Posts by VoidEater

If Jehovah God is so merciful, why would He punish his people because of apostates?
My thought process was that the end hasn't come because it is some kind of a test to see how faithful his people can be.

The WTS doctrine does not say the end hasn't come because we are being tested; rather, they say the end hasn't come so that others may come into the "truth". The doctrinal time of testing will come after a 1,000 years of paradise following Armageddon, when Satan is unleashed upon the Earth "for a little while" to test us.

This does not stop JWs from believing we are constantly being tested by Satan - it's just that this is not the reason for the delay. Just to be contrary and muddy the waters, though, they will also quote scripture that says we won't be tested beyond our ability to resist. So there you go - whatever tests you might experience, it must be that whatever your response it's the right one.

I had posted a DOA thread that commented something like: Since people are flowing in and out of the "truth" all the time, it's rather arbitrary of Jehovah to pick any particular moment for Armegeddon. 5 minutes sooner, or later, and he will miss those just on the brink of coming in and destroy those that have just fallen away.

This whole "desiring none be destroyed" explanation for the delay makes no sense, unless He is waiting for just the right moment when the people He *wants* to save are "in".

115

My story: "Pop!" goes the Little Circuit Breaker

by TJ - iAmCleared2Land in

jw
friends

i guess it's about time i write my story.

i've put this off for a long time... primarily becuase, while i thought my story was bad, i've read so many worse and heart-rending stories here.

i think, though, there is some therapeutic value in 'letting it all out' with others who know what 'it' was like.

VoidEater

It's so good to know that my freakshow of a childhood is not the only one - it hurts to know someone else has been in such torment, but heartening to know there are others like me...

6

God or Jesus

by bite me in

what do jw's believe these days as their savior?

i was thumbing through their bible and noticed in a few sections some have god as their one and only savior and other sections have jesus as their savior.

what do they teach and preach today?

VoidEater

NOBODY went into that ARK but Noah and his Family.

Are we clean or unclean? Maybe they only need a couple of us for breeding stock...

37

Something That Used To Puzzle Me

by snowbird in

when reading the apostle paul's chastisement of the corinthians about their drunken, gluttonous demeanor during the memorial, i used to wonder how in the world could anyone possibly overeat on just the unleavened bread?

and, i used to think that if anyone got drunk, it was because they drank too much wine on an empty stomach.

after a careful reading, i came to the conclusion that this was an actual meal served in someone's home!

VoidEater

Considering the first Lord's Supper is related as a meal with some ritual added in, it wouldn't surprise me that subsequent Suppers were meals.

7

Before Time

by freydi in

anybody ever wonder about what went on prior to the creation of adam?

it's only been 6 thousand years which in terms of counting backwards eternity-wise from that point is a long time.

gives me a headache thinking about it.

VoidEater

Anybody ever wonder about what went on prior to the creation of Adam?

According to some there was still a lot of creating going on before Adam came on the scene.

According to others there has been a lot of manifestation and adaptation of life.

If you mean "before the existence of the physical universe", then things would seem to be a bit more interesting to ponder.

Perhaps yet more so is the notion that time, as we experience it, is merely a limited context within which our minds operate.

6

God or Jesus

by bite me in

what do jw's believe these days as their savior?

i was thumbing through their bible and noticed in a few sections some have god as their one and only savior and other sections have jesus as their savior.

what do they teach and preach today?

VoidEater

In a "balancing" action, Jesus (a perfect man) died to offset the sin of Adam (a perfect man). So, Jesus died for our sins, became the "ransom sacrifice", so that we are entitled to salvation.

However (starting in 1995?) Jesus is not the intermediary betwen God and most JWs. A select group of JWs (the "anointed" 144,000 that are going to Heaven) have Jesus as their intermediary with God, and so can receive salvation from God through Christ (God is the center with Christ a doorway).

The majority of JWs only receive salvation based on their hanging around the "anointed", a kind of "grace by association". While they still offer prayers to Jehovah through Jesus, the official doctrine is that most JWs only get salvation by following the teachings of the organization. They only receive salvation, not through Jesus, but from Jehovah through Jesus as passed on through the "anointed".

30

Can the WTBTS change 1914 and survive?

by jefferywhat in

the society has changed equally as big doctrines in the past, but could this end the illusion?

i have read a lot of leolaia posts and have seen the attempt of scholar to counteract however unconvincingly.

im not after conspiracy, im after fact, could they move the end of the gentile times to 1934/35?

VoidEater

Look into my eyes, look into my eyes, the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes, look into my eyes -

You're under!

When I snap my fingers you will believe that ee never actually said 1914 or 1919 or any other specific date for anything ever, some brothers may have inadvertantly expressed the thought that 1914 MAY have been the date that Christ returned, but anything else was merely enthustiastic wishful thinking on your OWN part and never stated explicity by the WTS.

Ok, and...[snap]...you're back in the room!

34

Where is God when it hurts?

by theistichedonist in

jw
friends

i recently read a riveting, but heartrending story in this forum by "tj".

although the story at many points tears at your heart, tj's post is an exceptionally well-written story of his life growing up as a witness.

if you have not read it yet, i would encourage you to do so.

VoidEater

How, in an atheistic worldview does a person who persists in abuse (particularly religious abuse), mind-control, evil, etc... get repaid for the evil that they have sown?

As a survivor of childhood abuse (and non-believer in "God"), my worldview is that "justice" is a man-created notion that man alone implements. My abusers will never "pay" for their actions. I am compassionate enough to prefer the end of suffering, rather than the perpetuation of suffering on my behalf. There is no need for repayment. I'm alive, they're dead. Kinda puts a line under it.

If you have journeyed towards atheism as a result of religious abuse, do you sense that atheism satisfies an innate cry for the satisfaction of justice in the face of the evil you or others have experienced?

I have journeyed towards atheism as a result of a lack of evidence to the contrary, and perhaps "religious abuse" is an example of God's absence to me. But since I do not seek satisfaction nor justice from a theistic source, atheism doesn't need to satisfy any similar craving. The "innate cry" comes from my humanity, the soft body of the animal I am, not the spiritual essence of my being. So, no, the two don't really seem all the connected to me.

The OP seems to put justice in a cosmic sense. I don't look to the cosmic for justice, and I think karma takes place entirely on the Earthly plane.

EDIT: Gopher's Epicurus quote provides the best argumentation I've yet seen.

8

Haven't been this excited in a while...

by The Last Nephilim in

jw
friends

my sis sent me a link to overstock.com listing c of c on sale for $10!

i have searched before and never saw it that cheap, so i finally bought it.

$13 and some change with shipping.

VoidEater

He has a sharp memory, but he also has detailed notes taken at the time of the events.

The Aid Book was the only WTS publication that captured my attention.