Posts by Londo111

19

Are major earthquakes on the increase??

by Vanderhoven7 in

a jw writes as proof that 1914 is key.... the newencyclopdiabritannica (1987) lists 63 major historical earthquakes spanning the past 1,700 years.

of this total, 27, or 43 percent, have struck since 1914. the book terranonfirma, by professors gere and shah, has a list covering a longer period.

of the total significant earthquakes in that list, 54 percent have taken place since 1914. even granting that records from past centuries are incomplete, we cannot escape the conclusion that in our time mankind has been greatly affected by earthquakes.. does anyone have access to the the newencyclopdiabritannica (1987) or info that would either support or refute the above allegations.. .

Londo111

And in answer Jesus said to them: “Look out that nobody misleads YOU; for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. Y OU are going to hear of wars and reports of wars;see that YOU are not terrified. For these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another."--Matthew 24:4-7.

I believe what is being said here is a warning against being misled that the End is immanent, either by someone claiming to be the anointed or a prophet . In the same breath about rumors of wars and not being terrified, events such as war, famine, earthquakes, pestilence are brought up. It seems that what is being said here is these common events cannot be used to pinpoint the Second Advent, because it will happen "at an hour that YOU do not think to be it", when people are "eating and drinking" and carrying out normal activities.

33

My Experience

by wezz in

good day to everyone.

after reading and benefiting from the numerous experiences posted here, i thought it would be proper for me to share my story too.

i was born and brought up as an anglican church member.

Londo111

I am really sorry!

Perhaps if you tell her you still love her and there are no scriptural grounds for her leaving. Perhaps you can quote the 2009 Awake that says, "No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family.”

47

WHEN WAS ANCIENT JERUSALEM DESTROYED? Why does it matter? The Watchtower October 1, 2011 and November 1, 2011

by wannabefree in

when was ancient jerusalem destroyed?.

a critique of the two-part article published in the public editions of.

the watchtower of october 1, 2011, pages 26-31 and.

Londo111

From page 26/27:

Because of the superior reliability of the lunar positions, researchers have carefully analyzed these 13 sets of lunar positions on VAT 4956. They analyzed the data with the aid of a computer program capable of showing the location of celestial bodies on a certain date in the past. What did their analysis reveal? While not all of these sets of lunar positions match the year 568/567 B.C.E., all 13 sets match calculated positions for 20 years earlier, for the year 588/587 B.C.E.

Footnote 19:

This analysis was made with the astronomy software entitled TheSky6. In addition, the analysis was augmented by the comprehensive freeware program Cartes du Ciel/Sky Charts (CDC) and a date converter provided by the U.S. Naval Observatory. Because the cuneiform signs for many of the planetary positions are open to speculation and to several interpretations, these positions were not used in this survey to pinpoint the year intended by this astronomical diary.

They do not show their work. And as the above threads show, which examine data from both 568 and 588, it simply isn't true. And footnote 19 is totally bogus.

This was more of a free-for-all thread, but this was good as well: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/215282/1/WT-Nov-1-2011-public-When-Was-Ancient-Jerusalem-Destroyed-Part-2

23

If you've left JWs for Christ - will the end still come?

by flamegrilled in

something i don't see supported much on jwn is the notion that the end of this system is indeed coming, even if later than wts has predicted over the years.. now for those that have left and become complete non-believers (in the bible) that is understandable.

you guys are welcome to comment of course, but i'm far more interested in some feedback from the people who have left jws and pursued a christian course.

are you still convinced that there will be a war of armaggedon or do you now interpret the scriptures a different way?.

Londo111

In answer to the initial question: I believe we know only in part and see through a hazy mirror. However, Jesus warned that the End would be unpredictable. He warned that many would mislead others into thinking the due time had approached and that you couldn't base how close you were on events such as wars, earthquakes, disease, famines in order to make a prediction. Therefore are we nearing the end? I best answer I feel a Christain can says is, "I don't know."

However, do I believe God or Jesus is coming to everlasting destroy seven billion people like I did when I was a Witness? Absolutely not. When and how things will play out will probably be different than what anybody conceives.

90

More anti-apostate rhetoric from the Watchtower - are they running scared?

by cedars in

yes, the may 15th watchtower is now available for download from jw.org.. the final study article, on page 26, directs another salvo at apostates - and warns witnesses not to try arguing with them on the internet:.

indeed, we ought to move as far away from wrongdoing as possible and not see how close we can get to it without being overcome by sin.

for instance, we need to guard against succumbing to apostasy, a sin that would make us unfit to glorify god.

Londo111

I thought it was a parody...

