Posts by TerryWalstrom

67

Exactly what is the HISTORIC view of the DIVINE or of what being GOD meant long ago?

by TerryWalstrom in

the purpose of this topic is twofold.. first, any who are endlessly fascinated by scholarship, practised by genuine bible scholars, are urged by me to do what i did, subscribe to bart ehrman's blog.

the subscription money (as little as $3.95) goes entirely to charity.. secondarily, by broadening our view of the new testament era on up through two millennia to the present day, our knowledge of all things 'christian' is deepened to include actual knowledge (as opposed to watchtower fabrication.

by this i don't mean to imply you'll fall to your knees and get saved, but rather, you'll simply have facts to inform your present transitional mindset toward whatever end you finally choose.. now .

TerryWalstrom

My mission here on earth is done! :)

52

USING CONTEXT to understand 'supernatural' Jesus

by TerryWalstrom in

to 27 b.c.e.. in the years of roman republic, no man was called a god (or even a king).

however, 200 years of peace under a ruler imperator, (emperor) gradually relaxed the fears of romans of having a dictator.

surely the gods had bestowed unusual approval!

TerryWalstrom

I was talking to a Seminary student (Dallas Theological Seminary) recently. He was a good-looking, personable, charismatic, (in the Movie Star sense) and intelligent fellow.

I really don't know how I manage to attract these discussions. Or do I?

I spend most days sitting in a Starbucks writing away furiously. Curious people sit nearby and ask questions. I let slip this or that and---BINGO!

Be that as it may . . .

This magic Christian proceeded to confess he was on a personal Sabbatical, an Ad Hoc Rumspringa to reassess his life!

All he had ever known was evangelical certainty, inerrancy of Scripture, and a deep-seated sense of heavenly entitlement--that is--until recently. One day, he was praying and suddenly became aware that he was 'talking to himself.'

I confessed the exact same experience--and a dialogue quickly ensured.

The empty feeling of being a 'fraud,' had haunted him. He was smart enough to step out of himself and see how religious fellowship was a self-reinforcing delusion. This led to an epiphany that Seminary was but an intellectual gasp and grasp at yet another self-reinforcing delusion!

Holy tergiversation, Batman!

We spoke for over an hour. Other patrons stood or sat nearby with eyes wide at the other-worldliness of our recherche!

I've seen him twice since then. He always looks terribly happy to see me, and once more, we plunge into an odd dance. I guess I'm an old man (68) who fits into an Obi Wan template for younger aspiring Jedi. Dunno, really. Suffice to day, I profess only ignorance and experience at sloughing my own skin of absolute certainty---and it works a MIRACLE for the fellow to experience my experience of that journey!

Apparently, there are 'True Believers' out there who aspire to doubt! The melancholy burden of 'proving the numinous' is too great a load to live with. The sense of falseness makes them sick of their own posture in the community of belief.

I call it a 'thirst for authenticity of self.'

A person of intellectual bent wants to 'solve' the problem as though it were possible by KNOWING THINGS. Others, less honest, want to solve the problem by BELIEVEING THINGS. Lastly, come the wary, weary, wastrels (myself included) who solve the problem by ABANDONING every premise and starting anew.

I too grow angry at sureness because I see it as repugnant, self-satisfied laziness.

But--is it? Dunno. It feels that way at the moment.

Doubt is as comforting as an empty bank account. Belief is writing bad checks.

Hope is applying for a large bank loan by mortgaging the future.

The Seminary guy grows happier each time I see him. He is wondering how to 'come out of the closet' as a non-believer to his Dad and Mom. Yipes.

He knows a HUGE RECKONING is in store and he'll have to 'explain' the inexplicable.

He wanted advice from Obi wan.

I quoted an old movie adage from WAR GAMES.

"The only way to win is to---NOT PLAY."

I said to him, "You parents and Christian friends either love the authentic you--or they've been lying to themselves by loving the version of you which pretends. Which do you want it to be?"

To NOT have "THAT" conversation (in religious terms) is to be authentic.

My takeaway from this exchange is this.

We are all on a journey. Those who have absolute certainty are betting everything against the odds.

There are 41,000 denominations in Christianity. How lucky can a fellow be to accidentally hit the 'true' one--IF there is a 'true' one?

