AndDontCallMeShirley
A case of the pot calling the kettle black, right out of the horse's mouth. Unfortunately the WTS never seems to learn that what you write may well come back to haunt you, and the more you write ...
Posts by JWB
-
121Symposium: Beware of Apostates! - 'God's Word is Truth!' District Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses 2013 - not on JW.ORG
by mindnumbed insymposium: beware of apostates!.
satanhuman apostates also of interest ..... the truth brings "not peace, but a sword" .
-
-
-
121
Symposium: Beware of Apostates! - 'God's Word is Truth!' District Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses 2013 - not on JW.ORG
by mindnumbed insymposium: beware of apostates!.
satanhuman apostates also of interest ..... the truth brings "not peace, but a sword" .
-
-
JWB
"False Prophecy Originates with Satan"
Hmm, 'false prophecy', now where have I heard that before?
-
17
Some thoughts on Mark 13
by JWB insome thoughts on mark 13. .
i decided to look again at the so-called 'signs of the times' from the perspective of mark's gospel.
chapter 13 sets the scene.
-
-
JWB
SOME THOUGHTS ON MARK 13
I decided to look again at the so-called 'signs of the times' from the perspective of Mark's gospel. Chapter 13 sets the scene. As Jesus' company goes out of the temple at Jerusalem, one of his disciples praises the wonderful stones and buildings. Jesus then makes the remarkable statement that these buildings will be torn down without a stone left upon a stone. Later on, while on the Mount of Olives, four of his disciples speak to him privately about what he said earlier. This is what they asked:
"Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?"
Now, just think for a moment about the actual question. The context of the question has to do with the destruction of Jerusalem, there is no other topic under consideration here. They ask two things about the destruction of Jerusalem, the first concerning the general time period, and the second concerning any sign that would precede this to give warning of its approach. The lengthy answer Jesus gives shows that this matter concerns them, not some far off future generation.
One sign he gives of the coming destruction is the imposition of the "abomination of desolation" (the Roman army), a very real event which should serve as a warning for those in Judea to flee to the mountains.
Another sign is that 'they' will see the "Son of Man coming in clouds with great glory". Who are 'they'? If we move on to the next chapter (14) in verse 62, we have Jesus telling those present at his trial that 'you' (plural form) will see the "Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven." So he indicates here that his coming in the clouds concerns the people of the day, and again not some far off future generation. In my latest research I found these interesting observations by Jewish historian Josephus when he was writing about the events of the Roman seige of Jerusalem (Wars 6.5.3):
"Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year."
"[O]n the twenty-first day of the month Artemisius, a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would see to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sunsetting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about the clouds, and surrounding the cities. Moreover at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, 'Let us remove hence.'"
These quotes are given here for their educational value, not to try to prove that this was the fulfillment of Jesus' 'clouds' sign. However, this is the only historical evidence I've come across of any type of supernatural experiences around about the time of Jerusalem's fall.
Another aspect of Jesus prophecy concerned the preaching of the gospel. I find it interesting what the Watch Tower Society has to say on this matter:
"About 60-61 C.E., Paul reported in his letter to the Colossians that the good news was 'bearing fruit and increasing in all the world' and had been 'preached in all creation that is under heaven.' (Col. 1:5, 6, 23) The early Christians had been obedient to the Word, and holy spirit had empowered them to accomplish a worldwide preaching work before the end of the Jewish system of things in 70 C.E. A seemingly impossible task had been completed. How encouraging it was for those faithful Christian workers to hear reports of what was being accomplished!" - Paragraph 2, page 84 of the WTS's publication "Organized To Do Jehovah's Will"
Even the WTS accepts that Jesus had in mind the end of the Jewish system of things. So, the worldwide preaching work was already accomplished in the first century! Maybe JWs who find 'door to door' work such a bind should point that out to their local elders.
Of course, we know the WTS likes to use its formulaic 'greater fulfillments' doctrine to make what Jesus said relevant to today, with them of course 'fulfilling' it. But their theological device is actually an extra-biblical one. -
10
Competition for our resident Messiahs
by irondork inwhat do our resident messiahs have to say when another messiah encroaches on the claim?.
http://naijamayor.com/south-african-man-claims-to-be-jesus/.
a 48-year-old man claims to be jesus and that he came back to save the world.. phetole selepe, from dan village, south africa, claims he is jesus christ and was sent by his ancestors to save the world.. selepe has been living on the banks of the letaba river which is located in the eastern limpopo province of south africa, since 2004, where he performed his rituals.. although he was arrested more than eight times, the local municipality was unable to evict him.
