Posts by Doug Mason

35

Born Twice - Die Once .... Born Once - Die Twice

by Perry in

jesus taught that we must die unto ourselves, and allow the holy spirit to take up residence within us.

some people get saved by simply inviting jesus into their hearts, to be the lord of their life.

this serves as a countering force within the born-again christian to counterbalance the will of the flesh, which is still unsaved in this life and destined for destruction in imitation of our lord himself.. attempting to live the christian life without having this spirit within you is a waste of time at the minimum, and dangerous on the downside.

Doug Mason

Perry,

While you complain about the way that the Watchtower modifies the text of the Bible to suit its own beliefs, this is exactly what the NT writers also did when they referenced their own religious writings. There was no canon of Hebrew Scriptures at the time (hence the many times they cited texts such as 1 Enoch).

When you look at "heresies" (opinions) through the eyes of the Church Fathers, you are reading only their opinions. One person's "orthodoxy" is another person's "heresy".

It is simply an accident of history that the Paulines became the state religion and were thus able to determine that their writings would form Scripture. The bulk of the NT is made up of wriitngs by Paul, by people who pretended to be Paul, and by people who supported Paul. Little survives from the supporters of the Jerusalem Church (such as Matthew and James). Although Peter was a leader at Jerusalem, little is known of him, while 1 Peter and 2 Peter were written by Paulines decades after Peter's death. Likewise, the Gospels were written many decades after the events they describe, and some owe their thoughts to Paul.

Doug

20

WT Article - David Versus Goliath—Did It Really Happen?

by ttdtt in

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-no5-2016-september/david-versus-goliath-real/.

the article ends with this:.

there is no real basis for doubting the truthfulness of this historical account.

Doug Mason

The writers were not recording literal histroy. They were wrapping religious teachings within a story (parables). This is a simple and effective method for teaching people because they were illiterate. Because they relied on oral communication, a story provided the excellent vehicle for memorising the lessons being taught. A prime example of this is the myth of the Exodus. It provided the vehicle for enshrining religious ideas that were contemporary with the time the events were being written (some 600 years after the "Moses event").

Doug

35

Born Twice - Die Once .... Born Once - Die Twice

by Perry in

jesus taught that we must die unto ourselves, and allow the holy spirit to take up residence within us.

some people get saved by simply inviting jesus into their hearts, to be the lord of their life.

this serves as a countering force within the born-again christian to counterbalance the will of the flesh, which is still unsaved in this life and destined for destruction in imitation of our lord himself.. attempting to live the christian life without having this spirit within you is a waste of time at the minimum, and dangerous on the downside.

Doug Mason

Village Idiot,

I see Apostle Paul as that "charismatic leader".

His determination, his arrogance, and his drive created a world-wide movement. Jesus never stepped outside Galilee, except to visit Jerusalem. Jesus was of the country; Paul was a city man.

Doug

35

Born Twice - Die Once .... Born Once - Die Twice

by Perry in

jesus taught that we must die unto ourselves, and allow the holy spirit to take up residence within us.

some people get saved by simply inviting jesus into their hearts, to be the lord of their life.

this serves as a countering force within the born-again christian to counterbalance the will of the flesh, which is still unsaved in this life and destined for destruction in imitation of our lord himself.. attempting to live the christian life without having this spirit within you is a waste of time at the minimum, and dangerous on the downside.

Doug Mason

Hi Cofty,

You ask whether there was a person named "Jesus" (actually "Joshua"/Yeshua).

Perhaps we should ask whether the significance of Jesus is the outcome of the creative imaginings of one person - Apostle Paul. His followers decided which writings were scripture and it is no surprise that his writings dominate, including those gospels which show their allegiance to Paul. Many say that Paul invented Christianity, but I feel that this might be a stretch too far, inasmuch as Paul was persecuting Jews in Damascus who were aligned to the Jewish sect of "Jesus" (Yeshua).

Nevertheless, inasmuch as Paul's writings are the earliest, his inventive ideas on matters such as baptism and the eucharist are fundamental to subsequent Christianity,

The person who provides the significant interpretation of Paul is a Benedictine Monk of the 11th century named Anselm. Now, I could be quite wrong here (not the first or last time), but my understanding is that for Augustine, salvation related to the group. In other words, God was saving Israel as a nation. My understanding is that Anselm turned that idea on its head and said that salvation relates to the individual. Hence his ideas align with subsequent Protestantism. I say this with the caution that my current understanding needs some intense research and thinking.

Doug

35

Born Twice - Die Once .... Born Once - Die Twice

by Perry in

jesus taught that we must die unto ourselves, and allow the holy spirit to take up residence within us.

some people get saved by simply inviting jesus into their hearts, to be the lord of their life.

this serves as a countering force within the born-again christian to counterbalance the will of the flesh, which is still unsaved in this life and destined for destruction in imitation of our lord himself.. attempting to live the christian life without having this spirit within you is a waste of time at the minimum, and dangerous on the downside.

Doug Mason

Rather than reveal what Jesus actually said (he could not write), each Gospel reveals the theology of its writer(s).

