John_Mann

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Posts by John_Mann

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  44

  The Jewish perspective of the OT according to poster David_Jay

  by deegee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i note your comments in the following threads regarding the jewish perspective on certain old testament (ot) events:.

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5700922233585664/when-you-stop-think-about-why-would-gods-chosen-people-old-testament-need-army?page=1&size=10 ,.

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6065451475927040/why-didnt-god-also-reveal-himself-canaanites-just-he-did-moses-burning-bush.

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  John_Mann

  I thought the role of Ezra (not necessarily during the exile) was unanimous among Jews. I'm Catholic and the Jewish tradition we inherited says Ezra played a major role in the making of what we call OT.

  The Catholic approach to OT is primarily historical. We are interested in the development of the strong concept of monotheism built by the Jews. No other people built such massive concept of monotheism.

  We understand the OT is written in an exaggerated way. That's the Jewish way of teaching. Jesus used it.

  The account of creation (of human souls) is very sophisticated too. Sadly pentecostal fundamentalism hijacked it.

  And of course the concept of a Messiah.

  It's good to have a well educated person in this forum who knows the ancient (and original) way to cope with Holy Scriptures.

  You could talk about the Jewish view of the (second) destruction of the Temple and how it was seen as the end of the world itself. Non Catholic Christians have a hard time to understand the importance of the Temple to Jews.
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  44

  The Jewish perspective of the OT according to poster David_Jay

  by deegee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i note your comments in the following threads regarding the jewish perspective on certain old testament (ot) events:.

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5700922233585664/when-you-stop-think-about-why-would-gods-chosen-people-old-testament-need-army?page=1&size=10 ,.

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6065451475927040/why-didnt-god-also-reveal-himself-canaanites-just-he-did-moses-burning-bush.

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  John_Mann

  (it is generally held Moses was seeing not a “fire” at the burning bush but the Shekinah)

  Interesting. And we can thought the bush being the tree of life.

  Very good thread!
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  44

  The Jewish perspective of the OT according to poster David_Jay

  by deegee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i note your comments in the following threads regarding the jewish perspective on certain old testament (ot) events:.

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5700922233585664/when-you-stop-think-about-why-would-gods-chosen-people-old-testament-need-army?page=1&size=10 ,.

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6065451475927040/why-didnt-god-also-reveal-himself-canaanites-just-he-did-moses-burning-bush.

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  John_Mann

  People cannot accept that Judaism and Catholicism did not came from books.

  It's much more convenient to beat the Sola Scriptura strawman.

  What attracts me in Judaism is not the concepts of God in it but the concepts of soul. Judaism went far more deep than Catholicism in concepts of soul. Only in Aquinas the subject was expanded.

  What you think about the role of Ezra in the making of the OT while in Babylon?
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  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

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  John_Mann

  Não When I was a little boy (maybe 5 years old) I was learning how to count from zero to ten and I was having a hard time to count straight. I knew the name of the numbers but my problem was to figure out the right sequence.

  Then I asked a little help to my father and he counted in a slowly way to show me how to do it. In a while I figured it out and then I asked to him until what number he could count. He calmly said he could count to infinity. And I was in awe!

  I was not in awe about learning what infinity is. In fact I could not remember how I understood the concept of infinity. I don't even remember if I had to learn it at all! This is my oldest memory about infinity and I already knew it. I couldn't count to ten but I already understood the concept of infinity.

  And my concept of infinity never needed to be improved. Of course I learned about mathematical applications to it but the concept itself is still the same in my mind just it was when I was a little boy.

  In a biological sense I can trace the evolution of my eyes and knees to a long chain of animals. We know almost anything about our animal bodies and we can trace it down to other animals.

  But how and where came from this property to know about infinity?

  No other animal can do such thing.

  And if we search how we learned it we only find that it simply appeared in our minds.

  And this is not some trivial knowledge like swimming to the surface or hold the breath under water.

  This is one of the most complex and sophisticated concepts of the human mind.

  And it's not the only exotic property in our minds.

  What about justice? Liberty? Artistic beauty? The awareness of our deaths? The search for meaning? Introspection? Imagination? Intricated concepts of past and future?

  To what animals can we trace such things?

  Until now we can't even trace these properties to our neurons! No scanner can say if I'm thinking about infinity or the meaning of life.
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  78

  A stunning piece of LOGIC from the Apostle Paul

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  1st corinthians 15 12-17. but if it is preached that christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

  if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even christ has been raised.

  and if christ has not been raised, your faith is futile... .

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  John_Mann

  In nihilistic view life is absurd and hopeless.

  In Christian view the Christ's Resurrection is indeed an All-in bet.

  Ultimately we face this dichotomy: Nihilism or Christianity. There's no between.

  If you embrace Nihilism you are embracing a hopeless absurd. So it's very strange to use absurdity as a derogatory term to Christianity.
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  28

  Spanish Forum is being shut down

  by ILoveTTATT2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently the spanish forum, extj.com, is being shut down coming december.it's pretty sad.

  there is still so much work to do to help people in latin america and spain come out of this cult!.

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  John_Mann

  What are the excuses of a sincere doubtful JW to not discover anything about the JW. org?

  I really doubt that much more effort of Internet exposition need to be made.

  I think the people inside the Watchtower now is made by more than 90 percent of people who WANTS to be a JW. True believers who knows the TTATT.

  I left in 2006 and one thing that shocked me at the time was to discover people who had read the CoC and decided to remain a JW. I think this is already the main reality among them.

  This new generation was born connected in the Internet and they know about the TTATT. Maybe some of them are just waiting to be financially independent to get out.

  In the end it's not about facts and truth. It's about individual choice and some will always chose odd things.
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  20

  Technological singularity

  by Brokeback Watchtower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/technological_singularity.

  the singularity" redirects here.

  for other uses, see singularity (disambiguation).the technological singularity (also, simply, the singularity)[1][2] is the hypothesis that the invention of artificial superintelligence will abruptly trigger runaway technological growth, resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization.

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  John_Mann

  This getting near and near to be a cult.

  The Singularity is near... soon... always 30 years ahead...
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  21

  Catching My Breath (RIP JWD'ers)

  by Phaedra in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  mouthy.

  farkel.

  ros.

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  John_Mann

  Oompa was a terrible loss.
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  18

  How to Irritate JWs: The Catholic Way

  by Hernandez in

  1. social
  2. humour

  what's the greatest advantage in becoming a roman catholic after leaving the jehovah's witnesses some 17 years ago?

  why, it's the way it totally irritates people and really pushes their buttons...that is, if you are one of the unfortunate jehovah's witnesses who happens across my door during field service.

  i have developed several techniques to make it very frustrating to the unwary witness who hopes to make headway at my house.

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  John_Mann

  Yes I am.
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  18

  How to Irritate JWs: The Catholic Way

  by Hernandez in

  1. social
  2. humour

  what's the greatest advantage in becoming a roman catholic after leaving the jehovah's witnesses some 17 years ago?

  why, it's the way it totally irritates people and really pushes their buttons...that is, if you are one of the unfortunate jehovah's witnesses who happens across my door during field service.

  i have developed several techniques to make it very frustrating to the unwary witness who hopes to make headway at my house.

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  John_Mann

  Anyway it's not wise to use Catholicism for humor.

  Bad taste humor.