Cold Steel

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Posts by Cold Steel

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  36

  Supernatural Or Coincidence? YOU Decide.

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  okay, this is pretty weird.

  is it really supernatural?

  or is it just my imagination?.

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  Cold Steel

  Well, thanks for your replies. Reckon it's like looking at clouds. Hmmmm.
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  165

  Do Animals Have Souls?

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know most jehovah's witnesses believe in the soul sleeping doctrine.

  by this, given that neither man nor beast has a spirit, but that they do possess souls (or "intelligences" unique to themselves).

  where this intelligence resides between death and resurrection is more than a passing interest, but again, assuming that yehweh can recreate one's distict soul, does the society believe that animals have souls?

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  Cold Steel

  I was pretty clear this is a matter of speculation. Also that it's not in the Bible. And I didn't mean to disinclude atheists, it's just that they don't believe anything or anyone has a spirit or soul.

  Since it's not in the Bible, then the Governing Body is just guessing. But is it a subject open to debate among JWs?

  My own view is that everything that has life has a soul and is eligible for resurrection under the atonement. I've believed this all my life, being born a Methodist. That's not to say the Methodist Church believes what I believe, but most of my family members would frequently disagree with our pastors regarding the Trinity and other doctrines. And my paternal grandmother (a Southern Baptist) would never say "catholic church" in the so-called "Apostles' Creed, even though it was a generic term and not the Roman Catholic faith.

  Now I'm a Mormon and our own apostles state categorically that all life is resurrected. How do they know? Because the LDS faith believes that everything that lives upon the earth existed before it was in the earth, being created spiritually before it was physically present. Since dinosaurs lived at some point, yes, the same would apply to them. But again, even as a Methodist, I thought the animals I knew had distinct personalities and intelligence. When animals die, their bodies become just as "vacant" as peoples' bodies. It's apparent that whatever it is that animates them is gone. Also, many of the near death experiences I've read mention animals in the spirit world. I can only assume they lived on Earth.

  

  Yes, I'm aware that the same word for "breath" and "spirit" are the same. My cat has terrible breath,
  though! But he's gorgeous...at least to me.
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  36

  Supernatural Or Coincidence? YOU Decide.

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  okay, this is pretty weird.

  is it really supernatural?

  or is it just my imagination?.

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  Cold Steel

  Okay, this is pretty weird. Is it really supernatural? Or is it just my imagination?

  My wife had hung a white nylon garment from the door. While watching television one day I glanced over at it and saw the image below. I thought it was my eyes playing tricks on me at first, but I kept looking at it. Finally, I decided to photograph it. So I got out my tripod and shot a few pictures.

  To me, it appears to be the profile of a woman wearing a feather hat. Her curls extend below the front of the hat and she's wearing ear rings. Do you see it or am I going nuts? (That's a rhetorical question.) I'm sure it's just a weird fluke.

  

  The picture (right) has been enhanced through contrast. The woman's profile shows
  her hair, nose, lips, ears, hat, feather, chin and eyes, even eye lids. In the untouched
  photo, that's not grain or noise; you can actually see the threads in the garment.
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  165

  Do Animals Have Souls?

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know most jehovah's witnesses believe in the soul sleeping doctrine.

  by this, given that neither man nor beast has a spirit, but that they do possess souls (or "intelligences" unique to themselves).

  where this intelligence resides between death and resurrection is more than a passing interest, but again, assuming that yehweh can recreate one's distict soul, does the society believe that animals have souls?

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  Cold Steel

  I know most Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the soul sleeping doctrine. By this, given that neither man nor beast has a spirit, but that they do possess souls (or "intelligences" unique to themselves). Where this intelligence resides between death and resurrection is more than a passing interest, but again, assuming that Yehweh can recreate one's distict soul, does the Society believe that animals have souls? And will they be resurrected? I have a cat that has a very distinct personality, and when I have to leave town he stops eating and waits on the front doorstep for my return. Sometimes when I watch TV, I look up and see him lying there just staring at me. What he's thinking is beyond me, but he also goes for walks with me.

