Posts by Half banana

18

Gorby has to admit

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

for the first time in my life, i have to admit that the world is rapidly deteriorating.

first i saw a decline in democracy worldwide.

elections were a tough battle every time, unfair too.

Half banana

You can quote a two thousand year old text observing even bemoaning that the world changes, this shows that this perception of decline is a consistent one over time.

Data indicates the opposite; that we are healthier, wealthier, live much longer lives, are more secure, better educated and experience less war than ever in human history. Remember, the Black death killed between a third and one half of the population affected..........if you got it, you didn't recover.

When narcissists rule, in a country or a religion, their vision is about their personal standing not the welfare of the many. Prov 29,18.

Or are you just feelinh low Gorby?

40

Resurrection, Reconstruction? What is it? It never made sense to me. Your opinion.

by Wasanelder Once in

i never had much faith in whatever resurrection was.

what appealed to me about jw doctrines was the rejection of the "it's a mystery" defense of the indefensible.

when i would ask how going into non existence could be reversed when all the atomic parts of who we are had been scattered for thousands of years, the answer was "jehovah can do anything".

Half banana

Yes, it was a hard to swallow doctrine but it came as part of the JW package.

When you contemplate what is involved in a mass resurrection of billions of people, you can question what an absurd miracle that would be. Yet JWs, who are forbidden to challenge their leader's ideas, trot out who they will see in 'the resurrection' and hold it as a safety net for themselves for when they die. All of which underscores the real nature of this dream: it is another magic method of avoiding the emotional pain of death alias Blue-pill thinking.

7

Did ancient Hebrew's get hign during temple

by Fadeaway1962 in

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/archaeologists-discover-cannabis-biblical-site-1874790 .

would explain daniel and ezekiel and their visions.

Half banana

Yes Fadeaway, "a pleasing aroma to Jehovah" namely cannabis!

The archaeologists noted that it had been burned with dung so that the aromatic compounds would be released, too hot and it wouldn't work. There was a separate altar also in the holy of holies on which frankincense was burned, this time with animal fat to optimise its aroma. God was clearly into weed -- and psychoactive drugs are a boon to stimulate religious imagination!

40

Gorby's question about current US situation

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

from the peacefull netherlands i have a question about the current situation in the us.. is a civil war possible?.

g..

Half banana

One thing which would help would be better police personnel -- each officer having passed psychometric tests before being let loose into the public arena.

My first encounter with the US police shocked me with the policeman's incandescent rage at my minor traffic violation due to me being unfamiliar with American laws, something in Britain that would never be expected and especially with foreigners.

Better police needed.

27

For those who are STILL believing Christians...

by BoogerMan in

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?.

Half banana

@ Irridle, personally speaking, never for a moment do I doubt, death is familiar but resurrection is unheard of.

@Anders, you have to laugh at the organisation's use of truth. There used to exist truth plain and simple but this looked a bit weak so real truth came along and then Watchtower Truth, the gold standard of real, truly true Truth. After all they own the rights on True Religion and have special knowledge of True Science which no one outside of the Watchtower knows anything about.

36

Watchtower August 2020 Are they introducing new light?

by Listener in

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.

Half banana

eyeuse, there are a number of Koine Greek words for child, teknon being the common one. The WT use of the word is the same as in the Bible, no specialised meaning.

33

2020 Convention streamed

by Rattigan350 in

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.

Half banana

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

27

For those who are STILL believing Christians...

by BoogerMan in

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?.

Half banana

No one ever gets resurrected -- except in fairy tales

6

All scriptures inspired and consistent?

by menrov in

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.

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.

36

Watchtower August 2020 Are they introducing new light?

by Listener in

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.

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.