Posts by peacefulpete

6

Judgement Led To Suicide

by buzkid in

ruth tersek olmo is an ex jehovah's witness and former member of the beroean pickets bible study group.

her personal statement is one of pain and disappointment.

spiritual abuse is becoming more widespread and the purpose of this interview is to raise awareness, provide education around spiritual and religious abuse, and to keep the public safe.

peacefulpete

So....The Beroean Pickets thing has become a cult as well? Not surprising if so. It's like trying to reheat rotten roadkill.

11

Fashion in Heaven

by peacefulpete in

why is it that fashions are assumed to have stayed the same in heaven for thousands of years?

you'd think that after wearing the same boring robe for eternity you'd crave something different.

yet no, angels and god are still wearing the same white onesie they had when they vacationed on earth with abraham.

peacefulpete

The two most 'iconic' symbols of Judaism are a star and menorah shaped as a fruiting almond tree. Lots of irony.

11

Fashion in Heaven

by peacefulpete in

why is it that fashions are assumed to have stayed the same in heaven for thousands of years?

you'd think that after wearing the same boring robe for eternity you'd crave something different.

yet no, angels and god are still wearing the same white onesie they had when they vacationed on earth with abraham.

peacefulpete

It can also be said of swords, crowns, harps and scepters. Drawing Jesus with a machine gun, or angels playing electric guitars invokes a negative reaction.

25

gossip

by Nancy1919 in

i was once was told by an jw elder it was a rule not to gossip or swear as it could harm someone, but i guess the new light allows this.

it was bad enough when they were calling people worldly now i heard a jw gossiping about someone and it was mean.just another reason i would never go back.

.

peacefulpete

Hey Nancy and welcome. Yes, the 'counsel' not to gossip is lost in a group dynamic rooted in judging and reporting the behavior, 'tendencies' and 'leanings' of others.

11

Fashion in Heaven

by peacefulpete in

why is it that fashions are assumed to have stayed the same in heaven for thousands of years?

you'd think that after wearing the same boring robe for eternity you'd crave something different.

yet no, angels and god are still wearing the same white onesie they had when they vacationed on earth with abraham.

peacefulpete

Kaleb......I appreciate your post, even if I was trying to be humorous.

I made a thread some time ago about literary 'imagery' and how it is actually conceptually the same as use of art images. There is something so fundamental to human use of pictures, even word pictures. Vision plays such a huge role in comprehension.

Funny that even within Judeo/Christian aniconist faiths, believers imagine their deity with appropriate costuming. The 'image' is fixed and part of the appurtenance of holiness and divinity. I imagine since God is thought of as being very old his clothes must be too. If an artist were to depict Jesus in blue jeans and T-shirt, it is immediately perceived as disrespectful.

19

Reddit thread: ‘This Cult is Dying and it Brings Me Joy’

by LongHairGal in

this is an excellent thread to read that i saw yesterday and the poster hits the nail on the head and tells it so well.

he is really knocking pimi witnesses and has a lot of well deserved criticisms about them.. he says he hopes at this point that they never wake up….

i am inclined to feel the same.

peacefulpete

Rather than obsessing about the death of the cult, focus on the life you are free to live.

11

Fashion in Heaven

by peacefulpete in

why is it that fashions are assumed to have stayed the same in heaven for thousands of years?

you'd think that after wearing the same boring robe for eternity you'd crave something different.

yet no, angels and god are still wearing the same white onesie they had when they vacationed on earth with abraham.

peacefulpete

Now you are just being silly.

11

Fashion in Heaven

by peacefulpete in

why is it that fashions are assumed to have stayed the same in heaven for thousands of years?

you'd think that after wearing the same boring robe for eternity you'd crave something different.

yet no, angels and god are still wearing the same white onesie they had when they vacationed on earth with abraham.

peacefulpete

Why is it that fashions are assumed to have stayed the same in Heaven for thousands of years? You'd think that after wearing the same boring robe for eternity you'd crave something different. Yet no, angels and God are still wearing the same white onesie they had when they vacationed on earth with Abraham. I'm sure they are comfortable, no concerns about short inseams or elastic waistbands. I imagine they are easy to loosen up after a good hearty meal of manna. No risk being seen with pants button undone!

But now that i think about it the Hindu heavenly beings have no fear of flare or color. They are decked with blues and yellows and greens from head to toe! Some might say fabulous!

