Posts by Half banana

44

Verifiable proof of Jesus' existance outside the Bible

by unsure in

thought i'd start a separate discussion on the subject.. those who know me know i'm struggling with faith; i want to believe, some days i do but it becomes difficult.. many believers say there is verifiable proof of jesus' existence outside of the bible.. please post this proof..

Half banana

Elaborate myths of the King Osiris had already developed by 4400 years ago in the Pyramid Texts of Egypt. Myth does not follow logic. It is only in mythology where people become other people where death does not end life and where animals can speak.

Myth itself evolves because it is based on concepts about life not about facts but often the core stories of myth revolve around allegories which never change. For example the God Osiris is murdered by Set the evil one which has its basis in the daily rotation of the Earth when darkness overcomes light. This very simple relationship is an example of what underlies all of the ancient tales; most of them having been drawn from astronomical realities.

Osiris (although dead!) had a son Horus through the virgin birth of his mother Isis Meri. As is possible in myth; Horus existed as different people at different times. Later stories made Horus the same as his father Osiris and perhaps that is why Horus resurrected is other self “his friend” Osiris (Osaris Azarus Lazarus). Horus walked on the water; like his father a sun god, he was seen daily walking on water at sunrise with the double image of two suns, two solar deities, one above the other, the exact image of the other. . .

@Deegee, Horus was with his mother and step father Sep, until twelve years old when he became the son of his heavenly father with no biographic details in the meantime, from twelve to thirty there is no record of Horus. At thirty years old he was baptised by Anup (=John) and symbolically blessed by his heavenly father in the form of a bird.

In answer to the OP. We do have ample evidence of the existence of Jesus outside of the Bible; he is a focal character-- under different names, of supernatural tales which descended from ancient mythology. It was a cheap manoeuvre to swap names but why spoil a good story from another culture!

The Romans never knew of a man who could resurrect the dead; if Jesus really existed they would most surely have recorded the appearance of such a man. However it is so highly unlikely that a figure from fiction could be born and start to breathe, that I would place the Bible’s account of Jesus into the realm of supernatural folk tales.

13

No brain, No Life -- says JW Professor Rajesh Kalaria

by cognisonance in

so continuing my review of the current bull shit my family in this cult are subjected to i found this article about professor rajesh kalaria, a jw since 1973 and a scientist who has studied the human brain for 40 years (hmm... so he converted into this cult very early in his career it seems).anyway i also found this jw broadcasting piece about him where he says:.

“and brain is what we are; what i am, what you are.

no brain, no life.

Half banana

Yes I agree Cognisonance, any prolonged investigaton into the matter of mass resurrection rings hollow and improbable in the extreme.

But hang on a moment, the WT make out that the worldly wisdom is not an authority to be trusted, academic teachings are derided and dismissed....... unless that is, it belongs to a JW and they can make capital out of it to impress other JWs.

The Watchtower always uses two sets of scales.

9

Monica Richardson - "[Evolution] was something I never doubted; it was taught as a scientific fact."

by cognisonance in

so i found another piece in the no 4.

2017 awake attacking evolution.

wow two attacks in the same article!anyway richardson is a physician the jws are cherry picking to support the idea even intelligent people can think evolution is nonsense.

Half banana

Quote from Orphan Crow's interview reference (the roboticist):
Why did you become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
"In part, it was because Barbara and I liked their thorough study methods. I was especially impressed with the research that goes into their publications. Solid research appeals to people like me, who want to probe into the details of things. For example, I became deeply interested in the many prophecies, or predictions, in the Bible. My study of those convinced me that the Bible really is from God."
(Italics mine)

Thorough study methods! JW study methods are as dumb as the Roman Catholic catechism and Bible prophecies are totally ambiguous open to many interpretations.How the apparently intelligent can be bamboozled by Watchtower propaganda.

50

Jehovah's people are not happy people

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

i finally stopped attending the meetings about 4 months go.

i won't be going back - ever.. but i've decided the best reply to the watchtower is to be happy and i do try to be happy every day even thought i wasted my entire life on this religion.

i cherish every day, practice mindfulness and do my best to be content with the life i have.. it is only now that i see that most jws i know are deeply unhappy people.

Half banana

Hi Phoebe, lots of us here have also wasted far too many years on this pretending-to-be-happy cult. Just enjoy the freedom of not allowing yourself to be controlled by the JW org. A weight has fallen from your shoulders, enjoy the experience and as it seems you are already doing, take pleasure in living each day on this beautiful planet. You have friends here.

3

The Legend of the Death of Arius – Imagination and Propaganda in the Development of Early Christianity.

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the legend of the death of arius – imagination and propaganda in the development of early christianity.. .

as a jw, i, of course, soon learnt the standard jw belief that there was no such thing as a triune god.

whereas most other christians believe in a triune god.

Half banana

Its interesting that the development of the doctrine supported by Athanasius, became so dependent on imagined stories that reflected other bible stories.

