Posts by LittleToe

70

Renga

by LittleToe in

http://thewordshop.tripod.com/renga.htm .

as the winter sun.

casts long shadows on the road.

LittleToe

and as the blackness
enveloped the land, the call
of a snowy owl

10

Should someone commit adultery just to......

by nightwing02 in

jw
friends

get a divorce if he/she is a witness?

I stumbled across 1 Cor.7:15 yesterday, and it sparked something in me.
I was reminded of it, by this thread, and looked at a few commentaries.
I will qualify these statements with the fact that the conscience has the ability to destroy you psychologically. Any course of action has to be weighed up with the consequences.

1 Cor.7:15 (NWT):
But if the unbelieving one proceeds to depart, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not in servitude under such circumstances, but God has called YOU to peace.

John Wesley's Explanatiory Notes
1Co 7:15 - A brother or a sister - A Christian man or woman. Is not enslaved - is at full liberty. In such cases: but God hath called us to peace - To live peaceably with them, if it be possible.

Robertson's Word Pictures
Is not under bondage (ou dedoulwtai). Perfect passive indicative of doulow, to enslave, has been enslaved, does not remain a slave. The believing husband or wife is not at liberty to separate, unless the disbeliever or pagan insists on it. Wilful desertion of the unbeliever sets the other free, a case not contemplated in Christ's words in Mat_5:32; Mat_19:9. Luther argued that the Christian partner, thus released, may marry again. But that is by no means clear, unless the unbeliever marries first.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's Commentary:
brother or a sister is not under bondage--is not bound to renounce the faith for the sake of retaining her unbelieving husband [HAMMOND]. So Deu_13:6; Mat_10:35-37; Luk_14:26. The believer does not lie under the same obligation in the case of a union with an unbeliever, as in the case of one with a believer. In the former case he is not bound not to separate, if the unbeliever separate or "depart," in the latter nothing but "fornication" justifies separation [PHOTIUS in Æcumenius].

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible:
1Co 7:15 - But if the unbelieving depart,.... If the unbelieving party, man or woman, separate themselves from the believing party on account of religion, and in hatred to it, and will not live with the believer unless Christ is denied, his Gospel abjured, and his ordinances and worship relinquished:

let him depart; he or she, though not without making use of all proper means to retain them; but if, after all, they will go, unless such things are complied with as are unreasonable and sinful, they are not to be held, but let go; and the deserted person may sit down contented, being not to be blamed, the fault entirely lying upon the deserter:

a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. The Ethiopic version reads it, "to such an one"; one that is called by grace a church member, and so a brother or sister in Christ, is not to be subject to an unbeliever in matters of conscience, in things appertaining to the worship of God, and the service and glory of Christ; nor, being in such circumstances, that either Christ must be forsaken, or the unbeliever will depart, are they obliged to yield to such an one, but rather suffer a departure; nor are they bound to remain unmarried, but are free to marry another person, after all proper methods have been tried for a reconciliation, and that appears to be impracticable; desertion in such a case, and attended with such circumstances, is a breach of the marriage contract, and a dissolution of the bond, and the deserted person may lawfully marry again; otherwise a brother, or a sister in such a case, would be in subjection and bondage to such a person:

11

Created by Aliens?

by 2SYN in

hehe, i knew that thread topic would get me lots & lots of hits!

ok, here's the situation: my dear friend refuses to be convinced that we were not created by aliens (or some higher form of life, apparently outside the universe) about 8,000 or so years ago.

here are the arguments i have presented to him and what he said.

LittleToe

Nimrod:

I believe the Watchtower Society is actually run by reptillian agents.

I think someone has been listening to too much David Icke.
However, if that belief gets you through the day, who am I to knock it?

70

Renga

by LittleToe in

http://thewordshop.tripod.com/renga.htm .

as the winter sun.

casts long shadows on the road.

LittleToe

Sound ripples across the skies
aloft on the crisp starscape

LOL - that was nowhere near 5-7-5 syllabuls, plmkrzy, it was 6-4-4.
Nice though!

43

The 144,000 chosen ones...I'm so confused

by SoManyQuestions in

jw
friends

my biggest question about jw is regarding the 144,000 from revelations.

how could john know exactly how many people were there?

how did he know that they were representing the 12 tribes of israel?

