TD

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Posts by TD

• 
  81

  Acts 15:29 - "keep abstaining from blood"

  by aqwsed12345 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for a christian, only the moral commandments of the old testament are binding (as they cannot change), but the various liturgical, social, and other so-called casuistic laws no longer apply to them.

  this includes dietary habits, such as the prohibition of pork or fat, as well as the prohibition of blood.. take a look at the following verses: mt 15:11, mk 7:15-19, acts 11:7-9, 1 tim 4:3-5.. the jehovah's witnesses say that, yes, but in the acts of the apostles (15) the consumption of blood, idol meat, and strangled animals is also prohibited, meaning the new testament still forbids it.

  for catholics, the council of florence settled this issue, stating that this apostolic regulation was only a temporary measure to facilitate agreement between jews and gentiles in the early church.

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  TD

  The Jerusalem counsel was precipitated thus:

  "But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."

  The earliest Christians, especially in Jerusalem, had simply added belief in Jesus to a full observance of the Law.

  The decision of the council was that new converts did not have to be circumcised or follow the law, but did need to observe four abstentions

  As Christian commentators observe, these were the minimum requirements for the alien resident stated in the same order they appear in the Torah.

  Improperly bled meat is covered by the third abstention. The first abstention is about idolatry, or more precisely the Jewish belief that it did not matter if the idol sacrifice was later sold at a meat market or not. --Benefiting from the sin was participation in the sin.

  Paul's more emancipated viewpoint is a problem for those who claim the Decree was necessary for salvation and it requires a more studied explanation than merging and conflating two of the abstentions.

  EasyPrompt appears to be confused about every material detail here.
• 
  81

  Acts 15:29 - "keep abstaining from blood"

  by aqwsed12345 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for a christian, only the moral commandments of the old testament are binding (as they cannot change), but the various liturgical, social, and other so-called casuistic laws no longer apply to them.

  this includes dietary habits, such as the prohibition of pork or fat, as well as the prohibition of blood.. take a look at the following verses: mt 15:11, mk 7:15-19, acts 11:7-9, 1 tim 4:3-5.. the jehovah's witnesses say that, yes, but in the acts of the apostles (15) the consumption of blood, idol meat, and strangled animals is also prohibited, meaning the new testament still forbids it.

  for catholics, the council of florence settled this issue, stating that this apostolic regulation was only a temporary measure to facilitate agreement between jews and gentiles in the early church.

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  TD

  EasyPrompt

  Your ignorance of your own ignorance is hard to deal with, but I'll take a crack at it.

  The OP mentioned a principle of Halakha know as pikuach nefesh. In a nutshell, the preservation of life, being the purpose of the Law, (Yoma 85b) took precedence over everything except cases involving murder, idolatry and incest

  This is Rabbinic interpretation. --An invention of the Pharisees that Jesus of the Bible not only accepted, but did not believe was being taken far enough.

  So you can step off your fundamentalist pedestal and at least agree with Jesus of the Bible here.

  While you're at it, you might want to reread (And possibly amend) your reply to Vanderhoven7 above.
  
• 
  49

  a pet peeve of mine

  by enoughisenough in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  putting this under "friends" because i couldn't figure out where to put it.

  it is very often on here and in ex jw videos, ect that people like to undermine some of those who once we would have called friends.

  there seems to be a view that window washers, plumbers, cleaners, construction workers are somehow less intelligent than those who may be college educated.

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• 

  TD

  The term was coined 30+ years ago in the early days of JW discussion forums (I was there)

  There were many more JW apologists back then, each one smug in the assurance that JW teaching trumped "Wordly education."

  The takeaway was simple. --Don't argue outside the sphere of your own knowledge.
  
• 
  81

  Acts 15:29 - "keep abstaining from blood"

  by aqwsed12345 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for a christian, only the moral commandments of the old testament are binding (as they cannot change), but the various liturgical, social, and other so-called casuistic laws no longer apply to them.

  this includes dietary habits, such as the prohibition of pork or fat, as well as the prohibition of blood.. take a look at the following verses: mt 15:11, mk 7:15-19, acts 11:7-9, 1 tim 4:3-5.. the jehovah's witnesses say that, yes, but in the acts of the apostles (15) the consumption of blood, idol meat, and strangled animals is also prohibited, meaning the new testament still forbids it.

  for catholics, the council of florence settled this issue, stating that this apostolic regulation was only a temporary measure to facilitate agreement between jews and gentiles in the early church.

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  2. 
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• 

  TD

  You guys are a bunch of Pharisees, making advice into commands while toying with the lives of children.

  To that, I would point out that Rabbinical interpretation existed for the purpose of resolving conflicts. If an occupied building collapsed on the sabbath, was it a violation to clear the rubble and search for survivors?

  The JW's have created a conflict where none existed. --A conflict between (of all things) one of the highest of all mitzvot and kashrut (!)

  That's pretty far beyond anything Judaism (ancient or modern) has come up with.
  
• 
  49

  a pet peeve of mine

  by enoughisenough in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  putting this under "friends" because i couldn't figure out where to put it.

  it is very often on here and in ex jw videos, ect that people like to undermine some of those who once we would have called friends.

  there seems to be a view that window washers, plumbers, cleaners, construction workers are somehow less intelligent than those who may be college educated.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TD

  But, if a man is a lawyer and asked to perform surgery, would you use define him with derogatory words because he was out of his field of knowledge? NO!