13

F&DS reducing occurrences of JESUS in revised New World Translation

by wannabefree in

after much prayerful consideration, responsible representatives of the "faithful and discreet slave" class have decided to reduce the number of times that the name jesus appears in the main text of the new world translation of the holy scriptures (greek scriptures) from 919 to 79.. the reason for this change is one of the same reasons recently given for the new songbook.

as you may recall, the songbook "sing praises to jehovah" had about half of the songs with jesus as the theme.

in the new songbook, "sing to jehovah", we felt it appropriate for jehovah to be exalted more than jesus so the songbook reflects that balanced view by having 2/3 of the songs praising jehovah and 1/3 to jesus.. the translation committee for the new world translation of the holy scriptures found it appropriate to restore the divine name "jehovah" 237 times in the main text of the christian greek scriptures, this is very disproportionate from the number of times the name "jesus"occurs, which is 919 times in the main text.

Londo111

Verse 4 is already tweaked from "all" to "all sorts of". I think this is twofold...to discount the idea of universal salvation AND to obscure Christ being mediator in subsequent verses. Therefore, one needs an extra mediator between themselves and Christ, and probably they might be saved…if they work hard enough doing what the human mediator tells them to do. Of course, this all stems from Russell's Mystery Doctrine where 'the Christ' was not Jesus alone, but Jesus and the 144000, and thus the sacrifice of the Christ was not just of Jesus, but that of the 144000 too.

84

Kingdom Hall remodel - scam

by Dagney in

jw
friends

i was wondering from any here in the know, does it seem like there is a lot of "remodels" going on?.

in the last week i had the occasion to talk with two jw's in different halls, about 10 miles apart.

they both are undergoing major remodels.

Londo111

I remember when my old hall was remodeled. It was built in the early 90's and I remember being very puzzled over the remodeling. And now I'm starting to think of other halls in the area that have been remodeled, as well as a hall I was in when I moved out of state: they tore it down and rebuilt on the same spot.

Not to add suspicion where there is no proof, but the thought occurred to me even without making a huge profit, this would seem a good vehicle for money laundering. Of course, I'm not saying this is the case.

57

does the gb really believe or is this a game ?

by mP in

im assuming we all realise the gb may be many things but the individuals are not fools.

given the changes in ideas, formulation of new light and so on, do they buy the fascade they are presenting ?

if theres anyone in there, surely they as men, know how very man made it has always been.

Londo111

If the modern GB are captives of the concept, then they just might believe themselves to be individual components of the composite "Slave". Thus, they worship the "Slave" like everything else. The "Slave", though not a person or group, is a real force, in that it dominates their mental inclinations. They are insulated in their ivory watchtower and probably don't have a real concept of how their decisions effect people.

I do wonder how intellectually savvy they are…they might be closer to a modern day Knorr than a Crazy Freddie, wacky administrators rather than wacky theologians. For instance, do they really understand the arguments about 607 vs 587? Or do they just charge people in the Writing Department to create articles defending 607? I wonder if they even read the articles…or at best, just skimmed them and thought, "Sounds solid to me. Now let me go prepare for my talk at the International."

11

Jesus and His Disciples...were Apostates! LOL

by RagingBull in

jw
friends

this is just my thought after reading over the "book study" for this week.. the apostles chose to follow christ, all of them were jewish christians.

no matter where paul and silas went, the pharisees stayed harrassing them and would not leave them alone.

spreading vicious rumors and trying to have them stopped.. jws compare themselves to the apostles who were being persecuted for going to the synagogues and drawing away other jews and proselytes.

Londo111

Yes, during last week's study, I found it funny how the Pharisees were upset and jealous that the Christians were drawing away followers for themselves, from their pool of proselytes that they had worked to gain. And this is exactly what they accuse "apostates" of doing.

Then the Pharisees whipped up persecution and opposition. Today, who is the aggressor? It was not Ray Franz or Ed Dunlap or Carl Jonson and those like them who wanted to separate from their brothers and sisters, or socially kill anyone or break up families by means of shunning, or harm a single hair on anyone's heads. They wanted to upbuild others in Christian love and truth. They did not ask anybody to follow them, but rather, Christ Jesus.

27

Steve Hassan's books

by tornapart in

at the moment i can't get these books, they are not available as ebooks and i can't risk having them in the house.

but i have heard so much about them and how helpful they are that i am just wondering if any who have read them can give some insights they have gained from them that would be useful to know.

thanks in advance.

Londo111

The first book is definitely a must read. I've started the second book, but it's more slowgoing.

I went from, "Calling the Witnesses a cult is a bit derogatory" to "What else can you call it but a cult?" I had my ex read the section explaining BITE and she said, "I wish it wasn't true. But it is."

As Steven Hassan said, the Achille's Heel of a cult…is other cults. If you can get an adherent to think about other groups, which they will readily criticize, and detail how they practice BITE, letting them draw the comparisons to the Witnesses on their own, then it will be more powerful than anything else you can say.