Posts by peacefulpete

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

peacefulpete

Sometimes thought experiments serve a useful purpose. Pursuing a hypothetical to it's logical end, can be revealing. In the case of the Yahwist creation myth, it can become a rabbit hole.

The story was never intended to be logical, it screams that when it includes talking animals and magical fruit. (drawn from a deep pool of ancient myth) It was 'theological' in purpose. It pantomimes religious concepts like obedience to religious law when at odds with individual and intellectual freedom. As frustrating as that is for some to accept, that is the message.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

peacefulpete

The operative word being 'fear'. Is that the basis for love? Or does that sound like people trying to manipulate others?

But to cut to the chase, I'm just as afraid of Yahweh as I am about Shemesh/Shamesh, the daughter of El/Ashera who was later morphed into Yahweh/Ashera.

Shapshu - Wikipedia

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

peacefulpete

tel beth-shemesh is only about 7 acres on a low hill the population wasn't even close to 50,000 that number is a scribal error the actual number who died in the 1 samuel 6:19 account was 70

Actually the majority of Hebrew manuscripts say 5070 at 1 Sam (as well as the LXX). It's probably the 70 that is the scribal error.

Either way, the lesson you might learn is that the author thought of his God as prone to anger and violence or wrote such stories with the hope of evoking fear. Kinda like those churches that emphasize hellfire passages.

The second lesson you might learn is that the Bible is full of scribal error and redaction.

A third lesson is that the town's name is House of the Sun Goddess Shemesh which again suggests the story has a 5th century Yahwist whitewash.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

peacefulpete

he gave the philistines hemorrhoids once when they were really naughty and disrespectful
but that's more evidence of his sense of humor than anything else

Go back and read the story, Yahweh kills many Philistines and those that did not die had swellings on their private parts.

For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.... And the men that died not were smitten with the tumors; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

When they return it he kills 50,070 Israelites because someone peeked into the ark. Not much of a sense of humor.

6

What is your experience with conversations outside jw.org

by Gorb in

jw
friends

i write many times how good it is to be pomo for me, my wife and children.

feeling better then ever.

jw family accept this status.

peacefulpete

I've been too forthcoming with people. I liken it to a recovering alcoholic.

At the same time, I've had great conversations with people who have had parallel experiences in other churches and think it was helpful for both of us to gain perspective.

Presently I fear I crossed a line with someone I consider a good friend, a former poster here. I didn't realize the extent to which they had returned to religion and started carrying on about something that only I found interesting. If you are reading this, forgive me.

12

Russia: Further Jail Term For Answering Fellow Prisoners’ Questions About Faith

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.eurasiareview.com/01072024-russia-further-jail-term-for-answering-fellow-prisoners-questions-about-faith/.

july 1, 2024. by f18news.

by victoria arnold.

peacefulpete

A government without checks and balances, attacking a religion without the same.

People like Dmitry are double victims.

43

Members of congregation know it’s not true

by Mikejw in

we have lonely old folks and even some not so old.. they know the gb are not who they claim to be.. but they stay in the congregation because they are lonely.

i wonder what percentage of jws this is the case, i would guess a lot.

.

peacefulpete

BluesBrother said it well. Basically, if you are asking if this religion is true, you are already out.

37

Avoiding Temptation As a Young Elder

by TMS in

it was the summer of '72.

i was 24 but had been the presiding overseer or congregation servant of a small congregation in the county seat of an arkansas county for about 3 years.. my regular pioneer wife of nearly four years was big and pregnant, with our attempts at birth control unsuccessful.. one of my wife's several bible studies was with a young woman named brenda whom my wife had encountered in door to door work.. brenda had two young children she could barely handle and was married to a very countryfied arkie named henry who worked as a chicken catcher, one of the most difficult jobs at the local chicken plant.. brenda eventually revealed that she'd been raised as a jw, but was never baptized, having left home to marry henry at age 14. she spoke of her family in texas, mentioning her mother and two older sisters, all jws she said.. one morning, just before the meeting for field service, we noticed a small car in kingdom hall parking lot.

my wife and i were parked to one side of the hall in our aluminum nashua house trailer.. two young women got out of the car and soon joined us for the meeting for service, identifying themselves as brenda's sisters from texas.. the two girls, ages 17 and 20, were distractingly beautiful, with the eldest decked out like a magnificent southern belle including hat and heels, her high-end clothing accentuating her very obvious curves.. with no one else showing up for field service, it ended up just the four of us in the car group with the two texas girls in the back seat.. starting our time at a not-at-home, the 20 year old asked if she could accompany me to "hear my presentation.

peacefulpete

It's often when we get the 'freedom' to do things that they become less tempting. Forbidden fruit and all.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

peacefulpete

A last thought about that 'ancient writer' mentioned in my last post. Maybe the writer was just like many of us, struggling to understand his place in the world and clinging to a belief system in the face of overwhelming evidence against it. As part of a community of similarly conflicted believers, he wanted to appear resolute, so wrote about how his God had everything under control and how someday everything will be better. I can relate to that guy, as it wasn't so long ago I did the same.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

peacefulpete

However, God himself reveals exactly who he is.

The Bible writers depicted many faces of God. Some of those are not very attractive.

And altho the scriptures repeatedly demonstrate his consideration and affection for his creation,...

It's good you focus on that rather than the God that sends lions to kill innocent children.

...many simply cannot accept that he also has the final say.

Who gets the final say? The GB? the Pope? an ancient writer we never met? God hasn't said anything.