Perhaps a good life, well-lived, being a service to others is the better trade-off?

Regardless, I use these religious discussions as a reminder of how much volatility

there is in THINKING SOMETHING IS TRUE based on numinous ancient texts :)

67

Exactly what is the HISTORIC view of the DIVINE or of what being GOD meant long ago?

by TerryWalstrom in

the purpose of this topic is twofold.. first, any who are endlessly fascinated by scholarship, practised by genuine bible scholars, are urged by me to do what i did, subscribe to bart ehrman's blog.

the subscription money (as little as $3.95) goes entirely to charity.. secondarily, by broadening our view of the new testament era on up through two millennia to the present day, our knowledge of all things 'christian' is deepened to include actual knowledge (as opposed to watchtower fabrication.

by this i don't mean to imply you'll fall to your knees and get saved, but rather, you'll simply have facts to inform your present transitional mindset toward whatever end you finally choose.. now .

TerryWalstrom

I think most of us are fascinated by our own ignorance of the LAW of IDENTITY, although, without it, we are apt to make category errors rather easily.

In logic, the law of identity is the first of the three classical laws of thought. It states that “each thing is the same with itself and different from another”.
1. Category error:
  
  the error of assigning to something a quality or action that can properly be assigned to things only of another category, for example, treating abstract concepts as though they had a physical location.

33

As I move further away from theWT.....

by Viviane in

i've, over the years, looked into many religions.

obviously, from those that have seen me post here, i've become an atheist simply because i couldn't find any reason to believe in god.

recently, though, over the past few months, a new change has started.

TerryWalstrom

I was loved most dearly, as a child, by my non-practising Catholic grandmother. I absorbed empathetically her reverence for her version of "God." I confused 'love' in general with God.

I had no instruction beyond a few anecdotal precepts to live by.

I only attended Sunday School once and it was traumatic. I never went back.

Then . . . along came my best friend who was a Jehovah's Witness.

I wrongly assumed his 'knowledge' of the Bible was evidence of a superior awareness of a 'truth' kindred with my grandmother's numinous passion. I became a young Paduan acolyte and was served up on Jehovah's altar in Federal Prison.

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'

It has been a long, hard, scarring journey.

I would assert somewhat confidently, any intelligent person can abandon emotional security for intellectual honesty after a mourning period, and several outbursts of post-traumatic angst.

Honesty is a scalpel, but belief is narcotic. How do you perform a necessary surgery and endure the pain?

My answer is this. You GROW UP.

Dammit, this is a human tragedy; abandoning make-believe can do damage like nothing else can!

I've been married and divorced 4 times. The worst break-up of all was my divorce from Jehovah. I outgrew the need to be in a dependent relationship, as well as that unrealistic premise: 'something is better than nothing.'

No, my friends, if you have a true 'nothing' it is far easier to survive than to support the habit of a false 'something.'

I am a true nothing. My life is a true nothing.

It is a beautiful lonliness I exeperience now.

52

USING CONTEXT to understand 'supernatural' Jesus

by TerryWalstrom in

to 27 b.c.e.. in the years of roman republic, no man was called a god (or even a king).

however, 200 years of peace under a ruler imperator, (emperor) gradually relaxed the fears of romans of having a dictator.

surely the gods had bestowed unusual approval!

TerryWalstrom

I'm not in the least disturbed by thrashings in a search for verisimilitude.

It is a fine example of how those who care, each in his/her own way, work through tares to winnow the wheat :)

We can all learn from each other. It is painful, certainly, because we (I know I do) find it hard to be wrong. But, intellectual honesty requires we suffer for our 'truth.'

Christianity mirrors a history of such battles from 1st century until this very hour.

52

USING CONTEXT to understand 'supernatural' Jesus

by TerryWalstrom in

to 27 b.c.e.. in the years of roman republic, no man was called a god (or even a king).

however, 200 years of peace under a ruler imperator, (emperor) gradually relaxed the fears of romans of having a dictator.

surely the gods had bestowed unusual approval!

TerryWalstrom

Remember, the Watchtower Society was 'called out' for employing a 'spiritist' translation in propping up their controversial rendering of John 1:1? Johannes Greber's translation had been cited in support of ". . . and the word was <a>god."

The GB and the writing committee were aware of what they were doing.

