Posts by EdenOne

203

My Explanation of Why They Got it Wrong About Blood Using Only the NWT

by cofty in

10 " any israelite or any alien living among them who eats any bloodi will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.

12 therefore i say to the israelites, "none of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.

15 'anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.

EdenOne

I've read an interesting take on this matter, months ago, but I cannot pinpoint it right now off my memory. It goes more or less like this: the jewish DIETARY command regarding blood is covered by the command 'abstain from strangled meat'. However, the command 'abstain from blood' would encompass everything that, under Moses' law, would make someone carry blood guilt, such as intentional murder, or homicide by negligence. There was some pretty convincing scriptural support given, which I don't recall at the moment, but my recolection was that this is the argument that makes more logical sense.

I would also add another possibility, that happens to possibly merge with the above. The Israelite married males were sternly warned to avoid sex with their wives during their menstrual period. In Jesus' day, one of the reasons the Jews avoided defilement by association with gentiles was because the gentiles kept sexual intercourse with women during their menstrual period. This was a serious issue under Moses' law. I propose it would also be a cause of tension between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. So, the quite generic command to 'abstain from blood' could be a diplomatic way to address a very delicate and intimate issue of sexual conduct.

Eden

203

My Explanation of Why They Got it Wrong About Blood Using Only the NWT

by cofty in

10 " any israelite or any alien living among them who eats any bloodi will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.

12 therefore i say to the israelites, "none of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.

15 'anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.

EdenOne

Cofty, there's something that your excellent essay left out and I'd like to hear your take on it.

How do you explain the seemingly redundant command in Acts to 'abstain from blood' and then 'abstain from strangled meat'? Why the author of Acts [or the apostles and elders in Jerusalem] felt it was necessary to make BOTH items as separate commands, when, in principle, 'abstain from blood' would already rule out unbled meat?

Your thoughts?

Eden

114

What is truth?

by Heisenberg in

jw
friends

well, i have been lurking on this site for several months and i recently decided to join as a member.

i have made several observations and would like to make a few comments.. first, i am perplexed by the attitude of many on this site that are either former or active (but apostate) jws.

they seem to have a strong hatred for the wts and also for rank and file jws.

EdenOne

Heisenberg, you wrote this reply:

Why is the issue of shunning a problem? If the bible was very clear about who should be shunned and how this should be done, would that be more acceptable to you? Human society has always shunned people that do not conform to the rules. If you commit a crime, you may be punished by being sent to jail and excluded from society until you 'repent' by changing your attitude. Who determines these rules? In many lands, adultery and homosexuality are still punishable by death or jail. It is up to each group of people to decide the rules and the consequences for breaking them. Wasn't the great schism of the Catholic church an act of shunning?

You [as most JWs also] seem to think that disfellowshipping and shunning are one and the same thing. Very few ex-JWs argue that is wrongful that the congregation is entitled to terminate fellowship with those who refuse to comply with the rules, moral or doctrinal. However, shunning is another matter. Even the Bible doesn't support shunning as it's prescribed and imposed by the Governing Body upon the Witnesses. The historical context of the Christian communities in the first and second centuries is very important to give a proper understanding of what the apostles Paul and John meant when they discussed how should Christians deal with transgressors and dissenters. Of course, that historical research doesn't interest the Governing Body at all, because it would uncover serious theological implications that colide with the teachings from the Society since the 1930's; it would besides reveal just how removed the contemporary meetings are from the Christian gatherings originally. Because when you understand how these gatherings worked, then it becomes clear what Paul and John were talking about, and it wasn't surely the shunning as taught by the WTS.

Eden

83

Music!! Who's your Favorite Top Ten Rock Groups or Solo Artists All Time?

by flipper in

jw
friends

mr. flipper here again gang!

so who do ya like all time?mr.

flippers list is as follows, almost in this way.

EdenOne

1) Pink Floyd

2) The Beatles / Paul McCartney

3) Vangelis

4) Jean-Michel Jarre

5) Queen

6) Dire Straits / Mark Knopfler

7) Genesis

8) The Waterboys / Mike Scott

9) Mike Oldfield

10) U2

Muse, Billy Joel, Simple Minds, Yes, Triumvirat, Pet Shop Boys ... The list would go on...

Eden

36

Site issues: Dec 27 Update

by Simon in

here's the current status:.

performance improvements have been made to make things slicker.. the "remember me" issue should now be fixed.. sign-in captcha can be affected by ad-blockers so consider disabling those.. sign-in email is case-sensitive - until i update this consider using your forum username instead.. ie stalls on "queued for processing" when posting a topic or reply but the post has been made (just navigate to active or refresh the topic if replying).. i will be working through issues today and contacting anyone who had sign-in issues to check if they still have problems.. many thanks again for your patience while we work through these teething problems..

