Posts by erbie

39

The New Testament in Plain English and John 1:1

by Wonderment in

.

the new testament in plain english (published, 2003) translates john 1:1c as: "the word was god.

" however, a footnote on this verse says: "or, deity, divine (which is actually a better translation, because the greek definite article is not present before this greek word).

erbie

Well, the truth, in part, is as follows:

Definite article or no definite article, John 1:1 describes Jesus as 'God' or 'a god'. It really makes no difference whatsoever. Only the Watchtower want us to think differently.

We know that the Hebrew Scriptures make it clear that Jehovah, or YHWH, is the only true God. Indeed, he says 'other than me there are none'.

Absolutely right!

If there is only one true God, and all others are false, then the Watchtower is saying that Jesus is a false god.

I am not a greek grammarian but I did research this quite thoroughly a few years back and was surprised by what I found in favour of Jesus being God. Just read Revelation for instance. How can the Watchtower miss it?

If Jesus was not God, there is no way on earth that John 1:1 would describe him as such.

Also, there are numerous places in the Greek Scriptures where God is referred to as God without the preceding definite article.

They won't teach you that at Ministerial Training School!

This is not a reflection of what I believe but it is what the bible teaches.

31

Bizarre 'Spirit anointed' v. 'Spirit appointed' explanation in Dec 15th WT

by cedars in

hi everyone, i am going through the dec 15th study edition of the wt thanks to a tip-off that this issue is now available online at jw.org.. in the article "guided by god's spirit in the first century and today" on page 25 there is a bizarre argument put forward by the society about the difference between spirit-anointed and spirit-appointed.. this touches on a subject that i have often wondered about, which is this.

why are spirit anointed brothers and sisters (memorial partakers) not given positions of oversight in the congregation by default?

i know it sounds like a stupid question, but please think about it for a moment.

erbie

Hi Cedars,

thank you indeed for your posting. My, you have been busy!

As you say, they will always find a way of wriggling out of it. In fact, I think the gb actually plan an 'escape route' prior to implementing any 'new light teachings'. It's always handy to know where the back door is, right?

In any case, as you suggest, even if mathematically difficult to disprove, the idea of there only being 144,000 until now is untenable at best. It would be nice to find a concrete method of catching them out though wouldn't it. We'll just have to work harder.

Anyway, thanks for the figures. Fascinating stuff!

31

Bizarre 'Spirit anointed' v. 'Spirit appointed' explanation in Dec 15th WT

by cedars in

hi everyone, i am going through the dec 15th study edition of the wt thanks to a tip-off that this issue is now available online at jw.org.. in the article "guided by god's spirit in the first century and today" on page 25 there is a bizarre argument put forward by the society about the difference between spirit-anointed and spirit-appointed.. this touches on a subject that i have often wondered about, which is this.

why are spirit anointed brothers and sisters (memorial partakers) not given positions of oversight in the congregation by default?

i know it sounds like a stupid question, but please think about it for a moment.

erbie

I have never been able to reconcile this:

Until 1935 or so all Watchtower followers claimed to be spirit anointed right? So, that means that all 'true' christians up to that point, including the first century congregation which we read about in the bible, and thereafter, were spirit anointed, right?

Well, here is where I struggle. Are we to really believe that the total number of so called 'anointed' up until today is not in excess of 144,000?

Does anybody know how many there were in 1935? My guess is that the true number was in excess of 144,000 so the gb had to invent a new destination for all these 'other' christians and, as a consequence, they were coerced into believing they were members of the 'other' sheep with an earthly hope. I understand that the door closed in 1935 teaching is abolished but nevertheless. Does anybody have a total figure for the number of 'anointed' during the history of the WT?

I bet that would tell a few truths! In fact, it would probably settle the argument once and for all time. Is there anyway we can work it out?

Please keep in mind that this number in 1935 does not include the first century christians and later ones for nearly 2,000 years. 144,000 does not sound like a lot to me. Especially when history confirms that christianity spread like wild fire.

It just doesn't stack up to me. Should I be surprised? A resounding NO.

44

Does your product contain blood? 1960/70's twottery!!

by punkofnice in

back in the 1960's early 70's i remember my congregation going on a witch hunt and making a list of products, ice creams, confectionary or anything that might contain blood!.

i remember one zealous brother asking an ice cream vendor if the ice cream contained blood.

the vendor just looked gone out!.

erbie

They really are idiots!

Fact; only meat from an animal that has been killed by having its throat cut is truly blood free. The throat is cut while the heart is still pumping so that all or most of the blood is 'blead' out. These methods are not now used as more humane methods are employed, such as stunning prior to death by electrocution. This is why there is always blood in the meat.

