Posts by Richie

One should be reminded that Jesus referred to Himself as "Son of God" and "Son of man." The designation "Son of God" refers to the deity of Christ and "Son of man" refers to the humanity of Christ.

Phil. 2:5-8 tells us that Jesus, "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God" and yet He "made himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man?" Those verses show that Jesus was equal with God, yet humbled Himself and took the form of a servant.

Look at John 5:18 and see that the Jews wanted to kill Jesus "because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." John 10:30-33 states, "I and the Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."

Isa. 7:14 states, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Matthew 1:23 repeats, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

2 Cor. 5:19 states, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself?" Col. 1:15-19 reveals Christ as "the image of the invisible God?" Philip asked Jesus in John 14:8, "Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus answered in v.9, "Have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou Shew us the Father." Isa. 9:6 says, "For unto us a child is born (humanity of Christ), unto us a Son is given (deity of Christ): and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." 1 Tim.3:16 tells us, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

Jesus is the Son of God in reference to His entrance into the world in a body of flesh. Luke 1:35 states, "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

Richie :*)

39

First question: Why are JW's ridiculed so much?

by 2good2bad in

jw
friends

do you ever wonder why jw's are the most ridiculed?

they are made fun of more than any other religion.

it makes me think about jesus and how he was persecuted and ridiculed for being righteous.

Richie

One of the fastest growing Christian groups is the Pentecostal movement (Assemblies of God). In about the same period as the Witnesses have increased from 0 to 5 million, the Pentecostals have grown from 0 to 420 million! This increase has occurred in all parts of the world, also in many parts of the Western world. Of the more than six billion people on earth today, about one third are Christians.

Practically all this increase has been accomplished, not through the door-to-door method used by Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, and some other groups, but through other methods. But is it the preaching method that makes a certain group Christian? The fact is that there is no evidence whatsoever - Biblical or otherwise--to show that the first Christians were involved in some sort of door-to-door activity.

Another feature often pointed to in the Watchtower publications is that Jehovah's Witnesses have been persecuted and sometimes even been killed in some countries. But Jehovah's Witnesses are not the only group that has been persecuted in this century. Totalitarian countries have often persecuted various groups of Christians. In the former Sovjet Union most and sometimes all Christian groups were forbidden and persecuted, and periodically thousands of Christians were killed in campaigns aimed at rooting out religion. On January 27, 1996, Vladimir Naumov, chief of the Russian commission for the restoration of victims of political oppression, revealed that half a million priests had been persecuted by the Sovjet State, over 200,000 of which were killed during the Stalin epoch! That is thousand times the number of Witnesses that were executed during the Nazi regime!

Not only totalitarian Communist countries, but also totalitarian Muslim countries have persecuted Christians and forbidden their activity. Where the activity of the Witnesses is forbidden or restricted by totalitarian governments, the activity of other Christian groups are usually also forbidden or restricted, although we don't read much about this in the Watchtower publications. In fact, more Christians (non-JW's) have died for their faith in the 20th century than in the previous 19 centuries combined! This fact is documented in the book, In the Lion's Den (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997), written by Nina Shea, director of the Puebla Program division of Freedom House. The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the 20th century, therefore, is far from unique or exceptional. Today, cases of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses are rare and exceptional, as was actually admitted in The Watchtower of December 1, 1998, page 8.

So who and where, then, are the true Christians today? Obviously the same as in every century from the time of Christ, namely, people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord, Saviour and Teacher, and who may be found in any kind of Christian fellowship that proves to be of help in their endeavour to lead a Christian life.

Richie :*)

17

Treating Fibromyalgia with a Serotonin Uptake

by Sentinel in

i've been suffering with fibromyalgia since about 1986, but was not diagnosed until 1997. for the longest time the only course of treatment (since there is no cure) is the use of strong pain killers.

i opted not to take that route.

someone recently posted something on here regarding this malady, and it got me to thinking and doing more research.

Richie

Please check this website on fibromyalgia. You will find answers in finding ways to correct and control this disease:

www.fibrowisdom.com

Richie :*)

92

Does Jesus being the "Son of God" mean that he is not God by nature ?

by hooberus in

in bible times the phrase "the son of god" was understood as a claim to the nature of god, not a claim to be a lesser being:.

" john 19:7. .

ron rhodes commments:.

