Posts by Doug Mason

62

Other Religions use the Name JEHOVAH too

by UnDisfellowshipped in

are jehovah's witnesses really the only religion that promotes and preaches the name of jehovah?.

jw's are always claiming that they are the only religion that preaches and uses the name jehovah, and that is why only they will be saved.

for example, look at this quote from the watchtower:.

Doug Mason

The name "Jehovah" appears many times in Verdi's Opera "Nabucco".

As for Jesus' Hebrew name of Yeshua, it should more properly be rendered as Joshua. Actually it could have been Yeshua ben Yosef since he was the "son of Joseph".

Doug

90

10 good reasons why celebrating birthdays should be allowed

by bluecanary in

i cannot take credit for any of the gems below but i did want to polish and organize them.

much of the information was borrowed from this thread.

if you can come up with any more, please post them.. the bible does not ban birthdays.

Jesus' reputed words to the Pharisees at Matthew 23 come to mind, especially verses 13 and 24. I have never been a JW, but I can imagine a pain being felt by some, especially children, who feel being deprived of the pleasure of the parties and games, of the surprises and the fellowship that the celebrations bring. The Jews are very conscious of a person's age when they celebrate the Bar Mitzvah.

I can think of 99 reasons for celebrating a birthday - because she is my dear Mum. It was worth tavelling thousands of kilometres a couple of weeks ago to be with her to help her celebrate that great achievement.

Doug

62

Other Religions use the Name JEHOVAH too

by UnDisfellowshipped in

are jehovah's witnesses really the only religion that promotes and preaches the name of jehovah?.

jw's are always claiming that they are the only religion that preaches and uses the name jehovah, and that is why only they will be saved.

for example, look at this quote from the watchtower:.

Doug Mason

Different priestly groups were responsible for composing different parts that now make up the Hebrew Scriptures. One group used the name YHWH while other groups did not, and called him EL.

This means that there are parts of Scripture - for example the very first chapter - that come from the group that did not use the name YHWH, and there are other parts which are written by people who did think YHWH was the right thing to do. So much for the WTS's high-handed self-praise.

The people who used YHWH took some ideas from EL, such as giving YHWH a wife, and worshiping her as well. They all took ideas from their neighbours; perhaps the first monotheists were the Zoroastrians of Persia, maybe the origins for Abraham.

You will find interesting historical insights at: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/165791/1/YHWH-a-minor-pagan-god-Ugaritic-Texts-and-the-Sons-of-El

Doug

4

Flesh with its soul its blood YOU must not eat

by Doug Mason in

flesh with its soul its blood you must not eat (genesis 9:4, nwt).. .

these words are part of gods covenant with noah, which runs from genesis 9:1-17.. .

no doubt, when you have read this passage, you wondered why god (el) made this covenant, and not yhwh (yahweh / jehovah).. .

Doug Mason

Hi Joseph,

I am saying that when the word "blood" is used in Scripture it refers to "death" and usually a violent one. This includes the references of "blood" to Jesus Christ -- they relate to his death, not to his life. When a Christian partakes of the wine, it is in reference to his death, when his blood was spilt on behalf of all.

The discussion at Acts 15 related to the Jewish focus at Jerusalem as against the Gentile focus at Antioch, and the decision by James was an attempt to resolve the tension by telling each group to recognise and respect the traditions of the other group.

I am not arguing whether blood was permitted to be drunk or not. That is irrelevant to the medical procedure; if doctors were able to administer blood orally, they would prefer to use that method. But transfusion is, as the name says, a transfer fusion, a transplant of material. The medical process is totally unrelated to the Biblcal meaning of "blood". That is my focus.

One reference on the Biblical meaning of "blood" that I am able to provide is available at:

http://www.jwstudies.com/The_Meaning_of__Blood_.pdf

Doug

PS. I think you will find that Paul died in 64 CE, so any writings after that would be falsely attributed to him.

Chapter 7 of "What Does the Bible Really Teach"

by Doug Mason in

my analysis of chapter 7 of the book, what does the bible really teach is available at:.

http://www.jwstudies.com/bible_teach__chapter_7.pdf .

i produced it for personal study, so its not exhaustive, but when you find things i should have noticed, please let me know.. .

Doug Mason

My analysis of Chapter 7 of the book, “What Does the Bible Really Teach” is available at:

http://www.jwstudies.com/Bible_Teach__chapter_7.pdf

I will appreciate any corrections.

I produced it for personal study, so it’s not exhaustive, but when you find things I should have noticed, please let me know.

Thanks,

Doug

4

Hidden prophesy/code in Geneologies

by EndofMysteries in

this is something all of you on your own can very easily do and see with your own eyes.

i personally heard of those getting codes or looking for secret stuff mixing or like crossword puzzles etc, in which just by default can come up with things.

all hebrew names have a meaning.

Doug Mason

EOM,

You are using the verb "prophesy" when you should be using the noun "prophecy". If you are looking for "secret meanings", maybe you should first brush up on the plain, obvious and simple meaning of English words.

If there were messages in their created genealogies, these were plainly understood by their immediate intended audience, mostly to prove a claimed legitimacy to their own generation.

