the bible refers to the book of jashar at joshua 10:13. this is when the sun stood still and the moon stopped.. it is also referred to in the 2nd book of samuel 1:18 where it says: "behold it is written in the book of jasher.".
why did they leave it out of the bible yet quote from it as an authority?.
Wikipedia says there are no copies of any lost books of the Old Testament in existence. It whets the curiosity. There is a pseudo-book which is fake or perahps a less loaded word than fake.
I did not know there were lost books. Wikipedia has a link to the all missing books. Maybe some future excavation will find them and everything we know will be upset.
the bible refers to the book of jashar at joshua 10:13. this is when the sun stood still and the moon stopped.. it is also referred to in the 2nd book of samuel 1:18 where it says: "behold it is written in the book of jasher.".
why did they leave it out of the bible yet quote from it as an authority?.
I am pressed for time. There is wikipedia, I suppose. What this book purport to do? Who is the author?
The Israelites had to have nonBiblical sources from the Canaanite culture which they emerged. I saw all those fertility goddess, depicted as Jehovah's wives on PBS. One picture is worth a thousand words. Polytheism is always breaking out in the Bible. It is reported so frequently that I wonder if polytheism wasn't the norm and then a Jehovah cult emerged much later than Bible chronology would dictate.
If this is just a Mormon book.............They make the Witnesses look so respectable. Yet if you don't know the teachings, live on the East Coast, they seem as solid as any Protestant sect. I should not talk since my knowledge is from Big Love.
this is the first part where the eldubs refuse to do the honourable thing.
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsid=109303.
...and here is the even sadder conclusion........ http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsid=109359.
There seem to be two related threads on this issue. I explained the common law rules regarding privilege for ministerial/penitents. It is very old. The law has carved out three privileges that I recall. Priest/penitent is prob. the oldest. The Church was Western civilization for centuries until the rise of nation states. Spousal privilege is another. There are some limits on it. Therapist/client is the other main ones. There is debate whether fostering trust in these relationships is worth the price. Journalists and social workers have wanted privilege but, generally, they don't have privilege. Instead, journalists frequently go to jail to protect their sources.
When has the WT ever cared about individuals, esp. individuals who are children. The WT cares about the WT. It mocks the civil state and other mighty religions but it power grabs in every situation. The other thread raised the issue that they repeatedly claim not to have a clergy case but lie to courts about the nature of their religion. They want all the perks of major religions and want to bash them for having perks. My brother remarked about Al-Qaeda after 9/11 that the US is racist supporting intolerable dictatorships in the Middle East. If such characters as the Taliban, Heussein, Qadaffi ever seized power in Europe, all our forces would be devoted to freedom. Al-Qaeda criticized these monstrous governments but it did not want to change the horrid status quo. Rather, it wanted to impose its own, even worse dictatorship.
The law must be neutral in this country. Some people don't like that I mention my legal credentials. Well, the WTBTS has some poor lawyers. The internal document that was posted here does not refer to "alleged child abusers" or "the accused" and convicted them in a kangaroo court. The wording of no discipline will be taken implies that it is wrong to report it. Why would anyone think of discipline for doing the moral thing? Of course, don't they put much parlance into not disputing and running to court with fellow Witnesses? Their moral immaturity is apparent.
I'm very curious as to whether there are portions dealing with going about an investigation to determine how trustworthy the parties are before the authorities make their determination. To be fair, the Roman Catholic Church did far, far worse actions. I recall my physical and emotional absue as a child. In my mind, I am older than I actually was. I felt mature for my agonies. When I come upon young children especially, I am shocked. They are so precious and so vulnerable. Just as I am drawn to puppies and kittens, I want to protect stranger children. Jesus affirmed children in a society where they had no status. My gut feeling as always been that the JWs have wacky doctrine but so do we all. Their very fruits betray them. Read Paul's statement on God's love in Corinithians and tell me where it is present in this manual.
mothers day can bring up many issues for some of us.
for some their mothers have passed away and the opportunity to say i love you in person is forever lost.
for others our mothers are lost to the borg.
My mom finally got me off her hands. I became severely ill. She felt bad for past abuse in the family and not having things to do b/c of Witnesses. No one could believe how steafast she was during my illness. I was very dependent. It was sad and achingly beautiful at the same time. I miss her desperately. She was my best friend and I don't believe in mom's being best friends.
I was very fortunate. My life has been very hard but she was one of many special blessings.
here are my favorites:.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyrjh0edlss&feature=player_embedded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iterkvrkfa&feature=player_embedded.
Happy Trails to YOu, Roy Rogers, the cowboy of my youth.
Gunsmoke
Rawhide-excellent
Does anyone know if Bonanza's theme had words? I remember Cliff making up lyrics in Cheers.
the article that caught my eye as i was thumbing through it was on page 18 entitled "a peaceable people defend their good name".
this was all about the issues being addresssed in russia and how the j.w.
