Posts by Cold Steel

19

JW.ORG logica: I don't get it

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

a dutch saying is "am i that smart or are you so stupid".. watching this jw.org movie about god's name made me use it: .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njtimafdp7m.

jw broadcasting june 2015, 15 seconds cut.. geoffrey jackson is proud that jw.org is using god's name.. then he convinced that jw.org does not know exactly what god's name is.. then he convinced that jw.org uses the name jehovah because it's most common recognized in english.. is this reasonable, asks geoffrey... yes!

Cold Steel

Earnest » Why? Why not use the version commonly understood in our language, as you would with John, Juan, Jacque or Jack?

That actually was the point I was trying to make with them -- that if a name is so important, then why isn't it important enough to be precise with? God has never been known to His people by His name, right? Even the prophets didn't call Him by His name. And in the scriptures when the Lord references his name, it's used as an idiom. For example, in Ezekiel 39 where the Lord says that "they shall no longer pollute my name," He's not speaking literally about a name; He's saying they will no longer blaspheme him in any respect. JW theologians, however, have always taken the term literally. Thus, they address Him as "Jehovah" in their prayers, which has always seemed a bit disrespectful in my view.

Thus if it's so critical that we be so familiar with Him that we use His name, perhaps we should do it precisely, otherwise Jehovah becomes just another placeholder like GOD or FATHER.

20

Joel Osteen's Church is a Cult too ??

by ShirleyW in

jw
friends

it's being said all over social media that joel osteen hasn't opened his mega church for refuge during the storm, pictures are showing this area is not flooded.

i made a few comments myself saying that the jws only help their own in time of need but this god fearing man isn't helping anyone.. just what religion is he and his followers, i guess it's one of those non-denomination churches that collect a shitload of bucks to him and wife so he can afford the glamorous life, nothing new of course, i thought he was just a bit different than the others, fooled me..

Cold Steel

VV101 » [Osteen's] church is very involved helping others with no membership requirements unlike the Mormons and JWs.

Not to toot our own horn, but the LDS (Mormon) church has no missionary requirements, and it's often on-site in stricken areas before the federal government. Key humanitarian initiatives include not only disaster relief, but clean water, vision treatment, wheelchair provision, neonatal resuscitation, immunizations, family enrichment programs and family food production. In 2008, LDS Humanitarian Services provided aid to 3.3 million people in 122 countries. We not only collect monetary contributions in addition to what the church gives, we sign people (Mormons and non-Mormons) up for labor, medical, plumbing personnel on-site.

Osteen, by the way, though his dad was a preacher, engages in what is referred to as the prosperity gospel. It's based on the idea that when you are happy, God is happy. People donate wildly to the cause, but it's definitely not centered in Christ. As far as I know, he's never taken a stand against anyone.

19

JW.ORG logica: I don't get it

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

a dutch saying is "am i that smart or are you so stupid".. watching this jw.org movie about god's name made me use it: .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njtimafdp7m.

jw broadcasting june 2015, 15 seconds cut.. geoffrey jackson is proud that jw.org is using god's name.. then he convinced that jw.org does not know exactly what god's name is.. then he convinced that jw.org uses the name jehovah because it's most common recognized in english.. is this reasonable, asks geoffrey... yes!

Cold Steel

YHVH = YHWH = Ja-Veh = Ja-Weh-Veh = Jahovah = GOD

I remember in the early 70s a JW told me that if we didn't use God's name then He would not hear our prayers. "If you were out in a crowd and you saw your friend Jack, if you yelled out, 'Hey, you!' then you shouldn't be surprised when he doesn't answer you. Likewise, we call God by His name and thus we identify Him, and thus He knows when we call out to Him."

But there's a big difference between pronunciations. Shouldn't we get as close to His name as possible? For someone who's omniscient, wouldn't He know when we're addressing Him? There also doesn't seem to ever being a time when His people called him by name. In fact, wasn't it punishable by death? Abraham didn't do it. Moses didn't do it. Peter, James and John didn't. So why should we? Even if we call out to our friend, "Hey, John!" -- it might be John, Juan, Jacque or Jack. If it's important to call HIM by name, we should get the name right, or as close to the Hebrew as we can get.

But seeing that Jehovah was actually Jesus just adds more confusion.

34

The org tightens the noose on J.W.'s thinking.

by The Fall Guy in

the manipulative use of language by the org in the upcoming circuit assembly talks is as good - or better - than any advertising conglomerate could devise.

the mind-shaping wording is clearly used in order to deter critical thinking by the sheep.. face bad reports as jesus did (9 min.

note to the speaker: explain why spiritually mature people do not become ashamed of the good news or dismayed when faced with negative propaganda.

Cold Steel

Clyde had looked forward to his summer vacation for months. But now as he lay in his hospital bed, staring intently at the slowly rotating fan overhead, he reflected on the shark attack that had landed him there. Clyde now felt remorse at having disregarded counsel. After all, Elder Duit had urged him to remain in Pittsburgh that summer and carry on pioneering work as one of Jehovah's Christian ministers. And if he'd only taken that counsel, Clyde knew he wouldn't be faced with his present dilemma: to anger Jehovah by receiving a soul destroying blood transfusion or making Jehovah happy by refusing it.

It weighed heavily on Clyde's mind. Inwardly he knew that obeying Jehovah was the right thing to do. He knew that while the blood transfusion would most likely save his life, selfishly availing himself of it would be wrong. Sure, his wife Clara would be burdened with raising Clyde Jr. Isabel and the twins, and caring for his mother, now suffering from dementia, but he knew that if anyone could do it, she could. He also knew she could fit another part time job into her schedule. She could even rent out part of their house if need be. After all, the federal prison on the outskirts of town had a steady stream of people leaving it, and these ex-prisoners needed places to stay.

