alot of people are saying god is cruel for killing the firstborns and animals and people in the ten plagues.
but didn't god achieve his goal of making nations and people be in fear of him?.
Doug,
if I understand correctly, are you proposing that Deuteronomy was a literary forgery concocted at the time of King Josiah? Everything I have read until now claims that Deuteronomy was written around the time of the Babylonian exile, not before that.
Eden
in an earlier thread, i mentioned that i wasn't a particularly doggy person but that my parents got a husky last year that i've come to regard as a kind of brother.. huskies superficially resemble wolves and for me it's been fun to compare and contrast husky and wolf behaviour.
huskies howl but rarely bark, and seem to have a strong prey drive and a strong pack instinct - a nod to their wild cousins.
this is why i love huskies, i think.. do you have a favourite dog breed and why?.
Portuguese Estrela Mountain Dog ["Serra da Estrela"]
I've had a few of them over the years. Love them to bits. They're fiercely loyal and loving towards their owners, very tolerant with children, great watchdogs, their size and deep bark are very intimidating. Not good to walk on a leach, as they are terribly stubborn and they'll take YOU on a walk instead. They need open spaces to be happy, but don't expect them to be playmates and do tricks for you. The long fur variety [shown here] requires some extra care. But they're sooo beautiful :)
'trusted' jehovahs witness raped and sexually abused girls.
court: barry furlong arrives at bournemouth crown court.
first published tuesday 9 december 2014 in news by jane reader.
Indeed it is LG. I think that no argueing will ever convince people like her - only when they see it happenning before their very eyes. And even then ...
Eden
'trusted' jehovahs witness raped and sexually abused girls.
court: barry furlong arrives at bournemouth crown court.
first published tuesday 9 december 2014 in news by jane reader.
My wife "woke up" because of the paedophile issue. When she spoke with her mother, a devout hard-core Witness [as my wife had been until then], said that it was all lies spread out by apostates. Then my wife pointed out that the information she gathered came from respected news outlets, not apostate websites. Again, her mother said that the media was biased against the Witnesses and the Organization, was being used by Satan, the journalists were lying ... then my wife pointed out: "But I remember clearly that, every time there were news about cases of paedophilia within the Catholic Church, you would nod and say that it was evidence that they were a false religion. So, what gives? The journalists are telling the truth when it comes to the Catholic Church, but are telling lies when it comes to the Jehovah's Witnesses?"
"Of course they are", she said. "Do you realize that what you're saying makes no sense at all?", my wife replied. "Satan is obviously driving the media to badmouth Jehovah's people", she replied.
Cult mentallity at its worst.
Eden
one of the most important sources that we have for the most ancient stages of the religion of israel are some epic texts about the gods of canaan that were found in an archaeological excavation in a place called ras shamra (ancient ugarit) early in the twentieth century.
these epics reveal a very rich ancient canaanite mythology, especially in the elaborated stories of the gods el and baal and their rivals and consorts.
while, of course, the israelite branch of the canaanite group partly defined itself through the rejection of this mythology, much of the imagery and narrative allusions that we find in the works of the israelite prophets, the psalms, and other biblical poetic texts are best illuminated through comparison with these ancient texts.
When you read someof the Qumran scrolls from the Essenes, an ultra-fundamentalist jewish sect, who was furiously keen on the "purity" of worship before Yahweh, you will see that they have no bones in admitting that there are other gods in the heavenly realm. Only Yahweh is to be worshipped, but there ARE others whose divinity status is reckoned by the Essenes. Thus, the Jewish religion was never monotheistic [ony one God exists], but rather Henotheistic [several gods exist, but only one is to be worshipped]. Apparently, only after the return from the exile in Babylon, with the fundamentalist heroes Ezra and Neemiah, the myth of monotheism was retrospectively forced into the written history of the Jews. However, this was a feature of the urban elites that were somehow related to the Second Temple establishment. In the countryside, the ahm-harets, the country folk, were still very much attatched to the polytheistic / henotheistic worldview. It was ony later that, as a reaction to the hellenistic opression from the polytheistic Seleucid rulers in the 2 centuries BCE, that the monotheistic ideology of Yahweh became the norm in Judea.
Eden
http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/dockets.cfm?dist=1&doc_id=2025979&doc_no=a136641.
see last item:.
"media request to record/broadcast oral argument; from abc news new york".
If the Governing Body would be even mildly interested in protecting the vulnerable children instead of protecting their own reputation, it would be a simple matter to make an interpretation of the two-witness rule in a broad way, in favor of the abused victim, for example, by saying that:
a) the two-witness rule is only valid for church discipline; when a public crime is involved, the elders should squarely tell the parents to immediatly contact the authorities, regardless of them thinking that enough evidence is present or not. They should let the authorities deal with that issue. In the cases where parents are unaware / not present / not taking action, the elders should be the ones contacting the local authorities themselves.
