Posts by Saethydd

556

The Watchtower are Right About Blood...

by cofty in

... but, they fail to take note of one important detail.. i believe that if we are going to have any chance of reasoning with a jw about blood, this is the place we need to begin.. don't try to convince them that it was only a dietary law.

it wasn't, and they will never go along with it.. don't tell them that saving a life is more important than obeying a law, even a seemingly trivial one.

they take pride in obedience.

Saethydd

@Fishy

Why are you desperate to argue about this? Especially when you are clearly wrong? Do you get a kick out of a half-dozen people telling you that you're wrong?

You're completely ignoring the context of the scriptures concerning the topic being discussed. As far your proof goes, the fact that no scripture says that eating an unbled animal that has been found dead is to be punished with death is proof that's it wasn't a capital crime. That's how laws work. If execution isn't listed as the punishment, then they don't execute people for it.

Getting back to cofty's point, the fact that the case of an Israelite eating an unbled animal they killed themselves (capital crime) is handled differently than a case were an Israelite eats an unbled animal that was found dead (unclean state) proves that the point of pouring out the blood instead of eating it was to atone for the life the Israelite took.

So whether it was "against the law," as you seem determined to believe, or not is actually irrelevant to cofty's main point, which is that the blood being poured out is only a life or death matter when the creature was killed at the hands of an Israelite.

17

So according to the bible, "believing" is enough to have everlasting life.

by NikL in

i am certain this has been brought up many times before.

according to john 6.... 44 no man can come to me unless the father, who sent me, draws him,+ and i will resurrect him on the last day.+ 45 it is written in the prophets: ‘they will all be taught by jehovah.+ everyone who has listened to the father and has learned comes to me.

46 not that any man has seen the father,+ except the one who is from god; this one has seen the father.+ 47 most truly i say to you, whoever believes has everlasting life.+.

Saethydd

The Bible also says that "Faith without works is dead" so this is one of those cases were the Bible "clearly doesn't contradict itself."

16

Were You Ever Disfellowshipped or Judicially Reproved?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i never got into trouble with the elders.

i served on judicial committees too many times.

i am happy that i no longer have to "judge" whether someone is a "sinner" any longer!

Saethydd

I've been before two, the first time I was reproved, the second I was disfellowshipped even though I came to the brothers of my own accord after all probability of being caught had passed. Guess that isn't considered a sign of true repentance.

Funnilly enough, the disfellowshiping did help me have a change of heart, just not the one they were banking on.

8

Pretend to honour principles, but make laws instead!

by doubtfull1799 in

this from the latest watchtower question from readers:.

"how a christian chooses to protect him- self, his family, or his possessions is, of course, largely a personal matter, as is his choice of employment.

that said, bible principles reflect god’s wisdom and his love for us.

Saethydd

Also, judiciary committees are given a long detailed list of what a person can be disfellowshipped for, and what they can be reproved for, effectively creating their own law book. A book which rank and file Witnesses aren't allowed to read even upon request.

So they have essentially done the same thing Jesus faulted the Pharisees for doing. They have taken it upon themselves to take simple principles and rigorously define what behavior does and does not conform to those principles, and then they've gone even further outside their rights and started disciplining their fellow Christians for not living up to their defined standards for what it means to live by those principles.

10

Writing a "Thesis on Doubting the Watchtower"

by Saethydd in

i'm currently writing what i've decided to call a "thesis on doubting the watchtower," and was wondering if you guys could help me out a bit with the research.

my plan is to use it as a sort of personal reference.

if any of you could help me find the publications i'm looking for i would appreciate it.. as things stand i need:.

Saethydd

Have you not got anything more interesting to do?
Seriously, life and spare time are short - use it to do something interesting!

That is a valid question. I suppose my best answer would be that I'm doing this for my own peace of mind. This way I can know that my current beliefs are based on facts, I can satisfy my own skeptical outlook and never be rightfully accused of not fairly weighing my own beliefs.

That to me is worth the time I spend on this project.

23

Amazing Video, modern-day miracle: "Chairs for Thousands"

by neat blue dog in

god provides.

https://tv.jw.org/#en/video/vodourorganization/pub-jwb_201703_4_video.

Saethydd

I'd love to see Cedars do a piece on this on Youtube

It was part of the March Broadcast so he put it in his video about that.

6

No screenshots of jw.org?

by charity7 in

hey guys!

saw this posted on social media and was wondering (super curious) what this was about?

i was reading the comments and many people were saying that we need to be obedient because the end is coming?

Saethydd

I'm not sure what they are referencing, but if it's real I would say it's probably a copyright measure meant to keep "apostates" from using the Watchtower's words against them.

10

Writing a "Thesis on Doubting the Watchtower"

by Saethydd in

i'm currently writing what i've decided to call a "thesis on doubting the watchtower," and was wondering if you guys could help me out a bit with the research.

my plan is to use it as a sort of personal reference.

if any of you could help me find the publications i'm looking for i would appreciate it.. as things stand i need:.

Saethydd

Hi,
Send me an email and I can help you with your #1 request.
You will find my email at:
http://www.jwstudies.com/contact_me.html
Two of the versions I have cite the dates of the elders' letters.
Doug

Okay, sent you an email.

I have and read copies of the transcripts from some of the court cases that were settled in USA, and some mention something like that, though they are court cases, so I guess that they did in fact speak up. Will that help?

Sure, can you send me a copy or a link to the copies? Also, do they have any sort of authentic seal so I can be fairly sure the transcripts weren't just made up?

315

Atheism = self defeating.

by towerwatchman in

atheism = self defeating.

first may we define our terms.

the word atheism comes literally from the greek, alpha the negative and theos [for god], therefore “negative god” or there is no god.

Saethydd

Theism is guilty of what you are accusing Atheism of doing. Theists tend to argue that God is necessary because intelligent life must have an innate purpose and/or creator. However, God, if he existed, would be an intelligent being which has no innate purpose and/or creator, rather, he is to have decided his own purpose after spending an eternity doing... something. Talking to himself perhaps.

How can you know that humans aren't simply the first intelligent beings in this chain of purpose? At least humans can be proven to exist with a relative degree of certainty.

18

Is time moving faster?

by Fisherman in

jw
friends

do you get the feeling that time is moving faster?

what do you think?.

Saethydd

As we get older each second, minute, hour, day, month, year, and decade becomes a smaller and smaller fraction of our entire experienced life, so yes, in a way, the speed of time relative to your personal perception is constantly getting faster.