Posts by Halcon

17

How Does WT Explain away, "Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord"?

by Sea Breeze in

5now he that wrought us for this very thing is god, who gave unto us the earnest of the spirit.6being therefore always of good courage, and knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the lord 7(for we walk by faith, not by sight); 8we are of good courage, i say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the lord.

9wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him.. since watchtower teaches there is only one "you" and not three (soul, body & spirit); how do jw's deal with the fact that scripture says that it is possible for a person to be absent from their body and to be present with the lord in heaven?when i was pioneering, i don't recall a householder every dropping this verse on me; and i'm not sure how i would have handled it if they did.

what say you?.

Halcon

I believe their explanation is a bit more simple. That Paul is keeping his 'eye on the prize', which is heaven. In other words, he gave little importance to his pains and sufferings as a human being, as they were much less consequential than what awaited him in heaven.

Ironically, in a roundabout way, I believe they may be partially correct in this interpretation because the shift is one from physical to mental, with the importance being placed on the mental. The spirit versus the tent that is the flesh.

73

Rekindled Light — The Narrative Structure of the Hexaemeron (Genesis 1:1–31)

by Mebaqqer2 in

i used to comment here many years ago when i had an interest in biblical research in relation to jehovah’s witnesses.

these days my biblical research is little concerned with jehovah’s witnesses.

i feel my time is better spent researching the diachronistic development of the biblical text and ascertaining what the biblical writers and editors intended in the times in which they lived.. i have recently placed a summary diagram for a paper that i have written with original research entitled the narrative structure of the hexaemeron on academia.edu.

Halcon

Thanks for the recommendations PioneerSch.

I think I'm leaning towards the SBL Study Bible based on your assessment. I enjoy a good analysis when my interest is piqued.

The subject of this thread is still very interesting anyways.

73

Rekindled Light — The Narrative Structure of the Hexaemeron (Genesis 1:1–31)

by Mebaqqer2 in

i used to comment here many years ago when i had an interest in biblical research in relation to jehovah’s witnesses.

these days my biblical research is little concerned with jehovah’s witnesses.

i feel my time is better spent researching the diachronistic development of the biblical text and ascertaining what the biblical writers and editors intended in the times in which they lived.. i have recently placed a summary diagram for a paper that i have written with original research entitled the narrative structure of the hexaemeron on academia.edu.

Halcon

I've tried to follow this thread. It's definitely complex. Everyone who's contributed to it is obviously very smart and knowledgeable.

As a person who has faith in the scriptures, how should I approach this subject? I thoroughly believe that God created the universe and planet Earth. Whether it was done in a literal 6 days as we humans understand a day to be, is all together a different story.

What should I look for in these types of papers and analysis?

21

SCHEMING TO END YOUR MARRIAGE NOW AS BAD AS APOSTASY

by raymond frantz in

https://youtu.be/-yvykw37rzo?si=vwokohrdq2b53fmh.

by now, it should be painfully obvious that we live in a post tonny morris era where the floods of organizational changes have become possible and a new version of the religion, some have called it warchtower 2.0 is emerging with a soft approach to disfellowshipping practices across the board for all those sinners.

nevertheless 3 groups of people will still be targeted for harsh excommunication, we know the first two well :csa perpetrators and apostates.

Halcon

R Frantz -That is why in 2024 , this group, those who scheme to end their marriage have now become top priority target for long and harsh disfellowshipping, as severe as those who are accused for apostasy.

What do you think? Have ou witnessed that in your congregation? What does the future hold for jw divorces

Restrictions that may or may not be imposed on a schemer will eventually be lifted. Dealing with restrictions for some time doesn't sound too bad in comparison to pre JW Lite.

It doesn't seem like JW is trying to zero in on these specific offenses, rather the change in rules is more focused on keeping members. However, it is very clear that it has never been easier to exit a marriage in JW than now, regardless of the reasons.

7

Happy Easter Everyone !

by Sea Breeze in

and as a reminder to all my atheist friends, here's a list of 12 facts on the resurrection most scholars (skeptic, jewish and otherwise) agree to.

2000 years ago a man announced that he would be killed and while he was dead, he would resurrect himself from the dead.

just wow!.

Halcon

Christ is risen 🙏🏻🌅

22

The "10 Year Plan" - What is the realistic outcome?

by redsetter2 in

as there has been some discussion calling bs on this topic, .

i will paste the text from my 10 year plan post and i will critically evaluate how i feel things will turn out.

i will add bold italics my thoughts.. the governing body has a 10-year marketing plan to remodel the organization to become closer to a mainstream christian religion.

Halcon

If we assume that the JW org is operating as a business, then it is actually more likely that there are multiple plans. Short term, long term and very possibly 10 year plans.

6

Funny Money

by peacefulpete in

i ran across this piece of history again and thought i'd share it before i forget it again.

we discussed the story in mark featuring the image of caesar on a coin as setup for the famous line, "give caesar's things to caesar...".

the writer was apparently unaware that the roman coinage circulating in judea did not have the usual image of caesar but rather depicted barley or palms and such and was often minted in judea.

Halcon

Indeed, these are very interesting facts.

6

Funny Money

by peacefulpete in

i ran across this piece of history again and thought i'd share it before i forget it again.

we discussed the story in mark featuring the image of caesar on a coin as setup for the famous line, "give caesar's things to caesar...".

the writer was apparently unaware that the roman coinage circulating in judea did not have the usual image of caesar but rather depicted barley or palms and such and was often minted in judea.

Halcon

However, coins with Caesar's image did exist. Is this what I'm understanding? Produced by Herod no less? So there is at least a possibility that events transpired as the Bible states it.

128

Why Do JW's Believe that Hell is Symbolic When the Disciples of the Apostles believed it Was Literal ?

by Sea Breeze in

looks like the early christians believed jesus when he warned about hell over 40 times.

why don't the jw's do the same?.

from “the epistle of barnabas” (70-130ad).

Halcon

Imagine Jesus Christ instructing one of his disciples to pick up his pen and scroll and telling him to draw this diagram.

Now imagine him pointing to the spot where the condemned are burning alive and him saying "this spot right here, this is where ALL of you will go if you so much as think about stepping out of line..do you understand??""...

....oh wait, he didn't do any of this.

22

The "10 Year Plan" - What is the realistic outcome?

by redsetter2 in

as there has been some discussion calling bs on this topic, .

i will paste the text from my 10 year plan post and i will critically evaluate how i feel things will turn out.

i will add bold italics my thoughts.. the governing body has a 10-year marketing plan to remodel the organization to become closer to a mainstream christian religion.

Halcon

The Revelation prophecies and Isaiah and Daniel prophecies will be completely rebranded and diluted to refer to more "faith strengthening" lessons on how Jehovah would help his people during the Last Days and into the 1000 year reign of Christ.

This study project is happening as we speak

Will you share a detail or two on how a prophecy will be retaught here?

Rebranded and diluted seems to indicate that nothing new will appear in these books.