Will
Wouldn't addressing God as Heavenly Father mean she was a child/son of God
As other sheep wouldn't it be more appropriate to address God as "Heavenly Friend" since they are only friends of God at this time?
eby
Posts by eby
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13JW prayer
by kj insomething strange happened with my jw mom today.
even though we have different beliefs (she being a jw, and me being a member of "babylon the great", we always pray before meals.
today she began her prayer with, "our god and heavenly father..." and did not say jehovah.
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eby
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Believers ? I need your input ? elder called and left my mother in tears
by acsot in[quick update: almost a year ago my mother had two strokes and a heart attack.
needless to say, we haven?t stepped foot in a kingdom hell since then.
some of the rank and file have been kind and supportive, so i have them over to the house once in awhile (i?m also doing it for selfish reasons since it gives me a break and i can get out)]
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eby
Maybe this would help her feel better. From the Watchtower itself, believe it or not.
*** w93 8/1 30 Jehovah Remembers the Sick and the Elderly *** There is one sacred service that most sick and elderly ones can still perform: prayer in behalf of others. The early disciples attached great importance to this ministry. On one occasion they distributed the work load in the congregation in such a way that the apostles could concentrate on prayer. Faithful Epaphras is mentioned as ?exerting himself in behalf of others in his prayers.? (Colossians 4:12; Acts 6:4) Such prayer is most important and beneficial.?Luke 2:36-38; James 5:16.
eby
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baptisim questions
by Globetrotter inis there somewhere a published list of questions (with answers) that one must answer prior to baptism?
i am sick of my wife saying that only certain people believe certain things.
though she has been raised a witness, she has never been baptised.
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eby
*** w86 4/1 30-1 Questions From Readers *** Questions From Readers
õ Why have Jehovah?s Witnesses disfellowshipped (excommunicated) for apostasy some who still profess belief in God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ?
???.
Approved association with Jehovah?s Witnesses requires accepting the entire range of the true teachings of the Bible, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah?s Witnesses. What do such beliefs include?
That the great issue before humankind is the rightfulness of Jehovah?s sovereignty, which is why he has allowed wickedness so long. (Ezekiel 25:17) That Jesus Christ had a prehuman existence and is subordinate to his heavenly Father. (John 14:28) That there is a ?faithful and discreet slave? upon earth today ?entrusted with all of Jesus? earthly interests,? which slave is associated with the Governing Body of Jehovah?s Witnesses. (Matthew 24:45-47) That 1914 marked the end of the Gentile Times and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the heavens, as well as the time for Christ?s foretold presence. (Luke 21:7-24; Revelation 11:15?12:10) That only 144,000 Christians will receive the heavenly reward. (Revelation 14:1, 3) That Armageddon, referring to the battle of the great day of God the Almighty, is near. (Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:11-21) That it will be followed by Christ?s Millennial Reign, which will restore an earth-wide paradise. That the first to enjoy it will be the present ?great crowd? of Jesus? ?other sheep.??John 10:16; Revelation 7:9-17; 21:3, 4.
???
Following such Scriptural patterns, if a Christian (who claims belief in God, the Bible, and Jesus) unrepentantly promotes false teachings, it may be necessary for him to be expelled from the congregation. (See Titus 3:10, 11.) Of course, if a person just has doubts or is uninformed on a point, qualified ministers will lovingly assist him. This accords with the counsel: ?Continue showing mercy to some that have doubts; save them by snatching them out of the fire.? (Jude 22, 23) Hence, the true Christian congregation cannot rightly be accused of being harshly dogmatic, but it does highly value and work toward the unity encouraged in God?s Word.
eby
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No-Blood Card No Longer Issued/Dated Annually
by AMNESIAN indecember 2003 our kingdom ministry for the usa
"provisions to help us abstain from blood"
"baptized publishers who have previously completed an advance medical directive/release card or identity card with no print date or a 3/99 print date will not need to complete a new one this year.
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eby
Terri,
The procedure was likely hemodilution. As explaned on the AJWRB site:
Here is how the procedure works: During the surgery doctors use Blood Aspiration with Automatic Anticoagulant Mixing, and the blood is collected into a Blood Reservoir. It is then drained by gravity into the Blood Bag, and stored in a lowered position until it is filled. When the Blood Bag is filled, it is raised to the top of the assembly, and the blood is reinfused . Although it is hard to see the blood as still being a part of the circulatory system, the brothers accept the procedure once they are told that the Society has approved of its use , and that it does not violate any scriptural principles.