Each writer was directly addressing their own immediate community, with the intent of effecting immediate change in behaviour and attitude. A kind of propaganda, if you wish. But they were not writing to us, they were not even conscious of us. They were not giving us a hidden message.

History provides you with a plain and clear message: at every stage through the ages, some people have thought they could detect messages addressed to their times and they used calculations from the Bible that just happened to conclude in their own era. And you know what the plain message of history gives us? They have a track record of zero, zilch. Every one of them has been wrong. And when people don't heed that plain and clear message provided by history, they will, in great frenzy, repeat the errors of the past.

Doug

7

Bible chronology revealed

by wantingtruth in

the "bible chronology revealed" referes in fact to the chronology of the "latter days".

see the posts from no 25 onward ... .

wantingtruth.

Doug Mason

Try this book: "A History of the End of the World" by Jonathan Kirsch.

4

Flesh with its soul its blood YOU must not eat

by Doug Mason in

flesh with its soul its blood you must not eat (genesis 9:4, nwt).. .

these words are part of gods covenant with noah, which runs from genesis 9:1-17.. .

no doubt, when you have read this passage, you wondered why god (el) made this covenant, and not yhwh (yahweh / jehovah).. .

Doug Mason

“Flesh with its soul – its blood – YOU must not eat” (Genesis 9:4, NWT).

These words are part of God’s covenant with Noah, which runs from Genesis 9:1-17.

No doubt, when you have read this passage, you wondered why “God” (EL) made this covenant, and not “YHWH” (Yahweh / “Jehovah”).

The priest(s) who wrote YHWH produced the passages that are known today as “J”. But the priest(s) who wrote the covenant to Noah produced scrolls that are today known as “P”.

P lived about the time of the destruction of Israel, at the time of Judah’s king Hezekiah. If you want to know more about P, I have uploaded some pages to:

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=eff7c7b597f92b3dba51412744c0b9ef

(Wait about 25 seconds for the “download” button to appear).

When P wrote that meat must not be eaten while it still contained blood, the sacrificing of animals at a prescribed sacred site was integral to using the flesh as food. The temple thus performed the role of slaughter yard and butcher’s shop, with some meat going to the priests and the blood could only be used for temple purposes.

P’s prohibition on consuming blood while it was still in the flesh of a slain beast must be seen in that context.

“ The function of sacrifice is one of the most misunderstood matters in the Bible. Modern readers often take it to mean the unnecessary taking of animal life, or they believe that the person who offered the sacrifice was giving up something of his or her own in order to compensate for some sin or perhaps to win God's favor.

“ In the biblical world, however, the most common type of sacrifice was for meals. The apparent rationale was that if humans wanted to eat meat they had to recognize that they were taking life. They could not regard this as an ordinary act of daily secular life. It was a sacred act, to be performed in a prescribed manner, by an appointed person (a priest), at an altar. A portion of the sacrifice (a tithe) was given to the priest. This applied to all meat meals (but not fish or fowl).

“ The centralization of religion meant that if you wanted to eat lamb you could not sacrifice your sheep at home or at a local sanctuary. You had to bring the sheep to the priest at the Temple altar in Jerusalem. This also would mean a sizable gathering of Levite priests at Jerusalem, which was now [under the reforms of King Hezekiah] the only sanctioned location where they could conduct the sacrifices and receive their tithes. It also meant considerable distinction and power for the High Priest in Jerusalem and for the priestly family from which he came. ” (Who Wrote the Bible? Friedman, pages 91 – 12)

This is part of Scripture’s consistent message that the word “blood” means “death”. (In a medical procedure, “blood” never symbolises the death of its previous owner. And the donor’s flesh is not eaten.)

Doug

19

The Cross

by elder-schmelder in

is there some watchtower quotes, that they admit that they dont know for sure if jesus was on a cross or a stake?.

.

Doug Mason

Didn't you know that at that time all of Jesus' disciples ran as far away as they could from Jesus, so they had no idea what happened when the Romans killed him (and most likely buried him) or what was said by all of the participants? (Who knows what Pilate's wife told her husband when she woke up from her sleep?)

Didn't you know that the stories (they are "gospels" not historical reports) of Mark, Matthew and Luke provide contradictory statements?

Or that the stories supposedly describing the events were all written after Paul died?

Doug

18

Jesus is Not Michael

by JosephMalik in

you all know that i argued this the other way and could not get good answers to daniel chapter 12. but if you see michael as performing a function much like john the baptist did and how the jews believed that elijah must come first then michael's function of standing in advance of the return of our lord for a short time prior to the resurrection of the dead makes perfect sense.

and it also gives a slightly different meaning to the words: " and what shall be the sign of thy coming, (events that take place after the standing up of michael) and of the end of the world?

" (christs return or presence.

Doug Mason

If you think this is all a "yawn", I suggest you read "Jesus for the Non-Religious" by John Shelby Spong.

Have you read this, Joseph? or its precedent, "Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes"?

Here's one chapter, as a teaser:

http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=06bf15d98dd43d36491ce3512bdc210a

Wait 20 seconds for the "Download" button to appear.

Doug