Posts by EdenOne

63

Great campagne in Portugal (ex-JW)

by TJ Curioso in

i like to tell you what we've been doing these past few days here in portugal (ex-jw).

we create a brochure and printing, so we can send to the maximum of congregations in portugal.

some individuals were also covered in this campaign.. the title of the pamphlet is: "when will the kingdom arrive?".

EdenOne

I'm yet to see it in the flesh ....

Eden

45

WITNESSES CAN STOP REPORTING FIELD SERVICE!

by The Searcher in

the lawyers acting on behalf of the wtbts/g.b./'mother' during a paedophile case a couple of years ago, have stated on record that - .

a) "field ministry is not controlled or monitored by the elders, the congregation, or watchtower".

b) "an individual publisher's field ministry activity, including the time and manner it is carried out, is a personal matter between the publisher and his god.".

TTATT in a Can... finally finished!!

by ILoveTTATT in

jw
friends

ok so... how to condense all the flip-flops and doctrinal changes, and show graphically how the different doctrines changed, and when?.

ttatt in a can!!.

enjoy ;).

The Cat out of the Bag: the story of the release of the NEW WORLD TRANSLATION

by Terry in

when jehovah's witnesses began distributing door to door the new world translation beginning in the early 1950's a firestorm of protest broke out in mainstream churches.

the alarm cry was "they've changed the bible to fit their own crooked teachings!".

you can imagine the discord as church members tried to figure out how jehovah's witnesses could prove by reading from the nwt the king james version was full of omissions and errors and outright fraud concerning, for instance, the trinity doctrine or the name of god!!.

EdenOne

Terry, do you really think that the NWT deserves as much credit as starting a 'revolution', as mainstream christian churches felt threatened by the non-orthodox interpretations lend by the text of the Jehovah's Witnesses' NWT and started to sponsor more serious scholarship on the Bible? I find it a bit of a stretch, such conclusion.

To wit:

1862 - Young's Literal Translation

1885 - Revised Version (Based on King James Bible)

1890 - Darby Bible

1901 - American Standard Version

1926 - Moffatt Translation

1935 - An American Translation

1936 - Westminster Bible

1949 - Bible in English

It seems to me that, much more than the NWT, it was the discovery, study and publishing of the Dead Sea Scrolls that prompted the new scholarly approach to translations.

Eden

26

If the historical Jesus was simply human, would YOU be a Christian ?

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

i've been reading a lot lately about the historical jesus, and the latest archaeological findings and what a comparative, horizontal, reading of the 4 canonic gospels actually do tell us about the historical jesus and his teachings.

pick your side, but let me ask you this, because that's the core question i have been asking myself lately:.

if the historical jesus wasn't the son of god, but simply a human prophet with no previous super-human existence, hence, merely the "son of man", with very appealing teachings, but no previous super-human existence, hence, not "son of god" as we commonly believe as jw's, would you still be a christian?

EdenOne

Good point, VdH ... if Jesus wasn't of super-human origin, then how could his death mean "salvation" / atonement for anyone?

Eden

26

If the historical Jesus was simply human, would YOU be a Christian ?

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

i've been reading a lot lately about the historical jesus, and the latest archaeological findings and what a comparative, horizontal, reading of the 4 canonic gospels actually do tell us about the historical jesus and his teachings.

pick your side, but let me ask you this, because that's the core question i have been asking myself lately:.

if the historical jesus wasn't the son of god, but simply a human prophet with no previous super-human existence, hence, merely the "son of man", with very appealing teachings, but no previous super-human existence, hence, not "son of god" as we commonly believe as jw's, would you still be a christian?

EdenOne

I've been reading a lot lately about the historical Jesus, and the latest archaeological findings and what a comparative, horizontal, reading of the 4 canonic gospels actually do tell us about the historical Jesus and his teachings. Pick your side, but let me ask you this, because that's the core question I have been asking myself lately:

If the historical Jesus wasn't the Son of God, but simply a human prophet with no previous super-human existence, hence, merely the "son of man", with very appealing teachings, but NO PREVIOUS SUPER-HUMAN EXISTENCE, hence, not "Son of God" as we commonly believe as JW's, WOULD YOU STILL BE A CHRISTIAN? And if so, on what grounds?

Eden

90

10 good reasons why celebrating birthdays should be allowed

by bluecanary in

i cannot take credit for any of the gems below but i did want to polish and organize them.

much of the information was borrowed from this thread.

if you can come up with any more, please post them.. the bible does not ban birthdays.

EdenOne

marked

99

New development in my life

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

no longer a ms ........................... can't give details atm, for it might be a dead-giveaway and it ain't quite over yet.

but, it really taught me one thing: if you're trying to fade or stay in, trust no one.

and i mean no one.. eden.

EdenOne

Yes, anyone fading should trust no one. That's the best advise i can give. It's a lonely place, but don't screw it all by trusting someone who's still IN. You just can't tell ultimately where their alliegence is.

Eden

27

New NWT - what's the REAL reason?

by wallsofjericho in

one thing i have learned over the years is there is a clear, distinct purpose to everything the wts does.

everything is done to accomplish a defined purpose.. did they really print millions of new bibles just to be more accurate?

after decades of toughting how much better the nwt was than any other bible?.

EdenOne

Any large printing effort these days - unless it's a NY Times best-seller - will be a money looser. At best, the costs will be covered, but I don't think money is the real issue, although finantials are a huge part of the M.O that drives the GB these days.

I, too, believe that the REAL motive behind a revised NWT is to pave the way for huge doctrinal changes. What will they be? Your guess is as good as mine. But since everything the JW believe and do must be backed by the Bible [no matter how contrived and controversial the interpretation is, but it must have a biblical backing], I think the GB realized they have put themselves in a corner, doctrinally, that they cannot get out of without losing face, and many members. What to do? Slowly, almost imperceptably 1) Revise the doctrinal basis [the Bible itself]; and then, based on the "new" basis 2) Revise the doctrine.

That way the GB can save face, and reverse, change or come up with new theology, based on an "improved" understanding of the Scriptures, because the NEW translation is more accurate, blah blah.

[Btw, my bet is on the change of the understanding of the significance of 1914, which will lead to a change in the understanding of the "generation", which will lead to a change in the understanding of the significance of the 144.000 and the "other sheep"]

Eden

56

Is There Anything About The Witnesses That You Like?

by minimus in

jw
friends

anything??

?.

EdenOne

In general, the best thing about the Witnesses are the people in the congregations, especially when they're not invested with authority. Some invested with a degree of authority that don't become full of themselves are nice people too. When I leave the JW's someday, that's what I will miss - the people. Nothing else.

Eden