Posts by Acluetofindtheuser

17

The serpent in the Garden can’t be secretly Satan

by Doug Mason in

we know that the serpent in the garden can’t be secretly satan, because the first time satan is mentioned by name is in a story chronologically after this one, and in that, he is said to be walking.

remember that the serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly all the rest of his days, but in the book of job, satan is still walking around and chatting with god as if they’d never had a falling out.

this is when god had to ask satan where he’s been, because his infallible omniscience obviously didn’t know.. so if he had to ask that of satan, who is later described as the lord of lies, then why would god believe him?

Acluetofindtheuser

Another thing about genesis mythology always intrigued me, regarding whether it might be “true”, is

I find it interesting that the Boa constrictor and the Python both have under developed hind limbs called vestigial organs. The portion of the limb that is visible on the surface of the scales appears to be talon like. Mostly only one talon is present on each side. In some rare cases dual talons are present on each side. The snakes have the ability to move these “claws” around their pivot point whenever certain conditions motive them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvic_spur

Here’s an interesting article about the Sonic Hedgehog gene.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/10/snakes-grow-legs-evolution/snakes-grow-legs-evolution/

"Sonic hedgehog is a gene that is necessary for limb development, one of several genes named after the hedgehog-like spines that grow from embryos when limb development begins.

An enhancer controls the activation of the Sonic hedgehog gene, causing it to flicker on and off. In snakes, a mutation in the enhancer keeps the gene from staying in the “on” position, allowing for limbs to grow.

“In lizards, Sonic hedgehog stays on and acts as the motor, driving limb development all the way down into the fingers and the toes,” explained Cohn.

In the recent study Cohn and Francesca Leal published in Current Biology, researchers discovered Sonic hedgehog flickered to “on” at certain stages of python development. That’s why pythons sometimes have small claws protruding from their skin: They are beginning to develop limbs.

What that means is it’s possible for the pythons of today to grow legs—and it doesn’t require an entire evolutionary cycle for them to do so. They just need the right genetic mutation to help along the limbs they already have."

The Boa and the Python already have the genes to grow legs but they are being inhibited for some unknown reason.

16

Cringe in December

by neat blue dog in

oh boy, the meetings lined up for december are culty.. it all starts with a 5 minute talk someone has to give on the topic "why should we not be troubled by the increase of memorial partakers in recent years?".

the next week again inserts jws into bible prophecy, first with "the earth swallowed up the river", which claims that court victories for the org are really god's doing.

there is no mention on who is responsible for the many judgements against the org.. then there's this chart to be discussed that same night:.

Acluetofindtheuser

Yes, it seems reasonable to conclude that just who comprise the 144,000 members of the body of Christ will be common knowledge to those of the “other sheep” living in the post-Armageddon new world... And the Most High himself will firmly establish her. Jehovah himself will declare, when recording the peoples: ‘This is one who was born there.’”

They say, "it seems reasonable to conclude" all too often when trying to prove a point with no solid facts. The above quote really caught my eye.

Per that quote, the 144,000 will never cross paths with a human in paradise. So they have to make a statement that God will provide a list who is up there to some human on earth.

The last part, "about Jehovah recording of the peoples" has a big hole with regards to informing the masses of his intentions. Back in Genesis God said that he would bring a deluge in 120 years. He did not disclose that countdown to Noah. The scriptures make no mention of Noah preaching any countdown to the antediluvials. When making a recording he probably will keep the information to himself and not disclose who is part of the 144,000 to the earthlings.

They have the end time details all wrong.

45

Whatever is bound on EARTH is already Loosed in Heaven

by Alex Williams in

when a person is guilty and worthy of punishment, the judgment ‘will already have been bound in heaven jesus said and if they are loosed or innocent it will already have been “loosed in heaven..in such judicial deliberations, jesus says, “where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there i am in their midst.” .

psalm 127:3.. children are a sacred trust, “an inheritance from jehovah.

jws abhor child abuse and view it as a crime.its recognized that the authorities are responsible for addressing such crimes.jws do not shield any perpetrator of child abuse from the authorities as has been alleged.

Acluetofindtheuser

That is why the recent Watchtower study articles had to be presented to the Congregations. The Bodies of Elders were not following the direction per the written procedure. I don't know what the legal department was doing at Bethel in the past but they are corrected now. I believe Jesus was not present in those Judicial meetings because the spirit was being grieved. Judah and Israel were a theocracy once but the bible said many times that Jehovah left them due to their actions. Jesus would do the same with those seven stars in his hand.

50

Did Jesus die on a stake or pole?

by sweetyj in

we already know how jws will respond ( on a pole).

but i found an article that talks about jws views on how jesus died.

i didn't know that there was a time when jws accepted the cross unlike now.

Acluetofindtheuser

Jhine, you are so right. In the past I would cringe whenever I saw the cross. The WT made it so taboo. I never thought about it being a tool to keep former members from joining other churches. Good observation.

I don't know if it has already been said but there is another interesting fact to prove that it had a cross beam. John 21:18-19 has Jesus describing Peter's future death. "...But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and another man will clothe you and carry you where you do not wish. He said this to indicate by what sort of death he would glorify God."

Peter was going to stretch out his arms on a cross beam and be crucified per the scripture above. This sounds as if the common torture device being used in Peter's day was a cross. Peter and Jesus were similar in age so Jesus had to have been put on the same type of device.

50

Did Jesus die on a stake or pole?

by sweetyj in

we already know how jws will respond ( on a pole).

but i found an article that talks about jws views on how jesus died.

i didn't know that there was a time when jws accepted the cross unlike now.

Acluetofindtheuser

He died on a large stake that was permanently anchored into the ground. He first carried the cross beam through the streets and was ridiculed. Once Jesus reached skull place the Roman soldiers placed him on the cross beam and then hoisted him up on the large stake. All the facts point to this method. The solo upright stake theory has so many flaws.

