Posts by Rob Crompton

60

what ever happened to the king of the north and king of south?

by nowwhat? in

after the daniel book came out, nothing has ben said about it in at least 10 years.

did that prohecy get thrown out the window when the soviet union fell?.

Rob Crompton

Londo, I can't recall what the Daniel book actually said about Napoleon, but he is pivotal to the modern flourishing of end-time prohecy speculation. In 1701 one Robert Fleming published a book, The Rise and Fall of the Papacy, in which he interpreted the Daniel prophecies as indicating the demise of the Papacy. He believed that the prophecies pinpointed the end of the 18th century and predicted the fal of both the French aristocracy and the Papacy. So when the French General Berthier marched on Rome and took the Pope prisoner during the course of the French Revolution, it looked likeFleming was spot on. The result was immense interest in the prophecies, attempting to identify the time for the great climax of human history and the second coming. (See: Counting the Days to Armageddon, p22; and C. O. Jonsson, The Gentile Times Reconsidered, p140.)

This began the era of the flourishing of end-times movements, beginning within the Protestant mainstream and eventually being abandoned to the sectarian fringe. Rusell was, in effect, the last in this line of interpreters.

Rob Crompton

http://snigsfoot.blogspot.com

14

NWT Matt 18:2 Child referred to as "it"

by Red Piller in

the nwt translation renders matt 18:2 this way,.

"so, calling a young child to him, he set it in their midst ".

calling a child "it" made me curious.

Rob Crompton

Yes, "It's a girl"/"It's a boy," are fine. But: "It's a girl. She's playing"/"It's a boy. He's playing."

So, what if we want to translate something like, "Calling a grandparent to him, he set ___ in their midst." Him, her or it? "It" doesn't work here which is why I would opt for the way that NRSV renders Mt 18:2.

14

NWT Matt 18:2 Child referred to as "it"

by Red Piller in

the nwt translation renders matt 18:2 this way,.

"so, calling a young child to him, he set it in their midst ".

calling a child "it" made me curious.

Rob Crompton

This comes from the fact that the Greek word "paidion" ( = little boy/child) is neuter and takes a neuter pronoun. Translating into a language such as English which does not have grammatically gendered nouns (only semantically gendered) with a neuter pronoun is more likely to betray a lack of appreciation for the principle of translating idiomatic Greek into idiomatic English, than a desire to duck the gender exclusiveness issue.

NRSV renders this verse: "He called a child, whom he put among them."

So, ten out of ten to NRSV and seven out of ten to NWT

21

The Guardian hints strongly at why cults like Watchtower get off so lightly with the UK press...

by cedars in

jw
friends

this article explained a great deal.... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2013/jan/14/cant-read-scientology-book-uk.

now i know a main reason why it is so difficult to get uk newspapers to pick up a good jw-related story.. it's not just because jws are a tiny religion.

after all, scientology is arguably even smaller than jws, and they get more media exposure than we do.. it seems the extreme libel laws may be predominantly to blame for the watchtower's successful evasion of newpaper and television reports in the uk.. .

Rob Crompton

Good reason to sign the libel law refrom petition:

www.libelreform.org/sign

newspapers and publishers often steer very clear of anything that might provoke a libel suit - so the WT wouldn't even have to threaten to sue if a newspaper thinks they might. They just don't run the story. Simple.

25

I need some help ... references needed

by EdenOne in

i would appreciate your help, please.. my son is approaching an age where he must ponder about going to university or not.

i know that the elders in my congregation will put some pressure into him as to not take it.

as a ms, i will also be put under pressure as to not give him any encouragement in that regards.

Rob Crompton

If your son has the chance to go to university do encourage him to go! Encourage him to choose a course of study which really interests him, which he really wants to study not just for the benefits it may bring, but for its own sake.

The very bedst thing I did after leaving the JWs ( some year after, actually) was to go to university. It is a wonderful, life-enhancing time. I get so angry when I think how folk are made to pass up on such great opportunities.

