Not many years ago, this visit may have been dangerous. But now that the civil war is over, even if the Tamils lost their fight for independence, its safe to visit:
fulltimestudent
JoinedPosts by fulltimestudent
-
3
Holiday time (at least in the southern hemisphere)- Here's a suggestion. Northern Sri Lanka
by fulltimestudent innot many years ago, this visit may have been dangerous.
but now that the civil war is over, even if the tamils lost their fight for independence, its safe to visit:.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/sri-lanka-by-train-the-formerly-war-torn-north-is-rebuilding-a6736001.html.
-
-
-
19
Too Much Discontent in the Congregation Part 3
by Simon Templar innow, 80-85 years later, we are still here.
if i was to do the counsel with a brother who had this much experience, i would have just thanked him for doing the talk, and marked him good on the point.
this is a good way to get money though.
-
-
fulltimestudent
LoveUniHateExams: From when I first started studying to when I left, I wasted 15 years of my life in the cult. This is bad enough, but I can't imagine what it would be like wasting 50 years in the cult.
haha - Well, I can tell you. I wasted 42 years, and perhaps would've wasted more, except they disfellowshipped me and that gave me a chance to wake up.I try not to be angry, what's the point? I did it to myself. I didn't really question anything, accepting that their viewpoint was correct. Can't say it was all bad, and maybe I could not have done the things I now see as desirable. The early 1950's were a lot different to now.
Daily routines in or out the truth are much the same, and yeah! I had some interesting and good friendships - all destroyed of course, by the leadership's megalomania.
The biggest loss, of course, has been financial. Wasted years on useless preaching, putting the YHWH/Jesus combo god first in my life. The problem of divorce and family splitting (emotional blackmail on the part of the megalomaniacal leadership) and the fact that I felt obligated to care for my family by giving them all of what I had accumulated to that point, thus finding myself out on the street with nothing. But by hard work and careful saving, I wont have a deprived old age. Contacts tell me that my foolish ex-wife is having a difficult time. Deluded, she still is 'in' and confident that the end was coming, wasted her money (including my share of what we had) and is now doing it tough..
But how much more sensible now. You can just fade. More and more are doing just that. And, its the best way. They cant stop you, they cant control you. Just refuse to discuss it
And, I now have a reasonably good life since I don't need much, except my study room with too many books that seem to breed in quiet corners, and that teach me that I was once deluded into thinking that the world was coming to an end - grin!
And, I can have an overseas trip once a year to China, where I can watch a billion people who were poor 50 years ago, but have now (by hard work and good leadership) transformed their nation into a much better place, in fact its true to say, that in many cities its approaching a condition that you could call paradise - all without either YHWH or Jesus.
I've often sat on the edge of Xihu (the west lake) with friends. We buy some really beautifully made french style pastries or cakes at a little pattisserie near by and watch the sunset somewhat like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM4VH-TnSkU
My paradise - what more could I ask for?
-
121
No more printing of WT and Awake in my country.. Shit just got real
by cognitivedizzy inguys .
a letter was just read in out kh stating that all printing of wt and awake is ceased for the coming year and we will just place tracts on fs, countries which were cared by our branch will be cared by other countries...along with this they read the new fs form and stuff about reporting links of videos wtf..lol.
i can't tell which country perhaps that will give away a lot, any one with a similar information.
-
-
fulltimestudent
Vidiot: I don't think it ever occurred to the XJW community that the potential loss of tax-exempt status could actually cause serious problems for the Org...
---------------------
...but the more you think about it, the harder it is to argue that their entire "business model" (as done4good put it) is very tightly adapted to said status.Haha- so much for divine wisdom guiding the Jovial witnesses. (or, any other brand of Christianity)
-
4
Galillee, heartland of paganism in Palestine
by fulltimestudent inmy thread title is somewhat tongue in cheek, because we all know that galilee is where jesus family lived and where he started his ministry.. but, the little village of nazareth, where father joseph started his carpentery business and his sons continued the business, was only about 6km from sepphoris.
its conjectured by some that the family business was not very prosperous, being dependent on rural work when, joseph started it.
nazareth was a typical rural village, houses constructed from mud and brick, with maybe a few constructed from stone.
