Posts by OHappyDay

28

Do all informed JW's deny the man Christ Jesus as their mediator?

by hooberus in

many here are familiar with the current watchtower doctrine that jesus is the mediator for only the 144,000. .

members of the great crowd who know and believe wt doctrine on this subject will deny that jesus christ is their mediator.

those of the remant who know and believe wt doctrine on this subject will claim to have jesus christ as their mediator, but will deny that the mediator is a man.. however, the bible says that the mediator is .

OHappyDay

1 Timothy 2:5

The current JW understanding of that text is based on a "legal" or business meaning of the Greek word for "mediator." But it is not proved that Paul had only a "legal" meaning in mind when he wrote, especially when he tied the word "mediator" with the phrase "ransom for ALL," not just for 144.000.

But neither do Paul's words indicate that Jesus is now a "man" in heaven. He was a man when he gave his life as the mediator, that was Paul's reference in the verse. Jesus was able to be the mediator precisely because he was a man. But Paul is not implying that Jesus is still a man up in heaven. Greek scholars point out that the word for "man" in this verse is an anarthrous noun (noun without the definite article "the"), emphasizing again the relationship between his status as a human and his mediatorship: he was human at the time when he gave his life as a ransom.

Therefore, I do not accept the WT doctrine that Jesus is mediator only for 144,000, but neither do I accept the doctrine that Jeus is still a man up in heaven.

20

Any research on Fred Franz?

by Spudinator in

just curious if anyone out there has done or knows of an extensive biography of fred franz.

since he was such a pivotal person in the wtbts it would be interesting.

i know that the bible students are writing a biography of charles t. russell and alan f has said that someone is writing a bio of j.f.

OHappyDay

Both scholar and Farkel are correct. Franz was a "natural" scholar, lacking only the degree. But as a prophet, he was lacking divine inspiration.

Franz thought that by saying it, the End would come when he wanted it to come. By so doing, he ignored the warnings in the Bible about false predictions of Christ's coming.

In the end, Ego triumphed, and Truth lay vanquished.

20

What is the next Book Study Book?

by codeblue in

ok...just noticing the worship the only true god book will end the week of march 8th...what is the next book to be studied?

i would appreciate your help in this matter!

codeblue

OHappyDay

Maybe the "Sister" has studied Draw Close to Jehovah on her own and this will be "again" for her, but this is the first time the book is being used at the Congregation Book Study.

Now, Jehovah's Witnesses will say that we are always studying the Bible, regardless of book used as an aid. As the Ethiopian eunuch asked of Phillip the Evangelist, "How could I understand [the Bible, in this case, a passage from Isaiah], unless someone guided me?"

IMHO, this book is one of the better ones.

16

Bible Has No Room for "Observers"

by OHappyDay in

as another memorial season approaches, our only and most valued holiday, the traditions of men will again invalidate the word of god.. ninety-nine percent of those who attend the memorial will ignore and transgress jesus' commandment: "as they continued eating, jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said, 'take, eat.

this means my body.

' also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'drink out of it, all of you; for this means my blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.

OHappyDay

J.C., I appreciate your comments. Truth is, however, that I have enough trouble with understanding our own take on chronology, etc., to consider taking on another viewpoint. So, my post is with current JW commentary on the Memorial.

As I understand it, we now interpret "until the Lord comes" to mean his coming with judgment, i.e., at Armageddon. So, we celebrate the Memorial until that "coming."

My point is that if Witnesses are going to celebrate the Memorial, we should really celebrate it, all who are in attendance, by doing as Jesus said, "drink of it, all of you," and not as our Tradition says, "drink of it, some of you." Jesus did not say in any case, "Just sit there and observe."

28

Question for Dubs

by Farkel in

to this very day, the wts teaches that "babylon the grape" ("the world empire of false religion") "fell" in 1918. that was 86 years ago, yet religion is bigger than ever before in the world, and for the most part it is practiced without any problems or governmental intervention.

it is cults like the dubs which do get government interference in place, mostly because of their blood ban, and their sick and destructive social culture.. where then, and how then, did babylon the grape "fall" in 1918, little dubbies?.

farkel

OHappyDay

Carl Sagan had us figured out in 1982? Fascinating. Apocalypticism is our Achilles' heel. We fall into a long line of religions with failed expectations of the End. Best we left that to God, and go on living the Christian life (if we are Christians) day by day.

