Posts by fulltimestudent

14

The King James Bible - The King and his Boyfriend

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

in 1604 king james i of england issued an instruction that a new translation of the bible be prepared.

it was completed in 1611 and the first edition appeared in 1612.. at the front of this bible this notation apppeared:.

"the holy bible, containing the old testament, and the new: newly translated out of the original tongues: & with the former translations diligently compared and revised, by his majesties special commandment".

fulltimestudent

First part:

[George Villiers. Duke of] Buckingham made a very favourable impression upon everyone he met, for his attractive appearance and ease of manner were combined with a genuine humility (as though he was awed by his own good fortune) and a desire to please. A portrait of Buckingham., painted in 1616, shows a tall, slender young man, delicate-featured, with long tapering fingers and finely shaped legs. This impression is confirmed by the account of the antiquarian Simonds D’Ewes, who watched Buckingham talking to a group of French lords in 1621, and found ‘everything in him full of delicacy and handsome features: yea, his hands and face seemed to me especially effeminate and curious'. Another eye-witness, Bishop Goodman, described Buckingham as ‘the handsomest-bodied man of England: his limbs so well compacted and his conversation so pleasing and of so sweet a disposition' …

Somerset [the royal favourite, Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset] was still behaving in a manner calculated to anger rather than conciliate the King. Driven by suspicions, many of which were justified, Carr sought constant reassurance as he struggled to break the hold of Villiers upon the King's heart. But James, whose love for his old favourite was now clearly fading, insisted that Somerset must acknowledge his faults and return to a more respectful manner of behaviour. As far as James was concerned the situation was quite clear. He would not abandon Villiers, and if Somerset wished to retain his influence he must accept this fact

... the King was on his summer progress, visiting one great country house after another. On its return to London the royal procession passed through Hampshire, and at the end of August 1615 the King paused for a few days at Farnham Castle. It was there that Buckingham plaved the trump card which ensured his victory over Somerset. The King - who celebrated his forty-ninth birthday in June 1615 - had long been starved of physical affection. His relations with his wife were those of a friend, not a lover, and as for Somerset, one of the faults which the King laid to his charge was, ‘your long creeping back and withdrawing yourself from lying in my chamber., notwithstanding my many hundred times earnestly soliciting you to the contrary.’

14

The King James Bible - The King and his Boyfriend

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

in 1604 king james i of england issued an instruction that a new translation of the bible be prepared.

it was completed in 1611 and the first edition appeared in 1612.. at the front of this bible this notation apppeared:.

"the holy bible, containing the old testament, and the new: newly translated out of the original tongues: & with the former translations diligently compared and revised, by his majesties special commandment".

fulltimestudent

In 1604 King James I of England issued an instruction that a new translation of the Bible be prepared. It was completed in 1611 and the first edition appeared in 1612.

At the front of this Bible this notation apppeared:

"THE HOLY BIBLE, Containing the Old Testament, AND THE NEW: Newly Translated out of the Original tongues: & with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by his Majesties special Commandment"

But in a delicious irony, especially considering the special place this translation has in the minds of many Christians, and the general hostility of many Christians to the notion of men having sex with men, King James I, who had personally chaired meetings of the translation committee had a male lover. Well, more than one male lover actually, for during some of the time, at least, James dallied with Robert Carr, the Earl of Somerset. But by the time the translation was finished, there was some coolness in that relationship. And, another young man, George Villiers appeared at the Royal court. What follows is an extract from a book written about Villiers and his sexual relationship with the KIng.

From Roger Lockyer, Buckingham: The Life and Political Career of George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham 1592-1628 (1981)

43

Did Jesus really die on a cross?

by macys in

jw
friends

being raised a catholic we had lots of crosses around the house.

when my family converted to this cult they were all removed and destroyed in case they had demons in them lol but at this juncture in my life i do not even know if jesus as the way he is portrayed in the bible was real.

yes a man named jesus did live and die 2000 years ago and probably on a cross but he was definitely not the son of god.

fulltimestudent

The Romans used a variety of instruments on which to fasten someone who they wished to kill slowly. I do not believe that we will ever know for sure what type of stake/cross they used to hang Jesus.

