Posts by Ultimate Axiom

5

Aid to Bible Understanding

by Melagomania in

i am doing some research and have been looking for the "aid to bible understanding" book.

if anyone has a pdf link for the book, i would appreciate them posting it.. thanks a lot and god bless!.

mel.

Ultimate Axiom

The Aid book isn't here, but the two volumes of Insight are (along with loads of other WT books), which might be of some help.

http://ia600304.us.archive.org/27/items/WatchtowerLibrary/books/

29

"False Prophets" part notably uncomfortable

by Separation of Powers in

so, service meeting last night.

bro handling the "false prophet" part was notably disturbed.

every time he spoke of previous "expectations" his body language was like "oh my god, can you believe i'm saying this?

Ultimate Axiom

the Reasoning Book listed 1914 as 'one of the doctrines that has never changed', it has actually changed, having previously been 1874

Ah but Splash, the doctrine that the Gentile Times ended in 1914 hasn't changed - that's been here from the beginning. Ironic really, because it wasn't Russel who came up with it, plus the fact that it's now demonstrably wrong.

Of course, what was supposed to happen at the end of the Gentile Times changed completely. Well it had to. Armageddon didn’t come.

BTW, not just moving Christ's Return from 1874 changed the significance of 1914 - his "Crowing as King" and the start of the "Time of the End" both moved from 1878 and 1799 respectively to 1914.

60

Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT false prophets

by SloppyJoe in

jw
friends

tonight on the service meeting we discussed why jws are not false prophets.

of the ten minute part two were spent discussing that jws just had wrong expectations and only very minor changes over the years although nothing specific was mentioned.

the other eight focused on the core bible truths that have remained the same over the years.

Ultimate Axiom

They may not like to admit they are false prophets, but by their own yardstick, they are false messengers (and I challenge anyone to explain the difference). Many years ago they defined that yardstick in the Watchtower of May 1, 1977, page 8, which reads: "Jehovah God is the Grand Identifier of his true messengers. He identifies them by making the messages he delivers through them come true. Jehovah is also the Great Exposer of false messengers. How does he expose them? He frustrates their signs and predictions. In this way he shows that they are self-appointed prognosticators, whose messages really spring from their own false reasoning – yes, their foolish, fleshly thinking!" I would like them to give just one example of a message they have given that Jehovah has made come true - because there are hundreds that have been 'frustrated'.

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.......

Ultimate Axiom

When the babylon book was being studied at the book study, this sister from Iraq would pronounce Zerubbabel as Zeru-bubble. I didn't notice it at first, but after my wife whispered in my ear, I had to stiffle a laugh everytime she said it.

259

Prayers that God answers. Any examples?

by punkofnice in

when i believed in god i tried not to pray for anything selfish.. after a while i began to think that a lot of things i was asking my imaginary friend in the sky for were selfish for some reason.. i do not ever remember a single thing i prayed for ever being answered.

if there was the appearance of an answer it was because i did mental gymnastics to make it fit the delusion that god had actually answered me.

there was never an obvious message/answer from god.

Ultimate Axiom

Have you heard of the Great Prayer Experiment? As prayers are commonly asked for sick people an experiment was set up in which 1802 patients in six hospitals (all of whom received coronary bypass surgery) were divided in three groups. Group 1 received prayers but didn’t know it, group 2 received no prayers and didn’t know it, and group 3 received prayers and did know it. The prayers were delivered in three churches (one each in Minnesota, Massachusetts and Missouri). End result – no difference in the recovery rates for groups 1 and 2, while those in group 3 suffered significantly more complications. Conclusion - don’t have people pray for you – it makes no difference if you don’t know it, and if you do know it, you’ll be worse off.

I’ve had many good and fortuitous thing happen to me in my life, and I didn’t pray for a single one of them. If I had prayed, no doubt some here would say my prayers were answered. I would say, get real.

Finally, as plenty of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus etc etc pray to their Gods and get their prayers answered, it must mean God doesn’t give a toss what religion you below to.

259

Prayers that God answers. Any examples?

by punkofnice in

when i believed in god i tried not to pray for anything selfish.. after a while i began to think that a lot of things i was asking my imaginary friend in the sky for were selfish for some reason.. i do not ever remember a single thing i prayed for ever being answered.

if there was the appearance of an answer it was because i did mental gymnastics to make it fit the delusion that god had actually answered me.

there was never an obvious message/answer from god.

