Ultimate Reality

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Posts by Ultimate Reality

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  127

  Disrespect of the Bible

  by brotherdan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am going to get a lot of flack for this post, but i need to do it.

  i want to preface this by saying that i don't judge any of you and i believe in the right of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, including your freedom to not practice one.. however, i'm finding a trend among some ex jws here.

  notice the word "some".

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  Ultimate Reality

  BrotherDan, you have a PM.
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  168

  Jehovah correcting the organization

  by sabastious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  read the account of moses taking the credit for the water provision miracle and that of king david's folly and his consequences.. ...read them.... ...you are still reading.... ...ok now you have that fresh in your mind.. jehovah had a correctional arrangement in place for all his spokesmen.

  story of jonah would work great too.

  the point being that in the bible god has always had this correctional arrangement for the leaders of his earthly organization.. that being said, where did that arrangement go?

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  Ultimate Reality

  Alice,

  You quoted 1 Timothy and pointed our that Jesus is the mediator. Are you aware (according to the Society) that Jesus is NOT the mediator for virtually all of Jehovah's Witnesses and certainly not even a potential mediator for Earth's billions?

  This is the core problem with the Governing Body concept and any other group or individual that claims to be an Earthly representative of God. They seek to take over Christ's role as mediator.

  The Watchtower of November 15, 1979, page 26, made this comment:

  “What, then, is Christ’s role in this program of salvation? Paul proceeds to say: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men [not, all men], a man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all.”—1 Tim. 2:5, 6.

  The insertion "[not, all men]" is the Society blatantly changing the meaning of the Bible.

  How do you feel about this?
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  50

  How often does a Wt song run through your head

  by Lady Lee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday i was sitting here and all of a sudden realized i was humming one of those dreadful songs.

  i even remembered the words!

  <chills>.. so i sat here and started singing other songs out loud, which i normally don't do even though i live alone and don't have to listen to people begging me to stop singing.. so how do you get those songs out of your head?.

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  Ultimate Reality

  It happens more often than I like. But what was very unusual was when I was going through a lot of emotions, coming to grips with the true history of the Society and its teachings and its impact on my life. I was studying the Bible and historical publications a few hours every day, day after day, and had come see all the problems.

  I would wake up in the morning with Kingdom Melodies constantly running through my head and it would continue through the day. It was like all these songs and their teachings were resurfacing, not wanting to let go of my mind. Eventually it subsided, but it was intense for a period of time.
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  24

  A, uh, belated introduction

  by SweetBabyCheezits in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  quick bio: born-in, third gen jw, devout family, dad an elder/po, mom pioneered off/on, baptized at age 10 (my elder dad asked me to wait but i didnt), had overall good childhood, toured bethel, aux pio off/on, finished hs early, reg pio for a year then pio school, met amazing jw girl (also third gen devout), spent a year in community college (paid for by fairly conservative jw parents), got a good job, married amazing jw girl, appointed as ms, delivered public talks and parts on ca/dc, wife and i had first child.

  it was a near-storybook jw life (except no bethel).

  i had a couple of normal issues in teenage years, but sought the assistance from the elders and ironed it out.

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  Ultimate Reality

  Welcome!
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  22

  The Governing Body and the Sept 15, 2010 WT

  by Ultimate Reality in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there have been a few threads on this magazine already.

  but i cannot recall a wt that has so many references to the gb and its authority throughout the articles as this one.

  the grip of authority and control is tightening.

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  Ultimate Reality

  Thomas:

  Great point, reading in the 1st person. This is a good idea in every article in order to see the real intent. The WT use of language has become more seductive and creative over the decades. But it is clear that all are to be loyal followers of the Governing Body and numerous articles since the start of the 'Study Edition' have been highlighting this authority. These men are to have unqualified and unconditional support from their followers.

  Flipper:

  Thanks. I think these articles provide further proof that the organization is in a state of decay.
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  22

  The Governing Body and the Sept 15, 2010 WT

  by Ultimate Reality in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there have been a few threads on this magazine already.

  but i cannot recall a wt that has so many references to the gb and its authority throughout the articles as this one.

  the grip of authority and control is tightening.

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  Ultimate Reality

  There have been a few threads on this magazine already. But I cannot recall a WT that has so many references to the GB and its authority throughout the articles as this one. The grip of authority and control is tightening. What is being written is making it ever more obvious that the 8 men of the GB are the source of mediation to God and source of salvation for humankind. Here are some highlights:
  
  Without the assistance of “the faithful and discreet slave,” we would neither understand the full import of what we read in God’s Word nor know how to apply it. (Matt. 24:45-47) - page 8
  
  The One Source of Spiritual Instruction First-century Christians enjoyed unity because they all received encouragement from the same source. They recognized that Jesus was teaching and directing the congregation through a governing body, composed of the apostles and older men in Jerusalem. - page 13 Similarly today, a Governing Body composed of spirit-anointed Christians contributes to the unity of the worldwide congregation. The Governing Body publishes spiritually encouraging literature in many languages. This spiritual food is based on God’s Word. Thus, what is taught is not from men but from Jehovah.—Isa. 54:13. - page 13
  
