something does not compute.
you are my witnesses,”declares jehovah, yes, my servant whom i have chosen, so that you may know and have faith in me and understand that i am the same one.before me no god was formed, and after me there has been none.
isaiah 43:10. in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god and the word was god.
What I am finding is that the divinity of Jesus was invented after Jesus' execution. Please see Dr. Bart Ehram's book How Jesus Became God : the Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee. Dr. Ehram's findings are enlightening as to the issues with the Bible as well as the Christian religion.
Christianity is not about Jesus' teachings. Christianity is about the worship of Jesus.
dr. bart ehrman is a bible scholar who wrote such books as misquoting jesus: the story behind who changed the bible and why and how jesus became god: the exaltation of a jewish preacher from galilee.. i found this interview with dr. ehrman fascinating.
notice are about the 23:35 time stamp one example of many problems with errors in the bible and its many translations.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8evuuadoey.
Dr. Bart Ehrman is a Bible scholar who wrote such books as Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why and How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee.
I found this interview with Dr. Ehrman fascinating. Notice are about the 23:35 time stamp one example of many problems with errors in the Bible and its many translations.
we all know that jws consider the wt religion to be "the truth" and refer to it as such.. granted, that phrase is used repeatedly in the literature and from the platform.. but it's obvious that much of what the organization used to require jws to teach house-to-house as important truths--even within our own lifetimes--has been abandoned.
it's been replaced by "new light" and "refined understanding.
what's meant by "the 1914 generation" is a prime example.. in fact, i think it would be hard to find another religion that has changed so many of its teachings, especially in such a short period of time.. so why do jws still believe their religion to be "the truth"?.
Jeffro hit the nail on the head - there is a big difference between "I know" and "I believe". Jehovah's Witnesses can never say "I know" due to there on systematic retconning of belief they have titled "New Light". I know if a fact proven with evidence. If the evidence changes it was never fact and therefor not truth.
The first commandment of the Watchtower is - Thou shalt publicly affirm whatever we tell you is true as truth and whatever we told you that was not truth as old understanding.
a specific “day,” or period, when particular groups, nations, or mankind in general are called to account by god.
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“i solemnly charge you before god and christ jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,”- 2 tim 4:1. seems like sins are not paid by dying or the ransom if there is a judgment in-spite of it.
Executing someone who commits murder does nothing. Now two human lives have been ended early for no good reason. The execution does not bring back the dead nor does it ease the suffering of the family and loved ones of the victim. It only brings more suffering.
I started my career working as a Correctional Officer. I walked the concrete jungle for 7 years before coming a police officer. I have worked 3 Murder cases personally as an investigator. I have been through multiple jury trials involving violent crime. I was watched the families address the defendant during victim impact statements. Here is what I always found strange for years; the families say these 2 things to the defendant -
What is better?
The book All the Rage: Buddhist Wisdom on Anger and Resentment helped me see things in a different light.
unbelievable news: they've actually built a kingdom hall, and it was thanks to jehovah!!!!.
https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/canada/kingdom-hall-completed-in-canadas-place-of-many-fish/.
“from the logistics of getting the construction materials to the far north, to navigating how to solve unexpected supply problems, nothing could stand in jehovah’s way.
I'll start taking bets on how soon it will be before this Kingdom Hall has a for sale sign hanging on it.
a specific “day,” or period, when particular groups, nations, or mankind in general are called to account by god.
.
“i solemnly charge you before god and christ jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,”- 2 tim 4:1. seems like sins are not paid by dying or the ransom if there is a judgment in-spite of it.
It has to be brought to the criminals' attention what it feels like to be robbed, raped rapierd. The idea that there will be no appropriate consequences for criminality is mistaken.
A person can only know how a person feels if they have the same experienced. That is advocating for an eye for an eye. Been robbed? Rob the robber. Been raped? Rape the rapist. That is vengeance and a vengeance based justice system is unjust.
Not to mention punishing some does not help the person who has been victimized.
sadly more concern for the criminal than the victims.