DISCUSSION: What decision do you think Clyde made in receiving blood? What role did Clyde's not receiving counsel play in the shark attack? After reading how God disciplined Jonah, do you think Clyde's shark attack was a coincidence? What are you doing this summer? Do you plan to go in the water?

45

Just A Thought Regarding The Bunker Video

by pale.emperor in

as ridiculous as the bunker video was, a few things popped into my consciousness as i was riding the train today.

firstly, why did they go to all the expense and effort to not only create a bunker, but to furnish it like a living room complete with coffee table, armchair, shelves etc?

i mean, a bunker should be a bunker... boxes of tinned food, tools, medical supplies, emergency gear etc.

Cold Steel

The reason the guy has a Bible is because the government has stopped production of the Watchtower and confiscated remaining copies. The Governing Body is in hiding and some are in prison or have been executed. All the Jehovah's Witnesses are being hunted down and either imprisoned or shot.

I'm not certain why they're after JWs, but they're also after Seventh Day Adventists because they're in violation of the New World Order's stiff blue laws. Meanwhile, factions of JWs are bitterly engaged in combat with SDAs over who's version of Armageddon is correct and casualties are mounting on each side.

At the bunker, Brother Smith has learned that he's been betrayed into the hands of the NWO by the one the Secret Police know only as "the Babe" -- an attractive Hispanic woman working undercover and who had avoided suspicion despite maintaining a perfecf perm on the run.

20

Joel Osteen's Church is a Cult too ??

by ShirleyW in

jw
friends

it's being said all over social media that joel osteen hasn't opened his mega church for refuge during the storm, pictures are showing this area is not flooded.

i made a few comments myself saying that the jws only help their own in time of need but this god fearing man isn't helping anyone.. just what religion is he and his followers, i guess it's one of those non-denomination churches that collect a shitload of bucks to him and wife so he can afford the glamorous life, nothing new of course, i thought he was just a bit different than the others, fooled me..

Cold Steel

The Osteen church is all about making money and helping no one. In his defense, such that it is, he really stops short in making any claims. He never says he hears from God or that he heals anyone. He never makes prophecies or really even preaches Christ. He'll toss Jesus' name in once in awhile, but he's very careful not to include himself in the "body of Christ" or make any claims that might get him in trouble should he have to answer for it later. I'm not sure he even has to ask for money; people seem to just give it to him. He has his own jet and then there are the books. I'm sure if public pressure persists, they'll open the sanctuary.

17

1 John 5:13-20 Jesus is the true God?

by NikL in

one of the main things i am trying to wrap my head around after waking up to the nonsense of jw.org is the deity of christ.. jws go out of their way to ignore him, it seems to me.

they make him out to be an angel or something.

yet, if one simply reads the scriptures, you get an entirely different picture.. doing some bible reading this morning i accidentally (long story) read the latter part of 1 john 5 and it's good stuff.. after reading it in the niv i read it in nwt and it is still pretty amazing even in that abomination of a translation.. it says.... 13 i write you these things so that you may know that you have life everlasting, you who put your faith in the name of the son of god.

Cold Steel

Can one still get a cheap copy of the NWT from the Pioneers that canvas the neighborhood? What's the price? Do they all have copies? I know it's online; but if like to pick one up. And why did they do away with the green ones they were using back in the 70s?

14

New book on early Christianity

by careful in

i'm not quite sure that this post fits under jws/wts since they do not keep up with real biblical scholarship, but i don't know where else to post it.. thomas a. robinson (university of lethbridge) has just published a book through oxford university press on the earliest christians, entitled who were the first christians?

: dismantling the urban thesis.

for some years the idea has dominated scholarship that christianity grew strongly at first in ancient cities like rome, alexandria, and corinth; the notion has been largely influenced by wayne meeks' (of yale) thinking in his book the first urban christians (1986).. i once saw a member here cite meeks' idea of how many christians existed in the roman empire.

Cold Steel

Ouch! Seventy bucks!

I'll have to wait for the Reader's Digest version. Looks interesting.

Does he get into early Christian doctrines at all. Eschatology? Canon? I'd like to see a work that separates Gnostic Christians from conventional ones. Did his figure of 6 million include Gnostic/Coptic members? How about Constantine? Does he go into the reforms?

I'd expect the urban areas would include the more orthodox Christians, especially since the earlier persecutions would have driven them away from the cities. Do you have a copy of the book?

35

After all these years, I finally made it to Brooklyn Bethel!

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

.

Cold Steel

I've read Brock Talon's books about working there. They're very entertaining though I wondered why he stayed so long.

When you go on the tours, where do they take you? To where they publish the books and magazines?

19

What Is the JW Belief Regarding the Millennium?

by Cold Steel in

most christian religions believe it will be a thousand-year period of peace.

jws, however, seem to believe in the resurrection and then life on paradise earth.

but do they believe in the millennium the way other christians do -- where the lion will lay down with the lamb [bzzzt...mandela effect correction] wolf will lay down with the lamb?

Cold Steel

So why are you here? On an ex-JW site. Are you trying to recruit vulnerable people who have just esaped the JW cult?

Oh, yeah, that would work! I first came here years ago for more information because of family members who joined the JWs and then cut off all contact. They went from being very friendly to being aloof. Then they began sending magazines to my mother on what happens when one dies. She thought being food for the worms was terrifying, so that's why I came here. I found the topics here were interesting, so I stayed. If you do a search for the topics I've started, I've never dragged my religion into it. I only reply to people who bring it up. So far, Cofty's my best recruit.

He'd probably make a good Mormon once we taught him some manners and how to read.