Posts by Nambo

59

It's the 46th anniversary of Star Trek TV series

by moshe in

google reminds us how long ago this was, 1966 (or was it 67?

) - i was a teenager in high school and guess what?

i never saw one eposode on local tv.

Nambo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNqOzmKvwyY&feature=relmfu

I liked the "hood" version as well.

43

Any born-ins have this attitude about converts?

by Nambo in

so there was this great gang of us, from south london, manchester and wolverhampton, went to socialise with a group in fishguard in wales.. amongst the conversations one of the single sisters stated, "i could never marry anybody who used to be in the world".. i guess a lifetime of knocking on doors had given her the impression there couldnt possibly be a convert in her midst, never mind later alone with her in her mgb.. so whats with this, did you think we had rat scabies or were possesed by demons or something?.

.

Nambo

Dont forget, you've also got the loving Spiritual advice from the older members guiding the choice of younger ones.

I was'nt even baptised when a Sister started to court me, I had just come in from the world so had no concept of "damaged goods", however, the mature sister who was studying with me warned me off her as she had done one solitary slip from perfection, so I was warned that Jehovah wouldnt bless me if I married her, that I would soon meet a good Spiritual sister.

Out of obedience to God therefore, I stopped the courtship, I was new and just doing what I was told, didnt know of the JW Caste system back then.

Ths shoe was on the other foot when some years later I met that super spiritual sister and really fell for her, she was warned off me by the Elders as though I hadnt done anything wrong, I wasnt a pioneer so wasnt deemed good enough for her.

19

Contest: Rename that religion!

by smmcroberts in

a while back, whatistruth posted the question: how many bible events can we site that no human has ever witnessed.

i was surprised that no one cited isaiah 43:10: .

you are my witnesses, is the utterance of jehovah, even my servant whom i have chosen, in order that you may know and have faith in me, and that you may understand that i am the same one.

Nambo

How about:- "SATANS WITNESSES"

after all, they have spent the last 100 years announcing and promoting a "Kingdom" that was "written in stone", namely, the Great Pyramid that even they admitted was a Satanic device, (though still kept their ties to it).

Gods Kingdom certainly never arrived in 1914, but if Satans "New World Order" arrives using the UN/League of Nations as its vehicle, well that was certainly birthed as the result of 1914 events.

The JWs main doctrine is the promotion of a Kingdom birthed in 1914, the signs so far indicate it more likely to be Satans than Jehovahs.

43

Any born-ins have this attitude about converts?

by Nambo in

so there was this great gang of us, from south london, manchester and wolverhampton, went to socialise with a group in fishguard in wales.. amongst the conversations one of the single sisters stated, "i could never marry anybody who used to be in the world".. i guess a lifetime of knocking on doors had given her the impression there couldnt possibly be a convert in her midst, never mind later alone with her in her mgb.. so whats with this, did you think we had rat scabies or were possesed by demons or something?.

.

Nambo

Now another difficulty I had as a convert, but that was due to my own attitude, well, once a blunt Northern Sister said to me, "you've got no personality".

And to a certain extent, in certain situations, she was right.

See, in the world, especially the mans world of mechanics and military, male bonding in the form of crude behaviour and banter, play aggression and pretend bravado, shapes ones character and behaviour.

Then of course when you come in the "truth", suddenly you have to put on the "new personality", everything about you is wrong, all the other JWs in ones own eyes seem to be angelic perfect, they dont even masturbate!, hell, in the Navy it was etiquette to have a pile of dirty books to entertain guests with, thing is, what is this new personality?

Basically, you leave behind your worldly self and try to pretend your a Jehovahs Witness without actually knowing what to do, especially in a social setting, and even more so where Sisters are concerned, you do feel unclean, maybe thats one of the reasons us converts, especially when new, may seem a bit too zealous, thing is, its the only way we are shown how to behave as a dubb.

Its like you have moved to a foriegn country where you are afraid to let your hair down for fear of breaking some unknown custom or tabboo.

268

WT and the Illuminati - truth or fiction?

by SnowQueen in

i've been reading around this subject of late and it seems to make a lot of sense.

i'm wondering if anyone is convinced and/or has seen anything that can substantiate or corroborate the 'facts' set out in these arguments.. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/bloodlines/russell.htm.

i was particularly fascinated to read the following:.

Nambo

Twitch wrote:- "Sticks and stones. I tend not to take to heart those who call me down because they don't agree with me. It reflects more on their character than mine." Wise words indeed, especially from someone who wrote:- "Your projection is stupid, boring, hypocritical and typically of crybabies. What else do you do except bitch? What else do you do except comiserate and try to recruit other crybabies? Get on with it and your life, if you really want one that you don't blame someone else for." I totally agree with you.