AND WHEN THAT HAS BEEN DONE
b) let the secular authorities become the "second witness" in church disciplinary actions taken against the individual charged with accusations of child molestation. Plus, any accusation of paedophile conduct levelled against an Elder or a MS or a pioneer should result in immediate suspension of their office/service privilege until matters have been clarified by the law enforcement authorities.
AND
c) Whenever a publisher has a recorded past as a pedophile [either in public records or congregational files] that person should be excluded from going in any form of evangelizing work that involves visiting people at their homes [this would serve a double purpose: to protect young publishers and the public at large], and to go out in the field service without being escorted by an elder or a MS; and parents in the congregation should be discreetly informed about that person's past, so that they could take precautions to protect their children. Plus, past sexual offenders against minors should NEVER be allowed to occupy positions of responsability within the congregation.
Sadly, none of the above seems to be a priority to the GB, who is too busy in playing the persecuted victim whose reputation is being tainted by Satan's agents.
Eden
it is xmas time and perfumes and colognes are on the list.
what do you really love for a scent if you were being given a gift?.
Solo, by Loewe.
i'm atheist and not ashamed of it.
however, it is so politically incorrect, especially where i live.
i have a legitimate concern that being out of the closet too much will hurt my career or neighborly relations--i know for a fact it probably would.. i'm really cautious about who i tell.. how about you?
I'm at a stage of my life and thinking where I struggle to define what exactly is that I believe in.
If I was to coin a term, I would resort to latin: 'maius aliquid', meaning "something greater". It's not the empirical knowledge that God(s) exists or doesn't exist; [theism / atheism]; it's not faith in the existence of that divinity without needing verifiable evidence; it's not a statement that God, if indeed exists, it's unknowable. [agnosticism]; it's not indifference towards the issue of God's existence [apatheism] either. It's a rejection of the most tradicional, religious views of the deity, but also a rejection of pure atheism. It is, more than anything, a feeling. A feeling that something greater than us probably exists, although we can't be certain of what/who it is, if it necessitates our worship or service, or even if it cares for us or is able and willing to do something for us.
The perception that most human beings, unlike any other species on earth, feels the impulse, even the need, to be a part of something greater than themselves, that, if known, would impart our lives with profound meaning and purpose, is the foundation of that undefined belief in the maius aliquid. I think that someday I'll further elaborate on this notion, but for now, it's what best applies to me. Perhaps it is a form of modern spiritual deism. I wonder if others here feel the same way.
Eden
one of the most important sources that we have for the most ancient stages of the religion of israel are some epic texts about the gods of canaan that were found in an archaeological excavation in a place called ras shamra (ancient ugarit) early in the twentieth century.
these epics reveal a very rich ancient canaanite mythology, especially in the elaborated stories of the gods el and baal and their rivals and consorts.
while, of course, the israelite branch of the canaanite group partly defined itself through the rejection of this mythology, much of the imagery and narrative allusions that we find in the works of the israelite prophets, the psalms, and other biblical poetic texts are best illuminated through comparison with these ancient texts.
Marked
that's a crazy question.. they really mean, "do you regret your decesion to leave".. ---.
it's just an ice breaker to become nosy into one's personal life.. ---.
btw, last time i was asked this, no, everytime i'm asked this i reply with: "i'm never coming back".. they seem to hear that.. .
My reply would be: "Yes, I may consider coming back; but only when and if the Watchtower has given me convincing enough evidence that they're being driven by God and Jesus. Until then, I'm not partaking on it".
If you have become an atheist in the meantime, the Watchtower will never give convincing evidence of being directed by God because you don't believe God exists to start with.
It's best that you keep within your control what "evidence" you're willing to accept as "convincing". The less you disclose about what that "evidence" might be, the less you're opening to become bound to any pre-condition you may set up. For example: "If the organization abandons the absurd 1914 teaching, I might consider going back". The result is that, if they drop it, you'll be called upon your words to go back, despite you may still feel utterly uncomfortable with it. Best policy is to keep it to yourself. For example, claim that such "evidence" is between you and God only and nobody is entitled to be informed of it. God knows and nobody else is entitled to know. Then you keep your cards all to yourself and you stay in control.
If they argue: "You should come anyway and wait on Jehovah to change things if he sees fit, because at least you'll be spiritually protected" You might reply: "I have done that for a considerable time and I didn't see anything happening that can't be explained by imperfect human steering and decision-making, without any godly direction implicated. It was the current status quo that caused me to be spiritually damaged. So, until I see unequivocal evidence of a clear direction by God's spirit, I don't see why I should change my decision to stay away". Or: "Jehovah doesn't need me to go back in order that he enforces any changes, right? So, if and when those changes are made, I'll re-evaluate again my decision to stay away".
Eden