Richie

In Mt 4:10, Jesus clearly has the authority to rebuke Satan and does so. Jude 9 says, ?But when Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil?he did not dare to bring a judgment against him?but said, ?May Jehovah rebuke you.? If Jesus is Michael the Archangel, why did Michael refuse to rebuke Satan in Jude 9, when he clearly did so in Mt 4:10?

If Jesus was Michael the Archangel before he became a man, then why does Dan 10:13 refer to Michael as ?ONE of the foremost princes? implying that he was equal to other angels? If Christ was Michael the Archangel before the incarnation, then became Jesus, then changed back into Michael the Archangel after his death, why does Heb 13:8 say that, ?Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday and today, and forever.?? How could Christ be ?the same? if he changed from being Michael, into being Jesus, then back into being Michael again? If Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel, how can Mt 25:31 say, "When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and ALL the angels with him, ...". Since "all the angels" would certainly include Michael the Archangel, is it possible that Jesus could return with himself? Similarly, if Jesus was Michael the Archangel before his birth, then how do you explain Heb 1:13 which says, ?But with reference to which one of the angels has he ever said : ?Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet?? In addition, if Jesus became Michael the Archangel upon his resurrection, why did none of the New Testament writers refer to the resurrected Christ as ?Michael? by name? Can you point out one verse, just one, that says that Jesus and Michael are the same?

Richie :*)

92

Does Jesus being the "Son of God" mean that he is not God by nature ?

by hooberus in

in bible times the phrase "the son of god" was understood as a claim to the nature of god, not a claim to be a lesser being:.

" john 19:7. .

ron rhodes commments:.

Richie

ALL things mean exactly like that: ALL things. Then how do you know that it only refers to things having to do with the earth? Does the bible specifically teach that anywhere?

Richie :*)

92

Does Jesus being the "Son of God" mean that he is not God by nature ?

by hooberus in

in bible times the phrase "the son of god" was understood as a claim to the nature of god, not a claim to be a lesser being:.

" john 19:7. .

ron rhodes commments:.

Richie

John 1:3 says that Jesus created " all things". What does the word ?all? mean to you? In Isa 44:24, God says that he "BY MYSELF? created the heavens and the earth and asks the question "Who was with me?" when the heavens and the earth were created. If what the WTS teaches about the nature of Christ is correct, how could God have been ?by myself? when the heavens and the earth were created if Christ had been created first? If Jesus had been created by God, wouldn?t he have been with God when everything else was created? Likewise, if Jesus was a created being, then according to Jn 1:3, Jesus would have had to create himself. How would that have been possible?

Richie :*)

92

Does Jesus being the "Son of God" mean that he is not God by nature ?

by hooberus in

in bible times the phrase "the son of god" was understood as a claim to the nature of god, not a claim to be a lesser being:.

" john 19:7. .

ron rhodes commments:.

Richie

Jesus Christ is referred to as "Mighty God" in Isa 9:6 ("For there has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us... And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father..."). Jehovah God is referred to as "Mighty God" in Isa 10:20-21. How can this be if there is only ONE God? Jesus is also called the ?Eternal Father? in Isa 9:6. Since only God is eternal, that is, has no beginning and no end, how can this be if Christ is not God but was ?created? by God? If ?Mighty God? and ?Eternal Father? are only titles given to Christ, why would he be given any ?title? in scripture that did not accurately apply to him?

Richie :*)

92

Does Jesus being the "Son of God" mean that he is not God by nature ?

by hooberus in

in bible times the phrase "the son of god" was understood as a claim to the nature of god, not a claim to be a lesser being:.

" john 19:7. .

ron rhodes commments:.

Richie

According to scripture, Jesus is "the first and the last" (Rev 1:17-18), the "first and the last" is "the Alpha and Omega" (Rev 22:13), and "the Alpha and the Omega" is God (Rev 1:8). In other words, Jesus = "the first and the last" = "the Alpha and the Omega" = God. How can this be if Jesus is not God?

Richie :*)

8

JW's History - A Real Cast of Characters!

by Richie in

this is what i found while cruising the internet this afternoon: interesting indeed!

in the beginning god created charles!

charles

Richie

I found this site just by accident and it explains exactly the way how the Borg came to be: through intimidation and manipulation! You can clearly see that power corrupts and because of this corruption a full-fledged cult has emerged.

Richie :*)