-
-
fulltimestudent
If it looks like a Duck, Is it a Clue to the Rise of Jewish Galilee?
The duck-headed handle of a Hellenistic-era incense shovel found at Khirbet el-Eika in the eastern Galilee in 2015. (Courtesy: Uzi Leibner, Hebrew University; Tal Rogovski)
A Hebrew University team led by Dr. Uzi Leibner discovered the shovel amid the ruins of Khirbet el-Eika, a site just west of the Sea of Galilee near the Horns of Hattin, during August’s excavations. Leibner sought to elucidate who the inhabitants of the Galilee were in the early Second Temple period.
The hills of the Galilee were densely populated with Jewish villages during the late Second Temple period and thereafter. The historical Jesus was born in the small Galilean town of Nazareth a little more than 2,000 years ago. The gospels and contemporary historical texts describe a region populated by Jews who rose up against the Roman Empire en masse in 66 CE. In the centuries thereafter it was the heartland of rabbinic scholarship, literature and Jewish life in Roman Palestine.
But the Galilee apparently wasn’t always that way. Current research indicates the area was settled by non-Jewish peoples when the region was ruled by the Persian and Greek empires between the fifth and third centuries. Only at the very end of the Hellenistic period, with the rise of the Hasmonean dynasty of Maccabee fame, did it come under Jewish rule.
Except for later historical accounts and limited archaeological surveys at sites skirting the Galilee, little is known about the region during the Hellenistic period. How and when the Galilee became a Jewish stronghold in the late Second Temple period has been the topic of scholarly debate for centuries.
Full story at:http://www.timesofisrael.com/if-it-looks-like-a-duck-quacks-like-a-duck-is-it-a-clue-to-the-rise-of-jewish-galilee/
-
71
Which bible character do you hate the most?
by Bonsai inthe more i think about it, the more i feel an extreme dislike for the apostle paul.
he was on par with hitler in his treatment of the jews before he "saw the light".
he replaced jesus teachings of love and mercy with a more legalistic, pharisaical concept of devotion to god.. any evil person can come to believe in god and worship him if the scales were literally and miraculously removed from his eyes.
-
-
fulltimestudent
Bonsai: The more i think about it, the more I feel an extreme dislike for the apostle Paul. ... What irritates me even more is the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses were more Paulian than CHRISTian.
Go a little bit further down this track, Bonsai, and you will realise that there was no such thing as a SINGLE TRUE CHURCH started by Jesus and perverted by men like Paul.
Just as there were many Judaisms in Jesus time, so there were many Christianities after Jesus.
-
4
Galillee, heartland of paganism in Palestine
by fulltimestudent inmy thread title is somewhat tongue in cheek, because we all know that galilee is where jesus family lived and where he started his ministry.. but, the little village of nazareth, where father joseph started his carpentery business and his sons continued the business, was only about 6km from sepphoris.
its conjectured by some that the family business was not very prosperous, being dependent on rural work when, joseph started it.
nazareth was a typical rural village, houses constructed from mud and brick, with maybe a few constructed from stone.
-
-
fulltimestudent
My thread title is somewhat tongue in cheek, because we all know that Galilee is where Jesus family lived and where he started his ministry.
But, the little village of Nazareth, where father Joseph started his carpentery business and his sons continued the business, was only about 6km from Sepphoris. Its conjectured by some that the family business was not very prosperous, being dependent on rural work when, Joseph started it. Nazareth was a typical rural village, houses constructed from mud and brick, with maybe a few constructed from stone. Carpenters would have been employed to provide the wooden beams for the roof and perhaps the doors. Some may have some furniture made from wood - a table, some stools. Other than that work the only other local work would likely have been wooden yokes and ploughs required by peasant farmers.
