Posts by AlphaOmega

18

To Those Who Put Their Faith In The Bible...

by AGuest in

jw
friends

may you have peace!.

i would like to ask a couple questions of you, if you will accommodate me.

please know that i ask both in all sincerity: i am not trying to inflame, incense or offend.

AlphaOmega

Hi

I have to say that I am only racing through this board tonight... so can't look up those Bible references - so apologies if I either make your point again or trample all over it without meaning to.

Whilst some would say that I put my faith in the "Bible", I would prefer to say that I put my faith in God.

For the particular path that I have chosen, I am guided to the fact that Jesus is THE WAY... The "way" to what ? The "way" to God.

The Bible is simply the a guidebook to the way - for me it is not the way.

That said, I am having mental somersaults at the moment as I don't believe that God restricts himself to only speaking to (and guiding) Christians. That's just not his style. He's bigger than that - and more compassionate than hardliners and fundies perceive.

Okay... as I said, I am just breezing through at the moment. I hope that this post was inline with what you intended.

AO

21

Nvrgnbk is awesome!

by kwintestal in

jw
friends

at the last minute last night i sent him a pm saying i was in town.

he took me to a great bar for a burger, a few beers and amazing conversation.

i really had a great time, nvr!

AlphaOmega

Hi WAC - Good to see you back

Mmmmn Christmas "flavoured" beer...

21

Nvrgnbk is awesome!

by kwintestal in

jw
friends

at the last minute last night i sent him a pm saying i was in town.

he took me to a great bar for a burger, a few beers and amazing conversation.

i really had a great time, nvr!

AlphaOmega

Nice.

This is ANOTHER thing that makes me think that the "pond" between us all is TOO BIG

14

Ex 32 - The Golden Calf: sources, intertexts, ideology

by DeusMauzzim in

first of all: the feeling i have while typing this, the feeling of coming 'home' to jwd after months of study, bears witness to the greatness of this board.

and you are the board, my friends!

and i brought something back from my journey:.

AlphaOmega

Contrary to how some read this passage, I see it that the Golden Calf was crafted to represent God, not to replace him :

(Exodus 32:4)

And he received [the gold] from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This [is] your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"

I see it this way because there were no other Gods that bought them out of Egypt apart from God / YHWH.

So in effect, as they were getting restless about their leader being away for so long and that they had nothing to focus their faith on, in an attempt to hold their faith together until Moses descended from the mountain, Aaron gave them something to focus their faith on AS AN IMAGE OF YHWH.

Not sure how others read this.

...to me, Moses' reaction to the Golden Calf implies that God is in no way to be limited to the perceptions of man. He is in effect saying, "Whatever you perceive me to be, it is wrong - there is no way that you can comprehend me from your limited perspective. If you even try to represent me, you will end up worshipping the representation as it is easier to comprehend than the reality... from then on you will fail to perceive anything of me except that representation"

So... the gist is that the "word" (in the John 1 sense) can never be fully represented by the "image" - so don't try.

Are we on the same lines ?

18

Holy Crap Circles!

by What-A-Coincidence in

jw
friends

.

AlphaOmega

Who knows what they are ? Some are almost beyond belief (almost)... others are just funny ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

4

Michael Porter (UK JW Paedophile) Imprisoned

by AlphaOmega in

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7094591.stm.

porter carried out the assaults between 1986 and 2000 paedophile jailed for 18 months a paedophile who was originally given a community rehabilitation order by a judge has been jailed for 18 months.

michael porter had previously pleaded guilty to 25 cases of indecent assault on a male and committing gross indecency with or towards a child.

AlphaOmega

Published Date: 14 November 2007
Source: Press Association
Location: The Press Association Newsdesk

Appeal court jails paedophile

A paedophile from north London who was spared prison after admitting abusing a string of young boys in Somerset has been given an 18-month jail term after the case was referred to the Court of Appeal. Michael Porter, 38, was controversially handed a three-year community rehabilitation order after pleading guilty to 25 counts of indecent assault and gross indecency on young boys.

He had used his trusted position as a ministerial servant in the Jehovah's Witnesses to prey on vulnerable victims in Clevedon, Somerset, over a 14-year period. One of his victims was an 18-month-old baby.

Judge Tom Crowther opted not to jail the self-confessed paedophile at Bristol Crown Court in August after hearing he had undergone therapy.

The Attorney General's later ruled the sentence was "unduly lenient" and the case was referred to the Court of Appeal, where Porter was jailed for 18 months.

