Posts by pseudoxristos

29

Mourners offended when JWs target them at the cemetary!

by joe_from_kokomo in

friends and 'ex-friends': .

you'll find this little ditty of a news story very amusing.

it seems some overly-zealous sister from the uk was pestering the grieving worldly ones at the local cemetary so much that they got mad and complained to the cemetary owner, who then complained to the kh overseer.

pseudoxristos

Standard operating procedures.

Quotes from a Witness Group on Yahoo:

Hello Friends
A sister in Texas sent me a few tips that have been working well where she lives. This sister is a 'senior sister'. That is, she has reached the age where she must plan ahead for service. She doesn't have the strength that many of us take for granted. As a result, she has prayerfully sought out ways to maximize her strength.
Here are some of the successes she has had.
.
1. Funeral homes.. She gives this advice...It is better not to ask permission to leave literature. Instead use a positive approach like, "We are making a concentrated effort to leave this brochure (or magazine, etc.) with all the funeral homes in the area, and here are your copies. I will return in a few weeks to replenish your supply." When she returns she smiles, and either leaves more brochures or a few copies each of the latest magazines or both. (Of course, the brochure of choice is 'When Someone You Love Dies'. When leaving this brochure for the first time, be sure and highlight the benefits contained in this brochure to comfort grieving ones.) She told me that on the very first funeral home on her list came a request for someone to conduct a quarterly seminar to help those who have lost loved ones in death. It is best to turn this to an elder to handle if it happens in your area. .
2. Nursing homes..
In nursing homes the same brochure will be warmly received by the administration. Perhaps the one to contact is either the Administrator or the Entertainment Director. Also, be sure to offer a free group study of the Bible using either the book The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived or My Book of Bible Stories. (Following this thought my wife has conducted a group study using the Greatest Man book here in Amarillo. Her study now has an average attendance of over 17 to 20. She has found that these folks are looking forward to the study, are learning many Bible truths and are improving in their outlook.) This a great territory that exists in almost every congregation territory. Most will find that the brochure, When Someone You Love Dies, will be well accepted by most nursing homes, as they are mostly at a loss when it comes to offering real comfort to grieving ones.

.
Letter writing is just one of the many ways that we can do witnessing. I have known of sisters and brothers that went through the newspaper looking for obituaries (death announcements) and researched the family members then wrote them a brief letter included the brochure "When Someone You Love Dies". In doing this some have started bible studies. Some cases the individual is just thankful for something that gives hope. Another thing that I have heard about from the newspaper is looking for birth, wedding and engagement announcements. You can include the name and quote from one of our publications, along with scripture quotations, that apply to the situation. Telelphone witnessing is another way to get some time in. My mother used to witness and eventually started studying with one of my dad's sister-in-law over the telephone.

pseudo

108

ROLL CALL!!!!! How many people are on this forum?

by NaruNaruChan in

jw
friends

i'm so curious!

if you see this, sign your name and your location if you want, cuz i wanna know how many people actively view this!

^_^

pseudoxristos

pseudo, Broken Arrow, Ok USA

102

SEE THE REAL FACE OF THE WAR IN IRAQ, SEE THE HORROR

by justhuman in

since the media in u.s show nothing about the war in iraq, and bush's administration censor everything that is "bad' for the puplic, here are some shocking photos of how bush is setting free the iraqi people.

similar view of how watchtower's god will treat everyone who disagrees with them in armageddon.

bush does not care about the iraqi people.

pseudoxristos

I’m glad that the anti-war protesters can freely voice their opinions. It would be very distressing if they could not. I am thankful that I live in a somewhat free society.

I do not like war. I believe that every option should be explored before choosing the option of war. It is possible that more time and more inspections could have forced Saddam to comply with the UN sanctions. But, it is more likely that he would have just continued to play the same games that he has been playing for the last 12 years. Ultimately something would have to be done.

There is no denying that the US may have interests other than destroying Saddam’s WMD and freeing the Iraqi people. The US is focusing attention on these concepts, to rally support for the war. Most who support the war effort, realize that there are hidden agendas, but accept the two main reasons a sufficient in justifying this action.

It seems that anti-war protesters are more concerned about putting down the current administration than protesting the war. Sure, we all had fun complaining about the antics of the last President, but I don’t remember the absolute hatred that I’m currently seeing toward this President. Refresh my memory if I’m wrong, but was there this much hatred directed at Clinton administration during the Bosnia action?

I’m just glad that Saddam isn’t our president, or we would all be complaining.

Whoops, I forgot, if Saddam were president, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

pseudo

34

what would you do if you could live forever and ever and ever?

by Zep in

jw
friends

you know, living forever sounds really great.

but really, what would life be like without death?

death really helps to define who we are.

pseudoxristos

How long would it take to tell someone how old you are after you have lived long into eternity?

