fulltimestudent

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Posts by fulltimestudent

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  3

  The two powers in heaven

  by Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  lately i have been watching a video series by a bible scholar named michael heiser explaining the idea of there being a plurality to god in the old testament.

  the seen god and the unseen god and reading the bible though first century jewish eyes.

  of course being a somewhat of an unbeliever i checked out some bart erham videos on the subject and he basically says what this christian scholar said.. basically christ is thought to be the manifestion of god that was seen and dealt with in the old testament.

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  fulltimestudent

  The concept of two spiritual powers is far older than Second Temple Judaism and its Christian offshoot.

  The concept's roots are believed to have derived from Zoroastrianism ...

  Zoroastrianism,[n 1] or more natively Mazdayasna,[1] is one of the world's oldest religions, "combining a cosmogonicdualism and eschatological monotheism in a manner unique […] among the major religions of the world."[2] Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra),[3] he exalted their deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), as its Supreme Being.[4] Leading characteristics, such as messianism, heaven and hell, and free will are said to have influenced other religious systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, and Islam.[5] With possible roots dating back to the second millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the 5th-century BCE,[4] and including a Mithraic Median prototype and Zurvanist Sassanid successor it served as the state religion of the pre-Islamic Iranian empires from around 600 BCE to 650 CE. Zoroastrianism was suppressed from the 7th century onwards following the Muslim conquest of Persia.[6] ... In Zoroastrianism, the creator Ahura Mazda, through the Spenta Mainyu (Good Spirit, "Bounteous Immortals")[11] is an all-good "father" of Asha (Truth, “order, justice,")[12][13] in opposition to Druj(“falsehood, deceit”)[14][15] and no evil originates from "him".[16] "He" and his works are evident to humanity through the six primary Amesha Spentas[17] and the host of other Yazatas, through whom worship of Mazda is ultimately directed.
  Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

  Sometimes this concept is referred to as 'dualism,' and is noticeable in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

  It is believed that the Jewish elite came into contact with Zoroastrian concepts while in exile in Babylon (lots of time on their hands to speculate) especially after Cyrus the Iranian conquered Babylon.

  The spiritual idea of light and darkness is another Zoroastrian belief that was effectively copied by the Christian offshoot we know as Manicheanism
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  20

  Hillary Clinton Winning total vote count but loses the Election

  by RubaDub in

  1. social
  2. current

  do those of you outside the usa find it odd that in a presidential election, the total number of people casting votes means nothing?

  there is a method we use here called the electoral college based on each state rather than the total votes cast by actual people.. this is, i believe the 5th time in america's history that the person with the most votes lost the election (the last was in 2000 when al gore beat george w. bush by about 400,000 votes but lost the election).. so hillary (at the moment i last checked) had overall about 200,000 more votes nationwide but lost.. i'm sure a lot of people in other countries scratch their heads when they see this happening.. rub a dub.

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  fulltimestudent

  Similar things occur in Australia, due to the preferential voting system that's used.
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  18

  Is there a biblical basis for separation or divorce?

  by Conias in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is there a biblical basis for separation or divorce?.

  in the event that one of the spouses is being psychologically mistreated in a very serious manner where his health is severely damaged and even his own life is in danger.

  is there a biblical basis for jehovah's witnesses for separation or divorce?.

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  fulltimestudent

  Is there a biblical basis for separation or divorce?

  This is what the Jewish law originally stated:

  When a man takes a wife and is intimate with her, and it happens that she does not find favor in his eyes because he discovers in her an unseemly matter, and he writes for her a document of severance, gives it into her hand, and sends her away from his house. She leaves his house and goes and marries another man -- Deuteronomy 24:1-2.

  This is supposed to have been changed by the words placed in Jesus' mouth in Matthew's gospel (Matt. 19:3-9).
  

  3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
  4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
  7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
  8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

  
  

  As I'm sure everyone appreciates, the written gospels were authored a couple of decades after Jesus' death. How much do you remember from someone's speeches given 20 years ago?

  So why the change?

  Do you think it may have had something to do with the changes to Roman divorce law made by the Emperor Augustus?

  Quote: Marriage in ancient Rome was a strictly monogamous institution: a Roman citizen by law could have only one spouse at a time. The practice of monogamy distinguished the Greeks and Romans from other ancient civilizations, in which elite males typically had multiple wives. ... It is one aspect of ancient Roman culture that was embraced by early Christianity, which in turn perpetuated it as an ideal in later Western culture. (Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_ancient_Rome

  If Matthew 19 reflects Roman law rather than Jewish law, we may conclude that the "divinity' behind the change was not YHWH. or even that secondary divinity JESUS, but the ROMAN DIVINITY, Caesar Augustus!

  It also tells us something of the processes that produced the NT.

  
  
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  5

  A CHANGING WORLD-Q: Is the USA a Post-Christian Nation? A: At 45% white Christians are a minority.

