Posts by smmcroberts

39

What does your avatar/screen name mean?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

some avatars and screen names are pretty self explanatory, but some...i can't figure out.

i just wanted to know why you chose your particular screen name and/or avatar.

mine is easy enough.

smmcroberts

My username is just me (Steve M McRoberts). What's interesting is the image: a detail from Salvador's Dali's "The Birth of the New Man" [the full title is "Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man"]. I chose it because it looks like the man is struggling to be born out of the Earth, just as I was struggling to be reborn with a new earthly identity after having died to the WT.

BTW, I did change my name once I had fully emerged, taking my wife's last name upon marriage (a happily ever after story if there ever was one!)

49

Did Paul Invent Christianity?

by smmcroberts in

i think the answer is largely yes.

please read my latest blog and see if you agree.. the witnesses had better stock up on goats and stones to make up for lost time!.

smmcroberts

Christ Alone: "What exactly does Paul ever say that directly contradicts what Jesus said?"

Did you read my blog http://smmcroberts.net/blog/did-paul-invent-christianity/? It is very clearly set forth there: Jesus said the law would never pass away and the way to salvation was to keep the law. Paul said the law passed away and the way to salvation was to believe in Jesus.

25

Is Jehovah (GOD ) an intelligent being ? Or an incompetent

by smiddy in

according to the bible he communicated quite freely with humans, via dreams ,angels ,prophets ,etc.etc., in ancient times ,even up to, two thousand years ago , then he fell silent.then whatever, he was supposed to have said, has been manipulated , ( mis ) interpretrated ,twisted ,whatever, by imperfect human beings ,supposedly speaking in his name .during this last 2000 years.we now live in a time of unprecedented information technology , isn`t this the time to speak to the people of all the earth ?

using such technology ?

their has never been a time on earth when their have been so many people living at the one time and the means to communicate with all of them in a 24 hour period .

smmcroberts

Oh, haven't you all heard? He's using the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society for the global communication of his message. And that's even on the Internet now!

And even with Jehovah's top news-story being the imminent destruction of billions of people, he still has time to make videos about throwing away children's toys and the dangers of masturbation!

However, to answer the OP, it seems this channel of communication he has chosen is rather, er... incompetent; it keeps getting his message fatally wrong. For instance, there was the message about organ transplants, and the one about vaccinations... But, hey! They got the kid's toys and the masturbation thing down pat, so let's not have any unrealistic expectations of our all-too-human GB.

49

Did Paul Invent Christianity?

by smmcroberts in

i think the answer is largely yes.

please read my latest blog and see if you agree.. the witnesses had better stock up on goats and stones to make up for lost time!.

smmcroberts

Fernando:

Paul was explicitly and vehemently anti Jewish "legalism" or rule-making and rule-keeping, self-righteousness, and works-righteousness, all key features of religion.
He called the Galatians foolish or senseless for succumbing to religion once again after having left it to pursue the "unabridged gospel of grace" instead (where a right standing with God is IMPUTED as a "free gift" and cannot be earned, deserved or paid for).

Yes, that's my point: Paul created a new religion [or whatever you prefer to call it] which abandoned the rules of Judaism. But on whose authority? If we take the Bible as written (like good JWs) we see that Jah & Jesus both said those rules would never pass away. Then along comes Paul (or his creators) and BAM! End of the law, now we have "grace".

Why should we believe Paul? The vote on the Law lasting forever has a 2/3 majority with Jah & Jesus in favor, and our self-admitted liar Paul against. I don't see why if there were "Christians" prior to Paul they would've abandoned Jesus' teaching and embraced Paul's. So I don't think there were any Christians [as we understand the term today] prior to Paul. Then it makes sense: he started the religion, and his followers naturally followed what he taught about the law having passed away. Later, the Jewish faction wrote their own biography of Jesus and had him say that the Law would never pass away. But somehow Christians "explain away" that passage in order to remain true to their real founder: Paul.

