Posts by Bobcat

20

"Resurrection" or "Re-Creation of The Soul"? What do really JW's teach?

by EdenOne in

interesting find through a book "inside story of jehovah's witnesses" (1967) by w.c. stevenson, supposedly a former jw circuit overseer.

it's an interesting "apostate" perspective written prior to the wts 1975 debacle.. anyway, at a certain point, there's a quote from a book called "the four cults", by professor anthony a. hoekema (1963, william b. eerdmans publishing company), a calvinist, which makes some sharp remarks about the way jehovah's witnesses teach the dead coming back to life:.

1) in the case of those "resurrecting" for everlasting life on earth, one asks: if the soul is extinct at death, and the body disintegrates and its components are integrated into other forms of life, what is there to "resurrect"?

Bobcat

It could be pointed out that every person, while still alive, is continuously losing cells and manufacturing new ones, so that, over the course of several years, a person does not have the exact same physical body. Yet, they are still the same person, except for the fact that they have accumulated new experiences, etc.

One could argue that an individual alive now is not exactly the same individual that existed 5 or 10 years ago due to life experiences and gained knowledge, and so on.

On a different note, if one sees a person, as they exist right this moment, as a multitude of atoms with particular 'settings' unique to that individual, then, the theory of quantum entanglement would allow re-creating that individual from a different clump of entangled atoms that had their 'settings' (as it were) set to exactly how that individual was. This is the idea behind Star Trek's transporter. It is understood to be theoretically possible. Humans just don't have the ability to pull it off yet. Physicist Brian Greene discusses this in one of his PBS Nova programs.

5

Job 31 v 11

by zachias in

in job 31 v11 it states that an inappropriate sex act is a crime not a 'sin'.

if this so between adults then it must extend that it is so if children are involved.

but the wt refers to paedophilia as a sin..

Bobcat

If my theory above is on target, then one would expect that the more centralized the authority is in any religion, the greater the problem that religion would see in pedo reporting laws.

5

Job 31 v 11

by zachias in

in job 31 v11 it states that an inappropriate sex act is a crime not a 'sin'.

if this so between adults then it must extend that it is so if children are involved.

but the wt refers to paedophilia as a sin..

Bobcat

Modern western culture makes a distinction between religion and secular. But in the ANE (from which the Bible comes) both were usually seen as part of the same. A wrong in the community was also seen as a wrong against God or the gods.

As the modern becomes increasingly secular and less religious, I could see conflicts of interest such as this inrceasing.

As far as the WT goes, I don't think pedophilia is their main concern. Rather, it is how the current secular laws regarding pedophilia affect the status of their clergy-client privilege. And by extension, the status of the clergy-client privilege affects WT's control over their followers. For example, if the secular law required reporting cases of adultery (such as what Job 31:9 is referring to) then I believe you would find WT having a similar reaction as they do with the reporting of pedophilia.

That's my take on it, at any rate.

13

The Emphasized Bible - Now included in WT LIbrary

by Wonderment in

the emphasized bible (rotherham) is now included in the wt library under "other bibles.".

therefore it joins kit, kjv, asv, & the bible in living english in such group.. any thoughts?.

Bobcat

I wonder if this will be included in the JWLibrary app?

I'm glad. You don't usually see the Emphasized Bible online like at BibleHub.

13

Sept. 21 watchtower-your disfellowshipped kids aren't your fault

by joey jojo in

latest advice for jw parents: if your kids get disfellowshipped, fight the urge to blame yourself.

yes, great advice.

if your clueless, underage child is struggling in life, don't blame yourself, stop thinking about it and move on.

Bobcat

Surely Hebrews 12 : 11 is talking about God's discipline, not man's.

If you look at the entire immediate context (Heb 12:1-13) it shows that it is talking about opposition or persecution that God allows as a form of discipline or training.

First, it shows how Jesus faced opposition. (Heb 12:1-3)

Next, the writer tells the reader that they haven't yet shed their blood over opposition like Jesus did (an obvious point, seeing how the reader is still alive). (Heb 12:4)

Verses 5 thru 8 then make the comparison of a son (the reader) with a father (God) who administers the discipline for the long term benefit of the son. And if the father didn't give discipline it would seem that the father was acting as if the son was illegitimate or not his own son.