LittleToe

It's not really been thought through that well, has it.

144,000 rule over the earth.
So what about after the millenium? (Rev.20:5,6)
What do they do when all things are handed back to the Father? (1 Cor.15:28)
Do perfected humans still need judges?
So, was this alll part of God's original purpose?

Ah, yes, the new scrolls! The answer to everything.

Do you sometimes think that the scale and scope of this is a little beyond the imagination of those proposing it?

40

Another NWT Mistranslation?

by Sargon in

ok, this post isn't out to prove anything, other than i've got too much time on my hands, which alot of you know that already.. over my morning coffee this morning i decided to read the section of the bible dealing with nimrod and the tower of babel.

i have two bibles at home the nwt and the new american standard.

heres what th nwt says at gen 10:9.

LittleToe

Earnest:
I believe the NWT Translation Committee stated that they were trying to achieve consistant renderings of words.
Interpretation is for commentaries and interpretive translations.

I stand by my comment:
The NWT is supposed to be a literal version, not an interpretive one.

FYI I agree with the understanding, here rendered, but see it as further evidence of the Committee not living up to it's self-imposed mandate. This is just one, of many, places where an interpretive bias has been placed on the text.

Further, you refer to the Septuagint. Are we now to consider this to be stronger evidence that the original Hebrew, going with an interpretation of an interpretation?
You wont find "in opposition" in Strongs. Against, maybe.

Strongs:
6440 paniym paw-neem'
plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun (paneh paw-neh'; from 6437);
the face (as the part that turns);
used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively);
also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):--+ accept, a-(be- )fore(-time), against, anger, X as (long as), at, + battle, + because (of), + beseech, countenance, edge, + employ, endure, + enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, X him(-self), + honourable, + impudent, + in, it, look(-eth) (- s), X me, + meet, X more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), X on, open, + out of, over against, the partial, person, + please, presence, propect, was purposed, by reason of, + regard, right forth, + serve, X shewbread, sight, state, straight, + street, X thee, X them(-selves), through (+ - out), till, time(-s) past, (un-)to(-ward), + upon, upside (+ down), with(- in, + -stand), X ye, X you.

6437 panah paw-naw'
a primitive root;
to turn;
by implication, to face, i.e. appear, look, etc.:--appear, at (even-)tide, behold, cast out, come on, X corner, dawning, empty, go away, lie, look, mark, pass away, prepare, regard, (have) respect (to), (re-)turn (aside, away, back, face, self), X right (early).

54

Bible Fake: Jesus Stills the Storm

by JosephAlward in

i've argued before in this forum that mark wanted to have jesus seem to be the messiah whose existence he believed--or pretended to believe--was prophesied, foreshadowed, or prefigured, by persons and events found in scripture, so he scoured the writings of the prophets for these stories, and adapted them to fit jesus.

i believe the striking parallels below show almost conclusively that mark's story about jesus stilling the storm was adapted from jonah, and is fictional.. in jonah, a violent storm threatens a ship on which jonah sleeps, so mark made a violent storm threaten a ship on which jesus sleeps.

in jonah, the apprehensive sailors waken jonah and question his cavalier attitude toward the danger, so mark made his boat's captain apprehensive also, and had him, too, waken jesus and question him about his seeming lack of concern.

LittleToe

I apologise - I see that Simon has, indeed, disabled "edit">
Sorry.

54

Bible Fake: Jesus Stills the Storm

by JosephAlward in

i've argued before in this forum that mark wanted to have jesus seem to be the messiah whose existence he believed--or pretended to believe--was prophesied, foreshadowed, or prefigured, by persons and events found in scripture, so he scoured the writings of the prophets for these stories, and adapted them to fit jesus.

i believe the striking parallels below show almost conclusively that mark's story about jesus stilling the storm was adapted from jonah, and is fictional.. in jonah, a violent storm threatens a ship on which jonah sleeps, so mark made a violent storm threaten a ship on which jesus sleeps.

in jonah, the apprehensive sailors waken jonah and question his cavalier attitude toward the danger, so mark made his boat's captain apprehensive also, and had him, too, waken jesus and question him about his seeming lack of concern.