Posts by venus

45

River flowing from the garden of Eden

by joey jojo in

hey there.. if this point has been covered before please forgive me.. i have had the principles of noahs flood used by jw's to encourage me to attend meetings recently and this has got me musing about the flood....again.. genesis states that a river flowed from eden and branched out into four rivers, two of which being the tigris and the euphrates.. heres the baffling part; if it had never rained before, how is it that rivers existed before the flood?!!?.

a brief google search tells us that the euphrates begins its journey as snow melt and rain ( as most rivers do) in mountains in turkey.. ecc chapter 1 mentions the water cycle and describes the rivers flowing into the sea but the sea not becoming full.

how did it work pre-flood?

venus

waton, Your quote is counterproductive [Gen. 2:5,6: "-- God had not made it rain upon the ground -- but a mist would go up from the Earth and it watered the entire surface of the ground. 7: and God formed man --"]

God formed man out of dust … and at death he would “return to dust” (Gen 3:19) which is contradicted by Ecclesiastes 12:7 where we read “his spirit returns to God.” It means Bible is a collaborative project, where one or few philosophers wrote an initial outline and then various people worked on it changing it and tweaking it. Hence you have things such as Lot’s wife being given capital punishment for just looking back, and Peter escaping punishment for such fatal mistake of disowning the son of man three time.

11

Don’t share food with apostate—what about air we all breathe in?

by venus in

we have heard: “don’t share food with apostate.” what about sharing the air we all breathe in?

whether apostate or believer, both breathe in the same air (which is more important than food)!.

today i put this question to the couple who came to invite me for the memorial.

venus

James Mixon

In fact we benefit from their irrational behavior. They are living in a protected environment which leave them emotionally stunted. Living in such an atmosphere is different from the real world. Our thoughts and emotions should mirror the world. Life is wonderful from time to time, but it's also tragic at times. If they have only been accustomed to being allowed to have the artificial JW-life style, then sudden adverse realities can strike them even more intensely when they happen.

Living with apostate burdens make me emotionally matured—something JWs will never experience.

27

Talked to a JW at a literature stand today

by nevermind in

guys,.

i need your help in trying to wrap my head around this strange experience i had today talking with a jw lady sitting at a literature table in a busy outdoor shopping center.. i'm a very shy person, but i always wanted to ask these jws at their literature stands questions to start them thinking about the validity of watchtower teaching.

i finally mustered my strength today to talk to this jw lady.

venus

Tare lies or near-lies. I have seen some people who left the organization in 1975 because end did not come. From where did they get the notion that end would come in 1975?

29

What's your degree of anti-JWness?

by Landy in

so, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is absolutely pro-jw, 5 is neutral and 10 is youtubing nutjob apostate, where do you stand?.

i'm probably around a 6. i have the view that jws are a nothing marginal religion.

if i hadn't been brought up as one i doubt they would have ever entered my consciousness.. the reasons it's a 6 and not a 5 is that i have some concerns over their child baptism and safeguarding procedures, but i think it's down to them being a bit dim rather than any pro child abusing ethos.

venus

I am 11 because I am zero-tolerant towards exclusivists

11

Don’t share food with apostate—what about air we all breathe in?

by venus in

we have heard: “don’t share food with apostate.” what about sharing the air we all breathe in?

whether apostate or believer, both breathe in the same air (which is more important than food)!.

today i put this question to the couple who came to invite me for the memorial.

venus

xanthippe, sorry to hear your story--it is better not to have such people with double standard

Listener, you summed it nicely--it's all about control

95

Who can explain why the "Two Witness" rule is wrong, in the simplest term?

by DATA-DOG in

with all the legalese being tossed around, and the expert manipulation on the part of the wtbts, who can explain why the "two witness" is being perverted by the wtbts?

i don't care if you're a bible believer and want to approach this from a biblical standpoint, or if you simply use logic and reason.

how would you explain this subject to a j-dub, or even a non-dub?.

venus

OrphanCrow, Woh, never thought in this angle. Yes, that is the right context.

11

Don’t share food with apostate—what about air we all breathe in?

by venus in

we have heard: “don’t share food with apostate.” what about sharing the air we all breathe in?

whether apostate or believer, both breathe in the same air (which is more important than food)!.

today i put this question to the couple who came to invite me for the memorial.

venus

We have heard: “Don’t share food with apostate.” What about sharing the air we all breathe in? Whether apostate or believer, both breathe in the same air (which is more important than food)!

Today I put this question to the couple who came to invite me for the Memorial. “We have no answer to your question,” they replied. Thus I conveyed a more powerful message indirectly: “They avoid sharing food with us throughout the year; yet want to invite us when they have a symbolic meal once a year.”

74

Was/Is Religion Useful Even if it isn't True?

by cofty in

in his book "the righteous mind" jonathan haidt proposes that religion served - and continues to serve an important role in bringing about cohesion within non-kin groups.. to put it very briefly haidt advocates a form of group selection but only insofar as it applies to humans.

our unique brains have made it possible for us to cooperate in groups in ways that are impossible for all non-human species.

despite their intelligence you will never see two chimps helping each other to carry the same log or one chimp pulling down a branch while the other removes the fruit.. his description is that humans are 90% chimp and 10% bee.

venus

Religion, even it is true, takes people backward because it does everything possible to ensure that believers do not think which is nothing but intellectual slavery. Hence rationalists fight for a nobler cause. Whatever progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual, and any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than the rest who hug religious beliefs.

36

What is the basis for advising “Don’t pursue higher studies”?

by venus in

two elders who visited my friend last week encouraged her not to pursue higher studies.

it seems they are dishing out the same old stuff: “the end is imminent, and this is the time to do more in the service; hence don’t waste your resources on higher studies.”.

i wonder whether there was some official communiqué (something that is sent out recently like letter to the elders, or kingdom ministry article …).

venus

WB, Thank you for the link. The elders might have been using this source. I thought something new.

36

What is the basis for advising “Don’t pursue higher studies”?

by venus in

two elders who visited my friend last week encouraged her not to pursue higher studies.

it seems they are dishing out the same old stuff: “the end is imminent, and this is the time to do more in the service; hence don’t waste your resources on higher studies.”.

i wonder whether there was some official communiqué (something that is sent out recently like letter to the elders, or kingdom ministry article …).

venus

Two elders who visited my friend last week encouraged her not to pursue higher studies. It seems they are dishing out the same old stuff: “The end is imminent, and this is the time to do more in the service; hence don’t waste your resources on higher studies.”

I wonder whether there was some official communiqué (something that is sent out recently like letter to the elders, or kingdom ministry article …). Does anybody know about this?