Posts by gumby

55

Could man have free will if God cansee the future?

by sleepy in

.

some witness theological beliefs are, man has free will, god can see the future.. i used to wonder how this could work.for if god could see you were going to do something then you must do it, otherwise god is wrong, so therefore you had no choice.. take judas for example.jesus is believed to have known he would be betrayed by him.in fact it is suppossed to have been prophesied in psalms that someone close to him would do so.. if god could see that judas would kill jesus then once this predicion was made judas had no choice no free will to choose not to.so either god can't really see the furture and can just make predictions or man has no free will.if when god looks into the future this causes an event to happen , its gods fault if he see something bad happening , as if he didn't look it would not have been set in stone.. if it is predictions that god makes (not acktual knowledge of what will happen)then what are these based on?.

knowledge of the human brain and how it works?if so, then man actions are purly based on mechanisms within the brain that are so rigid that you with enought knowledge can know them thousands of years before.so if mans sins it not his fault , theres nothing he can do about it , he has no free will.so god is not just in punishing him.. whichever way it does not work out as fair or logical that a god could see the future and for man to have free will..

gumby

If God could see that Judas would kill Jesus then once this predicion was made Judas had no choice no free will to choose not to.

If a African hunting guide knew of a spot where unwary hunters died in quicksand EVERTIME they crossed a certain spot......he could safely tell the group with him.....'you will die too, if you try to cross here'.

The guide KNOWS they will die if they cross......but they have free choice to cross.

The real question is.....If God knew of the mess we would end up in....why did he start? The guide in the story at least would tell all in the group what happened to the FIRST TWO that crossed the quiksand.....and give the others a fair shot at not choosing the other two's course.

Edited by - Gumby on 21 July 2002 9:30:50

45

I went to the Convention on Friday. NOW with pict

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

i was bored to death.

i deposited cards around the place that said .

stop.

gumby

LL Thanks so much for this post and letting us know what we are NOT missing.

You brought back some memories of things that make me wonder why I didn't see things sooner in the borg as yourself.

8

How big is the JW org?

by RubyTuesday in

jw
friends

major denominational families of christianity

(this table does not include all christians.

these numbers are estimates, and are here primarily to assist in ranking branches by size, not to provide a definitive count of membership.

gumby

Francois...That number for Jehovah's Witnesses includes: any one who has ever taken the Watchtower (and it's companion magazine, Awake!);

Say what? Are receptive householders now counted as publishers? Not that I remember unless I'm misunderstanding you.

16

How do the locals speak near you?

by sleepy in

jw
friends

in britian every city has its own accent and local words that people use.. if you worked a council estate in cardiff you were joe-va's witnesses.. a reply on the ministry could be "you joe-vah's witnesses is it?.

i remmember working in shefield and people would call each other "ducky".

what were witnesses called where you live?

gumby

Arent you a Jehovah? This was one I remember aside from the ones already spoken of.....also..."The Watchtower" Arizona and Calif, is where I've lived.

20

Why won't elders factor depression in hearings?

by Pistoff in

i have had two sons with depression and suicidal thought be disfellowshipped with the elders saying that there was nothing they could do; that depression was not an excuse for wrongdoing.

i can't help but feel that this misses the point, that the depression could be contributing to the behavior and that the df'ing could push them over the edge.

anyone else interested in pushing the society on this matter?

gumby

I had read somewhere that Jehovahs witnesses had a 10 times higher rate of mental health problems than the average Joe. I believe this info. came from one of Hassan's books called Jehovah's witnesses and mental health.

Fear and guilt of not living up to the high standards they set along with all the hogwash bullshit doctrine they preach, their viewpoint about others, pushes many over the edge.

129

The Trinity Is A False Doctrine!

by non_trias_theos in

christendom teaches that there are three persons in one substance.

yet there is not three gods but one god.

what could be more unscriptural and illogical?

gumby

Plum..I will not respond to such silly rhetoric anymore I am sick of it. I log on to this DB to talk and discuss and exchange ideas not slam or be slammed.

Well said!

3

Product recall

by teejay in

jw
friends

product recall .

once upon a time i tried to wake some people up.

there came a time in my life when nagging questions left off whispering and began to scream.

gumby

TJ...Which in itself is a superior Truth to the truth(tm) I was raised with. *That* truth(tm) centered on the excruciatingly false idea that the Creator of every living thing had been (and was now) dealing exclusively with a handful of men in Brooklyn, NY, and that every single one of its utterances were Truth. Which is a crock. But I'm thinking that you already know that.

Just knowing the WT was/ is a crock, sets one free in itself. It's when a person gets back into any controlling group(s) that a person can lose that freedom all over again. I feel to love ones fellowman and being a good kind person would make the Lord happy.............providing HE is real......I still don't know.

129

The Trinity Is A False Doctrine!

by non_trias_theos in

christendom teaches that there are three persons in one substance.

yet there is not three gods but one god.

what could be more unscriptural and illogical?

gumby

Who has the Trinity doctrine, and three gods again?

Does anyone know tyhe REAL answer? Why have thousands of theologians tried their hardest to understand the bibles view on who Jesus is and you have two DEDICATED sides.....both....that think their way is correct, and it spells doom for those who differ?

Why would God CHOOSE to make such a primary doctrine such as....".who he is"....be so obscure, that for centuries the argument continues?

3

Product recall

by teejay in

jw
friends

product recall .

once upon a time i tried to wake some people up.

there came a time in my life when nagging questions left off whispering and began to scream.

gumby

TJ...." the unchanging universal kind, found me, and I found it."

What is ....'it' ?

4

WIlliams Sisters Wimbleton final!

by Rihannsu in

.

another amazing double standard by the society, the william sisters (serena, venus) are allowed to take part in competitive sports while we are told to not do so, and are encouraged not to take part in school activities soccer, football, tennis etc.... its very funny here we are seing venus waiving the american flag during the olympics and we are told not to be nationalistic and not to cheer for a nation over another nation.. the society is double faced and i will be sending a letter to them in the near future about this issues above, i am an active witness (barely) still although im ashamed to be one.

gumby

Another amazing double standard by the Society, The William sisters (Serena, Venus) are allowed to take part in competitive sports while we are told to NOT do so, and are encouraged not to take part in school activities soccer, football, tennis etc...

Actually it's not a double standard as there is no indication the society honors their tennis playing. The society has not taken action against those who engage in school sports other than witholding privledges. Butt!!!!!!!!!

It is a double standard to not take action against a witness holding the american flag on national TV.