Posts by Doug Mason

25

History of Salvations: Israelites and Judahites

by Doug Mason in

my material on the history of judaeo-christian salvations became unwieldy, so i divided it into 3 parts.. i have completely rewritten part 1, dealing with the israelites and judahites.

http://www.jwstudies.com/revolutions_part_1__israelite_judahite_salvations.pdf .

the url links to parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.. i provide the complete bibliography at the end of part 3.. doug.

Doug Mason

Phizzy,

Thank you.

If I am able to make others think, then I am more than satisfied. I do not demand agreement.

I am delighted to know that you are inspired to read sources such as I list. The full details are at the end of Part 3. They contain gems that I have not presented.

Several are available as Kindle versions. I have the free Kindle software on my computer and it does make life a little easier.

I am about to delve into the history of the development of Satan. A question that you or someone might be able to solve for me: I come to the Eve-Snake-Adam-Tree myth as an anti-Asherah polemic. In some depictions of Asherah, she is shown with a snake. Also, in ancient times, snakes were symbols of wisdom and because they shed their skin, some saw them as a symbol of rebirth.

So I can imagine that Snake in the Eden myth satisfied many symbolic meanings for the writers as they tried to discredit Asherah and other religious beliefs. (Did Adam represent Yahweh??)

With that background, I ask the question of myself: If my assumptions are correct, at what point was Snake associated with Satan? Or does that association indicate the role of Satan in their eyes? That is, as a tester working on Yahweh's behalf (like in Job, written about the same time)?

Doug

25

History of Salvations: Israelites and Judahites

by Doug Mason in

my material on the history of judaeo-christian salvations became unwieldy, so i divided it into 3 parts.. i have completely rewritten part 1, dealing with the israelites and judahites.

http://www.jwstudies.com/revolutions_part_1__israelite_judahite_salvations.pdf .

the url links to parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.. i provide the complete bibliography at the end of part 3.. doug.

Doug Mason

Perry,

Offering to help someone is not an attack. I see health problems that i would dearly love to help him address, if he wants to.

Perry, you are fully entitled to your opinions and if they help you cope, then it is essential you maintain them.

Even if the tomb were empty, you will need to build a theoretical hypothesis on that, all the while selecting which of the multitude of explanations to accept. I am very familiar with the "Substitute Death" Theory, but it is not the only one. To me, the NT teaches that salvation depends on allegiance, on obedience, not on mental assent.

Doug

25

History of Salvations: Israelites and Judahites

by Doug Mason in

my material on the history of judaeo-christian salvations became unwieldy, so i divided it into 3 parts.. i have completely rewritten part 1, dealing with the israelites and judahites.

http://www.jwstudies.com/revolutions_part_1__israelite_judahite_salvations.pdf .

the url links to parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.. i provide the complete bibliography at the end of part 3.. doug.

Doug Mason

Jaydee,

It has been pointed out to me that I should acknowledge my forebears and the gene pool I owe my debt to.

Although my religious experiences have only ever been as a Christian, my gene pool is pure Jewish. I have no experience, exposure, or practical knowledge of Judaism, yet I believe it is possible my ancestry plays its part.

I also know that my thinking is greatly aided by the 90 minute walk I undertake each day, and I highly recommend it -- not for weight loss but for physical well-being and for assisting in the mental process.

I created this post in my mind while out walking.

Doug

25

History of Salvations: Israelites and Judahites

by Doug Mason in

my material on the history of judaeo-christian salvations became unwieldy, so i divided it into 3 parts.. i have completely rewritten part 1, dealing with the israelites and judahites.

http://www.jwstudies.com/revolutions_part_1__israelite_judahite_salvations.pdf .

the url links to parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.. i provide the complete bibliography at the end of part 3.. doug.

Doug Mason

Perry,

The person who that wrote 1 Corinthians - Paul - had never seen or heard Jesus. Likewise, the later people responsible for the rest of the NT never saw or heard Jesus. They worked from their imagination. They were not recording literal history as we would know it. They were writing religious tales for a religious purpose.

If I could help that gentleman in that picture, it is this -- in October 2016 I too had a pot belly, weighing in at 110.5 kilos. Within 6 months I had dropped 33 kilos and I have kept it off ever since. If he wants to know the secret, tell him to contact me and I will tell him what worked for me.

If he wants to believe in resurrection, I do not deny him that hope. If that's what works for him, he must keep it. Hope precedes belief, precedes doctrine.

Paul heard voices in his head, saw flashes of light that no one else could, received all of his Gospel from internal voices, claiming that he had communicated with a dead man. Paul's vivid imagination created new meaning for baptism, created the eucharist, discovered the words spoken at the "Last Supper" without receiving it from any human. Later writers followed Paul.

Christianity comes from Paul. Jesus did not write anything.

Doug

25

History of Salvations: Israelites and Judahites

by Doug Mason in

my material on the history of judaeo-christian salvations became unwieldy, so i divided it into 3 parts.. i have completely rewritten part 1, dealing with the israelites and judahites.

http://www.jwstudies.com/revolutions_part_1__israelite_judahite_salvations.pdf .

the url links to parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.. i provide the complete bibliography at the end of part 3.. doug.

Doug Mason

Thank you Jaydee,

I have no distractions and at the age of 77 I need to keep my mind active and be able to use it for as long as possible. So in that, I am purely selfish.

I enjoy and thrill at the discovery of new ideas. Every page contains information I had not known and my mind is refreshed. Selfishness again.