  The more I get to know animals, the more incredible it is to think that when they die, they just cease to function like a watch battery. My own belief is that the atonement of Christ covers animals, humans, bugs, plants and everything with life. But many of my Evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic friends believe that only man has a distinct spirit or soul. And I think JWs agree that Yahweh will only resurrect people. (How they know this with no revelation is beyond me, but this is the official doctrine.)

  So what do YOU think? If you're a former member of the Society, have you changed your mind in relation to whether man has a spirit? Obviously atheists need not pontificate on this, but if you've maintained a belief in God, has your thinking changed?

  In another post, the Society is quoted regarding its policy about questions: "Jehovah’s organization does not discourage sincere, timely questions, as some opposers mistakenly claim. (1 Peter 1:10-12) However, the Bible counsels that we avoid foolish, speculative questions. (Titus 3:9) Asking reasonable questions and searching God’s Word and Christian publications to find Scriptural answers can increase our accurate knowledge and can thus strengthen our confidence in Jehovah..." - W 8/15/98, p.20, par.19

  Since the Bible doesn't really address whether animals are resurrected, is this an issue that can be discussed among members?

  
  
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  21

  WHAT IS TRUTH?

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  how many of you have listened to this talk from the dc?

  how many of you actually yelled at your computer, " wth!!!!!

  that's what i have been saying you ignorant buffoons!!!

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  Cold Steel

  I felt a murderous rage well up within my heart and I had to yell at the monitor.

  First, contention is the enemy of communication. Frustration, resentment, hatred and especially murder are of the Adversary, and are not worthy reactions to false religion. The Jehovah's Witnesses are just one example among many. Scientology, Jesus cults and prosperity gospels all are out there, and some of the professors really believe what they're saying, while others knowingly deceive to gain power, wealth or both.

  Three phrases were particularly ironic:

  1) Jesus did not demand that anyone believe assertions without proof.

  No, but he encouraged it. "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Also, " But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (Matthew 13:16-17) Yet the prophets believed.

  2) We should examine everything. It's hard work, but we should do it.

  Agreed. But we also ought to have the integrity to believe that which is right. Despite the evidence of seeing, when Peter acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus said, "Blessed art thou...for flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you, but my Father, which is in Heaven." (Matthew 16:17)

  3) A fool puts faith in every word, but the wise man understands the need for proof.

  God will provide evidence, but never proof. He ultimately does this for our own good because if he gave us proof, we would be obligated to act on it, and many people would be under condemnation; for where much is given, much is expected. If one seeks earnestly, one can come to the knowledge of perfect truth, but then if they deny that truth they sin against the Holy Spirit, which is the unforgivable sin.

  In the case of the Jehovah's Witnesses, they're not asking you to believe something they haven't said themselves — and they've never claimed to have had any revelation or confirmation from Heaven that they have been called of God. Ask the members of the Governing Board if they've ever seen an angel, or God, or if they've ever had a vision or other form of revelation and they're honest. They'll tell you no. The days of apostles (which actually means "sent ones") is over, they'll say. The spiritual gifts are gone. So if they have no revelation, and YOU have no revelation, then isn't it like the parable of the blind leading the blind? Jesus said if the leaders and followers and both blind, then both will fall into the pit. By very definition, if they have been sent, they will be apostles.

  Finally, in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. Not only that, but didn't Amos declare that "Surely the Lord God will do nothing save he reveal his secrets to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7) There is NOTHING in scripture that foretells the advent of the Governing Board. There is nothing to indicate the Lord's Kingdom is to be based in a publishing company or to point the way to Charles T. Russell or Joseph Rutherford. Daniel, in fact, said that the Kingdom would "not be left to other men" (meaning it would be governed by God), and that it would eventually replace all the governments of the earth.

