Posts by Doug Mason

I agree with you. Isaiah 43:10 was written at the time of the Babylonian Captivity, and the people were being told that they had witnessed YHWH yet they had failed him.

Because they had done so despite having witnessed him, the nation was being punished and indeed it was YHWH's intention to destroy them (Isa 43:28 -- read the whole context).

Doug

1

need an update on end of the world date

by cptkirk in

think we had september 2011, then it was dec 21, 2011....i'm trying to get ahead of the game here....so what is the next date after dec 2011?

dec 2012?

the masonic capstone at the denver airport says we should open it in the year 2094...wow you better go tell them to open it sooner..

If you search the www, you should be able to find when the sun is expected to burn up and explode, engulfing this world in the process. I don't remember the figure, but it would be in the billions of years, I expect.

Enjoy this life and before you leave, know that you have made a positive contribution.

Doug

69

How did Jesus and his apostles make money?

by sabastious in

jesus and his apostles were once found eating other people's wheat yield.

however the law in question was reported to be the sabbath; so it must not have been considered stealing?.

regardless, how did they earn money?

Doug Mason

“Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” (Luke 8:2-3, NIV)

5

A little help please - Question regarding the first Canon

by Joey Jo-Jo in

i am confused, so was it constantine who created the first canon or was it athanasius throught constantine, or was it just athanasius before constantine?.

Doug Mason

Joey Jo-Jo.

I recommend three books that provide excellent descriptions of the events of those first four centuries. I presume you will be able to read details online about these books:

“JESUS WARS: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1500 Years” by Philip Jenkins (The Fifth-Century Political Battles That Forever Changed What the Church Teaches About the Son of God.)

“AD 381: HERETICS, PAGANS AND THE CHRISTIAN STATE” by Charles Freeman. ( In AD 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, issued a decree in which all of his subjects were required to subscribe to a belief in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This edict defined Christian orthodoxy and brought to an end a lively and wide ranging debate about the nature of the Godhead; all other interpretations were now declared heretical. Moreover, for the first time in a thousand years of Greco-Roman civilisation, free thought was unambiguously suppressed.)

“A NEW HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY” by Charles Freeman. ( Freeman shows that there was a host of competing Christianities, many of which had as much claim to authenticity as those that eventually dominated. The imposition of ‘correct belief and an institutional framework that enforced orthodoxy were both consolidating and stifling. Uncovering the church’s relationships with Judaism, Gnosticism, Greek philosophy and Greco-Roman society, Freeman offers dramatic new accounts of Paul, the resurrection, and the church fathers and emperors.)

Doug

6

A view of Philippians 2:6-11

by Doug Mason in

the christ hymn in philippians 2:6-11.

(the authentic letters of paul, arthur j. dewey and others, pages 194 -196).

several of the terms used in verses 6 to 8 echo the terminology found in the story of the creation and fall of adam in genesis 1 and 3 in the greek translation of the hebrew bible (the septuagint) that paul and all of the authors of the writings that comprise the new testament knew and used.

Doug Mason

The “Christ Hymn” in Philippians 2:6-11

(“The Authentic Letters of Paul”, Arthur J. Dewey and others, pages 194 -196)

Several of the terms used in verses 6 to 8 echo the terminology found in the story of the creation and fall of Adam in Genesis 1 and 3 in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint) that Paul and all of the authors of the writings that comprise the New Testament knew and used. Adam is said to have been created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26-27); and he succumbs to the "Serpent's" seductive suggestion that, if he asserted himself, he would become equal to God (Gen 3:5). The similarity of the language in Phil 2:6-8 to the language in these Genesis passages points to another way of reading the "Christ Hymn:" as contrasting the First and Second Adam—a contrast Paul explicitly draws in Rom 5:12-14, and in 1 Cor 15:21-23,45-50. The contrast between the First and Second Adam reflected in the "Christ Hymn" can be charted in this way:

First Adam

bearing the image of God

he regarded being like God

as something to use for his own advantage

with vain pretention he asserted himself

and rejected his lot as a servant

he exalted himself

his disobedience led to his death

he was condemned by God

and cast out of paradise

Second Adam

bearing the image of God

he did not regard being like God

as something to use for his own advantage

he rid himself of vain pretentions

and accepted his lot as a servant

he humbled himself

he was obedient to the death even death by crucifixion

he was exalted by God

and named lord of all

The meaning of this passage is also related to its structure. ... A more recent structural analysis sees the "hymn" as organized in four strophes. ... This analysis of the "hymn's" structure is consistent with the view that the hymn intends to contrast the First and Second Adams. The First Adam ... mishandled his status as a creature and blundered into self-exaltation that resulted in his self-destruction. The Second Adam rightly handled his status as a creature and was approved by God as a model of how a human being should conduct himself, and was exalted as the prototype and lord of a recreated human race. ... The structure of the passage together with its idiomatic, allusive, and celebrative (not literal) language indicate that its author did not intend to speak about the descent and ascent of a divine being, but about the exemplary earthly life of Jesus as a human being. God endorsed that exemplary life by raising Jesus on high as the Second Adam, who represents the remedy for the failure of the First Adam.

20

"Ancient Whale Bones Found Atacama Desert, Chile!" Creation or Evolution

by AvocadoJake in

how did those whale bones get into the atacama desert, if you have been there, it is a barren wasteland.

i belive it might have been caused by the flood, but again i am one who belives in god.

what do you think of this find, jesus or non-intelligence?

Doug Mason

I am absolutely amazed that there is someone who believes the Creation myths are literal. Do they think the stories were written by people who saw what was happening?

These two Creation stories were written about the time of the neo-Babylonian Captivity for the religious objectives of the writers. Genesis 2:4b - 25 was written first, and exhibits distinct inconsistencies with the later story, which ends at ch 2:4a.

Doug

4

The WT's starting date of the Seventy Years

by Doug Mason in

the wt starts its seventy years with the moment that jews entered egypt following the murder of governor gedaliah.

the wt guesses that the destruction and the murder of gedaliah took place in the same year.

however, the events listed in the bible as taking place from the time of the city's destruction until the entry in egypt require far more than two months.

Doug Mason

ScenicViewer,

Have a look at the Italian site; there is at least one English passage that is directly cited.

I touch on the subject (in English) at pages 22 to 24 of my study at:

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

The problem is for the WTS to PROVE that the Jews exited Judah in the same year when Jerusalem was destroyed. There is no agreement on the time from the destruction to the entry into Egypt. For example, the Jewish Encyclopedia acknowledges the range of views, from two months (tradition only) to 4 years:

"The rule of Gedaliah lasted, according to tradition, only two months, although Grätz argues that it continued more than four years." http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6548-gedallah

The WT cannot prove the year when the Jews entered Egypt and they cannot PROVE the year that the first exiles returned to the site of the destroyed temple at Jerusalem. They cannot prove that it happened in 537; because there is no positive evidence, there is a wide range of views, as can be seen by Googling:

jews return 538

jews return 536

jews return 535

Doug

4

The WT's starting date of the Seventy Years

by Doug Mason in

the wt starts its seventy years with the moment that jews entered egypt following the murder of governor gedaliah.

the wt guesses that the destruction and the murder of gedaliah took place in the same year.

however, the events listed in the bible as taking place from the time of the city's destruction until the entry in egypt require far more than two months.

Doug Mason

The WT starts its Seventy Years with the moment that Jews entered Egypt following the murder of Governor Gedaliah. The WT guesses that the destruction and the murder of Gedaliah took place in the same year. However, the events listed in the Bible as taking place from the time of the city's destruction until the entry in Egypt require far more than two months. The period from the destruction to the entry into Egypt was likely 2, 3 or even 4 years long.

A discussion in Italian on the subject can be seen at:

http://www.infotdgeova.it/storia/quando70.php

The PDF file is available at:

http://www.infotdgeova.it/downloads/70anni.pdf

Doug