22

Upset and Concerned!

by The Bethelite in

jw
friends

i'm very worried.

i just took out two slices of dave's killer bread out of the bag this morning, to make some toast.

i bought the bread almost 2 weeks ago.

Acluetofindtheuser

They're enriching it with more gluten to increase the shelf life. That is why we are seeing more people diagnosed with Celiac disease.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20352220

11

Bizarre image that puzzles me -- any tips?

by FatFreek 2005 in

i am a sometimes weather buff and enjoy the various services our national weather service provides.. interestingly, a few days ago (7/26/19 at 6:20 a.m. to be exact) i was looking at our arkansas statewide weather radar image during breakfast.

on that image, something appeared bizarre so i decided to do a screen capture on my samsung tablet.. today, i am still puzzled so i decided to share it with others in the hope that someone may offer solutions to the puzzle.

just below, is that captured (and unretouched) image.

Acluetofindtheuser

This weather event happened before and was featured on a unsolved mystery program on the Science Channel. They interviewed some experts and probable causes were brought forward. In the end there was no clear answer to the mystery donut shape seen on the Doppler radar image.

I just googled the effect and there is one case where it was caused by a swarm of birds. Your image seems to be too large for it to be birds.

Roost Ring Donut

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/07/29/roost-ring-donut-image-on-weather-radar-formed-by-birds/

5

Comparing the Septuagint to the Masoretic Text: Genealogies in Genesis 5

by ILoveTTATT2 in

i started a thread comparing the septuagint to the masoretic text.it is here:https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5665236409384960/comparing-septuagint-masoretic-textfor those who do not know what the septuagint and the masoretic text are, here's an introduction on wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/septuagint.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/masoretic_text.

i think that, more than anything else, the fact that the septuagint and the masoretic text are so different, is what made me stop believing in the bible.. and more than anything else, the most striking differences between the septuagint and the masoretic text have to be the genealogies of genesis 5.. the genealogies of genesis 5 are crucial to the jehovah's witnesses, the adventists, and many other religions that place an emphasis on time prophecy.why is that?because they try to make out when the "end of the world" happens based on the 6000 years of human existence, they have to use genesis 5. and, if the numbers in genesis 5 in the bible most people in the western world use are wrong, then the time to creation is wrong, and then the "end of the world date" is wrong.so, what are the differences?the account tells the ages in this format:x person lived for y years.

Acluetofindtheuser

Take a look at this genealogy comparison chart of Genesis below. It compares the birth,death,life span of the Masoretic text, the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Greek Septuagint.

If the two witness rule is to be applied, then the Masoretic text is wrong with the first born data of Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu and Serug. The Greek Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch both agree when these first born sons appeared in the timeline. For some reason the editors of the Masoretic text decided to drop the 100's portion of the age.

If you follow the Greek Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch with the six men listed above, then it puts the building of the Pyramids of Egypt after the deluge, not before. Also of note is the fact that the NT writers quoted the Greek Septuagint and not the Masoretic text.

Here's a link to the table if it's hard to read.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogies_of_Genesis

24

GB Samuel Herd on "Angels and Women"

by freetosee in

jw
friends

i find it interesting that samuel herd (as co) promoted the book angels and women in his talk "fear of giants".

he called it a fascinating book, once you pick it up you cant put it down without reading it from cover to cover!

he also mentions that russell wrote the foreword of the book and that it can be found in the gilead library.. .

Acluetofindtheuser

Oh, I wish I would have copied that audio recording when I first visited this site. I listened to that portion of the talk a few times over the years.

I was just thinking about important years of the bible students/JW's and one of them relates to the publication year of Seola. That novel's date of publication was 1878.

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1800s.php

In the early years of the bible students they thought 1878 was the year Jesus took rulership in heaven. They also thought the rapture was also supposed to occur in that year. Please click the link above about "Failed date predictions of Jehovah's Witnesses" on JWfacts. There's a good amount of details on the 1878 predictions.

It looks at though 1878 was supposed to be the real 1914.

35

WT / JW Doctrine ,Satan cast out of Heaven in 1914 ? He has always had access to the earth ? Since Eve .

by smiddy3 in

this doctrine / belief that jehovah`s witnesses have , surely raises a few questions that they do not address.. 1.this spirit being challenged god by questioning his authority and offering eve an alternative making himself satan.. and this took place on earth ,the garden of eden.

so he who became satan had access to the earth.. 2. all throughout the old testament , the hebrew scriptures do we find examples of satan interfering with gods plan of things either by himself or his followers .. 3.their are just too many examples to list individually ,however a few key ones would be , the nephilim , job when god in heaven asks him where he has been , and his reply , from roving about on the earth .

, etc.etc.. 4.and of course in the new testament , where jesus is taken up into a mountain to be tempted by satan for fourty days ?.

Acluetofindtheuser

Your entire post earlier was very interesting Doug Mason. Here's a portion that caught my eye, in which I am starting to believe.

As immortal beings, they were asexual; in the Garden story God does not tell them to "be fertile and increase" as they were told in the first creation story (Gen. 1:28). Sexuality is discovered only after eating from the tree, when "they perceived that they were naked" (3:7).

Let's take this a bit further.

The Lord's day arrives. Everyone whom God chooses is changed in a twinkle of an eye. Per Jesus, these special people have no sex drive. They are deemed immortal and they live on the new earth with the new heavens above. One thousand years go by and then an evil influence is allowed to tempt these special immortal people. A number of them pass this test and a number do not. The ones that do not pass are removed somehow. The ones that pass are allowed to eat of the tree of life. After eating of that tree they are given a sexual drive for procreation, thereby merging immortality with sexuality.