Posts by homeschool

18

Are JW's the only ones imprisoned for their beliefs?

by homeschool in

i'm sorry to gadget, who brought up a similar topic & it reminded me of something i was told 2 days ago.

is it true that jw's are the majority of people who are currently imprisoned for their beliefs?

can you give me examples if this is or is not the case?

homeschool

This is all very good information. Any suggestions on how to bring up a subject that's already been brought? (yes, thats my cheesy attempt at bringing out a line from Bring It On) . Without sounding argumentative?

55

Words JW's use NOT found in the Bible

by homeschool in

so the word "trinity" is not used in the bible...one of the many jw reasons to not believe in the trinity.

what are some words that jehovah's witnesses use that are also not in the bible?.

homeschool

with regards reading false claims,I mean many topics on here are false,or should i say misconstrude. Hmmmmm, MY topic was on which words are not in the Bible.

Ya know, a good way to argue without arguing is by stating your obvervation of what others are trying to tell you. For instance, you could say, "I understand that you believe why the Trinity is the truth...because reason 1, reason 2, reason 3, and soforth. I always believed it to be like this (insert your opinion here)."

Maybe you could start your own thread on which topics you view as miscontrued/false. I knew this would probably turn into a 'is the trinity true or false'...and that's cool. My main goal was to educate myself on which words jw's use that are not in the Bible, although one of their arguments for not believing in the Trinity is that the word "trinity" is not in the Bible.

And Angel, I do not hate most Jehovah's Witnesses. AT ALL. I believe the jw headquarters have "misconstrued" a LOT of their information they've delivered to their followers, causing a lot of needless heartache. Since you feel okay contributing to an 'apostate' website, would you also feel okay reading a book by a gentleman who was NEVER a jw? It's called Combatting Cult Mind Control. By Steven Hassan. I know you may wonder why the heck I've just asked you to read a book that has nothing to do with your religion, but the similarities this author states is astounding. And then maybe when you're done, you can start a thread on how your religion is different from the one in the book. That'll get LOTS of attention!

So, what OTHER words do jw's use that are not found in the Bible??! You guys are giving some great examples! I don't know when I'll actually get to discuss this with a real life jw, but I'm putting it in the back of the ol' 'noggin for future topics

55

Words JW's use NOT found in the Bible

by homeschool in

so the word "trinity" is not used in the bible...one of the many jw reasons to not believe in the trinity.

what are some words that jehovah's witnesses use that are also not in the bible?.

homeschool

I guess its hard when your reading false claims to remember the truth. What false claims are you referring to?

(Acts

2:17) ‘“And in the last days,” God says, “I shall pour out some of my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and YOUR sons and YOUR daughters will prophesy and YOUR young men will see visions and YOUR old men will dream dreams; Is there a difference, angel, between saying 'I will pour some of my spirit' and the "Holy Spirit"? How do you know God Almighty is speaking of the Holy Spirit?

(John

14:1) “Do not let YOUR hearts be troubled. Exercise faith in God, exercise faith also in me. Did you not check out the links I put up on here? The majority of people I've spoken to, believe God Almighty & Jesus are "One", no as in ONE PERSON, but "one" as in "totally united".

18

Are JW's the only ones imprisoned for their beliefs?

by homeschool in

i'm sorry to gadget, who brought up a similar topic & it reminded me of something i was told 2 days ago.

is it true that jw's are the majority of people who are currently imprisoned for their beliefs?

can you give me examples if this is or is not the case?

homeschool

Thanks for the comments everybody! i really do need your suggestions, thanks for sharing. Oh, and RR...special thanks you you ...and i thought you were a meany

I checked out Voice Of Martyrs...

55

Words JW's use NOT found in the Bible

by homeschool in

so the word "trinity" is not used in the bible...one of the many jw reasons to not believe in the trinity.

what are some words that jehovah's witnesses use that are also not in the bible?.

homeschool

Great! Lillith, I recently saw that as well that "Bible" is not even mentioned in the Bible.

55

Words JW's use NOT found in the Bible

by homeschool in

so the word "trinity" is not used in the bible...one of the many jw reasons to not believe in the trinity.

what are some words that jehovah's witnesses use that are also not in the bible?.

homeschool

jwfacts...btw...I LOVE your new format

55

Words JW's use NOT found in the Bible

by homeschool in

so the word "trinity" is not used in the bible...one of the many jw reasons to not believe in the trinity.

what are some words that jehovah's witnesses use that are also not in the bible?.

homeschool

Angel, I think you are a sweet girl, so I don't want to be rude to you.

I have been doing lots of research recently...most of it just goes over my head. But I decided to ask a few friends how they were raised to believe in the trinity, and even emailed a Methodist pastor. Now, when i was still a jw, and I were to see "DEFINITION", as the Reasoning book starts off doing,I would take it to mean "Truth according to the JW's, therefore truth to me". Despite that it says their definition is according to the Athanasian Creed, it leads you to believe that all religions except jw's believe this way, no? the JW's "definition" doesn't at all include what, in fact, MOST Christian relgions truly believe. I'm realizing that, in fact, MOST Christian faiths do believe in the trinity, but not the way the Reasoning Book describes. They believe God is the Almighty, Jesus is God the Almighty's Son, and the Holy Spirit are 3 distinct beings, but they they form "one", like "oneness".

http://www.clarifyingchristianity.com/trinity.shtml This is where I got one of my references from

http://www.carm.org/christianity/christian-doctrine/what-trinity Here is another.

