Ethos, does the elders book say that they can send someone to a professional? Oh wait...you're not allowed to look at that book. I wonder why?
Christ Alone
JoinedPosts by Christ Alone
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111
WT Elders school: The WTS has progressed from just plain stupid to dangerously stupid
by sir82 infresh off the recent 1-day elders school.
to keep things readable i'll post "highlights" over the next several days in different topics.
point 1: they have progressed from "just plain" stupid to dangerously stupid.. .
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111
WT Elders school: The WTS has progressed from just plain stupid to dangerously stupid
by sir82 infresh off the recent 1-day elders school.
to keep things readable i'll post "highlights" over the next several days in different topics.
point 1: they have progressed from "just plain" stupid to dangerously stupid.. .
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Christ Alone
Obviously the elders can use their discernment and recommend professional help
Ther is nothing OBVIOUS in the elder arrangement. It may be said that elders can use their discretion to recommend professional help (although now that I type that, I'm not sure that it HAS been said). But they do not. They follow the book. Everything has a rule. If they wanted elders to recommend professional help to those that come to them with suicidal issues, it would have been in the insructions given.
Ethos, why is the rate of suicide higher with JWs than in almost any other group? Maybe because of the internal resolution of ALL matters. Child molestation? Don't get the WORLD involved. Keep it within Jehovah's organization. Suicide? Give scriptural counsel and keep it within Jehovah's organization.
I'd like to remark on what Wing Commander said. He said that CHRISTENDOM actually helps others to get professional help. The church that I serve at does that very thing. We have a fund that is used to financially support those that encounter rough times. Whether that be help with bills, food, or medical help. They can be assured that the church will fully pay for help. Can Jehovah's TRUE organization say the same? Of course not.
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111
WT Elders school: The WTS has progressed from just plain stupid to dangerously stupid
by sir82 infresh off the recent 1-day elders school.
to keep things readable i'll post "highlights" over the next several days in different topics.
point 1: they have progressed from "just plain" stupid to dangerously stupid.. .
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Christ Alone
Unbelievable...how many more suicides are going to have to happen before they realize that some people need professional help?
That's such a huge issue. This is what makes it a cult. This is a religion that is damaging and ruining lives. It's not just wrong. It's dangerous. Many religions are biblically wrong, but they do not harm others directly. But this one is keeping people depressed and I would say they are somewhat directly responsible for many of the suicides in the congregation.
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Did the Apostle Paul exist
by Unbrainwashed publisher1 inhas any one ever found secular documented proof of the apostle paul's existence?.
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Christ Alone
Several early Christian followers quoted Paul and referred to him OUTSIDE of the NT. Some of the more convincing evidence for the Apostle Paul's existence is found in the following ancient literature. Clement of Rome cites Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth (c. 95 C.E.). Irenaeus (140-202 C.E.) cites Paul in his work "Against Heresies." There is also a description of Paul's physical appearance in the apocryphal work "Acts of Paul and Thecla." Then, of course, there is Peter's reference to Paul in 2 Peter 3:15 and Luke's discussion of Paul's ministry in the book of Acts.
Clement of Alexandria implied that he had personal acquaintece with Paul. He wrote: " "Let us set before our eyes the good Apostles . ...By reason of jealousy and strife Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance. After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and West, we won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place, having been found a notable pattern of patient endurance."
Ignatius of Antioch also referred to Paul around 97AD. He said: " "I do not enjoin you as Peter and Paul did. They were Apostles, I am a convict; they were free, but I am a slave to this very hour."
Polycarp also referred to Paul: " "For neither am I, nor is any other like unto me, able to follow the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul, who when he came among you taught face to face with the men of that day the word which concerneth truly carefully and surely; who also, when he was absent, wrote a letter unto you, into the which if ye look diligently, ye shall be able to be builded up unto the faith given to you, which is the mother of us all, while hope followeth after and love goeth before--love toward God and Christ and toward our neighbor. For if any man be occupied with these, he hath fulfilled the commandment of righteousness; for he that hath love is far from all sin."
OUTSIDE of the church, there isn't anything. But that doesn't surprise me as Paul did not tend to focus on himself, but rejected the idea. They were not to follow Paul, Apollos, or Peter. They were to follow Jesus.
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49
Christ Alone vs IsaacAustin (blood)
by isaacaustin inthe wt arbitrarily imposes a ban of 'whole blood' on its members, resulting in heartache, difficulty/delay in receiving medical care, and in many cases death.
rather than focus on the relatively new allowance of blood fractions and the utter flaws in that logic to wt policy, we will focus on blood transfusions involving 'whole blood'.. christ alone, the restrictions on blood found in the ot, or hebrew scriptures if you will, were dietary restrictions on the eating of animal blood, and nothing more.
the mosaic law forbade the eating of animal blood, as it was to be poured out on the ground.
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Christ Alone
In the case of a blood transfusion no life has been taken and so blood is of no more religious significance than the blood of a dead animal.
Then how can we explain the case of Acts 15 when the law had clearly been finished. There were to be no more animal sacrifices. An animals life was no longer taken to atone for the sins of the people. But yet, still, Jehovah's people were to abstain from blood.
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49
Christ Alone vs IsaacAustin (blood)
by isaacaustin inthe wt arbitrarily imposes a ban of 'whole blood' on its members, resulting in heartache, difficulty/delay in receiving medical care, and in many cases death.
rather than focus on the relatively new allowance of blood fractions and the utter flaws in that logic to wt policy, we will focus on blood transfusions involving 'whole blood'.. christ alone, the restrictions on blood found in the ot, or hebrew scriptures if you will, were dietary restrictions on the eating of animal blood, and nothing more.
the mosaic law forbade the eating of animal blood, as it was to be poured out on the ground.