Probably the closest to the actual teachings of Jesus comes from the document attributed to James, his brother. Although the NT is a compilation of documents by followers of Paul, they included James because of his direct relationship with Jesus and because James was the Jerusalem leader, having taken over from Peter at a very early stage. James was followed by another of Jesus' relatives, Symeon. Paul, of course was completely at loggerheads with the Jerusalem leadership.

This mystical idea of divine illumination (Christ in you, etc), was picked up by the Gnostics. The Paulines did not include any of the Gnostic writings, thereby providing an unbalanced picture of the primitive church. Acts (of the Apostles) is a religious invention created for political purposes. Several other Acts were written, some have survived.

Doug

2

Define Bible in the Right Way

by Loi_241 in

the christian define properly jesus plus books equal bible.

the bible does not mean law.

the koine greek word biblia means “books”.

Doug Mason

The decision on which writings should be in the NT was made by some men who said they agreed with those writings. They were followers of Paul, so he dominates the NT. However, of the 13 or 14 attributed to Paul, he actually was only responsible for 7 of those writings. Several of the writings fraudulently state that Paul was responsible (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Colossians, Ephesians).

The Protestant soteriology that is assigned to Paul's writings (substitutionary death paid to God, etc.) were generated 1100 years ago by Anselm.

Doug

77

New commentary on revelation coming up?

by EdenOne in

i heard through the grapevine about a forthcoming book:.

together through the great tribulation - come to jehovah's mountain.

still awaiting solid confirmation though.

Doug Mason

The Book of Revelation that squeezed into the New Testament was only one of a number of Apocalypses written at that time. We are aware of perhaps as many as 10 other Apocalypses, and who knows how many others were destroyed by the successful Pauline Christians.

The Watchtower therefore accepts the decision that was made by the 4th century Christian Church, the same Church that accepted the Trinitarian formula, to accept the Revelation of John as Scripture.

The Apoclypse that made it into the NT is the product of the Jewish section of the Christian movement. It anticipated that the Coming was imminent, during their own lifetime. ("I am coming soon").

It has influenced history ever since, with people in every age using it to show that it refers to their own times. Its failure, whether for the people to whom it was originally addressed or to the people in every subsequent time, has not deterred people from repeating the mistake of saying "Coming Soon".

The lesson that history teaches is that people do not learn the lesson that history teaches.

Doug

13

What is Critical Thinking? (Not the distorted view the society teaches)

by stuckinarut2 in

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6olpl5p0fmg.

this great video explains what critical thinking really is, and why it is a skill all humans need to employ in daily life.. the expression had been distorted by the society to something that is negative or wrong, yet that is far from the case.....

Doug Mason

Thank you for pointing to that YouTube video. I am currently putting another Study together and I have been concerned at the response many will have to it, should I complete it and release it.

However, I gained comfort with the thought that there are people prepared to indulge in critical thinking, who are prepared to challenge themselves, so I shall continue working on it.

-------

I find it disappointing to read the Watchtower denigrating "Higher Criticism". But even more so, I find it interesting that people do not understand what the expression means and how it relates to the other forms of Criticism.

The Watchtower does not want people to think. They demand absolute and total loyalty - a totalitarian rue - regardless of what it says, because that is subject to change.

Doug

1

Amended URL for "1919" presentation

by Doug Mason in

as the result of feedback and comments, i made some minor adjustments to the presentation on the watchtower's method for calculating 1919. these adjustments are so minor that i doubt whether most people will notice them.

i guess i am a bit of a pedant.. anyway, the urls for the touched-up files are:.

for the powerpoint show: http://www.jwstudies.com/appointed_in_1919_version_2.ppsx.

Doug Mason

Hi,

As the result of feedback and comments, I made some minor adjustments to the presentation on the Watchtower's method for calculating 1919. These adjustments are so minor that I doubt whether most people will notice them. I guess I am a bit of a pedant.

Anyway, the URLs for the touched-up files are:

For the PowerPoint Show: http://www.jwstudies.com/Appointed_in_1919_version_2.ppsx

For the PDF file: http://www.jwstudies.com/Appointed_in_1919_version_2.pdf

Doug

24

The Watchtower's method to show that it was appointed in 1919 CE

by Doug Mason in

please note that when you tell me of the corrections i need to make that this is a simplfied, minimalist presentation dealing with the society's appointment in 1919.. it is available as a powerpoint show: http://www.jwstudies.com/appointed_in_1919.ppsx .

and as a pdf: http://www.jwstudies.com/appointed_in_1919.pdf.

doug.

Doug Mason

Hi Bohm,

Thinking a bit more on the complexity of my material.

In this latest presentation, I provide no supporting evidence for the statements I make. This makes it simpler. In my Studies, because I come with no academically recognised qualifications, I need to provide support through the material provided by scholars. I always say that I graduated from the University of Life, Faculty of Hard Knocks.

I would also like to add that what I prepare is a distillation from the books that really ARE very deep and technical. So I see myself as introducing people to those resources. I am currently researching the story of Christianity's first 200 years and in doing so I am looking into about 50 books. John Crossan says that if you get two Bible scholars together you finish up with three opinions.

In the end, each person must look deeply into their own positions and adjust these in the light of mature, objective, rational information and reasoning.

Let us agree to disagree, but to not be disagreeable. Discuss ideas so that we sharpen one another's thinking so that both benefit. If that takes deep thinking, then so be it.

Doug