I find it really interesting that Christianity, 2000 years into its existence, is still under such scrutiny, criticism and conjecture. Shouldn't it have died out long ago?
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Really, There Is A Lot To Learn About Your Faith
by AllTimeJeff inin ak - jeffs thread "did jesus ever claim to be the messiah", narkissos said the following that i think, and have learned, is rather profound:.
a better approach to this discussion might start with questioning the presupposition that there was one concept of "messiahship" common to all or even most 1st-century ad jews.. the idea is, we assume that the faith and religion we have now, is as it was way back then... clearly, it isn't.. i haven't devoted a great deal of my time to this subject, but i have read enough to realize that there is a lot more to the history of our churches and religions then we think.
jw history is pretty easy, as they started in the late 19th century.
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Bye Bye Van Jones.
by AK - Jeff inhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090906/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_adviser_resigns_9.
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Is it Federal law that a person must believe the findings of the 9/11 investigation?
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MY LYING MOTHER IN LAW
by iknowall558 inthis is not a thread to gain sympathy.
my life has changed dramatically over the weekend.
my husband (hoboken) has just left me and my two boys.. i'm not going to divulge all the details, but needless to say things are very tough emotionally for all of us.
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Paul Barrie is a lovely soul, isn't he? I bet he had some talk or item at this weekend's Circuit Assembly. I told Hobo Ken that his brother testifying against him at his JC would significantly raise his stock and profile within the Organisation. He has, afterall, got to protect his own spiritual career and that will always come before family, even his 11 and 7 year old nephews. But at least he's concerned about their eternal salvation and surely only wants to see them on the narrow path leading to life via the Watch Tower Society, it's "faithful slave" and it's Governing Body.
Lovely people. True Christians.
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What is the JW story on baptisim?
by Out at Last! inthey claim that all of their beliefs and actions are based on the scriptures, so how can they justify 9,10 year olds, or even early teens getting baptized?
jesus was 29, john the baptist was the same age or a year older.
all of the others i recall from the ot & nt were adults.
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They absolutely want to get them while they're young. They say it's a loving provision, but it's a control technique. At a CO visit a year or two back, the Organisation let it be know that they think young men - as in mid-teens, so boys, really - should be encouraged to 'reach out' and have 'responsibilities'. The reason given was that it 'locks them into' the congregation.
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Ministerial servant mentions more "empty nester" JW couples getting divorced
by truthseeker ini was talking to a ministerial servant today, and the subject of marriage came up.
he said something very interesting, that recently many of the friends he grew up with in the truth (he is in his 30s) are on their second or third marriage.. he also talked about a more recent phenomenon that more empty nester jws (couples whose kids have left home), are deciding they don't want to stay together and are getting divorced.. we're talking about couples who have been married 20, 25, 30 or more years suddenly deciding to call it quits and it's not necessarily that they are looking for someone else; they simply want out of the marriage.. divorce does seem to be on the increase in congregations, especially the last one i attended.. it reminds me of a scripture in malachi we would sometimes hear about "not divorcing the wife of your youth".
why do you think divorce and separation are on the rise among long time married jws?.
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I've noticed that it just takes one couple in a congregation to separate for the 'flood gates' to open and several others to follow suit, almost as if it was a game of chicken to see who could stay in their rotten marriage the longest.
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Jehovahs Witnesses: the only organization preaching the good news
by JWMediaFilms inclick on the video.... it's uploaded in high def.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hisblir_2sw.
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Very well done, once again.
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anything exciting ever happened.....
by angel eyes inhave any of you had anything exciting happen,like meeting someone famous you've always wanted to meet?.
some exsperience that you will never forget that gave you much happiness.......
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Leaving a cult with your head held high is always fairly exciting.
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Does everyone else get this reaction from their JW family when discussing objections to the religion?
by jambon1 inwhen pointing out my objections to the jw religion with my wife, i have noticed a worrying trend which even after 3 or 4 years shows no sign of relenting.. after speaking calmly for an hour or so and logically pointing out my objections, my wife starts to put forward outrageous assertations about my points.
for instance, if i am refering to the fact that disfellowshipping is a form of extreem punishment & i mention the terrible effects that being d/f'd can have on people, she will eventually retort with something like "so what you are saying is that we should tolerate paedophiles, rapists & thieves in the organisation then?".
of course, i've never at any point said anything of the sort.. or if i have been overly critical of the amount of control the society wants over peoples lives, she would reply "so what you are saying is that we should all just go out & do what we want, get drunk & live an immoral life?
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The way some of thejws react, encluding my wife,it sort of makes you feel like they are possessed it is kind of spooky.
Very good point....
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Did Jesus ever claim Messiahship?
by AK - Jeff inin her book, introduction to christianity, mary jo weaver says this:.
"some christians think that jesus was so clearly the messiah that no one could fail to recognize him as such...... christians who see jews as a 'problem' might be surprised to learn that jesus has been a continual puzzle for the jews.
medieval jews tended to picture jesus as an apostate jew, a man who had lost his faith; 19th century jewish scholars had an image of jesus as a great ethical teacher.
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Whether or not Jesus was/is the Messiah is not important to me- if he only said and did half of the things written about him, then he was a great man, much can be learned from his simple messages of love and much can be acomplished by following his examples- I have many freinds who call themselves ChristianDeists (but I'm going to start a different thread for that).
This, though, is where it can get tricky; if Jesus was the Messiah, if he was the Son of God, if he was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, if he's the way, the truth and the life, relegating him to just a great guy is dangerous and misses the point of the Gospel message.
While following his example can be good for us and our neighbour, recognising his position as mediator and going to him for forgiveness and life is key.
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Did Jesus ever claim Messiahship?
by AK - Jeff inin her book, introduction to christianity, mary jo weaver says this:.
"some christians think that jesus was so clearly the messiah that no one could fail to recognize him as such...... christians who see jews as a 'problem' might be surprised to learn that jesus has been a continual puzzle for the jews.
medieval jews tended to picture jesus as an apostate jew, a man who had lost his faith; 19th century jewish scholars had an image of jesus as a great ethical teacher.
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What other prophets pointed to themselves as the solution other than Jesus? Mohammed, for example, points away from himself. Jesus tells us to come to him for life.
Also, while Islam is massive, Jesus' teachings are based on love; love your neighbour as yourself, love your enemy etc.
Faith isn't based on sight. Faith is based on promises. But the Bible tells us that a deposit of such promises is placed in the heart of a person who chooses to enter into a relationship with Jesus.
Christians don't insist on faith, the Bible does. And if the Bible is the Word of God, then this insistence comes from Jesus himself.
Even if all of this stuff about Jesus is a probability rather than hard, evidence-based fact, I just wonder if it bears close, personal examination, because if it's true, if we can have life and life to the full through Christ right now, plus eternal life as a guarantee, then it's serious stuff.
Romans 5: 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we b rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we c also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.