Posts by Cold Steel

47

Did Jesus actually start a church to himself?

by TTWSYF in

with some 30,000 different christian denominations, how would one know which one was for real?

some folks think jesus did start a church, others think no.

Cold Steel

Jesus told Peter, "upon this rock I will build my church." The Catholics believe the rock was Peter; however, in context, the rock of Israel was Christ. Jesus had also queried Peter as to his own identity, and Peter had answered under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the living God." To which the Lord replied, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven." It was then that the Lord said, "upon this rock" he would build his church, "and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."

The "it" here is clearly "the church." The sure knowledge Peter received was revelation from God. It's entirely likely that the church also is based upon the "rock" of revelation -- or the spiritual knowledge that comes, not through the knowledge of man but by the witness of God. Jesus additionally said, "and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." This is frequently cited by the Catholics and others to show that the church would "prevail" through the ages and would never cease. But John talks about the church being led into the wilderness for 1260 days (years), and the scripture says it's not the church that's the subject, but the "gates of hell" that would not prevail against the church. In other words, the church is assaulting the gates of Hades, or death. These gates would resist, but they would not prevail against the church (see Matthew 16:18). The very next verse speaks of the keys of authority Peter would need.

"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." These keys ensure the proper administration of the church so that its ordinances would apply on Heaven and on Earth.

So as I see it, if Jesus has a church, it will be like his ancient church. It will have his name, be guided by him and have his authority. It also will be built like the ancient church, with apostles, prophets, bishops, elders, priests, deacons and other offices. And it will be guided by revelation and have an open canon of scripture, just as the ancient church.

15

Did you know that Satan bump nesties with Eve.

by James Mixon in

some christians explanation for evil in the world.

i came across this "serpent seed".. it claims that cain was the offspring of eve and the talking serpent (sorry i'm lmao while.

writing this) that christians much later identified as satan.

Cold Steel

And where would these "Christians" come up with such a doctrine? I've never heard it before. Is it a modern concept or something that was found in an ancient pseudipigraphal writing? There are loads of weird doctrines and teachings out there that fall in the heresy category. It probably was designed to address the issue of how God can create evil.

51

Are Magicians Spawns of Satan the Devil?

by Cold Steel in

i was perusing the internet not long ago and came upon this series of videos by a guy calling himself xendrius.

it declares that many of today's best magicians are in league with the devil.

his claims are based on his observation that the tricks would be impossible to do unless the magicians had made unholy pacts with the devil.. so what's the take of the wtbts?

Cold Steel

I posted these before watching them all, but some of these tricks are damn good. Did you see the one where the guy pops a woman's cell phone into a bottle, then has a friend call the woman's cell phone while it's in the bottle? Evil spirits? Or was the woman a plant and using some props bought at a musician's supply shop? I would have to think on that. Hmmmmm. Occam's Razor says evil spirits. Definately.

In his concluding video, Xendrius uses a very talented mask changer to prove it was demons. But mask changing has been around for many years and I've seen some pretty bad ones (which always screw it up for the good ones). It's done through the use of silk screens that can be snapped into place in a fraction of a blink. Even cameras can't detect it. In fact, on some you can actually see the wrinkles in the silk.

Now all this doesn't mean I don't believe in evil spirits. I do. But there's a reason these things are called tricks. I've seen Kreskin do some amazing things with the power of suggestion. I also think he's a gifted reader and don't know if he's a psychic or not, but both he and Randi have million dollar offers on the table.

51

Are Magicians Spawns of Satan the Devil?

by Cold Steel in

i was perusing the internet not long ago and came upon this series of videos by a guy calling himself xendrius.

it declares that many of today's best magicians are in league with the devil.

his claims are based on his observation that the tricks would be impossible to do unless the magicians had made unholy pacts with the devil.. so what's the take of the wtbts?

Cold Steel

I'm sorry, are you saying that large commercial airliners are unable to fly without Satan's assistance?

That was a JOKE, mate!

51

Are Magicians Spawns of Satan the Devil?

by Cold Steel in

i was perusing the internet not long ago and came upon this series of videos by a guy calling himself xendrius.

it declares that many of today's best magicians are in league with the devil.

his claims are based on his observation that the tricks would be impossible to do unless the magicians had made unholy pacts with the devil.. so what's the take of the wtbts?

