Yes, that's why the Incense Trail existed, which traversed the Arabian Peninsula and ran along the Red Sea to Jerusalem. This trail had watering holes at regular intervals, and these were owned by tribes that also provided protection. Incense also found its way to Greece and Rome. Incense masked the blood and stable smells.
Cold Steel
JoinedPosts by Cold Steel
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question from readers: with all the animal sacrifices, wouldnt the temple smell worse than a stockyard?
by nowwhat? inwith all the cattle, sheep and others wouldn't they be shitting and peeing all over the place?
along with the gallons and gallons of blood being drained and then the flesh being burned as well.
wouldn't the stench be unbearable?.
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The JW governing body are all overweight, creepy looking little men
by jambon1 inhaving seen a few of these tv productions and some youtube clips of their assembly parts, how can jehovah's witnesses really take these silly little men seriously?.
you take one look at them; their overweight, fat little bodies.
their entirely shabby, overhanging suits.
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Cold Steel
Diogenesister » My husband told me there is one supposed description of Jesus that (contrary to Watchtower's George Clooney looking Jesus types) has him as a four foot something hunchback....I will ask him where this description is found, unless you guys know?
I'm certain he didn't look like George Clooney, but he had to have some appeal, some charisma, to gain the followers he had. Isaiah said he hath "no form or comliness" that we, the Jews, "would desire him."
He was a laborer, working with wood and stone. The New Testament says he was in the "express image of the Father," so I doubt he would be a 4-foot hunchback. If one accepts that he was born of a virgin and that his Father was God, and that he was represented in the Old Testament by a lamb without blemish, I imagine he did not have the frailties we do. Being half divine, his enemies had no power to kill him; however, he was able to offer himself as a sacrifice for sin.
As far as I know, there's no description of what he looked like. But I think when we see him, we'll know him. People who have had near death experiences have seldom described him, but they knew him when they saw him. How much credability you put in those things is a personal matter, though.
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Still Contaminated After All These Years
by new boy inthe contaminantion of years of being a jehovah witness.. it's interesting to see in myself and in many others here how no matter how much we want it or wish it, we will never be able to erase all of the mental contamination.
in one way or another it will always be a part of us.. i've had many friends that have been out for many years say "well i can't do that it just wouldn't be right.
" yes they are still judging themselves and others.
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The ends of empires
by Half banana ini’ve been reading up on the last days of the roman empire.
the rule became a tetrarchy; by four regional emperors or caesars.
the emperors had these necessary concerns; they always gave first consideration to the security of their own positions followed by the annual extraction of taxes and their territorial authority.
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Cold Steel
Rome had its great leaders, its half-assed leaders and its degenerate leaders. Augustus, despite the fact that he killed Cicero (when he really didn't need to, an act he later deeply regretted), was the father of the Empire. He gave the Empire stability, prosperity and sanity. His two successors, Tiberius and Caligula, destroyed that. They also popularized the worship of emperors.
I've never thought of Russell as the main bad guy in the Society. I see him as misguided, but sincere. It's Rutherford who I've always seen as the real scoundrel of the organization.
Initially the anointed class was the faithful and discreet slave. Anyone should have predicted that wouldn't last, as power tends to consolidate downward, not upward. The Society's legitimacy also has never been established. All the authority has been assumed and has never even been addressed in any of its publications. When Jesus began his ministry, the first thing the Jews wanted to know is where he got his authority. He called and ordained his apostles and established a chain of command. His lineage was such that had the Davidic dynasty continued, he would have been the rightful king.
But the Society has never shown anyone its birth certificate. Where did it come from? What part did God play in its formation. From whence were it's leaders ordained and how did they receive the keys of the kingdom to bind and release in Heaven and on Earth? It's not a matter of anyone disagreeing with it; it's a matter of the organization never bothering to make a case because, as far as I know, no one has ever had even the slightest contact or communication with God within the Society. We're being offered a car without registration, a house without a deed, and the interesting thing is, no one has even asked for one.
