Cold Steel

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Posts by Cold Steel

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  85

  My letter to Bethel about the flood

  by Cornbread in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've decided to go full public with a new username on this forum.

  it's been almost a decade since i've been out and i don't care at this point who knows.

  that being said, here's a letter that i'm mailing to bethel.

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  Cold Steel

  It may just be simply an issue of biblical exegesis. One scholar writes:
  

  A
  

  critical issue in the Flood story in the King James Bible has to do with translations of the Hebrew words eretz and adamah as meaning the entire “earth.” What do these terms actually mean? It is widely recognized that Hebrew is a wonderful language for poets, since virtually every word has multiple meanings. But that same characteristic makes it a horrible language for precision. As it turns out, eretz and adamah can indeed be a geographical reference akin to what we usually mean by “the earth.” But it is not at all clear that the ancients had the concept of a spherical planet that you and I do. Many scholars argue that the Bible writers thought in terms of a flat earth that was covered by a bowl-shaped firmament into which the windows of heaven were literally cut....

  Duane E. Jeffrey

  Commenting on this, one reviewer added: "Jeffrey notes that ideas of a global flood may have resulted from a widespread local problem. A current hypothesis that has been gaining ground since 1998 is that a significant flooding event occurred in the area now occupied by the Black Sea. Evidence has been discovered which has led a number of researchers to believe that the Black Sea area was once occupied by a completely isolated freshwater lake at a much lower level than the ocean. The theory is that the sea level rose and eventually broke through the Bosporus shelf, resulting in a rapid flooding event which would have wiped out all life living along the shores of the lake. Whether this is the source for the Genesis flood remains conjecture."

  Although no certain evidence for the flood as a global event has been forthcoming, it's interesting to note that the legend of the flood exists in almost all the cultures of the earth, from Greece and Rome to Asia to the New World.
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  51

  I went down in the first Round!

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there is a visitor brother in town and from what ive been told, he has been a missionary for many years and they were having a get together for him.

  i took my mom to that get-together yesterday and stayed for a few minutes.

  i heard a group around a table with the visitor brother talking about how hard it was getting in the world with so many distractions and that many of the brothers were falling into the trap and leaving jehovahs organization.

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  Cold Steel

  It was a good scripture to use, but what did you expect him to answer? And of course the scripture presupposes that "Jehovah of armies" was behind the formation and administration of the WTBTS. If the presuppositions are true, and God whispers his secrets to the Governing Body as he did the prophets, the brother's sentiment is indeed noble, and true. But if Jehovah did not inspect all the world's religions in the early 1900s (as difficult as that would be to believe), and if he did not choose the WTBTS, of what virtue would it be to stick with it regardless of how many, or few, pledged their allegiance to it? The very notion that the SUPREME BEING OF THE UNIVERSE would depend on MAN to create religions, then choose one as if choosing a beauty contestant winner 🏆 is itself a problematic doctrine. How do we know he didn't pick the Hare Krishnas? Or the Methodists? Or perhaps he chose the Unitarians! One thing I do know, the answer isn't in I Kings.
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  17

  Biblical Proof that JW Elders can not have Jehovah's or Jesus Spirit

  by GodZoo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  something just occured to me.. like a lightening bolt in fact.

  matthew 10:19 just popped into my head... new american standard bible 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the gentiles.

  19 "but when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.

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  Cold Steel

  I don't believe the Lord's support would extend to cover-ups of any kind. Contextually it only applies to church officers who are unrighteously brought before their enemies and asked to defend themselves. The Lord will then put the words in their mouths that will stand in condemnation against their accusers in the day of judgment. Of course, these officers must be called and ordained and be agents of God to receive this promise. And many times it also happened that these testimonies also happened to be their last, as all the apostles except one, John, were put to death. Because John was allowed to tarry until the Lord's coming and could not be killed, he was banished to the island of Patmos. So effectively they were all rejected, though I'll bet they put up great defenses before they were killed.
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  12

  A WT "prophecy" that finally came true?

  by eyeuse2badub in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at long last, after 140 years of failed prophecies, it appears that the borg finally got one right!

  recall the odd little article published back in the november 15th, 2013 wt about the 7 shepherds 8 dukes (anti-type) and the evil assyrian (anti-type) and some silly nonsense about the assyrians attack on the vulnerable wtbts.

  page 20 paragraph 17 of that strange article contained this foreboding prophecy from the faithful and discreet slave, (anti-type);.

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  Cold Steel

  Judge Rutherford got it right then and it is still right now when he said, "Religion is a snare and a racket."