  No indeed.
• 
  49

  a pet peeve of mine

  by enoughisenough in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  putting this under "friends" because i couldn't figure out where to put it.

  it is very often on here and in ex jw videos, ect that people like to undermine some of those who once we would have called friends.

  there seems to be a view that window washers, plumbers, cleaners, construction workers are somehow less intelligent than those who may be college educated.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TD

  So, enoughisenough

  Do you understand what we mean by "Window Washer University" now?

  There's a good example of it in a thread you are currently participating in.
  
• 
  81

  Acts 15:29 - "keep abstaining from blood"

  by aqwsed12345 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for a christian, only the moral commandments of the old testament are binding (as they cannot change), but the various liturgical, social, and other so-called casuistic laws no longer apply to them.

  this includes dietary habits, such as the prohibition of pork or fat, as well as the prohibition of blood.. take a look at the following verses: mt 15:11, mk 7:15-19, acts 11:7-9, 1 tim 4:3-5.. the jehovah's witnesses say that, yes, but in the acts of the apostles (15) the consumption of blood, idol meat, and strangled animals is also prohibited, meaning the new testament still forbids it.

  for catholics, the council of florence settled this issue, stating that this apostolic regulation was only a temporary measure to facilitate agreement between jews and gentiles in the early church.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TD

  I would suggest that the problem is more basic and fundamental than what is being argued.

  The Decree doesn't actually say "abstain from blood" --That is not a grammatically complete construction.

  What it actually says is, ἀπέχεσθαι...tοῦ αἵματος. -- To keep abstaining from blood or To be abstaining from blood.

  It's a clear reference to a prohibition that was already in effect at the time the words were written. (i.e. The eating or possibly drinking of blood)

  It therefore becomes incumbent upon the claimant to demonstrate in concrete terms, how and why transfusion would fall under the umbrella of this prohibition. That's not an easy argument to make, as its not supported. by modern medicine.

  JW writers attempt to sidestep this responsibility via semantic legerdemain. They invoke an incomplete predicate apart from the context that completes it and pass it off as an independent construction. (I'd be happy to elaborate on the grammatical issue.)

  That is not a latitude you should allow. Make them stick to what the Bible actually says.
  
• 
  18

  The Messianic Prophecies and Their Fulfillment in Jesus

  by aqwsed12345 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the belief in the messiah, which has lived in the collective consciousness of humanity since ancient times, became completely obscured among the gentiles, and only remained with the jewish people, who were later chosen by god, as the prophecies of the prophets kept it alive.

  there was only one great promise in the old testament from god, which awaited fulfillment!

  only one great desire was there in the old testament on the part of man, longing for satisfaction.

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  TD

  Um, TD, did you ever read Jesus' words to the Pharisees?

  Yes. - Έχω διαβάσει τις αφηγήσεις των Ευαγγελίων πολλές φορές

  Und ich finde Ihren Witz über mein Leseverständnis eigentlich sehr lustig.

  (Préféreriez-vous une autre langue ?)
  

  ---
  

  Have you, perchance read the minor prophets and noted the language with which Ezekiel and others called their countrymen to repentance? I would suggest that with zero knowledge of the language or culture you are perhaps reading more into what is essentially a family quarrel than is warranted.

  I've addressed the antisemitism inherent in fundamentalist commentary many times and finally summarized it here:

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/149881/jesus-pharisees-jehovahs-witnesses
• 
  18

  The Messianic Prophecies and Their Fulfillment in Jesus

  by aqwsed12345 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the belief in the messiah, which has lived in the collective consciousness of humanity since ancient times, became completely obscured among the gentiles, and only remained with the jewish people, who were later chosen by god, as the prophecies of the prophets kept it alive.

  there was only one great promise in the old testament from god, which awaited fulfillment!

  only one great desire was there in the old testament on the part of man, longing for satisfaction.

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TD

  Striking level of ignorance about the Pharisees who:

  A. Clearly considered Jesus to be one of their own

  B. Considered the lifestyle of an itinerant teacher virtuous

  C. Warn him of Herod's intent to kill him.

  D. Composed a fair amount of his earliest followers

  E. Had held no political power since the time of Salomé Alexandra
• 
  49

  a pet peeve of mine

  by enoughisenough in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  putting this under "friends" because i couldn't figure out where to put it.

  it is very often on here and in ex jw videos, ect that people like to undermine some of those who once we would have called friends.

  there seems to be a view that window washers, plumbers, cleaners, construction workers are somehow less intelligent than those who may be college educated.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TD

  I'm going to use a member of my wife's family as an illustration.

  This gentleman owns a window cleaning business. He's a successful man with dozens of employees. --Lives in a nice house and drives a nice car. He's a JW elder and from what I can see, is highly regarded in his congregation.

  This man is not stupid by any stretch of the imagination. He's way above average in intelligence.

  What this gentleman is missing is depth:
  

  He regards himself as knowledgeable when it comes to the Bible, but doesn't understand the difference between the JW's wild allegorical interpretation of it and actual scholarship. He mistakes the former for the latter.

  He can't compose a simple sentence in Ancient Greek, or for that matter, even pronounce the word Koine, and yet believes he's very conversant in Bible translation. He doesn't understand what higher criticism is or why it is necessary, but holds a very dim view of it.
  

  This gentleman has no children of his own, is not qualified as a grief counselor and his ideas of marriage are skewed by the belief that men are inherently more intelligent than women. And yet he gives advice in all these areas.

  This gentleman knows very little about human physiology and nothing about medicine and yet as a JW elder believes he is knowledgeable in a very esoteric branch of emergency medicine. --Much more so than medical professionals.
  

  In short, he's an alumni of Window Washer Uni.

  I know the term gets used thoughtlessly sometimes, but there are legitimate examples of what it's meant to describe.