Ultimate Axiom

It was the contrast between the admonition to “seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added to you” and the practical reality that sod all is added to you no matter much you put the kingdom first, or how hard you pray, that caused me to stop pioneering, start doubting and eventually leave it all. No, I cannot give a single example of a prayer being answered. But if someone can, wouldn’t that prove God exists? The only prayers that are 'answered' are they prayers for things that were going to happen anyway.

73

The Watchtower Writers need to answer this question "Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history!"

by ÁrbolesdeArabia in

how come the watchtower will not side with christendom and address a topic like the following?

what if christendom had allowed islam to spread it's plunder into europe without a fight and great force?

i direct your attention to islam spreading not as a distraction, but to ask the question most atheist have asked me when we talk of this subject.

Ultimate Axiom

George Orwell once wrote in one of his brilliant essays (and I paraphrase), “you cannot understand the nature of the modern world unless you understand the nature of nationalism”. The modern world to him was the mid 20th Century, but the principle holds true for all ages. Virtually all wars over the last two centuries (and most before that) have been fought for the Fatherland (or Motherland), either in defence of, or for the expansion thereof. Whether Hitler or Stalin were born again Christians or hard boiled atheists is totally irrelevant. The vast majority of combatants in all of these wars were theists, simply because they outnumbered atheist by a considerable margin. But that too is totally irrelevant, because they were not fighting for an ism, they were fighting for their Father/Mother Land, i.e. for Nationalism (some might like to use the more acceptable word Patriotism, but to me they are same thing).

To say that “atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history” is as stupid as it is wrong (and that is putting it politely). In all of these wars theists and atheists fought side by side for their given Nation. Nationalism is the driving force, and nationalism is the prerogative of neither group – some of the most rabid nationalists can be found in the fundamentalist wings of both Christian and Muslim religions, which is why they often fight amongst themselves. They can also be found among athiests. And while there have been wars fought purely for the defence or expansion of a religion, there has never been a war fought by atheist for similar objectives. In fact, there has never been a war fought for the principles of atheism at all.

AA, if you (or the Christian Science Monitor) want to attack Dawkins and his like, then please use something more sensible. For example, Dawkins said in one of his lectures (again paraphrased), “good people do good things and bad people do bad things, but to get good people to do bad things takes religion”. This is a deliberate half truth, said no doubt because of his disdain for religion, but it is quite obvious that political ideologies (Fascism, Nazism, Communism etc) have produced the same effects. So perhaps you might like to debate whether the real force behind the mass murders of history is the ideology of Religion (in all its forms) or the ideology of Nationalism (in all its forms). I won’t join such a debate, as to me they are all as evil as each other.

I would like to say that the reason the Watchtower will not side with Christendom to address this topic is because the premise is vacuous and absurd; the typical reaction of shallow theistic squirming. But I guess the real reason is because they wouldn’t side with Christendom over anything.

108

Infinity and god - why wait to create the universe?

by Simon in

here's the problem with infinity ... we can't comprehend it.. it's bad enough when it's space, but when it's time as well and then we throw in some all powerful creature supposedly existing forever ... well, it just doesn't make sense and raises questions.. such as why wait?

why didn't god create the universe the day before he did?

or the day before that?

Ultimate Axiom

If the universe is infinite, with an infinite number of galaxies, starts, planets etc, then the consequences don’t bear thinking about. Since there are a finite number of fundamental particles that can be arrange in a finite number of ways, then it follows that objects repeat themselves in an infinite universe. So there is another planet exactly like this one out there somewhere, and there is another you, with all your thoughts, life, history, doing everything you do, everything identical. Not only that, there are in infinite number of them. Which means an infinite number of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Oh man, I’m going back to bed.

108

Infinity and god - why wait to create the universe?

by Simon in

here's the problem with infinity ... we can't comprehend it.. it's bad enough when it's space, but when it's time as well and then we throw in some all powerful creature supposedly existing forever ... well, it just doesn't make sense and raises questions.. such as why wait?

why didn't god create the universe the day before he did?

or the day before that?