Thanks for this FTS. (Incidentally it was also said that Henry VIII of England burst open upon his death but I cannot readily find good evidence for it).

Two thousand years ago In the absence of concrete records such as film or photography, voice recording or even first hand verbal evidence recorded from reliable witnesses; it is not surprising that hearsay becomes a rumour and rumours can become Truth with a capital T when in contact with religion.On top of this there was no printed word so any written idea could be changed in a new handwritten text copy and the originals destroyed if it suited the bishop's purpose.

You also touch upon a subject which I think very important and which gets so little exposure: the " co-option, even merger, of Christian and imperial ritual" into the Church. The post Constantine hierarchy had every reason not to disclose the pagan foundations of Christianity.

10

My awakening and concern

by Issa in

good evening everyone, i go by issa.

as many former ex-witnesses, i "woke up" from believing that the jw org is the "truth".

this happened during this month thanks to information from jw-facts and youtube videos about ex-witnesses' experience in this org.

Half banana

Welcome Issa, both to this site and the real world!

You can give yourself a big pat on the back for waking up from the Watchtower deception and having the courage to do something about it. Very well done!

17

How does the WTS explain away THIS scripture?

by Searching in

i'm honestly in awe about this particular scripture (and honestly i can't keep thanking jwfacts enough for providing biblical contradictions to the jw doctrine!).

"john said to him: "teacher, we saw a certain man expelling demons by the use of your name and we tried to prevent him, because he was not accompanying us.

" but jesus said: "do not try to prevent him, for there is no one that will do a powerful work on the basis of my name that will quickly be able to revile me; for he that is not against us is for us.

Half banana

I don't know how the WT explains this but in line with Joe Grundy's information I think what is evident in this text is the competitive nature of early Christianity. The scripture hints at the competition going on for establishing an orthodoxy, in effect the claim for the 'true' Christ story and the 'true' church. This was only resolved in the fourth century with the Roman Church taking total control through the will of the emperor.

No one ever wrote down what Jesus said (there is no contemporary documentary evidence that he existed outside of the Bible) and if he did exist, none of the gospel writers heard him. At best what Jesus said was second or third hand, forty year old memories and human memory is very capricious. Try remembering verbatim a conversation from five years back or even five days!

So the text is clearly the work of a writer connected to one of the Christ cults seeking prime position in the territory. Who is not against us is with us the writer says, in other words get as much support from wherever you can.

The more members; the more powerful the bishop and the bigger the funds. It was always about power and control.

Incidentally early Christianity continued using the same clerical orders, bishop (overseer) presbyter (elder) deacon etc, that existed in the other established temples with their own christs, notably the in the mithraeum.

2

Truth versus Holiness

by Half banana in

truth, that is verifiable facts as opposed to belief, is a vital part of the cultural narrative and operation of modern humanity.

truth does not require a lot of defending because it can stand happily on its own two feet.

it takes little effort or money to be spent in affirming it.

Half banana

Yes Average Joe, it does lose its magic if you analyse what is going on and perhaps that is one reason why people worship without inquiring about what they are doing--they seem to want to be associated with "special", "set apart", holy things.

It resembles having possession of a magic object, being able to encounter something beyond the normal mundane realm. Surely this was the charm to become a JW; a special, set apart, God guided religion. All of it a hoax of course but convincing for someone looking for 'true religion'.

Millions are driven to worship something they cannot possibly know. Everything connected to this thing they cannot know; the organisation which promotes the worship, the big compilation of sacred texts and the leaders of the worship are also made holy simply by association with the invisible thing they cannot know.

But try suggesting that what they think is holy is actually a fraud...shock horror! Religious people must have a fix of "holy". What did Karl Marx say?

41

Watchtower Doctrines JWs most commonly don't believe

by Diogenesister in

there was a recent thread on another site where posters maintained that many of the *most* long-standing jw's don't believe at least one official watchtower doctrine.

i've even read reports from bethelites saying they've heard bethel overseers say they don't believe some watchtower theology.

this made me think - i believe there are a few official doctrines that are common for many jw's to be either in denial about or simply not really believe ( often one and the same thing).. i'd say these are pretty high in the ranking:.

Half banana

I think this is an important factor Waton that as you say, many JWs are partially awake. They enjoy their group of friends, don't dare to rock the boat and don't take the doctrines too seriously anymore. It has become a social club with rather demanding membership rules.

40

Some Good News About Me (Although Anthony Morris Will Be Furious)

by pale.emperor in

just wanted to share with you some good news i'm really excited about.

i have been accepted for university to study psychology and counseling.

my goal is to become a counselor and, in time, to specialize on treating those who have left high control relationships/groups like we all did.. it'll take a few years before im qualified but studying in university has been a dream of mine since i was 12, which was systematically dashed to pieces by watchtower.. .

Half banana

Well done PE! ver is nuffink lyk edjacashun.