Earnest

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Posts by Earnest

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  17

  Then there was light.

  by Earnest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the universe came into being 13.8 billion years ago in the big bang.

  after an initial flash, it went through a period known as the cosmic dark ages.

  according to a new study, probing cosmic dawn, 250 to 350 million years after the big bang the first stars emerged bringing light to the cosmos.

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  Earnest

  Sea Breeze, unless you doubt that the first stars brought light it is a red herring to quibble about star formation. The cosmic age is determined by the redshift of these stars.
  
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  17

  Then there was light.

  by Earnest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the universe came into being 13.8 billion years ago in the big bang.

  after an initial flash, it went through a period known as the cosmic dark ages.

  according to a new study, probing cosmic dawn, 250 to 350 million years after the big bang the first stars emerged bringing light to the cosmos.

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  Earnest

  The Universe came into being 13.8 billion years ago in the Big Bang. After an initial flash, it went through a period known as the cosmic dark ages. According to a new study, Probing cosmic dawn, 250 to 350 million years after the Big Bang the first stars emerged bringing light to the cosmos.
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  36

  Converted Greek Philosopher Explains Christianity in 125 AD

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i ran across a pretty early treatise.

  we were all taught that "real" christianity was lost to history and was only restored once russell and then rutherford restored it so that the wt could be appointed as god's "mouthpiece".

  but, aristides wrote to the emperor hadrian and gave a pretty good synopsis of core christian belief in 125 ad.

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  Earnest

  Disillusioned JW : What is your [Sea Breeze/Terry] source for the English translation of Apol. 2? … which manuscript did that source use for the translation?

  Both English translations are by D.M. Kay, Assistant to the Professor of Semitic Languages in the University of Edinburgh, and can be found here. The Syriac manuscript used was that found by J. Rendel Harris in the library of the convent of St Catherine, at the foot of Mount Sinai, in 1889. Harris says in his book on the ms that it was numbered 16 amongst the Syriac MSS of the convent and may be dated to the 7th century.

  Sea Breeze is quite correct to say that there is no question as to the genuineness of the Apology of Aristides, in the sense that Eusebius alludes to it in his Ecclesiastical History and in his Chronicon. However, there is no mention of Aristides before Eusebius, Eusebius does not quote from the Apology (perhaps because he did not possess a copy), and none of the Fathers quote from the Apology either. In other words, we have no evidence of its contents before the 7th century.

  Is it reasonable to believe that the 7th century Syriac translation accurately reflects the original Apology of Aristides, especially in its reference to God coming down from heaven and clothing himself with flesh? In his book on The Apology of Aristides, J. Rendel Harris discusses the differences between the Greek, Syriac and Armenian versions of the Christological passage and points out that it is only the Syriac which contains the phrase “God came down from heaven”. He says:

  The most serious change is that in the Syriac, where the word ‘God’ is inserted as the subject of the verbs which follow. The passage is one which was more likely than any other in the whole piece to tempt later writers to make changes of their own. It is to be noted here the Greek in spite of its additions represents the original Apology much more faithfully than the Syriac does.

  He goes on to say

  The Syriac Version is often loose and inaccurate : it drops a phrase here and there ; and it makes insertions by way of explanation or of supplement, and sometimes in such a way as to convey a wholly false conception of the original.

  When considering the authenticity of sayings attributed to the ante-Nicene Fathers it is safe to say that statements reflecting a post-Nicene Christology should always be treated with caution.
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  156

  Remembering Rutherford

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  he seems to me to be the angriest and most ill-tempered of all the wt presidents, especially after his stint in prison and failed prophecies.. “regarding his misguided statements as to what we could expect in 1925, he [rutherford] once confessed to us at bethel, “i made an ass of myself.”” watchtower 1984 oct 1 p.24.

  rutherford died at beth sarim on january 8, 1942, at the age of 72.

  [220] cause of death was...carcinoma of the rectum..."[21] .

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  Earnest

  Minimus, I was baptised by Jehovah's Witnesses fifty years ago and have associated with them since. I never associated with a Russellite group although I have an interest in their history and theology.
  
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  156

  Remembering Rutherford

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  he seems to me to be the angriest and most ill-tempered of all the wt presidents, especially after his stint in prison and failed prophecies.. “regarding his misguided statements as to what we could expect in 1925, he [rutherford] once confessed to us at bethel, “i made an ass of myself.”” watchtower 1984 oct 1 p.24.

  rutherford died at beth sarim on january 8, 1942, at the age of 72.

  [220] cause of death was...carcinoma of the rectum..."[21] .

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  Earnest

  minimus : Earnest, the poster, who I believe was associated with Watchtower and maybe became a Dawnist??

  This is news to me.
  
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  29

  Were You Ever Interested In Early Watchtower History?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i also was intrigued by the russellites and the break away sects that formed before and after charles taze russell.

  i can only imagine what the bible students were thinking when rutherford became the next watchtower president..

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  Earnest

  minimus : What is the Witness view of the Evil Slave now?

  The Watchtower of 15th July 2013 which discussed the new understanding of the faithful and discreet slave also spoke about the evil slave :

  Was Jesus foretelling that there would be an evil slave class in the last days? No. Granted, some individuals have manifested a spirit similar to that of the evil slave described by Jesus. We would call them apostates, whether they were of the anointed or of the “great crowd.” (Rev. 7:9) But such ones do not make up an evil slave class. Jesus did not say that he would appoint an evil slave. His words here are actually a warning directed to the faithful and discreet slave.
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  58

  Has anyone still in or otherwise heard anything about JWs think we only have 12 months before Armageddon?

  by blablabluh in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve noticed a change in family attitude recently, like there is just something extra on their mind.

  i even had to call my brother to check if he was dying and too scared to tell me.

  anyway, i saw a video last night my saying jws think we only have 12 months left before armageddon so thought maybe this is the reason for changes attitude.

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  Earnest

  Sigfrid Mallozzi : John Kerry says humans only have 12 years before all humanity dies from the global climate crisis.

  John Kerry (01/27/2021): Three years ago, scientists starkly warned us that we had twelve years in which to make decisions to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.
  
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  2

  Peter Bridle & Fred Smedley

  by Paul Bonanno in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is there anyone from south africa who remembers peter bridle or fred smedley?

  do you have any pictures of them?

  they were missionaries..

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  Earnest

  The 1999 Yearbook, pp.162-168, reports that they were British graduates of Gilead who were assigned to Nyasaland/Malawi in 1949. There is no mention of them in the 2007 Yearbook which reported on South Africa.
  
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  5

  Controversy Early Day's Watchtower

  by vienne in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  some of you may be interested in this: https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-watch-tower-and-koreshan-unity.html.

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  Earnest

  Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Annie. I was amused that Ulysses Morrow wrote about his conversion to the Koreshan belief of a hollow earth from a previous "flat earth" belief. As "Jerome", the writer of the article says, Russell must have breathed a big sigh of relief when they parted company.
  
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  33

  Memorial Prep question

  by ExCircuitOverseer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

  are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

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  Earnest

  The Watchtower of December 15, 2013, page 24 para.7 says :

  As there was no need for augmenting or fortifying the value of Jesus’ blood, the wine used is not a type fortified with brandy or spices. Plain red wine should be used, a homemade wine or a commercial wine, such as Beaujolais, Burgundy, or Chianti.