22

Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe in their own doctrine?

by God_Delusion in

hi guys,.

do you think the majority of jehovah's witnesses actually believe in their own doctrine?

do they honestly believe that the end is nigh?.

smmcroberts

I think the majority believe the "core truths" (no hell or trinity, living forever on Earth, Jehovah is biblegod's name, etc.). Beyond the basics though, I think many see the doctrines as irrelevant and shrouded in a foggy haze through which even the GB can't see clearly (as evinced by the constant changes: "Look, it's a bird; no it's a plane; no it's Jehovah's guidance!")

49

Did Paul Invent Christianity?

by smmcroberts in

i think the answer is largely yes.

please read my latest blog and see if you agree.. the witnesses had better stock up on goats and stones to make up for lost time!.

smmcroberts

@mP: " Really thats it ?"

Well, no; I really want to thank you for the information and all of the research links, and the time it took to bring this all together.

You have pointed out some things I had never heard, and I'll need time to digest and research this. (Time which I sadly don't have right now.)

49

Did Paul Invent Christianity?

by smmcroberts in

i think the answer is largely yes.

please read my latest blog and see if you agree.. the witnesses had better stock up on goats and stones to make up for lost time!.

smmcroberts

Thanks for the analogy, Leolaia. I would definitely say that Rutherford invented the Jehovah's Witnesses. Their beliefs are so diametrically opposed to what Russell taught (All will be saved into the Millennium vs. billions will not be saved into the Millennium). It's a similar situation to the difference between pre-Pauline doctrine and Pauline doctrine: All the laws are still in effect vs. None of the laws are still in effect. A big enough difference, in my opinion, to reasonably call it a whole new religion.

mP: Very interesting seeing some of the details of how Rome ran with the idea of a religion that held to "render unto Caesar" and "be submissive to the powers that be". I'm sure they viewed Christianity as a "God send" (pun?)

49

Did Paul Invent Christianity?

by smmcroberts in

i think the answer is largely yes.

please read my latest blog and see if you agree.. the witnesses had better stock up on goats and stones to make up for lost time!.

smmcroberts

I think the answer is largely Yes. Please read my latest blog and see if you agree.

The Witnesses had better stock up on goats and stones to make up for lost time!

68

Have you met anyone on the Governing Body?

by Christ Alone in

jw
friends

i posted on another thread about a couple of my experiences of meeting the governing body while i was in brooklyn.

i wanted to see if anyone else had any experiences along these same lines.

i met most of the ones that were current during the 2001-2003 years.

smmcroberts

Just an aside: in that second video the GB is warning us of the danger of pedophiles on the Internet. Isn't that rather ironic given the fact that you're more likely to encounter one in a Kingdom Hall?

I knew Bill Jackson. He wasn't a bad guy; seemed decent enough. Some of the other members I saw at Bethel gave me looks that would've made milk turn sour.

117

My video recorded apostasy trial is now live

by RayPublisher in

part 3 (which is where the actual meeting begins) is finished.

it took my computer hours and hours to render and upload it!!

anyway, this is what i just posted on my youtube channel:.

smmcroberts

Bravo! I applaud your courage and your refusal to take crap from them. This was masterfully handled (not at all as I did in my hearing.)

I stood up and cheered when you had them look up and read 1Cor 4:3-6! (Do not judge until the Lord comes & Don't go beyond the things written.) Your example of blood fractions was very apropos. Who does spend their time figuring out which blood fractions are okay and which are not? And what are they basing it on, and don't we have a right to know?

After all of your pertinent questions Cosmo replies: "These are questions we can't answer: let's stick to what we can do " Well, what can they do? Evidently nothing of positive value. All they can do is get rid of people who ask the questions they can't answer (and in that respect it was exactly like my hearing.)

On a humorous note, did Cosmo really say (at 7:06) "We don't like to so-called whack anybody off"?! It seems (try as we might) we just can't get away from the masturbation video.