No, MP, some common sense comes in here. Some names might help. Check Wiki for some brilliant Jews. The Nobel Prize has been awarded to over 600 individuals. 20% of them are Jews, although Jews comprise of only 0.2 % of the world's population. Heard of Niels Bohr, or Albert Einstein? Find out how many Jewish millionaires are in your part of the world? You'll be surprised. Certainly brilliant in their own right, but I am sure their Jewish heritage played a part in their success stories. If only the Romans imitated Jewish hygiene laws, their empire might have endured a little longer. The Jews were hated everywhere they go. Why? Jealousy, perhaps? All of the above based on fact. The WT doesn't come into it at all.
Posts by Vidqun
-
-
-
-
-
-
Vidqun
Excellent advce Ziddina. One should read it for yourself. What does all these idiots writing Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias know? So, it would depend in which class you found yourself. If you were a slave, the Mosaic Law was the better option. The only reason why I did not print out the Code, was because it's not on topic. Let's stick to the thread.
Israel might not have been great, but they are still around. They have left a great legacy to the world. And that's what's important. They survived against all odds, whereas if you want to find out about the great dynasties of Assyria and Babylon, do visit the British Museum. What's left of them is in there?
-
-
-
Vidqun
As Ziddina says, it seems as though women were treated better amongst the Babylonians than the Jews. But Jesus did affirm that divorce was allowed for in the Law for practical reasons, but that God disapproved.
The laws regulating Babylonian society are more complex because of three distinct classes. Much work has been done on a comparison of the Code of Hammurabi with the Mosaic legislation. There are many similarities since they are dealing with areas where there is universal agreement. In spite of resemblances there is no evidence of borrowing. The tone of the Hebrew law is most often more humane than that of the Babylonian.
E.g., theft, burglary, robbery, and other such crimes are dealt with severely. Theft from private citizens requires multiple restitution, but theft from the government (temple or palace) is punishable by death. The receiver of stolen goods is also put to death. Theft of an ox, sheep, ass, pig, or goat from the state requires a thirtyfold restitution, and similar theft from a private citizen a tenfold restitution. If the thief is too poor to make restitution, he is put to death. [1]
[1] Bromiley, G. W. (1988; 2002). Vol. 2: The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (606–608). Wm. B. Eerdmans.
-
-
-
Vidqun
The Jews were regulated by their laws and it worked to their benefit. All the nations had laws, but the Law of the Jews were superior. For one, they had to wash their hands after handling a corpse or after going to the toilet. Western civilization only found out about hygiene 200 or 300 hundred years ago. The more bloody and soiled the doctor's overcoat was, the more senior he was. Compare the laws of Hammurabi to Jewish law and you'll quickly see the difference.
-
-
-
Vidqun
MP, I agree, the writers and editors of the OT had nationalistic tendencies, not forgetting "nation building" and looking out for their own interests. So one needs to tread carefully when you study OT text. Comparing them, e.g., to the Assyrians, they did quite well. If one looks at the Assyrian wall carvings, the Assyrians liked to hunt, and to fight and torture, and to party, and not much else.
So I must come up for the Jews, they found themselves surrounded by all these enemy nations, and did what they had to do to survive. The difference between them and their neighbours, they were more regulated, and some of their laws had practical value, even now. But, like you said, they were nearly wiped out by Hitler and his Nazis, but now they follow similar methods against the Palestinians.
-
245
Is the Watchtower shy about repeating their new "generation" teaching?
by slimboyfat inas i recall in the 1980s talks and watchtower literature, magazines and books were always talking about the "generation" teaching and how it proved armageddon was going to come any day now.. but am i correct in thinking they have only actually mentioned the new "overlapping generations" teaching once or twice in the literature?
why are they so shy about talking about their great new interpretation?
it's almost enough to make you suspect they are a embarrassed about it.. mention it once or twice, don't dwell on it, hope everyone just accepts it, and don't bring it up again.
-
-
Vidqun
Djeggnog, I recall you (and the Society) used Hebrew “dor” of Ex. 1:6 as an example of the two groups equalling a “generation.” The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. III, p. 174, has an interesting write-up concerning the meaning of the word “dor”.