Answer: An eternity.

Think about it, eventually you wouldn't be able to give your age.

Yeah, I'm 908904149398040134919840395901238951320189023149319028490134101381895903290290210....... years old

pseudo

34

what would you do if you could live forever and ever and ever?

by Zep in

jw
friends

you know, living forever sounds really great.

but really, what would life be like without death?

death really helps to define who we are.

pseudoxristos

I would do absolutely nothing. The chances of having some horrific accident after a billion years, seems inevitable. Many people can't even make it 80 years without accidentally killing or disfiguring themselves. I don't have a problem taking certain risk now because I know that I will only live about 80 years, so what if I screw up and accidentally kill myself a little early. It's not like I would be risking eternity.

What would prevent someone from accidentally getting themselves trapped somewhere such as a cave for eternity? Give people eternity, and I'm sure they will get themselves in some really stupid situations.

pseudo

11

The Image Of the Beast

by Rick_A in

this is just a quick study i did on the image of the beast and is not 100% fact as we know nothing is for sure until we actually see it come to pass.

<b>the image of the beast</b>

its interesting that many people have have tried to come up with many ideas of who or what the image of the beast is.

pseudoxristos

Rick,

Although I found your article interesting, I have a hard time believing that the book of Revelation has any prophetic value. The problem is not really with Revelation but goes much deeper. Revelation borrows much of its imagery from the book of Daniel, which on the surface seems to contain some extraordinary prophecies. Unfortunately it can be shown that the book of Daniel is nothing more than a pseudepigraphic work

http://www.2think.org/hundredsheep/bible/comment/daniel.shtml
Although the book itself claims to be the record of Daniel in Babylon, internal and external evidence reveals that it was written in Jerusalem about the year 164 BCE. Technically, the book belongs to the class of texts known as pseudepigraphia, since it is attributed to a legendary figure, while in reality it was written at a much later time by an unknown author. Other books in this genre include the book of 1 Enoch, the Assumption of Moses, and the Apocalypse of John, although the latter was written much closer to the time of its namesake.

Ignoring for a moment the problems with Daniel, I also found the following point of interest. Much of your article centers on Dan 11:31 and Mark 13:14: the "abomination of desolation".

31 And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
Dan 11:31 (Darby's)
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not, (he that reads let him consider it,) then let those in Judaea flee to the mountains;
Mark 13:14 (Darby's)

The author of Daniel was most likely referring to the incident wherein Antiochus entered the Temple and erected an altar to Zeus in the holy place. There are vivid descriptions of the pollution of the temple to be found in 1 and 2 Maccabees which tell how Antiochus "arrogantly entered the temple" (1 Macc1:21), profaning the temple, polluting the sanctuary, then repressing the cultus by prohibiting sacrifices and offerings.

Mark's reference to the "abomination of desolation" is quite interesting. The phrase, which follows "he that reads let him consider it", is completely out of place considering that this occurs in the middle of Jesus' speech. The other phrase "then let those in Judaea flee to the mountains", suggests that Mark is most likely finding a second fulfillment in the siege of Jerusalem. Luke 21:20 also supports this view.

So in essence there has already been a first and second fulfillment of this so-called prophecy. To suggest a third fulfillment in the last days (or in our time) is stretching things way to far.

I'm really just wondering if your study of prophecy has revealed that most scholars consider Daniel to have been written much latter than the traditional Christian view. If so, do you have reasonable evidence to support the traditional 5th or 6th century date?

pseudo

113

What's The STRANGEST Thing You've Seen At A Kingdom Hall?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i saw a fight break out on the platform between an elder and a unbelieving husband who accused the elder of f---ing his wife.

he then threw the lectern on the floor and pushed the elder.

it was cool.......

pseudoxristos

A brother gave a talk in the Wednesday night meeting; one of the key points of the talk was make sure that you pronounced everything correctly. In just about every other sentence he would use the word “pronunciation.” Every time he said it, he would pronounce it wrong. The talk seemed to drag on forever. Finally when he was done the school conductor had to come to the podium and tell him how he did on his talk. Everyone had a good laugh when the conductor informed him of the correct way to pronounce the word “pronunciation.” I felt very sorry for the guy.

pseudo

63

Virgin Birth Claim Disproves Biblical Inspiration

by AlanF in

many bible believers claim that the old testament contains over 300 so-called messianic prophecies.

however, a careful look at such claims shows that at least 80% of these have absolutely no connection with jesus, or with events beyond what the ancient writer was concerned with.. take, for example, the famous example of the supposed virgin birth of jesus.

this is based on the text of matthew 1:18-23 (nasb):18 now the birth of jesus christ was as follows: when his mother mary had been betrothed to joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the holy spirit.

pseudoxristos

Horus was born of the virgin Isis-Meri on December 25th in a cave/manger with his birth being announced by a star in the East and attended by three wise men.
His earthly father was named "Seb" ("Joseph").
He was of royal descent.
At age 12, he was a child teacher in the Temple, and at 30, he was baptized, having disappeared for 18 years.
Horus was baptized in the river Eridanus or Iarutana (Jordan) by "Anup the Baptizer" ("John the Baptist"), who was decapitated.
He had 12 disciples, two of whom were his "witnesses" and were named "Anup" and "Aan" (the two "Johns").

