Posts by bats in the belfry

i know it`s certainly not going to happen in our time or even our childrens ,childrens time , but surely eventually, it must come about.. religion , all religion has been nothing but a curse on this planet , and humans will never reach their full potential until they eradicate all forms of religion .. of course the theists will insist their have been great acheivments in science, astronomy, the arts etc.

,to a large part by the educated religionists of their day , however the masses were deprived of such education .if the masses had received the education of the priveledged few religous scholars ,we may well have been enjoying a new golden age of enlightenment already.. note : i am talking about all religions of the world not just xians ,judaism, muslim ,etc.

but all religious persuasions.. just my 2 cents worth.

bats in the belfry

Yes. I read somewhere the U.N. will rid politics of religion soon.

40

Loyalty Questions in Judicial Hearings

by 00DAD in

i've seen several posts on various threads about a particular "loyalty question" or two that elders ask during judicial hearings.

granted it's been several years since i was an elder, but i never heard of this practice.

is there anything officially in print on this from the wt?

bats in the belfry

A sinister question demands an equal response - impute their motives.

"How dare you ask me that question!

My loyalty to (Jehovah) God has never been a question before. And it will not be made a question now.

With your many years of loyal service to (Jehovah) God, how would you feel being asked that very same question? How dare you ask!"

9

Live With Jehovah's Day in Mind--or--The Minor Prophets book--PDF!

by Atlantis in

live with jehovah's day in mind, or as some of the friends call it, ( the minor prophets book ) http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/143794/1.ashx (credit goes to spy-on-the-witchtower-anonymous-member-of-jwd) download instructions: click the link below and when the next page appears scroll down to the bottom and click the download link by the "red arrow.

" http://www.sendspace.com/file/kzhtlq here is another download link just in case the first site is doing maintenance.

click the link below and when the next page appears click the "orange" download link at the top of the page.

bats in the belfry

Look here: Live With Jehovah's Day in Mind (Kudos to Atlantis)

6

4JWs.com

by Pubsinger in

jw
friends

this was an advertising banner on my facebook .

.

.. www.4jws.com.

bats in the belfry

You think they can offer better 'group rates' for DC/special conventions than what the GB offers, i.e. Dublin, Ireland, 2012 summer convention?

15

hey cedars thanks for your apology

by soft+gentle in

jw
friends

i also apologise for saying you are nuts and anything else i said that upset you.. i realise now that many problems result from differing perceptions - for example some of us tend more towards being realists whilst others tend more towards being idealists (of course this is a little simplistic) but it was my bingo moment this morning.

i guess i am enough of an idealist to appreciate your writing and overall i think it is excellent.

what i mean to say about idealism is that we would all like to see the wt go down and to believe that they are very short of money, on the brink of survival and this is such an encouraging image that may indeed be close to the truth.

bats in the belfry

Black Sheep >>

Sometimes, it's a bugger living on the arse end of the planet.

What ?!?

26

Jehovah's Witnesses: Who Can Baptize?

by Cold Steel in

if you're a jehovah's witness and you have a child, spouse, or buddy who wants to be baptized, can you baptize them yourself if they request it?

this is assuming you're a jehovah's witness in good standing.

and is it common in the church?.

bats in the belfry

The 'stranger' class defined:

The Watchwower 1943, December 15, page 378

And, of course, with the definition of that class go its rights and duties:

The Watchwower 1944, November 15, page 346

5

Matthew 27:52-53 WTF>

by Cagefighter in

bats in the belfry

A lot of mental twisting, considering that egeiro in other instances implies to have risen from a lifeless to a living state (i.e. Matthew 16:21, 17:23), talking about Jesus' resurrection.

According to WTBTS, most Bible commentators have difficulty explaining verse 53, but no so if you are"spirit directed" and use the NWT. You, the reader, will be less confused!

‘Many Bodies of the Holy Ones Were Raised Up’

“THE earth quaked, and the rock-masses were split. And the memorial tombs were opened and many bodies of the holy ones that had fallen asleep were raised up, (and persons, coming out from among the memorial tombs after his being raised up, entered into the holy city,) and they became visible to many people.” (Matthew 27:51-53) Catholic scholar Karl Staab calls this event that occurred at Jesus’ death “most mysterious.” What happened?

Epiphanius and other early Church Fathers taught that the holy ones literally came to life and went with the resurrected Jesus to heaven. Augustine, Theophylactus, and Zigabenus believed that these dead ones received a temporary resurrection but later returned to their tombs. The latter opinion, however, “did not gain wide recognition,” comments scholar Erich Fascher. When rendering Matthew 27:52, 53, many modern Bible translations give the impression that a resurrection took place. Not so the New World Translation, which points to the effects of an earthquake. Why?

First, whoever “the holy ones” were, Matthew did not say they were raised up. He said their bodies, or corpses, were. Second, he did not say these bodies came to life. He said they were raised up, and the Greek verb e·gei′ro, meaning to “raise up,” does not always refer to a resurrection. It can, among other things, also mean to “lift out” from a pit or to “get up” from the ground. (Matthew 12:11; 17:7; Luke 1:69) The upheaval at Jesus’ death opened tombs, tossing lifeless bodies into the open. Such occurrences during earthquakes were reported in the second century C.E. by Greek writer Aelius Aristides and more recently, in 1962, in Colombia.

This view of the event harmonizes with Bible teachings. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the apostle Paul gives convincing proof of the resurrection, but he completely ignores Matthew 27:52, 53. So do all other Bible writers. (Acts 2:32, 34) The corpses raised up at Jesus’ death could not have come to life in the way Epiphanius thought, for on the third day thereafter, Jesus became “the firstborn from the dead.” (Colossians 1:18) Anointed Christians, also called “holy ones,” were promised a share in the first resurrection during Christ’s presence, not in the first entury.—1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:14-17.

Most Bible commentators have difficulty explaining verse 53, although several of them suggest that verse 52 describes the opening of tombs by the earthquake and the exposing of newly buried corpses. For example, German scholar Theobald Daechsel gives the following translation: “And tombs opened up, and many corpses of saints laying at rest were lifted up.”

Who were those that “entered into the holy city” a considerable time later, namely after Jesus had been resurrected? As seen above, the exposed bodies remained lifeless, so Matthew must refer to persons who visited the tombs and brought news of the event into Jerusalem. Thus, the rendering of the New World Translation deepens Bible understanding and does not confuse readers concerning the resurrection.

The Watchtower 1990, 9/1, p. 7