Half banana

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Posts by Half banana

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  14

  Keys to understanding the Book of Revelation

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  · the whole book of revelation is one letter.. · that letter was to be taken by a courier and read out aloud in churches along a road that ran from ephesus to laodicea.

  the author was very familiar with each of the churches.. · those christians were experiencing intense persecution.. · the letter was designed to encourage these first-century christians to “overcome”.

  it told them that the end was imminent (“soon”) and they had to remain faithful, to the point of being prepared to losing their lives.. · john had gone to patmos in order to compose (“receive”) the message.

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  Half banana

  Thanks for info Doug, I love what that son of The Enlightenment, President Jefferson said;

  "It is between fifty and sixty years since I read it [the Apocalypse], and I then considered it merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams."

  -Thomas Jefferson, letter to General Alexander Smyth, Jan. 17, 1825

  Of course Revelation was before Freud and Jung when an explanation for types of dreaming could be given but it was written however at a time when opium was known to be used.
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  12

  He killed them because they expelled him from the Jehovah's Witnesses - Canal de Noticia (Venezuela), Nov 28, 2017 - Two JWs found murdered

  by darkspilver in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this tragic story has been developing over the last couple of days in venezuela.

  there is a mixture of reports and accounts coming in..... two jehovah's witnesses (and fleshly sisters) aged 71 and 65, where found murdered.

  a 26 year male suspect has been arrested.. in the apartment where the two where found dead, the words "death to witnesses" (“muerte a los testigos”) had been scrawled onto one of the walls.. he killed them because they expelled him from the jehovah's witnesses - canal de noticia, nov 28, 2017. .

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  Half banana

  Apart from the appalling deaths there is an absurdity in this news in that the revenge for expulsion makes membership of JWs look like a desirable thing, worth killing for.
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  12

  He killed them because they expelled him from the Jehovah's Witnesses - Canal de Noticia (Venezuela), Nov 28, 2017 - Two JWs found murdered

  by darkspilver in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this tragic story has been developing over the last couple of days in venezuela.

  there is a mixture of reports and accounts coming in..... two jehovah's witnesses (and fleshly sisters) aged 71 and 65, where found murdered.

  a 26 year male suspect has been arrested.. in the apartment where the two where found dead, the words "death to witnesses" (“muerte a los testigos”) had been scrawled onto one of the walls.. he killed them because they expelled him from the jehovah's witnesses - canal de noticia, nov 28, 2017. .

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  Half banana

  However you look at this it is a tragic event. One thing which the JW teachings offer people is an identity. To be connected with others is a human urge. If you have very little going for you in life then simple things like belonging to a religion can mean a lot. If you are then expelled from that community your lifeline has gone and if your reasoning and emotional control is poor then this situation could arise although fortunately this must be rare.

  I did read of a JW missionary in the Pacific islands who killed his two missionary companions.
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  21

  Watchtower Philosophy Debates

  by Wild_Thing in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering how many of you still enjoy (or maybe you just feel the need) to discuss and debate jw doctrine and scripture.

  i find myself scrolling right past those topics i see online.

  i could care less.

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  Half banana

  I would question the use of the word philosophy in connection with JWs. Philosophy in the strict sense is a permanent enquiry into the truthful nature of things whereas JWs smugly think they have already arrived at the only conclusion possible.

  With 43,000 other religions also claiming that their way is the shortcut to paradise, the only path God intended, philosophically speaking it makes you consider that solid foundations for religious "truth" must be missing.

  Doctrines are a defining collection of the chosen beliefs of a sect, you pays your money and you takes your choice! If on the other hand you want to find clarity and get to the bottom of a matter, you must research and question everything, especially the authority and validity of source material.

  So in answer to your question Wild Thing another question; what is the point in arguing about unprovable things?
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  27

  Why the move to Warwick?

  by optimisticskeptic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've seen a lot of posts around and about warwick and the goings on there but was curious as to people's theories on why the move to warwick?

  granted there's the obvious point about all of the money from the sale of properties in brooklyn but for as massive as warwick is, the purchase of an apartment complex there, multiple sites and buildings i would be surprised if they had much left from all of the profits.

  so beyond a financial incentive why move?

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  Half banana

  @Nowwhat and Cha ching, I think at a subliminal level this really is the motivation.

