Posts by Mat
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25Curious about the name "Jesus"
by tec inmy niv has notes at the bottom of pages, regarding other possible meanings and some definitions, etc.. anyway, it says that jesus is the greek form of joshua, which means the lord saves.
would that mean that joshua is the english form of his name?
thanks for your comments,.
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25
Advice needed about my study with a JW.
by Resistance is Futile ini've never been a jw, and i'm having a difficult time trying to understand the perspective of a born-in jw.
i want to ask questions that will cause this family member to began to think outside the box, but i don't want to trip off any apostate alarms and have him put his guard up.
i also don't want to waste time and energy asking questions that he can easily brush off and give the prepackaged watchtower answer without having to really think.
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Mat
I don't think that will flummux them, but then if you don't want warning bells to ring it's probably best anyway. The answer to that to my memory is that God used individuals who opposed the established churches and tried to show how the trinity was wrong but they got silenced (and other simlar characters).
What flummuxed me? I don't think anyone ever did present me with a question that threw me. On reflection though had anyone asked me whether my religion truly represented a God of love, and was truly united and hospitable- I would have had to say honestly that it did not (at least toward the end).
I have managed to flummux a JW I spoke to who didn't know I was one once. It was about Isaiah 19:5 where it prophesied that the Nile will dry up, and in actual fact this has never happened in the entire of history (science has proved). The question was how could he argue that everything in God's word has come true when clearly it has not. Perhaps the context made it a good question, but that might be worth researching for later.
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Mat
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There. That's better.
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36
LETS TALK JESUS.....
by Quentin inwas jesus a real living being?
or, was he a myth, made up 60 to 70 years after the fact.. i for one believe he did exist.
was the epicenter of oral traditions and overblown hype.
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Mat
I think he didn't exist. Evidence?
1- his name. Why was it not Joshua? That is the usual transliteration of the Hebrew equivalent. A theory suggests that is was a subtle marriage of the Jewish god Jah with the pagan god Zeus.
2- When did he say what? Matthew and Luke quote Jesus saying the same things but under different circumstances. The reason for this is theorised to be that they both had a list of sayings, but not the narrative context, so they made different stories to fit the sayings.
3- Paul makes no reference to his ministry on earth. No miracles, no parables, no quotes- apart from more happiness in giving and the Eucharist. But surely he could have quoted more?
4- similarities with pagan myths. Suggests mystical origins for his narrative
5- No reliable secular references. Josephus' often cited references are plausibly fake additions. Odd considering God could have made sure there was plenty of contemporary writings to confirm his existence for later days.
It all adds up to a King Arthur type of historical character. He wasn't there but was a later amalgamation by people with an agenda.
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99
I dont like using "their" name for God
by jean-luc picard ini realize that i avoid using their name for god.. i can say it................. jehovah.
but i'll avoid it almost always..... if i'm talking with you,.
on the rare occasions that i am in conversation with any jdub family,.
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Mat
Actually I think the replacement form- Yahweh- is far worse. I think the transliteration "Jehovah" is consistent with other Hebrew words, and I reckon the scholar standard of claiming Jehovah is a "mistranslation" is total bull! The only problem with it is the JW's seem to have aquired some kind of patent on the expression- totaly unjustified, but hardly anyone eles uses it.
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99
I dont like using "their" name for God
by jean-luc picard ini realize that i avoid using their name for god.. i can say it................. jehovah.
but i'll avoid it almost always..... if i'm talking with you,.
on the rare occasions that i am in conversation with any jdub family,.
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Mat
Blaspemy! He said it again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_hlMK7tCks&feature=player_detailpage
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18
Confused about something....
by faundy innot posted on here in a while.... .
my sister is the only one in our family who's still a witness.
she's 32 and married to a servant.
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Mat
Maybe she sees the "honor your mothe rand your father " as still applicable, yet there is no command to honor your siblings! Perhaps she remembers a time when you stole her dolly? Just bouncing ideas.
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16
An update on my recent developments
by umadevi inmy last visit to kingdom hall was on memorial day.
since then i have decided skip to meetings and preaching.
the co and his wife visited my congo in the last week of april.
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Mat
You could always ask this sister "A" why she shunned those people who didn't give their best and tell her you think she was wrong to treat them like that. You might find her making less effort if she has to explain herself.
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16
An update on my recent developments
by umadevi inmy last visit to kingdom hall was on memorial day.
since then i have decided skip to meetings and preaching.
the co and his wife visited my congo in the last week of april.
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Mat
Hi Umadevi, it sounds like they want to keep you even though you are trying to fade away. I know from personal experience that if you start asking subtle but challenging questions they will stop bothering you, and just let you fade.
Not too challenging or they will grill you for apostacy, but subtle sincire ones like- ask them to explain the Generation overlap thing, or how exactly the light gets brighter when it should have been bright in the first place. Why are women not allowed trousers at the Kingdom Hall while in the bible when Jesus condemned the Pharasees for having human traditions- same applies to men growing beards.
Sincire questions and doubts will soon ward them away. They only make an effort to help people who arn't any trouble.
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91
A polite way to ask someone to keep their hands to themselves...
by White Dove inwhat's a polite way to ask a man to keep his hands to himself while conversing in a group with you?.
this neighbor of mine and i were sitting in chairs on the deck with other people.. he always touched me whenever he said anything to me or i said anything to him.. it was as if he was using touch like an antenna to send and receive signals.. i didn't know what to do, so instead of risking embarrassment for us both, i did nothing but stand up and step away.. i stepped away after he attempted to caress my hamstrings on one leg.. *shudder*.
wonder why 60+ year old men think that a woman being nice to him means she's hot for him.. also wonders why it's only the smoking, beer guzzling, scrawny, bony, and smelly old men who do that.. .
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Mat
First time just say- "please don't do that". Firm but polite. Second time say something with a bit more threat to it. Third time loose your temper! Some people probably do it automatically without thinking, not realising they are being intrusive.