Posts by Half banana

61

Would human settlement of Mars invalidate Bible prophecy?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i don't think this topic has been discussed before but yesterday i read something to the effect that trump wants a human mission to mars to be completed within his presidency.. with that being said, the watchtower teaches that what started on earth ends on earth, in other words, the fall of adam and eve would end with the passing of the 1,000 year millennial reign when christ destroys all his enemies, rebellious "perfect" humans, and the devil and his demons who are let out the abyss for a short while.

he then hands the kingdom back to his father.

an elder in my old congregation once told us during a public talk that he was an ardent astronomer but then referenced the scripture where it says, "the earth he has given to the sons of men" (psalms 115:16).

Half banana

Thank you David J, for your considered and informative explanation which confirms my own comment dismissing the validity of the question initially proposed.

I had the pleasure of finding two JWs (lambs to the slaughter) at the front of my house last Saturday while I was engaged in that oh so very JW pursuit; cleaning windows.

The bro wanted to tell me something from the Bible and I replied "Why would you want to look at that book?" He told me it was the word of God and I said,"Why would you believe that?" He said with a smile, "Prophecy". When I asked him to show me one prophecy which has come true which would make me believe in the Bible, he pondered and fumbled and said it was a big book! I did hammer him with a bunch of Biblical absurdities but it was significant that he bore the foundationless belief in Bible prophecy as a principle for his religion. Bible and prophecy go hand in hand in the fundamentalist's mind. Prophecy indeed has an emotional religious trigger for faith... but it is true only in the imagination of the believer.

8

Ban the Watchtower

by biblexaminer in

the watchtower magazine of january 1st, 2000, which was preached worldwide, made clear that "the anointed" at watchtower headquarters "have shown lionlike courage in exposing false religion", false religion being any and all religions other than jehovah's witnesses.

this same issue made clear to you, that we "god's watchman class" have used the watchtower "magazine in vigorously proclaiming to mankind that the vindication of jehovah's sovereignty by christ's kingdom is at hand.

as far back as the watchtower of december 1, 1966, we, god's spokesman, warned that armageddon could not be avoided.

Half banana

Yep, it's a life suppressing cult which has never got anything right. The conceit of the leaders is astounding.

Never believe Jehovah's Witnesses or you will have problems with your thinking process and lose part of your family.

16

Has China Already Become the Equal of the USA - superseding the Knorr/Franz March of World Powers?

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

i would personally say, this was going to happen, but not quite yet.

but then i noticed this recently published story in the south china morning post (a newspaper once owned by rupert murdoch, but now owned by jack ma, one of china's richest men).. quote:.

how china has become america’s equal, as showcased at a harvard forumauthor: robert delaneyon the campus of harvard business school this past weekend there was little doubt among corporate leaders and investors gathered for an annual conference that china had arrived as an equal to the united states.keynote speeches, panel discussions and a business pitch competition at the 20th annual harvard china forum convened under the theme “sharing the road ahead” in english.. and, i got to thinking about donald trump's reversal of all the things he said he was going to do to china in his campaign speeches, and the reality now that he acts as president of the usa.

Half banana

With China a new world authority on the scene, perhaps some older JWs will realize the utter meaningless of portentous Watchtower proclamations relating to the Kings of the North and South.

It does also demonstrate the fact that Bible accounts reflect the political impotence of the Israelites with their being pummelled into submission by either northern, namely Assyrian or Persian powers or by southern; Egypt or Babylonian rule and never being a power themselves. The Hebrew Bible encapsulates the longing for conquest and apocalyptic revenge by the small tribal alliance that was Israel of old.

Why on earth should the ancient Jewish visions of glory be sacred? China's rise to prominence should put the seven world empires and the myth of the "northern and southern kings" to bed forever.

27

Striking Out On My Own

by Saethydd in

those of you who know my story are aware that i'm currently disfellowshipped and living with my parents.

up until now, my plan has been to be reinstated and then fade, but recently my plans have changed.

in a conversation with my mother a few days ago and she made it clear that she would not be okay with me getting reinstated with the purpose of going inactive.