2

An instrument too far - a hot babe from Taiwan skips between three musical instruments

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

also from the american owned shanghaiist, this musical interlude played by shara lin.

https://www.facebook.com/shanghaiist/videos/vb.5852261029/10152896016736030/?type=2&theater.

fulltimestudent

also from the American owned Shanghaiist, this musical interlude played by Shara Lin

https://www.facebook.com/shanghaiist/videos/vb.5852261029/10152896016736030/?type=2&theater

China's next 5 year plan - set to music in a cheeky video

by fulltimestudent in

1. seen in china as the reason for the spectacular economic progress that china has made seen a centrally planned economy was rejected, the five year plans provide some guidance.

it's set after widespread discussions up and down and everywhere and allows some focus.. 2. the shanghaiist (the source of this video) is an american owned newspaper published in shanghai.

(its owned by the gothamist, which i gather is from ny, and is certainly not owned by the watchtower corporation.. watch it here: http://shst.me/cen.

fulltimestudent

1. Seen in China as the reason for the spectacular economic progress that China has made seen a centrally planned economy was rejected, the five year plans provide some guidance. It's set after widespread discussions up and down and everywhere and allows some focus.

2. The Shanghaiist (the source of this video) is an American owned newspaper published in Shanghai. (Its owned by the Gothamist, which I gather is from NY, and is certainly not owned by the Watchtower Corporation.

Watch it here: http://shst.me/cen

13

Was Jesus a hypocrite?

by James Mixon in

jesus spoke of loving your enemy, matt.5:43, luke 6:26, but look what is said in.

mark 16:51,16 "go preach but who ever does not believe his ass will be set on fire".. i don't think that is good news.

hell if that is love, what the hell is hate.

fulltimestudent

I do not see any evidence that the man behind the myth was a hypocrite. But I do suggest that what we can see and read that's attributed to him, all suggests that he was delusional.

Look at what we know about him. Born a carpenter's kid, he grows up with an also deluded mother, who thinks she's given birth to a special son who's destined to do great things for their national god. The evidence is that he was not the only one in Palestine at that time that thought like this. Other's also had this fantasy based on Daniel ch 7. Hence the words of Mark 13:26:

"At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory."

In spite of the beliefs of similarly deluded people (including me for most of my life), Jesus died like all humans and that was the end of him and his own delusion. We have not seen him or heard from him in all the centures since he died.

5

The machines helping to build China's vast network of high speed rail

by fulltimestudent in

high speed rail (in china, anyway) is a railway that travels faster than 200 km/hour.

while other countries in europe and japan have developed high speed rail, china now has the largest network in the world, with both mainlines and connecting links often providing 300km/hour travel.

the network now comprises more than 16,000 km of dedicated track and another approx.

fulltimestudent

High speed rail (in China, anyway) is a railway that travels faster than 200 km/hour. While other countries in Europe and Japan have developed high speed rail, China now has the largest network in the world, with both mainlines and connecting links often providing 300km/hour travel. The network now comprises more than 16,000 km of dedicated track and another approx. 16,000 km of shared passenger rail + freight. Another 16,000 km is in the process of planning and or construction.

For example, you can travel from the centre of Beijing to Shanghai (about 1318 km) in approximately 4.5 hours, a travel time that makes for serious competition with air-travel (flight time is 2 hours, but you need to consider check-in requirements and travel time from central city to airports located on the fringe of a city).

High speed rail is now being sold abroad. A joint Russia-China agreement has been signed to build a high speed link from east Asia (Beijing) to Moscow.

The current travel time on the famous Siberian Express is 6 days, the new rail link will take less than two days.

http://www.railway-technology.com/features/featureconnecting-eurasia-mapping-the-myriad-of-high-speed-rail-routes-4593227/

Methods have been developed that permit fast construction - here's two videos that show their methodology. The concept is simple, rather than following the contours of the land, build a level track by tunnelling through mountains and building elevated track where there are valleys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6X82g2UZOs&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MWF06XKN8o

10

Thinking about converting to Judaism after I leave the JW cult. Any Jews here?

by tragical in

just a question, any savvy jewish lawyer shark types here who would like to go after the throat of this jw cult and send them to hell?

maybe take them to court over any number of topics and expose them for the evil cult they are?

pick your choice of child abuse, personal slander, mental cruelty and torture, and thousand of other topics.

fulltimestudent

Haha Cofty. Maybe the old answer, 'because they can.'

But what stops him from choosing what he wants. Of course, he will find similar imperfections in whatever he chooses, because ultimately all religions exist in the imaginations of humans, but if it makes him happy, then its OK.

