Leolaia,
You said first century christians believed demons were the spirits of the Nephilum and not fallen angels? Do you have a credible source that states that? Thanks, Lilly
i remember growing up and hearing all sorts of stories about demonic activity from people.
some would be experiences that people had going door to door and visiting a "witch" or "warlock".
some would inadvertently go to a fortune tellers door and have a demonic experience.. i was always facinated by all the stories.
Leolaia,
You said first century christians believed demons were the spirits of the Nephilum and not fallen angels? Do you have a credible source that states that? Thanks, Lilly
n.h. supreme court title sex offender can't worship with minors subhead religious freedom appeal rejected summary main photo/photogallery by maddie hanna / monitor staffseptember 18, 2010the state supreme court has denied the appeal of a sex offender who wanted to worship with a manchester congregation of jehovah's witnesses after he was released from prison in 2008.. in an opinion issued yesterday, the justices rejected 36-year-old jonathan perfetto's argument that the conditions of his suspended prison sentences - which require he have no contact with minors under age 17 - had violated his right to religious freedom.. "the defendant's freedom of belief has not been restricted," the justices wrote.
"he may still practice his religion in ways that do not violate the condition of his sentences," including the use of books and video and audio recordings.. perfetto could also participate in bible study sessions or meet with congregation elders when children weren't present, the justices said.. and the justices agreed with the state that restrictions prohibiting perfetto's contact with minors were justified if they were reasonable to his rehabilitation and to protecting public safety - rather than the least restrictive conditions possible, as perfetto had argued.. in perfetto's case, the restrictions were reasonable, the justices said.
perfetto pleaded guilty in 2002 to 61 counts of possessing child pornography, and "prohibiting him from having contact with children provides protection to the class of individuals exploited by him and furthers his rehabilitation by limiting the circumstances which could lead to his reoffending," the justices wrote.. the appeal marked the first time the court had considered whether restrictions barring a sex offender from attending religious meetings where children are present violated that person's constitutional rights to freedom of religion.
One more thing. This is really, really good news as we know the elders will not protect the children in thier kingdom hall. There was a child molestor in the Hingham MA congregation for a long time and NOT one elder warned me or my husband about him even though we had two small children. My son who was around 6 at the time used to want to go to the rest room alone since he was a "big boy" and did not need dad.
But for a sister who knew this guy and his past coming to warn me I would of had NO IDEA. We immediately up and left that hall for another when we found out that the elders could care less about our family. Little did we realize at the time that this was standard practice in the JW's. to hide molestors for the sake of keeping up the false appearance of cleanliness in the organization.
so this judge did the right thing and now this creep cannot have contact with children at least in the hall. Peace, Lilly
n.h. supreme court title sex offender can't worship with minors subhead religious freedom appeal rejected summary main photo/photogallery by maddie hanna / monitor staffseptember 18, 2010the state supreme court has denied the appeal of a sex offender who wanted to worship with a manchester congregation of jehovah's witnesses after he was released from prison in 2008.. in an opinion issued yesterday, the justices rejected 36-year-old jonathan perfetto's argument that the conditions of his suspended prison sentences - which require he have no contact with minors under age 17 - had violated his right to religious freedom.. "the defendant's freedom of belief has not been restricted," the justices wrote.
"he may still practice his religion in ways that do not violate the condition of his sentences," including the use of books and video and audio recordings.. perfetto could also participate in bible study sessions or meet with congregation elders when children weren't present, the justices said.. and the justices agreed with the state that restrictions prohibiting perfetto's contact with minors were justified if they were reasonable to his rehabilitation and to protecting public safety - rather than the least restrictive conditions possible, as perfetto had argued.. in perfetto's case, the restrictions were reasonable, the justices said.
perfetto pleaded guilty in 2002 to 61 counts of possessing child pornography, and "prohibiting him from having contact with children provides protection to the class of individuals exploited by him and furthers his rehabilitation by limiting the circumstances which could lead to his reoffending," the justices wrote.. the appeal marked the first time the court had considered whether restrictions barring a sex offender from attending religious meetings where children are present violated that person's constitutional rights to freedom of religion.
how did satan tempt a person who has no wrong desires?.
