Room 215,
My point exactly. Of course Slim uses the "logic" of JW's . JW's found one guy who wrote Jesus was not crucified and turned that into a "fact". Slim finds speculation from three scholars and takes it as if it's gospel. Pun intended.
jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.
but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .
i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.
Room 215,
My point exactly. Of course Slim uses the "logic" of JW's . JW's found one guy who wrote Jesus was not crucified and turned that into a "fact". Slim finds speculation from three scholars and takes it as if it's gospel. Pun intended.
jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.
but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .
i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.
Slim,
Of course there's a connection between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus was a Jew. But very rapidly these religions grew apart. Therefore we have to adhere to the oldest writings of each religion and their evolution if we want obtain the original intent of the author. You can speculate all day long, but at the end of the day you have to stick to the evidence. The NT does not contain God's name, whatever the reason. Perhaps it was so sacred that it shouldn't even be said or written. So a true Christian, according to the evidence from the oldest NT books, should not be flaunting God's name as JW's do. Some of the most recent and respected translators of the Bible do not use "Jehovah" in the OT because they know was not intended by the original writers. And obviously, in the NT the translators don't use any name of God at all because they are forced to stick to the evidence. Evidence should matter.
jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.
but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .
i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.
"There is plenty of evidence including how the LXX of the same period treated the divine name"
The LXX and Christian writings are two different things. Judaism and Christianity are two different religions. Their books don't belong together. They were forced together by Christian scholars trying to ride the coattails of a well established and respected religion, Judaism.
The apostle Paul rejected them, or rather dishonestly re-interpreted the Hebrew writings for his own twisted purposes. But the Hebrew writings do not belong to Christians. So who cares what the LXX has to say about God's name. Christian didn't care about it, as it is shown by its absence in their writings
jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.
but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .
i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.
"3 non-JW scholars have arrived at the same conclusion"
Slim
So three scholars is your support. That kind of support is even worse than the scientists who believe that climate change is not induced by human activity.
Three out of what... three thousands?, more perhaps
i have also attended spanish congregations.
this has helped me to understand and respect totally different perspectives and narratives on race.
please be respectful during this discussion.
I can't speak for white people because I am not. But certainly Hispanic congregations don't fit the lack of fun and love that are often described here by some posters. The Hispanic JW's are sincere, very friendly and loving. They love music and dancing. They laugh easily. Also, Hispanics are not very good at observing shunning rules either, especially with close relatives. So, to some degree, I confirm the opening comment
So what may be the difference between white and non-white. White seems more cold and rational, non-white seems more warm and emotional. Where do I fit?: the cold and rational, but brown.
is it possible to keep a somewhat relationship with your family if they are witnesses and have a "worldly" girlfriend?
i just posted a post, and found this site to be very helpful.
sorry to repost but my other thread brought up some other questions.
Let me go on a limb here. If you two are young and had had a sexual relationship, then you have to be cautious about him. Men at a young age, especially men who have been in sexually repressive cults, could say anything to get laid. So he is fooling himself and you if he claims that he doesn't believe in the religion, but knows nothing bad about it in extensive detail as most of us here do. In this case, when the "honey moon is over" he will revert to the cult mode.
The only way you can be sure that he is out of the religion is if you confirm that he has read the most important anti-JW books (at least three or four) and can tell you everything bad about the religion. You will get this confirmation when you can see that he is genuinely very upset, possibly enraged by his newly acquired knowledge. Then and only then will I start believing he is mentally out.
is it possible to keep a somewhat relationship with your family if they are witnesses and have a "worldly" girlfriend?
i just posted a post, and found this site to be very helpful.
sorry to repost but my other thread brought up some other questions.
How about you see the cult first hand. Do some preliminary research, propose to your boyfriend to accompany him, attend that convention. See with your own eyes how it works. Watch the manipulative soap operas they use to control the sheep through guilt trips at every turn. You may even like it, or maybe not.
If your boyfriend refuses to take you to the convention, then that could mean he is embarrassed by the religion or he actually is hiding that he is still mentally in. Either way, knowing all the facts about your "enemy" will help you deal with it in the best possible way. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Determine where you boyfriend is, with you or with them? Sorry to put it so harshly, but that's how cult members are. It's all black and white. We versus them. Either with Satan or with God. No gray areas.
i have been dating my boyfriend for almost a year now.
when i met him i had no idea that he was a jehovah witness.
we took a vacation and he lied to his parents about who he was with, and they ended up finding out not only that he way lying, but who i was.
Just for emphasis I have to repeat what's been said before.
Before you allow any hopes of a good lasting relationship, make sure that your boyfriend is in solid grounds. This means that he is 100%, absolutely and unquestionably out of the cult, physically and mentally. You and he must learn everything that is bad about this religion. There's mountains of information out there. Just type the word(s) and you will be overwhelmed.
i have been dating my boyfriend for almost a year now.
when i met him i had no idea that he was a jehovah witness.
we took a vacation and he lied to his parents about who he was with, and they ended up finding out not only that he way lying, but who i was.
Go very slow, you are stepping into cult territory. If you are an open minded person, you will be shocked how powerful and harmful cults can be. You will get plenty of warning and advice soon. Just take it very slow. No marriage, no pregnancies, no legal contracts yet.
the second half of 1 corinthians 7:39 reads "...she is free to be married to whomever she wants, only in the lord.".
so we all know that scripture for being doctrine for witnesses when they select a marriage mate and how they are strictly encouraged to marry amongst themselves and look down upon or marked if they marry an outsider.
i have a friend who met a worldly man and when it came to light, her father gave her the option to end the relationship or to marry him, and she chose the latter.
my wife has been there. A month before we married a speaker was called to give a speech especially for her, about marrying in the Lord. She was called during the speech a "stained" in the congregation.
Fast forward 23 years later. She is happily married, well provided for, house paid off, secured retirement, two exemplary children going to university, while most of her cousins who married in the lord around the same time are divorced with children switching between mom and dad, no studies beyond high school anywhere, living in rental housing.
I know I sound like I am bragging. But it's all true