Think back to when you first 'got' the truth. Don't know what it was like for you? But for me it was dam exciting. I was captivated by the concept and imagined being one of this great crowd of people criss-crossing the earth saying to all and sundry, "come with us, we're on the way to a perfect world." I was stupid enough to make it my life - to my financial detriment (sour face).

Even two-three years before I was kicked out, I can recall spending a whole day (out in the bush south of Sydney) in prayer, telling YHWH how much I loved him and swearing everlasting allegiance. And, yet a few years later I woke up.

For more in that vein, have a look at whats called, 'narrative theory.' The argument is that we all live in a story (the set of beliefs and concepts we come to hold) of our writing. Tragical wants to have a chapter entitled, "My Life as a Jew." Nothing wrong with that, but as I posted before, he will not find the 'purity' that Jews say is important.

10

Thinking about converting to Judaism after I leave the JW cult. Any Jews here?

by tragical in

just a question, any savvy jewish lawyer shark types here who would like to go after the throat of this jw cult and send them to hell?

maybe take them to court over any number of topics and expose them for the evil cult they are?

pick your choice of child abuse, personal slander, mental cruelty and torture, and thousand of other topics.

fulltimestudent

So you think that you can find something 'pure' in Judaism, do you?

Then you may be interested to know about this story:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-16/malka-leifer-abuse-allegations-melbourne-woman-awarded-1.27-mill/6780040

It tells of a Melbourne woman, once a student at an elite ultra-Jewish Melbourne school who has recently been awarded one million dollars as compensation for the sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of the school Head.

And, if you care to search further, you will find other similar stories of abuse at Jewish schools, and the attempts made by the Jewish authorities to cover up the crimes.

And, to travel back in history, you may like to investigate this giant Jewish trading organisation known as the Radhanites. I believe their origins are to be found among the Jews deported to Babylon. When Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, many stayed in Babylon, believing that life in a sophisticated city like Babylon was better than returning to a ruined, hick city like Jerusalem. The Jews that stayed in Babylon turned to trading to make a living. Many became very wealthy, and in time a huge trading network formed, controlled by those Jewish people. The Babylonian rabbis later became very influential in the formation of Judaism, particularly after the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.

Information on the Radhanites is not so easy to find, but here's one source on the web:

http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/radhanites-SIM_0018170

You'll likely need access to a good library to read the entire entry, but the initial part says:

The Radhanites (Ar. al-Rādhāniyya) were Jewish merchants believed to have originated in the ninth century in the region of Rādhān, a district in southern Iraq. Their trade routes, which stretched from China to the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the commodities in which they traded, were recorded by the ninth-century Persian geographer Ibn Khurradādhbih (or Khurdādhbih) in his Kitāb al-Masālik wa al-Mamālik (ed. de Goeje, Leiden, 1889, pp. 153-155). According to this text, the Radhanites knew six languages and traded in slaves, silk, furs, and swords, as w…

Anyway, the point I want to make is that as part of their trading in slaves, they also specialised in eunuchs, and it is believed they maintained a facility in Verdun at which boys and young men were operated on to make eunuchs. Of course, for many that just means castration, but there was also a demand for eunuchs who had not just their testes removed, but also their penis - and that is a much more serious operation and skilled care is required to prevent fatalities.

6

“The Babylonian Exile shaped the future”

by Doug Mason in

the theme of my study, the babylonian exile shaped the future, is simple:.

(1) the hebrews considered themselves to be gods chosen people, yet israel had been dispersed by the assyrians and judah was dominated by egypt and then by babylon..

(2) in response to judahs captivity, its prophets promised the nation that god would restore them to their rightful position and that god would forever maintain the throne of david..

fulltimestudent

(1) The Hebrews considered themselves to be “God’s Chosen People”, yet Israel had been dispersed by the Assyrians and Judah was dominated by Egypt and then by Babylon.

There's little doubt in my opinion that the exile and a period of captivity was significant in the development of Jewish theology. The elite were kept captive and fed and had nothing else to do during the exile than to eat and drink and talk. The final part of the exile also brought the Jews into contact with Zoroastrianism and that surely added to the after dinner chatter, fueled by whatever passed for good wine in those days.

And to re-phrase your first point ...

The Jews had a big spiritual problem in their experience. Its not much good having 'the true God' as your own God ,if that true God keeps getting his arse kicked by all the false Gods.

It seems the only reason they came up with to explain their God's failure to protect them was that they had not been faithful enough. Hence, the probability that the final section of Deuteronomy included all the warnings that said, 'Be obedient or else,' was written at this time.