Sorry to spoil your day folks. It's a nasty business I know, but a fact of life nevertheless. This is why Jews and Muslims are a lot more fussy about their meat.

Just another example of the Watchtower's partial knowledge of all things. As we say in the UK, jack of all trades but master of none.

They know everything about everything but understand nothing.

My parents were farmers by the way so I have had much experience in these matters.

Keep up the good work of exposing these clowns!

7

Another JW acting badly (pedophile, abuser, etc.)....

by skeeter1 in

this is a thread for jws acting badly....or worse.

seem we get bad jw stories each & every week out of the newspapers!

please feel free to comment on the stories too..

erbie

I remember a couple of CO's here in the UK who I would not have been happy leaving alone with my pet dog - let alone my wife!

They give you the willies don't they. Well.....they probably would if they had half a chance.

6

Dumb question regarding the governing body...

by scooterspank in

where are they from?

are they all from the united states or are some from other countries?

question just kind of hit me....

erbie

I remember when Gerrit Losch was appointed there was a question mark over his age as the 'ingathering' of the so called anointed was completed around 1935 or so (please correct me if I am wrong). I know the counter argument they use which allows for the fact that some so called anointed fall away and need to be replaced but I just think that it is cynical for them to believe that they are more important than every other human being.

I think that perhaps the only anointing they have recieved is more than their fair share of delusion. Does anybody else here ever marvel, I mean really struggle to understand how anyone can continue to believe in these morons?

Honestly, they must wake every morning and thank their lucky stars that they haven't been rumbled yet and marvel at peoples credulity. I really think that's why they have no respect for their members. Who of us would respect someone who believed every word we said even though we knew it to be false.

Yes I do honestly believe that the GB don't really believe in the verbal diarrhoea that they spew out and they can't believe how lucky they are that people actually buy it. Basically they have carved out a very cushy and prominent life for themselves.

Just remember that every comment on this site and others like it helps to expose these clowns and make their life harder!

24

The impact of Governing Body policy on higher education: read this!

by Terry in

excerpt:.

does your religion affect your income?by mari cockerell, ktxs newsabilene, texas -- the pew forum on religion and public life recently put out the results of a survey on wealth and religion in the united states.. you may be surprised to learn which religious groups in this country have the most and the least wealthy members.an infographic produced by the folks at www.good.is breaks down information gathered by the pew forum on religion and wealth.

it maps out distribution of income for the 14 major religious groups in this country, charting those whose income is less than $30,000 a year all the way up to $100,000+.. what they found is interesting.the religions whose members earn the most money are jews and hindus.

erbie

Great post Terry. I'm learning a lot on this site.

I guess that they have to discourage higher education because at university you are taught critical analysis which can be very damaging to their false doctrines.

That's not to say that people that haven't been to university won't see through their lies but are probably less likely to be critical of it.

My wife (a former pioneer) decided to study latin and Greek for interest and so she could check what she was being taught. Well, she left the witnesses in what seemed like an awful rush. She now hates it and will not speak of it.

36

'Apostates' being labelled 'mentally diseased'. Is discrimination against mentally disabled people by using it as a 'hate crime' term?

by punkofnice in

sorry if i'm not expressing myself very well but i wasn't allowed an education due to wbt$ regulations.. what i'm trying to say is that the wbt$ using the term 'mentally diseased' as an insulting term against those fictitious 'apostates' they want everyone to 'hate', is surely very discriminatory against those that have a genuine mental illness.. it's like calling a white person that has caught a suntan the 'n' word isn't it?

offensive, inappropriate and utterly destructive.. in the uk the press can be pretty sensitive about such name calling that implies that mental disease is somehow to be used as a hate crime word.. is it worth writing to the press to complain about such discrimination?.

erbie

Well, name calling is invariably a sign of insecurity and a diminished self image.

The Jehovah's resort to this dirty tactic every time. After all, they cannot rely on reason and a solid argument can they!

61

Watchtower admits the KISS method works - Nov 1, 2011 WT, p. 24

by Alleymom in

the following posts and graphics refer to the k.i.s.s.

(keep it simple, sweetie) approach to 587/586 bce,.

which i introduced on july 12, 2003.. here is a link to the original thread:.

erbie

Wow! Can this be real after all these years. Are they preparing the way for back tracking?

30

More bad press for Jehovah's Witnesses!... Mother murders two children.

by koolaid-man in

jw
friends

http://armenianow.com/news/31667/armenia_mother_murderer_ararat_town.

select edition english ??????

?local news, global audiencemonday, september 12, 2011 last update 1 day ago </form></form></form></form>presidents .

erbie

What a shame. Poor souls.