17

Do you think theres such a thing as a "normal person"

by londonlady in

jw
friends

i was trying to think of all the many many people i've ever met and conculded that none of them could be termed "normal".

some of them might have seemed normal to start with but on further inspection most definatly not!.

in answer to the obvious question no i do not think i'm normal neither, i don't think i would want to be either.

Nambo

Maybe we all start off as "normal", but things maybe out of our control can push us down a differant path before you even realise it, and by then it can be too late.

When I think of all the kids I knew in Primary school, they were all "normal", probably like most kids in most primary schools, you couldnt have ever imagined that the sweet little girl with the freckles and the plaits, playing Hopskotch and laughing innocently, would one day by a crack whore.

Or your friend Johhny, that you went catching Stiklebacks with would grow up to be a rapist.

Maybe the longer we are alive, the more cranky we get, the further we drift off the "straight and narrow".

Maybe a reason God limited our life spans so severely, so we dont stick around long enough to get really weird.

31

Field Service Requirements

by DATA-DOG in

has there ever been any official letters stating the amount of field service required to be considered exemplary?

usually the number given is 10hrs, but if you look up " 10 hours " in the cd-library you get 14 hits.

none from the bible of course, and only 3-5 are related to field service.

Nambo

Well despite a full time job and running a home single-handedly, I averaged over 40 hours a month, but the Elders in my congreagtion convinced my girlfriend that I wasnt "Spiritual" enough, so it must be way over that.

78

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE TRUE RELIGION

by Fifth Column in

jesus said that the true religion would be evident in the lives of the people who practice it.

by their fruits you will recognize them, he said.

every good tree produces fine fruit.

Nambo

Nothing in your list Fifth Column about building a Golden Calf to Jehovah and attributing salvation to it, so thats the JWs out.

62

Best EZ 1 Liners to Say to Witnesses?

by LV101 in

jw
friends

any suggestions?

attending an invite (strange we're invited but hoping to make it worth my while) but i don't want to suffer big consequences as i've already said enough wrong stuff.

i'm stuck reading hassan's ccmc book (about half way --- just don't have time and not into it).

Nambo

Ask them to describe how wonderfull the 1922 assembly at Cedar Point Ohio was. (They must know, as its the fullfilment of Daniel, the best thing that will ever happen to mankind).

Or you could say, "isnt it exciting how everyones going on about this "New World Order", the Watchtower must be constanly updating you on this fullfillment of Revelation 13"

Or you could say, "Did they read John Chapter 6 at the Memorial this year?"

39

Luke 16:19-31 Sheol/Hades/Hell? literal vs. metaphor

by I_love_Jeff in

jehovah's witnesses say this is just a parable and that there is no eternal punishment.

for me, i do not believe in eternal punishment even though there is a lot of information in the bible which strongly favors eternal damnation: .

the bible refers to the fate of the unsaved with such fearful words as the following: .

Nambo

I find the Christadelphians view of this as a metaphor, the following for instance, whilst not the best article of theirs on the subject, will give you an idea of where they are coming from.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

This well-known passage is misrepresented to establish the following unscriptural doctrines: the immortality of the soul, the conscious state of the dead, going to heaven or hell at death, and eternal torments. It is frequently treated as a literal narrative, but is really a parable, and if treated as a literal story is quite out of harmony with plain Bible truth. This will appear from what follows.

Christ's discourse in this place is made up of a group of parables, namely, the lost sheep, the pieces of silver, the prodigal son, the unjust steward, the rich man and Lazarus. The opening words of the last two are identical: "There was a certain rich man" (Luke 16:1,19). If the one be literal, so is the other; but nobody wants to make out that the first "rich man" and his "steward" are literal historic characters. And there is still less reason for supposing such things of the second "rich man" and "Lazarus," though there was a real literal Lazarus, whose experiences are very closely connected with the lesson Christ here taught his disciples. But if any insist that it is not a parable, they must be reminded that "Without a parable spake he not unto them" (Matt. 13:34). Also that when the disciples asked Christ "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" (Matt. 13:10), he answered, "That seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand" (Luke 8:10). This is sufficient answer to those who say Christ would not so speak as to blind the Pharisees. He expressly said that he would blind such presumptuous sinners: "For judgment am I come ... that they which see may be made blind" (John 9:39). They praised God and declared Jesus a sinner, though they saw his miracles. The popular misinterpretation of the parable makes void the truth concerning (1) The death-state, (2) The resurrection, (3) The judgment, (4) The promises made to Abraham, (5) The punishment of the wicked.

THE DEATH-STATE.- The doctrine of the immortality of the soul is not found in the Bible, which teaches that man is mortal because of sin, and that when he is dead he is as unconscious as if he had never been born. "The dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5). "In death there is no remembrance of thee" (Psa. 6:5). "In that very day his thoughts perish" (Psa. 146 : 4).

