesus isn't there to speak to us.. we can talk to god through prayer, but how does god talk to us?.

so, other than the bible which is pretty outdated, how can god communicate with humans?

Lampokey

"Today, there are no prophets".

Maybe there were not any prophets 6000 years ago. either ... .but nobody had yet coined the term "paranoid schizophrenic".

15

Are the JWs ===THIS === Freaky ??

by Lampokey in

if anyone perceives the jehovah's witnesses as a strange bunch , then please do take a look at this site:.

http://www.landoverbaptist.net.

regrettably, a condition of registration is that their beliefs are not to be questioned on the forums.. i will find a way around this by careful syntax .

Lampokey

Well , initially I did think it was a parody - til I got to the registration rules bit!

I guess the girl in the Jesus panties should've given it away!

OK if it is , I'll take that "on the chin".Forgive me - and no offence intended to Americans , as I consider myself a "US-ophile" - but we British have a strong impression that the USA is full of freaky cults.Landover seemed to fit this conception perfectly! A bit too pat , I guess.

Anyway , I still stand by comments that organised religion is a Load of Bollocks.

15

Are the JWs ===THIS === Freaky ??

by Lampokey in

if anyone perceives the jehovah's witnesses as a strange bunch , then please do take a look at this site:.

http://www.landoverbaptist.net.

regrettably, a condition of registration is that their beliefs are not to be questioned on the forums.. i will find a way around this by careful syntax .

Lampokey

If anyone perceives the Jehovah's Witnesses as a strange bunch , then please do take a look at THIS site:

http://www.landoverbaptist.net

Regrettably, a condition of registration is that their beliefs are not to be questioned on the forums.

I will find a way around this by careful syntax . This is far too good a chance to play one of my favourite games (it's called "Devil's Advocate").

The Landover site is helping me hurtle ever closer to the inevitable conclusion that organised religion is , as we say in back home in England when dismissive of utter nonsense , a Load of Bollocks.

The best route to salvation is , probably , to follow the Ten Commandments (or maybe Nine , if you still accept JW teaching about the Sabbath).Religious debate about the precise interpretation of Scripture is tremedously enjoyable , but , if the goal is to arrive at universal agreement , it is ultimately futile .Of course , if the purpose of debate is to expose hypocrisy , it is worthwhile.

And if on Judgment Day the Big Guy condemns you , ask Him :

"If You were truly concerned about my salvation - why did You give me so many choices of religions to follow? I kept Your commandments - what more did you want ?"

Of course , any good and loving father protects and guides his children by ensuring they have only narrow choice of alternatives.

11

Selling of Magazines and literature

by Ticker in

i was thinking the other day that the watchtower society used to sell the mag's and books to people at the doors for a set price.

i know that realisticly they need to cover costs but everyone knows they made profit off of their sales and still do through the donation method now in place.

what i wonder is how did they justify selling for a set price when it clearly says in the bible "you recieved free, give free".

Lampokey

I comment from limited personal experience.A JW - a delightful elderly man - visits us twice a month.He has given me a Bible and various hardbacks without ever ONCE , in ten or so years , soliciting a donation , or even implying that I should give money.I HAVE done so of my own accord , but have never felt any pressure to do so.Whilst I have reservations about aspects of JW doctrine , this man is welcome in my house at any time.

22

My Thomas : Why did Jesus not rebuke him ?

by Lampokey in

jw doctrine teaches that jesus was not god.i do not know if is doctrime , but i also get the idea that jws believe the bible to be completely and literally correct.. luke 18:19 : jesus asks a ruler "why do you call me good?

nobody is good , except one , god".. how , then , do jws explain john 20:28 , where thomas says "my lord and my god!".

if jesus was not god , he would certainly rebuke a disciple for blasphemy.so , why did he not set thomas straight ?

Lampokey

JW doctrine teaches that Jesus was not God.I do not know if is doctrime , but I also get the idea that JWs believe the Bible to be completely and literally correct.

Luke 18:19 : Jesus asks a ruler "Why do you call me good? Nobody is good , except one , God".

