Vidqun

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Posts by Vidqun

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  122

  Can the jw organization be reformed?

  by wannaexit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know that this has been discussed in the past but i wanted to get some fresh opinions.

  there are many out there that recognize the "rot" that is in watchtower but still feel that there is a "wholesome" side to it and are trying to bring about change or reform from within.. in 2002 when the rose colored glasses came off for me and i truly started to understand ttatt, i still felt that there was some redemable aspects of the organization.. i felt that russell had some doctrinal things right.

  i don't feel like that anymore.

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  Vidqun

  Here’s a bit of Biblical wisdom that answers the question: “That which is made crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot possibly be counted.” (Ecc 1:15 NWT)

  Another scripture comes to mind: “But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2Pe 3:13 NWT)

  God must make everything new “and in these righteousness is to dwell.” That means that there is no righteousness now. So, Jehovah’s Witnesses, as an organization, like all earthly organizations, cannot survive. Many prophecies point to this (cf. Dan. 2:44; 12:7; Zech. 13:7, 8; 14:1-3; Rev. 11:7, 8, 18; 19:11-21).
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  47

  The GENERATION explanation is now a BOLD FACE LIE

  by scotoma in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i first heard about the new "generation" explanation i was confused because i didn't see clearly how they were explaining it.. now it looks like they finally figured it out for themselves and it is no longer confusing.. it is now a simple, ignorant, bold face lie.. this is from the january 1st watchtower.

  (and i hope to hell someone from writing gets wind of this).

  paragraph 15 page 31 blue stands for the exact words in the watchtower.

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  Vidqun

  On Bloomberg they showed three generations of Warren Buffett's family, Warren Buffett, his son, and his son, involved in writing a book on the philantropy side of their business. I estimate about a thirty year difference between them. So, according to WT teaching, it's not three generations, but one generation with three overlaps. If you believe that, you'll believe anything. Or, they have added a new meaning to the dictionary definition of generation, and should inform Webster, Wikipaedia, et al of this extraordinary development.
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  7

  Lecithin

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been taking lecithin 1200 mg daily but i am wondering if i should take blood test to find out how much i can take lecithin safely daily?

  i am not sure where to go for blood test.

  any suggestions?.

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  Vidqun

  My uncle and his wife were childless. After taking Lecithin and Vitamin E (my uncle) they ended up having a boy and a girl. True story. Don't know which one did the trick. Might have been a combination of the two. So beware!
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  10

  Do you think the Watchtower corporation can be "helped" to come clean?

  by Fernando in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it seems all humans and groups suffer from the universal problem of being able to see what is wrong with others, but not themselves.. so how to "help"?.

  maybe some paraphrasing of what the watchtower has written about others, which equally applies to them?

  *** w09 6/1 p. 9 they loved the word of god ***[ray franz' book "in search of christian freedom"] was not welcomed by the [watchtower corporation].

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  Vidqun

  Where are those that attempted to help them back on the path? Most have been disfellowshipped as apostates. I think I'll go with ABibleStudent and Smiddy on this one.
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  37

  HELP NEEDED for the book I'm writing!

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm about 90% finished on a book i started nine years ago.

  it will deal with jehovah's witness policy on conscientious objectors during war time.

  from the 1800's through the end of the draft in the early 1970's.. i am also giving a personal biographical account of my own introduction to the religion, process of assimilation and ministry experience.. additionally, i'm working in timelines connecting the 2nd adventist teachings with russell, rutherford and mainstream watchtower doctrines.. .

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  Vidqun

  Terry, you have a PM.
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  81

  What constitutes 'proof' on JWN?

  by besty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  recently there have been a few threads where claims have been made alledging personal negative effects in 'real life' following internet activity on jwn and other ex-jw related sites.

  discussion then ensues, aspects of which may include 3rd parties either disputing the truth or affirming the likelihood of the claim.

  questions are asked.

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  Vidqun

  Well said Botr. Now I know why I will never survive on "Survivor." I am not a good judge of character. I am not good at ascertaining motive. I'd rather stick with what I know and what I enjoy doing.
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  81

  What constitutes 'proof' on JWN?

  by besty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  recently there have been a few threads where claims have been made alledging personal negative effects in 'real life' following internet activity on jwn and other ex-jw related sites.

  discussion then ensues, aspects of which may include 3rd parties either disputing the truth or affirming the likelihood of the claim.

  questions are asked.