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that is a proposition that a video in the atlantic magazine argues.

  i think there is a major flaw in the argument, as its possible to imagine that there is a large segment of non-white christians, that may mean that the usa is still a "christian" (whatever that means) nation.

  however, for supporters of christianity, the trend is in the wrong direction.. http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/504065/america-post-christianity/?utm_source=fbb.

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  fulltimestudent

  smiddy: I`m not quite sure I understand the white christian designation .Are coloured christians of no consequence ?
  This question ,the way its put sounds very racist , but I dont believe that was your intent FTS ,can you clarify it ?

  Hi Smiddy, since we are both non-American, I guess we should background the Atlantic magazine. Its over 100 years old and is usually seen as - (I quote Wikipedia),

  " a literary and cultural commentary magazine, it has grown to achieve a national reputation as a high-quality review organ with a liberal worldview ... The periodical has won more National Magazine Awards than any other monthly magazine. ... Focusing on "foreign affairs, politics, and the economy [as well as] cultural trends", it is now primarily aimed at a target audience of serious national readers and "thought leaders"."

  I quoted the article in the light of a fairly general anti-Christian viewpoint on this web-site, the loss of influence of the rabid rightwing Christian viewpoint that was once seen as dominant in the USA is significant, and that seems to be the the author's point. He sees the older "white Christian" segment of the USA's population (once dominant) as fast losing that dominance. Of course, if you add the Hispanic American segment (now around 40 million strong), of the American population, (probably strongly Catholic) to the 'White Christian" segment, you might grow the "Christian" element of the USA to around 70%.

  Of course, the author's article is sociological in intent and he sees the 'white Christian' segment of the US population as fast losing its former dominance, which may underline the belief (of some) that the 'core' of Trump's support is formed by the 'angry old white men,' of the USA.

  Does that make sense?

  
  
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  16

  Does Mr Trump have his own 'hotline' to Russia's President Putin?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to australian newspaper, the canberra times (for aussies, its a fairfax publication) trump is able to contact putin and the conversations cannot be tapped.

  (an interesting claim).. quote 1:.

  "a former senior western intelligence operative, a specialist in russian counterintelligence deemed credible in washington, has provided the fbi with evidence that trump 'and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the kremlin, including on clinton, since russian intelligence had compromised trump during his visits to moscow – so that he could be blackmailed'.

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  fulltimestudent

  Steel :
  During one of the Clinton debates when discussing Syria , Trump made a pretty decent point about do we really know who these Syrian rebels really are? The ones the Russians are bombing. ... the romantic notion of these brave warriors fighting the big bad soviets and the billions of dollars we gave them. Those guys turned into al queda and the Talib an. It's nice to see that wasn't completely lost on Trump.

  Steel, you're right. The whole American involvement in Afghanistan has to be seen in the USA-USSR Cold War context. A very simplified explanation could be that an elected left-wing government in Afghanistan was threatened by American subversive activity that caused the Russians to send in their army to protect that government. That's where it becomes fuzzy, western news sources starting pumping out stories of local opposition to the Russians, and certainly there was later support from the USA in the form of weapons and money.

  The arming of these opposition groups could be seen as the beginning of Muslim insurgencies.

  One of the current wikileaks emails has Hilary Clinton admitting that ISIS etc is being financed by Saudi Arabia and other extreme right wing Arab nations.

  A complex situation!
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  5

  A CHANGING WORLD-Q: Is the USA a Post-Christian Nation? A: At 45% white Christians are a minority.

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that is a proposition that a video in the atlantic magazine argues.

  i think there is a major flaw in the argument, as its possible to imagine that there is a large segment of non-white christians, that may mean that the usa is still a "christian" (whatever that means) nation.

  however, for supporters of christianity, the trend is in the wrong direction.. http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/504065/america-post-christianity/?utm_source=fbb.

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  fulltimestudent

  That is a proposition that a video in The Atlantic magazine argues. I think there is a major flaw in the argument, as its possible to imagine that there is a large segment of non-white Christians, that may mean that the USA is still a "Christian" (whatever that means) nation. However, for supporters of Christianity, the trend is in the wrong direction.

  http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/504065/america-post-christianity/?utm_source=fbb

  And, since change is unsettling to many, these demographic changes may explain the intellectual confusion that many are experiencing. Or, is that also an arguable proposition?
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  23

  Another Subliminal Image? On the JW Website

  by The Searcher in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this image appears on the current main web page - as you scroll the "witnessing" photos.. weird "facial" image at the guy's right shoulder.. .

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  fulltimestudent

  Smile, or, it's more likely a great example of human pareidolia :

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia
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  16

  Does Mr Trump have his own 'hotline' to Russia's President Putin?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to australian newspaper, the canberra times (for aussies, its a fairfax publication) trump is able to contact putin and the conversations cannot be tapped.

  (an interesting claim).. quote 1:.

  "a former senior western intelligence operative, a specialist in russian counterintelligence deemed credible in washington, has provided the fbi with evidence that trump 'and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the kremlin, including on clinton, since russian intelligence had compromised trump during his visits to moscow – so that he could be blackmailed'.

