Navigator

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Posts by Navigator

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  82

  Have You Ever Met A "Celebrity" or Actually See One Face To Face?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while i was in new york i walked by two men and one looked like the comedian jackie mason whom i adore.

  i looked at him and said, "i just wanted to say how much i enjoy your shows.

  i've seen you perform a number of times".

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  Navigator

  I ran into James Arness (Matt Dillion of Gunsmoke fame) on a river boat in Germany. I won a bottle of wine from my buddy who bet me that it wasn't him. He was so pleased to run into Americans on the boat and the fact that I addressed him as James Arness and not as Matt Diillon that he chatted with us for 5 or 6 minimutes. I also ran into Sterling Holloway (voice of Kaa the snake in Jungle Book, and the voice of Winnie the Pooh) on a airplane flying out of Hong Kong. He wanted to know how I recognized him as everyone knew what he sounded like, but few knew what he looked like. I explained that I recognized him from the old William Bendix TV series (he played the kooky neighbor). He responded by saying "They are all dead now". This was 1972 and in fact he was the only living character from that show.
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  2

  Which system of reckoning did Daniel use?

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  which system of reckoning did daniel use for kings' reigns?

  did he use nisan or tishri, accession or nonaccession reckoning?

  doug

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  Navigator

  Keep in mind that the writer of Daniel was not Daniel. The book is about Daniel. Most scholars believe that the book was not written until sometime around 165 b.c.. Its purpose was to encourage the Jews to "hang tight" during the onerous reign of Antiochus IV Epihanes Seleucid king of Syria whose territory included Palestine and the City state of Jerusalem. Unlike the Persians who attitude toward the Jews was "live and let live", the Greeks wanted to convert everyone to their culture as well as their religion. It was a difficult time for the Jews. The writer was almost certainly a Jew. In the Hebrew sciptures, the book is included in the "writings" rather than the "prophets". Had it been written prior to 200 b.c., it most certainly would have been included in the "prophets". Technically, the book should not have been included at all since it did not meet the criteria of age specified for the Hebrew canon and laid out at the Council of Jamnia in 96 A.D.. However, the Jews had a way of overlooking the criteria for a book that was immensely popular and portrayed one of their heros who had lived much earlier.
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  55

  Can God see the future?

  by Adolfius in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been out a while, but i remember thinking about this as a teenager and being confused, (my mother told me i must be posessed by demons to think such things and so never offered me an explanation).

  what do the jws say about it.

  if jehovah can see into the future, he would've known what a mess he was going to make of creation so he would've decided against it before he even thought of it.. based on the theory that he went ahead and created everything anyway, that must mean he can't see into the future.. i also seem to remember that god doesn't interfere with man, because we have free will, so all our actions are down to us and in no way "steered" or "influenced" by god.. so how can he make predictions about the future, i.e.

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  Navigator

  You must remember that time is a construct of man and God is not bound by it. There is only the eternal Now! I frankly doubt that God created mankind or the earth. If he had, they would be perfect and neither are. Perhaps we created this earth so that we could have a "place" to experience our dream of separation. Like all dreams, the ending is optional depending on the choices we make in the dream.
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  54

  Would You Kill Some One If Your Government Told You To?

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  how far do you allow the government tell you what to do?

  do you allow governemt to make those dicisions for you?

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  Navigator

  I've killed hundreds, some 250 in one night. I didn't do it because the Government told me to. I did it to protect some 50 U.S. Soldiers and about 100 Montanyard tribesmen who were holding off an attack of some 300 North Vietnamese. We used a Vulcan cannon, mounted in an AC 130 Gunship, and capable of firing up to 6000 rounds per minute. I wanted to protect those men. They were my comrades and the North Vietnamese were trying to kill them. It was my job and I did it gladly. I would do it again if called upon to do so. How much freedom do you think you would have if it were not for soldiers and airmen willing to fight and die for their country?

  Would I kill an unarmed civilian such as occurred at Mylai at the order of Lt. Calley? Hell no! That would be an illegal order and I would refuse to carry it out. I refused several orders to fire on targets that I did not consider legitimate and never got into trouble for it.One of them turned out to be a U.S. soldier who had been cut off behind enemy lines. We were able to identify him and get a rescue chopper called in to pick him up.
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  4

  Did the early Christians teach some "wrong teachings"?

  by booker-t in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was talking to my "devout" jw's mom when she called and invited me to the memorial.

  i love my mom dearly but i have told her a hundred times that i will not go back to the wt.

  she kept on and on about how it is the truth and that jehovah is revealing new things to the jw's because he wants his organization to be as close to perfect as possible.