-
-
-
42
The Bible - Which books get to stay or go decided my men - cut & paste old school
by HarryMac inwestern traditioneastern orthodox traditionoriental orthodox traditionassyrian eastern traditionbooksprotestant.
[o 1]roman catholicgreek orthodoxslavonic orthodoxgeorgian orthodoxarmenian apostolic.
(part of 4 esdras)no.
-
-
JWB
Extracts from Church historian Eusebius in book 3, part 25 of his 'History of the Church':
"It will be well, at this point, to classify the New Testament writings already referred to. We must, of course, put first the holy quartet of the gospels, followed by the Acts of the Apostles. The next place in the list goes to Paul's epistles, and after them we must recognize the epistle called 1 John; likewise 1 Peter. To these may be added, if it is thought proper, the Revelation of John, the arguments about which I shall set out when the time comes. These are classed as Recognized Books. Those that are disputed, yet familiar to most, include the epistles known as James, Jude, and 2 Peter, and those called 2 and 3 John, the work either of the evangelist or of someone else with the same name."
"Among Spurious Books must be placed the 'Acts' of Paul, the 'Shepherd', and the 'Revelation of Peter'; also the alleged 'Epistle of Barnabas', and the 'Teachings of the Apostles', together with the Revelation of John, if this seems the right place for it: as I said before, some reject it, others include it among the Recognized Books. Moreover, some have found a place in the list for the 'Gospel of Hebrews', a book which has a special appeal for those Hebrews who have accepted Christ. These would all be classed with the Disputed Books, but I have been obliged to list the latter separately, distinguishing those writings which according to the tradition of the Church are true, genuine, and recognized, from those in a different category, not canonical but disputed, yet familiar to most churchmen; for we must not confuse these with the writings published by heretics under the name of apostles, as containing either Gospels of Peter, Thomas, Matthias, and several others besides these, or Acts of Andrew, John, and other apostles. To none of these has any churchman of any generation ever seen fit to refer in his writings. Again, nothing could be farther from apostolic usage than the type of phraseology employed, while the ideas and implications of their contents are so irreconcilable with true orthodoxy that they stand revealed as the forgeries of heretics. If follows that so far from being classed even among Spurious Books, they must be thrown out as impious and beyond the pale."
From the Penguin Classics series of books, "Eusebius, The History of the Church", pages 88 and 89. -
42
The Bible - Which books get to stay or go decided my men - cut & paste old school
by HarryMac inwestern traditioneastern orthodox traditionoriental orthodox traditionassyrian eastern traditionbooksprotestant.
[o 1]roman catholicgreek orthodoxslavonic orthodoxgeorgian orthodoxarmenian apostolic.
(part of 4 esdras)no.
-
-
JWB
Tameria2001, yes 6 is a "man's number" apparently, so 66 must be even more so, and don't get me started about 666!
-
4
India, WTS overseas funding and blacklisting
by JWB inindia, wts overseas funding and blacklisting.
[text from articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2003-09-04/news/27549929_1_foreign-funds-ngos-voluntary-organisations:].
"the top recipient of foreign funds was the andhra pradesh-based sri sathya sai central trust, which received rs 88.2 crore in '00-01.
-
-
JWB
INDIA, WTS OVERSEAS FUNDING AND BLACKLISTING
[Text from articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2003-09-04/news/27549929_1_foreign-funds-ngos-voluntary-organisations:]
"The top recipient of foreign funds was the Andhra Pradesh-based Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, which received Rs 88.2 crore in '00-01. In second place was the World Vision of India of Tamil Nadu with Rs 85.4 crore, followed by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, based in Maharashtra, with close to Rs 75 crore. The donations have grown by over 220% since 1991, when the total inflow stood at Rs 1,412 crore. Nearly 50 organisations receive over Rs 10 crore in foreign donations every year, and over 600 organisations get yearly foreign donations of over Rs 1 crore."
