fulltimestudent

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Posts by fulltimestudent

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  28

  Undeserved Kindness vs Grace - Watchtower flaw in a NUTSHELL

  by sabastious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  romans 1:7. new international version.

  "to all in rome who are loved by god and called to be saints: .

  grace and peace to you from god our father and from the lord jesus christ.".

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  fulltimestudent

  charis, sometimes translated grace in the KJV, but also translated with the English words -

  
  

  "favour (6x), thanks (4x), thank (4x), thank (with G2192) (3x), pleasure (2x),
  miscellaneous words (7x).-

  Is a word with complex meanings in its ancient usage.

  The Blue Letter Bible web-site suggests that in the Greek Bible usage, it was used with these translated meanings:

  1. grace
     that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech
     good will, loving-kindness, favour
     of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues
     what is due to grace
     the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace
     the token or proof of grace, benefit
     a gift of grace
     benefit, bounty
     thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward

  2. and Strongs Bible Dictionary suggests these English words may add meaning.

     χάρις cháris, khar'-ece; from G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude):—acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace(- ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank(-s, -worthy).

     
     

     Link: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5485&t=KJV

     
     

     In Greek religious thought there were the three Charites, the goddesses who presided over the domain of 'charis'
     
     

  And to gain a better understanding of how the ancient word was used, you could do worse than finding a copy of James Davidson's (Reader in Ancient History at Warwick University), "The Greeks and Greek Love" and reading his Ch 2. Grace, Sex and Favours, which will lead you down a totally unexpected path.

  Bible writers using greek to write, must have been aware of the popular usage.

  
  

  I think that neither the WTS, nor more orthodox Christian religious thought, cover the implicit possibities in the usage of the word in the NT

  
  
• 
  8

  Belgium does first doctor assisted suicide of child.

  by Chook in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  they are 70 years behind wt assisted suicide by refusal of life saving blood..

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  fulltimestudent

  Seems to be merciful.

  WHY didn't YHWH/JESUS think of that?
• 
  16

  More similarities with North Korea

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  other posts have mentioned the similarities between jws and n. korea with regards to uniformity of dress and grooming, backlash for criticism and being hard to escape.

  just thought i'd add a couple more, thanks to quotes from david mikkelson and john delury, a n. korea analyst at yonsei university in seoul, s. korea:.

  north korea is notorious for a lack of transparency.

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  fulltimestudent

  Apologies for digressing from the main theme, but there are a lot of misconceptions about NK.

  It is not communist, although there are some parallel similarities. The official ideology is "juche," which you could translate as "self reliance."

  After, the devastating destruction both Korea's suffered during the Korean war, the north rebuilt faster than the south, which had major problems of their own. Kim Il sung, the first President, acted like the CEO of a large company, spending all day on the phone coordinating industrial output and reconstruction. His son and successor Kim Jong il, refused to do that, and the co-ordination started to fall apart (as happens sometimes in capitalist companies) NK is however, undergoing change. Traditional industry is failing, the state claims there is full employment, but some jobs exist in name only, though the workers still have to turn up,and even though they do no work they still get paid.

  Their official pay is likely worthless, although they may also get food, accommodation and other needs provided. But their wives may be part of the evolving market economy, operating small businesses selling whatever they can get their hands on, and attempting to accumulate funds in non-NK currencies.

  It is also said that NK is completely cut off from the rest of the world. Not true, the outside world seeps into NK in a number of ways. First of all NK workers live in many other countries. North Korean restaurants have been opened in many outside cities, fully staffed by NK staff. Just occasionally, a worker deserts, but not so often. Labour hire work gangs also work in Siberia (that's known) and possibly in other locations.

  The border with South Korea, is tightly sealed, but the border with China, particularly where there are large numbers of Chinese Koreans on the Chinese side, probably are very porous.

  There are also large numbers of Japanese descendants of Koreans who were brought to Japan when Korea was part of the Japanese Empire, they are generally more sympathetic to NK rather than SK. There are lots of exchanges between these Japanese Koreans and NK.

  Information comes back into NK on CD's - particularly of TV shows, and USB flash drives (which being small, are easier to hide).

  All of these social factors means that NK changes, very slowly but in many little ways.

  Rudiger Frank is a NK scholar, (and, in my opinion one of the better ones). He is Chair and Professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna and Head of its Department of East Asian Studies. He is also an adjunct professor at Korea University and the University of North Korean Studies (Kyungnam University) in Seoul. He holds an M.A. in Korean Studies, Economics and International Relations and a Ph.D. in Economics. In 1991/1992, he spent one semester as a language student at Kim Il-sung University in P’yŏngyang and has been researching North Korea ever since.

  In this overview in the Asia-Pacific Journal he examines the way he sees NK changing: http://apjjf.org/2016/14/Frank.html

  I see far more chance of NK changing than the JWs changing.

  
  

  
  
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  22

  Being nice to LGBTQ people is an affront to god?

  by Viviane in

  1. social
  2. current

  this should be titled "jerks for jesus afraid of their own shadow, sexuality".

  seriously, someone thinks that a video on how to be nice to people different from him is an affront to his god.

  http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/federal-worker-would-rather-be-fired-than-watch-lgbt-diversity-video-god-doesnt-want-me-to-see-it/.

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  fulltimestudent

  Smiddy: What should that tell you about an Almighty God.?

