Posts by Morgana

21

What was your favorite summer movie of 2008?

by gaiagirl in

mine was "indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull".

it was great seeing indy again after 19 years, and he still has the right stuff.

enjoyed the movie quite a lot.

Morgana

Actually, none this summer.

But the ONE movie this year I love unconditionally is - Mamma Mia!

38

TO CLARIFY A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT MY PROJECT.....

by Mary in

jw
friends

first of all, i want to thank everyone for all the words of encouragment and compliments i've received regarding the project i put together.

not only will it (hopefully) help some family members to see that something's not right regarding many of the wt's doctrines, but it was therapeutic for me to do as well.

like many other ex-witnesses, i was emotionally devastated and extremely angry when i discovered that this religion was not "the truth" as was drilled into our brains from day one.

Morgana

Dear Mary,

I think that your Project is so useful for many (thanks again for sending it to me) that I strongly second the idea of turning it into a web site.

In that way it would be accessible to everyone who needs it, and it would simplify your adding more chapters to it as you indicated you might wish to do in the future.

Best wishes

Morgana

56

WHERE WERE YOU 7 YEARS AGO?

by Mary in

guess i'll be the first one to do an (inevitable) thread about 9-11. hard to believe it's been 7 years already.

i was at work when one of my co-workers came up and told me that a plane had hit the world trade center.

i thought it was awful, but i figured it was a small single engine plane that maybe lost its way in the fog.

Morgana

I was sitting at my desk doing computer work -- just as I am doing right now -- when my Mom called and told me what had happened, that there was a terrorist attack with a passenger plane on the WTC.

I was dumbfounded and went up to the living room where I switched on the TV to watch CNN.

Then I saw the second plane coming, and crashing into the tower...

I'll never forget that day and how I felt.

7

Reasons why I like JWD's forum software over others I've used

by DanTheMan in

jw
friends

2 clicks to see my post history.

1 click to see active topics by post.

i love this feature, and i've never seen another forum that has it.. .

Morgana

I too agree - JWD's forum software is excellent.

There are only two very minor suggestions I would propose:

1. I would prefer to have the order of posts within a thread reversed, i.e., the newest/latest on top on page 1.

2. It often happens to me when responding that I quickly start typing and after a few letters the cursor (together with typed text) jumps into the "Subject" field and I wonder what has happened.

(But these are minor issues and it is not difficult to get used to the way it is.)

Thanks for all your great efforts!

19

question for experts

by cameo-d in

genesis 4:7. when god says to cain "sin is crouching at your door".. how did cain know what a door is?

i thought they lived in caves or lean-to's.. have archeologists found bc hinges?.

.

BTW, the interesting point about Gen 4:7 is not so much the door-opening that every cave and tent has (which is indeed petach in this verse, not delet which would be door in our more modern sense), but rather the first mentioning of sin in the bible. So the question would rather be: How did Cain know what sin is?

11

Melchezidek Cannanite?

by openeyes in

was reading in a post that the name for god used in genesis has conections with the cannanite god el,i was wondering if there is any conection with the story of melchezidez as he was a cannanite king who worshipped the true got,also i assume as he was king his people would have followed the same religion,who were they and what happened to them,i know some will say hes a mythical character,but supposing the story is true its interesting to me that the first nation worshiping the true god was the cannanites or at least those in the city of salem..

Morgana

According to Jewish tradition, the term "Melchi-Zedek" [ Heb malki^-?edeq ( ?????????????? ) ] that occurs in Gen 14:18-20 and in Ps 110:4 is not understood as a personal name but literally as the title “King of Righteousness” or “Righteous King” (that it is not a regular name is stressed by its being written with a dash or "mappik" in Hebrew); and there is a widely-held tradition (in some Targumim and in the Midrash) that identifies him with Noach's son Shem (who, according to the priestly chronology of Genesis, not only was still alive at the time of Abraham but even survived him by 25 years). After the flood, Shem settled in the place later called Salem and much later Jerusalem and became a priest of El-Elyon (which is an earlier and more universal name for Yahweh who under this name is specifically the covenant God of Israel) and teacher for later generations. According to this tradition, God originally gave the priesthood to Shem / Melchi-Zedek who by his blessing (Gen 14:19–20) conferred it to the descendants of Abraham; and Ps 110:4 was accordingly interpreted "Thou [Abraham] art a priest forever because of the words of Melchi-Zedek."

Also, we should remember that in the priestly tradition, the name YHWH was first made known to Moses (Ex 3:14,15), stating that formerly God was known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El (or, El-Shaddai / El-Elyon) but explicitly not yet by his "national Israelite" name YHWH (Ex 6:2-4). And as El he was also known to the Canaanites.

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Edit: It seems the board cannot display my Hebrew even though it appears correctly in the edit window - that's why the many 'formatting edits'.

6

Matthew 25:13

by S EIGHT in

monring all,.

i have decided to go back to basics and just read the bible alone, trying to eliminate wt influence from my mind as i read.

it's amazing what you see in the scriptures when you just look at the scriptures.. can anyone shed some light on the following - in particular verse 13:.

Morgana

Margaret Starbird has written an interesting and provocative book, "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar".