Half banana

Well done for making progress in finding a place to live and having a strategy for disengagement with the JW org.

It sounds like you want to make your case clear to your family by writing to them and since you know your situation better than we do, it probably will sort out those in sympathy with you and clarify your position. If you went back to get reinstated followed by a fade; surely that would be giving some credit to the non-existent JW authority? Is that why your mother favours it...or can she not bear the shame of her offspring being being d/f? And what a time wasting palava to go through reinstatement!

Hold your head high, you have done no wrong to disagree with a harmful cult.

Although not knowing your age, there are three things, might I suggest, which will be important for you to have: positive thinking non JW friends, a good educational attainment and a goal (or in your case a target!)

13

No atheist could possible hope to win an election in today's political climate, BUT.....

by James Mixon in

not taxing churches is taking as estimated $71 billion from our economy every year.

watching one of the late night talk show and the host mention how much dough we could have to help the poor if the churches were taxed.

i check to see and i b-damn, mormon church spends 7% of its annual income on charity, the average for churches are 29% to help the poor.

Half banana

It is interesting to watch the American political machine from the other side of the pond and observe the need for the president to say "God bless America".

The prime minister in the UK is far from being exulted as a demi-god and I think that is better for democracy. The issue of their atheism, religion or sexual orientation is not so important. However for a PM to say "God bless Britain" would be the kiss of death to his or her political career.

I think one thing which unwittingly fosters religious faith in the USA is the absence of a universal National Health scheme. It promotes the need for a large contingent of the less well off to demand a faith based safety net to compensate for the lack of the sense of well being which free access to socialised medicine provides.

Yes tax the religions and do grant them tax relief but only for their donations to external beneficiaries.

16

JW Guide to Critical Thinking

by Saename in

just found this chart on reddit here: reddit.

and here's a copy:.

what i find scary is that... it's accurate.

Half banana

Tony Morris's put down of critical thinking from JW TV:

“It’s kind of amazing that once you learn critical thinking, once you remove yourself from it and then take another look from a different perspective. How manipulative it is! How the ‘double think’ is right there in your face.”

What right has anyone to govern anything with an intellect of such staggering poverty?

12

The wages of sin...

by joey jojo in

somewhere in the bible it says; the wages of sin is death.. just death.

not pain or anguish or agonising illnesses.

so , why do we have to endure all of the heart-breaking torment that goes along with life?

Half banana

Sylvia you're not the descendant of Russell's love child are you?

61

Would human settlement of Mars invalidate Bible prophecy?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i don't think this topic has been discussed before but yesterday i read something to the effect that trump wants a human mission to mars to be completed within his presidency.. with that being said, the watchtower teaches that what started on earth ends on earth, in other words, the fall of adam and eve would end with the passing of the 1,000 year millennial reign when christ destroys all his enemies, rebellious "perfect" humans, and the devil and his demons who are let out the abyss for a short while.

he then hands the kingdom back to his father.

an elder in my old congregation once told us during a public talk that he was an ardent astronomer but then referenced the scripture where it says, "the earth he has given to the sons of men" (psalms 115:16).

Half banana

Bible prophecy has already been invalidated. There are no unambiguous fulfilments of Bible prophecy yet on the other hand there are a hundreds of prophecy failures from the Garden of Eden right through to Revelation.

12

The wages of sin...

by joey jojo in

somewhere in the bible it says; the wages of sin is death.. just death.

not pain or anguish or agonising illnesses.

so , why do we have to endure all of the heart-breaking torment that goes along with life?

Half banana

The concept of sin is a very clever invention. It means that by creating guilt, religious leaders can both control their flocks and also collect payments for doing so.

8

Pastor Melissa Scott

by pel8319 in

tune in to [removed] for excellent bible teaching.

sunday service at 11am pst.

please check it out..

Half banana

Who needs yet more "Bible teaching"? Less would be preferable.