  Ummm...I think he was talking about eveyone else's religion.
  
  
  
  
  
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  5

  Did JESUS Choose a MANMADE RELIGION?

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if jesus was enthroned in 1914, and if he inspected all of the earth's religions in 1919, choosing the wtbts as his, then wasn't he choosing a religion that was manmade?

  if he didn't choose it until 1919, then what was the watchtower organization in 1918 or, for that matter, in 1914?

  and what happened to the church jesus organized when he said anciently, "i will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"?.

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  Cold Steel

  If Jesus was enthroned in 1914, and if he inspected all of the earth's religions in 1919, choosing the WTBTS as his, then wasn't he choosing a religion that was manmade? If he didn't choose it until 1919, then what was the Watchtower Organization in 1918 or, for that matter, in 1914? And what happened to the church Jesus organized when he said anciently, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it"?
  

  Indeed, the Watchtower (6.15.64) itself reported: "As Jehovah revealed his truths by means of the first century Christian congregation so he does today by means of the present-day Christian congregation. Through this agency he is having carried out prophesying. All of this activity is not an accident. Jehovah is the one behind all of it."

  But did God ever speak through the congregation? Or did he speak through those he called and appointed at the head of the church? And when has he ever chosen from a number of manmade organizations? It would be as if you had three self-appointed prophets, and God was to choose one to be his. But this wasn't the case with Jeremiah, who wrote: "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 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." (Jeremiah 1:4-5) Here it appears as though God is taking the proactive role, and not men. But now it's just the opposite. Man is the proactive force and God becomes the passive.

  How would the Governing Body explain this?

  In 1943 they were so thoroughly bold as to issue instructions as if they came right from God himself: "The Son has returned as King; he has come to his temple. He has appointed his "faithful and wise servant", who is his visible MOUTHPIECE. The Lord breaks down our organization instructions further and makes them more practicable by further instructing us through his "faithful and wise servant."

  He [the Lord] says, 'Let us assign the field, the world, to special pioneers, regular pioneers and companies of Jehovah's witnesses in an orderly way, sufficient for everyone to thoroughly witness therein, and let us place on each one the responsibility of caring for the New World interests in these respective assignments." He [the Lord] says the requirements for special pioneers shall be 175 hours and 50 back-calls per month, which should develop into a reasonable number of studies; and for regular pioneers 150 hours and as many back-calls and studies as can be properly developed during that time. And for company publishers he [the Lord] says, "Let us make a quota of 60 hours and 12 back-calls and at least one study a week for each publisher." These directions come to us from the Lord through his established agency directing what is required of us. It is our duty to accept this additional instruction and obey it." (7.1.43, p. 207)
  

  This is remarkable, to say the least. Here's a statement where the leading authorities of the Society are delivering an actual revelation very much like the ancient prophets and spelling out the Lord's instructions regarding workloads to be carried out by the troops. But they've fully committed themselves to speaking for God, even as the ancient prophets delivered it. And yet not one of them claims that the Lord spoke to them as he spoke to the prophets anciently. Again, self-appointed people making assumptions. Doesn't this throw a kink into their charges against Christendom -- that they're all manmade?

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  62

  Christians not knowing the Bible

  by Viviane in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last night a young man in a bar struck up a conversation with me.

  our town is having our pride parade soon and he brought it up, the bible and how it's against the bible.

  me being me, i said that i couldn't care less that it was against the bible and that it was a horrible guide for morality anyway.

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  Cold Steel

  Well, am I safe in saying that he didn't get your number, even though you got his?
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  5

  Joining another cult... is it an option? Your thoughts..

  by StarTrekAngel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i've just finished reading "freedom of mind" today.

  meditating over the many things i've read, one chapter of the book talks about how there could be a situation where more than one family member may have joined one cult, while another member may have joined another one.

  it mentions the possibility of using one family member against the other in order to bring them both to questions their own cults.. this hit me home as i had been thinking if joining a cult would be a good idea.

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  Cold Steel

  I'm surprised anyone would make a suggestion like that because I can't see that it would do anything other than create contention. Few people are as fiery as new members, so if you had one family member who is a JW and another who's an evangelical Christian, the only thing you'll get is a knock-down drag-out at best. And at worst you'll get the JW shunning the other family member (and we know how effective that is!).

  The only way to get anyone out of a religion is to sew doubt in his or her mind, and often that's difficult to do unless both family members join the same cult, then the one tries to subvert the other. And even that might fall to work. Cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses have a number of failsafes in place. When beset with doubt, members (particularly new ones) tend to go to others within the group for reinforcement. If that fails, there's the threat of discipline. The JWs, more than any other Christian denomination, knows how to identify gaps, seal them off and apply tactics like shunning, which is low and mean spirited. What parent would apply such to their children? Hopefully none.