Cold Steel

I was perusing the Internet not long ago and came upon this series of videos by a guy calling himself Xendrius. It declares that many of today's best magicians are in league with the Devil. His claims are based on his observation that the tricks would be impossible to do unless the magicians had made unholy pacts with the Devil.

So what's the take of the WTBTS? Are JWs allowed to see magic acts? And if you sent these videos to active JWs, would they share Xendrius's views? I've known that pilots were in league with Satan for some time. I mean, I've been to the airport and seen how big the airliners are. I've seen the guys throwing all that heavy luggage into them and said to myself, "There's no way they're gonna get something that huge into the air without someone making a pact with Lucifer! No way!" I've put a lot of thought into it and those planes are absolutely too big to fly without supernatural assistance!

Also, why do the WATCHTOWER writers love to use the term "Satan the Devil"? Why don't they just use "Satan"?

Magicians and Demons, Part 1

Magicians and Demons, Part 2

4

Video about Bible "Not One Word Has Failed"

by TheWonderofYou in

just clicked on the video on demand about joshua's experiences with god.

senseless?

how i hate now when someone is killed or punished the "joshua" actor gives a clear and strong cynical grin.

Cold Steel

Hey, wait...someone told me the new STAR WARS movie was here! I've watched seven minutes of this and haven't seen one storm trooper. Still, it does look and sound like a J.J. Abrams movie. What's going on?

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

Cold Steel

I'm not quite sure the JWs believe that animals will be resurrected, but most theists believe man has a spirit and many believe that animals have spirits. If true, then suffering is a temporal part of life. Because of the fall of man, suffering came into the world; and because of the atonement, Christ is able to wipe the tear from every eye. In short, there are no long term psychological effects from suffering. When Jesus, himself, suffered in the garden, he knew that his suffering would transcend the suffering of every human and animal that had lived, was living or would live on Earth. He specifically asked to have that cup removed; however, it had to be or the creation and fall would have been in vain.

Many people and animals have suffered worse than they did at death, but they survived and many led normal productive lives. As for the animals and humans who didn't survive in the flesh, they continued to survive in the spirit, as the apostle Peter noted of those who perished in the flood; for they were put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. We'll always remember the pain, but we won't be troubled by it. I've read many near death experiences and believe this life somehow improves us. In truth, most theists believe the soul is immortal and that suffering is ultimately something designed to make us better.

21

No One on GB Anointed

by TakeOffTheCrown in

what if no one on the governing body is truly anointed?

what if they just proclaim they are anointed and partake in order to gain authority, but they are not anointed?

what will happen to them when they die?

Cold Steel

Crazyguy: The Bible says that only Jesus was anointed. [As his] followers we're part of the body of Christ therefore being of his body they enjoyed his anointing. There is no favoritism with God and all those that believe in Christ are God's sons no distinction.

Where does it say only Jesus was anointed? The bible is full of people being anointed -- kings, priests, prophets were all anointed and/or ordained. Jesus gave the Twelve (and Peter) the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that whatsoever they bound on Earth would be bound in heaven and vice versa. What happened to those keys? Who has them today? IF the GB members are anointed, who anointed them. Anointing wasn't just a figure of speech in the scriptures. Neither was ordination. Ordination was a hands-on-head conveying of authority. If the GB members are acting in God's name and by His authority, then they were called of God as was Aaron, ordained and anointed as was Aaron. The question is, who called and ordained them, and who anointed them? Jesus organized a church, but the WTBTS has always denied it is a church. In fact, if you're a JW, you can be disfellowshiped for attending a church.

38

Watchtower says in Paradise we will fly like Superman and so avoid accidents???!!

by Witness 007 in

golden age aug 25 1926 p.751.

"negative gravitation.

you may have wondered how accidents will be avoided in jesus kingdom since we are told nothing will hurt or destroy.

Cold Steel

Whet did this guy get the info about there being "enough atomic energy in one fingernail to propel a battleship"? Propel it where? And for how long? Which battleship? If that's true, then do we have enough dark energy in our big toe to light that battleship?

85

My letter to Bethel about the flood

by Cornbread in

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.

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.