4:4; john 17:14. .
isaiah the prophet was inspired to say to judah: therefore hear the word of jehovah, you braggarts, you rulers of this people who are in jerusalem: because you men have said: we have concluded a covenant with death; and with sheol we have effected a vision; the overflowing flash flood, in case it should pass through, will not come to us, for we have made a lie our refuge and in falsehood we have concealed ourselves.isaiah 28:14, 15. .
(jeremiah 8:6, 7) not at all!
Their excuse was.....they were members so they could have access to the UN's library.
It was said they use much of the worlds resources to further kingdom intrest as Jehovah used the nations to accomplish his purposes...though Jehovah was not pleased with these nations....he used them for his good.
this isnt really so much about erasmus and the "received text" as about how our nature is to cling to what we have accepted as true despite evidence to the contrary, especially when it comes to what we believe is inspired.
towards the end of the fourth century, when jerome revised the old latin version, he wrote in the preface to the gospels : "is there a man, learned or unlearned, who will not, when he takes the volume in his hands, and perceives that what he reads does not suit his settled tastes, break out immediately into violent language and call me a forger and a profane person for having had the audacity to add anything to the ancient books, or to make any changes or corrections therein?
" and so it was and has continued to be.
The ORIGINAL TEXT
And what is original? 1. Writings of a man named Jesus by many men, and writings of many men after Jesus time. These writings were all cherry-picked by a group of men, who became church authorities,(namely the catholics) who decided WHICH books would make up a book that we all should live by. A book that God NEVER commanded men to write......they just did and later....about the third century was compiled into what is known as the bible canon as prescribrd by our Catholic forefathers.
Now.....isn't this idea we should be concerned about before posting a mile long survey of bible translations?
Edited by - Gumby on 10 July 2002 19:15:45
i think when people leave the organization, they lump it all together- jehovah- religion, organization, etc.
i am not doubtful there is a god, but just doubtful that he used the wts to be his one & only means.
just wanted to say that.
FD...How does the existence of a god give life a point?
It does if you connect the bible to God which many making these posts connect together. With the God of the bible, you have answers to why we are here. Whats lifes purpose? Is there life after death? Why is the world and the people in it suffering?
Where does one go for these answers without belief in the bible or God? When a person comes to the realisation that either of these two could possibly not be the real deal......you are left confused, and you wonder about answers to these things.
i think when people leave the organization, they lump it all together- jehovah- religion, organization, etc.
i am not doubtful there is a god, but just doubtful that he used the wts to be his one & only means.
just wanted to say that.
Hi PS. I was at the same spot you are in for a long time. I posted threads wanting to know why SO MANY here turned from God upon exiting to dubs. After seriously considering all the threads that dealt with the believableness of the bible and it's depiction of God.......some really profound thoughts came out of it. Many questions about the bible God that I have had since a small boy were questions others were bothered by on this board.
So much dosen't make sense that I don't know what to believe at the present...but I do believe in God. Creation and the way it works was planned. However.....why we suffer, why God will not stop the cries of a little girl being raped by her father, (especially when she cries out to God for help)people starving to death daily, and all the other problems makes me wonder why he put us here only to suffer and die.(giving me the bible's answer to this is pointless....I've heard all the reasons)
Edited by - Gumby on 10 July 2002 10:9:50
there was quite a well known quote at the wt.org site, i thought it was in the 'questions often asked by interested people' section but i just can't find it.. the question was something like; 'do you practice shunning?'.
the first word of the wt answer was; no.. if anyone could point me to it i'd be grateful, ta!.
nic'
Those who simply cease to be involved in the faith are not shunned.
IF.... they DO NOTHING THAT DESERVES DISFELLOWSHIPING AFTER THEY LEAVE! (unless the brothers come by and ask you WHY you are not attendind and you tell them you don't agree watchtower style......then you WILL be. You must lie to them or be disfellowshiped! Nice choices eh?)
Disfellowshipping does not sever family ties.