As a republic, Rome created one of the most astounding governments of all time. But all republics eventually fall into despotism and become burdens to the people. The power the Society exerts over its people is astounding, and it's devised a system of controlling it's people that is brilliant and effective. But it can't survive a loss in credibility. That's what I see is the greatest threat to it in the coming decade.
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Is the Dubbers cult going to more digital than printed?
by dogon ini know they have slave labor free but it costs a lot to print, ship ect and then you have waste.
digital would cut costs.
i was thinking about this because my wife visited her mother an father who are still cult members.
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Cold Steel
Speaking as a nonmember, I can say that if read a Watchtower in print, but would be less inclined to read it online (unless I was looking for something specific). And the religion is a publishing company, and it's supposed to reach people like me. It could get out of publishing, but how would they reach the people they preach to?
As a Mormon, we'll never stop printing the Book of Mormon, despite it being online. We have cut back on the number of pamplets we publish, though.
The WTBTS uses cheap paper, it prints in color and it sells its products. Why change? You have to have something to hand the potential convert, so I predict printed products for people like me and online materials for people like you.
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New member
by NinaCee ini did not see a newbs thread to introduce myself, so my apologies if i'm in the wrong place.
i was a 3rd generation born in witness for 30 years until i was disfellowshipped back in 2007 for making a mistake.
my entire life up until that point was based on and circled around the society, and even though at first i really enjoyed my freedom (i still do), the fact is that i'm still struggling with cognitive dissonance, resentment, and loneliness.. i miss my family all the time.
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Cold Steel
NeverEndingJourney » Not everyone who voted for Trump is a racist, but everyone who voted for Trump decided racism wasn't a dealbreaker, and that's horrifying.
With all due respect, you're delusional. We voted for Trump because of the sanctity of the Constitution, and because of the gross evil of Mrs. Clinton. Obama never showed us a legitimate birth certificate. No one knows who he is, where he was born, where he went to school overseas. All his records were sealed and his father and mother were communists. But Hillary was the real real reason Trump was elected. She's creepy, corrupt, can't tell the truth and is involved with witchcraft and pedophilia (and you'll be getting more about this soon).
Racism had nothing to do with it. I was for Ben Carson and Herman Cain before I was for Trump.
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New member
by NinaCee ini did not see a newbs thread to introduce myself, so my apologies if i'm in the wrong place.
i was a 3rd generation born in witness for 30 years until i was disfellowshipped back in 2007 for making a mistake.
my entire life up until that point was based on and circled around the society, and even though at first i really enjoyed my freedom (i still do), the fact is that i'm still struggling with cognitive dissonance, resentment, and loneliness.. i miss my family all the time.
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Cold Steel
NinaCee » Nowadays I feel like an orphan. I feel awful for saying that because I do have a teenage son who is still close to me (for now), and my husband and his family are great even though they are tRump supporters (that is another subject altogether). But something is still missing. I don't even feel like I can have a personal connection with god because if Jehovah wants "his people" to behave the way they do, then I don't want to know or love Jehovah. In fact, I think he's a bit of an asshole. I'm sorry if that is offensive to some of you.
Don't assume the Jehovah's Witnesses are God's people. If so, when, and how did he choose them? It's not fair to judge God by the Society. I watched one of their videos about King Hezekiah and the Assyrians. The acting was so horrible that I was embarrassed for the actors. It was "Jehovah this" and "Jehovah that"...no one in those days would dare bandy the holy name like that -- it was pure fabrication having ancient characters talk like Jehovah's Witnesses seven hundred years B.C. Since no one in the Society has ever heard from God, it's all speculation on the part of the Governing Body as to whether they represent Him. So please don't judge God by how the JWs interpret Him.
It makes Jehovah sad.
BTW, I was for Trump too. Woo-woo!
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The JW governing body are all overweight, creepy looking little men
by jambon1 inhaving seen a few of these tv productions and some youtube clips of their assembly parts, how can jehovah's witnesses really take these silly little men seriously?.
you take one look at them; their overweight, fat little bodies.
their entirely shabby, overhanging suits.