Verses 9 and 10 continues the father-son example by comparing God's discipline with the imperfect discipline we may have received from our human fathers. We accepted that, therefore, if we consider God as our father, we should also accept the discipline from God, which, as the context is discussing, is opposition to being a disciple of Jesus. (Heb 12:2)

Verses 11 thru 13 then offer encouragement to allow the discipline to make the reader a better Christian.

The WT is taking these verses out of context when they apply them to DFing. And from what I have seen, they only apply these verses to discipline within the congregation, not to outside opposition. It serves as a good example of WT twisting the scriptures to their own use. They are teaching "the commands of men as doctrine."

9

2021-JW's accused of selling off assets and moving cash to avoid sex abuse compensation.

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2021-jehovah’s witnesses accused of selling off assetsand moving cash to avoid sex abuse compensation.. .

some of the folks here might want this article.

those young folks over there are really working overtime to assist the authorities.

Bobcat

Thanks Atlantis!

Does anyone know if anything ever came of this news article? It is dated June of 2020. I wonder if there was any follow on investigation? Or fallout from it?

20

Help needed: Elders should contact authorities immediately if KH are damaged?

by EdenOne in

hello.. i remember some time ago someone brought up a letter to congregations or some other similar instruction, instructing the elders to "contact the authorities immediately" if something like a robbery or trouble came upon a kingdom hall.. does anyone remember that?

and what was the source of that instruction please?

.

Bobcat

See chapter 20, paragraph 38 of the most recent Shepherd the Flock book.

Paragraph 37 also has something about calling the police.

20

Help needed: Elders should contact authorities immediately if KH are damaged?

by EdenOne in

hello.. i remember some time ago someone brought up a letter to congregations or some other similar instruction, instructing the elders to "contact the authorities immediately" if something like a robbery or trouble came upon a kingdom hall.. does anyone remember that?

and what was the source of that instruction please?

.

Bobcat

Hi EdenOne,

If I remember correctly, the elder's handbook has instructions about calling the authorities when there is a meeting disturbance.

I think I already see the irony in your question: Going immediately to the police to protect WT property, but refraining when a member of the congregation has CSA issues. (And I think they no longer say "member." I think currently they are now saying an "associate" or something like that.)

10

Some Other Terms For The "Big Bang".....

by titch in

jw
friends

folks: as you probably all know, it has been speculated that the whole universe, or cosmos, started with what has been called "the big bang.

" but, i've thought up some other terms for the "bb".

how about the big boom....or, the big kaboom....or, the big explosion...the big ignition...or...the big cosmic fartation.

Bobcat

I think "Expansion Theory" was the more correct term. If I remember correctly, "The Big Bang" was a term coined by someone who was making fun of the idea. Only, it caught on to general use.

Also, I don't think "the big bang" or "expansion theory" is really meant to explain a first cause. Rather, it is a theory meant to explain how the universe arrived at its present expanding condition. Since the universe appears to be expanding (and cooling) at an accelerating rate, it can be logically inferred that you can deduce backwards to a single point condition (an infinitely hot and dense singularity). What caused it to expand in the first place is not really part of the expansion theory. That's my understanding, at any rate.

To me, there also seems to be a relationship between this theory and the idea in quantum physics of energy/matter at the theoretical Planck Level. (Where energy/matter cannot be divided into smaller parts and is infinite and everywhere at the same time.)

Biblically, the theory could be understood to coincide with a statement in Isaiah that God is 'spreading out the heavens.' (Isa 40:22b; Some translations take "the heavens" to refer to "the sky.")

It is interesting that "The Big Bang" is usually (in my experience anyways) dismissed as non-sense in Kingdom Hall discussions. But ironically, I think the Society actually takes a wait-and-see attitude towards it.

10

the herd of elephants in today's wt study.

by waton in

for friends of "truth" about the wt theme: "what do we learn from jesus' last words?

if you learned anything, even in the greatest distress you do not utter the sacred name.

the article is full of "jehovahs" but not once did jesus himself actually use the term.

Bobcat

I ran out of editing time on my post above, but Luke 24:49 & Acts 1:4-5, 12-14 place John (and Mary possibly) in Jerusalem (and its local surroundings) until Pentecost. Thus, he could not have taken Mary to his home "that very hour," even supposing he had a home. (Compare Mt 19:27)