And the stars will dance, Angels will sing, and pigs will fly.
shepherd
JoinedPosts by shepherd
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29
Is Matthew 24 future or fulfilled?
by Vanderhoven7 ini believe the wts has completely misapplied matthew 24:1-35. .
i believe the scripture is quite clear that jesus was speaking to his own generation and not some obscure future or 1914 generation.. if you happen to be a jw and/or futurist, what makes you believe jesus was talking about events that would transpire in the 20th/21st century?.
vander.
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29
Is Matthew 24 future or fulfilled?
by Vanderhoven7 ini believe the wts has completely misapplied matthew 24:1-35. .
i believe the scripture is quite clear that jesus was speaking to his own generation and not some obscure future or 1914 generation.. if you happen to be a jw and/or futurist, what makes you believe jesus was talking about events that would transpire in the 20th/21st century?.
vander.
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shepherd
Well, as Elijah mocked the Baal worshippers of old, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened,” so the same words can be applied to Jesus.
Whether the signs applied once upon a time or a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...or will apply in the future mists of time, at least people generally agree he ain't here now...except those who say it's invisibly...As for me, I think Elijah had a good point.
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29
Is Matthew 24 future or fulfilled?
by Vanderhoven7 ini believe the wts has completely misapplied matthew 24:1-35. .
i believe the scripture is quite clear that jesus was speaking to his own generation and not some obscure future or 1914 generation.. if you happen to be a jw and/or futurist, what makes you believe jesus was talking about events that would transpire in the 20th/21st century?.
vander.
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shepherd
@Vanderhoven7
Did you even bother to read the page you link to?
It states in the conclusion:
"Did the Jerusalem Christians flee to Pella just before the Romans destroyed their city? There is no way to know for sure. We can only deal in probabilities. If we accept as reliable the accounts of Eusebius and others, the issue is settled...for when evidence is incomplete, selected and biased reading and interpretations of data can usually yield the desired conclusion."
How did this produce your statement "The fact is that over a million Jews perished in Jerusalem...whereas Christians en masse fled the city."? It's the ABSENCE of facts that makes the result unknown. The first clear reference comes from the fourth century church historian Eusebius. Yes, hundreds of years later a Christian historian says it happened, and from that you conclude it's a fact?
Maybe Christans did run away, maybe many non Christians did too, but there in no EVIDENCE whatsoever that this was done in obedience to any words spoken by Jesus decades before, therefore it cannot be said to be a fact.
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27
Watchtower: "God Hates...Homosexuality"
by metatron ina quote from page 28 of the new brochure, as released at assemblies this summer.. metatron.
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shepherd
It's not the Watchtower that says God hates homosexuality, it's the Bible, so let's not put all the blame at their doorstep.
The Bible writers were homophobic - fact! And for those that suggest Jesus is all love and it's just that nasty biblical God and the other Bible writers who hate Gays, it's a package deal.
It's one reason among hundreds why I don't believe for a moment in God, or that the Bible is inspired by any Biblical God.
I am not Gay myself, but given the choice between living forever in Paradise with homosexual neighbors or the self-righteous bastards in the Kingdom Halls, I know who I would choose.
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28
When You Left The Organization Were False Rumors Being Circulated About You?
by minimus ini heard i was "too interested in making money" and that i was letting "worldly pleasures" get in the way.. did you ever hear anything about your departure??
?.
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shepherd
"If you really think you can have friends in this cult, just leave and you'll discover who your real friends are..."
How true this is. And it extends to family too. Some are reluctant to disown, but there are others only too eager. Real friendships are very rare - and even if you think you have a friend, they are likely to express a negative opinion of you behind you back. Judging others is a normal activity within each congregation, and it's often done to elevate the one judging.
I remember one elder saying his employer, also a JW, was less spiritual than him because he worked full time in his fruitselling business. However, if it was not for this man's generosity the elder and his wife would often have starved - that lazy good for nothing elder thought pioneering was more important that feeding his wife, and was not even grateful when given gifts of fruit and vegetables, always saying he 'deserved' the help of his fellow brothers due to his JW activities. Imagine if that person was stumbled by that elder's disregard for his duties as a husband - the elder would see that as confirmation that he was right all along that his employer was indeed weak - the fact that HE was a jerk would not even enter his mind. This is the way it is in that Org., and when someone leaves or is stumbled, the gossip mill often starts churning out all sorts of crap to make sure the blame stays outside the congregation and with the victim.