  People also tend to view people who are trying to help them out of a destructive religious group as an enemy. They want the religion to be true, so they will give more credibility to those who try to reinforce their beliefs, even if it involves God choosing their manmade religion more than a hundred years ago and not telling anyone (see Amos 3:7). But something else to consider -- and this is important -- you need to be very careful about unplugging someone from a religion without replacing it with something better. The person may be happy where he or she is, and if you rip their faith from them and abandon them, they could slip into depression and suicide. They may conclude that if the WTBTS is wrong and its leaders wackos and that that if they're wrong, then no religion can be right, especially if they've been told and retold that the others are fit only for destruction. And while many atheists believe that all religious believers should be freed from the shackles of religion, are they willing to do it if they rob their loved ones of their happiness?
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  62

  Christians not knowing the Bible

  by Viviane in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last night a young man in a bar struck up a conversation with me.

  our town is having our pride parade soon and he brought it up, the bible and how it's against the bible.

  me being me, i said that i couldn't care less that it was against the bible and that it was a horrible guide for morality anyway.

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  Cold Steel

  As my daddy used to say about the CHURCH OF CHRIST, “I don't know what they're for, but they're against everything!“
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  33

  This is a topic I am going to kill with my opening post.Why haven`t the Major religions of Christendom exposed J.W.`s as the true Apostates

  by smiddy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am initially thinking of the major religious institutions of christianity , catholic ,many branches , church of england , and the major protestant religions , too numerous to mention here.. after all their is 40,000 plus christian religions in the world today ?so obviously j.w.`s are not the only false religion .. so my real question is really , to do with the mainstream christian religions , why are`nt they more aggressive in their condemnation of the jehovah witness religion for their obvious failings ,flip backs ,contradictions ,prophecy`s that never eventuated , end of the world predictions ,re-inventing their past history , even distancing themselves from their past history , and their founding members , such as c.t.russell and j.f.rutherford whose policies they now reject... they need to get on board and bleed it for all it`s worth .. smiddy .

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  Cold Steel

  As someone on the outside, I'm afraid the answer may disappoint you.
  

  Most religions, I'm convinced, really don't spend a lot of time thinking about the Jehovah's Witnesses. And those who do only criticize them because they think the JWs are going to an eternal HELL. I know a Buddhist who is visiting the Vatican this month and meeting with the Pope. I've never heard of anyone from the WTBTS even being invited...not that they would go. The Orthodox Church only really goes gunning for the Catholics. Protestants, to them, are only extensions of the Catholic Church. Many people know something about the 144,000, the blood thing or soul sleeping, but that's about it. Islam is the go-to church of the Devil, and it's likely to stay that way until the JWs begin beheading people.
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  6

  Influence of Death in the Mind

  by ivanatahan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  most meetings and congregations stress the idea that jehovah's witnesses will live forever on a paradise earth.

  most jws are always "comforting" others about how death is only temporary.

  then you get those jws who are scared of death.

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  Cold Steel

  You remember on STAR TREK when everyone would get transported down to the surface and it only took a few seconds? There's always been a debate over whether the people beaming down were the same people who appeared at the destination or were they reconstituted copies? Yes, they all appeared to be the same lovable people who stepped on the transporter, but they were clearly not made up of the same molecules as those who were disintegrated aboard the ship. Naturally those who were had the same memories as those who were disintegrated on the ship; to them it appeared only a few seconds had passed, but were they originals or were they Memorex?
  

  People dying on Earth cease to exist, we're told. They take their last breath and then croak. But then cometh the resurrection and everyone is resurrected. But are they the same beings, or does Jehovah re-create them? According to JW doctrine, they're re-created. They all have the same memories as the originals, but the originals are dead...DED...dead! Those who are resurrected are recreations. Same thoughts, same memories.
  

  Remember when Captain Kirk gets in a transporter accident and is spit in two? One of him was good, the other evil. QUESTION: Where was Captain Kirk -- the real Captain Kirk -- while his doubles were causing all the trouble? Ever seen a photo taken years before you were born and wonder, "Where was I when this photo was taken?" You see the same familiar things. Mountains, the ocean, rain, and yes, for some of you, even a young Captain Kirk!
  

  According to JW doctrine, you weren't anywhere. And when you die you're not anywhere. Then, there you are again! But are you you, or just someone who has your looks and memories? Wouldn't you be scared 😨?
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