venus

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Posts by venus

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  9

  Eden's snake

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in my study into the israelite and judahite salvations, i provided sources which tell us that the writers of the creation story at genesis 2 and 3 employed symbols associated with the goddess asherah, namely: eve, snake, and tree.. at present, i am researching satan and i came across the following from “the birth of satan” by t.j. wray and gregory mobley (pages 68-69 70).

  doug.

  even casual readers of the bible have heard about the story of the garden of eden (genesis 2-3).

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  venus

  1) Temptation account is not real. If real, it would mean that Satan and Jesus believed that shape of earth is flat so that both can see "all the kingdoms of the earth" if viewed from the mountain top.

  2) Genesis account of Satan is borrowed from pagans, hence not worthy of analysis. Even if it is original, details does not befit the kind of Satan he should be. If Satan is so smart as to scheme against God and his children, he would definitely choose some smart method, not a sub-standard temptation as in this case. It is too obvious that Adam and Eve who had already experienced God as their unlimited benefactor would never believe God as withholding something good from them, nor He is a liar, especially when such a malicious suggestion originated from a stranger—with a strange phenomenon—a snake with speaking ability! Also Satan contradicted only the effects of their disobedience, which of course further weakens his position, because prima facie, it is the Law-giver that knows the effects of disobedience, not the spectators who have never seen a violation before.

  3) “The tree of the knowledge of good and evil” planted by God too backfires because account says “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.” Sense of good or bad would have arisen in Eve only after eating the fruit of that tree, but here she got that sense even before eating it. Hence the question arises: Was it a literal tree?
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  22

  A pet peeve

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a pet peeve of mine is that there are numerous christian denominations (other faiths with their 'holy' books too), all claim that their interpretation of their 'holy' book is the correct interpretation.

  my conclusion is that either their god is a very poor communicator or simply doesn't exist.. i used to believe all this stuff when i was a jobo and later a church going christian.

  i simply cannot, in all honesty subscribe to it all any more.

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  venus

  Genesis chapter 23 is all about the bargain Abraham conducts with locals for buying a burial land for his wife, too much information about woman’s menstruation … yet too little information about the creation of whole mankind—just one verse 1:26
  
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  17

  Does praying really matter? Where is the evidence?

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  matthew 7:7 jesus says: ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

  for every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

  or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

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  venus

  All verses that imply you can get things done through prayer are human intervention because Jesus has categorically declared: "with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)
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  7

  John the Baptist has no heavenly hope?

  by Ireneus in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  jws teach that john the baptist would not inherit kingdom of heaven.

  however, there are problems with this teaching.. john’s mother elizabeth was both barren and too old to conceive.

  (luke 1:7) birth of john was an act of “holy spirit.” (luke 1:15) then we find jesus saying: “among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than john the baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven [“kingdom of god,” luke 7:28] is greater than he.” (mathew 11:11; luke 7:28).

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  venus

  John, The Baptist, is more qualified than any other anointed ones because he is the only one who acknowledged Jesus even before his birth which he indicated by ‘leaping in his mother’s womb’ when Mary visited Elizabeth. (Luke 1:41-44) Contrast this with Apostle Thomas who doubted Jesus even after receiving years of training from him which prompted Jesus to say: “The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed.” (John 20:29)
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  76

  In one sentence, can you pinpoint a single event that woke you up?

  by Brian J in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my turning point: serving on a child abuse judicial case.

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  venus

  The fact that belief in God exerts no power over their attitude which expresses itself in keeping the GB filled the white until Kofi Atta Annan was elected as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1996 [JWs were too late to appoint one GB member from the black community (Samuel F. Herd) in the year 1999]
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  7

  Joshua 10:13

  by UnshackleTheChains in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  who's right....man or god?.

  think about it!.

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  venus

  Sun can never be stopped which means sun did not stop. If part of Joshua's account is never took place, then it may apply to rest of his accounts too.
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  6

  Animals Have Soul

  by glenster in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  awwrr see the video at the next link:https://www.facebook.com/animalshavesoul/videos/158795278097284/.

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  venus

  Interesting video!

  Original command was to lovingly take care of animals (Genesis 1:29, 30) That part of the history is described as “very good” (Genesis 1:31) Life span of people were longer—as symbolized by Methuselah who lived for 969 years (need not be literal, it only means he lived longer). Looking at his vibrant health, observers would doubt: ‘when he will die?’ That is what his very name, Methuselah, literally meant.

  When humans turned egoistic, they began to see flesh as an object of enjoyment and began hunting (which was later copied by some animals too). To legitimize this change in habit, some invented the story of Noah’s flood whose very basis is irony. God supposedly wanted to protect Noah’s family and “two of all living creatures, male and female” (Gen 6:19) and to destroy the rest. After the flood, God says ‘now you can eat the animals.’ (Gen 9:3)

  Immediately after the conclusion of such a great colossal event of Global Deluge which destroyed all species except “two of all living creatures”, God would naturally have made a long speech with specific details to avoid such a global catastrophe again. Instead, God is too brief saying: “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you” which is in conflict with His own earlier command (Gen 1:29) as though He had to destroy the world because people went wrong on their diet.
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  19

  I feel like I am going crazy at times ...

  by CovertsadJW in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  good evening , .

  i feel like i am going crazy - it’s so hard not being able to talk to the ones i love about how i really feel - meaning the “ truth “ is a big lie and a big waste of time.

  it’s so weird - i can’t talk to my wife , or kids about how i really feel and it’s causing me probalms that i recognize.

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  venus

  They have the right to do what they like—as you appreciate your right to do what you like. Surrounding tries to turn us into something we are not which we may feel as strange. But we can make this situation itself into an accomplishment: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Me and my twin sister are in two different extreme as far as our beliefs are concerned—yet we live in harmony because we have decided not to comment on each other’s beliefs. I even go a step further—I do not even think about her beliefs. Beliefs are food to the mind. You can live together just like family members who are mixed—vegetarian and non-vegetarian.
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  17

  Celebrations?

  by Freedom rocks in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone celebrate valentines day since leaving the borg?

  and which other celebrations if any do you now take part in?.

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  venus

  I celebrate all festivals because purpose of all festivals is to give a break from the hectic, mundane life style. Interestingly, the word for festival in many Eastern languages is utsav (meaning, that which elevates your mind) just like mandir (temple) which also means the same.
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  22

  Dead Wrong (A Tolerance for Ambiguity)

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is your level of tolerance for ambiguity?.

  ambiguity is a clunky, uncomfortable word, imho.. .

  ambiguity means "open to more than one interpretation".

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  venus

  Much depends on the context. Henry Ford is right when he said: "'Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."

  Hence I don't worry much about this; I transcend everything--then life becomes humorous. For example, if you keep going to North, you would reach South. Even conflicted isms end up in harmony. Christianity teaches a virgin (Mary) gave birth to a child; Hinduism teaches a virgin (Kunti) gave birth to 6 children; atheism teaches that matter (virgin) gave birth to 8.7 million life forms.