===
[Text from http://www.hvk.org/2004/0204/27.html:]
'Flood of foreign funds in India' by Dr. Shreerang Godbole
"The Home Ministry, Government of India has recently declared details offoreign funds that poured into India for the year 2000-01. The provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act -FCRA- 1976 regulate the receipt of foreign contribution in the country. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 1976 contain the various forms prescribed for this purpose. An association having a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme, after it obtains the prior permission of the Central Government or gets itself registered with the Central Government, can receive foreign contribution. All associations permitted to accept foreign contribution are required to submit annual returns (FC-3), duly certified by a Chartered Accountant, giving details of the receipts and purpose-wise utilization of the foreign contribution. The return has to be filed for every year (1st April to 31st March) within a period of four months form the closure of the year, i.e. by 31st July of each year."
"7. The leading donor agency was World Vision International, USA (Rs 80.43 crores), followed by Foster Parents Plan International, USA (Rs. 76.37 crores), and Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, USA (Rs. 68.11 crores)."
"Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of India: It is an evangelical organization, which provides free Bible courses.It is registered in Maharashtra and has offices in Lonavala (58, Old Khandala Road, Lonavala), Khandala and Mumbai.Received Rs. 14.6 crores in 97-98. It is linked to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, USA. This is part of Jehovah's Witnesses (JW. Since 1926, JW have printed 10 crore copies of the Bible in 34 languages."
---
I hope I've made the right calculations here, but please let me know if not.
1 crore = 10,000,000
68.11 crore
= 681,100,000 INR (Indian Rupee)
= $12,224,605
= £8,093,911
24 May 2013
www.fxmoneychanger.com/inr/usd/?q=681100000
www.fxmoneychanger.com/inr/gbp/?q=681100000
---
BLACKLISTED NGOs IN MADHYA PRADESH RECEIVING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
mha.nic.in/par2013/par2013-pdfs/rs-200313/2554.pdf
[Text of page 1:]
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.†2554.
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 20th MARCH, 2013/PHALGUNA 29, 1934 (SAKA)
BLACKLISTED NGOs IN MADHYA PRADESH RECEIVING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
†2554. DR. VIJAYLAXMI SADHO:
Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) the amount of foreign assistance received by NGOs in Madhya Pradesh under various heads during the last four years and names of the countries from which the said assistance were received and for what purposes;
(b) the purposes for which the amount received by these NGOs was spent during the last four years;
(c) whether it is a fact that some NGOs and other Organisations receiving financial assistance are in Government's blacklist; and
(d) if so, the action Government is going to take against them by identifying them?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN)
(a): The details of amount of foreign assistance received by NGOs in Madhya Pradesh under various heads during the last four years and names of the countries from which the said assistance were received and for what purposes are enclosed as Annexure-I
(b): The details of the purposes for which the amount received by the NGOs are enclosed as Annexure-II.
(C) & (d): Till date 72 NGOs in various parts of the country have been prohibited from receiving foreign contribution. The details are enclosed as Annexure-III.
In respect of these NGOs, the concerned banks are instructed not to credit any funds to their bank accounts. Further, investigation are done by State Police/CBI depending on nature of allegations.
[Text from Page 7:]
Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No.2554 for 20.03.2013
List of organizations prohibited from receiving foreign contribution
21. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society H- 58, Old Khandala Road, Lonavla, Maharashtra –410401 -
53
Why we have Conspiracy Theorists......
by cantleave ineveryone knows a conspiracy theorist (let's face it we have a few on this board).
my attention has been to drawn to an article in the new york times, which i have pasted below.
apparently people with propensity to create conspiracy theory narratives are quite sane, even though they may have low self worth and cannot fully ascertain their place in the world.
-
-
JWB
Conspiracies do of course exist, and theories about who was/is involved may vary, so it is not the formulating of a theory concerning a conspiracy that should be at issue, but rather, whether or not the facts support the theory. A case in point is the recent 'horse burger' scandal affecting the UK.
"Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has already insisted there is an 'international criminal conspiracy' behind the horse meat scandal and as cases of contamination rise, theories on why and how horse meat got into our meals have begun to circulate. Some theories have already made it into print, with the Daily Mail accusing the mafia of masterminding a great horsemeat cover-up earlier in February. In some ways it makes sense. After all, mobsters are renowned for disrespecting horse welfare (think of that scene from The Godfather)." [Extract from www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/19/horse-meat-scandal-conspiracy-theories-vegetarian_n_2715619.html]
It is very wise indeed to be careful about what food you eat, because there will always be greedy businesses that act irresponsibly and unfortunately harm others in the process. Just consider this alarming report on infant milk formula in China:
"In the past decade major problems with Chinese-made food and drugs has led to thousands of deaths, mostly in China itself, but many in rich countries too, including at least 150 deaths in the U.S. from counterfeits of the drug heparin. And while fake drugs are the largest concern for foreigners, within China the greatest fear is over milk formula. Sometimes contaminated with hormones and industrial chemicals, emergency rooms have routinely been inundated with parents and their newborns with nasty reactions to dangerous formula. In 2008 the worst single incident led to 6 deaths and 300,000 infants affected. The Chinese company Sanlu had illegally added the chemical melamine to diluted milk products to falsely boost protein levels. While the company was sanctioned by the state, consumers had no standing to get redress in court. Comedians in Hong Kong joked that 'Made in China' should come with a skull and crossbones warning." [Extract from www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/04/16/chinese-mothers-risk-arrest-for-buying-safe-baby-formula/] -
42
The Bible - Which books get to stay or go decided my men - cut & paste old school
by HarryMac inwestern traditioneastern orthodox traditionoriental orthodox traditionassyrian eastern traditionbooksprotestant.
[o 1]roman catholicgreek orthodoxslavonic orthodoxgeorgian orthodoxarmenian apostolic.
(part of 4 esdras)no.
-
-
JWB
Extracts from Church historian Eusebius in book 7, part 25 of his 'History of the Church', quoting one Dionysius regarding the book of Revelation:
"Some of our predecessors rejected the book and pulled it entirely to pieces, criticizing it chapter by chapter, pronouncing it unintelligible and illogical and the title false. They say it is not John's and is not a revelation at all, since it is heavily veiled by a thick curtain of incomprehensibility, so far from being one of the apostles, the author of the book was not even one of the saints, or a member of the Church, but Cerinthus, the founder of the sect called Cerinthian after him, who wished to attach a name commanding respect to his own creation. This, they say, was the doctrine he taught - that Christ's kingdom would be on earth; and the things he lusted after himself, being the slave of his body and sensual through and through, filled the heaven of his dreams - unlimited indulgence in gluttony and lechery at banquets, drinking-bouts, and wedding feasts, or (to call these things by what he thought more respectable names) festivals, sacrifices, and the immolation of victims. But I myself would never reject the book, of which many good Christians have a very high opinion, but realizing that my mental powers are inadequate to judge it properly, I take the view that the interpretation of the various sections is largely a mystery, something too wonderful for our comprehension. I do not understand it, but I suspect that some deeper meaning is concealed in the words; I do not measure and judge these things by my own reason, but put more reliance on faith, and so I have concluded that they are too high to be grasped by me; I do not condemn as valueless what I have not taken in at a glance, but rather am puzzled that I have not taken it in."
...
"By the phraseology also we can measure the difference between the Gospel and Epistle and the Revelation. The first two are written not only without any blunders in the use of Greek, but with remarkable skill as regards diction, logical thought, and orderly expression. It is impossible to find in them one barbarous word or solecism, or any kind of vulgarism. For by the grace of the Lord, it seems their author possessed both things, the gift of knowledge and the gift of speech. That the other saw revelations and received knowledge and prophecy I will not deny; but I observe that his language and style are not really Greek; he uses barbarous idioms, and is sometimes guilty of solecisms*. There is no need to pick these out now; for I have not said these things in order to pour scorn on him - do not imagine that - but solely to prove the dissimilarity between these books."
*solecism = blunder in grammar, idiom
From the Penguin Classics series of books, "Eusebius, The History of the Church", pages 240 and 243. -
30
Shattered Faith
by new hope and happiness inleaving the witnesses was for me a result of asking myself distubing questions, which infomed me " mike its not what you think, its how you think" and as a result iam what was a dub but is a dub no more .so here i am hete today !!.
.
.
-
-
JWB
Welcome to the real world 'Neo'!