Posts by Vidqun

48

Was Paul a "tentmaker"?

by CyrusThePersian in

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.".

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.

32

Are Jehovahs Witnesses a Cult?

by The Quiet One in

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

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.

48

Was Paul a "tentmaker"?

by CyrusThePersian in

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.".

Vidqun

mP, read the scriptures. See what he wrote.

48

Was Paul a "tentmaker"?

by CyrusThePersian in

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.".

Vidqun

Whatever Paul did, he worked hard at earning a living. He did not expect his brothers or sisters to look after him. In fact he said that one should not owe anybody a thing except to love one another (Rom. 13:8). It's called: "You practice what you preach" (cf. 1 Tim. 5:8). He set an excellent example.

155

Protecting pedophiles while protecting children

by stillin in

i know that a lynch mob forms whenever there's a hint of anybody being a pedophile, but the truth is that not all are the slavering, predatorial animals that they are painted to be.

each circumstance has its' own specifics.

in defense of the wts, they do keep track of confirmed pedophiles now.

Vidqun

Stillin, you are welcome to your views, I just don't agree with you. I have also given this a lot of thought, even confronted the elders about it. What they told me was revealing. They view pedophilia as "just another sin" and they deal with it as they do with all other sins.

But think about it, is it "just another sin"? First of all, it is not consensual, e.g., fornication. In most countries, sex with a minor is viewed as rape. Secondly, minors are involved, so it is a serious breech of trust. Thirdly, lifelong damage is caused. It cannot be handled as "just another sin."

Coming back to the pedophile/predator, he or she is addicted to having sex with a child. Do you really think they are going to stop? Most pedophiles are repeat offenders and are removed from society for a reason. I really believe the welfare of the victim must take precedence, and not that of the pedophile offender. The WT does it the other way round, they protect the perpetrator and sideline the victim.

46

Former Unbaptized Publisher, New Here

by GloomySunday in

jw
friends

former unbaptized publisher, here.. i'm new to the forums and have hesitated for months to join this forum.

i was raised in a jw family, and was never baptized, because one of my parents didn't think i should be baptized early.. my mother became inactive, but i eventually went back for social contact, eventually starting a study.

i raised a few questions, only to find that the conductor would get irritated and defensive when my questions would get deeper into the topic.

Vidqun

Welcome Gloomy! Things can only get better from here on. Now go and study and get your degree or qualification in the field of your choice, according to your aptitude. Be supportive of your family. Don't look back.

14

I am amused by my new Job offer

by recovering in

i have just been hired as the new clinical director for a large company.

i think the following email from them is hilarious.

they want me to basically define my duties by writing my own job description.

Vidqun

Or they are an extremely young and innovative company that welcomes you to their ranks in order to make use of your expertise to take them to the next level. Is the cup half full or half empty? I'd say the cup is half full. Go for it and show them what you got!

155

Protecting pedophiles while protecting children

by stillin in

i know that a lynch mob forms whenever there's a hint of anybody being a pedophile, but the truth is that not all are the slavering, predatorial animals that they are painted to be.

each circumstance has its' own specifics.

in defense of the wts, they do keep track of confirmed pedophiles now.

Vidqun

All I have to add, if you're still in, I hope you and your wife refrain from having children. If you do decide to have a child one day, and that child is molested by a JW predator/pedophile (perhaps an elder's son), only then will you understand a lot of the sentiments expressed here. As a start, look up the Silent Lambs website. It's very enlightening. Also do yourself a favour and read what happened in Victoria, Australia. Perhaps then you will feel a little empathy for the victims. Oh yes, now that "the faithful and discreet slave" = GB, they must take full responsibility for what is going on right now. And remember, if you give the WT a contribution, who knows, it might be going to the Pedophile Protection Program.

155

Protecting pedophiles while protecting children

by stillin in

i know that a lynch mob forms whenever there's a hint of anybody being a pedophile, but the truth is that not all are the slavering, predatorial animals that they are painted to be.

each circumstance has its' own specifics.

in defense of the wts, they do keep track of confirmed pedophiles now.

Vidqun

Stillin, if you do a search on BOE Pedophile, you can read up all about it. You can even read the April 2012 letter, sent out after the Conti trial. The "brothers" have a very low opinion of the victim. They tend to protect the perpetrator. Children don't feature prominently in Watchtower Theology. They are viewed as a burden. You can't pioneer, go to Bethel, and have kids.

155

Protecting pedophiles while protecting children

by stillin in

i know that a lynch mob forms whenever there's a hint of anybody being a pedophile, but the truth is that not all are the slavering, predatorial animals that they are painted to be.

each circumstance has its' own specifics.

in defense of the wts, they do keep track of confirmed pedophiles now.

Vidqun

Suffer the little children! Funny, but do read up on pedophiles/predators and the legal procedure dealing with them. Involved in the process are specialized police units, lawyers, investigators, special courts, social workers, psychologists, Medical Personel, forensics, etc. So you think a phone call to the Branch is going to sort it out. There they have a checklist, catogorizing the offender. And if there is no second witness, it is swept under the rug.