  Accordingly, as Jehovah’s people, we are united because we accept Jehovah’s sovereignty, love our brothers, hope in God’s Kingdom, and respect the ones God uses to take the lead among us. - page 14
  
  Jehovah’s spirit and blessings are linked to the one association of brothers that God is using. Even if someone in the congregation upsets us, where else can we turn? Nowhere else can we hear the sayings of everlasting life.—John 6:68. - page 18
  
  The apostles and the elders of the Jerusalem congregation acted as a governing body. Christ used this instrument to lead the entire group of his anointed “brothers” on earth. (Heb. 2:11; Acts 16:4, 5) In this time of the end, Christ has committed “all his belongings”— all the earthly interests of the Kingdom—to his “faithful and discreet slave” and its representative Governing Body, a group of anointed Christian men. (Matt. 24:45-47) The anointed and their other sheep companions recognize that by following the lead of the modern-day Governing Body, they are in fact following their Leader, Christ. - page 23
  
  Since being invested with kingly power in 1914, Christ is more than ever “with” his disciples and active as their Leader. His intense activity since 1914 will be examined in the following article. - page 25 [... in case anyone thinks the Society's chronology is not important...}
  
  Jesus had prophesied that “on arriving” to inspect his domestics during “the conclusion of the system of things,” he would find a slave providing them “food at the proper time.” He would pronounce that slave happy and would “appoint him over all his belongings” on earth. (Matt. 24:3, 45-47) - page 26
  
  As Head of the Christian congregation, Christ has used this “faithful and discreet slave” to administer His Kingdom interests on earth. He has provided direction for the anointed “domestics” and their “other sheep” companions by means of a Governing Body.—John 10:16. - page 26
  
  They recognize, however, that Christ is using a small group of anointed Christian men as a Governing Body to lead and direct his disciples on earth.—Read Acts 15:6, 28-30. - page 27
  
  This refers to Christ’s coming as Judge to separate people of “all the nations” into two categories: “the sheep,” those who will have actively supported his spiritual brothers (anointed Christians on earth) and “the goats,” those “who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thess. 1:7, 8) -page 29
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  87

  Official: Ted Jaracz's Funeral Brochure

  by yknot in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i received this generous offering from 'anonymous brother'.

  his comments : hmmm...why do i not see such things at most jw funerals?.

  please give your 'thank you' to "anonymous brother'.

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  Ultimate Reality

  Note how he encouraged the brothers through "theocratic orderliness".
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  32

  Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 06-13-10 WT Study (HOLY SPIRIT)

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  comments you will not hear at the 06-13-10 wt study (april 15, 2010, pages 7-11 (purpose).

  as we have seen, jehovah used his spirit in the past to protect individuals as well as the nation of israel as a whole.

  why doesnt god protect individuals today?.

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  Ultimate Reality

  Thanks Blondie! I actually wish I was at the WT Study today. I am sure that by the time paragraphs 13 and 14 roll around, no one will know what hit them because their minds will already be tied in knots.
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  12

  How do you answer to the "new light" excuse?

  by XPeterX in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when a jw uses proverbs 4:18 what can you say to prove that he's wrong?.

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  Ultimate Reality

  Coffee is right. This is easy to address, there is no way to scripturally defend the 'new light' concept.
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  64

  Twisting Scripture vs A Literal Reading

  by AllTimeJeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  knowing that passions run deep on this matter, i have what i believe to be a very simple premise for a discussion of how to read the bible.. terry has labored over the last couple of months to demonstrate (in my view, conclusively) that the bible is far from unaltered, and often mistranslated.

  these facts, inconvenient as they might be for believers, are nonetheless, a problem for those who claim that the bible is the word of god.. this is not what i wish to discuss... rather..... jehovah's witnesses come from a tradition of "reading in" or "adding meaning" to the scriptures.

  no one jw outside of the governing body is allowed to do this.. but why is it necesarry?.

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  Ultimate Reality

  How to read ancient texts, including the Bible, is the subject of many commentaries. For instance, should we read the Mosaic law internally? In other words, as if we were an Israelite, in order to get the clearest meaning. Or externally, with a close-reading and critical analysis of virtually every word?

  What has cleared up the meaning of many Biblical verses for me is to perform more an internal, literal reading and determine (as best we know) who wrote it, when it was written, and to whom. This does not mean ignoring symbolism or metaphors, obviously.

  The literal approach means abandoning the Society's favorite interpretive reading: parallel dispensations. The idea that the Bible contains double-meanings and secondary, larger fulfillments is unsupported scripturally and has led to one failed interpretation after another.

  As an example of how understanding the historical context can impact a literal reading, Christendom determined that Revelation was written in 96CE. The Society also has adopted this view which is largely based on ambiguous comments made by Ireneaus. However, many scholars feel a pre-70CE dating is more accurate and, when the bulk of Revelation is applied to the events concluding the Jewish system, it presents a much clearer interpretation than the Society's non-sense. The same would be true of Matthew 24; one single application in the 1st century.

  Whether or not one puts faith in the Bible is a different matter. But few even attempt to take an exegetical approach and seem to be looking for a hidden message about the near-future, and somehow they always find it because, they think, God has granted them special wisdom.