Posts by elbib

28

Proof God Does NOT Exist

by Hadriel in

o.k.

here's just a little fun, you guys can run with it.. if god existed would he allow the whacktower to be in business?

just sayin... lol.

elbib

Crazyguy,

In the universe both chaos and order (hence the word cosmos) exist:

Chaos means God does not exist

Order means God does exist

Choice is left to individuals

4

Writing Department stumbled over Lord’s prayer!?

by elbib in

thoughtlessness of jw writing committee can be seen in building their “great” teaching of universal issue.

they took lord’s prayer as the basis for this teaching.

they thought god’s sovereignty was challenged by satan, thus his name was tarnished, hence jesus taught his name to be to “be sanctified.”—mathew 6:9..

I have great regard for Jesus, and I try to apply many things he said. However, regarding ransom teaching I go with Gospel writer Luke who thoroughly examined all the scriptures available at that time and did some important editing.

If Jesus really came to give ransom, naturally all his talks would have been centered over this FUNDAMENTAL concept using all his skills and reasoning powers, explaining why and how of such an arrangement. On the contrary, the only passing, feeble comment he supposedly made in the context of contrasting the rulers of Gentile as found in Mathew 20:28. Luke himself, on close examination, found as interpolation, hence removed from his Gospel.—Luke 22:25-27

Jesus PUBLICLY denounced the killing of the innocent when he called Jerusalem “the killer of prophets” and said “your house is abandoned” on account of killing those innocent ones!—Mathew 23:37, 38. If God had already planned shedding of blood of innocent Jesus as the ransom, Jesus would not have made such public denouncing.

4

Writing Department stumbled over Lord’s prayer!?

by elbib in

thoughtlessness of jw writing committee can be seen in building their “great” teaching of universal issue.

they took lord’s prayer as the basis for this teaching.

they thought god’s sovereignty was challenged by satan, thus his name was tarnished, hence jesus taught his name to be to “be sanctified.”—mathew 6:9..

elbib

Desirousofchange,

Nice thought.

This is what has been intriguing to me fo some time. If it is God who is behind scriptures, why can't he communicate things in a simple way--without any possibility for the need of another person interpreting as he feels like, thus adding to the confusion.

4

Writing Department stumbled over Lord’s prayer!?

by elbib in

thoughtlessness of jw writing committee can be seen in building their “great” teaching of universal issue.

they took lord’s prayer as the basis for this teaching.

they thought god’s sovereignty was challenged by satan, thus his name was tarnished, hence jesus taught his name to be to “be sanctified.”—mathew 6:9..

elbib

Thoughtlessness of JW Writing Committee can be seen in building their “great” teaching of Universal Issue. They took Lord’s prayer as the basis for this teaching. They thought God’s sovereignty was challenged by Satan, thus His name was tarnished, hence Jesus taught His name to be to “be sanctified.”—Mathew 6:9.

Did Jesus really teach this prayer? If he did, why do contents lack logic? It is unlikely that Jesus taught this prayer immediately after saying there is no need of praying to our Father as he knows our need even before we ask. (Mathew 6:8). Interestingly, in Luke’s account Lord’s prayer is not the part of Sermon on the Mount, but was given in response to the request of his disciple: “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. “ (Luke 11:1) Did Jesus feel the need to teach how to pray because John the Baptist was doing the same?

It is unlikely that Jesus would teach that we pray for God’s name to be sanctified because God’s name is always holy, and cannot be made unholy by creatures. Also, God is agape, unconditional love—He does good for its own sake; hence does not feel honored nor reproached because of others’ response.

Jesus also knew that things would have its natural course, and God plays no part in it. For example industrial and vehicular emission made our climate chaotic; and it is obvious that this cannot be God’s will, yet it is happening endangering the very survival of all humanity. That means Jesus would not teach us to pray “let your will take place” because fact is that God lets will of humans take place on earth. Again, Jesus knew that God has a fixed time to bring His kingdom, hence will not teach us to pray for the kingdom to come. (Acts 1:7) “Give us our daily bread” also makes no sense as arrangement for food is already in place though plants and trees. ….Thus Lord’s prayer is filled with illogical things, hence it is unlikely that it originated with Jesus.

43

I was disfellowshipped because of Satan

by elbib in

during co visit, i took him for a bible study i was conducting.

during the session, the householder said he believed satan was not a person, but personification of evil within us.

i left co to handle householder’s doubt.

elbib

Problemaddict2,

Demons too are personification of evil within us. The Bible does present us with “mute spirits,” as explanations for a loss of speech, but this is the way an ancient culture explains something that would be explained medically today. If the mute person were examined by a modern western physician, it is doubtful that exorcism would be suggested as a treatment. It is unlikely that anyone today would ask “Who sinned? This man or his parents?” when confronted with a medical problem such as blindness.