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Cold Steel
Jambon1 » You take one look at them; their overweight, fat little bodies. Their entirely shabby, overhanging suits. Their weird obsessive manner of speaking about life which is so far removed from reality it's actually scary. Their psychotic, over exaggerated facial expressions. All of that, topped by what seems to me to be classic small penis syndrome - throwing their authority around as if it actually means shit to anybody other than the rank and file JW's.
Well, their weakness is in their admission that they're not inspired, nor are their spiritual insights infallible. But if these weird little men actually were chosen and ordained of God, would they look any different? What would you think of an aging apostle Peter, for example? A fisherman? Or the apostle Paul, a zealous Jew turned Christian? We probably would be disillusioned a bit, no?
The Governing Body speaks with authority, but they have none. Unlike the apostles, they receive no direction from Heaven. They've never had visions, never heard from God in any way, shape or form. Yet most JWs almost fall down in their presence.
I've seen them speak and they act as if it's from Jehovah's mouth to their ears.
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Noah a Preacher of Righteousness?
by Spoletta induring the watchtower study today, i browsed genesis and looked for evidence of noah ever preaching to anyone.
from what i could glean from the scriptures, it was a foregone conclusion that noah's family would be it on the ark.
(unless they towed some rafts behind) my wife says that building the ark could be considered a witness of his faith to the wicked world, but that seems kind of lame to me.. so, should i just assume that god decided not to give anyone else a chance for redemption?
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Cold Steel
FullTimeStudent » Of course, Noah could've paid others to source the timber, but that adds another dimension to the conundrum. Where did Noah get the funds for purchasing the timber (a voluntary contribution box maybe-haha). Who was Noah anyway? He just appears in the account. Was he a sort of local ruler? Did he have slaves to do his bidding? If he did, why are none of them 'saved.' (In the slave owning households of early Christianity, many slave became believers and are described as being saved).
It took forty years to construct the ark and no account of how it was done is given. We don't even know what it looked like. The Book of Jasher tells how, when it was finished, wild animals surrounded it and kept people from breaking into it when the rains came and the water began rising.
How did Noah light the inside of the ark when the doors were shut? It doesn't say, though it's safe to say it wasn't by fire. There are ancient traditions that he used stones blessed by the Lord. During the day they would burn brightly and at night the light would be diminished. The ark also likely had a hole in the top for fresh air and for observation, and one at the bottom. By sealing the hole at the top, they could open the one on the bottom and dispose of waste.
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Noah a Preacher of Righteousness?
by Spoletta induring the watchtower study today, i browsed genesis and looked for evidence of noah ever preaching to anyone.
from what i could glean from the scriptures, it was a foregone conclusion that noah's family would be it on the ark.
(unless they towed some rafts behind) my wife says that building the ark could be considered a witness of his faith to the wicked world, but that seems kind of lame to me.. so, should i just assume that god decided not to give anyone else a chance for redemption?
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Cold Steel
Giordano » Doesn't god have knowledge of the future? Wouldn't he know that wickedness would resume immediately? And finally it was all right with Jehovah to drown the unborn? Really!!
The answer is yes, God does have a knowledge of the future. And though wickedness resumed on the earth, it was not the same manner of wickedness that existed before the flood. Two, you view death as the punishment meted out by God when it was merely the means of removing them from the earth. All people, all animals, when they die, don't cease to exist, but continue on as spirits.
Peter, writing of Jesus' death, writes that as his body lay in the tomb, his spirit went into the realm of the spirits and preached to these miscreants. "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (1 Peter 3:18-20) A few verses later, he continues, "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Peter 4:6)
If one wishes to debate whether the flood took place or was just a myth, that's one thing. But a just God does not punish the innocent for the sins of the fathers. The infants, the animals and others were simply removed from the earth. They weren't denied resurrection, nor did they cease to exist. And I wonder how Christ could have preached the gospel to the dead if the dead were asleep in the grave?