For Hebrew dor, “generation” is by far the most common meaning, and less specifically “age.” With this meaning dor becomes a measure of time or a period of time. Like other ancient peoples, the early Hebrews dated long periods by lifetimes. They divided long periods of time into segments corresponding to the life-span of a generation. This is the meaning of dor in Gen. 15:16. The difficulty came in attaching numerical values to a generation, and ’arba` me’oth [400] in Gen. 15:13 were reckoned as 400 years (4 generations of a 100 years each). The idea that four generations equals 400 years, which lies behind Gen. 15:13, is undoubtedly based on an artificial scheme which assigns 100 years to a generation.
It seems to me that this would come closest to your understanding of “generation”. However, take note, above scriptures do place a 100 year limit on the word. It is also an open question to what extent this word would have influenced Greek koine usage.
-
-
-
Vidqun
Cadellin, I like your quote: "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." Today we have the Jews, scattered over the length and breadth of the earth, and the militant Republic of Israel. This is definitely not a coincidence. So where there is smoke, there is fire. Granted, the Biblical accounts have come a long way, and have been edited multiple times, but that doesn't mean the stories are not based on fact. I like the term "allow for the benefit of the doubt." I will go along with the Biblical accounts until they are proven wrong.
Again your article reminds us of "duplicate and sometimes triplicate accounts, multiple literary styles, inconsistencies in content and anachronisms." But that is to be expected from oral traditions that have later been put down in writing and edited by various persons for various reasons. That's why your article cautions: "Accurate historical documentation was thus not a defining element... Any attempt to make use of this material in reconstructing the prehistory of Israel requires great caution." This is a balanced and objective author. This cannot always be said of WT writings that have their own agenda.
-
245
Is the Watchtower shy about repeating their new "generation" teaching?
by slimboyfat inas i recall in the 1980s talks and watchtower literature, magazines and books were always talking about the "generation" teaching and how it proved armageddon was going to come any day now.. but am i correct in thinking they have only actually mentioned the new "overlapping generations" teaching once or twice in the literature?
why are they so shy about talking about their great new interpretation?
it's almost enough to make you suspect they are a embarrassed about it.. mention it once or twice, don't dwell on it, hope everyone just accepts it, and don't bring it up again.
-
-
Vidqun
"If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things."
Let's again agree to disagree. If I want to speculate, I will keep the word "fact" as far as possible from my speculative piece. That's the logical thing to do. Let's call it a slip of the pen then, it's actually a "speculative fact". I think we have coined a new phrase yet again, which can join the "overlapping generation" phrase. Regular phraseologists we are, coining new phrases like that.
-
23
Would this t shirt get you in trouble
by slimboyfat ini met a jw in town yesterday while i was wearing this t shirt.
it didn't even occur to me it was a problem because it is a joke , but he seemed really annoyed about it and kind of cut me short.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/mans-true-evolution-birthday-present/dp/b006fy58zm/ref=sr_1_10?ie=utf8&qid=1332946372&sr=8-10.
-
-
Vidqun
I have a big problem with the T-shirt. The man should sit in front of a computer, not the TV.
-
245
Is the Watchtower shy about repeating their new "generation" teaching?
by slimboyfat inas i recall in the 1980s talks and watchtower literature, magazines and books were always talking about the "generation" teaching and how it proved armageddon was going to come any day now.. but am i correct in thinking they have only actually mentioned the new "overlapping generations" teaching once or twice in the literature?
why are they so shy about talking about their great new interpretation?
it's almost enough to make you suspect they are a embarrassed about it.. mention it once or twice, don't dwell on it, hope everyone just accepts it, and don't bring it up again.
-
-
Vidqun
Slimboyfat, you are allowed research, however, only from WT publications. Problem with the NWT, it is based on Westcott & Hort (1881), and the BHK (1973). The NWTRef (1984) is their last revision. A lot have happened in the mean time. The DSS have been made available in their entirety, the Greek papyri have been discovered in Egypt. Nestle-Aland is on its 27th edition, the United Bible Society's Greek text is on its 4th edition. In connection with the Hebrew Scriptures there is the Jerusalem Project, BHQuinta, all with their different scholarly approaches. Then there is thousands of new articles coming out in periodicals and magazines. How on earth are you going to keep up to date with all this research if you haven't a degree or two behind your name? They should have had a specialized team to keep up to date on the latest research, e.g., the Mormons. No, I think they have lost the storyline altogether because of their unreasonable expectations. Now the world is passing them by.