Posts by EdenOne

31

Once 'saved' always 'saved'.

by punkofnice in

in case i didn't mention it...i was born into the disgusting cult of the watchtower(r).. i left when i was as old as 50 and went to a baptist church, then when i moved house to anglican and finally to a pentecostal church.. i now do not believe in 'god' of any variety.

i do not believe because i see no obvious evidence for a 'god' and only see what people have made of 'god' in their delusions.. ok. so, the question: 'what if you're wrong?'.

well, i might be wrong about a lot but if qi and mythbusters taught me anything it's not to be so gullible mcfly!

EdenOne

The 'once saved, always saved' is but a clever advertizing claim. One is 'saved' by constantly keeping faith in Christ. It's a process, a constant flow. If one loses faith, salvation is witheld, and the individual must seek to re-establish his faith so that salvation can once again be attainable.

Romans 5:1 - " Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Timothy 4:7 - " I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Hebrews 11:6 - "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Matthew 10:22 - " But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Matthew 10:33 - " But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

Hebrews 6:11, 12 - " And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Faith can become weak, faith can be lost. The loss of faith, if permanent, equates into the loss of salvation.

Hebrews 10:26 - " For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" Earlier, Paul described the lack [or loss] of faith as a sin.

Eden

13

Does GOD want us to be his friend or have a relationship with him?

by bruh2012 in

wt seems to teach both and or make them interchangable------we need to be jehovahs friend.

we need to have a relationship with him as children like a father.. even though there is no bible verses for having a relationship with god, jesus teaches us (was there anyone before jesus) to approach him as father not as some friend.

what bible verses "infer" that we have a relationship with god especially if thats what worshiping him means???.

EdenOne

Abraham was God's friend because God chose to consider him his friend. It's the only such case mentioned in the Bible. It wasn't Abraham's choice, it was God's.

It's unknown to me as a Christian if God wants to be my personal friend or if I should pursuit a friendship with God. Certainly Jesus didn't teach us to be friends with God; nevertheless he said he considers his disciples as his friends, although in a conditional sense (=if we comply with his commandments). It is what it is; Jesus and God are on an entirely different league, and they own the game. We're not supposed to be 'buddies' type of friends. Why should we whine about it?

As pointed by Searcher, we are God's children, and brethren with Jesus. That's what we should look forward to. There's an immense measure of respect and love involved in a relationship with a father, much more with the heavenly Father. We're not buddies with God. We can be His children, based on the faith we put in Jesus, and when our heavenly reward is awarded, then we can expect perhaps a greater closeness with God, which will come along with greater knwledge of God on our part. Interestingly, the apostle Paul said that it's God's will that 'everyone should be saved AND come to an exact knowledge of the truth' (1 Timothy 2:4) The full knowledge of the truth comes after salvation, not before salvation. To fully understand God and Christ isn't a pre-requisite for salvation as sometimes the JW's make people believe so to persuade them to accept a Bible study with them. Yes, some knowledge about God and Christ is necessary in order to build up faith (John 17:3), but not full knowledge. That will only be attained - hopefully - when each one of God's children inherits the Kingdom.

But until then, the relationship we can establish with God is that of a "child of God".

Eden

10

The Gospel Contrasted With the Watchtower Doctrine of the Ransom

by cofty in

this is an article i wrote back in '97 or '98 when i was a christian.

it is based on my personal experience of the watchtower's teachings as well as further reading of the earlier writings of russell and rutherford.. disclaimer - in my opinion, what follows shows clearly that the watchtower's doctrine of the ransom is not based on any sensible interpretation of scripture.

however i no longer believe in any version of theism.

EdenOne

marked

16

A Must Read! ... What Every Jehovah's Witness Needs To Know! [For Bible-Believers & Newbies Only]

by bjc2read in

the following information has been posted especially for bible-believers & "newbies" only...thanks!

i found this golden "nugget" surfing the net.. someone made this astute observation shown at the link below, and i just wanted to share it with all concerned here, especially after jws around the world just studied paragraph #17 of the nov. 15th, 2013 issue of the watchtower last sunday.. link: http://meletivivlon.com/2014/01/20/obey-jehovahs-shepherds-w13-1015-p-21/#comment-7711.

"jude" posted:.

EdenOne

marked

34

How do Jehovah's Witnesses get from 1914 to 1919?

by God_Delusion in

hi guys and gals,.

i have written an article that explains how the watchtower society gets from 607 bce to 1914 (http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/faqs/why-is-1914-important/) but i need some input so that i can write an article on how they get from 1914 to (via 1918) 1919.. are we talking about ezra, 1:2-4 when the persian king cyrus allows the israelites to go and rebuild the temple 3 and a half years after exiling them?

if so, how has the watchtower used this passage to get to 1919??.

EdenOne

Great Summary, JWFacts.

Eden

84

Witnesses: Why The 1/19/14 WT Lesson Is Dangerous

by Apognophos in

today's watchtower lesson touched on the history of hezekiah's reign, and then made a surprising modern-day application.

having used my time before the meeting to research the underlying material instead of highlighting my magazine, i personally found this to be an upsetting study, and decided to put this warning here in the hopes that some active witnesses read it.. the most important thing i want to say to you is that the actual flow of events in this bible account were severely misrepresented, and that there are some disturbing implications in the distortions that were made.

1. hezekiah's father ahaz makes himself a vassal to assyria out of fear of their overwhelming might (2 kings 16:7, 8).. 2. upon becoming king, hezekiah rebels against assyria (2 kings 18:7).

EdenOne

Great post Apognophos.

Eden

40

Don't Miss the Meetings - Hebrews 10:24, 25 Re-examined

by Oubliette in

i recently got an unsolicited lecture from a well-intentioned but nevertheless misguided jw friend.

the gist of it was that i needed to go to all the meetings or i would miss out on "everlasting life.".

i responded that i do not need to go to meetings to have a relationship with god.

EdenOne

The 1st century christians did meet ONCE a week... on sunday evenings. But it was a meal+symposium gathering.

Eden

45

Seven Headed Wild Beast officially no longer represents UN?

by donuthole in

jw
friends

according to a new "bible questions answered": " the wild beast with seven heads introduced at revelation 13:1 represents the worldwide political system.".

i know that they have quietly been backing away from the un identification for awhile.

is this feature on jw.org a new official teaching, or just a spin for the sake of the public?.

EdenOne

Bobcat, thank you for the (as usual) good research.

What i said is that the "image", because it's made "to the beast" or in its honor, doesn't necessarily has to be similar to the original beast.

Eden

9

are there any Dubstep producers out there?

by WillowTrees in

jw
friends

i'm trying to find someone that specifically makes dubstep with ableton 9. i have few questions if i could just ask them i'll be out of your hair but i'm really interested and hoping someone is out there that is willing to answer them.. .

me.

EdenOne

I Use Studio One V.2 ... I have Ableton, but don't use it.

Eden

17

Reorganization Branches Belgium and The Netherlands

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

the belgium branche of jw in kraainem will be closed.. the netherlands branche of jw in emmen will be reorganized into an ict devolpment office.. all the oldtimers jw staff in emmen is told they have to leave, they are dismissed.. of course it will be explained that the organization is on the move, a blessing from jehovah.. gorby.

EdenOne

Oh....ok, thanks DS. So will they develop the WTS website from there, and their new multimedia publishing?

Eden