there is revelation 14:1. and i saw, and, look!
the lamb standing upon the mount zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads.. did the author have in mind the tetragrammaton here?
revelation is rich with allusions to the ot and other jewish texts that obviously used and made reference to the divine name; in particular the law where the high priest wore a headband with the tetragrammaton inscribed must surely be the basis for this image.
Take a look at Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16 -- the messiah and the city are both given the name "YHWH TSIDKENU" or Jehovah, our Righteousness.
I do believe that Jesus was given the name of Almighty God.
Hebrews tells that Jesus has inherited a name more excellent than angels. If you inherit something it must have previously belonged to someone else, in this case his Father.
Also look at John 17:12, "While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me."
i received this vomit-inducing email from a jw:.
i had the tonight show w/ conan o'brien playing in the background, at first i was shocked to hear what i heard, yet very happy to see what was being prominently displayed in public view for the entire world to see (as the show is syndicated internationally)!
yup, the study version of our dear watchtower with the words announcing jehovah's kingdom prominently on the front cover.
I like how the e-mail is spun so that the JW was not actually watching the show, simply having it on the background, they were even SHOCKED by it --
How much you wanna bet they were watching the show?
i've always hated story #53: "jepthah's promise".
i always felt sorry for the daughter who had to spend the rest of her days at the tabernacle because her father made a numb-nuts promise to god.
who did he think he was, making promises for other people?
I know some Bible commentators try to water this down like the Watchtower and envision some sort of sacrificial service, like in a convent, but the most obvious reading is that she was killed.
This may seem strange but the whole book of Judges is strange. I think the key to understanding is taking note of this repeated phrase, "in those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes."
The book of Judges is lots of people doing what they thought was best in their own eyes.
Yes I was fearful of demons. I'm no longer fearful of them.
I would agree with Minimus that in JW eyes Satan and demons are often see as more real than Almighty God. They actively deny miracles and the Power of God yet at the same time believe the demons are capable of doing all this crazy stuff today.
I do believe in demons and have had some experience with that sort of thing. However I have come to learn that the Jesus gives believers authority over unclean spirits and that authority has not been rescinded. These spirits often play upon fears and lie and decieve and are full of bluff - much like a grade-school bully - but they must submit to Jesus' name. It is as simple as that.
We recently visited rural missouri and spent sometime in nature. Sometimes it is difficult to walk through the woods without picking up a few ticks. But once you discover them they are quite simple to extract.
okay, most of these are going to show my age.
notorious b.i.g.
"life after death".
Gave up listening to rap when WT came down on it, but I listened to quite a bit. My favorite at the time was stuff like Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory.
a thowoff from ren's thread obviously.. i am firmly convinced that what is called christianity today - is actually just pauline theology.. if you removed all the portions of the nt that are attributed to paul, and actually accepted as primary the words of jesus and his direct followers - the worldwide movement would look far different doctrinally.
and as far as the fundy's go - they would be lost without the deep judgmentalism and rules oriented thinking of this writer [whomever he really was].. if ren's thread could go 15 pages and counting - why not this one?.
thoughts?.
@allelsefails
I see that quite a bit where it is suggested that Paul didn't think his writings were inspired. He may not come right out and say, "my writings are inspired", but is there any doubt that he felt that he speaking the Word of God? He really believed the message he preached wasn't received from any man but from God. In fact, in his letters he is careful to note when his expressions are his own and not from Heaven.
a thowoff from ren's thread obviously.. i am firmly convinced that what is called christianity today - is actually just pauline theology.. if you removed all the portions of the nt that are attributed to paul, and actually accepted as primary the words of jesus and his direct followers - the worldwide movement would look far different doctrinally.
and as far as the fundy's go - they would be lost without the deep judgmentalism and rules oriented thinking of this writer [whomever he really was].. if ren's thread could go 15 pages and counting - why not this one?.
thoughts?.
If you look at the early Christian writings of the 2nd century you'll find that Paul's writings, while not ignored, are not given very much attention. In the 4th century Augustine brought them into focus, particularly Romans, with the preeminence of the doctrine of justification by faith. The protestant movement of Luther, Calvin, etc. was basically a revival of Augustinian Catholicism and Romans became the central book of the Bible, the lens by which all the whole of Scripture was understand, and the point by which the Christian faith revolved.
I think on some level Paul though is easier to understand than Jesus which may explain his appeal to the western mind. Paul is quite analytical, particularly in the book of Romans as he is constructing his argument piece by piece, answering objections, etc. Jesus on the other hand can be quite cryptic, teaching in parables and providing signs but never really "spelling it out", it is somewhat abstract.
My preference is not to abandon Paul because I think there is value in what he writes. However, I would rather focus on the teachings of Jesus.
has anyone who has attended a district convention this year seen any protestors or demonstrators?.
have you ever protested or demonstrated or maybe even handed out literature at a convention or assembly?
what happened?
Sometimes I'm tempted to demonstrate with an old school sandwich board reading "Religion is a Snare and a Racket" -- "Serve Christ the King"
the scottish sun reports about about shauni chalk, a 16 year old girl from perth, who has been banned from attending the local kingdom hall of jehovahs witnesses in perth.
the girl was cited for anti-social behavior by the police after she hurled insults and harassed jehovahs witnesses at the kingdom hall during a three-month period, halting the meetings and becoming a general nuisance.
(jw news & comments).
Wow! She terrorised the local supermarket too! I guess she didn't like the food they were serving up either ...
*** bumping ***
I attempted to get a copy of the new book from a JW woman. She was all eager to get me a copy but I guess over the weekend she spoke to some elders that advised her that she couldn't get a copy of the book for an "apostate". The elders suggested that we contact the Society directly and make the request ... I don't see that happening. (Well maybe if I enclose some cash.)
Would really love a scan of the new book on Acts ...