EdenOne

Just reporting that on IOS (IPAD) the same issue with 'queued for processing' also happens, albeit the post has been made indeed, as a refreshing will show.

Edited: Well, not anymore, as this post just showed. Problem fixed. Thank you Simon!

Eden

15

JW.ORG TRAFFIC WORTH

by @ROOT in

jw
friends

i looked up the estimated revenue of jw.org using http://www.siteworthtraffic.com/ and was shocked at the results.

not only are they saving money on printing psychical books/magazines, but they're also making a tidy sum romtheir "free" website created and maintained by volunteers.

i spoke with a jw recently who was very proud to tell me just how good their website was and that they provided it free of charge.

EdenOne

I take it that "worth" refers to POTENTIAL gains IF there were ads in it. I could be wrong though...

Eden

7

Building Your Own Rudder

by Coded Logic in

some thoughts on meaning, human nature, and the initial difficulties of learning ttatt.. .

it's not just the fear of the wild, the untamed, or the untraversed regions of the mind that drives jws to seek shelter in the dim and dark citadels of their ignorance - seemingly protected from the insoluble mysteries of their universe.

but it's also the fact that the winds of reality can, at times, be cold and harsh and can rain storm and thunder upon everything they thought they knew.

EdenOne

I feel that two forces are at play here:

FEAR is the ultimate driving force behind every person's adherence to an organized religious belief system. Deep down inside we fear death, chaos, insignificance, solitude, suffering, and our personal weaknesses. Various organized belief systems in supernatural beings offer comfort answers to these fears; sometimes, paradoxically, by exacerbating those fears.

GUILT is the other force. It operates similar to marketing: First, create a need where there wasn't one; then, offer the product/service to satisfy that need. Take, for example, Christianity. By telling people they are hopeless sinners, Christian religions create a need for redemption in the eyes of the divinity. Once that need has been created inside people's minds, religions offer 'products' [Christ's ransom, for example] and 'services' [mass] performed by specialized agents [clerigy], in order to address the guilt of being a sinner. Guilt is exploited further by tying it with fear, as a system of reward / punishment is established to ensure that the believer is kept inside the flock [heaven vs. hell ; eternal life in paradise vs. eternal anihilation].

Eden

114

What is truth?

by Heisenberg in

jw
friends

well, i have been lurking on this site for several months and i recently decided to join as a member.

i have made several observations and would like to make a few comments.. first, i am perplexed by the attitude of many on this site that are either former or active (but apostate) jws.

they seem to have a strong hatred for the wts and also for rank and file jws.

EdenOne

You know, looking back, even though some rather caustic comments were squared at me by Cofty, Cantleave, Entirely Possible, Adamah, Focus and others, it turned out to be for the best. Once the dust of outraged indignation settled, I could quietly go back and ponder on them. I wish to say to you guys, thank you for challenging me. It has helped me to develop my own critical thinking skills and re-evaluate my entire belief system, even the one that I temporarily attempted to develop. Also, a fond mention of Leolaia, Blondie, Barbara Anderson, JGnat, Terry and Marvin Shilmer. We never had much exchange, but your posts have been of enormous value to me. Thank you.

I still don't know where this trip will ultimately lead into - if anywhere - but I sure know damn well where I never want to go back to. We may never agree on certain things, but at least we agree that we have been deceived, abused, exploited and cheated on by this religion who turned us into religious addicts for life. I suspect that, even when we leave it all behind, a stain will always lurk in the dephts of us, ready to lure us back. That is something that, like someone who has overcome substance abuse, we will always have to keep under check. But in the meantime, to you all, my deepest respect and thank yous.

Eden

22

UNDERSTANDING WHY THE ORGANIZATION is a false idol and a BLASPHEMY

by Terry in

do we understand these three words: worship, idolatry, and blasphemy?.

most christians have a vague notion of worship, idolatry, and blasphemy already, but.

a clear definition is necessary.. we must take care to differentiate, however.. how the words appear in original language and how they are defined today might be at odds.. ____________________.

EdenOne

Marked

75

New forum 'parousia' is upon us! (software version)

by Simon in

the time has nearly come to switch over to the new forum software.

of course it's not completely finished yet (and never will be) but i think it's good enough to go live with and probably already better than the current one.

i'll give you a quick overview of what to expect and post more detail about the changeover process later.. cloud platform.

EdenOne

Simon, let me ask this (I haven't tried it yet, but it came to my mind):

Is it possible to search something like this:

"Threads where I posted + and xxxuserxxx also posted + on 2014"; or "threads that I have started + xxxuserxxx participated + keyword XYZ"

(sorry, not a programmer, but I think you understand what i mean)

Eden