It was explained to me that for non-jws the bag is disconnected but for JWs it is reinfused at a very slow rate during surgery so that it is never disconnected from the circulatory system. Therefore it is OK. A very fine line of distinction!
eby
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An example of inconsistency in Watchtower literalism....ABSTAIN FROM BLOOD
by logansrun inthe practice of blood-transfusion refusel by jws has been a topic long discussed among even the public.
i don't feel i have much of anything new to add to the arguments against such an extreme policy, but i will give "my take" on it.
when asked to defend their position on blood, jws will most often quote acts 15:20, 29 where the words "abstain from...blood" are used.
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eby
I agree with Megadude that the Watchtower knows their stand on blood is bogus. But are you aware that they offer another explanation for Acts 15:21 concerning Moses being preached and read?
*** g76 3/8 26-8 'Abstain from Blood'-for How Long? ***
Observe that James did not say that ?the law of Moses is read every sabbath.? He said, ?Moses . . . is read aloud. . . on every sabbath.? (Acts 15:21) What is the difference? Moses was famous for having written the Pentateuch or Torah, the first five books of the Bible. These books certainly do set forth the Law. But they contain much more. Moses? writings also contain a record of God?s dealings and expressed views that predate the Law.?Compare Mark 12:26 and Exodus 3:2, 6.
This was an important point to bear in mind in connection with the Christian congregation. Even though God was no longer requiring observance of the Mosaic Law code, there were earlier indications of his will that he expected to be upheld by any human serving him. So, if some, whether Jews or Jewish Christians, had great regard for Moses? writings, they should be able to see the need for true worshipers to abstain from ?these necessary things? that came before the Law and continued after it ended.
God?s expressed will regarding blood is an example. Many centuries before he gave the law through Moses, God told Noah to abstain from blood. In giving humans permission to eat flesh Jehovah stated plainly: ?Only flesh with its soul?its blood?you must not eat.? That ruled out eating meat from an animal that was strangled to keep its blood in the flesh. It also ruled out eating or drinking blood. (Gen. 9:3, 4) Later, God stated his will about blood in the law given to the Israelites. (Lev. 17:11-14; Deut. 12:23) Yet, when the Law was fulfilled and no longer binding on true worshipers, the prohibition in Genesis 9:3, 4 remained. And it had not been given just to Israel, but through Noah, the progenitor of the human race, to all mankind.
Consequently, the weekly reading of ?Moses,? which would include Genesis 9:3, 4, would do more than present what just the Mosaic law for Jews said about blood. It would also show that abstaining from blood and things strangled was still necessary for all persons wanting God?s approval. That would be plain to Jews in their synagogues. It would be plain to Hebrew Christians who were well acquainted with what was read in the synagogues. And it would be plain to any Gentiles who, by contact with Jews or Christians, came to know of the basic precepts set forth in God?s Word.
*** bq 10-12 Jehovah's Witnesses and the Question of Blood *** So, does the divine prohibition against blood apply to Christians?
During the discussion Jesus? half brother James brought to the council?s attention certain other essential things that he deemed important to include in their decision, namely, ?to abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.? (Acts 15:19-21) He referred back to the writings of Moses, which reveal that even before the Law was given, God had disapproved of immoral sex relations, idolatry and the eating of blood, which would include eating the flesh of strangled animals containing blood.?Genesis 9:3, 4; 19:1-25; 34:31; 35:2-4.
Concerning that Christian decree, Professor Walther Zimmerli, of the University of Göttingen, Germany, commented:
?The first Judeo-Christian congregation in the decision reported on in Acts 15 made a distinction between the Law given to Israel through Moses and the command given [through] Noah to all the world.??Zürcher Bibelkommentare. 6
6. Zürcher Bibelkommentare 1. Mose 1-11 (1967), p. 330
But as Meg said:
Paul makes clear in other parts of the Bible he didn't have a problem with meat sacrificed to idols. Idols meant nothing to him. However, he said he wouldn't even eat meat if it stumbled a brother
.FYI,
eby
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is this talking about a christmas tree in Jeremiah?
by wednesday inis the scripture found at jeremiah 10:3 talking about a chrismtas tree?
jeremiah 10:3-5 - "for the customs of the peoples are false.
a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
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eby
Jehovah's Witnesses have not officially used that scripture in regard to the Christmas tree since at least 1950.