  The present indulgent lords of the Watchtower are the only beneficiaries of their delusional cult. They hold the reins and they hold the purse strings. The paradise carrot has withered, JC is no longer the world's hero and JW membership numbers are stagnating. . . light bulb moment! Why not use the billions to fund a better environment for the governing body?

  Note how perfectly sited the Warwick building is for a midsummer sunset! Knowing that Big A is merely the bait to keep the faithful dangling and with no chance of the world actually ending, then a comfy retirement across golden pond is just the ticket.
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  19

  Satan in Heaven

  by pleaseresearch in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this has always baffled me.

  that is why was satan and his demons allowed to be in heaven for so long after they split from god?.

  if we did that then we are out of the congregation, members are shunned and also kicked out of families homes.

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  Half banana

  I'm with you Scratch, like the rest of the Bible, the Satan story is just a fable, borrowed from a foreign culture then elaborated to tell a yarn. It has no literal meaning.

  Just to add, the Jews did not have a devil to do the devil's work since that was Jehovah's function as well. Isa 45;7

  Primitive Gods were good at multi tasking!
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  102

  If mathematics teacher made a mistake, would it mean mathematics itself is wrong!

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  many people point to the irrationality in the depiction of god by the religions and their scriptures, hence jump into the bottomless pit of atheism.

  in either camp, god is not a factor because religion is only a means that misrepresents god, hence religionists themselves are atheists (literally, those who live without god).

  it is like saying there exists no earth because you found out your friend who taught earth is flat is wrong; or it is like saying mathematics itself is wrong because you found out your mathematics teacher made a mistake.

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  Half banana

  Does anyone know if BK embrace the equivalent of "theocratic warfare"?
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  93

  Higher Education

  by Brian J in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just spent 8 hours in a 1 day elders school last weekend.

  clarification given: "moving forward any elder, ms, or pioneer who themselves or someone under their roof enrolls in higher education, may no longer qualify for privileges in the congregation.

  their qualifications will have to be reviewed by their boe.".

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  Half banana

  The more Jehovah's Witnesses look like the Taliban the sooner their downfall.
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  2

  Jesus Christ The Founding source of Christianity [ Peace, Love,Family ,forgiveness and turn the other Cheek teaching ]

  by smiddy3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  that is the popular view of jesus christ as the prince of peace and the protector of children.. you don`t hear very much about the flip side of jesus teachings that contradict those teachings do you.. matt.10:34-37 .

  "34 .do not think i came to put peace upon the earth,i came to put not peace but a sword 35..for i came to cause division with a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a young wife against her mother in law 36.,indeed a man`s enemies will be persons of his own household.

  37. he that has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me and he that has greater affection for son or daughter than me is not worthy of me.".

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  Half banana

  There is no incontrovertible evidence that the Jesus of the Bible ever existed as one living breathing individual. No one ever recorded knowing Jesus or was able to write down verbatim or even in paraphrase what he was supposed to have said.

  There were other Jesuses and the role attributed to him: a saviour god-man, born of a virgin with twelve disciples etc, had existed for millennia before christianity did. Therefore what the Greek scriptures reflect are the pleadings of cult overseers (episcopoi) to get their flocks to conform to their will on the basis of the made up dialogue attributed to Jesus. Call him Prince of Peace but give them the fear of God and say that Jesus came to make hell with your family and friends.

  The power of blind "belief"!
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  28

  Should I stay or should I go?

  by BlackWolf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello everyone, i haven't posted anything on here for a while and today i just really felt like i needed to get my thoughts together.

  (if you don't know me please read some of my previous posts).

  so pretty much not much has changed in my life, i'm still living with my parents and going to all the meetings and service.

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  Half banana

  It’s tough being the offspring of JW parents. The religion demands conformity, it cannot demand that everyone believes what it teaches. You have had the great sense to see the errors of JW beliefs but your parents are encouraging you to conform to the Org by being normal parents i.e. helpful.

  You however feel trapped in doing things you do not believe like publicly teaching Armageddon. On the one hand you don’t want to upset your family but on the other they are forcing you to go against your conscience.

  Could you talk to your parents and explain that it is a "matter of conscience" that you can no longer do things which you do not believe in? You might preface the discussion by asking them, how would you feel if you were asked to do something contrary to your beliefs, would you do it for the sake of appearances?