Posts by Bobcat

16

2700 years ago Jews ate pigs

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

from haaretz newspaper:.

what does a pig skeleton discovered in jerusalem say about first temple era jews?.

the argument here is that sanctions on eating pork were only introduced in the 2nd temple era.. so what does that tell you bout biblical accuracy.. .

Bobcat

I have a thread on the topic (of the swine, with related links): Here.

One of the things I have wondered about is the demons requesting Jesus to send them into the swine, and then they immediately drown the swine. What was their logic?

My speculation: The promised land was set apart for the descendants of Abraham. The rest of the world was given to the nations (at the tower of Babel). (De 32:7-8) As such, (I'm thinking) the demons could only trespass when they had a legitimate reason (such as some idolatrous practice, etc).

In the case of the demoniac, Jesus was about to take away their reason for trespassing. So they ask to be sent into the swine, something they think Jesus might agree to (considering the Law), but from their standpoint allows them to stay in the area.

From Jesus' standpoint, he knows the Law Covenant is about to be superceded and that the barriers differentiating the Jews from the nations are soon to be removed. (Eph 2:14-16) So it makes no matter regarding sending the demons out of the country. (Mk 5:9-10) From Jesus' standpoint, a source of Jewish disobedience to the Law is removed.

But like I said, "my speculation."

46

Please how do someone become an Anointed Christian in Watchtower Organization.

by bola in

jw
friends

please how do someone become an anointed christian in watchtower organization.

i informed my elders in my congo that i am an anointed christian..

Bobcat

If you are interested, here is a collection of research I posted regarding the use of the term "anoint" in the NT. It is surprising how the NT usage differs from WT usage.

And regarding the following of Jesus' instructions on the Lord's Evening Meal, this post (and thread) shows that there is quite a difference between NT practice and WT practice. Some have seen some similarities between WT practice and a black mass. There are a growing number of JWs who hold the Memorial privately because of what they see as heavy handed WT efforts to prevent JWs from following Jesus' simple command about partaking.

46

Please how do someone become an Anointed Christian in Watchtower Organization.

by bola in

jw
friends

please how do someone become an anointed christian in watchtower organization.

i informed my elders in my congo that i am an anointed christian..

Bobcat

Hi Bola,

I suggest being careful about what you tell your elders about this.

Jesus indicated that being "born from above" was a basic concept of being one of his disciples. (Jn 3:3-5) Jesus chided Nicodemus for not understanding this. (Jn 3:9-10) The reason he chided him was that the giving of the spirit was foretold to be a part of a new covenant. (Ezek 36:26-27) Nicodemus, as a teacher in Israel, should have expected this turn of events.

The WT teaches that only the 144,000 are anointed with spirit. But the two passages about the 144,000 (Rev 7:1-8 & 14:1-5) say nothing about this. WT teaching on this matter is a contradiction to basic Christian teaching as presented in the NT. And as one of the posters above pointed out, WT teaching on this is more related to WT's authority over its followers. Silencing you might be the easiest way for them to solve the possible problem you present to them. (Compare Jn 11:47-48)

So the problem you may face is that your new found realization might contradict current WT teaching. Depending on your elders and CO, putting you out may be the easiest way for them to solve the possible problems your view presents.

Since you can't prove you have been "born from above" (other than scripturally - Acts 2:38-39), and they can't disprove it, it might be best to leave your understanding to yourself. They will assume that you are claiming to be anointed when you partake at the Memorial. They will even say that YOU are claiming that when you partake. But they are assuming that you accept all their teachings about the topic. If you don't want to become controversial to them you might want to leave the matter as something you understand, but something they can take it or leave it if they question you about it.

16

2700 years ago Jews ate pigs

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

from haaretz newspaper:.

what does a pig skeleton discovered in jerusalem say about first temple era jews?.

the argument here is that sanctions on eating pork were only introduced in the 2nd temple era.. so what does that tell you bout biblical accuracy.. .

