I will concede however that some of the Christian scholars make good points as to Scriptural references that tie Jesus to Yahweh. I have read a lot of Ron Rhodes work (particularly on the trinity) as well as listening to talks by ex-JW Christians on the links between Yahweh and Jesus. I have no doubt in my mind that many (if not all) of the NT writers believed that Jesus was Yahweh. In this regard, I believe that the Watchtower Society is incorrect and attempting to cling to their Adventist roots.
Jeremy C
JoinedPosts by Jeremy C
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328
Jesus Is Jehovah/Jehovah Is Jesus
by snowbird inhttp://www.str.org/site/news2?page=newsarticle&id=5725.
i fought against this with all my wts-trained power, but truth prevailed.. any way you cut it, it comes out the same.. peace and strength in your search.. sylvia.
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Witnesses Who Talk To The Dead
by minimus indid you ever see a witness talk to the dead?
when "prominent" jws pass away (and they don't have the heavenly hope) it is not uncommon to speak publicly about them as if they were still there, able to hear them.. a very prominent elder who was used by the society as a fill in co amongst other things, died and the district overseer gave his funeral talk which actually was a eulogy!
he said, while raising his eyes to the heavens, "jim, we'll miss you!"..
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Jeremy C
A very prominent elder who was used by the Society as a fill in CO amongst other things, died and the District Overseer gave his funeral talk which actually was a eulogy! He said, while raising his eyes to the heavens, "Jim, we'll miss you!".
From a Jehovah's Witness perspective, that's very wrong. Isn't it???
No minimus, JWs do not talk to the dead. Let's try to be more mature than this shall we? I think it is clear that this was merely a rehtorical statement, with the understanding that no "channeling" was intended. You and I both know that JWs do not believe in speaking to the dead. Let's devote thread space to more sober-minded topics than this six-screens-style nonsense.
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328
Jesus Is Jehovah/Jehovah Is Jesus
by snowbird inhttp://www.str.org/site/news2?page=newsarticle&id=5725.
i fought against this with all my wts-trained power, but truth prevailed.. any way you cut it, it comes out the same.. peace and strength in your search.. sylvia.
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Jeremy C
Forgive me for being so contrarian in this thread.
But, the way that I see it, Jehovah and Jesus are not the least bit related. They are polar opposites. In the Old Testament, Jehovah thought it just fine for Joshua and others to slaughter unarmed women and children, to kill infants, and for men to use women for their own sexual indulgements. Yahweh has all of the anthropomorphic atributes of any Roman or Greek God: insecurity, jealousy, fitful outbursts of rage, and arranging elaborate natural disasters to smite his enemies (how can the omnipotent have enemies?) when simply euthenizing them would have sufficed. Yahweh was a fickle, arbitrary, and petty deity who easily got his nose out of joint for the most silly of indescretions. (why would the omnipotent power of the universe care whether or not a man cut off his foreskin, or hair?)
Jesus Christ (at least what is recorded of him) does not even remotely display or express these neurotic personality disorders. I find it curious that there is no Gospel account of Jesus using his Godly power to kill anyone or to strike anyone with leprosy the way that he so easily did in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, he had no issues with commanding his pet nation to slaughter other nations, yet when he comes to earth; he delivers the "Good Samaritan" parable. I simply see no connection whith Yahweh and Jesus.
Of course, this may be all academic; since I do not believe in the Bible one way or the other.
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Jeremy C
sacolton:
That picture is hilarious. You remind me of the "Messy Marvin" character. Either that, or a mannequin that they used to display in the men's section at Sears back in the 80's.
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Governing Body's new neuroscience program better than Cambridge University
by Dogpatch ini don't know what to make of this.
i assume this is a real lecture given in cyprus, apparently recently (original jw email dated dec. 1st).
anyone know this guy?
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Jeremy C
Reminds me of Russell's miracle wheat.
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Doctrinal ramifications of large increase in 2008 memorial partakers?
by yadda yadda 2 inthe nearly 10% increase in partakers at the memorial in the 2008 annual service report is a huge increase.
there were increases in the previous years too.. this massive increase is no doubt attributeable to the 'new light' this year that the calling of the 'heavenly class' was not closed in 1935, as previously taught.
the new understanding this year is that the calling of the 'anointed' class is 'evidently' still open.
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Jeremy C
The WTS never reveals the whole thing at once. They parse it out a little at a time.