  Flag Link Dislike Like
  

  He's dead!!!!
• 
  13

  We have our own Gert Wilders in Australia

  by barry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kreptyyo6l8

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  fulltimestudent

  Pauline Hanson is a bloody ignoramus:

  The problem in western democracy is that people believe they have a right to their opinion, but do not consider that they also have a responsibility to keep reviewing whether the 'facts' on which they base their opinion are correct.

  So many people have the problem of 'confirmation bias,' only accepting 'facts' that support their opinion.

  We've all been there, hav'nt we? (As JWs) But hopefully we have become more rational.

  Consider this SBS review of Hanson's maiden speech in the senate:

  http://www.sbs.com.au/news/thefeed/article/2016/09/15/10-times-pauline-hanson-got-facts-wrong-her-maiden-speech
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  16

  More similarities with North Korea

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  other posts have mentioned the similarities between jws and n. korea with regards to uniformity of dress and grooming, backlash for criticism and being hard to escape.

  just thought i'd add a couple more, thanks to quotes from david mikkelson and john delury, a n. korea analyst at yonsei university in seoul, s. korea:.

  north korea is notorious for a lack of transparency.

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  fulltimestudent

  Sifting (what may be) facts from innuendo and anti-NK propaganda is very difficult.

  
  

  The ROK (South Korea) operates an active anti-NK propaganda program, and many of the sillier stories emanate from that source.

  
  

  Let's see if its possible to sort things out - just a little bit. We could take something that would seem to be a bit innocuous - a recent beer festival (the first ever) and compare versions of newscasts.

  
  

  -----------------------------

  Here's a YT video seemingly sourced by a pro-NK entity posting on Youtube.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBMDlJSSDQ8

  Now a German version. (From DW - a German media group)
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIhoGCK57Wo

  
  

  (and third (and technically for some reason, the worst) a Chinese version from China Central Television,

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tZYdv9KM5c

  So did it happen? Were there non-NK people present? Did some people (at least) have a good time? Does it tell us anything about daily life NK? If you'd been a tourist in NK during that festival, would you have been permitted to attend?

  (Sorry - I don't know why YT posts are duplicating - I see it happened to stillin's post also, and it happened to me yesterday)
• 
  5

  Buddha Beats YHWH/JESUS in the missionary field

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  who needs real people (who don't actually do much except move their trolleys around) and their trolley carts, anymore.. the buddhists engage with the robot age.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7dnf1c1sj0.

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  fulltimestudent

  LoveUniHateExams : A 400lb lardass will always whup a skinny Jewish carpenter, hands down .

  OK, (Grin) but.

  but SOME Buddhist sites say that the 'happy' Buddha figure does not represent Buddha at all -

  

  One site says:

  Happy Buddha / Ho Tai / Prosperity Buddha
  Ho Tai, as he is called in Chinese, is often confused with the Historical Buddha. But a word to the wise; Ho Tai is not the Buddha at all, but is actually a revered Chinese Monk. He is somewhat akin to the West's Santa Claus / St. Nick, since Ho Tai was famous for his Buddhist sermons and for his bag full of gifts, which he brought to children in order to reward them for coming to learn about the Dharma.

  Whether that's the view of all Buddhists is a matter for discussion (which would bore me).

  For the first few hundred years of historical Buddhism, there seem to have been few, if any, images of the Buddha. The first images seem to have been developed in the Greek Kingdoms in what is now Afghanistan.

  And, because there are no original representations, each 'brand' of Buddhism developed its own 'culture.' (Just like Christianity)

  Here's a typical Thai representation.

  

  This is a Thai Contemplation Buddha: The Contemplation Buddha signifies quiet determination and patient understanding.

  And, I think its fair to say that a muscular carpenter (Jesus) would likely beat a contemplative man, (from a wealthy family) in a fight. That is, unless we are talking about warrior Buddhist traditions, like the Shaolin tradition in China.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE5YifCsrXw

  And with determined practise, Buddhists can even RUN on water (Well, sort of).

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrncG8NvZJI

  But there's even more complexity, because there is more than one Buddha. Some sources suggest as many as 28. And, of course, in Buddhist teachings, we can all attain Nirvana and become Buddha.

  All nonsense, of course, but nicer nonsense than having your head sliced off by a vengeful Jesus.

  
  

  
  
• 
  5

  Buddha Beats YHWH/JESUS in the missionary field

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  who needs real people (who don't actually do much except move their trolleys around) and their trolley carts, anymore.. the buddhists engage with the robot age.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7dnf1c1sj0.

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  fulltimestudent

  and,

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyeiTatXJWQ
  
• 
  5

  Buddha Beats YHWH/JESUS in the missionary field

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  who needs real people (who don't actually do much except move their trolleys around) and their trolley carts, anymore.. the buddhists engage with the robot age.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7dnf1c1sj0.

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  fulltimestudent

  Who needs real people (who don't actually do much except move their trolleys around) and their trolley carts, anymore.

  The Buddhists engage with the robot age.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7DNf1c1SJ0
  
• 
  10

  Jesus (if he exists) has a heart of stone - a saga about the hurt of children in his church.

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jesus is supposed to care for little children.

  mark 10 is often quoted to illustrate his concern.. mark 10:13-16niv.

  the little children and jesus13 people were bringing little children to jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.

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  fulltimestudent

  How interesting!

  No-one stands up to defend Jesus, not that he is defensible, nor does he defend himself (assuming he is alive somewhere in the universe).

  Yet over the years, some have stood up to declare their faith in him. Do they too, agree that Jesus' failure to act against those who (in his own church, so it is claimed) committed these great crimes against these children, not just sexually but also with cruel physical punishments.