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  Vidqun

  Please Cofty, keep in mind this is JWN. Believe it or not, you follow the same principles in proving your thoughts on evolution. Different books, different authors, same principle. However, I used above as examples to demonstrate how I would prove "truth," as opposed to the opinions of the WT. When a person makes 'real life' claims, one would want to believe him, until his claims are disproved. There I must admit, I can be gullible, for allowing the benefit of the doubt.
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  81

  What constitutes 'proof' on JWN?

  by besty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  recently there have been a few threads where claims have been made alledging personal negative effects in 'real life' following internet activity on jwn and other ex-jw related sites.

  discussion then ensues, aspects of which may include 3rd parties either disputing the truth or affirming the likelihood of the claim.

  questions are asked.

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  Vidqun

  In scientific research (esp. Medical) one looks for a"golden standard." When a new test is developed it is usually compared to a reliable test that have been proved to be accurate, i.e., a golden standard. For the detection of TB in body fluids, a good test to use is the Ziehl Neelson stain (relatively cheap and not too complicated, but might miss small concentrations of acid-fast bacilli). An alternative test is Immunofluorescent Microscopy which is more sensitive, but much more expensive. The latter I would use as a "golden standard" to test newer detection methods coming on the market.

  This principle I have applied to Biblical research. Base texts for the NT are numerous. But the latest Nestle-Aland (ed. 28) is an ideal reference point. Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensia for the Hebrew is not perfect, but a good basis to work from. In time the finished products of BHQ and The Hebrew University Bible Project will supersede it as a study edition.

  Some books I view as a "golden standard" to establish the meaning of NT words:

  1) BDAG: Bauer-Danker Lexicon of NT

  2) TDNT: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

  3) Friberg Lexicon

  4) Liddell & Scott, etc.

  The "golden standard" for OT words:

  1) HALOT: Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament

  2) TDOT: Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament

  3) TWOT: Theological Wordbook of the OT

  4) Brown-Driver Briggs Lexicon

  5) Gesenius, etc.

  This is not a perfect system. Some of above works are quite dated. Kittel, resposible for some of the earlier articles of TDNT was a Nazi. Gesenius, again, had some rationalistic tendencies as pointed out by Tregelles in his translation of Gesenius' Lexicon. But at least it is a foundation to work on. So this is my starting point, right or wrong. One must start somewhere....
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  48

  Was Paul a "tentmaker"?

  by CyrusThePersian in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in acts 18:2,3 we read:.

  "there he met a jew named aquila, a native of pontus, who had recently come from italy with his wife priscilla, because claudius had ordered all jews to leave rome.

  paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.".

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  Vidqun

  mP, that's off-topic, but I feel I owe you an answer. You seem to be stuck on slavery, blaming the Bible writers for condoning it. Keep in mind that none of the other religions opposed slavery. I think it is unfair that you single out Christians.

  For one, ancient economies were dependent on slavery. Trying to change that would make one very unpopular. Secondly, war was commonplace and the victor usually took slaves from those he subjugated. This was a fact of life.

  Jesus made it clear how he viewed things. You must love God with your whole heart and your neighbour as yourself. You must even love your enemies and do good to those persecuting you. One should therefore not see his followers as “reformers.” Rather one should view them as regulators. They adapted themselves to their surroundings in order to survive, at the same time trying to stay true to their faith. Yes, they even regulated those that were slaves. They were not interested in transforming the world or rewriting history, but awaited a “city having real foundations and the builder and maker of it is God” (Hebr. 11:10, 39, 40). .

  How long would slavery be around for? Till 200-300 years ago, just the other day. If you watch the news, you’ll see that some forms of it is still with us today. But then slavery was the order of the day. To understand the position Christians found themselves in, one could utilize form criticism, developed by Hermann Gunkel. He coined the phrase Sitz im Leben des Volkes, creating a critical methodology of form criticism (Formgeschichte), by examining the genres used in the biblical text to identify the Sitz im Leben (setting in life) that produced the text. His approach is based on the assumption that each genre is organically associated with a particular social and historical situation. Form criticism is in fact the separation of genre history from text history, and the relationship of transmission history to the history of religions and culture. See The Hebrew Bible and Its Modern Interpreters, pp. 136, 149.

  One cannot dress the Bible in 21st century garb. By being biased or ignoring historical or social realities, one tears the apostle out of his age, tears the gospel out of history and blocks off Scripture from the light of modern research.
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  32

  Are Jehovahs Witnesses a Cult?

  by The Quiet One in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  http://sianrose.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/are-jehovahs-witnesses-a-sect-or-a-cult/.

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  Vidqun

  Scholars call those Israelites centering their worship around the temple in Jerusalem a cult. Why should JWs not be called a cult? The difference, they centre their worship around a GB.