*** w50 12/15 522 Questions from Readers ***ó Does Jeremiah 10:3-5 refer to the erection and trimming of Christmas trees??C. M., Washington
This scripture cannot be properly applied to cutting down evergreens, building bases to hold them upright, and decorating them with gold and silver tinsel or other ornamentation. Jeremiah 10 is exposing the folly of worshiping idols.
Hence it is clear that Jeremiah 10:3-5 does not refer to decorated Christmas trees, when we view these verses with their context and with the historical background of that time in mind.
eby
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WT Comments You Will Not Hear at the 3-30-03 WT Study
by blondie inwt comments you will not hear at the 3-30-03 wt study
february 15, 2003. wts quotes will be in red; reviewers comments in black or in parentheses.
why observe the lords evening meal?.
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eby
In support of observing the Memorial annually the WT in paragraph 11, page 14, quotes from The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume IV, page 44.
"The Christians of Asia Minor were called Quartodecimans [Fourteenthers] from their custom of celebrating the pascha [Lord's Evening Meal] invariably on the 14th of Nisan...The date might fall on Friday or on any of the other days of the week." Of course the words in brackets are inserted by the WT.
To learn more about this pascha celebration and the Quartodecimans read page 46 of Schaff-herzog under "The Paschal controversy" at:
http://www.ccel.org/php/disp.php?authorID=schaff&bookID=encyc04&page=46&view=
Some interesting stuff.
eby
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eby
Yecats,
I believe that I live in a nearby community of your family. Don't know the family well. There is another who posts to this board that may have been in your congregation. I will give him a heads- up.
eby
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FDS has been tipped off ahead of time?!
by greven in*** w60 7/15 444 staying awake with the "faitful and discreet slave" *** yes, the "faitful and discreet slave" was awake to the coming of 1914. in 1942 the "faitful and discreet slave" guided by unerring spirit made known that the democracies would win world war ii and that there would be a united nations organisation set up.
once again the "faitful and discreet slave" has been tipped off ahead of time.
does anyone have the article this quote is referring to?
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eby
*** w88 3/1 15 My Life in Jehovah's Spirit-Directed Organization ***
Peace Period Remarkably Forecast
I found great joy in returning to the many warm brothers at Brooklyn Bethel. I had come in time to attend the history-making convention in Cleveland, Ohio, September 18-20, 1942. There, Brother N. H. Knorr, the Society's new president, gave the talk "Peace-Can It Last?" This brought new light on Revelation 17:8. It was revealed that the Allied powers would prevail and that a new international "peace beast" would arise. This did occur when, after the war ended in 1945, the United Nations was organized!
*** w89 4/15 14 The Infamous Harlot-Her Destruction ***
What, though, is "the mystery of the woman and of the wild beast"?
12 By divine providence, Jehovah's Witnesses received enlightenment on that mystery in 1942. World War II was then raging at its height, and many thought it would escalate into Armageddon. But Jehovah had a different thought! There was still much work for his Witnesses to do! At their New World Theocratic Assembly of September 18-20, 1942, with the key city Cleveland, Ohio, tied in with 51 other locations in the United States, Nathan H. Knorr, president of the Watch Tower Society, gave the public talk, "Peace-Can It Last?"
Prior to this time it was taught that The Hague World Court was the beast and it had gone into the abyss at the start of World War I and reappeared as The League. No wonder MANY thought WWII would end in Armageddon. Knorr's speach was also published in a booklet by the same name.
eby
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Gutless,Cowardly Watchtower
by metatron intoday's wt.
study - they started talking about mercy.
and rules and pharisees.
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eby
Frenchy,
When is the last time you heard a C.O. give an example in one of his talks about a kindly sister or brother missing a meeting to help someone in need? When is the last time you heard a C.O. mention someone missing Saturday morning field service to go cut some elderly sister's lawn because she could not do it? When, if ever, is it stated from the platform that acts of kindness are preferred over meetings and field service? What happened to: "Go, then, and learn what this means, 'I want mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came to call, not righteous people, but sinners." (Matt 9:13 NWT)???
The priest and Levite may not have helped the injured man because they may have touched his running sores. That would have made them ceremonially unclean and therefore unable to perform their religious duties. "Sacrifice" was more important than mercy.eby