Addressing the source of criminal behavior does not diminish helping the victims of crime. Does a person who commits a crime no longer have value as a human?
The barbarians are the criminals.
This is an ad hominem logic fallacy.
a specific “day,” or period, when particular groups, nations, or mankind in general are called to account by god.
.
“i solemnly charge you before god and christ jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,”- 2 tim 4:1. seems like sins are not paid by dying or the ransom if there is a judgment in-spite of it.
All rights come from government. True, no government gives anyone the right to commit.
Murder all criminals as this will end all crime...until people who were not criminals previously to the mass murder commit a crime. Then a new judgment day for the next batch of murders is required.
Part of the issue is the egocentric thought that what a person does equals the person. People are not criminals - people commit crimes. Another issue is the punishment for crime may be labeled a "deterrent," but it is painfully obvious that it is not.
A human system of justice would protect a society while address the issues that drive the majority of crime. Harm is the issue. Not crime. The cure cannot be as bad or worse than the sickness.
Then we have laws against things that cause no harm to others or possibly even the self. How are the scales of justice balanced for people who do not use the crosswalk to cross the road? Do people who use Marijuana deserve a death sentence for possessing a plant that allegedly was created by a loving God? If someone borrows your Netflix login and password should they be forced to repay Netflix 7 times the monthly subscription fee?
The idea that a person has to be harmed for doing something unlawful is sadistic.
a specific “day,” or period, when particular groups, nations, or mankind in general are called to account by god.
.
“i solemnly charge you before god and christ jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,”- 2 tim 4:1. seems like sins are not paid by dying or the ransom if there is a judgment in-spite of it.
Tbn. without retribution the laws against criminality are just empty words. example:
Think of the law that has a thief pay seven times the value he stole. great idea.
Retribution is vengeance. It intentionally causing another harm. There is never a justification for such action. Protecting the public is one thing. The "eye for an eye" concept causing a world full of blind people.
If someone steals your goat or sheep and the thief no owes you 7 sheep that is not balancing the scales. It doesn't address the "why" of the theft either. If someone is dirt poor and starving to death I doubt they have the means to repay seven-fold. Like all Abrahamic faith concepts this only addresses consequences and ignores the root cause. Remove the root and the plant cannot grow.
A true justice system protects the public while simultaneously addresses the source issues of crime. Instead Abrahamic faith gives us this egocentric system of inflating our egos artificially with concepts like "I am better than that guy because I obey the law" and "that guy is lesser than me because he did break the law." Once again, good and evil are artificial social constructs. This construct is being used justify the harm people inflict on others.
for those of you not up to speed on the latest jw trends, one of the key scriptures the jws are using in field serve-us lately is job 26:7, wherein the writer describes the earth as “hanging upon nothing”.. this text is used to indicate the bible’s “reliability”.
the reasoning goes something like this:.
“see, centuries ago, people thought the world was flat, or was resting on elephants or turtles, or some such nonsense.
This is the ancient Jewish cosmology of the Earth:
It is literally a flat-Earth construct. Remember, it is the "circle" of the Earth that hangs upon nothing in the source scripture quoted. The literal translation is a flat Earth. The author did not pen "the globe of the Earth hangs upon nothing".
The scripture cannot be used to provide evidence that the Bible's writers were given special scientific knowledge as the Watchtower claims.
the common thread of beleivers / creationists of a god creating life is design .. and if something / anything is designed it must have a designer ?.
however this reasoning is discarded when talking about the existence of god.. and if such a being as god somehow existed without a designer why not all forms of life itself as existing on earth ?.
coming into existence without a designer ?.
Energy-matter never came into existence, but rather has always existed.
DisillusionedJW for the win!
In addition, the Big Bang is not what started the Universe. The Big Bang is an event that happens over and over. The Universe itself is eternal. It always has been and always will be. Therefor, no creator. (See: Robert Penrose - Big Bounce theory)
Just as there is no matter. Matter is energy. Our brains create an illusion that we call separateness.