Ding,
Many people wonder how Jesus could be tempted if he is God, because they believe God cannot be tempted. The common scriptural text given in support of this view is this one;
James 1:13, "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone." Thus some wonder, How can Jesus be GOD if God cannot be tempted?
However, notice that this verse does not say the God cannot be tempted but rather it says that “he cannot be tempted by evil”- that is the point of James thought, God does not tempt us with evil (to sin) nor can He be tempted by evil and sin.
We know from the biblical accounts that Jesus was tempted at all points (Heb.4:15), meaning Jesus was tempted at all points as mentioned in 1 Jn.2:16- the world—1) the lust of the flesh, 2) the lust of the eyes, and 3) the pride of life (1 Jn.2:16). He was tempted directly by the Devil to do evil by disobeying god and coveting the kingdom. Even Satan the most power creature was unable to tempt Jesus to do sin or evil (Mt.4).
The difference between Jesus temptation and that of simply man is that temptations often instigate a response from the sin nature in man, but Jesus had no sin nature.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
1 Peter 2:21-22: “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: "Who committed no sin” Nor was deceit found in His mouth";
1 John 3:5-6: “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.”
So you can see, jesus was tempted and could be tempted although he being in the divine nature (he was fully man and fully God), but could not commit evil or sin because unlike a man, he had no sinful nature.
SIN.
Hope this helps, Peace Lilly
boy oh boy where to start?
lots of changes over the last seven years.
this week i had been reflecting on just how drastically my life has changed for the better since loosening the grip of the watchtower society.. in brief, my life seven years ago this month looked liked this; my family was very unhappy after nearly a decade of serving the "happy god" of the watchtower and being part of the "happiest people on earth".
just about this time 7 years ago.. no back-slapping please.. just happy to be out - out of the watchtower - out of christianity and it's similar faults - out of religion entirely.
what freedom!.
jeff.
Jeff,
Congrats to you my friend. Isn't freedom wonderful!
My hubby and I were discussing the other day how it took years of being out of the Tower to fully realize the oppressive wieght we were under.
Wishing you peace, Lilly
wt 12/1/1894 p. 384.
wt 5/1/57 p.274.
wt 11/15/28 p.344.
i tried to fade off the map by moving 30 miles initially in 2004 after i exited in late 2003 .
the first several years they didn't bother me.
i ran into a elder from my former congregation in late 2005 in an antique store - he tried telling me i was wrong for stopping attending meetings.
No. I gave my 10 page Da letter with the scriptural reasons I was leaving the org and not one elder came by to "correct" my views. My husband stayed for 3 months at the hall and NOT ONE elder approached him about my letter or asked him what happened to change my mind about the WT. They actually avoided even looking at him. That is when he decided in his own mind that they were not spiritual men and the WT was a bunch of bunk. Lilly
wt december 15, 2010. snippets from this watchtower are below.
keeping in mind that all articles are written with an agenda, to address problems in the organization or to pave the way for new guidelines, look at what i highlighted.
my conclusions are:.
I feel bad for the poor children who are going to be harrassed now for going to the bathroom and marked as spiritually lacking by older ones in the congregation. I know this for sure because a similar point was made in the WT when I was in and my children got lots of negative looks and comments for going to the restroom. I even had a few "sisters" tell me I was an inappropriate parent for not training my kids better.
This WT is mind control at its best. Thanks for posting. Lilly
boy oh boy where to start?
lots of changes over the last seven years.
this week i had been reflecting on just how drastically my life has changed for the better since loosening the grip of the watchtower society.. in brief, my life seven years ago this month looked liked this; my family was very unhappy after nearly a decade of serving the "happy god" of the watchtower and being part of the "happiest people on earth".
Thank you Stephen. I agree with all your comments. I do now attend two regular churches but keep it in perspective. I am loyal to Christ first, not my denomination or church group. God bless! Peace to you and yours, Lilly