THE RESURRECTION.- If the doctrine of the immortality of the soul were true there would be no need of the resurrection of the body, nor of Christ in particular. Yet we have Paul saying: "If the dead rise not ... then they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. ... What advantageth it me if the dead rise not?" (1 Cor. 15:16-18,32); See also Phil. 3:10,11; John 6: 39. There is no future life apart from resurrection. That was how Christ entered into life eternal (Psa. 16:10,11).

THE JUDGMENT.- Men are not judged at death, but in tha resurrection. "The Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works" (Matt. 16:27). Then the wicked "shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. 25:31,46). Then "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye (workers of iniquity) shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke 13:28).

THE PROMISES MADE TO ABRAHAM.- "To Abraham and his seed were the promises made" (Gal. 3:16). "The promise that he should be the heir of the world" (Rom. 4:13); "He sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob" (Heb. 11:9). "Thy land, O Immanuel" (Isa. 8:8). "The kingdoms of this world ... the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). Study carefully "the gospel" that was preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8), that is, the record of God's promises as found in the family history of Abraham in the book of Genesis. No one understanding this could possibly receive the popular interpretation of the parable in question.

THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED.- Some "shall not rise" (Isa. 26:14); but shall "sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake" (Jer. 51:39). But "there shall be a resurrection ... of the unjust" (Acts 24:15); "the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:29). They shall "awake ... to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:3). After punishment "they shall die" (Rom. 8:13); "the second death" (Rev. 21:8). "Into smoke shall they consume away" (Psa. 37:20). They "shall not be" (verse 10). These and many other similar passages illustrate the scriptural doctrine of "everlasting punishment," which is very different from "eternal torment."

A JEWISH FABLE.- Paul told Titus to rebuke the Cretans sharply that they might be sound in the faith, "not giving heed to Jewish fables" (Titus 1:14). It is one of these "Jewish fables" that Christ uses against the "covetous Pharisees" in the parable under consideration. The proof of this is to be seen in a careful comparison of Josephus' "Discourse concerning Hades" with the Bible doctrine concerning Hades, or the grave. Josephus was a Pharisee like those to whom Christ spake this parable; so his explanation of their belief is especially interesting. He says:

"Now as to Hades, wherein the souls of the righteous and unrighteous are detained, it is necessary to speak of it. Hades is a place in the world not regularly finished; a subterraneous region, wherein the light of this world does not shine ... There must be in it perpetual darkness." It is "a place of custody for souls, in which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who distribute temporary punishments, agreeable to everyone's behaviour and manners. In this region there is a certain place set apart as a lake of unquenchable fire. ... There is one descent into this region," passing the gate of which "the just are guided to the right hand, ... into a region of light ... This place we call The Bosom of Abraham. But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left hand ... into the neighbourhood of hell itself ... where they see the place of the fathers, and of the just (notwithstanding the 'darkness,' we note), and even hereby are punished; for a chaos deep and large is fixed between them," so that none "can pass over it."

Every thoughtful reader will at once perceive that Christ in the parable refers to this belief - not, however, to approve it, but to condemn the Pharisees out of their own mouth. They boasted in Abraham (John 8:33-45) and Moses (John 9:29; 5:45-47). He makes Abraham and Moses condemn them (ibid). His reference to their "fable" no more commits him to a belief in it than does his reference to "Beelzebub" (Matt. 12:27), argue his belief in "The Lord of the Fly," which is the meaning of the name thus bestowed by the heathen upon an imaginary "Prince of the Demons." "Take heed (said Jesus), and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees ... of the doctrine of the Pharisees" (Matt. 16:6,12). There is much need still for "taking heed." Study carefully the Bible doctrine of Hades and you will discover that Hades is simply "the invisible," "the grave." Study also the kindred parable of Isa. 14, and how "Hell" (marg., "the grave," sheol, hades) ironically greeted the King of Babylon when he was "brought down to the sides of the pit" (verse 15). No one would attempt to literalize this passage. And it is equally impossible to literalize the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

The parable of the unjust steward was spoken to "his disciples" to inculcate wisdom among the servants of God equal to the wisdom among the servants of Mammon. Among the latter were "the Pharisees who were covetous ... and derided him" (verse 14); so he turned "unto THEM" (verse 15) and convicted them of unjust stewardship in the matters particularized, and spoke "unto them" the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The former represented "them" and their class, and the latter "his disciples" and that class. Among these last was Lazarus of Bethany, whom he actually raised "from the dead" (not from the Pharisaic "hades"), so that Lazarus afterwards "sat at the table with him" (John 12:2). "But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death" (verse 10). Presently Christ himself was put to death and raised again from the dead; yet the Pharisees went on boasting in Moses and rejecting Jesus, in illustration of this much misunderstood parable. And so do many in Israel unto this day.

Reproduced from: The Christadelphian Shield: Papers Explanatory of Wrested Scriptures