I wonder......Luke 4:24:

While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

37

Prepare to get Pelted by Symbolic Hailstones

by raymond frantz in

https://youtu.be/idhmflud3p4?si=9xc4svrhxslduwvz.

so david schafer a member of the teaching commitee and a helper to the governing body has come out yesterday with a new video that goes through the king of the north, the hailstones message and other things in the wake of the possibility of a ww3 and especially now that tensions are escalating with russia so he is making quite a few end time arguments and i will be expanding on those one by one but today let's see what he has about the hailstones message of the end(video) so this is the paragraph in question, paragraph 14 from article 20 of the watchtower 2020 study edition: "sometime after the start of the great tribulation, “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will form a coalition of nations.

(rev.

peacefulpete

Apoc. of Abraham: And He said to me: “What is desired in thine heart I will tell thee, because thou hast sought to see the ten plagues which I have prepared for the heathen and have prepared beforehand at the passing over of the twelfth hour of the earth. Hear what I divulge to thee, so shall it come to pass: the first (is) pain of great distress; the second, conflagration of many cities; the third, destruction and pestilence of animals ; the fourth, hunger of the whole world and of its people9 ; the fifth by destruction among its rulers, destruction by earthquake and the sword; the sixth, multiplication of hail and snow; the seventh, the wild beasts will be their grave; the eighth, hunger and pestilence will alternate with their destruction; the ninth, punishment by the sword and flight in distress; the tenth, thunder and voices and destructive earthquake.

1 Enoch: 14.8 And the vision appeared to me as follows: Behold, clouds called me in the vision, and mist called me. And the path of the stars, and flashes of lightning, hastened me and drove me. And, in the vision, winds caused me to fly, and hastened me, and lifted me up into Heaven.14.9 And I proceeded until I came near a wall, which was made of hailstones, and a tongue of fire surrounded it, and it began to make me afraid.14.10 And I went into the tongue of fire, and came near to a large house, which was built of hailstones, and the wall of that house was like a mosaic of hailstones, and its floor was snow.14.11 Its roof was like the path of the stars, and flashes of lightning, and among them were fiery Cherubim, and their sky was like water.14.12 And there was a fire burning around its wall, and its door was ablaze with fire.

81: And I saw the four angels who have the power to bring the destruction of the world, and I saw the destruction of the great hail, which fell from the sky. And they took their stand at the gates of heaven, and they gave orders to the heavenly hosts to bring forth the winds of destruction."

2 Baruch: And the heavens shall be opened, and the mighty ones shall come forth from their dwelling places, and hail shall fall upon the earth, and the earth shall be filled with the sound of thunder and the voice of the great wrath."

Sib Oracles: And the heavens shall fall, and the mighty hail shall descend on the earth, and the sun shall be darkened.

Test. of Naphtali: I will call down upon them a storm of hail and will send down upon them a great fire."

Jubilees: And the Lord sent a great hailstorm upon the earth, and the children of Noah were afraid."

Unsurprising there was a recurring storm motif including the use of hailstones from heaven to destroy God's enemies among apocalyptic writers.

15

Dip Anyone?

by peacefulpete in

a quick comment regarding how subsequent gospel writers often felt an irresistible need to clarify or expand upon their sources.

in the last supper story, the gospel that came to be named after mark 14 has jesus declare that one of the twelve who eats with him from the same bowl will betray him.

17 and evening having come, he cometh with the twelve,18 and as they are reclining, and eating, jesus said, `verily i say to you -- one of you, who is eating with me -- shall deliver me up.

peacefulpete

HTBWC....Yes we are off topic but, I guess there isn't much more to say on the OP anyway. I think it is unquestionable that cross cultural synthesis took place, not just in the Gospels but as you have elsewhere mentioned, in the Pentateuch through to the present (the Pesach meal rituals). The Homer and Euripides links are undeniably present throughout the Gospel narratives and Acts. More than 20 years ago I posted threads here about the recurring use of the expression 'kicking against the goads' when a mortal opposes a god, as well as story elements like earthquakes and prison escapes etc. The debate is whether this is simple cultural, and idiomatic, even motif exchange or conscious supersessionism that MacDonald suggests. I heartily agree with MacDonald on the layered nature of John. It clearly has been reordered, redacted, and expanded. We have to assume also edited for content.

The expression 'interpretatio Romana' often arises in religious history studies of those times. Parallel gods' names were often used interchangeably, not just names but characteristics and stories as well. Jews did this throughout the diaspora and in fact was an ancient practice, (e.g. El, Baal, Yahweh). Therefore, it becomes a nuanced thing when we see parallels, separating what was consciously commandeered from a less conscious emulation.

Regarding 1 Cor 11, I have wanted to write a thread on that. I've read some quite surprising suggestions.