Although I consider myself an atheist/agnostic, I found it somewhat disturbing when looking into the claims concerning the parallels between Jesus and the pagan deities such as Horus. As Undisfellowshiped pointed out, there are many sites that list these similarities, and none that I’ve seen, have sufficient documentation to back up the claims.

I realize that Mythology is a complicated, but bold statements such as these should have well documented proof to back them up, otherwise they do more harm than good. The proof does not have to be extensive, maybe some ancient text (in context), with explanations where the concepts are vague.

I was able to find information on the parallel concerning the three Wise Men. It seems that the three stars in Orion’s belt can also be referred to as the “Three Kings”. During the season in which Horus was born, these “Three Kings” were ascending in the eastern sky. So, in a manner it could be said that three “Wise Men” were in attendance.

I also found information on the “twelve disciples”. The twelve zodiac signs represent Horus’ twelve disciples.

I can see how early Christians could have adapted these myths, but the way the information is presented makes it seem as if the parallels are direct and exact, instead of indistinct and fuzzy.

Christians will definitely protest and deny this information, especially if the proper documentation is not there. Anyone that presents this information without proper documentation is just as guilty as the early Christians who stretched the concepts in the Old Testament (such as the virgin birth) to fit their means.

pseudo

63

Virgin Birth Claim Disproves Biblical Inspiration

by AlanF in

many bible believers claim that the old testament contains over 300 so-called messianic prophecies.

however, a careful look at such claims shows that at least 80% of these have absolutely no connection with jesus, or with events beyond what the ancient writer was concerned with.. take, for example, the famous example of the supposed virgin birth of jesus.

this is based on the text of matthew 1:18-23 (nasb):18 now the birth of jesus christ was as follows: when his mother mary had been betrothed to joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the holy spirit.

pseudoxristos

Alan,

On the notion that the writer of Matthew quoted from the LXX, the Watchtower and a number of other commentators would disagree with it, since they argue -- perhaps correctly -- that Matthew was originally written in Hebrew.

Since most scholars believe that the writers of Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source while writing their gospels, is it really likely that Matthew was written in Hebrew? Just curious, because I never bought into the idea that Matthew was first written in Hebrew.

Also, I never realized that Matthew and Luke are the only ones to mention the Virgin birth. The following is from the “Interpreter's One Volume Commentary”.

The Hebrew original of the verse quoted from Isa 7:14 speaks of almah, i.e. a "young woman" who shall conceive and bear a son. It is the period of conception and birth, not her virginity, that is of importance for Isaiah. The Greek version of the OT in wide use among Jews from the first cent. B.C. on (the LXX) had translated almah by the Greek word parthenos-virgin. Matt. uses this translation, since it suits his purpose of showing that Jesus was divinely conceived in fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures. Although Luke has his own version of the extraordinary birth of Jesus, he does not quote or refer to the virgin birth passage from Isa. Neither Mark, or John, nor Paul has any hint of the virgin birth story; it seems to have become important for the church only in the 2nd cent. as a way of combating the charge that Jesus was not truly human. These stories insisted that he was truly born, although they also served to place Jesus at least on par with the pagan saviour-gods for whom a miraculous birth was claimed. Indeed, the idea of Jesus' virgin birth does not figure at all in the rest of Matt.; it is the conviction that Jesus is Emmanuel...God with us that is more significant than the circumstances of his birth. (Interpreter's One Volume Commentary)

Is it possible that Virgin birth concept was also found in the Q document used by Matthew and Luke?

pseudo

63

Virgin Birth Claim Disproves Biblical Inspiration

by AlanF in

many bible believers claim that the old testament contains over 300 so-called messianic prophecies.

however, a careful look at such claims shows that at least 80% of these have absolutely no connection with jesus, or with events beyond what the ancient writer was concerned with.. take, for example, the famous example of the supposed virgin birth of jesus.

this is based on the text of matthew 1:18-23 (nasb):18 now the birth of jesus christ was as follows: when his mother mary had been betrothed to joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the holy spirit.

pseudoxristos

The fact that Matthew was using the Septuagint when quoting Isaiah, brings up another interesting point.

Witnesses (and others) believe that Matthew wrote his gospel originally in Hebrew. If this is actually true, Why would a he find it necessary to quote from the Greek Septuagint?

pseudo