But Sepphoris, an hour and bit walk away, was different. If Nazareth had limited business opportunities, Sepphoris was paradise. AIt had been burned by the Romans in retribution for rebellions that broke out after the death of Herod the Great about 4 BCE, But Herod's successor, Herod Antipas chose the city as his capital and started a building boom.
No paved roads in Nazareth, but in Sepphoris roads were paved with slabs of stone. Most houses were two stories, offering many opportunities for hardworking artisans in this city of some 40,000 inhabitants. At the top of the tree were Roman villas, that required floor mosaics and wall paintings of naked nubile girls and boys, maybe with the wall painting framed with ornate timber frames made by the most skilled wood workers.
Was this the source of family wealth that allowed Jesus time to read, to wander the country side preaching, and for James to become President of the later Jerusalem Christian congregation and family members to continue in that position after his death? We can only make some assumptions.
But we can say something else about Sepphoris. In the poor village of Nazareth, the peasant families were likely conservative, In wealthy Sepphoris there was a different class. If they were ethnic Jews, they would likely be cosmopolitan, wealthy, deeply influenced by Greek and Roman culture and life-style.
It is not an exaggeration to argue that Sepphoris became the centre of Hellenism in Palestine, Greek thought competed with a number of Jewish sects and even influenced them, so it is often to understand what may have been Jewish in origin and what was pagan.
-
35
Seems odd that the Bible never mentions Pryamids?
by dropoffyourkeylee indoesn't it seem strange that the bible never mentions the pyramids?
how could someone go to egypt at that time and not even so much as mention the huge monuments?
-
-
fulltimestudent
Mephis: There isn't really much directly referencing the pyramids at Giza in any written sources until the Hellenistic period and Herodotus' account. That's not really unusual for ancient buildings. The largest tomb known in Greece, and what appears to be a major cult site, is currently under excavation at Amphipolis. Nobody seems to have bothered mentioning it in any works about Macedonia or Thrace or Greece or even the city itself.
And, there are few clues inside the building to allow a conclusion as to the building's function. But, one of the more intriguing theories emerged recently.
Head archaeologist, Katerina Peristeri and her head architect Michalis Lefantzis recently said they had found three inscriptions with the word 'parelavon' (received) and Hephaestion's monogramme.
And, Hephaestion was Alexander the Great's boyfriend (lover) and had been so since they were young. Their tutor Aristotle described their friendship as "... one soul abiding in two bodies" (quoted from Diogenes Laertius 5.1.20 ).
It is known that when Hephaestion died, Alexander was deeply affected. There is evidence for that among ancient sources, for example, Plutarch says
"... Alexander's grief was uncontrollable ..."
and adds that he ordered many signs of mourning, notably that the manes and tails of all horses should be shorn, the demolition of the battlements of the neighbouring cities and the banning of flutes and every other kind of music. (Plutarch 72.3)
And Arrian relates an account that,
"... he flung himself on the body of his friend and lay there nearly all day long in tears, and refused to be parted from him until he was dragged away by force by his Companions ..."
and, further:
"... for two whole days after Hephaestion's death Alexander tasted no food and paid no attention in any way to his bodily needs but lay on his bed now crying lamentably, now in the silence of grief."
(Arrian 7.14.6 and 7.15.1)
So it may well be true, that the Amphipolis structure is a kind of memorial to honor Hephaestion and perhaps serve as a cultic centre for his worship as a hero.
Or, in a modern sense, as a memorial to a deep committed love between two men that lasted a life time. But also proving that just as the Bible was ignorant of important aspects of Egyptian culture, it was also wrong as to the sexual possibilities between two men.
http://www.theamphipolistomb.com/news/51
-
63
Raining before the Flood?
by GrownMidget ini remember at my teen years when i was studying with a brother that he said to me that there was no rain before the flood.
instead there was this mist that you have.
never before or after this have i heard something like this.