IF....you live in the home, or are married to the df'ed one, or if you have neccesary buisness to handle.
WTBTS........famous for half truths and outright lies!
as i was exercising this morning i was thinking about my decision to step down as a ministerial servant and also to stop attending religious functions of any kind.
i've often felt that jws were somewhat flawed in their interpertation of the scriptures, but this morning it kind of hit me all at once that no 2 religions are going to have the exact same beliefs even though both religions might be using the same translation of the bible.
this disturbing fact raises quite a few thought provoking questions:.
Hey Yardirt. Actually, SS, I learned those particular things due in part to a determination to understand ... while having isolated myself in my study for a very lengthy time.
Is that how God had the bible written for us? It is written so that a person has to dig that deep?
What of those who are illiterate, have NO bible? What about those who know nothing other than ALLAH, BUDDAH? What about those who have no bible dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, Lexicons, etc? How will these ones learn the Bible? Will God judge all these unworthy because.......they haven't come to know him?
I have BEEN a dub......for 40 years, served as an elder, studied my butt off......and still, the bible in many things, makes no sense. Why would God write a book that is left open to countless of interpretations........why not make it simple for ALL to understand?
( don't forget to answer two paragraph's above)
as i was exercising this morning i was thinking about my decision to step down as a ministerial servant and also to stop attending religious functions of any kind.
i've often felt that jws were somewhat flawed in their interpertation of the scriptures, but this morning it kind of hit me all at once that no 2 religions are going to have the exact same beliefs even though both religions might be using the same translation of the bible.
this disturbing fact raises quite a few thought provoking questions:.
Yardirf: Quote: " Here most of Christendom's adherents believe that those of their children who unfortunately died of one cause or another ventured on to become an angel in God's Heaven"
Oh pardon me! I forgot that only the annointed from 1935 onward get instant heaven when they die.....that is since 1914 onward. Does the society's interpretation actually make more sense to you than christendoms?
I never said I didn't believe in angels....you said I didn't. I don't believe they came and had sex with people.
By the way....quit giving your personal beliefs that is contrary to the dubs interpretation of where angels reside or you will be as apostate as you feel I am.
just so i don't miss anybody who is interested.... my results from the ekg and the echogram showed a severe leak in a heart valve.
i am going for an angiogram on the 15th but the cardiologist says the liklihood is great that i will need open heart surgery.
rare for a 30 year old but if necessary, it is necessary.. no word yet on the results of the blood work for liver enzymes and hepatitis.
Will be thinking and checking on ya dude........our thought are with you. You'll be OK.
as i was exercising this morning i was thinking about my decision to step down as a ministerial servant and also to stop attending religious functions of any kind.
i've often felt that jws were somewhat flawed in their interpertation of the scriptures, but this morning it kind of hit me all at once that no 2 religions are going to have the exact same beliefs even though both religions might be using the same translation of the bible.
this disturbing fact raises quite a few thought provoking questions:.
angels who lived in the very presence of God the spiritual realm or "Heaven" in which the angels in general live,
Yardirf. What keeps the other angels from doing the same thing? Did Jehovah say.....'the rest of you angels are not allowed to do what the others did'? Angels having sex with people!!!!!!!!!! Yes....truley a fiction story.
if i as a parent were to keep a pit bull or poisonous snake in my house, and it killed one of my children, what would the civil authorities do?
what would the media pundits and experts say about my parenting skills?
how would child services act had they known about the situation in advance?
Yes, it seems that the over 6,000 years since Adam & Eve have been long enough to prove God's point.
Hi Amazing. This is the problem we all have. If there is a God.....why does God allow us to suffer. If he is letting time go by to prove to humans what happens when we disobey.........who gets to see what he proved? Every generation goes by with dead people in their graves knowing nothing about what is being proved. How many generations of people does it take to prove a point? The first generation of people, after sin suffered as we do.....that could have proved his point. But he lets thousands of generations go by....all suffering..........what is proved?
