Posts by elbib

3

Prodigal son or prodigal father?

by elbib in

the impression i get from reading parable of prodigal son is that it is more about a father who is prodigal.

he gave his son’s share without any sort of reasoning (a kind of lavishness) and on his return made arrangement for a celebration killing “a fattened calf” (again a kind of lavishness) which does not make him resemble like his heavenly father who had commanded: “you shall not murder.” (exodus 20:13) for god, slaughtering an animal or a human being does not make any difference.

(isaiah 66:3) god’s view of lives of other species remains unchanged, declares jesus: “are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

elbib

SirB2,

Such sacrifices are of human origin (Jer 7:22; 8:8). However, my point is not about sacrifices. I was just highlighting the widespread inconsistencies in the Bible which now even Bible scholars themselves are becoming aware of and publicly speaking. Why, even NW ref edition puts John 8:1-11 into footnote. Though we know about many inconsistencies, I was trying to say even well-known accounts such as Parable of Prodigal son, woman caught on adultery which are all very much loved by people ... are also problematic! Is it such a book that JWs derive authority from?

3

Prodigal son or prodigal father?

by elbib in

the impression i get from reading parable of prodigal son is that it is more about a father who is prodigal.

he gave his son’s share without any sort of reasoning (a kind of lavishness) and on his return made arrangement for a celebration killing “a fattened calf” (again a kind of lavishness) which does not make him resemble like his heavenly father who had commanded: “you shall not murder.” (exodus 20:13) for god, slaughtering an animal or a human being does not make any difference.

(isaiah 66:3) god’s view of lives of other species remains unchanged, declares jesus: “are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

elbib

The impression I get from reading Parable of Prodigal Son is that it is more about a father who is prodigal. He gave his son’s share without any sort of reasoning (a kind of lavishness) and on his return made arrangement for a celebration killing “a fattened calf” (again a kind of lavishness) which does not make him resemble like his Heavenly Father who had commanded: “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) For God, slaughtering an animal or a human being does not make any difference. (Isaiah 66:3) God’s view of lives of other species remains unchanged, declares Jesus: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.” (Luke 12:6) Moreover, God’s view of sin is also totally different from the father of this parable. (Mathew 12:36; 25:41, 46) Thus, this parable conveys a lighter view of sin!

Interestingly, there is another incident in the Bible which similarly carries a lighter view of sin in John 8:1-11 which is now put in brackets by the reference editions of the Bible because it is not found in the earliest Manuscripts of the Bible. Still, JWs believe that every verse of the Bible is inspired of God, and it is their supreme authority.

26

I think my Sunday speaker is awake

by Yondaime in

hi guys and gals,.

its been a long time since i've posted here, i've been caught up with school and work so i've never had the time to post on the forum, but i've still been reading through some articles on here.

now that finals are over i have some time to breath.

elbib

Bethelites sometime do such blunter. In my congregation too it happened. A bethelite gave a public talk on the biblical incident of 10 lepers being cured by Jesus, yet only one of the returning to thank him. It was not an outline-talk. Later he was counselled by Bethel higher ups.

24

Armageddon comes and you have 5 minutes with Jesus

by pleaseresearch in

so the big a comes, your third in line to be judged by jesus.

he wants to know why you left the organisation.

he also wants to know why jws remained with the org.

elbib

When they began to "beat the fellow slaves" I know that you will come and cut them in to pieces. Hence I left.

6

Why bring God when you can do it yourself?

by elbib in

when under temptation, one can easily deflate it by simply changing his thoughts and choosing his associations wisely.

(philippians 4:8, 9; 1 corinthians 15:33) then why did jesus teach us to pray to god: “lead us not into temptation”?

(mathew 6:13) .

elbib

David_Jay,

Again thank you for your in-depth analysis of "Last Day restorationists."

The mammoth size of scriptures with their infinite possibilities of interpretations in any direction people like, and also the huge number of religions and sects show that this cannot be God's way of communicating with mankind. Besides, look at the level of intolerance religious leaders manifest when sincere disagreement expressed by a believer. They will go to any extent in human rights violations. This too shows that such agencies cannot be instruments of God

6

Why bring God when you can do it yourself?

by elbib in

when under temptation, one can easily deflate it by simply changing his thoughts and choosing his associations wisely.

(philippians 4:8, 9; 1 corinthians 15:33) then why did jesus teach us to pray to god: “lead us not into temptation”?

(mathew 6:13) .

elbib

David Jay,

Nice to hear the details, and it make sense. However, result of such communications in the Bible served no purpose except creation of sects like JWs.

6

Why bring God when you can do it yourself?

by elbib in

when under temptation, one can easily deflate it by simply changing his thoughts and choosing his associations wisely.

(philippians 4:8, 9; 1 corinthians 15:33) then why did jesus teach us to pray to god: “lead us not into temptation”?

(mathew 6:13) .

elbib

When under temptation, one can easily deflate it by simply changing his thoughts and choosing his associations wisely. (Philippians 4:8, 9; 1 Corinthians 15:33) Then why did Jesus teach us to pray to God: “Lead us not into temptation”? (Mathew 6:13)

In the same vein, there are things which complicated matters: “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Mathew 13:13) Classic example of this is the Parable of Faithful and Discreet Slave in Mathew 24:45. Nobody got it correctly!

It shows Jesus may not have spoken such words because of the fact that he did pray for unity among his disciples. (John 17:20, 21)

25

Oh happy people

by zeb in

what is it with meetings?.

so often she comes home throws her bag down and stomps around the house.

there are times it thoroughly gets me down.. + supportive comment welcome.

elbib

This has been my experience too. I just ignored it.

When you know each one has his/her preferred tendencies, you can leave it as their (not your) problem, and you always enjoy a space around you.

9

When you were really "in", did you have a pet idea that would steer wt into divine favor?

by prologos in

wt writers ( klein) admitted at one time, that his majesty's doctrinal ship was zigzagging to find the right course, and many of us believed, that if we accepted the bible as true, cleaning up the teachings would establish the right bearing.

so: did you have a hobby-horse idea you were riding?

writing to brooklyn perhaps?

elbib

My pet idea was an analogy some WT writer used in one Awake! article which made my faith in God extremely firm: A blind man cannot design a camera, and matter is purely material which has no sense of vision.

Then I wrote to the Writing Committee informing them how much I liked the analogy. In return they wrote something very profound: "A blind man who is in the operation theatre for an eye-surgery does well in not arguing with the medical staff that 'first you prove me light exists, then only you perform the surgery.' Blind man has nothing to lose--if at all he loses something it will be darkness.

36

Faith, where now?

by Theburstbubble in

so for the first time ever i went to a church service at my local church (coe) and i have to say it was awful!

it was just like a ritual.

the vicar would say something and then the congregation would all say a phrase in unison back to him.

elbib

Dear Theburstbubble,

You are on the right track—You remember God (make this as your hobby).

In addition, try to be always in the NOW which means you are in heaven (going out of the NOW means you are in hell). This will ensure prosperity—both material and spiritual