How , then , do JWs explain John 20:28 , where Thomas says "My Lord and MY GOD!"

If Jesus was NOT God , He would certainly rebuke a disciple for blasphemy.So , why did He not set Thomas straight ? Possibly He did not hear him?

Either Jesus WAS God , and in Luke 18:19 , He was not denying this , but rather merely trying to ascertain if the man believed He was God.Then we have the problem of squaring this with the "lemi , lemi sabaccthani" quote.

Or , John's account is wrong.This means JWs must concede that the Bible is NOT fully correct.

I would sincerely welcome the thoughts of current JWs on this.

41

JOHN - The Lazy Apostle ?

by Lampokey in

from the gospel according to john , 21:25 new world translation :.

"there are , in fact , many other things which jesus also did , which , if ever they were written in full detail , i suppose , the world itself could not contain the scrolls written.".

well , john , here you are , charged with the responsibility to relate the life and times of jesus , and you do not tell us what these "many other things" are.. why not ?

Lampokey

From the Gospel according to John , 21:25 New World translation :

"There are , in fact , many other things which Jesus also did , which , if ever they were written in full detail , I suppose , the world itself could not contain the scrolls written."

Well , John , here you are , charged with the responsibility to relate the life and times of Jesus , and you do not tell us what these "many other things" are.

Why not ? Did you run out of time ? Did you run out of scrolls? Is your ref to "many other things" hearsay ? If so , why put unsubstantiated rumour in the account? If the Bible is divinely inspired , God must have caused John to write the gospel. Why did God not entrust the task to someone who had the ability - or time/energy/scrolls , whatever - to provide a more detailed account? Were the "many other things" irrelevant ? If so , why did Jesus do them? If not , why did God not ensure we knew of them?

Anybody able to play advocate for John ?

12

Mentally ILL People : Will they be saved ?

by Lampokey in

for the sake of argument , i will presume that respondents believe in the concept of salvation.. broadly - very broadly - i would put the mentally ill in two categories :.

the retarded and the criminally insane.. an argument is made that the retarded will be saved : http://www.gotquestions.org/mentally-challenged.html.

but this does not , imo , properly address the issue of salvation for the criminally insane.. will they too find salvation - because they do not have the capacity to understand the biblical message (although some may believe they are doing god's will) - or will they be damned - due to their evil actions?.

Lampokey

For the sake of argument , I will presume that respondents believe in the concept of salvation.

Broadly - very broadly - I would put the mentally ill in two categories :

The retarded and the criminally insane.

An argument is made that the retarded will be saved : http://www.gotquestions.org/mentally-challenged.html

But this does not , IMO , properly address the issue of salvation for the criminally insane.

Will they too find salvation - because they do not have the capacity to understand the Biblical message (although some may believe they are doing God's will) - or will they be damned - due to their evil actions?

I ought to resist the temptation to tell the old joke :

Q.What's the difference bewteen a prophet and a paranoid schizophrenic ?

A.About 3,000 years.

13

Blood and Food

by Lampokey in

i am well aware of jw doctrine concerning blood and its foundations in acts 15:20.. i am also well aware of how much discussion this has provoked.. could ex , or current , jw's comment on one aspect of this please :.

the ban on blood seems unequivocal and would seem not to leave any room for compromising.. in that case , would eating a piece of red meat be in violation of jw's beliefs?

presumably , it would , as even a well-cooked piece of meat would contain blood molecules.have any jw's raised this point with their congration's elders?.

Lampokey

I am well aware of JW doctrine concerning blood and its foundations in Acts 15:20.

I am also well aware of how much discussion this has provoked.

Could ex , or current , JW's comment on one aspect of this please :

The ban on blood seems unequivocal and would seem not to leave any room for compromising.

In that case , would eating a piece of red meat be in violation of JW's beliefs?

Presumably , it would , as even a well-cooked piece of meat would contain blood molecules.Have any JW's raised this point with their congration's elders?

If so , what was the response?

Thank you