If you stop and think about it since the vowels FORCED into YHWH are arbitrary and the use of Adonai is pulled out of thin air as a model, the correct pronunciation of God's 'name' could well be ANYTHING.
I vote for: “YaHoo WaHoo!”
TerryWalstrom
JoinedPosts by TerryWalstrom
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QUESTIONING THE OBVIOUS or deconstructing Jehovah's Witnesses
by TerryWalstrom inwhat is the most obvious thing you can think of about jehovah's witnesses from the standpoint of worldwide recognition?.
wouldn't it be 2 primary things: the name jehovah and secondly, the public testimony or witnessing?.
let's begin deconstructing those two things.. first, why would christians refer to themselves by any other name than christian?.
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BART EHRMAN answers my question
by TerryWalstrom inas a member on bart ehrman's blog, i am able to ask him direct questions.is jehovah in the bible?.
question:.
how firmly grounded in reality is the claim of jehovahs witnesses that the divine name (jehovah) belongs in the new testament?.
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TerryWalstrom
If you stop and think about it since the vowels FORCED into YHWH are arbitrary and the use of Adonai is pulled out of thin air as a model, the correct pronunciation of God's 'name' could well be ANYTHING.
I vote for: “YaHoo WaHoo!”
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LOCAL mini-APOSTAFEST (Sunday 3 /15) Fort Worth (Camp Bowie Starbucks)
by TerryWalstrom init looks like 5 of us will get together tomorrow at a starbucks on camp bowie in fort worth, texas.. this is one of those impromptu occasions which either suddenly come together or else just get jaw-jacked into a non-event:).
ricky g is a recently minted ex-jw who is moving to my vicinity from denton.
he has posted his story and other videos on youtube.
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TerryWalstrom
It looks like 5 of us will get together tomorrow at a Starbucks on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth, Texas.
This is one of those impromptu occasions which either suddenly come together or else just get jaw-jacked into a non-event:)
Ricky G is a recently minted Ex-JW who is moving to my vicinity from Denton. He has posted his story and other videos on YouTube. He'll be there and we'll meet for the first time.
Also, I'm thrilled to report, a young man who is still a JW (but whose eyes are now open) will attend. Add to that an old alumnus from JW-net, James Woods will drive over in his Rolls Royce from Dallas to keep us company. Rounding out this dangerous pack of Apostates is my old friend Quentin and myself.
If any other eyes see this rather hasty notice and want to join us, PLEASE DO!
On this map (below) the Starbucks is directly across the street from La Madeleine bakery.
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BART EHRMAN answers my question
by TerryWalstrom inas a member on bart ehrman's blog, i am able to ask him direct questions.is jehovah in the bible?.
question:.
how firmly grounded in reality is the claim of jehovahs witnesses that the divine name (jehovah) belongs in the new testament?.
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TerryWalstrom
Bart March 12, 2015Yes, the tradition going back to Papias is that Matthew produced a Gospel in Hebrew. Later Christians thought he meant the Gospel of Matthew that has come down to us. There are very good reasons for thinking that he meant a different book, however, since the two things he says about Matthew are not true of our Matthew. Ours is not simply a collection of Jesus’ sayings (Logia) and it was certainly not originally written in Hebrew, as is almost universally recognized on very solid grounds (e.g., it copied stories from the *Greek* Gospel of Mark)
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THEOCRATIC KENOSIS: the Watchtower Organization's ultimate goal for humanity
by TerryWalstrom inever wonder why jehovah's witnesses have almost nothing but words instead of love?.
every wonder why jw's praise their corporate leaders rather than jesus?.
every wonder why faith is only demonstrated by allowing children to die and molesters to escape, or disasters to be welcomed through obstinate demonstrations of loyalty to the org?.
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TerryWalstrom
Terry a question in the 3rd last paragraph you write: " --Few can replace this emptiness with anything resembling a formal worship ritual. --"
why should formal worship ritual be so important?
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The first time an EX-JW decides to participate in Christmas, Easter, Halloween, donating blood, voting, etc. can be quite a neurotic crucible of existential angst!
I vividly recall the day I donated blood for my newborn daughter who was experiencing severe jaundice. I had to run a 'mental gantlet' of self-talk to arrive at that decision. It was nothing more than superstitious reaction to a bugaboo! Any other parent would not have hesitated even a half-second! I even knew intellectually it was the correct thing to do--and it disturbed me emotionally for a while afterward!
We tend to formalize important things in our life with ritual: weddings, funerals, graduations, etc.