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539 BC - How do they know that year is an "Absolute" date?
by Bungi Bill inthe watchtower society describes the year 539 bc variously as being an "absolute date", a "pivotal date"; and certainly one on which the chronology of the entire "hebrews scriptures" depends upon.
(some jw apologists have even described that year as being a "drop dead" date).
however, this date of 539 bc didn't just fall out of the sky and mysteriously land on our lap:.
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shepherd
@Larsinger58
You lost me at 'Trust me'.
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52
Would You Refer To Jehovah's Witnesses As A "Christian" Religion?
by minimus inthey regard themselves as "true christians".. do you view them as christians?.
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shepherd
JW's are as Christian as any other religion. It's just a title and each religion interprets what that means in such a way that theirs is the best and, in the case of many evangelicals the only true Christianity. There is no pure Christianity - it is all subjective, even when drawing it directly from the Bible.
Better to change the question to 'are its members demonstrating a Christian character', and most are not - Which is the same of most others too.
In fact, from my experience the louder someone shouts they are a Christian, the less likely they really are.
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38
Why are Pantsuits not appropriate according to The Watchtower?
by VM44 inwhy do the jws consider pansuits worm by women not appropriate attire?.
pantsuits are considered appropriate attire in the conservative business world.. secretary of state hilary clinton wears pantsuits quite often.. would pantsuits be considered appropriate for a visit to bethel?
if someone showed up at bethel wearing them, would be be asked to leave?.
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shepherd
The Bible refers to dressing modestly, period. Anything else is made up by the pharisses JW's call elders.
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36
what am i in for? i have 5 jw employees and now im dfd...
by oompa inonly one is a guy...a mini serve .
one is a reg pioneer.... all are actually pretty key to my biz....three have been there over 20 years (ya...i am a great boss!!!).
how much pressure are they going to get to quit working for me???.
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shepherd
Talk to them all, have a meeting. Remind them that you have always been a good boss and reassure them. It's not only you who is nervous about this change, they will be too. Tell them you value them and that you want them to continue just as before, that the religion need never be discussed. Then, tell them your business depends on continuity, and you are nervous that any of them may give short notice and leave. Ask them if they would agree to sign a contract indicating they will give proper notice of say, 3 months, and agree to train a replacement if that is their decision, but that you hope they will remain with you.
The more open and honest you are, like above, the more likely you can minimise the difficulties. The fact is, whatever pressure is put on them to leave depends on the reasons you were DF and the attitude of the local elders and the CO. It is all subjective and varies considerably from congregation to congregation. If anyone bears a grudge, they will abandon their 'Christian personality' and target you from now on, feeling justified before God. Love does not come into it.
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22
Job suffering A ridiculous story.
by jam injob a man blameless and upright, one who feared god, and turn away from evil.
the fact that he is just and suffering breaks the logic relating god, evil,and the suffering of israel.
for ancient israel the logic of suffering then they must have sinned.
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shepherd
One thing that most JW's don't realize is that Job was an epic POEM. It is carefully structured by the author as a work of literature. The fact it is poetry is lost in translation. It is not a literal history any more than if Romeo and Juliet got added into the Hebrew Canon.
There was no real conversation with God and Satan, no three comforters, no Job, for that matter. Not only is it fictional, but it was never even disguised to be treated as fact. It is epic poetry.
The book of Job has a fairly simple structure. Job 1 and 2 are the prologue, written in prose. Job 3:1-42:6 is poetry that consists of a cycle of speeches between Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and later Elihu, and then the dialogue between Yahweh and Job. Job 42:7-14 is the epilogue, which is written in prose.
Most modern scholars date the extant text to the 4th century BCE, prior to Ecclesiastes in the development of Wisdom literature. Scholars agree that the introductory and concluding sections of the book, the framing devices, were composed to set the central poem into a prose "folk-book", as the compilers of the Jewish Encyclopedia expressed it. The central poem is from another source.
Although JW's are told otherwise, it was not written by Moses at all, nor in his lifetime.