Posts by JoenB75

20

Am I Expected to Become One of Jehovah’s Witnesses if I Study the Bible With Them?

by Ron.W. in

(ps.

JoenB75

I can imagine some JWs like to have a friendly talk and fill out some hours on the report if they still have that. But I can easily also remember that some elder will ask for progress. My mother had such "studies" and received critic for not making progress with the people she was studying with. I think it even ended with her still visiting these people but not being allowed to report it.

6

JW, soul and free will

by inbetween in

good morning,.

when it comes to the question of free will, any jw will ascertain the existence of free will as needed for any moral issue regarding god, the bible etc.

without free will the whole foundation of what their belief is based on will collapse.. now atheists, at least thats my understanding, deny also the existence of free will.

JoenB75

In his sermon "Free will - a slave" Spurgeon basically pins down free will belief as a rebellious idea. Being a Calvinist believing in (T)otal Depravity, he sees man as unable to come to Christ due to his evil nature. The will would certainly not help, he says; "The will is well known by all to be directed by the understanding, to be moved by motives, to be guided by other parts of the soul, and to be a secondary thing. Philosophy and religion both discard at once the very thought of free-will;". Or as I say the will is motivated by (too) many things.

Although I don’t believe man is totally depraved, I see free will as a wishful idea that is a double edged sword concerning the way we see ourselves and others; we may feel high and mighty about our free will power if we have success and then if we don’t, the blame is all on us down to our "free will".

Not all believers rejecting free will believe in immortal soulism. A. E. Knoch and the Concordant group associated with him taught (teaches - the group is still there, he is of course long gone) mortal soulism and universal salvation.

34

Memorial invite

by JoenB75 in

now they start inviting to their "commemorate the death of jesus" event.

it always makes me a bit sad.

i don’t think i could endure to watch it myself today.

JoenB75

Now they start inviting to their "commemorate the death of Jesus" event. It always makes me a bit sad. I don’t think I could endure to watch it myself today. Believers who demonstratively reject the flesh and blood of Jesus by letting it pass by. And why? Because of a whack speculative doctrine about two classes of believers. Although I don’t think it matters in the end, it should steer the hearts of the few believers left on earth.

63

Is Bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding the prelude to the great tribulation?

by Disillusioned JW in

is bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding a prelude to the great tribulation?.

full disclosure: i still don't believe in the bible's claims about the existence of the supernatural, even of jehovah god (i'm an atheist and a scientific/philosophical naturalist), but i am asking this question because recent events are starting to seem (to me) to fit well the description of some prophecies in the bible.

consider the following.. several hours ago (on 11-26-2021) as i was about to enter a local fred meyer store of my city (in suburb or small city in the metro area of a large city) a person i know told me that a moment earlier a person left the store in a hurry with a cart load up with unpaid merchandise (i think i was told it was groceries but i don't remember that for sure).

JoenB75

Adam Clarke respected that Jesus spoke of catastrophes using the exaggerated language of the prophets of things that would happen in the timespan of the generation he spoke to

63

Is Bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding the prelude to the great tribulation?

by Disillusioned JW in

is bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding a prelude to the great tribulation?.

full disclosure: i still don't believe in the bible's claims about the existence of the supernatural, even of jehovah god (i'm an atheist and a scientific/philosophical naturalist), but i am asking this question because recent events are starting to seem (to me) to fit well the description of some prophecies in the bible.

consider the following.. several hours ago (on 11-26-2021) as i was about to enter a local fred meyer store of my city (in suburb or small city in the metro area of a large city) a person i know told me that a moment earlier a person left the store in a hurry with a cart load up with unpaid merchandise (i think i was told it was groceries but i don't remember that for sure).

JoenB75

Of course our civilisation will one day fall and things go back to the stone ages if God so desires. Right now the West seems 1914like hellbend on war with the monarch of Russia. They dont respect him and they think by provoking and humiliating him that he will somehow bend to them. I am pretty sure that will not happen. But I have to laugh when the WT these days promote the idea that the king of the North in Daniel is Russia. It resembles a modern typical lack of historical insights and perspective. Just ridiculous .

14

Suit, shirt and tie

by JoenB75 in

i always hated suit, shirt and tie and wondered why men of all walks of life should be forced to wear these uncomfortable clothes and spend the money on them.

it should be remembered some of the worst people wear them, like creepy joe, putin, dirty corrupt frauds in business, law etc.

and of course al capone.

JoenB75

Sounds like you all got tired of it. I consider going to a funeral and wonder what to wear though, but I will probably just wear a nice dark jeans and jacket.

14

Suit, shirt and tie

by JoenB75 in

i always hated suit, shirt and tie and wondered why men of all walks of life should be forced to wear these uncomfortable clothes and spend the money on them.

it should be remembered some of the worst people wear them, like creepy joe, putin, dirty corrupt frauds in business, law etc.

and of course al capone.

JoenB75

I always hated suit, shirt and tie and wondered why men of all walks of life should be forced to wear these uncomfortable clothes and spend the money on them. It should be remembered some of the worst people wear them, like Creepy Joe, Putin, dirty corrupt frauds in business, law etc. And of course Al Capone. With an ultra conservative leadership of old men, perhaps it is not so hard to imagine why this is considered "decent" and "meeting wear" in JW. What is your relationship to suit, shirt and tie?

24

Snakes walked on legs till the Eden curse Watchtower belief till 1974!!

by Witness 007 in

watchtower 1964 page 352 "....before god cursed it the snake had legs that elevated it off the ground.

god transformed its body so that it ceased to have legs and could move on its belly.".

book "gods eternal purpose"1974 - "god did not put a curse on the whole serpent family...it had only been victimised by satan...".

JoenB75

So they turned more dualist in the 70s. I remember my parents talked about the tiny hind legs as evidence for the serpents once having legs. We also today have skinks with long bodies and ridiculously small legs that look a bit like that (supercute and hardy pets btw)

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JoenB75

So I guess this is further evidence that atheists have moral standards in them too lol. Of course they have, we all form a sense of what is right and wrong to some extent. He is a smart communicator but I quickly gave up watching him because his info and critic of JWs were always intermingled with atheist evangelism. But people give him money for doing videos and now he feels judged for using them to fill the void in him. I understand his perspective. Also it must be remembered that while prostitution is illegal in Thailand, it is a booming industry if not for covid and the police will never arrest a tourist for buying. So once he is there, it is a dirt cheap safe space.

65

Ukraine - Nato - US crisis

by mikeflood in

don't understand....but this crisis in ukraine seems to be getting out of control....i mean, everybody knows how to start a war..... by the way, as always, people at the borg are having a field day.....

JoenB75

Funny I have often said to myself that the world will pay for how Trump was treated.