Maybe the stickers can glow in the dark.
TheListener
JoinedPosts by TheListener
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70
Revelation It's Grand Climax at Hand! - bookstudy
by TheListener ini was reading e-watchman today and someone there is saying that after studying the what does the bible really teach book at bookstudies the next book will be the revelation book!!!.
there isn't any real proof, but the poster claimed a letter from bethel stated this.
perhaps some here can dig around and confirm or deny this new rumor.. we've studied it 3 times in the past and it's been awhile.
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For Darcy, what do you think is necessary for salvation?
by TheListener ini know it was a rather long and drawn out title but i couldnt' think of another way to word it.
this is especially for the new poster darcy.
i was wondering what you felt was necessary to receive everlasting life, whether on heaven or paradise earth?
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TheListener
I know it was a rather long and drawn out title but I couldnt' think of another way to word it. :(
Anyway,
This is especially for the new poster Darcy. I was wondering what you felt was necessary to receive everlasting life, whether on heaven or paradise earth?
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Laughing laughing laughing
by darcy inwow.. so, you know i'm an active witness, very active.
hah.
and i'm not laughing at y'all, but wow, i can't believe how extensive this is.
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TheListener
Under bible research and study topics.
I had trouble posting my text so the first few posts are me messing up. But, I think it gets good after that. There is some interesting discussion about Nimrod and what he did or didn't do. Not everyone agrees but it's fun talking about it.
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Laughing laughing laughing
by darcy inwow.. so, you know i'm an active witness, very active.
hah.
and i'm not laughing at y'all, but wow, i can't believe how extensive this is.
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TheListener
Darcy, what did you think of my Nimrod thread? Personally, I'm proud of it. It's some of my best work :)
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160
Laughing laughing laughing
by darcy inwow.. so, you know i'm an active witness, very active.
hah.
and i'm not laughing at y'all, but wow, i can't believe how extensive this is.
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TheListener
Frankly, I'm not sure why Matthew 24 has to have a greater fulfillment. It's obvious in the text Jesus is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70CE. Why must we expand it and try to apply it to today. And, since the 1914 date is illogical and against the scriptures we don't have a real basis for saying that Matthew 24 (if giving it future application) has even begun yet.
Remember, the world is bad, but it can get much much worse. Try studying the middle ages for starters.
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TheListener
I'd say the Bible tells us that men wanted to build a tower into the heavens to make a name for themselves and for fear that they would be scattered. God saw it and realized that nothing was out of man's reach unless he confused the languages. No mention of Nimrod by the way.
Was building the tower so evil? Was not wanting to be scattered so bad?
How fair is it to be in a universar court case where the judge stacked the deck against you? If you all speak the same language perhaps you could rule yourselves peacefully. So, I will confuse your languages and thus prove Satan a liar!
That's the main reason why the universal sovereignty angle doesn't work for me. To make it a real court case we would need to be given every possible opportunity to succeed yet still fail. God took our opportunity to succeed away when he confused our languages. Therefore we aren't living in the midst of a universal court case.
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Joined? Stayed? Left?
by Mysterious in.
how old were you when you became a jw, how long were you a member, and how long has it been since you left?
i'm sure there have been posts on here before but with all the new people showing up day by day i thought it might be help them to see that even the most hardcore jw can recover and be happy.. i was born into the religion, unbaptized publisher at 11, never baptized, left at 18, been out for 2 years and 5 months.
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TheListener
Raised as a witness. Publisher at 7. Ministry School at 7. Baptized as a teen. Bethelite as a teen. Appointed as a teen.
Faded away over the course of the last 4 years. Wow, has it really been that long. 4 years and I'm still not inactive! I've got problems committing to this fading thing! Oh yes, how could I forget it's not my lack of committment to the fade that's the problem; instead it's a little something called marriage. Fade too fast and it's called divorce.
Nice thread.
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TheListener
Greendawn, your post makes the point exactly. Legend. The Bible itself doesn't show Nimrod to be an evil individual or show him to have any part of the tower of babel. Legends do. 2,000 year old oral legends that were written down 2,000 years ago.
OK maybe Nimrod was a bad guy and maybe not. Let's at least be honest and say that the Bible doesn't lean one way or the other. I have no problem with individuals hating Nimrod and attributing bad things to him. As long as they don't ascribe that the Bible supports those claims.