Last Updated: 14 November 2007 5:28 PM

29

A big welcome to Aleman

by 5go in

what brought you to jwd?.

btw are you aware of the huge child abuse settlement the watchtower society just paid out?.

jehovah's witnesses settle abuse cases.

AlphaOmega

Sounds like good advice on the surface, agreed. They asked me to DA myself for doing so. They don't really like Jesus over there.
Jeff

Yes indeed !

I know people that were DF'd for similar !

You can talk about Jesus as long as you talk about the Watchtower's teachings more !!!

29

A big welcome to Aleman

by 5go in

what brought you to jwd?.

btw are you aware of the huge child abuse settlement the watchtower society just paid out?.

jehovah's witnesses settle abuse cases.

AlphaOmega

People are sinners, this everyone knows, more now than before. However just because of the acts of one person doesn't condem everyone who is in the org. It's like saying that all blonds are dumb, not true. This act was really bad and they did what they had to do. Case close. But I guess you can't let it go because of past issues you may have with them that make you who you are, Antichrist. If you read the bible you will notice that Jehovah wants the best for us. Return to the truth and allow the light shine on you like it has on me. Follow Jehovah and his son King Jesus, not the sinnful people that are in the congragation or WTBS. Just Jehovah.

We are in no way tarring all JWs with the paedophile brush... whilst the individual blame does lie with those who carried out these acts, there is another blame placed at the feet of the poilcy makers on the Governing Body.

The policy protected the Watchtower organisation from bad publicity, and at the same time prevented the protection of future victims.

Not sure if you have looked into the policy or even watched the news about it, but it isn't simply a case of "let bygones be bygones" - the repercusions are still with us, and will be with the victims for evermore !

Return to the truth and allow the light shine on you like it has on me.

It shines on ALL of us, believer and unbeliever alike.

Matthew (5:43)
You have heard people say, "Love your neighbors and hate your enemies."
(5:44)
But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you.

(5:45)
Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong.

(5:46)
If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love their friends.

(5:47)
If you greet only your friends, what's so great about that? Don't even unbelievers do that?

(5:48)
But you must always act like your Father in heaven.

...and yes, all are welcome here - so WELCOME ABOARD.

4

Michael Porter (UK JW Paedophile) Imprisoned

by AlphaOmega in

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7094591.stm.

porter carried out the assaults between 1986 and 2000 paedophile jailed for 18 months a paedophile who was originally given a community rehabilitation order by a judge has been jailed for 18 months.

michael porter had previously pleaded guilty to 25 cases of indecent assault on a male and committing gross indecency with or towards a child.

AlphaOmega

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7094591.stm

Porter carried out the assaults between 1986 and 2000 Paedophile jailed for 18 months

A paedophile who was originally given a Community Rehabilitation Order by a judge has been jailed for 18 months.

Michael Porter had previously pleaded guilty to 25 cases of indecent assault on a male and committing gross indecency with or towards a child.

Porter, 38, of Okehampton Close, north London, had his case examined after the Attorney General referred it under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.

Baroness Scotland said it was right to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.

She added: "I referred the sentence given to Michael Porter to the Court of Appeal because I considered that the sentence did not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offences, the offender's culpability, the harm caused to the victims and the need to deter others and protect the public."

He did the crime and now he's paying for it alt

Tina Hughes, Porter's sister

Porter was originally sentenced in August by Bristol Crown Court to a Community Rehabilitation Order for a period of three years with a requirement that he attend a sex offender programme.

He was also banned from working with anyone under the age of 18 and put on the Sex Offenders Register.

The judge opted not to jail Porter after hearing he had undergone therapy and was a changed man.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokeswoman said she was pleased the sentence had been reconsidered and that a custodial sentence was justified.

When Porter was originally sentenced, his sister Tina Hughes said she was "disgusted" with the decision.

She said: "The fact that he's my brother, it saddens me. But he did the crime and now he's paying for it. I'm really pleased.

"He needed to be punished."

Porter carried out the assaults between 1986 and 2000 in the Clevedon area of North Somerset.

10

WOW!! Hi-def television from the moon!

by Leolaia in

click on the image to get the hi-def full resolution.

this is really cool....the kaguya/selene spacecraft is beaming back hi-def video of the moon's surface, which you can watch (alas, in a resized form) on the web.

this earthset is truly grand, don't you think?.

AlphaOmega

Thanks Leolaia.

Hi Ninge... I was expecting you on this thread any moment