Posts by thomas15

85

I'm reading the Bible cover to cover...

by homeschool in

....what the heck have i gotten myself into .

as a sidenote, in genesis 21....abraham threw isaac a party on the day he was weaned.

check out the history on that and find out what other religions believe about that (i checked out the jewish & baptist websites).

thomas15

homeschool,

I'm with Chalam on this one. I think that you would get bogged down reading cover to cover. Some of the information regarding the divided kingdom (1&2 Chron, 1&2 Kings) repeat the historical information but from different prespectives (Israel/Judah). This makes it confusing to the reader who is not up on this and or does not have an appreciation for how God is working in the Nation of Israel. This is not intended to be an insult in any way. I do recommend reading the Bible cover to cover but breaking it up some New Testament here, some Old Testament there.

I read the Bible cover to cover last year and intend to do it again. It is though difficult to keep going unless you love God's word, which I do. I also agree with Chalam on using an alternative translation. Reading the Bible is a huge commitment of time and the NWT is so biased in favor of WT theology. There are so many good translations of the Bible in English and I'm sure you could use differences in the NWT and others to stimulate conversation with your sister that might cause her to question the motives of the WT and the NWT. Chalam makes some good recommendations of translations, another good one is the New Living Translation. But I would go with the NIV personally.

Take care,

Tom

41

JW Firefighters

by tresdecu in

just curious...a good friend of mine, ms and well in tune with the borg, wants to pursue firefighting as a career.

he is about 26 and wants it bad, currently he does some construction and ...ready: windows.

(hahaha yes, i know what everyone would think.

thomas15

In response to the questions regarding post high school education before becoming a paid fire fighter. Well, I have mentioned that I'm a volunteer firefighter, which as many of you know is not the same as paid. But I do know a few things about it, first, it depends on the city if post high school or prior experience with a volunteer company will help. A lot of cities view it just like any other civil service job, you take a civil service test, physical/medical/psy test and if you pass they admit you to their fire school.

As a volunteer, I'm state certified firefighter1 and 2 and vehicle rescue tech which is the same as a paid firefighter is expected to have. I'm currently in EMT-B class and will have that completed by years end, although we are not required to do any medical. I also have a CDL class B and many hundreds of hours of state fire school. There are colleges that offer fire science degrees but taking this route would be risky without having a promise of employment. I don't know of any volunteers that are JWs.

I have been a vollie for over 5 years now. I got into this because we moved to a new state and I wanted to meet people. At the time I joined, I was 46 years old. There are few things that are as rewarding as saving someones house/property or assisting them at an accident scene. We run about 200 calls per year and since I work during the day I don't make about half of them, but it (the fire service) becomes a part of your life. You find yourself doing things that you would not normally do on your own, especally chores that require tall ladders. Even as a vollie, this is a very dangerous job.

8

Musikfest anyone in the area go?

by moomanchu in

jw
friends

seen yes with asia last night.. 2 tickets $88.00 $9.00 for musikfest mug .

we joke that to do anything anymore it's a hundred bucks.. http://www.musikfest.org/.

goin one more time.. place is a madhouse lol..

thomas15

I'm in the Lehighton area. I try to stay as far from bedlum as possible.

52

MY B-I-L IS IN THE HOSPITAL

by Mary in

jw
friends

here's another update on my brother in law:.

my sister and b-i-l went to the cancer center in toronto earlier this week to see about getting the stemcell transplant for his disease.

it was actually an encouraging visit as the oncologist there said that they did not feel his condition had progressed into the acute myloid leukemia yet and that he had longer---up to 2 years---than what his local oncologist had said.

thomas15

Mary,

I'm praing right now for both you and your B-I-L

Tom

44

Is the NWT the best...

by Narkissos in

wt publication ever?.

or the worst?.

: in nwt i include the "study editions" with cross-references and footnotes, and the kit..

thomas15

possible-san asks:

Chalam,

I asked you.
"Why does the NIV add "the" which is not in the Greek text? ("In the beginning...")"

