Juni,
look at Narkissos post - he brings out the scriptures and I looked them up. He is correct. I know it was news to me too.
what demented person came up with this idea?
they could have just cut their cheeks like the west africans did?
Juni,
look at Narkissos post - he brings out the scriptures and I looked them up. He is correct. I know it was news to me too.
i wrote this to someone else, but i think this demonstrates perfectly why i was outraged when i first found out that jehovah's witnesses do not teach that jesus is the mediator for all mankind.
it is true that they possess a different doctrine entirely, but to me the outrageous thing was that they do not actively teach any doctrine regarding jesus mediatorship.
this thread presents indisputable proof of that fact.. in my opinion, it is very important to remember that religions do not tell you the harshest doctrines or the most difficult doctrines to accept during the initial indoctrination phase.. do you have a copy of reasoning from the scriptures?
Thanks Auldsoul,
See I was not in during the 1980s to read that book. And at no time did the "elder" I study with tell me that was the case. When I first realized this was their belief, I was utterly shocked. And so was my hubby although at first he tried to justify it. I did not find out until AFTER I was baptised. Like you said, they do not make this teaching clear to people studying.
Peg, I am sorry that you lost faith becuase of the Wt. that is why the tower is so evil. They are part of the same babylon the great that they preach against. They do strip people of their faith. I think the reason I survived faith intact is because I had a faith in God, Jesus and the bible going in. My hubby did not fair as well coming out but is doing better now. I have a friend who came out the same time I did and she feels like you do. One suggestion I would like to make is to get another bible, I like the New International version, and just read the NT - this will help you to know Jesus better and see how loving he was towards his followers. He is so different than the WT makes him seen. They only teach about a punishing Jehovah and Jesus not the loving God and Christ that they really are.
If you ever need someone to "talk" to here is my email: [email protected] , or feel free to pm me. So sorry again to hear you have lost all your faith. (((((HUGS))))). You will be in my prayers, Lilly
although, the complaints may be valid and sad.
many posters here have vented about their wicked parents.. i think its time we parents have a post dedicated to saying something horrid about our kids.
it maybe something you have wanted to say about them that was in the past or happening now.
Vitty,
good point. I am not sorry one bit for having either of my kids. And both are smart, funny, talented and really nice overall. Just my daughter is going thru the teenage thing and yes she can drive me nuts sometimes with the mood swings. But I do remember being the same exact way. So, I don't think this thread is sad either, like you said, it is hard raising kids. None are perfect and all will get on your nerves a bit. It is just nice to be able to swap "war" stories that is all.
Please note: in no way am I saying I do not love my daughter. Even she can laugh at herself sometimes when she is not moody and realizes she overacts to things sometimes. (hormones).
.
when i joined many years ago, the poster that caught my eye was jjrizo.
i saw his name plastered all over the board.
o.k. how many of you will admit that you read thru all the threads looking for your name to see if anyone notices you?
I just want to say for the record, I love all you guys the same, A LOT!
I am very glad to be part of the board, even if no one loves me. Just kidding, I am still new so I did not expect to see my name on this "it" list.
Hope no one takes this thread too serious, I don't think it was meant to offend anyone, rather just to start a conversation.
what demented person came up with this idea?
they could have just cut their cheeks like the west africans did?
Leolaia,
Thanks for that explaination. Since the Jews were going into what was similar to a marriage contract, since they had to stay spiritual virgins in their worship to Jehovah, and the church today also must be clean spiritually (like virgins) then it would make sense that this is the "sign" that God would give them. Although they may have used circumcism prior to that for another purpose, it seems like if you believe God gave them this command, that he took something they were already familiar with - and gave it a new meaning by applying it to their relationship with God. This would be something they could readily relate too. Does this make sense?
As you said, there is not much information about this issue. But thanks for answering. Some may find a topic like this to be one to tear down someones faith but I feel the opposite. And NO I am not saying I think that was the purpose of the thread. It was obvious that it was a sincere question asked, and a very good one.
Lets face it, there is a lot of symbolism used in the bible and customs back then that would be foreign to us. And there is no black/white answer for everything. But, I really enjoyed this post because it got me to think outside the "normal box" we believers put ourselves in sometimes. And I learned something totally new which is that the nations surrounding Isreal also did the circumcism custom.
i wrote this to someone else, but i think this demonstrates perfectly why i was outraged when i first found out that jehovah's witnesses do not teach that jesus is the mediator for all mankind.
it is true that they possess a different doctrine entirely, but to me the outrageous thing was that they do not actively teach any doctrine regarding jesus mediatorship.
this thread presents indisputable proof of that fact.. in my opinion, it is very important to remember that religions do not tell you the harshest doctrines or the most difficult doctrines to accept during the initial indoctrination phase.. do you have a copy of reasoning from the scriptures?