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Christ Alone
Also, according to "Questions from readers", The Watchtower , November 1, 1961, pages 669–670, we are to check with our butcher to make sure that the animal was properly drained of its blood.
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49
Christ Alone vs IsaacAustin (blood)
by isaacaustin inthe wt arbitrarily imposes a ban of 'whole blood' on its members, resulting in heartache, difficulty/delay in receiving medical care, and in many cases death.
rather than focus on the relatively new allowance of blood fractions and the utter flaws in that logic to wt policy, we will focus on blood transfusions involving 'whole blood'.. christ alone, the restrictions on blood found in the ot, or hebrew scriptures if you will, were dietary restrictions on the eating of animal blood, and nothing more.
the mosaic law forbade the eating of animal blood, as it was to be poured out on the ground.
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Christ Alone
Very good question, cofty. I will have to do some research and get back to you with Jehovah's answer. (Remember using that at the door?)
I suppose that hunting should be forbidden as well since the animal would be dead before the bleeding process?
This must mean that Jehovah's command to abstain from eating blood would only apply to not attempting to drain the animals blood. Since we know that there is no way to COMPLETELY drain an animals blood, even in proper bleeding, then we have to look again at Jehovah's Law.
He DOES allow the eating of meat, which means that he recognizes that some blood would still remain in the animal. Since he allows us to eat meat, his prohibition must mean something else. Not attempting to drain the blood would be a violation of Jehovah's command.
I suppose to continue to follow Jehovah's law even greater... I will also soon not be consuming milk, eggs, red meat or ANY other product that contains parts of blood. I will also not allow my children to breast feed, so as to not to have them mistakenly violate God's command.
I also will not own a cat. Cats notoriously eat smaller animals, and these animals have not been properly drained of the blood. I will not allow such a wrongdoing animal into my home.
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Interesting quotes from the Feb 15th Watchtower (it's not a cult at all, honest!)...
by cedars inwell it's the 15th today, so i thought i'd check to see whether the feb 15th watchtower has been uploaded yet... and sure enough it has.. here is the link to the pdf.... http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/5a/w_e_20130215.pdf.
i've breezed through it and noticed that it is littered with odd stuff that would scream "cult!
" to an outsider, but which your average indoctrinated jw will just lap up as always.. here is my pick of the quotes.... the first article, entitled "this is our spiritual heritage" gives a very flattering whistle-stop tour of the history of god's organization - from abraham to tynedale to rutherford (bypassing russell altogether) before explaining that nothing will ever thwart jehovah's purposes.
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Christ Alone
Wow, cedars...just wow... To take an overly used WT term, there are so many things to glean from this.
This comment, as a believer, really struck me:
"If a person clings to false doctrines, such as the Trinity and the immortality of the soul, he cannot benefit from the ransom. But we can."
Why THESE "false" doctrines? This statement cuts off many of those that they used to view as the Faithful Slave. They've long said that men like William Tyndale and the Lollards were part of this slave class because they spread God's Word. But these same people also believed in some of the teachings the WT condemns. So did they not benefit from the ransom? What scripture can be possibily used to support this? As far as I know, the scriptures do not talk about NOT benefiting from the ransom because of misunderstanding a teaching. 1John 5:1 makes it clear that it is only belief in Jesus that saves us. Not NOT believing certain doctrines.
So did the early JWs not benefit from the ransom when they were worshiping Jesus? Was THIS doctrine ok even though they now believe it is wrong? Why the Trinity and the Soul particularly?
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49
Christ Alone vs IsaacAustin (blood)
by isaacaustin inthe wt arbitrarily imposes a ban of 'whole blood' on its members, resulting in heartache, difficulty/delay in receiving medical care, and in many cases death.
rather than focus on the relatively new allowance of blood fractions and the utter flaws in that logic to wt policy, we will focus on blood transfusions involving 'whole blood'.. christ alone, the restrictions on blood found in the ot, or hebrew scriptures if you will, were dietary restrictions on the eating of animal blood, and nothing more.
the mosaic law forbade the eating of animal blood, as it was to be poured out on the ground.
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Christ Alone
If an animal is "already dead" it is impossible to bleed it, ask your butcher.
Actually I never knew that. I'm not a hunter or butcher, so I've always been unaware of how the bleeding process works. I'd assume most of Jehovah's people don't know much about it either. I guess most just figure that if the attempt to bleed the animal has been made, and one assumes that the animal has been bled properly, then there is no sin in eating the animal. Maybe we can go a bit further and become Jehovah's Vegan Witnesses?
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49
Christ Alone vs IsaacAustin (blood)
by isaacaustin inthe wt arbitrarily imposes a ban of 'whole blood' on its members, resulting in heartache, difficulty/delay in receiving medical care, and in many cases death.
rather than focus on the relatively new allowance of blood fractions and the utter flaws in that logic to wt policy, we will focus on blood transfusions involving 'whole blood'.. christ alone, the restrictions on blood found in the ot, or hebrew scriptures if you will, were dietary restrictions on the eating of animal blood, and nothing more.
the mosaic law forbade the eating of animal blood, as it was to be poured out on the ground.
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Christ Alone
Actually, there are JW's out there (Kidd, Furuli, etc.) who have invented their own arguments against transfusion without the more obvious errors of JW writers.
This has been interesting for me. I was never a JW apologist. So arguing an unreasonable point of view is proving to be pretty difficult. I've gotta say, arguing in this way is eye opening!!!