  So no revelation, no scripture, no witnesses, no spiritual gifts; just presumption. When I ask most JWs how they know they're members of God's true religion, they use a bizarre process of elimination. "Well, if it's not us, who else would it be?" they ask. This is how they know Jesus inspected all the religions of the earth and (heh heh) picked them!

  Bottom line: It's a manmade church with a governing body that assumes it's been chosen, and that it's inspired. Okay, so they've been wrong repeatedly, and if you don't accept them as God's servents, then Jehovah will destroy you. It's fairly simple.

  As for what is truth, it's very simple. Truth is that which was, is, and is to come. It has nothing to do with objectivity, subjectivity, or anything else. It simply is.

  
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  8

  Belief in reincarnation is not in conflict with Judaism

  by GreenhornChristian in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm reading jehovah unmasked.

  i am now in chapter 10. it's an interesting read so far.

  i just can't believe the watchtower never told me about the jewish reincarnation ...(sarcasm) .

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  Cold Steel

  Premortality and reincarnation are two different concepts. Yahweh said to Jeremiah: " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

  "Ah, Lord God !" replied the prophet, "behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

  But the Lord said unto him, "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak." In other words, the Lord can take the weak things of the earth and make them strong, as He tried to do with Moses.

  It would have been a great time to tell him he was an accumulation of a number of reincarnated personalities, but Jeremiah knew he existed before coming to the earth. And later, when Jesus' disciples saw Him heal a blind man, one said, "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

  The more we learn from recently discovered Christian writings, the more obvious it is that the early Christians did not believe in the soul sleeping doctrine of the Adventists.

  Although Mormonism is the only Christian faith to officially teach premortality as a doctrine, other churches are beginning to take another look at it because of 1) the greater understanding we have of first century Christianity, and 2) the proliferation of near death experiences on the parts of people of all religions. It's not unusual for Mormons to report experiences that include a belief in premortality, but it's another thing for Evangelicals and other Christians to support the doctrine through their experiences. Yet many are the accounts of people passing through the veil and seeing people they knew "before" coming to Earth. Besides, with human lifespans being what they are, mortality rates, physical restrictions and the difference in cultures, reincarnation would serve almost no purpose.

  Finally, on a Jewish forum, one participant states:

  The Midrash Kee Tov states that before the creation of the present world there were 1,972 generations. During this time all the souls of the righteous were present including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. It ends with the following statement: "They [souls] were with God before the creation of the world."

  I can think of few things more discouraging as the doctrine of reincarnation. My wife and I recently had dinner with friends, one of whom expressed a belief in reincarnation. When I told her I'd rather go down to an eternal grave than live through multiple iterations, she was aghast! "Oh, no," she said. "Things keep getting better! You don't go from better to worse!" But how would she know? All I know is that once I die, I ain't comin' back, no way, no how!
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  31

  Jesus: The latest Myth in the history of Sun-God Myths

  by VivaVegas in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i wanted to share with you all information that you may find helpful in your quest for real truth as it pertains to god and religion.

  "jesus" is just the latest sun-god in mankind's long history of sun-gods.

  a belief-system which in itself stems from mankinds first true religion, worship of the sun and stars.

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  Cold Steel

  You are stretching ancient mythology to the point of snapping! Much of what you're citing sounds like it was gleaned from extremely unreliable sources. If you do your own research, instead of relying on the shoddy research of others, you'll realize the game is a little more difficult.

  The entire Old Testament points to Jesus as the Messiah. The law of sacrifice, the brazen serpent, the priesthood and prophecy all pointed the way to Christ. (See Isaiah 53.) If one reads the New Testament, the apostles make this case with many compelling arguments. Plus Moses and Jesus have one crucial thing the mythologies don't have, and that's witnesses. "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." Not only Moses, but 70 elders of Israel, Joshua and a few others, saw God. The people also witnessed the parting of the Red Sea. And in Jesus' day, three of the apostles saw Moses and Elijah transfigured on the mount with Jesus. Hundreds of his disciples saw the resurrected Jesus and even more saw the many miracles he performed. Then Saul, one of the most zealous opponents of Peter and the Christians, had a vision on the way to Damascus and created a stir among the Christians, Jews and Romans, and he became one of Christianity's most avid champions.

