TD

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Posts by TD

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  19

  Who wrote the book of Hebrews?

  by Fisherman in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there are good reasons to belief that paul wrote hebrews.

  i am convinced he wrote it.

  is there any any convincing evidence or argument that can validate the belief?.

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  TD

  One of the things that makes writing styles distinctive is that the average person only uses about 1/4 to 1/3 of the words available in their language and this vocabulary varies from person to person to person.

  So when one book of the Bible contains approximately 150 words that aren't found in any other book, it is definitely a distinctive writing style.

  One can no doubt find ways to explain this discrepancy, but I would agree that dismissing what little evidence we have is not evidence in and of itself.
  
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  19

  Who wrote the book of Hebrews?

  by Fisherman in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there are good reasons to belief that paul wrote hebrews.

  i am convinced he wrote it.

  is there any any convincing evidence or argument that can validate the belief?.

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  TD

  Paul generally made a point of naming himself as the author of the books he wrote, apparently because he was concerned about forgeries in his name. The writer of Hebrews does not name himself.
  

  Paul repeatedly states that he received the Gospel directly from Jesus himself, whereas the writer of Hebrews places himself one step lower in the chain, stating that he heard it from those who heard it from Jesus. (...ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουσάντων)
  

  The writers of the NT were a mixed bag, with the writer of Revelation being barely literate, (At least in Greek) clear up to the writer of Hebrews, which is arguably the most sophisticated Greek in the NT. The writings that are definitely authored by Paul really aren't at this level.
  
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  60

  Freemasons

  by UnDisfellowshipped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am posting this thread because i've seen some people ask "who are the freemasons?

  back a few years ago, i had never heard of the masons before.. then, i had some masons involved in my life, so i did a lot of research into them (at the library, on the internet, in books, testimony by former masons, etc.)..

  i will start a thread soon and post my beliefs and opinions on freemasonry.. here are a few things i have found in my research.. in a "well-ordered" masonic lodge, masons are allowed to believe in any god they want to, except jesus christ.. in fact, in a "well-ordered" masonic lodge, the name jesus christ should not even be mentioned.. that makes one wonder, doesn't it?.

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  TD

  Why not just reach and talk to your local Masons?

  Indeed
  
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  10

  Favorite Xmas movie?

  by peacefulpete in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  elf...simply a great movie imo.

  funny, heartwarming and well acted..

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  TD

  Going to go with JeffT on this one. A Christmas Story (1983) with Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon and Peter Billingsley.

  It absolutely nails that era.

  "My father's spare tires were only tires in the academic sense. They were round and had once been made of rubber."

  This was true of a lot of our fathers.
  
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  50

  Who will Survive Armageddon?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  breaking news....there is hope for good hearted non-jws!!!.

  according to sergio:.

  are jehovah's witnesses the only ones to be saved during the end time?.

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  TD

  It was around 1972 that Singapore refused to recognize the JW’s as a organized religion, seized their assets and chattel, and banned the distribution of WTB&TS literature for among other things:
  

  "The doctrine of the sect and nature of its propaganda are based on its claim that ‘Satan’ and its dispensation, are responsible for all organised Government and religion. The result of the impending ‘Armageddon’ will be the destruction of everyone except Jehovah’s Witnesses who will inherit the earth.”

  JW's do not alter their beliefs in response to government pressure; they simply become less forthright about those beliefs. Ambiguous statements that seemed to imply others might survive Armageddon were only for PR. Interspersed with those, were stronger statements that only JW's would pick up on.

  Stating, for example that only those speaking the "pure language" will survive has an esoteric meaning that outsiders are very unlikely to comprehend.
  
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  12

  Review of Wallace's Grammar

  by Wonderment in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  review of daniel b. wallace’s greek grammar.

  daniel b[aird] wallace is professor of new testament, and author of greek grammar beyond the basics, a work first published by zondervan corporation in 1996. his work has since become a standard work in the intermediate koine greek field and has been translated into half a dozen languages.

  it is said two-thirds of bible colleges today that teach the subject use the textbook.

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  TD

  What's with people and saying "JW's have no scholars"?

  Almost every scholarly minded JW I knew and interacted with twenty years ago is "disfellowshipped" today. --Some for reasons that seemed (IMO) to be trivial.

  So while it's probably not true that there are "no scholars" there are certainly a lot less than there could be.
  
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  86

  Is most of the promotion of creationism, not just that by the WT, charlatanism?

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  is most of the promotion of creationism, not just that by the wt, charlatanism?.

  https://www.fullmoon.nu/sources.bak/chapter%2010/part%202/gish%20exposed.html [which has an article called "creationism: bad science or immoral pseudoscience?

  - (an expose of creationist dr. duane gish)"] says the following.. 'a look at the "scientific" creationist movement and a close examination of the tactics of a well-known and influential creationist will reveal that the creation "science" movement gains much of its strength through the use of distortion and scientifically unethical tactics.. .... with the facts explained and the lawsuits won, scientists declared victory and returned to their labs and offices.

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  TD

  News flash there are a few Christians dotted around in other countries.

  Seriously
  

  Jane Goodall, (one of the Trimates aka Leaky's angels) is a devout Christian. The inability to reconcile Christianity with what has become a huge chunk of science is very much an American thing
  
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  23

  WT Style Pacificism

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  episode 203 of netflix ... i am a killer looks at the murder of christopher chavez in texas.

  christopher chavez was a 22 year old ministerial servant and a born-in son of an jw elder.

  after a thursday night meeting and a quick bite to eat afterwards with friends at a local restaurant, he was kidnapped, taken to a gas station and forced to drive his killers around for hours while they were in the back seat.

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  TD

  Do you think the article is being fair in stating that the "pacifist leanings" of the Watchtower and his JW parenting played a significant role in his murder?

  I think "pacifist leanings" is a fair and accurate way to describe it.

  Although JW's do not embrace pacifism as a philosophy and are therefore not pacifists in the technical sense, there is a functional equivalency that makes it difficult to distinguish between the two.
  

  This includes, (But is not limited to) not owning firearms for the purpose of self defense, not studying martial arts or allowing their children to, not serving in law enforcement, and not coming to the aid of a police officer even if you specifically directed to do so.
  
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  28

  Was Jesus the Messiah circumcised ?

  by smiddy3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  has this question ever been raised before by jehovah`s witnesses?

  and what`s the significance, if any ?.

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  TD

  ALL genital mutilation of babies is barbaric and backward.

  ^^^This^^^

  The procedure destroys a huge amount of nerve endings, which is not something most males would voluntarily submit to if given a choice.

  Even were that not the case, the procedure is intensely painful for days afterwards, which can be measured via stress hormones in the blood

  Anybody who would subject a male infant to this for aesthetic or religious reasons needs to do some soul searching.
  
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  173

  Is the tide turning against covid vaccines?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. social
  2. current

  have you seen this video about the covid vaccines?

  have you got any views on the information?

  i find it worrying at least.

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  TD

  He is a heart doctor and he is talking about heart problems and their causes, so how is his expertise not relevant?

  His expertise is very relevant, but it's just not broad enough for the nature of the claim. It's one thing for a cardiologist to notice an uptick in myocarditis and suspect that a recent vaccination is the cause. But correlation is not causation and making a water tight case for the latter gets into other disciplines. That's why these articles are usually authored by several individuals from various fields
  

  Again, I'm not saying he's wrong, but there is going to be some pushback.