12

any info on becoming an ordained minister

by fakesmile in

does it vary by state?

can i use my jwness on a resume?

is there a test?

Rob Crompton

Different churches and denominations have different procedures. Here's a brief outline of my own experience of becoming a Methodist minister:

Having decided fairly firmly that I wanted to enter ministry I began attending the local Methodist church. I did not say anything at all about ministry for several months. Then, when I was sure that this was right for me, I had a quiet word with the minister who was very encouraging and supportive. In the British Methodist church the first step to ministry has to be becoming an accredited lay preacher, a process which will take at least one year, often much longer because it involves studying and passing exams as well as developing the skills involved in leading servies in church.

I began as a lay preacher "on tiral" in 1982 and was fully accredited the following year. I then applied, through the local church circuit, to be considered as a candidate for ministry. This process involved appearing before various assessment panels at all levels of the church from local to national. I was finally accepted for ordination training in 1984 and allocated to theological college in Cambridge for training which included studying for a degree in Biblical Studies at the University. I was ordained in 1987 and took up my first post as minster of a small group of Methodist churches in County Durham.

Becoming a minister is a long process - don't try to take short cuts because both you and your church need to be very sure that this is the right thing to do. And play down your experience as a JW - it won't count for anything but it might work against you!

Rob Crompton

http://snigsfoot.blogspot.com

27

Does fear of death equate to need for God?

by Monsieur in

read a very interesting opinion article on cnn last night.

"why i raise my kids without god".. .

the writer aluded to the fear of the possibility of one's life ending forever (along with our beloved children's).

Rob Crompton

Why would complete non-existence after life and death be any different from complete non-existence before being born and living?

22

The term: To disfellowship in spanish congregations...

by suavojr in

in the english congregations they used to announce that brother x has been disfellowshipped.

but in the spanish congregations the announcement was made using the word expulsado (spanish)= expel in english.

when i look up the word disfellowship, this is what i found:.

Rob Crompton

The basic meaning of excommunication in the catholic traditions is to exclude someone from recieving communion/mass - i.e, the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. So, really all JWs except the so-called anointed are excommunicated!

21

Apocripha -What is it good for?

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

besides the usual suspects that appear on some bibles (1 and 2 maccabeans, wisdom, judith) what are some other apocripha books that exist out there?

i mean besides the so called gnostic gospels.

why have they been ruled out from the cannon?

Rob Crompton

Have a look at The Apocryphal Jesus ( J K Elliott)

These apocryphal documents are vital evidence of the range of beliefs of the early Christian community and th stories which they told - something to bear in mind when trying to get back to the beliefs of the early church as though that would be the same thing as arriving at truth. Clearly those early folk did not all believe the same doctrines. They had something like a standard set of doctrines imposed long after the time of Jesus but have continued to disagree with one another ever since.

Rob Crompton

24

Evidence regarding Daniel 11 & Antiochus IV

by Bobcat in

i was doing research on daniel 8 and 11. what i was wondering was if there was any evidence that the jews saw daniel 8 and 11 fulfilled in antiochus iv.. the explained fulfillments (re: antiochus; non-wt explanations) make a lot of sense, but what specifically i was wondering was if the jews (after the time of antiochus iv) saw the daniel prophecies as being fulfilled in him?

or if there are any threads that discuss this, a link would be appreciated.. thank you in advance.. take care.

Rob Crompton

Josephus (Antiquities 10.10.4) reflects the fairly widely held belief that Daniel 11 describes events both at the time of Antiochus IV and during the first century.

It seems to have been widely accepted that up to verse 35 of chapter 11 the reference is to Antiochus but whilst the rest of the chapter appears to predict the eventual outcome of his campaigns, the fact that nothing else from that period fits gives two options:

Either, the rest of the chapter was yet future and open to speculation.

Or, at this point the writing switches from reporting dressed up as prophecy, to (failed) prediction.

The latter option gives us a clear date for the writing of Daniel in the form that has come down to us - and, indeed, is the clearest and most precise indication of the date of writing of any of the books of scripture.

Rob Crompton