One reviewer at amazon.com writes:

I am very impressed with Margaret Starbird's scholarly work in her book "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar". It tells the story of the lost Bride and provides strong evidence for the sacred marriage at the heart of Christianity, that of Jesus and Mary Magdalen.
It is significant that all four Gospels record the anointing of Jesus by a woman with an alabaster jar of aromatic nard. In middle-eastern liturgical practices surrounding the ancient rites of the "sacred marriage" the anointing of the sacrificed bridegroom/king was a sacred ceremony reserved to his bride. The Gospel narratives describe the pre-nuptial anointing of Jesus by the woman with the alabaster jar and contain other elements from this ancient ritual.

On seven of eight New Testament lists of the women who walked with Jesus, Mary Magdalen's name is mentioned first on the list. She was clearly "first lady" in the eyes of the early Christian community. Some early Church theologians identified the Magdalen as the model of "church" (ekklesia) whom Christ "loved so much, that He gave his life for her."

More compelling facts from Scripture and history are included in Margaret Starbird's work. She follows a trail of evidence that leads through Egypt, to the south of France, and into important historical events in Europe.

Most significant is the medieval legend of the Holy Grail (sangraal), which secretly celebrated Mary Magdalen as the Bride of Christ. The "sangraal" is the "sacred blood" -- the royal lineage of Jesus. Because the legend of the Holy Grail contained and preserved the truth about Mary Magdalen, it was ruthlessly suppressed by the Inquisition. In an effort to discount her significance, Mary Magdalen was labeled a prostitute, but she was really the "Beloved" -- the bride of Jesus.

Restoring the sacred union of Jesus and Mary Magdalen to the heart of our Christian story provides us with a model of holiness based on the sacred union of the masculine and the feminine. It affirms the true holiness and significance of women as PARTNERS in the future practice of our Roman Catholic tradition.

I have talked with Margaret Starbird. When she embarked on her research, her intent was to disprove the possibility of Jesus' marriage, but the facts led her in a surprising new direction that provides a wonderful healing message for us all.

1

"gods channel" and "anointment"

by Morgana in

i just can't resist adding my two cents to this topic:.

there seems to be a general misunderstanding and confusion of what constitutes "gods channel" and "anointment" according to the biblical texts.. the kings - e.g., saul and david - were anointed but they were not yahweh's "channels"; they were strictly earthly, political rulers (though they had some ritual obligations, of course).

spiritual channels properly speaking were the prophets, and at times there were dozens or even many more of them around simultaneously, in the northern as well as the southern kingdom, and mostly acting individually and independently from each other (apart from some "schools" or "colleges" of prophets that were also mentioned occasionally).

Morgana

I just can't resist adding my two cents to this topic:

There seems to be a general misunderstanding and confusion of what constitutes "gods channel" and "anointment" according to the biblical texts.

The kings - e.g., Saul and David - were anointed but they were not Yahweh's "channels"; they were strictly earthly, political rulers (though they had some ritual obligations, of course). Spiritual channels properly speaking were the prophets, and at times there were dozens or even many more of them around simultaneously, in the northern as well as the southern kingdom, and mostly acting individually and independently from each other (apart from some "schools" or "colleges" of prophets that were also mentioned occasionally). And it was the prophets (and substituting and officiating for them, the high priest) who anointed the kings; the prophets themselves were never "anointed".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edit: This was supposed to be a response to the "Saul and David" topic but accidentally has become its own post; it seems I pressed the wrong button - ah well...

41

Why didn't Jesus write his own parts of the bible?

by Aphrodite in

why leave the writing to inaccurate third parties who each saw things from their own perspective.

if his message was so important for posterity, why did he not write an accurate account of his message?

Morgana

The main reason why there was a general lack of interest in written documents within the early Christian church (i.e., during the days of the original Apostles and Paul) seems to be that they were convinced that it simply was not necessary: Why bother if the "end of the eon" was imminent? The founder of the Christian religion, Paul himself, was absolutely convinced that he would not die but live to see the "Christ" returning and lifting him directly up to heaven (read, e.g., 1 Cor 15).

The Jewish apocalypticists (of which Paul was one) believed that the messianic age would begin when the resurrection started (as opposed to the more mainstream Jewish Rabbis who thought it would begin with the restitution of a proper Jewish state under a Jewish government and the repossession of Jerusalem); and for Paul, it started with Jesus as the first one to be resurrected, and would immediately ... or imminently ... or soon ... or eventually ... well, at least yet during the time of his life and his generation ... (you get the picture) ... continue.

28

Can the holy spirit be a person???

by leaving-jws in

my mom and i got into a debate about the trinity doctrine.

she claims that the holy spirit cannot be a person which invalidates the trinity doctrine.

she says in genesis that the holy spirit was depicted as "roving about the earth" as an "active force".

Morgana

I've not been brought up in a very Christian environment; but when I later learnt about it, the doctrine of the "Trinity" has never been a particular problem to my understanding.

God (if there is one) is certainly such a complex, multidimensional reality that with our human instruments of cognition we can at best gain a tiny, minute glimpse of some insignificant trace of his whole being...

To me it is not so hard to comprehend the eternally unknowable God as manifesting or revealing Himself in many different ways and with many names (!), many more then just three -- be it as El-Shaddai (the God of Abraham), as El-Elyon (the God of Melchizedek), as YHWH ("Jehovah" - the universal creator and at the same time the individual God of Israel), as Abba ("Father" - the personal God-Image of every human), as Yeshua ("Jesus" - the Son), and as Holy Spirit, just to name a few.

Seen in this way, it does not make any sense to speak of the Holy Spirit as "part of God"; rather, the Holy Spirit is one of the many, many ways God reveals Himself to us.