i 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.
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.
guys .
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.
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.
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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!
doesn'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?
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.
doesn'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?
If you wish to believe that there's a grain of truth in the exodus story, that's quite OK. I dont want to dissaude you, but if you're just discussing the matter then its probably important to know that most scholarship dismisses the Exodus as a foundation myth.
And if, again, as much scholarship will assert, that these texts were compiled (even if from earlier stories) during the exile in Babylon, and, (again, if) they were written by members of the elite, for the elite then it would not have been difficult for them to talk about real places located between Israel and Egypt. Many of these men would have travelled between Judah and Egyptian, and after the first group of Jews were exiled, some chose to escape to Egypt. So we have no need to believe that at any time the Israelites/Jews lived in isolation. They were very much a part of the Eastern Mediterraean culture, and knew of towns and roads and geographical features between Judah and Egypt.
This wikipedia entry is likely close to the truth as we know it:'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_and_Judaism_in_the_Land_of_Israel
The various national groups of both the bronze and iron ages were interacting. Greek traders (as an example) went up and down the Mediterranean coast and Egyptian ships the other way. Then there were the Phoeniceans who traded all over the Med.sea and the Sea People, both on their own account and as mercenaries. All cited to demonstrate the extent of the interaction just at sea.
I cite that to argue that 'real' things and events woven into a myth doesn't make the myth true.
An editor working on national religious history during the exile, when they had nothing much to do except eat and drink and talk would've had little difficulty in knowing or finding out information that gave an impression of reality,
Somewhere I've posted on the Egyptian Empire and the inclusion of areas which the Israelites later claimed as their homeland - cant find it today. In the meantime you may like to check someone else's work:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/141226/book-exodus-total-b
doesn'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?
It's only 350 miles from Cairo to Jerusalem. I walked 110 miles through the alps in 7 days, so walking flat terrain a straight shot would only take 3 or 4 weeks at a slow pace.
The countries are literally neighbors so if Egyptians did have slave labor, their next door neighbor wouldn't be a stretch.
Cairo to the red sea is only 84 miles, 3 to 5 days walk. Right on the other side of the Red Sea is Mt Sinai region.
If they could not enter Israel, and were not wandering or in the Egyptian area, then that would have left Jordan. The Wadi Rum Desert or maybe even the ancient city of Petra.
Smile! If Egypt was 3-4 weeks walk for an Isrealite to go to Egypt, then it was only 3-4 weeks (probably less) for Egyptian soldiers to go from Egypt to Palestine. And, if you used a chariot, with fresh horses stationed in strategic locations, it would have been a lot less.
As JWs, we never ever thought to question why it was never mentioned that Palestine/Israel was part of the Egyptian empire for long periods of time. This is the start of the ironical religious problem of the Jews. Except in mythology they seldom controlled their land. There were always bigger, stronger Empires with foreign gods conquering their land.
Its not much good having the true god as your national divinity, if the old bugger is too weak to resist the armies of the foreign non-gods, is it?
back in the years after ww2, newly discovered antimatter was perceived as destroying ordinary matter, so in one of old freddy's insane nightmares (forget which book, but it was the early 1950's) he envisioned yhwh-jesus hurling antimatter at the hated humans who refused to submit to him, and destroying their bodies bit by bit.. now, his vision dims:.
antimatter not so different after all.
scientists help make first measurement of antiproton attraction.
Back in the years after WW2, newly discovered antimatter was perceived as destroying ordinary matter, so in one of old Freddy's insane nightmares (forget which book, but it was the early 1950's) he envisioned YHWH-JESUS hurling antimatter at the hated humans who refused to submit to him, and destroying their bodies bit by bit.
Now, his vision dims:
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".
Another view, still based on narrative theory, is that we all love a good story. It doesn't matter how its presented to us. Today its likely to be a film or TV version. But in times past, they were usually oral stories told by a travelling teller or whoever,
Stories got passed around, and re-told and incorporated into other stories. See if you can think of another version of this story, which I'm re-telling in bits because i havn't got time to type it all out
"The Lord of Heaven above impregnated the daughter of the Lord of the Waters below, and a son was miraculously born, But an evil king killed the prince's father ... and the orphaned prince was cast into the wilderness at birth. There, instead of harming him, the wild beasts took care of him. ..."
That story came from Central Asia. But its possible to find elements of the story from other cultures. We cannot prove that they were borrowed elements or merely reflecting individual hopes and dreams. But if the cultures are in close contact with each other, as say the Israelites, the Egyptians and the Greeks of Asia minor, then we may suspect that borrowing of elements for stories took place.
The David/Jonathon story for instance seems to reflect elements of a story from the Iliad in Hellenic culture that tells of the 'love' between Achilles and Patroclus
And that is a well-known love story that was likely told and re-told by travelling story tellers as they travelled up and down the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.
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".
Vidiot: They were all just following the (Biblical) example of David and Jonathan.
That's an interesting point, Vidiot. The Jonathon-David love story is an interesting story for those intrigued by the use of literary criticism in reading biblical texts.
Of course, if someone has a faith based view of the Bible, their minds are immediately shut to any other view than the standard JW view of these texts.
But if you look at the text from say the perspective presented by narrative theory (the idea that we live our lives in a story that we write according to what we know and hope for) then different possibilities can be seen immediately. For example, 1 Kings 14:24 makes it clear that male to male sexuality was common in Israel:
There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. NIV
So our reading of the David-Jonathon love story requires that we acknowledge that they could have understood that it is possible for two men to be in love with each other and have a romantic liaison.
The story of David and Jonathon predates that in the Biblical record but read 1 Samuel 18:1-4, with this questioning attitude. What are we reading here? Two men promise to love each other as they love themselves. Their very souls are bound together. They start to live in the same place. They exchange personal items (clothing) as gifts. What's being described? If David was a woman, you'd think it was a marriage ceremony, would you not? I leave you to draw your own conclusions:
1And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. 3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. JPS Tanakh version.
To add fuel to the (sexual -haha) fire. According to a near universal protocol that we can find in ancient times, David (the younger) would be the bottom and Jonathon (oldest) the top. Go figure the type and anti-type.
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".
This is a diary entry by William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (between 1633 and 1645), for August 1625:
That night in a dream the Duke of Buckingham seemed to me to ascend into my bed, where he carried himself with much love toward me, after such rest wherein wearied men are wont exceedingly to rejoice: and likewise many seemed to me to enter the bed chamber who did see this.
I presume George Villiers would still be alive in 1625. So the Archbishop must have had the hots for George for quite a while. The interesting part of the Archbishop's dream/vision is that he was apparently undisturbed to be seen by many other people having sex with George.
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".