Yes, they are like the dutiful mother who feeds her toddler in the high chair. She doesn't just set the whole bowl of hot cereal in front of the babe at once. She takes each small spoonful, blows on it; and then cajoles him to open his mouth.
But, then again this is a normal functioning parent. The Watchtower leadership are like a toxic parent who treats their adult children as infants. They remind me of the character played by Kathy Bates in the movie "Waterboy". Everything outside of the home is "the devil".
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"This Is A Goodbye Kiss, You Dog"...
by SixofNine in.
muthathar al zaidi shouted: "this is a goodbye kiss, you dog"... .
myers reported that the man threw the second shoe and added: "this is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in iraq.".
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Jeremy C
He sure looked like he had practiced for that. Now I know how Bush got that bruise under his eye a couple of years ago. He didn't really choke on a pretzel, he got hit by one of Laura's high heels in an argument.
"Uhh . . hit me once, shame on . . shame on you. Hit me and won't hit me again"
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The watchtower bible and tract society holds title to:
by Quirky1 ini was just poking around on the internet and ran across this....waddya think?.
properties in brooklyn new york;.
facility near walkill, ny;.
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Jeremy C
It raises a very simple question. What purpose do these large properties around the world serve? The printing and distribution of literature. This is the main purpose and mission of the organization. It is the continuance of a tradition that started with C.T. Russell. Publishing literature was the sole reason as to why the WTBTS was founded in the first place.
I would have to say that after a century of publishing literature; a membership of six and a half million is paltry. How effective is this publishing and distribution model? Not very much. Think about what could be accomplished if that real estate wealth had been used to utilize television, radio, and internet witnessing. If this is the most important message in all of human history, why aren't more effective methods such as these being used? Because that does not fit into the organization's traditional model: door-to-door distribution of literature.
Ray Franz noted that this tradition of printing and distributing literature has become the the benchmark by which the Governing Body measures success. The more printing; the better. The output of literature has been the standard which measures God's blessing on the organization. It is a badge of merit.
You see, most religionists are impressed and moved by what is appealing the eyes; whether it be large ornate temples, huge cathedrals, or the visual presence of the Vatican. Jehovah's Witnesses are no different. They are impressed and wooed by large printing operations and shipping depots. They are moved by large sprawling branch complexes which house the people who operate the printing equipment.
These real estate holdings serve more of a psychological need than a pragmatic one. Just ask yourself one question: if Jesus really did not appoint the Watchtower organization as his eartlhy agent in 1919; what does it mean for all of these billions of dollars worth of printeries and warehouses?
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Were You a 100% True Blue JW Believer?
by minimus indid you at any time-- totally-- accept everything being taught to you by the witnesses?
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Jeremy C
This is hard to answer. For so many years, I suppressed any doubts and cognitive dissonance that I had. On a counscious level, I would say that I did believe 100% for most of the time. On a subconscious level, I'm sure that I did not believe various teachings. I always had trouble with the legalism and rigid thinking within the organization.
For me, the crack in the dam emerged when I began to research the Old Testament; particularly Genesis. I knew that if the Garden Of Eden account was not a real historical event; that the entire Christian paradigm of sin, salvation, and final judgement was just a house of cards. Then, when I read Steven Hassan's book: Combatting Cult Mind Control; the dam completely burst.
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witnesses don't hear so good
by booby ini was talking to a witness today, and when talking about how quickly things can change.
i mentioned the cost of gas excuse for the book study change and how now it is gone so low and while sort of acknowleging it he immediately goes of on a tangent about the changes in the forestry sector.
since the slow downs etc.
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Jeremy C
Then he concludes with 'what do you expect, the brothers are always way ahead of the world".
[ chuckling ] Spoken like a little boy who brags how his daddy is the strongest man in the world. This is a common meme that has been repeated among the rank and file, but without a lot of substance to it.
I suppose the Watchtower is way ahead of the curve in insisting that homo sapiens have only been on earth for 6,000 years? I suppose all of these evolutionary biologists are going to beat themselves in lamentation as to how wrong they were about creation?
I suppose when Turkish geologists finally discover Noah's ark, all of the nay sayers are going to extole the Watchtower for being right on that one too?
Yes, the Watchtower was way ahead of the rest of the world when they predicted the end in 1914, 1918, and 1925. They were trail-blazers and trend-setters when it came to making a mockery of the Bible and making asses out of religious leaders.