I mostly ticked off with the NWT's rendering of Genesis 10:8,9. It seems completely dishonest and a gratuitious use of translators license.
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160
Laughing laughing laughing
by darcy inwow.. so, you know i'm an active witness, very active.
hah.
and i'm not laughing at y'all, but wow, i can't believe how extensive this is.
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TheListener
Welcome Darcy.
Please don't dismiss AuldSoul's post out of hand. He has asked some valid questions. I strongly feel that our faith should be based on accurate knowledge of the Bible. Any belief that we feel is Bible based should be easily supportable with scriptures.
I've enjoyed your posts so far.
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TheListener
There is a refutation of Hislop's work in print. It is called "The Babylon Connection?" by Ralph Woodrow. I own it. It could be more indepth.
Ralph Woodrow was a proponent of Hislop's and wrote a book using Hislop as a main source. Once he realized he was incorrect, he pulled his book of the market and wrote a refutation.
Here is the Amazon write up excerpt from the book:
"In my earlier Christian experience, certain literature fell into my hands which claimed paganism had been mixed into Christianity. While the Roman Catholic Church was usually the target, it seemed other churches had also been contaminated by customs and beliefs for which pagan parallels could be found.
"The Two Babylons" by Alexander Hislop (1807-1862), with its alarming subtitle, "the papal worship proved to be the worship of Nimrod and his wife," was THE textbook on which much of this teaching was based. Over the years, this book has impacted the thinking of many people-ranging all the way from those in radical cults to very dedicated Christians who hunger for a move of God and are concerned about anything that might hinder that flow. Its basic premise is that the pagan religion of ancient Babylon has continued to our day, in disguise, as the Roman Catholic Church and is described in the book of Revelation as "Mystery Babylon the Great"-thus, the idea of TWO Babylons, one ancient, and on modern. Because Hislop's book is very detailed, having a multitude of notes and references, I assumed, as did many others, it was factual. We quoted "Hislop" as an authority on paganism, jut like "Webster" might be quoted on word definitions.
As a young evangelist I began to share a sermon on the mixture of paganism into Christianity, and eventually wrote a book based on Hislop-"Babylon Mystery Religion." In time, my book became quite popular, went through many printings, and was translated into Korean, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and several other languages. I came to be regarded by some as an authority on the subject of pagan mixture. Even a noted Roman Catholic writer, Karl Keating, said: "Its best-known proponent is Ralph Woodrow, author of 'Babylon Mystery Religion'."
Many preferred my book over "The Two Babylons" because it was easier to read and follow. Sometimes the two books were confused with each other. Letters in a steady flow were received praising my book. Only occasionally would there be a dissenting voice. ONE WHO DISAGREED was Scott Klemm, a high school history teacher in southern California. Being a Christian, and appreciating other things I had written, he began to show me EVIDENCE THAT HISLOP WAS NOT A RELIABLE HISTORIAN. As a result, I realized that I needed to go back through Hislop's work, my basic source, and prayerfully check it out!
As I did this, it became clear-Hislop's "history" was often only mythology. Even though myths may sometimes reflect events that actually happened, an arbitrary piecing together of ancient myths can not provide a sound basis for history. Take enough tribes, enough tales, enough time, jump from one time to another, from one country to another, pick and choose similarities-why anything could be "proved"!
The concern about not having anything pagan in our lives can be likened to a ship crossing a vast ocean. This concern has taken us in the right direction, but as we come to a better understanding as to what is actually pagan and what is not, a correction of the course is necessary in our journey. This is not a going back, but a correction of the course as we follow "the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov. 4:18).
Although we challenge some of Hislop's claims in THE BABYLON CONNECTION?-this is not intended as an attack against him personally. As far as we know, he was a dedicated Christian, a brother in Christ. Nor is it our goal in writing this book to merely discredit another book. Instead, it is our desire that this effort will help us understand "the way of God more perfectly" (cf. Acts 18:26), find a biblical balance, and glorify Him who said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6)."
I've found that most of Hislop's claims can be discredited just by using the internet and the vast amount of historical informaiton and writings that are available. In years past trying to get some excerpt from a book from antiquity would be a daunting task for the most ardent seacher. Now, with the internet, it's usually just a few clicks away.