Vanderhoven7
JoinedPosts by Vanderhoven7
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26
JW Broadcasting - simply a platform for narcissists?
by eyeslice inone thing i notice from sitting through a number of broadcasts is just how much these guys love their titles.
it's always brother such-and-such, member of the gb, helper to the teaching committee, etc.
it's never simply brother such-and-such, a local elder with such-and-such congregation.. it seems to me the witnesses are pretty quick to pick up on catholics who call their priests father, which at the end of the day is in much the same vein simply a title.. i suspect these titles point to a huge amount of narcissism of the part of those who revel in such titles, certainly it doesn't seem to fall in line with christ's advocation that the greatest amongst you should be be the least.
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Did the ransom sacrifice even work?
by Sharpie inshower thought entered my mind the other day... jesus christ.
as per doctrine.
is still alive in heaven right now correct?
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Vanderhoven7
JP writes
Here’s the clue I’ve mentioned from the Old Testament about God being the recipient of a ransom. In Psalm 49:7–8, we read, “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice” In Psalm 49:15, we then read, “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.”
I don’t think this is a direct reference to the ransom of Christ, but rather a picture of how difficult it is to get people out of Sheol, which is laying claim on all these human beings like a kidnapper. But it certainly is suggestive that if a ransom is to be involved in rescuing humans from death, it’s not going to be unbiblical to talk about paying it to God.
So when Jesus comes into the world, he says in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
God Paid God
Here’s why I think the ransom was paid by God to God, and in what sense it was a ransom. The key text that is absolutely crucial, I think, is Romans 3:24–25. Here’s what it says: “[They] are justified by his grace as a gift” — that’s what it means to be treated graciously — “through the redemption” — the ransoming — “that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood” — in other words, a sacrificial offering made on the mercy seat to God to avert his wrath and restore men (what a ransom does is restore us to the rightful parent or God or whomever we’ve been kidnapped from, so to speak) — “to be received by faith.”
“The payment was not silver and gold, but the blood of Christ exalting and restoring the glory of God.”
The picture is the following: Man has fallen short — far short of the glory of God. He has offended the glory of God. He has besmirched and dishonored the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have committed treason by exchanging the glory of God for images (Romans 1:23).
God in his holiness and wrath upholds the glory of his name by sentencing us in condemnation — to eternal suffering in hell. But he’s also a God of great mercy, and he prepared another way for his glory to be upheld in justice. That’s what Romans 3:25 is about — namely, by sacrificing his Son for those who believe ...
Free from Wrath
That sacrifice, Paul says, ransomed or redeemed people from the wrath of God. What a glorious gospel! Saved from the wrath of God! Romans 5:9 says, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”
That’s the big issue. That’s the big problem in the universe — God’s wrath. By the shedding of blood, we have escaped the wrath of God. The blood ransoms; it redeems from the wrath of God. If someone asked, “How did it do that? How did the payment actually work?” I would say that what was paid was the repair of God’s dishonor. The repair of God’s dishonored glory. The death of Jesus, in giving up so much glory out of love and honor to the Father, has repaired all that has been dishonored by the sins of God’s people. That’s what’s been paid.
In that sense, I think the ransom was paid by God in Christ to God in sending his Son to die. He died to rescue us from God’s wrath because we could never, ever pay the massive debt of glory that we owed to the Father. The payment was not silver and gold, but the blood of Christ exalting and restoring the glory of God.
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Jesus paid it ALL for YOU
by JW Answers insadly, jehovah's witnesses depend on their religion to save them, and the bible does not point to religion as a saving point for salvation.. the video message below shows from the bible that for salvation, jesus paid it all for you.. are you saved?.
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Vanderhoven7
@JW Answers,
I hope you are not a fan of Calvin's theology.
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Jesus paid it ALL for YOU
by JW Answers insadly, jehovah's witnesses depend on their religion to save them, and the bible does not point to religion as a saving point for salvation.. the video message below shows from the bible that for salvation, jesus paid it all for you.. are you saved?.
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Vanderhoven7
@JW Answers
Jesus paid it all is a great hymn by the way.
Here is the absolute best version in my books
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Research paper on Effects of Shunning
by peacefulpete inafter being around this site for 21 years now, i've heard many recount their stories and feelings.
many times i can immediately relate but other times they seem to have had a very different experience with the church.
i'm sure that is because not only are all of us different in personality, but congregations and family dynamics vary as well.
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Vanderhoven7
Here is the PR spin on disfellowshipping.
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How many doubt the GB official teaching about who will survive
by Indoubtbigtime ini wonder how many have doubts about the gb teaching that only baptised jws would survive the big a?
even then they still only say you may make it as with unbaptised kids of jdubs.
i think most people physically in don’t agree with the gb on this and are hoping jehovah would let other good people into the new world even if they are not baptised jws.
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Vanderhoven7
Here is a classic example of child baptism pressure.
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My Explanation of Why They Got it Wrong About Blood Using Only the NWT
by cofty in10 " any israelite or any alien living among them who eats any bloodi will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
12 therefore i say to the israelites, "none of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.
15 'anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
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Vanderhoven7
...which of course proves divine origin
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203
My Explanation of Why They Got it Wrong About Blood Using Only the NWT
by cofty in10 " any israelite or any alien living among them who eats any bloodi will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
12 therefore i say to the israelites, "none of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.
15 'anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
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Vanderhoven7
Lev 20:18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and has intercourse with her, he has laid bare the source of her flow and she has uncovered it. The two of them shall be cut off from the people.
Lev 15:24“’If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.
Commentators agree that in the first case (20:18), both husband and wife were aware menses had started before engaging in intercourse, whereas in the second, (15:24), they were not i.e. her flow had not yet started and was probably precipitated by the sexual act itself.
“There are no research studies that demonstrate a definite relation to having sex and altering the start date of menses. That said, it is well known that orgasms (associated with intercourse, or without) cause contractions within the uterus as part of the autonomic response associated with that event....In theory, those contractions may precipitate the start of menses. For women that engage in penile-vaginal intercourse, semen causes the cervix to soften slightly, due to a type of chemical called a prostaglandin that is present within the ejaculate. This, coupled with orgasm, could potentially lead to the start of a period.”
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Salvation: Faith alone OR works?
by JW Answers injehovah's witnesses run to the book of james staying that faith without works is dead.
they completely ignore the teachings of paul and hold onto james.
.. it would appear that there is a contradiction between james' teaching and paul's teaching, yet the bible tells us to rightly divide the word of truth.
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Vanderhoven7
Hi Cofty,
Welcome back btw. I've often wondered what you were up to after your sudden departure.
"How to be saved by god from what god will do to us if we don't believe him."
I'll have to take time to think about that one,
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How do JWs know that millions who were martyred as Christians before the 20th century did not have the heavenly hope?
by Vanderhoven7 inas i understand it, jehovah’s witnesses believe less than 145,000 faithful christians existed prior to the twentieth century.
the other sheep christians did not start forming until after 1914. that means jehovah’s witnesses view millions martyred for their faith in christ prior to the 20th century as merely professed christians.. the question is…how do witnesses know that those millions who perished for their faith in christ were not christians at all?.
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Vanderhoven7
@ LongHairGal
Glad you were not taken in by the organization's narcissistic mythology.
Somehow the Watchtower has decided, based solely on a symbolic number in Revelation, that they know that millions who perished because of their faith in Christ prior to the 20th century could not have been Christians.