The answer is because the english grammar requires it. The word "the" is a definate article in english and the only other possible articles are indefinate articles "a" and "an". The indefinate "an" will not work gramatically. So if the translators used "a" then John would be making the case that there are more than one (1) beginnings of creation. This of course will not work so the NIV translators were left with the definate article "the".

I have pointed this out before, greek aside, the translation of the NWT for John 1:1, by using the english indefinate article "a" (...a god) does not accomplish what the WT translators are trying to say. The indefinate article means that the noun following is one of many (do you own a car?) There are millions of cars that you could own, and the question is not asking "do you own that 2003 blue chevy S-10 vin 1254587ff112f5? which refers to only one possible car. The WT maintains that Jesus is a mighty god, not God Almighty. They (the WT) do not allow for any other "mighty gods" and therefore the NWT teaches polytheism.

The NWT translators have a impossible task trying to make Jesus anything other than God. They did the best they could but in english, they raise more questions than they answer.

130

"Men of JWN: The 2010 Calendar"! Anyone in??

by Kudra in

jw
friends

this was jokingly mentioned in another thread.... i think it would be great to do it- just in time for x-mas gifts!!!.

what better to give your fave aposta-buddy than a scintillating men of jwn calendar??.

a women of jwn calendar??.

thomas15

New Light: Firemen must wear no shirts.

Thomas15 starts his slow fade......

130

"Men of JWN: The 2010 Calendar"! Anyone in??

by Kudra in

jw
friends

this was jokingly mentioned in another thread.... i think it would be great to do it- just in time for x-mas gifts!!!.

what better to give your fave aposta-buddy than a scintillating men of jwn calendar??.

a women of jwn calendar??.

thomas15

rebel8 posted: Firemen are strongly encouraged to apply.

I think I can get you to change your mind...

Thomas15 Volunteer Firefighter

Another view (I'm the guy on the right Dist 4)

Rescue dude on the Lehigh River

Thomas15 Fire Company Chaplain (blue shirt on the right) accepts check from Keith McCall, speaker of the PA house of represenatives.

15

Something that can be said to JW's at the door

by DT in

jw
friends

imagine this conversation.. witness: so would you enjoy reading this book which explains the bible based hope for everlasting life on a paradise earth?.

householder: yes, i would love to read that.

it sounds fascinating.

thomas15

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered many times before, but what if you accept a copy of the book at the door. Are you asked to pay for it? Could you say something like I will read it, underline passages highlite sentences and discuss it but I'm not paying for it?

47

WTS causing more anguish

by GapingMouth in

i don't really know where to start on my first post; i feel i have so much to say and yet i am so emotionally tired that it is hard to go through it all again in my head.

but, i do need support and advice and so i will make the effort.. i started having doubts about certain beliefs of the witnesses about 2 years ago and did research since that i now come to the belief there is no god, and witnesses definitely are a cult.. at first it bothered me more on the god issue, but now i am more bothered by the cult issue, mainly because it dictates my life even though i am aware of it.. when i was a child, my mother and father divorced and my mother told me i will live with my father because she was going to die at armageddon being a non witness.

i think, as well as many other pressures i cant list for fear of a very long post, this was the main pressure that made me get baptized even though i wasn't that happy being a witness.

thomas15

Hello GapingMouth, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear of your trials and anguish. I hope that you are able to find peace.

As an Evangelical and never having experienced the WT personally, I'm always amazed at the willingness ex-JWs to discuss the Bible in an objective manner and without the kind of prejudice that I think I would have if I were mauled by an organization such as the WT.

If I may be so bold as to say, I think Passwordprotected is trying to advise you to separate the teaching and practices of the WT from the teaching of the Bible. The two are not in harmony so to speak.

I think you will find this forum to be a great place to find support.

Take care,

Tom

11

Faithful and Discreet Slave Question...

by cognac in

jw
friends

who is the faithful and discreet slave?

are they here on earth or are they in heaven?

are they providing food at the proper time?.

thomas15

The slave, even after being rewarded due to being faithful to the appointed task, still remains a slave based on the information presented in the passage in Matt 24.

In John ch 1:12, we are promised as believers that we will become "son's of God..." And we know that son's become heirs and are thus over any slave as they will receive an inheritence. The slave, not so much.