I am going to use this as an analogy. Early Christianity was equally aware of Pagan sources creeping into their teaching but found it useful in getting their mission into Gentile territory. Perhaps this is partially a Pauline strategy of "being all things to all people."

Suffice to say, first century Christianity was a coalescence of streams of oral teaching, influences, debate, and stratification inside the community right up through the Nicene Council. The 'fingerprints' of neo-Platonic Christianity were everywhere in evidence.

http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/cp.htm

52

USING CONTEXT to understand 'supernatural' Jesus

by TerryWalstrom in

to 27 b.c.e.. in the years of roman republic, no man was called a god (or even a king).

however, 200 years of peace under a ruler imperator, (emperor) gradually relaxed the fears of romans of having a dictator.

surely the gods had bestowed unusual approval!

TerryWalstrom

Stoic and Platonic philosophy were Pagan penetrations into Judaism and early Christianity.

52

USING CONTEXT to understand 'supernatural' Jesus

by TerryWalstrom in

to 27 b.c.e.. in the years of roman republic, no man was called a god (or even a king).

however, 200 years of peace under a ruler imperator, (emperor) gradually relaxed the fears of romans of having a dictator.

surely the gods had bestowed unusual approval!

TerryWalstrom

The most 'disturbing' influence of Greek thought and language is demonstrated by the fact actual words and language of Jesus weren't handled with respectful preservation. The Greek approximations do violence with exactitude of meaning. As the Rabbis taught, "All translations are lies."

52

USING CONTEXT to understand 'supernatural' Jesus

by TerryWalstrom in

to 27 b.c.e.. in the years of roman republic, no man was called a god (or even a king).

however, 200 years of peace under a ruler imperator, (emperor) gradually relaxed the fears of romans of having a dictator.

surely the gods had bestowed unusual approval!

TerryWalstrom

The Greek influence had penetrated into Jewish theology as to methodology both in pre and post Apostolic times:

13

So, dead members of the 144,000 help direct the preaching work from beyond the grave?

by Zoos in

did i understand that right?

was that a claim rutherford made?.

i don't suppose anyone has that quote..

TerryWalstrom

... though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is managing every feature of the harvest work.

Later that year the Judge wrote in the Watch Tower of November 1, page 325 the following:

"This work is conducted by the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, a corporation organized for that purpose by Pastor Russell years ago, and which, without doubt, was organized under the Lord's direction, and which was managed and directed by Pastor Russell until his death.

"Hence our dear Pastor, now in glory, is without doubt, manifesting a keen interest in the Harvest work, and is permitted by the Lord to exercise some strong influence thereupon. (Revelation 14:17) It is not unreasonable to conclude that he has been privileged to do, in connection with the Harvest work, things which he could not do while with us. Although we recognize that the Lord is the great Master and Director of the Harvest, yet we recognize that He would privilege the saints beyond the veil to have a part in the work on this side; and thus all the saints, both in Heaven and upon earth, are now given the honor of concluding the work on this side, preparatory to the full establishment of the Kingdom of Glory."

Then all of a sudden in 1930, Judge Rutherford writes the following inLight, Book 1, Page 47, 48

"It is a wellknown fact, however, that since the coming of the Lord to his temple in 1918 there have been a goodsized number in the church who have attended eonventions and meetings but who have not been active, and many who have in substance said this: ‘All the light upon God’s Word was published prior to 1917; we have that truth and will continue to feed and meditate upon it; the Lord appointed one man as his “faithful and wise servant”, and even though he has passed from the earth he is still doing God’s work on the earth and is in charge of his church, and since we are of God’s favored ones and have these things we enjoy great riches of feeding and meditating upon what he wrote before 1916; we have developed sweet and beautiful characters; we have a past record for zeal for the Lord and we rely upon our riches gained, and therefore we have need of nothing but will rest upon our laurels and wait to be taken into glory.

"There is no reason why we should bring reproach upon ourselves by going from house to house; by telling the people of the organization of Satan and that of God. We are really better than others. Let them do it.’ As God foretold, such would say: ‘(I am holier than thou.” (Isa. 65: 5) The above fairly well describes the condition that existed in the church particularly after 1917, and in a more marked degree from and after 1918."

And who may I ask promoted such a "condition" that "existed in the church particularly after 1917"?