Half banana

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Posts by Half banana

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  33

  2020 Convention streamed

  by Rattigan350 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  2020 convention of jehovah’s witnesses.

  we warmly invite you to watch this year’s three-day convention presented by jehovah’s witnesses.

  as a result of the novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, this year’s convention program is being presented online at jw.org.

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  Half banana

  Can't they do dry 'covid zoom' baptisms? You dress for it but don't get wet......
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  27

  For those who are STILL believing Christians...

  by BoogerMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the latest watchtower of august 2020 discusses on page 15, "how will the resurrection likely take place?".

  since learning real truths as opposed to the org's version of truth, has your view of the resurrection changed significantly?

  just one example - regardless of psalm 37:9,11,29: matthew 5:5 & revelation 21:3,4, do you now believe that our destination is heaven rather than earth?.

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  Half banana

  No one ever gets resurrected -- except in fairy tales
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  6

  All scriptures inspired and consistent?

  by menrov in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  mat.

  7:18 a good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit.

  5 but the lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth.

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  Half banana

  There is no reason to expect any anthology such as the Bible to be consistent. Especially when texts are drawn from many sources, from different nations and over a very long period of time.

  What is rarely if never admitted is that the cultural frame of any group evolves and then changes accrue often due to importing foreign ideas which have a greater status value. The evidence for this is seen in the earliest periods when humans talked with the gods even arguing with them. (as shown in plays and poems from the Bronze age and Classical period as well as Genesis) Later, borrowed from their overlords, the Israelites introduce henotheism, the idea that one god be worshipped above others. This was a shift to slay polytheism, hence the rants "against all other gods" in the Bible. Monotheism is not truly a Biblical theme!

  The Bible is a mish mash of cultural echoes borrowing literary ideas from all and sundry in the Near East. The Bible, of eclectic origins, was elevated and made holy for political reasons that meant for the control of people.
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  36

  Watchtower August 2020 Are they introducing new light?

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the latest watchtower is now out and they make this statement -.

  7 during the thousand year rule of christ, all of jehovah’s earthly children will have to make changes to please him.

  so all of them will have true fellow feeling as they help the resurrected ones to combat sinful tendencies and to live by jehovah’s standards.

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  Half banana

  It has also been used in the Watchtower for the JW's living now. For e.g. w15 9/15, "As God’s children, we feel truly loved because Jehovah has promised us a wonderful future. That gives genuine meaning and purpose to our life."

  or not!

  This excerpt from the WT illustrates a trend of the JW religion today. Apart from a promised utopian paradise, it has become a metaphorical security blanket for those unfortunate people who for one reason or another are unable to cope with ordinary life. The appeal of such language, the flattering notion of being one of "God's children" and being "truly loved" is a balm for the lost and lonely.

  The GB promote this sugary sense of infantile security not because it is true but because they know full well that it enhances their grip on believer's minds.
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  13

  CO zoom visit this week part deux

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so within a week he changed the end time chain of events.

  this time he said false religion will be along side with the govt.

  powers when they declare peace and security!

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  Half banana

  Then again Jesus said quite explicitly that the kingdom was coming in power within the lifetime of his audience. Mark 9,1. Twenty one centuries is stretching the credibility I think!

  A better idea is just ignore the childish Bible rubbish and get on with enjoying the life we have.
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  36

  Watchtower August 2020 Are they introducing new light?

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the latest watchtower is now out and they make this statement -.

  7 during the thousand year rule of christ, all of jehovah’s earthly children will have to make changes to please him.

  so all of them will have true fellow feeling as they help the resurrected ones to combat sinful tendencies and to live by jehovah’s standards.

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  Half banana

  There is something Trumpian about ambiguous information. Is it the spirit of the age?

  It is confusing to the rank and file. It demands trust in authority to sort things out.The permanent state of cognitive dissonance in JW thinking discourages deep enquiry but not brand loyalty!

  So as the WT paint themselves into a corner, perhaps we will see this method become more frequently used?
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  12

  Sin and death - how does it make sense to ANY believer of ANY religion?

  by BourneIdentity in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since adam and eve’s fall, we are all sinners.

  it’s what we do, there is no way to change it, sinning is a daily part of life.

  there are major sins, but most of us commit minor ones everyday in words, thoughts or deeds.

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  Half banana

  Sadly you may be fallen Joen but I revel in the fact that I have not inherited sin. This doesn't make me good and like everyone else who has ever lived, we all die, believers and non believers alike. The only ones who have benefitted from Jesus' death are the leaders of religious organisations and TV evangelists.
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  13

  CO zoom visit this week part deux

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so within a week he changed the end time chain of events.

  this time he said false religion will be along side with the govt.

  powers when they declare peace and security!

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  Half banana

  I think that the stuffing has fallen out of this religion.

  However if you have had a Watchtower lobotomy, you will think: Isn't the governing body wonderful! Giving us new light to stay faithful up to Armageddon........

  The CO missed out a detail in that the last days were also in the 19th century according to their own history. Three centuries in which the Watchtower announced fake news.
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  12

  Sin and death - how does it make sense to ANY believer of ANY religion?

  by BourneIdentity in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since adam and eve’s fall, we are all sinners.

  it’s what we do, there is no way to change it, sinning is a daily part of life.

  there are major sins, but most of us commit minor ones everyday in words, thoughts or deeds.

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  Half banana

  In an attempt to answer of how to make sense of sin, the first thing is to realise that all religion is fantasy, it is not the product of evidence but of the human imagination.

  Sin is like being told you have a specific illness that only one known doctor can cure and his agents are everywhere directing your life and making demands on you to conform to his wishes. Once you believe you have sin, they (the religions) are your masters, you have lost freewill!

  "Sin entered into the world through our first parents." This is completely untrue, we were never perfect in the first place, we do not originate from two individuals but from millions of antecedents and ultimately from different species of humans, and there is no such thing as a perfect/imperfect division of life -- except in religion. So the remedy for the Genesis fable is to create another one, through the sacrifice of a 'perfect' man. It takes no deep thinking to be able to understand the attractive myth which is in religious terms, that belief in Jesus means getting rid of sin.

  The human creation story is so clearly a fable that any intelligent person can see that it's not worth believing since a large part of humanity lived before the time of the would- be Adam and Eve. Even their names Adam = man and Eve = mother of all, puts the story into the fable category because it is one of the ways of determining what a fable is; if the characters names have literal meanings relevant to the story....and not forgetting talking snakes.

  Sin must rank as the least helpful concept in developing sound reasoning and a mature response to life's problems.
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  9

  100 Dead, but God is Merciful

  by Ultimate Axiom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a plane with 99 people on board has crashed into a populated area of karachi, but at least two of the passengers survive.

  one of them is reported as saying, “god has been merciful”.

  what kind of mercy was shown to the other 100 or more that died?.

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  Half banana

  In certain oriental religions, it is just a cultural reflex to claim everything is god's doing --no brain use necessary, it just trips off the tongue. But woe betide you if you were to challenge the blind injustice of your favourite god.