Bobcat

Isa 65:2-4 & 66:17 seem to confirm that pork was on the menu for some Jews under the Law prior to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. So finding bones in that time frame is not surprising.

9

Just another failed prophecy ...

by EdenOne in

so, i was going through some consolation magazines of 1939, and found this absolute prediction by rutherford:.

only 8 years later .....

oooooopssss......!!.

Bobcat

What can be counted on, in any WT interpretation, is the phrase, "the Scriptures conclusively prove ..." or something similar. Always!

But that's what happens when you set yourself up as God's only channel of communication. You can't allow yourself to be tentative. And the irony is, over the long haul people would appreciate the honesty involved in being tentative.

4

wt is wrong, the "generation" must be the wicked.

by waton in

wt wants the generation of 1914 to end soon.

but making the generation anointed contradicts jesus.

jesus said that the end generation would pass away after all these things, including armageddon has occurred so, when will the wicked ( non wt believers) pass away?

Bobcat

If you look at how Jesus (and by extension, the writer of Matthew used "generation" throughout the book, then, "this generation" has long ago passed away. This (off site) post has a number of links to research I posted on this issue. It includes links to how Matthew uses "generation" in the whole book of Matthew, in the more immediate context of the Olivet Discourse, in the illustration that summarizes that portion of the Olivet Discourse, and in a comparison with Rev 16:16-21.

I have no doubt that it can only refer to the contemporaneous Jews of Jesus' time. So that all the verbose WT waffling about who and when it refers to is worth less than the ink used to print it.

14

Eye-Opener

by ElderStuckin in

each eye-opener in my awakening had nothing to do with apostates.

it was always by looking directly at the so-called spiritual food that helped me awaken.. in 2019 they changed the wording of the second of two baptismal questions which are answered aloud before the audience.

now i realize that these questions have been adjusted over the years.

Bobcat

If the questions changed then the dedication is no longer valid. My baptism therefor is now null and void, thus meaning I no longer subject to disfellowshipping.

What's interesting is how they will tell you that your dedication cannot be revoked or voided. Yet, they will dedicate buildings to God and then later sell them to whomever wants to buy them. Dedication only matters when they want it to matter.

7

Donating blood a disfellowshipping offence?? What if an Elder needs my blood fractions?

by Witness 007 in

red cross is desperate for blood at work.

i considered doing it.

is this a disfellowshipping sin?

Bobcat

Another aspect of the Biblical blood 'laws' is that they all involved the death of the creature from which the blood came. Only in that way did the blood represent the life of that creature. For example, if a Jew under the Law were to drain a pint of blood from his best bull (while keeping it alive) and bring that blood to the Temple to present as an offering, it would be useless. The Law required the person to put his hand on the head of the sacrificial animal to symbolize that the animal was standing in his place and then the animal had to be slaughtered. Then a sample of the blood was offered in sacrifice.

But blood donation does not involve any loss of life of the person donating. Therefore, the donated blood could not represent any life.

On the other hand, as I understand it, some of the 'minor' fractions used in medicine are derived from animals that have been killed for that purpose. (Correct me if I am wrong about this.) So, what I am thinking is that, in theory, if one is going to use the Law (or even Gen 9) as a basis for one's blood theology, it would be these very fractions that should be forbidden.

Having said that, I am not entirely sure how much animal blood is used nowadays to derive fractions or medicines.

7

Donating blood a disfellowshipping offence?? What if an Elder needs my blood fractions?

by Witness 007 in

red cross is desperate for blood at work.

i considered doing it.

is this a disfellowshipping sin?

Bobcat

Interestingly, under the Law (De 14:21) an Israelite could sell unbled meat to the alien and foreigner. (Here) WT sometimes cites the Law for support; sometimes they ignore it.

Since (in theory) JWs don't accept whole blood, then, they should be free to donate it, or even sell it.

In reality, WT does what it wants, and cites whatever laws that suit themselves.

Another reality is that JWs (for the most part) do not really care what the scriptures say. They will say they do care. But what matters most is what the GB says.

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.