  Another problem is that if you look at each of the examples you used, the primary portion of Horus' and Dionysus' lives have nothing to do with the major points of Jesus' life. Horus and Dionysus were not crucified and subsequently resurrected, though Osirus was, and later traditions combined the persons of Horus, his son, and him. Isis was reputed to be his mother, though so was Hathor. The miracle of virgin birth is not unusual in ancient lore. Quetzalcoatl was said to have been a bearded white god, born of a virgin, killed and resurrected. But there also is some evidence that he may have been a Christian himself, or more. Neither Horus nor Dionysus took upon themselves the sins of the world and suffered for mankind's sins. As for the city of bread reference, c'mon, bread was the primary food staple in that region. It's like saying Samson and Heracles came from the same mythoplasm. Dionysus was captured by pirates while sleeping, and when he awoke the pirates laughed at him. Suddenly, grape vines sprang from the deck and wild animals appeared. Dionysus grew in size and the terrified sailors threw themselves into the sea. Fortunately, the god was compassionate and changed the pirates into dolphins. Julius Caesar also was kidnapped by pirates. Was his life simply based on that of Dionysus? As for the December birthdates, surely you know that Jesus was not born in the winter, but that Roman Christians simply adopted the Festival of Saturn as "Christmas" to make conversion easier. It is more likely that he was born near the day of Passover, another type and shadow of Christ.

  Jesus is the king of kings and the lord of lords. He also is the great I AM of scripture and the God of Israel, and judge of mankind. He also promised to one day return and usher in a new era of peace and righteousness.
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  3

  Eh? There are two Jesus'?

  by notsurewheretogo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  lars????

  i thought the messiah was black and gay?.

  http://news.sky.com/story/1096687/former-it-specialist-claims-to-be-jesus-reborn.

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  Cold Steel
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  3

  Eh? There are two Jesus'?

  by notsurewheretogo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  lars????

  i thought the messiah was black and gay?.

  http://news.sky.com/story/1096687/former-it-specialist-claims-to-be-jesus-reborn.

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  Cold Steel

  Well that's ridiculous. Everyone knows Jesus is now teaching in Siberia! That's why you have to be careful about false christs.

  You think he's in Australia, when he's really in Siberia!

  The Siberian Jesus

  The Australian Jesus

  
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  73

  Why won't JWs have "civilized" debates with home owners?

  by ilikecheese in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it seems kind of crazy to go to someone's house touting your religion as truth and then not even defend your own beliefs.

  why do jws stop the chat if someone just tries to calmly reason/debate with them?

  i'm not talking about crazy preachers who start slamming bibles and yelling about how they need jesus or something.

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  Cold Steel

  I was...disappointed with the so-called "Bible Study" I received. It usually went like this:

  "Okay, if you'll read to us the first paragraph under the heading, 'Where Are the Dead?'...."

  Sigh. I read it out loud. "Many people believe that when they die, their spirits will depart their bodies to go to Heaven or Hell. But the Bible clearly teaches that such beliefs are wrong."

  I then pause, then say, "Uhhh...I think...."

  "So what does the Bible clearly say about such beliefs?"

  "Well, I don't think they go to Heaven or Hell, but I believe they go to either a temporary place of rest to await the resurrection, or to a remedial place of torment...."

  "...Yeah, that's interesting. But what does the Bible clearly say about such beliefs?"

  "Ummm...that they're wrong?"

  "Yes, now if you'll read the next two paragraphs."

  That's a Bible Study???