Dozy,
I went into the Org. in 1993 and one of the points you are missing that Auldsoul is bringing out is that while studying with the Witnesses, none of the material they use for the initial indoctrination states that Jesus is not your mediator. I would not have been baptised if they taught this. I don't even remember it being mentioned regularly in the WTs. I can't speak for the years prior to 1993 but I do remember this fact being taught in the Wts, just prior to my leaving in 2003. So of course your wife would say she knows about this teaching. But, did she know PRIOR to her baptism is another question entirely.
Does anyone out there have specific dates and articles as to when this teaching came about? I know it was not taught by Russell that Christ was not the mediator for all Christians and ALL of them in his day partook at the Lord's memorial, and the bible students today still ALL partake. If anyone has the specific infor. (I got rid of my WT stuff, now I am regretting it somewhat), can you please post it? thanks in advance.
although, the complaints may be valid and sad.
many posters here have vented about their wicked parents.. i think its time we parents have a post dedicated to saying something horrid about our kids.
it maybe something you have wanted to say about them that was in the past or happening now.
My son who is 11 is really easy going. My daughter who is 13 1/2 puts me thru mental torture every day! She knows everthing and everything
and you can't tell her anything or she will bite your head off.
When she gets her period, she is ten times worst, I swear her head spins all the way around and she makes that Linda Blair girl from the exorcist look nice!
what demented person came up with this idea?
they could have just cut their cheeks like the west africans did?
Narkissos,
why do you think that the Jews stated that the specific act of circumcision would be the sign of their covenant with God as apposed to some other ritual?
Could it be that the pagan nations did it for an immoral reason, like false God worship and God used the custom the Jews already were used to but gave it a different meaning? I find this interesting and the scripture you brought out in Jeremiah as I never before knew that the other nations also had this custom.
Could it be similar to the church making pagan days holy (Christmas, Easter, etc.) thus giving it a different meaning? I would like your opinion on this and of course any others can reply too. Thanks in advance, Lilly
i wrote this to someone else, but i think this demonstrates perfectly why i was outraged when i first found out that jehovah's witnesses do not teach that jesus is the mediator for all mankind.
it is true that they possess a different doctrine entirely, but to me the outrageous thing was that they do not actively teach any doctrine regarding jesus mediatorship.
this thread presents indisputable proof of that fact.. in my opinion, it is very important to remember that religions do not tell you the harshest doctrines or the most difficult doctrines to accept during the initial indoctrination phase.. do you have a copy of reasoning from the scriptures?
AuldSoul,
good post. The reason they don't let you know Jesus is not your mediator up front is because for one, they will be admitting that by joining them, you will no longer be a Christian in any way, as he is the mediator for ALL true Christians. (meaning in the body of christ). Also, you would know they are trying to replace Jesus authority over Christians with the organization, thus making the org. your mediator and this would smack of what it is - An Apostasy. They bash the Catholic church by saying the Pope is in the position of Christ and they do exactly the same thing with the "governing body".
This is an issue I was very upset about when I realized they taught this. In the ministry I always taught Jesus was the mediator of all Christians until I got corrected on it. You can bet your bottom dollar if they told me this up front, I NEVER would have gotten baptised. It shows how decieptful the WT org. truly is.
Thanks for bringing out this very important point. I hope the JW lurkers come to their senses on this as if they stay in the WT, they will never be in the body of Christ and have his sacrifice cover their sins now. If they think they will be under divine protection somehow, they are sadly mistaken. And don't even get me started on the "not allowed to partake" at the memorial unless you are "anointed" thing. This whole teaching is again to keep you from Christ and keep a small group in control. It is truly sickening! Good luck with your thread, Lilly
he stated; .
"all scripture is inspired of god and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 that the man of god may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.
" 2 timothy 3:16,17. at the time of his writing this, much of what the universal [catholic] church later included in the now accepted nt canon was not written.
Paul was referring to the Hebrew scrolls only and not what we now consider as the New Testament. As you realized, they did not have the NT in Paul's day.
This is not to say that the Apostles and others were not guided by holy spirit when they wrote their letters, etc. but there is a difference in their writings and the OT. The purpose of the NT is to show in the gospel accounts that Jesus was the promised Messiah who the Jews were awaiting, to show the early history of the church and how it combat false teachings even in its infancy, and to show the future (revelation). But unlike the OT, the Apostles and such did not say that God specifically directed them with holy spirit to write his words. Although they did base their words on the holy scripture and are in full agreement with the OT, We have to realize that again Paul simply could not have been referring to the NT when he wrote that statement.
Also, many books were available to the early Christians that most church goers today do not accept because the "early church fathers" weeded them out. I personally have Enoch, Baruch, Jashar, among others. They give a lot of information from the perspective of those who were alive during the OT times and therefore, although they do not claim to be inspired, are certainly historical works. Jude quotes from Enoch, therfore we know at least some in the early church read this book. I also like the Didache (teachings of the 12 Apostles)
Many today shy away from these as being "not inspired" but we need to realize that God did not edit every comma and period in the OT either. Yes, the writers claimed inspiration but I am sure as humans wrote from their personal perspective of things also. Hope this helps.
Good point that you bring out with this thread, thanks. Lilly