Doug Mason

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Posts by Doug Mason

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  36

  Where Will Jesus Come When He Comes?

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  according to both christian and jewish eschatology, the messiah will come to jerusalem, where he will deliver the jews from hostile nations "round about.

  "since the jehovah's witnesses and other adventists don't believe his coming will be literally fulfilled, but figuratively fulfilled, they simply believe he will return to the earth, where he will slay the wicked and the righteous will be caught up to meet him in the air.. first we have a christian declaration:.

  and when [jesus] had spoken these things, while [the apostles] beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

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  Doug Mason

  Jesus expected a "son of man" would come with rewards while he was on earth, to his own generation, some of whom would not taste death. He explained to his contemporary disciples how they had to prepare themselves.

  Paul taught that the Coming would take place in his own lifetime - "we who are still alive".

  The Revelator ends the NT with the teaching that the Coming was "soon" - not centuries later.

  In each age, people have calculated that the Coming was imminent.

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

  Doug
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  26

  Jesus as a Ransom for Humans or not

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have not got an answer (theoretical or not) to the above question.. but the main text book (introducing the new testament- its literature and theology - achtemeier, green and thompson) for my study unit (early christian literature and thought) in the assigned reading for today's lecture on the gospel of john, has a section on the ransom.

  it says (p. 237): one of the few passages that explicitly speaks of jesus dying for others is mark 10:45:.

  "for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.. .

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  Doug Mason

  Who wants to live forever? No children? Everyone the same age - forever and ever and ever?

  What will happen when this galaxy collides with its neighbour?

  Is the fear of death the motivation?

  Doug
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  26

  Jesus as a Ransom for Humans or not

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have not got an answer (theoretical or not) to the above question.. but the main text book (introducing the new testament- its literature and theology - achtemeier, green and thompson) for my study unit (early christian literature and thought) in the assigned reading for today's lecture on the gospel of john, has a section on the ransom.

  it says (p. 237): one of the few passages that explicitly speaks of jesus dying for others is mark 10:45:.

  "for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.. .

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  Doug Mason

  If Jesus' death was the "complete ransom", then his resurrection is unnecessary. It adds nothing to something that is complete.

  Doug
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  23

  The New World Translation

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  one of the jws foundational doctrines is their belief in the inerrancy of the bible.

  there are several methods they use to try and support this position including their claim that the bible, as it exists today, is the exact same bible that has been around for thousands of years.

  they teach that gods word has been perfectly preserved.

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  Doug Mason

  Magnum,

  If you access my Study at

  http://www.jwstudies.com/God-breathed_Scriptures.pdf

  you will see that I list several other similar studies I have written.

  I do not want you to necessarily agree with me; I want you to make up your own mind. All I want to do is to inspire people to enjoy the thrill of discovery and make up their own minds.

  Doug
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  23

  The New World Translation

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  one of the jws foundational doctrines is their belief in the inerrancy of the bible.

  there are several methods they use to try and support this position including their claim that the bible, as it exists today, is the exact same bible that has been around for thousands of years.

  they teach that gods word has been perfectly preserved.

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  Doug Mason

  Moses Joe,

  If you believe in God, and that is your perfect right, then continue to do so. This does not mean one has to worship a book.

  Doug
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  11

  "The Cyrus Cylinder"

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i suspect that i am the last one here who has read the book: the cyrus cylinder: the king of persias proclamation from ancient babylon, edited by irving finkel; published by i. b. tauris, 2013; 144 pages.. so i simply wish to record my deep admiration for the book.

  it explains and analyses the cylinders text as well as providing a sympathetic account of the people involved with its ancient and modern history.

  (chapter 1: the babylonian perspective; chapter 2: discovery; chapter 5: a persian perspective.

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  Doug Mason

  I suspect that I am the last one here who has read the book: “The Cyrus Cylinder: The King of Persia’s Proclamation from Ancient Babylon”, edited by Irving Finkel; published by I. B. Tauris, 2013; 144 pages.

  So I simply wish to record my deep admiration for the book. It explains and analyses the Cylinder’s text as well as providing a sympathetic account of the people involved with its ancient and modern history. (Chapter 1: The Babylonian perspective; Chapter 2: Discovery; Chapter 5: a Persian perspective. Chapters 3 and 4 are relevant to the display and presentation by the Museum.)

  The idea that originally there were several versions of Cyrus’s decree, including on conventional flat tablets, could explain why Cyrus’s words recorded by Ezra are different to the words on the cylinder and it lends weight to Lisbeth Fried’s argument that I provide under the heading of “A temple–building inscription” in my Study at http://www.jwstudies.com/They_would_not_listen_Version_1.pdf (pages 110 to 111; PDF pages 118-119).

  Doug
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  23

  The New World Translation

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  one of the jws foundational doctrines is their belief in the inerrancy of the bible.

  there are several methods they use to try and support this position including their claim that the bible, as it exists today, is the exact same bible that has been around for thousands of years.

  they teach that gods word has been perfectly preserved.

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  Doug Mason

  Regarding the use of the book of Enoch, etc., see the list at (document) pages 22 ff of: http://www.jwstudies.com/God-breathed_Scriptures.pdf ("Document" page 22 is "PDF" page 27)

  Doug
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  23

  The New World Translation

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  one of the jws foundational doctrines is their belief in the inerrancy of the bible.

  there are several methods they use to try and support this position including their claim that the bible, as it exists today, is the exact same bible that has been around for thousands of years.

  they teach that gods word has been perfectly preserved.

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  Doug Mason

  In the article on "Inspiration" in the WTS's "Insight" volume 1, they state that the original writings are without error but that this cannot be said of the copies (which of course were cited by the NT writers).

  “Absolute inerrancy is therefore to be attributed to the written Word of God. This is true of the original writings, none of which are known to exist today.” (“Insight on the Scriptures”, Vol. 1, page 1206)

  “The copies of those original writings and the translations made in many languages cannot lay claim to absolute accuracy.” (“Insight”, Vol. 1, page 1206)

  Doug
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  8

  IS THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN (Gasp!) just a literary device to introduce the character of Saul?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  new testament scholars seem pretty unanimous about it: paul's letters (epistles) are the earliest/ first christian writings.. scholars seem in pretty solid agreement the so-called gospels (matthew, mark, luke, john) came later.. i think few would disagree the writings of paul were extraordinarily impactful.. **.

  christians throughout the community of jesus followers were split on what was true and not true.. many did not approve of the teachings of paul (especially when paul told practising jews that the o.t.

  laws were abolished!).

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  Doug Mason

  "Acts of the Apostles" is an artificially structured religious story designed to paper over the chasms between James/Peter (Jerusalem) and Paul (Antioch). Apart from the obvious balance in the structure of Acts between Peter and Paul, there is any number of inconsistencies between Paul's accounts and those in Acts. The most obvious one is Paul's account of his conversion and of his relationship with Jerusleam that he set out in Galatians against the "Damascus Road" story and the "Religious Councils" as described in Acts.

  This book of Acts is one of several that were written at the time.

  Doug
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  2

  The Watchtower on "How Reliable Are the Gospels?"

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there is a watchtower article entitled "how reliable are the gospels?

  " (w08 10/1 pp.

  12-14 ), which states the following:.

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  Doug Mason

  It's pure circular reasoning by the WTS to use the Gospels to prove the Gospels.

  And it's a pure assumption, based solely on the tradition of the Church Fathers whom the WTS says were apostate, to say that each Gospel was written by the name that is attributed to it.

  Doug