That Jesus was incarnated into this ancient world and its explanations, and ministered as an exorcist/healer in this world, is appropriate. It shouldn’t alarm any Biblical interpreter. The point of the Gospels is not Jesus’ opinion of ancient medicine or psychology. We do not expect Jesus to be giving modern explanations for conditions that we understand very differently. Jesus was a person of his time, and he viewed and responded to mental and emotional illness as a person of his time.

7

Is Reform inevitable for Watchtower

by Truthexplorer in

given that it is highly likely that things are going to change in relation to watchtowers policy on safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in australia (re australian royal commission), and england and wales (re charity commission).

could this be the start to reforming the watchtower organisation.

albeit, they are being forced to change their safeguarding policy by the laws of the land, but it may set a precedent.

elbib

Future of an organization can be predicted by looking at its past

43

I was disfellowshipped because of Satan

by elbib in

during co visit, i took him for a bible study i was conducting.

during the session, the householder said he believed satan was not a person, but personification of evil within us.

i left co to handle householder’s doubt.

elbib

KateWild,

Their mistreatment became a blessing to me.

When I decide to do fasting, no one can put me into starvation.

My mother used to say: "When someone puts a drop of ink into your kerchief, don't lament over it, but paint a beautiful flower with the ink-mark being in the middle.'

43

I was disfellowshipped because of Satan

by elbib in

during co visit, i took him for a bible study i was conducting.

during the session, the householder said he believed satan was not a person, but personification of evil within us.

i left co to handle householder’s doubt.

elbib

Dear Satan,

Satan means resister--when you resist religious parasites, you are doing something good.

4

Experiences, a rose by any other name.

by M*A*S*H in

every time a jw shares an 'experience' with me (in person or on jw.borg) it always strikes me that basically what they are describing are (alleged) miracles.

in my mind, i seem to remember i was taught that miracles do not occur in today's world and ended with jesus?

have i missed something here?.

elbib

Yes I too have felt the same.

You attend a Kingdom Hall dedication (or an Assembly Hall, Branch). All the speakers would make it appear that it was made to happen because of God's invisible hand.

32

Are Witnesses really "Bible Students"?

by stuckinarut2 in

we were always told that as witnesses we were "sincere bible students".... carefully examining the scriptures.. yes, we were indeed taught much about the content of the bible, it's history, prophecies etc..... but it was always from one perspective....that of the society.

when the society changed its interpretations, we had to do the same..... so were we really "bible students", or "society students"?.

just a thought.....

elbib

If they are really Bible Students, why are Lots of leaps and jumps in interpreting the Bible

Though many examples can be given, here are some sample misapplications:

1) They arbitrarily choose certain verses and ignore others which they feel is of no use to them. For example, they profusely quote Ezekiel 18:4 (“soul that sins will itself die”) to show that man does not have an immortal soul. However, if we read the whole chapter, Ezekiel has never seen such a possibility that someone would use 18:4 to reach such conclusion. His subject is very simple: if father commits sin, father should suffer its consequence, not his son and vice versa. Then in Ezekiel 18:9 he contrasts: “soul that follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws is righteous; he will surely live.” However, if this righteous man has a son who turns out to be violent and sheds blood of others, “he should be put to death.” (Ezekiel 18:10-13) Thus Ezekiel is simply making a contrast between a sinner and a righteous one, and making it clear that who should be put to death (not talking about whether man has an immortal soul or not, as JWs wrongly conclude)

2) They quote Luke 17:21 (“The Kingdom of God Is Within You”) and say it means Jesus, as the future King of the Kingdom was amidst of people, hence Kingdom of God is external, to be established on earth in the future. If that is what Jesus wanted to convey, he would have definitely worded it differently. He simply used the same Greek word for “within” to mean what is “inside” when he spoke Mathew 23:26 “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Interestingly, this is something people can experiment in their own lives, and find out whether “Kingdom of God is within” or not. There are at least some who lead a simple life-style. They don’t have any expectation from others because they feel that others have freedom to act the way they like, and it is their lives) and also they don’t try to correct others (but leave that work to the authorised persons/agency). Whatever they do, they do it creatively (and make it supportive of others if at all possible). In such a simple life-style, there is always a space around them, nothing would affect them, and they would feel that they are living in Kingdom of God. Yet they also have the freedom to rust out bringing in “leaven” into their lives, as Jesus himself illustrated it in Mathew 13:33. (Leaven symbolizes sin - Luke 12:1; 1Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9) On the contrary, people who lead just opposite life-style feel that they are living as though in hell. If wasteful and negative inner qualities can make hell (Mark 7:21; James 1:14), that would mean, productive, positive inner qualities would make one feel that he is in Kingdom of God. Apostle Paul himself had this understanding: “Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”—Romans 14:17