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  Navigator

  There was a considerable "schism" in the early church between the Gnostics and the Orthodox. There were many differences in the teaching of various groups. Read Paul's letters to the Corinthians. Since Constantine was on the side of the Orthodox, they won the battle. He who writes the minutes of the meeting gets to say what happened at the meeting. The Gnostics were actively suppressed by the orthodox group, often with the help of the state.
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  30

  The Scientific Reasonableness Of Noah's Ark Demonstrated

  by FireNBandits in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  finally, someone in holland (where floods weigh heavily on the collective subconscious) has built a 1/5 scale model of noah's ark.

  this proves that noah built the original ark.

  if noah hadn't built the original ark, how could someone build a 1/5 scale model of it?

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  Navigator

  Well done Firenbandit! How could anyone argue with such logic? LOL
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  18

  Bible infallible?

  by Shawn10538 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am wondering how many of the folks on this site believe that the bible is the infallible word of god.

  post your replies if you are.

  can i get an amen?

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  Navigator

  The bible has some great stuff, but certainly is not infallible, not in the original nor in the subsequent translations. It is no strange thing that Jesus did not encourage his disciples to write down what he was teaching. Perhaps he knew that it would be corrupted, added on to, and manipulated to support man made religious doctrine. I see the practice of "Bibliolotry:" no less disgusting that the prohibited practice of idolotry.
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  8

  Kings of Isreal and 607/586

  by GramblingMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  can someone help me out here, i have been going back and forth with the jw study, regarding 586/607, from reading what has been written here and visiting the library.. i have been able to present what i understand.

  now he is saying that the jw also were able to locate the date for the fall of jerusalem based on the kings of isreal.

  i serious doubt it, he should me the list of jews kings in the "insight on the scriptures" but could tell me how they arrived at the start date for the 1st king.

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  Navigator

  I suspect that where the WTS got into trouble with their dates was their failure to understand the practice of conquering powers leaving local kings on their thrones providing that "tribute" (tax) was paid on an annual basis. There would also be an exchange of court personnel (hostages) to ensure that taxes were paid on time. Some scholars believe that the Jewish hero Daniel may have been one of these "hostages" during the initial transfer of regional power from Egypt to Babylon about 605/606 B.C.. The problem with the Jews was their aversion to paying tribute to anyone. The Romans were to experience that as well some 600 years later. The Jews revolted about 587 and the Babylonians sent in an army to "kick ass and take names". After the Jews revolted against the Babylonion appointed Govenor, the Bablyonians destroyed the city and hauled the population into captivity. The WTS seems to be the only group still holding to the 607 date. Everyone else seems to agree that the correct date for the "destruction" of Jerusalem is 586/587BC.The Jews thrived in captivity, especially when the Persians took over.
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  24

  One of the greatest threats to the sanity of humanity- HISTORICAL MYOPIA

  by nvrgnbk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the world is a huge and somewhat baffling place.

  human nature tends to cause us to attach greater significance to the events of our lifetime than reality would dictate.

  couple these two facts together and we end up with- historical myopia.. example: about a century and a half ago, there was little or no concern about declining oil reserves.

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  Navigator

  nvrgnbk

  Very good post! The rate of change in our society has greatly accelerated in the past few decades. Even so, most folks find change uncomfortable. When we look back at "the good ol days" we tend to forget the hardships and remember the good times. My father, born in 1900 was a boy when Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first airplane flight. He lived to see man walk on the moon. He never quite got over the economic depression in the late 1920s and 1930s, however. Good point about the whale oil. I suspect folks in that day believed sincerely that they couldn't live without it.

  Amazing

  I agree that the country has made amazing progress in racial equality. It was a long time coming and has a way to go yet, in part because of the way that "Reconstruction" was handled after the civil war. South Carolina was not the only state where blacks won elective office after the Civil War. In Louisiana, the Govenor and the entire legislature were black, largely because all white voters had been disenfranchised. They were mostly manipulated by "white carpet baggers" out to enrich themselves. It engendered a backlash that made organizations like the KKK possible. Things would have been vastly different and better if Abraham Lincoln has not been asassinated. Our treatment of the American Indians was nothing less than genocide on a grand scale. Hopefully we have learned better now. At least we seem to be more sensitive to it.
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  16

  gay sister? Need input

  by divejunkie in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i haven't posted here in ages.

  but i have this huge question mark in my head and this is the perfect place to get some feedback without compromising my sister.

  my sister is an active jw.

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  Navigator

  I think that Megadude gave you some good advice on this one. Her sexual orientation is her business, but given the JW view on the matter I can understand why she wouldn't want to reveal it if she is gay. There are a number of churches which are accepting of gays and I'm sure that eventually she will find one if that is her path. There are a number of Lesbian couples in my church(Unity) and we don't see them as anything but expressing GOD AS! Who cares anyway?