Half banana

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Posts by Half banana

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  11

  The Real Ark of the Covenant May Have Housed Pagan Gods - Haaretz

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to the bible, the biblical ark of the covenant contained the ten commandments tablets, but some israeli archaeologists have a different view.. haaretz media site publishes the story:.

  the real ark of the covenant may have housed pagan gods.

  the holy ark was likely kept in jerusalem for much less time than the bible tells us.

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  Half banana

  Yes not from mythical Moses but a mosaic of cultures!
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  11

  The Real Ark of the Covenant May Have Housed Pagan Gods - Haaretz

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to the bible, the biblical ark of the covenant contained the ten commandments tablets, but some israeli archaeologists have a different view.. haaretz media site publishes the story:.

  the real ark of the covenant may have housed pagan gods.

  the holy ark was likely kept in jerusalem for much less time than the bible tells us.

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  Half banana

  Very good information FTS. Here is one region where"biblical scholarship" has validity and archaeologists like Israel Finklestein are doing a sterling job with a rigorous and impartial investigation into who the real Israelites were.

  As he has found, it is a story far removed from the Biblical trope of monotheism. The people of the Levant were simple polytheists and Yahweh in the form of a bull was just one of many idols they worshipped.

  I can't resist asking the question, How does the almighty creator of the universe Jehovah start out life as an ox headed idol?

  The conclusion of the Haaretz article by Ariel David says:
  

  The reality emerging today from the combined work of biblical scholars and archeologists is much more complex and diverse. It indicates that Judaism as we know it today evolved slowly and organically, incorporating a variety of influences and religious traditions from the mosaic of cultures that lived side by side in the region.
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  15

  Solomon's gold mines called a myth but there's one so-called prophecy that always makes me stop and think

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the authenticity of the old testament account of solomon is being called into question in the news media:.

  http://www.christianpost.com/news/king-solomons-fabulous-hidden-gold-mines-are-a-myth-historian-says-194663/.

  for the most-part, i don't really want to believe the bible as true, certainly not the j.w version including their stubbornness over 607 and 1914. but there's one prophecy that always makes me stop and wonder if maybe some of the bible was inspired by god, if he or she exists.

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  Half banana

  Isambard, the dating of the book of Daniel is discussed in depth online. Try Wikipedia for an overview. Don't look for so called 'Bible scholars' as they have an agenda to fulfill. Look for academics at professor level who know the texts, the relevant secular history and the archaeology.

  Superficially it is an easy thing to prove because the writer of Daniel cannot predict the events immediately ahead of 162 BCE but gets the previous years correctly applied as if he prophesied them. Also a major blow to traditional dating is that nobody anywhere quotes Daniel until the middle of the second century BCE. This is a significant exception relating to to the criteria for what made a writing a Biblical text.

  There are strong counter-arguments to a late dating as is the nature of the dating of any manuscripts including the first uses of the style of language and word use of the specific texts. However it must always be remembered that nothing is sacred in handwritten documents, there always has to be considered the allowance for forgeries, insertions, deletions and deliberate archaising within a hand-copied text.

  Going back to your point of "Daniel's" image, it is a borrowing from a much older piece of writing from the 7th century BCE by the Greek poet Hesiod in his work Theogony. In it he portrayed man's history through an allegory of an image of different metals successively decreasing in worth from a fabled golden race down to powerful empires represented by iron.

  It remains a good example of how much of the Bible is a crib from earlier sources, in this case pre-classical Greek. This method shows the poverty of inspiration in the Bible where most of it is copied from paganism and re-worked to suit the propaganda interests of the commissioners of the work.

  Once departing from the JW religion it is best to realize early on, that contrary to the force and habit of cult belief, nothing in the Bible has meaningful significance for us today.
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  21

  Signs that the last days really are here

  by Half banana in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not for the world but for the watchtower cult.. .

  what happens to organizations which are on the decline?

  what are the signs of impending doom?.

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  Half banana

  
  

  not for the world but for the Watchtower cult.

  What happens to organizations which are on the decline? What are the signs of impending doom?

  Rapid reduction of expenditure is the first sign

  Removing layers of command to strengthen the executive

  Dismissing staff

  Selling off assets to keep the cash flow going

  Cancelling projects

  Desperate optimisation of income sources

  The JW org is not just a commercial organization, it is also an authoritarian religious cult so other signs apply as well:

  Ramping up loyalty propaganda

  Increasing threats for would be leavers

  Warnings to ignore external criticism

  Preparing the minds of members to interpret the changes as part of divine will

  Development of a “bunker mentality” to hold on to the bitter end.

  ....................

