since i was born into the wts, i suffered from a lot a brainwashing before i could even read.
i had a lot of preconceived ideas before i started to read the bible.
i assumed that it was consistent, so when i came across apparent contradictions, i assumed there were reasonable explanations and even tried to make them up.
Probably John 19:14 where we learn that Jesus was killed on the day of preparation for Passover, Nisan 13 instead of Nisan 14 like the other gospels claim. I think this is huge because it contradicts the one holiday that JW's celebrate. I'm planning on making this the subject of a separate post.
I think this can be easily explained by just saying the Nissan 14 WAS the preparation day.
since i was born into the wts, i suffered from a lot a brainwashing before i could even read.
i had a lot of preconceived ideas before i started to read the bible.
i assumed that it was consistent, so when i came across apparent contradictions, i assumed there were reasonable explanations and even tried to make them up.
I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to come up with any consistent theology from the Bible.
You make a great point. For so long I was struggling to find the
"correct" interpretation of the Bible's comments on things like
Hellfire, the trinity, the soul, etc, and no matter WHAT theological
position you end up taking, there are ALLWAYS awkward scriptures
that you end up having to wiggle out of sideways.
It never occurred to me that maybe the Bible was presenting me with
conflicting world views. That maybe the Bible talks about monotheism
AND the divinity of christ. That in one verse a writer thinks the
soul dies, and in another a different writer thinks the soul goes to heaven.
You can use the bible to prove most any world view, and
indeed people have done just that for centuries...
It just requires some agile theological acrobatics to get anything
with decent continuity.
[inkling]
greetings, friends:.
a friend - a former jw - gave me thomas paine's the age of reason: being an investigation of true and fabulous theology.
the mind boggles as i begin, haltingly, to fathom what many of you have already learned and shared here on jwd: the authenticity of the bible is seriously in question.
Now who the hell are Jannes and Jambres?? They are mentioned nowhere in what we today call the Bible. But they ARE mentioned in the apocrypha.
*** w01 9/15 p. 30 Enoch Walked With God in an Ungodly World ***
Does the Bible Quote From the Book of Enoch?
The Book of Enoch is an apocryphal and pseudepigraphic text. It is falsely ascribed to Enoch. Produced probably sometime during the second and first centuries B.C.E., it is a collection of extravagant and unhistorical Jewish myths, evidently the product of exegetical elaborations on the brief Genesis reference to Enoch. This alone is sufficient for lovers of God’s inspired Word to dismiss it.
In the Bible, only the book of Jude contains Enoch’s prophetic words: “Look! Jehovah came with his holy myriads, to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they did in an ungodly way, and concerning all the shocking things that ungodly sinners spoke against him.” (Jude 14, 15) Many scholars contend that Enoch’s prophecy against his ungodly contemporaries is quoted directly from the Book of Enoch. Is it possible that Jude used an unreliable apocryphal book as his source?
How Jude knew of Enoch’s prophecy is not revealed in the Scriptures. He may simply have quoted a common source, a reliable tradition handed down from remote antiquity. Paul evidently did something similar when he named Jannes and Jambres as the otherwise anonymous magicians of Pharaoh’s court who opposed Moses. If the writer of the Book of Enoch had access to an ancient source of this kind, why should we deny it to Jude?—Exodus 7:11, 22; 2 Timothy 3:8.
How Jude received the information about Enoch’s message to the ungodly is a minor matter. Its reliability is attested to by the fact that Jude wrote under divine inspiration. (2 Timothy 3:16) God’s holy spirit guarded him from stating anything that was not true.
[Footnote]
The disciple Stephen also provided information found nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. It concerned Moses’ Egyptian education, his being 40 years old when he fled Egypt, the 40-year duration of his stay in Midian, and the angelic role in transmitting the Mosaic Law.—Acts 7:22, 23, 30, 38.
A collection of extravagant and unhistorical Jewish myths? Well, we certainly wouldn't want any of THOSE in our Bible, now would we?
[inkling]
greetings, friends:.
a friend - a former jw - gave me thomas paine's the age of reason: being an investigation of true and fabulous theology.
the mind boggles as i begin, haltingly, to fathom what many of you have already learned and shared here on jwd: the authenticity of the bible is seriously in question.
What establishes the weight and divine authority of the NT...?
Ok, I think the idea is that God foresaw the writing of the rest of the scriptures, and guided not only their writing, but their preservation, and the selection of which ones made into the cannon. In that model, the "All Scripture" statement would be prophetic, and would apply to the "Finished" work, the modern OT and NT. (with God's final spit-shine being reflected in the NWT, of course.) I don't see how this theory accounts for typographical errors, translation errors, massive disagreement about what books actually made it in, the fact that the "Evil Apostate Church" was the one who assembled the final cannon, etc.... But then, I suppose God works in mysterious ways, right? He sure has a knack for making things look a dead ringer for a work of blundering humans. [inkling]
well it looks like this site is a real melting pot, a broad spectrum of views and beliefs.
for sure there are many disaffected ex jws.
so in as few words as possible, preferably not more than one sentence, how would you describe yourself spiritually?
Militant Agnostic: I don't know, and you don't either!
is any jw who works at brooklyn, patterson or the wt farms as a security guard armed with a weapon?.
i just wondered if they actually rely on the police to turn up in an emergency or what they plan to do to protect themselves when armageddon actually arrives or.....if there are intruders.. i wondered if arms were 'slightly' acceptable and if in the near or distant future another waco was in the making.. anyone know if the security staff are armed?.
Anyone know if the security staff are armed?
Do bad-ass angel bodyguards with bastard swords hanging over their shoulders count?
for your viewing pleasure.
how would you reply?.
sent: sunday, december 02, 2007 9:19 amsubject: fw: now public!
Actually, there hasn't been any "farming" at "Watchtower Farms" for several decades now.
But there seems to be just enough farming going on in the background to qualify for farming tax breaks!
[inkling]
hello guys, todya i recieved an email from an old friend of mine within the jdubs... he did the usual jdub thing get married really young and as such we lost touch.. he since found me on facebook and has been bugging me about my decision to leave, i talked to him a little but his mind is completely closed and irrational so i was having little success saving him from the cult and as sich i decided to end the call.. by saying "your happy and i'm happy so lets leave it be and aggree to differ" - however he wont let it rest this is his email: any help in responding would be most appreciated!!
ps... how ironic that he should mention george orwell when he lives within a cult that epitomizes the 1984 book!!
seeing as you never botherered ringing me back or texting i thort id email you.. .
which reminds me.. if you are no longer a witness that means you can show me your boobies!!! yippee!!!
He MUST have married young, concidering that he appears to be, at the moment, 13 years old.
[inkling]
the recent post about "the passion of the christ" has gotten me thinkingabout violence in film in general, and i would very much like a fewperspectives on something... last year, after finally shedding the reflexive guilt that was instilledin me (by my wt steeping) towards violent stories, i finally saw a few iconic films, including a few from quentin tarantino.
(including reservoir dogs) now tarantino is know for his unflinching depiction of stylized violence.
(exactly the sort of thing that is specifically condemned by the wt) some film makers have this knack for making cruelty, death, and violence a odd spectacle of dark beauty.
this is either going to make you laugh, or feel sorry for her, or, like me, both... i'm so glad i've escaped this insanity!!
a sister sent me this email yesterday; notice her new email address, and why she changed it.
(i've changed the email address and removed the names to protect her identity...).
What was the point? E-mails don't rust.
Ah, true BUT: they do get a crapload of spam for porn and viagra! And we all know how touchy God can be about nudity and impotence.
[inkling]