's were being oppressed/repressed.. but if you look in the box to the left under "a note to the citizens of russia", you will see that they quote the scripture in luke 12:2 "there is nothing carefully concealed that will not be revealed, and secret that will not become known.".
I'm not going to defend Russian concepts of religious freedom. As a United States citizen, it is none of my business what Russia is doing, unless they break international norms of justice or moral codes. A Russian could well find fault with our system. Perhaps b/c it is exotic, but Western Christians have been very taken with the Russian Orthodox Church. It is considered cool. Christians will not visit their churches but patch together car caravans to a Russian Orthodox Seminary for Christmas or Easter. Their ritual seems so rich.
(1 corinthians 4:6) .
.that in our case you may learn the [rule]: do not go beyond the things that are written,.
.. 45 jw rules/teaching that "go beyond the things that are written" in the bible.
If Jesus is viewed as the sacrificial lamb, why do we still treat blood as a life force. The Risen Christ is the life force. Otherwise, we should keep all Jewish dietary and other laws. Indeed, Jesus chased the moneychangers out of the temple, signaling his disapproval of the sacrifice of animals. It doesn't seem consistent to me.
the most disengenuous aspect of "official" pronouncements from the society can be identified.. it is in the positioning of the speaker/writer as a passive onlooker commenting on exterior happenings.. this bystander mode is clever by half.. why?
it spoon feeds information without taking any active personal responsibility.. sort of an "oh gee, wow--look at all this going on" stance, while taking a stand-offish tone, is printed in the official magazines and books approved for publication by the governing body as mouthpiece of jehovah.. think about that.
it is insidious incitement without responsibility.. the person (likely fred franz) who crafted these bulletins had gone through several previous incidents of failure and disappointment and was well aware of the effect of any speculations upon jehovah's witnesses in the past.. this makes what was printed all the more calculated and irresponsible in the extreme.. let us parse the language printed by the watchtower society with careful attention to what is said and left unsaid.. w68 8/15 p. 494 why are you looking forward to 1975?.
I recall those times b/c I was a teenager. 1975 did not start with the rank and file. If it were not important, why did Franz mention it in the first place? Knowing the way Witnesses embraced the date, he could have been clearer in denouncing it. Forked tongue.
i am considering going to a therapist.
even though i believe i have gotten better and made some progress (it has been roughly a year since i stopped attending meetings, doing anything jw-wise), i still have a lot of negative self-talk which is hard to overcome, especially during off days like today.. i find the hardest things for me is low self-esteem and social interactions/anxiety.
i'm sure some of you can sympathsize, and though i am not fully blaming my issues soley to my jw upbring (born-in) i know it compounded those issues.. .
It has helped me. I viewed therapy as therapy when I started. My major problem is the negative self talk. Several mds told me they could not treat me if I were an active Witness. No one has ever said "great religion." I've done a bit of everything.
One thing that impressed me and works quickly is behavioral/cognitive therapy. It seems so easy reading the book but not that easy to apply. It focuses on maladaptive thinking patterns. It would focus on my negative self talk by engaging in negative self talk to the negative self talk. One thing that would greatly help a Witness is the teachng of social skills. Details of how to ask for a date, assertiveness training, a whole host of things most middle class Americans share but not JWs.
I realized the poverty of my social life and it hurt exquisitely. My overcompensations hurt me. These skills are merely skills that can be acquired.
here is the promised debate.
the subject is whether or not god has an organization.
i'll start things simply:.
See Wikipedia Christianity in the First Cenutry which backs my assertion. A footnote is available. I"m lazy with citations. There is no proof that Peter was first Bishop of Rome. Legend asserts it and my local priest explained that anthropolgy has proven that these legends have more merit than we give them at first glance. I view Peter being the first Bishop and the Pope as just as important as Paul. Weire talking the Roman Catholic Church (I wonder what it was called before the split with the East). I'm not hiding the fact that I am Anglican, almost Protestant. It is such a fundamental point I believe someone would have mentioned it. I can easily see how legend may have developed after Rome's dominance. I was not there personally so I don't know.
One of my doubts is the loose nature of the early church and how people like to keep decisions local. I found out that there is a collection of anteNicene writings on the Internet. Complete texts available. Something happened from Desert Fathers to the Borgias.
The apostolic legends and writings have helped my faith. They are so clueless in the Bible. Yet they truly became adversity seeking evangelists. B/c of my faith, I attribute this to the Pentecost experience.
Does anyone know where to find basic info about the nonwestern Church. The Copts, the Eastern Church, the Indian Church, --it is utterly fascinating. If there a central organization stamping conformity, the history would be lifeless. I've read wikipedia. So I suppose I need something between wikipedia and graduate level history.