  Does the JW org meet these criteria?
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  25

  Watchtower Ironically Warns It's Memeber About "Propaganda" - Watchtower July 2017

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-july-2017/propaganda-winning-battle-for-your-mind/.

  in what is just the height of irony, watchtower warns us about propaganda, and accepting everything we hear/read.

  yes, we should ignore those that try to stop us thinking critically as this watchtower article will now teach us.

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  Half banana

  The message from fairy-land is beware of Satan!

  In this childish melodrama we have have life reduced to a simple dichotomy of total good and total evil.

  Life is a struggle for most people and the means of finding a happy niche eludes many. (Or am I just remembering my own teen years as a JW struggling to make sense of a world distorted by Watchtower values?) The JW solution to everything is so uncomplicated that any idiot could learn it or any troubled person might find solace in their simplistic resolution for all of life's problems: listen to the JW organisation and obey!

  Jehovah's Witnesses are a dire, harmful and manipulative cult. They resolutely refuse to distinguish between education and propaganda because to elucidate would shatter the foundation of their cult.

  Yes, thank you for warning your readers about propaganda JW org. . . but what gross hypocrisy to condemn "propaganda" when it is your primary tool to deceive people into the ranks and then hold them there as hostages to threats of shunning should they want to leave.

  JW org= gross hypocrisy.
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  24

  Seeking Riches That Are True

  by NJ501 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  your thoughts on today's watchtower?.

  can you explain?.

  how can material possessions be used to strengthen our friendship with god?

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  Half banana

  The other name for this is begging for money.

  Firstly Jehovah's Witnesses's god is a genocidal maniac-- who wants friends like that in the first place?

  And then again if you give your treasures to the org you get little gems back in the form of brilliant truths.......like give up education and a career and you won't regret it 'cos Armageddon is coming by 1914 1925 1975 1994.

  Get a life people!
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  4

  Anybody here a "bump on a log?"

  by stillin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a brother used this illustration throughout his talk recently.

  of course, it was meant to cause guilt in people like me or anybody else who might be prone to feeling guilty anyhow.

  i approached him afterwards and said that he was speaking disparagingly of god's arrangement.

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  Half banana

  I can't imagine a less interesting illustration! Attending the KH must have all the excitement and passion of watching paint dry.
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  11

  The Gentile Times Reconsidered Recommendation

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i've been trying to get my hands on this book and read a review that i thought was interesting.

  an anonymous person reviewed the book on barnes and noble and said .

  "jonsson book deals with babylonian tablets.

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  Half banana

  Jonsson's fourteen watertight arguments against 607 BCE as the date for the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar was so compelling that he was disfellowshipped for his scholarly pains!

  Jules, one person's comment is an insufficient canvass of opinion and the Akkadian writings, particularly the relevant astronomical records in question, are accessible in translation today.

  The other element of this matter is that all academic historians know that the date was 587 BCE but the GB think they know better. Not only do they believe in an inerrant Bible without evidence. . . but they believe their in-house, historically ordained and private mythology of 607 BCE, contrary to factual evidence. That's a cult for you!
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  31

  August 31, 2017 BOE Re: Procedure for Handling Certain Cases of Wrongdoing

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  august 31, 2017 to all bodies of elders re: procedure for handling certain cases of wrongdoing.

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  Half banana

  Yes Spiral it's like it is written by someone in the secret HQ bunker of a creepy cult whose overriding interest is to seek out and destroy the enemy within..........
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  65

  Today's Text - Justifying The Increase Of Annointed Ones!

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thursday, august 31. jehovah knows those who belong to him.—2 tim.

  2:19.. in recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of those partaking at the memorial of christ’s death.

  that trend contrasts with the decrease in the number of partakers that we saw for many decades.

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  Half banana

  @ Stealth, you said what I was going to say, the leadership are equally deluded into a belief of immortality, ruling the universe with Big J and Jesus. It's a kind of Napoleon complex where human deficiencies are compensated in the individual by them inhabiting the most glorious role possible.

  JWs who join the cult (as opposed to born-ins) have already made the switch, by ditching reason as the basis for decision making, to faith. They now believe in a supernatural resolution to all of life's problems in a miraculous dream of paradise. This is how cults normally work.

  The only significant JW membership increase is in the third world, in troubled places like the Congo. The newbies understand there are two classes; earthly and heavenly but have little idea of Watchtower history getting in the way of their destination choices. So it is not so far fetched for the newly converted (who probably thought they were going to heaven anyway) with poor education, poor reasoning skills and buckets of faith to see themselves as "super heroes" within the cult.

  Just eat the cracker and drink the wine and know that you are special (just like the leaders!)