Posts by smmcroberts

49

Christ Alone vs IsaacAustin (blood)

by isaacaustin in

the wt arbitrarily imposes a ban of 'whole blood' on its members, resulting in heartache, difficulty/delay in receiving medical care, and in many cases death.

rather than focus on the relatively new allowance of blood fractions and the utter flaws in that logic to wt policy, we will focus on blood transfusions involving 'whole blood'.. christ alone, the restrictions on blood found in the ot, or hebrew scriptures if you will, were dietary restrictions on the eating of animal blood, and nothing more.

the mosaic law forbade the eating of animal blood, as it was to be poured out on the ground.

smmcroberts

Thanks for playing devil's advocate, CA.

Here's a couple of your points I'd like to add my two-cents to:

So there are exceptions to Jehovah's rule of abstaining from blood? Can we find a single example of this in the Bible? Where did God EVERY allow for any type of blood to be ingested into the body in any form?

One good example has already been given in a previous post, here's one in which we are not only allowed to "ingest blood," but actually invited and encouraged to do so:

Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. (John 6:51-58)

even in emergency situations where we could die, we are not to eat blood.

Jesus would disagree; he gave an explicit lesson on this very subject with the point being that it was not only acceptable but basically a no-brainer that one should break God's Law in order to save one's life:

Now it happened that he was proceeding through the grainfields on the sabbath, and his disciples started to make their way plucking the heads of grain. So the Pharisees went saying to him: “Look here! Why are they doing on the sabbath what is not lawful?” But he said to them: “Have YOU never once read what David did when he fell in need and got hungry, he and the men with him? How he entered into the house of God, in the account about Abiatharm the chief priest, and ate the loaves of presentation, which it is not lawful for anybody to eat except the priests, and he gave some also to the men who were with him?” So he went on to say to them: “The sabbath came into existence for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the sabbath”
–Mark 2:23-17 (NWT)

As I argued in my blog, I think the above quote is the best single argument against the WT stance on blood. Let them argue that transfusions are against God's law all they want; the above quote renders it a moot point.

4

Putting it all in context

by smmcroberts in

at their convention the wt spokesmen stated that apostates often bring out points that may be true, but are taken way out of context.. so, i've gone to some lengths to put my criticism firmly within context for them in my latest blog:.

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/putting-it-all-in-context/.

can you think of other topics that would benefit from this approach?.

smmcroberts

Yeah, I don't know how I forgot the "Judge's" first name, though I wish I could forget him entirely.

I updated the blog with his full name, thanks whathappened for pointing it out, and for your kind comment.

4

Putting it all in context

by smmcroberts in

at their convention the wt spokesmen stated that apostates often bring out points that may be true, but are taken way out of context.. so, i've gone to some lengths to put my criticism firmly within context for them in my latest blog:.

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/putting-it-all-in-context/.

can you think of other topics that would benefit from this approach?.

smmcroberts

At their convention the WT spokesmen stated that “Apostates often bring out points that may be true, but are taken way out of context.”

So, I've gone to some lengths to put my criticism firmly within context for them in my latest blog:

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/putting-it-all-in-context/

Can you think of other topics that would benefit from this approach?

8

It's all about me.

by smmcroberts in

jw
friends

but it's mercifully brief.. actually, "teeny" sent me.

but i eagerly began posting here without first re-introducing myself.

i realize that could be considered slightly rude.

smmcroberts

Thanks everyone, for the welcome!

Apognophos, you made my day month! With your kind permission I'd like to add your comments to my "Reviews" section on my web-page.

6

Jah's Obit!

by smmcroberts in

all good things must come to an end... and evil things as well.. here it is: jehovah's obiturary.. you'll never guess the cause of death.. does anyone know who to send condolences to?

(does anyone need condolence for this?

).

smmcroberts

Hey, I found the source of the cartoon! According to jwfacts.com it was published in the Golden Age 1939 May 31 p.5!

That site also shows another cartoon depicting vaccination as a cow idol with pock-marked babies dying at its feet! It just shows how diametrically opposed to the truth the WT can get; it was vaccination that eradicated smallpox from the Earth.

2

Critiquing Jesus' Words

by smmcroberts in

this is the third and final blog article in my 3-part series on abridging the bible:.

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/critiquing-jesus-words/.

do you agree with what's left?.

smmcroberts

This is the third and final blog article in my 3-part series on abridging the Bible:

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/critiquing-jesus-words/

Do you agree with what's left?

4

Abridging the Christian Greek Scriptures

by smmcroberts in

my latest blog is the sequel to "dispensing with the hebrew scriptures":.

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/abridging-the-christian-greek-scriptures/.

it argues for an abridgement of the nt similar to what thomas jefferson accomplished with the "jefferson bible".. i intend a third and final article in this series, so please don't assume that i regard abridging the nt as the last word on the subject..

smmcroberts

In other words: Why bother with what bothered the last person to do violence to the text with EQUAL good intentions??

Great question (and summation), Terry; it anticipates my final article.

4

Abridging the Christian Greek Scriptures

by smmcroberts in

my latest blog is the sequel to "dispensing with the hebrew scriptures":.

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/abridging-the-christian-greek-scriptures/.

it argues for an abridgement of the nt similar to what thomas jefferson accomplished with the "jefferson bible".. i intend a third and final article in this series, so please don't assume that i regard abridging the nt as the last word on the subject..

smmcroberts

My latest blog is the sequel to "Dispensing with the Hebrew Scriptures":

http://smmcroberts.net/blog/abridging-the-christian-greek-scriptures/

It argues for an abridgement of the NT similar to what Thomas Jefferson accomplished with the "Jefferson Bible".

I intend a third and final article in this series, so please don't assume that I regard abridging the NT as the last word on the subject.

47

It's Time to Dump the Hebrew Scriptures.

by smmcroberts in

why do christian religions continue to pretend that the hebrew scriptures (aka the old testament) is god-inspired and that it describes a loving god?

don't they see that the ot is largely an embarrassment to its believers?

please read my blog to see why i think christianity should dispense with the ot all together:.

smmcroberts

The promised sequel has been written: Abridging the Christian Greek Scriptures.

I'll start a new post for discussion of this second part of the 3-part series of articles.

47

It's Time to Dump the Hebrew Scriptures.

by smmcroberts in

why do christian religions continue to pretend that the hebrew scriptures (aka the old testament) is god-inspired and that it describes a loving god?

don't they see that the ot is largely an embarrassment to its believers?

please read my blog to see why i think christianity should dispense with the ot all together:.

smmcroberts

Satanus: "I have often suggested keeping only jesus' words. All of them taken out and then molded into one composite, based on their chronology, it's all a jesus only christian would need. The rest of the bible could be available as a reference if the christian wanted further background. While there are a few conflicts within the jesus corpus, it would be a much more positive and less confusing gospel for followers."

I think that's exactly what Thomas Jefferson did when he cut-and-pasted together the Jefferson Bible. I was intending to mention that as the next step in the sequel to my blog on dumping the OT.