i have just started to steep the mincemeat for my mince pies in dark rum .
christmas is a big deal in my family and circle of friends.
however among ex jws it's a bit different or so l understand.
When my family left the Watchtower we were all in on Christmas. We have even hosted Christmas at our house the past couple of years. My in-laws were never Witnesses so took over hosting to give them a break.
I love Christmas. To me Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity even though it is in the name. I call it Yule as that is where the practice of decorating with evergreen trees and gift giving came from.
i have heard it said [numerous times] that jws live their life according to the bible.. i have also heard [numerous times] that jws have restored the correct christian practice following the great apostasy [?which is a different topic].
my question is 'is there any proof anywhere in history where jewish or christian people lived their life according to the scriptures?".
ttwsyf.
The first Christians were practicing Jews who lived their lives the way Jesus taught them. Christianity was not a religion until after Jesus was elevated to a deity. The deification of Jesus came long after Jesus' death.
So, practicing Jew have never lived their life according to the Bible. Jesus' original followers did not either as the Bible did not exist. The first book of the New Testament to be written was The Book of Acts which was written about 4 decades after the events in the alleged events in the book were to have taken place.
why is it important to some that god only have one visible organization to represent him on earth?
why is it important to jehovah's witnesses that people recognize their organization as such?
what makes a witness more moral or righteous or save-worthy if they accept that it is his one and only organization?
Smiddy3 - You stole my thunder! Nice!!!
Speaking in rough numbers and approximations:
Beginning with recorded history, the first 3,100 years of recorded history there is no visible organization for the god of the Bible on Earth. According to the Watchtower, there was no visible organization for the god of the Bible for 1,820 years until Judge Rutherford caught the eye of King Jesus of the Heavenly Kingdom of YHWH. So, no salvation for anyone between the years of 99 CE and 1820 CE.
how do you get out of watchtower?
am i supposed to write letter to bethel or local congregation telling them i don't want to be a jw anymore?
how are the steps.
To write a letter of disassociation is to imply the Watchtower has authority over you. If you have stopped attending meetings and all other JW activity you have accomplished your will.
You owe them nothing. Do not play by their rules. Do not acknowledge the Watchtower has authority over you or anyone else.
admittedly it 90% crap over there but still they are up to 80k in subscribers.
over here it's the same half dozen or so that posts something, including myself.
why is that?.
Joao is correct. Reddit can be downloaded as an app to a mobile device for use. In addition, Reddit is a one-stop-shop for any and all topics on anything.
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.
The point is that Jehovah says there was no other god beside him or with him, nor was any formed before or after him, nor did any help him create the world
Vanderhoven7 - this is a great point. The history of the Jewish belief system does show us that there was no belief of other spiritual creatures (angels) until after the Greeks conquered them. In fact, the Gospels record that the Sadducees believed in neither angels or an afterlife. Paul used this contention of these issues between the Sadducees and the Pharisees to save himself.
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.