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  fulltimestudent

  smiddy : I think i`ll just watch this space

  Yup! but its interesting to see the charges and counter charges as these two candidates rip into each other. But the main reason I posted this was to see what reactions there may be from Americans.

  Its' difficult for ordinary people to see what truth is in the claims made in the Canberra Times. But assuming there is some truth, that in heavily protected stations there is a lot of traffic between one owned by Trump and another that seems to belong to a Russian financial institution. Some, (as above) may think that it may be innocent business dealings? But are there not heavy restrictions on Americans dealing with Russian institutions?

  So not many reactions to the Canberra Times article. We can only wonder why? Is it our old friend, cognitive dissonance? Or, is perhaps confirmation bias, and no one can imagine a candidate for the American Presidency really having dealings with the enemy (as Russia/Putin is pictured in the USA)?

  

  See, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-lock-lips-lithuanian-street-art-n574136
• 
  16

  Does Mr Trump have his own 'hotline' to Russia's President Putin?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to australian newspaper, the canberra times (for aussies, its a fairfax publication) trump is able to contact putin and the conversations cannot be tapped.

  (an interesting claim).. quote 1:.

  "a former senior western intelligence operative, a specialist in russian counterintelligence deemed credible in washington, has provided the fbi with evidence that trump 'and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the kremlin, including on clinton, since russian intelligence had compromised trump during his visits to moscow – so that he could be blackmailed'.

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  fulltimestudent

  According to Australian newspaper, The Canberra Times (for Aussies, its a Fairfax publication) Trump is able to contact Putin and the conversations cannot be tapped. (An interesting claim).

  Quote 1:

  "A former senior Western intelligence operative, a specialist in Russian counterintelligence deemed credible in Washington, has provided the FBI with evidence that Trump 'and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin, including on Clinton, since Russian intelligence had compromised Trump during his visits to Moscow – so that he could be blackmailed'.
  "The intelligence report, which the operative had provided to the FBI, reads: 'Russian regime has been cultivating, supporting and assisting TRUMP for at least 5 years. Aim, endorsed by PUTIN, has been to encourage splits and divisions in western alliance'.

  Quote 2:

  "Deeper drilling by six members of the group, some of whom are Republicans and others of whom can't be identified because of the nature of their government and corporate work, uncovered an irregular pattern of server look-ups that actually resembled the pattern of human conversation – conversations that began during office hours in New York and continued during office hours in Moscow.
  "It dawned on the researchers that this wasn't an attack, but a sustained relationship between a server registered to the Trump Organisation and two servers registered to an entity called Alfa Bank."

  Link: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/us-election/hotline-to-moscow-bank-revealed-as-fbi-probe-kremlins-fiveyear-trump-plan-20161101-gsfcay.html
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  20

  Arrival of War in 1914 a Shocking Development

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  one comment-giver during the rules study, remarked that ww1 was predicted by wt to arrive in 1914, despite the fact that everyone expected an era of unparalleled peace.. this was something continuously drilled into our heads - how peaceful everything was prior to ww1.. when you look at wt library under 'world war i' - "unexpected" - the results are all offline - there are no recent references ( unexpected: re 106; w92 5/1 4-5; yb87 124; w86 2/15 5; w86 11/1 6 ).

  http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200276290.

  the offline quotes are as follows:.

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  fulltimestudent

  WARS BETWEEN 1870 AND 1914

  Note: Material sourced from http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/willnick/timeline.htm

  The JW claim that the period 1870 and 1914 was a time of peace is false. It was an era in which European powers insisted on attempting the colonization of many weaker nations in the world, while competing with each other.

  As a study of the above timeline indicates not one decade of this period could be called peaceful.

  Just before these decades, one of the most destructive wars in world history was fought in China between the ruling Qing dynasty and a rebellion by the Taiping, a Chinese Christian group, nobody will ever definitively know how many died in this long and hard fought rebellion, but the highest estimate is 50 million.

  But lets go on from 1870.

  1870-71 – France and Germany at war.

  1894-05 – Japan and China at war over Korea.

  1897 - Greco-Turkish war

  1897 - German occupies part of China

  1898 - USA-Spanish war

  1899 - USA invades the Philipinnes beginning a very savage war that went on for a long time.

  1899 - Boer war begins in South Africa, between England and Dutch settlers

  1900 - Boxer rebellion starts in China to expel Europeans. Western alliance invades China.

  1904 - Russian-Japanese war. (Important because an Asian power defeats a European war)

  1911 - France invades Morocco.

  1911 - Mexican Revolution.

  1912 - First Chinese Revolution.

  1912 - First Balkan war.

  1913 - Second Balkan war.

  If the above was a long era of world peace, then I’m Jesus Christ.

  The claim that Jehovah’s witnesses make is a bullsh*t view of history and would only be made by uneducated people.