I appreciate the discipline that writing imposes, forcing ideas to forge strong links and to expose loose thinking that should be discarded. And I think that the subject of Salvation is of universal interest.

Having drafted this material, my mind is now turning to a chapter (probably only one chapter?) on the evolution of Satan. I have other chapters sitting on the back burners of my mind, such as on Judaism (they became Jews after returning from the Babylonian captivity) and other chapters on the Rennaisance, the Enlightenment, and on soteriologies in these modern times. I want to write about these because I want to know.

Do I have enough days left?

Doug

25

History of Salvations: Israelites and Judahites

by Doug Mason in

my material on the history of judaeo-christian salvations became unwieldy, so i divided it into 3 parts.. i have completely rewritten part 1, dealing with the israelites and judahites.

http://www.jwstudies.com/revolutions_part_1__israelite_judahite_salvations.pdf .

the url links to parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.. i provide the complete bibliography at the end of part 3.. doug.

Doug Mason

Perry,

I do not cover the death of Jesus (Yeshua/Joshua) in Part 1 as it covers the Israelites and Judahites, However, I do consider the views of the Jews, namely the writings of the first 150 years of the Christian calendar in my Part 2.

I see the questions you raise quite differently: Where did Paul get his ideas? As a member of the Diaspora, what gentile influences caused him to manufacture his models? (Paul is the earliest NT writer we have, apart from maybe Thomas.)

Why should anyone accept Paul's creative imaginings? (Ignoring, of course those writings that have incorrectly been attributed to him.)

No NT writer either saw or heard Jesus. We do not know who wrote the Gospels, so what were their motives?

The Johannine community, for example, wrote some 60 years later. They had been ostracised because of their High Christology.

I suggest that these are the areas of interest -- the creative imaginings.

They were not writing theology. They were writing religious stories. They were not writing literal histories. So ask why they thought like this. Remembering that they were fully convinced that it was all about to end soon with the direct divine intervention of God and the Coming of Jesus in glory. They were writing for their own times.

On top of all that, we need to understand and empathise with the culture of the times, particularly the times they were writing -- apart from Paul, that would be from 70 CE (Mark) to 150 CE (2 Peter).

Doug

25

History of Salvations: Israelites and Judahites

by Doug Mason in

my material on the history of judaeo-christian salvations became unwieldy, so i divided it into 3 parts.. i have completely rewritten part 1, dealing with the israelites and judahites.

http://www.jwstudies.com/revolutions_part_1__israelite_judahite_salvations.pdf .

the url links to parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.. i provide the complete bibliography at the end of part 3.. doug.

Doug Mason

Hi,

My material on the history of Judaeo-Christian salvations became unwieldy, so I divided it into 3 parts.

I have completely rewritten Part 1, dealing with the Israelites and Judahites. It is available at:

http://www.jwstudies.com/Revolutions_Part_1__Israelite_Judahite_Salvations.pdf

The URL links to Parts 2 and 3 are provided on its page 3.

I provide the complete Bibliography at the end of Part 3.

Doug

7

Changing verses in the new RNWT to suit an agenda

by freddo in

it's increasingly obvious to me that part of the reason for the "new" rnwt of 2013 is to increase the authority of the organisation and the gb.

yes, the old one was becoming dated but they have taken opportunities (liberties?

) with translation to increase their control.. an obvious one is micah 6 v 8 where "to cherish loyalty" has replaced "and to love kindness".

Doug Mason

Why should the Watchtower Society not be permitted to change the text to suit its prejudices?

This has been going on ever since the ink started to dry on each original scroll. Most of the OT, for example, results from the biased opinions of the minority monotheists of the 6th century BCE who created religious histories and myths to promote their views against the monolatrist majority.

There is nothing fixed in the material. There is not even one agreed Bible.

The question for the WTS is: "Why do they accept the Protestant Churches' Bible?" There is any number that are different, including the canon of 4th century codices.

Doug

1

The Nomina Sacra

by Doug Mason in

the subject of the nomina sacra is important for new testament research.. in his book, "manuscript, society and belief in early christian egypt", colin h. roberts devotes a complete chapter to the subject:.

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

doug .

Doug Mason

The subject of the Nomina Sacra is important for New Testament research.

In his book, "Manuscript, Society and Belief in Early Christian Egypt", Colin H. Roberts devotes a complete chapter to the subject:

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

Doug

110

References to YHWH in ancient documents

by Doug Mason in

page 15 of awake!

2017 provides an image that shows hebrew writing with the statement: “the personal name of god written in ancient hebrew characters appears abundantly in early manuscripts of the bible”.. alongside that image, the awake!

provides a listing to show “the rendering of ‘god’s name’ in various languages”.. the facts do not support either assertion that the watchtower society makes:.

Doug Mason

Hi Slim,

I have now scanned the chapter on the Nomina Sacra from Robert's book. As I wrote, it would be almost 40 years since I read it, so I could quite easily have a false memory of what he says regarding any relationship with the tetragram.

Because it is such an important subject, I will start another thread where I will make my scan available. I will do this so that it does not get buried in the bowels of this one.

I too have difficulty keeping track of all my books. I find the facility provided by the "Book Collector" database management program from Collectorz.com of great value. It enables me to keep my books in Dewey sequence on the shelves and I can quickly locate them with the catalog printout. It is a subscripotion service - and they do have databases for other collections (music, etc.)

Doug