The first couple paragraphs of the Reasoning Book, pg 405 state:

Definition:

Trinity

Definition: The central doctrine of religions of Christendom. According to the Athanasian Creed, there are three divine Persons (the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost), each said to be eternal, each said to be almighty, none greater or less than another, each said to be God, and yet together being but one God. Other statements of the dogma emphasize that these three “Persons” are not separate and distinct individuals but are three modes in which the divine essence exists. Thus some Trinitarians emphasize their belief that Jesus Christ is God, or that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are Jehovah. NotaBibleteaching.

What

istheoriginoftheTrinity

The

NewEncyclopædiaBritannica says: “Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Deut. 6:4). . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.”—(1976), Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126.

doctrine?

I was just checking out jwfacts.com and saw this :

Sources Misquoted

When quoting, the meaning of the original quote should be apparent, even when using ellipses (…). A classic source of misquotes is the Watchtower publication Should You Believe in the Trinity? (ti), using ellipses to hide words like "but", "however", "therefore" to present a completely different point from that being made by the source. Furthermore, provision of only partial references to the source of quotes make it difficult and time consuming to locate the original quote. Examples of misquotes follow.

Source of quote	Trinity Brochure	Full Quote
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethic, James Hastings, Trinity, p.461	"At first the Christian faith was not Trinitarian . . . It was not so in the apostolic and sub-apostolic ages, as reflected in the N[ew] T[estament] and other early Christian writings."-Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics. (ti pp. 6-7)	"At first the Christian faith was not Trinitarian in the strictly ontological reference."
The Triune God, Edward Fortman	"Jesuit Fortman states: "The New Testament writers . . . give us no formal or formulated doctrine of the Trinity, no explicit teaching that in one God there are three co-equal divine persons. . . . Nowhere do we find any trinitarian doctrine of three distinct subjects of divine life and activity in the same Godhead."" (ti p.6)	"They give us no formal or formulated doctrine of the Trinity, no explicit teaching that in one God there are three co-equal divine persons. But they do give us an elemental trinitarianism, the data from which such a formal doctrine of the Triune God may be formulated."
The Encyclopedia Americana	"The Encyclopedia Americana notes that the doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be 'beyond the grasp of human reason." (ti p.4)	"It is held that although the doctrine is beyond the grasp of human reason, it is, like many of the formulations of physical science, not contrary to reason, and may be apprehended (though it may not be comprehended) by the human mind".
The Catholic Encyclopedia (newadvent.org /cathen/ 15047a.htm 21/12/2006)	"The Catholic Encyclopedia also comments: "In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together. The word ????? [tri´as] (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A. D. 180. . . . Shortly afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian."" (ti p.5)	"The word [tri'as] (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A. D. 180. He speaks of "the Trinity of God [the Father], His Word and His Wisdom" ("Ad. Autol.", 11, 15, P. G., VI, 1078). The term may, of course, have been in use before his time. Shortly afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian."
Encyclopedia of the Holy Trinity	The Catholic work Trinitas-A Theological Encyclopedia of the Holy Trinity, for example, notes that some of Tertullian's words were later used by others to describe the Trinity. Then it cautions: "But hasty conclusions cannot be drawn from usage, for he does not apply the words to Trinitarian theology." (ti pp.5-6)	"The great African fashioned the Latin language of the Trinity, and many of his words and phrases remained permanently in use: the words Trinitas and persona, the formulas 'one substance in three persons,' 'God from God, light from Light.' He uses the word substantia 400 times, as he uses consubstantialis and consubstantivus, but hasty conclusions cannot be drawn from usage, for he does not apply the words to Trinitarian theology"
New Catholic Encyclopedia - p.306	"And the New Catholic Encyclopedia also says: "And the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the O[ld] T[estament]."" (ti p.6)	"The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the OT. … In many places of the OT however, expressions are used in which some of the Fathers of the Church saw references or foreshadowings of the Trinity."
Origin and Evolution of Religion	"Yale University professor E. Washburn Hopkins affirmed: "To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown; . . . they say nothing about it."-Origin and Evolution of Religion." (ti p.6)	"The beginning of the doctrine of the Trinity appears already in John (c.100 AD.") To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown; at any rate they say nothing about it."

A favourite quote in regular use in Watchtower publications is:

Should You Believe in the Trinity?

This quote is from New Catholic Encyclopedia p.299 (1967, Volume XIV). The inaccuracy of the context can be seen when continuing to read on page 300:

elemental Trinitarianism - went back to the period of Christian origins

--------------------------------------------------

So what OTHER words do JW's use that are not found in the Bible???

55

Words JW's use NOT found in the Bible

by homeschool in

so the word "trinity" is not used in the bible...one of the many jw reasons to not believe in the trinity.

what are some words that jehovah's witnesses use that are also not in the bible?.

homeschool

So the word "Trinity" is not used in the bible...one of the many jw reasons to not believe in the trinity. What are some words that Jehovah's Witnesses use that are also not in the Bible?

18

Are JW's the only ones imprisoned for their beliefs?

by homeschool in

i'm sorry to gadget, who brought up a similar topic & it reminded me of something i was told 2 days ago.

is it true that jw's are the majority of people who are currently imprisoned for their beliefs?

can you give me examples if this is or is not the case?

homeschool

18

Are JW's the only ones imprisoned for their beliefs?

by homeschool in

i'm sorry to gadget, who brought up a similar topic & it reminded me of something i was told 2 days ago.

is it true that jw's are the majority of people who are currently imprisoned for their beliefs?

can you give me examples if this is or is not the case?

homeschool

I'm sorry to Gadget, who brought up a similar topic & it reminded me of something I was told 2 days ago. Is it true that jw's are the majority of people who are currently imprisoned for their beliefs? Can you give me examples if this is or is not the case? I sure would appreciate it. Is there a website with the stats?