-
-
fulltimestudent
I knew it was somewhere - just took a little time to find it!
When rain falls on mud, it lives small pit-marks. Usually they are worn away before more sediment covers them, but there are some that survived:
In contrast, direct evidence of rainfall in the geological record is very difficult to find. Some limited evidence has been provided by well-preserved rain pits in 1.8-billion-year-old rocks in southwestern Greenland.
-
121
No more printing of WT and Awake in my country.. Shit just got real
by cognitivedizzy inguys .
a letter was just read in out kh stating that all printing of wt and awake is ceased for the coming year and we will just place tracts on fs, countries which were cared by our branch will be cared by other countries...along with this they read the new fs form and stuff about reporting links of videos wtf..lol.
i can't tell which country perhaps that will give away a lot, any one with a similar information.
-
-
fulltimestudent
1. Other posters have mentioned the strong influence that Hindu nationalists have in India. And since the election of the Modi government, they are stronger than ever. It maybe that previous governments shut their eyes to some transmission of funds, but since the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) won government, the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), mentors the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The RSS appoints a "shadow" minister to watch over everything the government does.
Its likely that the RSS is now forcing the current government to be stricter in stopping any funds from outside India, being sent into India to support non-Hindu religions, hence the present crisis for the JWs.
In the past the society always used richer western branches to finance poorer the work in poorer nations.
----------------------
2. The JW.org site has this little homily on finance. I remember that 60+ years ago, the Watchtower magazine used to say the same thing:
Our organization publishes and distributes hundreds of millions of Bibles and other publications every year without charge. We build and maintain Kingdom Halls and branch offices. We support thousands of Bethelites and missionaries, and we provide relief aid in times of disaster. So you may wonder, ‘How is all of this financed?’
We do not tithe, charge dues, or take up collections. Although the costs of supporting our evangelizing work are high, we do not solicit money. Over a century ago, the second issue of theWatchtower magazine stated that we believe we have Jehovah as our backer and that we “will never beg nor petition men for support”—and we never have!—Matthew 10:8.Charlie Russell went a step further - as I recall, he was quoted as saying something like this:
"When the money runs out we'll know its time to stop the work!!!"
That day seems to be close!
-
35
Seems odd that the Bible never mentions Pryamids?
by dropoffyourkeylee indoesn't it seem strange that the bible never mentions the pyramids?
how could someone go to egypt at that time and not even so much as mention the huge monuments?
-
-
fulltimestudent
jwfacts: "In that day there will prove to be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah beside its boundary.
Hmm! few know that the Jews also had a temple in Egypt. It was located at the Jewish colony at Elephantine.
In 2004, the Brooklyn Museum of Art created a display entitled "Jewish Life in Ancient Egypt: A Family Archive From the Nile Valley," which featured the interfaith couple of Ananiah, an official at the temple of Yahou (a.k.a. Yahweh), and his wife, Tamut, who was previously an Egyptian slave owned by a Jewish master, Meshullam.[6][7] Some related exhibition didactics of 2002 included comments about significant structural similarities between Judaism and the ancient Egyptian religion and how they easily coexisted and blended at Elephantine.[8]
Much information of this colony comes from papyrus documents that have been found
So how about this statement?
The papyri suggest that, "Even in exile and beyond, the veneration of a female deity endured."[9] The texts were written by a group of Jews living at Elephantine near theNubian border, whose religion has been described as "nearly identical to Iron Age II Judahite religion".[10] The papyri describe the Jews as worshiping Anat-Yahu (or AnatYahu). Anat-Yahu is described as either the wife[11] (or paredra, sacred consort)[12] of Yahweh or as a hypostatized aspect of Yahweh.[13][14]
Both comments are extracts from a Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephantine_papyri
The history of Israel and Judah is quite different to the Bible accounts.