My essential thought centers on the absence of alternatives for Ex-JW's to formalize through ritual practice because of the TAINT psychologically implanted by association with Watchtower doctrine.
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IDENTITY and Fairies; The Salem Witch Trials and JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
by TerryWalstrom intwo ball bearings manufactured at the same time, in the same factory, by rigorous engineering standards, and produced to serve the same function inside a particular machine.. question: are they identical?.
answer: no.
there is one on your left and there is one on your right.. these do not occupy the same space.. you can remove one and the other will not follow.. _________________.
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TerryWalstrom
I guess we could say, "JW's lose their bearing and become bearings" :) -
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BART EHRMAN answers my question
by TerryWalstrom inas a member on bart ehrman's blog, i am able to ask him direct questions.is jehovah in the bible?.
question:.
how firmly grounded in reality is the claim of jehovahs witnesses that the divine name (jehovah) belongs in the new testament?.
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TerryWalstrom
If Jesus or his apostles had uttered the Tetra., don't you think it would have caused a tremendous accusation by the Pharisees who were looking for any pretense whatsoever with which to accuse them?
Beautiful reasoning; simple and elegant!
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BART EHRMAN answers my question
by TerryWalstrom inas a member on bart ehrman's blog, i am able to ask him direct questions.is jehovah in the bible?.
question:.
how firmly grounded in reality is the claim of jehovahs witnesses that the divine name (jehovah) belongs in the new testament?.
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TerryWalstrom
Treating God's Divine personal Name as though it were Holy would mean treating it the same way the Holy of Holy's in the Temple was treated. You wouldn't "go there."
Off limits!
Look how JW's bandy the name about like it is their Uncle Chucky. Jehovah this and Jehovah that--especially attaching it to fake Armageddon predictions that plop embarrassingly flat.
The Watchtower pretends it was silly superstition on the part of Jews to NOT say the name aloud.
The contrast between respect and over-familiarity is quite distinct, don't you think?
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BART EHRMAN answers my question
by TerryWalstrom inas a member on bart ehrman's blog, i am able to ask him direct questions.is jehovah in the bible?.
question:.
how firmly grounded in reality is the claim of jehovahs witnesses that the divine name (jehovah) belongs in the new testament?.
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TerryWalstrom
TODAY'S REPLY on Ehrman's blog:
Bart March 11, 2015
Short responses:
1. “The name” is another way to say the name of God without saying the name of God. You just say, “the name” and you mean “God” or “Yahweh”
2. Yes, there are Septuagint manuscripts that preserve the tetragrammaton. But most don’t.
3. I don’t know of any evidence that NT authors actually used the Hebrew letters for the tetragrammaton in their quotations of the OT. Do these authors actually say what the evidence *is*? I’ve looked at probably all the earliest manuscripts of the NT Gospels and I can’t think of a single stitch of evidence for that claim. But maybe I’m wrong! -
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IDENTITY and Fairies; The Salem Witch Trials and JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
by TerryWalstrom intwo ball bearings manufactured at the same time, in the same factory, by rigorous engineering standards, and produced to serve the same function inside a particular machine.. question: are they identical?.
answer: no.
there is one on your left and there is one on your right.. these do not occupy the same space.. you can remove one and the other will not follow.. _________________.
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TerryWalstrom
Objectively, JW's are without concrete purpose. Oh, they act like messengers delivering important warnings, but the reality behind the warning is illusory.
So, what exactly are JW's about, or as the English say, 'what are they IN AID OF'?
Nothing at all but agreeing with the latest phase of the moon.
They are do-nothings.
They are easily defined by what they DO NOT do.
They do NOT celebrate holidays.
They do NOT believe in hell.
They do NOT believe in immortality of the soul.
They do NOT believe in the Trinity.
They do NOT teach the way of the cross.
They do NOT salute the flag, sing the anthem, vote or do community service.
The list of "Do Not's' is endless.
In this, there is a unity of negative energy.
JW'S are passengers on a crazy bus where the driver (GB) calls out the destination now and then, but keeps changing the route sign and the terminus.
These JW passengers try to convince outsiders along the route to ride with them. But, nobody arrives at the place promised. It keeps changing.
Some of the JW passengers have been on this journey for most of their life. Some begin to suspect there IS NO DESTINATION, only death in the seat.
Some JW passengers ring the bell and get off, to the jeers and acrimony of the rest.
What sort of trip is a trip to nowhere if not a Cuckoo's nest crazy bus ride with patients from a sanitarium?
