is it difficult to believe in a loving god?.
if yes, i understand you.
it has been difficult to me too.
First of all, this arrangement was God's arrangement to be able to forgive us.
Agreed, only love would prompt one to forgive someone for something they NEVER did! Only love would prompt one to kill thousands of innocent people for something that only ONE person did! Only love would be the reason to punish millions for what only TWO humans (allegedly) did! If a person today did those exact same things they would be termed psychopathic criminals!
the bible depicts king david as a deeply flawed, unsavory character, the perpetrator of evil acts including: murder, insurrection, adultery, banditry, and extortion.
the sanitizing of david’s character during the following centuries and millennia created an image that idolizes him as the paragon of virtue, closely associated with the promised messiah.
my study identifies the davidic sanitizing process.. https://www.academia.edu/s/390a7ba170?source=link .
I thought David was a bit of a twit.
That isn't the way I would have spelled "twit".
what do people usually think of when they buy a house?
"i will probably live here for a long time" (you're invested with your time), "i will save money by building equity over time".
(you've invested in yourself financially for the long run) of course, i wouldn't be able to list the numerous reasons why people want to buy a house.
would it be considered being worldly and materialistic and an overall poor investment (spiritually speaking)?
This is the general opinion among JW's where I live. Comments usually follow the thread that the time maintaining a home could be better spent in field serve-us, if you have a home you should do what Jesus told the rich young man, "If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven" the poor being WT, JW's are going to lose everything anyway in the great persecution so why own a home you cannot keep, and many more judgemental statements.
Fortunately I was taught different by my parents, even though they were solidly PIMI before they got kicked to the curb when they were older and less useful to the WT. Work hard, save, purchase property, and I was able to retire comfortably in my late forties, and enjoy a paid for home.
regarding the governing body update 3 video on resuming meetings in person, i am wondering:.
what is the purpose of wearing masks and to sit keeping distances if you shake hands and hug each other before and after the meetings?.
For some reason, they are all wearing masks, except for the speaker, who takes his off in a video clip.
That's because holy SPIrT magically stops all the germs and virus' at the edge of the stage like an invisible wall.
14 jesus provides wise direction in times of crisis.
the benefits of that direction were evident when the covid-19 pandemic broke out.
while many in the world were uncertain about what course to take, jesus made sure that we received clear guidance to keep us safe.
While many in the world were uncertain about what course to take, we were encouraged to wear face coverings when out in public and to practice physical distancing.
Strange though that all those instructions from the Crazy Eight were nearly a full month after the secular authorities had already said and done the exact same thing. As others have noted, the instructions were simple cut and past from the CDC and WHO! Would claiming that they did it at Jesus behest make them liars?
in a recent article there was this experience from el salvador:.
"during the meeting, brother baltasar perla, sr., who later became a member of the branch committee, asked all the elders present to give him their government-issued identity cards.
he then informed the elders that their names and addresses would be included in a written request to the government for legal recognition... then explained to us that since our names and addresses would be in that document, if the authorities ever wanted to ban our work, we would be the first ones they would come after and the first ones to be thrown in jail.
I've never been in one where someone has put their hand up, to oppose it.
I routinely do just that. I did however have the chance to "snoop" in the accounts file and saw that every single resolution is simply marked "Those In Favor: ALL" while the "Those Opposed" is always marked "None."
And here all along I thought the Bible condemned lying.
in a recent article there was this experience from el salvador:.
"during the meeting, brother baltasar perla, sr., who later became a member of the branch committee, asked all the elders present to give him their government-issued identity cards.
he then informed the elders that their names and addresses would be included in a written request to the government for legal recognition... then explained to us that since our names and addresses would be in that document, if the authorities ever wanted to ban our work, we would be the first ones they would come after and the first ones to be thrown in jail.
I would even have called that brother a traitor.
Exactly! How many times has WT said that it would be a matter of "loyalty" to refuse to give up the identities of their fellow believers to the government? And yet that is exactly what this idiot "brother" was doing. And they went along with it. Makes them all traitors to God Himself!
original reddit post (removed).
I do not give a damn about him and I will not let him occupy space in my brain.
this is the letter i wrote back in '96 about the parousia.
following the '95 watchtower that disconnected the "generation" from 1914 i began to look carefully at end-time prophecy and soon discovered what i knew were basic errors in what i had been taught.. i was a loyal jw at the time and was still serving as an elder.
i used only watchtower publications in my research.
As far as the WTS is concerned, "asking questions" is the problem.
Exactly. In WT land there is no such thing as questions that cannot be answered, only answers that cannot be questioned.
those of us with a watchtower background probably see the memorial as normal.. at least, we're used to it.. we can forget how weird it seems to an outsider.. it's like inviting a group out to dinner, having meals placed on the table, and then explaining to them why no one present should be partaking of any of it because it's really intended for someone else..
The passing of the bread and wine by men all dressed in black suits was so bizarre.
Not to mention that they all feel one MUST touch the glass and plate or it doesn't count.
I told a PIMI friend that IF it happened that I showed up for the big event that when it came time to pass the wine and crackers that I would take time to put on surgical gloves first. They had a fit about that, claiming that I would be showing disrespect for the memorial, what it stood for, and for any of the "anointed" who may be present. I told them I just wanted to show the same respect for health that THEY were showing by demanding that everyone mask up, use hand sanitizer, and distance from each other because I didn't know where they had put their hands or if they had washed them.