16

Bible Has No Room for "Observers"

by OHappyDay in

as another memorial season approaches, our only and most valued holiday, the traditions of men will again invalidate the word of god.. ninety-nine percent of those who attend the memorial will ignore and transgress jesus' commandment: "as they continued eating, jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said, 'take, eat.

this means my body.

' also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'drink out of it, all of you; for this means my blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.

OHappyDay

As another Memorial Season approaches, our only and most valued holiday, the traditions of men will again invalidate the Word of God.

Ninety-nine percent of those who attend the Memorial will ignore and transgress Jesus' commandment: "As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said, 'Take, eat. This means my body.' Also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink out of it, all of you; for this means my blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.'" (Matthew 26:26, 27)

Our Master Jesus said 'Eat, drink, all of you.' But a group of men in Brooklyn has established a tradition that invalidates this, since the majority of those observing the Memorial will only do just that: Observe. They won't be eating or drinking, because of some half-baked classicism that unscripturally separates Christians into different "classes," anointed and non-anointed, "remnant" and "other sheep."

So, millions will attend the Memorial of Christ's death only to violate Christ's commands. There is no mention of "observer" status in the New Testament, only of partakers! Why does the Bible make no provision for a future condition that would have merely "observers"? Because the whole concept is unscriptural! Biblically speaking, Christians should honor the Memorial by participating in it, not just looking on.

There is only one Bible for all Christians. If God meant for Christians to be divided into different classes, he would have caused a "Bible" to be written for each group. As it now stands, if the New Testament was written for the anointed, or written with the heavenly "class" in view, as we are told, then it is irrelevant for those who do not have a heavenly hope. And it is quite obvious that the New Testament does focus on the heavenly hope.

So, where is the "Bible" for the "other sheep"? Or, perhaps there are no "other sheep," and all Christians are one in the Body of Christ.

21

Comments You Will Not Hear at the Real 2-29-04 WT Study (last wk s/b 2-22)

by blondie in

god?s way of ruling is by love.

if that would be the case, wouldn?t we really be asking ourselves the question, ?do we really want the rulership of god??

"everlasting life in a righteous new world.".

OHappyDay

Blondie, an excellent and well-researched job!

I think the Society is running out of things to write about, since all the former prophesying about the End has proven false. We attempt to keep the troops whipped up for activity, but it is futile. We can't be sprinters, since no one knows when the End is coming. Unless we prepare for long-distance running, keeping pace and balance, frustration lies ahead. But pace and balance aren't what Brooklyn is aiming for. They want to force the End to come right now, before the last of their Remnant of anointed ones passes off the scene. Joseph Rutherford's "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" are mostly all dead now, and before long, so will be all of the anointed. And still no Armageddon in sight. Jewish revolutionaries in the 1st century tried to force the End too, but the only end that came was their own.

Tying our religion to an uncertain apocalypticism was a mistake. Better that one lives the life of a Christian (if one is a Christian) every day, and leave the End to God. Preaching 24/7 won't bring it any closer.

10

Heavens doors closed in 1935, PROVE IT, how do they calculate this ???

by run dont walk in

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/54426/788874/post.ashx#788874

a continuation of this thread,.

how do the jw's calculate 1935 and prove that heavens doors were closed ?????????.

OHappyDay

Just goes to show, we don't know what we're talking about. Our non-biblical teachings keep getting us in trouble. I don't know why, for all the appeal to the Bible, we insist on keeping speculations that can't be proved by the Bible!

This "class," that "class"....this date, that date....this assumption, that assumption....It all just makes us look foolish.

13

km-april 2004

by Nocturne in

hey everyone, i haven't posted here as often as i would like, but i've been busy with other stuff.

but i noticed something interesting in the km for april.

in the section with suggestions for presentations, the one for the may 1st wt.

OHappyDay

Thanks, nocturne. I agree, our rhetoric gets us in trouble. It would have been better to have been upfront about the whole thing from the beginning.

The Society speaks out of both sides of its mouth. Like when it assures us that Jehovah accepts whatever service we can give, according to our circumstances, but then rants about "low hour publishers." Or, when it tells us not to compare our service to that of others, but then sets "national averages" before us.

It's like we're running around in circles.

13

km-april 2004

by Nocturne in

hey everyone, i haven't posted here as often as i would like, but i've been busy with other stuff.

but i noticed something interesting in the km for april.

in the section with suggestions for presentations, the one for the may 1st wt.

OHappyDay

You have the KM for April already? Are you at Bethel or something?

Sorry, but the claim that the Society is or was in cahoots with the UN does not bother me. At least the UN accomplishes some good in the world.

Maybe the Society should join hands with the UN.