Humans are typically pretty decent without religion or with. (I know you think that means a God made them) However ideologically driven movements/religions redefine morality in the interest of the group, not the greater peace of society.
peacefulpete
JoinedPosts by peacefulpete
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31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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peacefulpete
Ok, then you believe atheists and Christians as people are moral equals.
. Atheists and Religionists with cultlike ideologies and authority of the State are a recipe for oppression. The churches that had the power to oppress perceived 'heretics' or nonconformists have always used it.
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31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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peacefulpete
Are you really going to argue that Christians are no worse than atheists? That's a strange argument to make by someone who claims Christians are morally superior. But, since you brought it up, yes, ideologically blinded atheists (Leninists, Khmer nationalists etc.) are every bit as dangerous as ideologically blinded religionists. -
31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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peacefulpete
Imagine if the WT somehow got political power of the state. If technology would allow it, it looks like they wish to carpet bomb cities and kill everyone who are not JW’s
We don't have to imagine very hard, as we have the record of history of when the Catholic church (or Lutherans or Puritans etc.) had the power of the State.
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31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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peacefulpete
There is nothing especially peaceful or loving in the words of 2 Peter.
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies,....bringing swift destruction on themselves. ..... Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell.... putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; ..... if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, ... if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; .....to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment..... This is especially true of those who ....despise authority (church leaders).
But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish..... These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
Or if you prefer you can read the same material in the book of Jude, which was the source for 2 Peter.
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31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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peacefulpete
It says God wants everyone to repent and live, ....
And what did the protoOrthodox writer mean by "repent" other than become a Christian of the same sect as himself?
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31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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peacefulpete
We should get back to that mentality,......
Who are 'we'? Are you yet feigning being a JW?
the Bible clearly states that God wishes all to attain to repentance and be saved.
That phrase is lifted from a pseudonymously written epistle offering an excuse for the destruction of the world to not yet have happened as promised. It amounts to the very same thing as the WT overlapping generation drivel. The writer of 2 Peter wasn't renouncing the destruction of the world but by indefinitely delaying the promised destruction for the sake of a vaguely defined greater good rendered the original promise effectively meaningless.
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31
A gospel of LOVE or a gospel of HATE?
by JanH in" (the watchtower, 10/1 1961, p. 596; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 11/15 1952, p. 703; bold added).
" (the watchtower, 10/1 1952, p. 599; bold added).
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peacefulpete
Christianity at its core is a Jekyll and Hyde affair. It was borne out of hostility and oppression. Hundreds of years of militant Jewish idealism followed by unspeakable horrors left an indelible mark of the new faith. Christians, like their Jewish predecessors, wished for peace and love but more often than not practiced intolerance and inflexibility. Peaceful Christians, if not an oxymoron, are an anomaly. Most all Christian faiths speak a good game about peace but harbor fantasies of hellfire or world destruction.
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Did the WT Policy on Lying Bother You When You Were a JW?
by Sea Breeze inhere's the wt standard for lying: "while malicious lying is definitely condemned in the bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it" - insight pp.
244-245. vs. websters dictionary:.
lie, noun.
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peacefulpete
Thinking back, the issue never felt terribly shocking. I assumed it was intended to save lives, and after all doesn't everyone accept that lies can save lives. Saving reputations however is a different thing. When deception is done to save face or conceal embarrassing facts, then it is no longer noble. It is just plain old lying.
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What is the Craziest Thing You Are Aware Of Someone Being Disfellowshipped For?
by Sea Breeze ini knew a lady who was disfellowshipped for 20 years for smoking.
she finally went back to the kh and since they couldn't find her paperwork, (all the former elders were dead) she was allowed back in without reinstatement.
no one even remembered her.
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peacefulpete
To my shame, I was party to disfellowshipping a poor woman, whose nonJW wife divorced her to facilitate getting immigration papers to the US. At the time it was easier for single able-bodied men to apply for VISAs than families. They were in reality still married and a loving family of 4. This was a third world country, and she had no means of support other than her husband's subsistence wages. She remained living at home and engaging in normal activities, I was sick about it even then. She was balling when the body demanded she not return home to her husband. I often think about my role and can only hope she found a new life elsewhere.