venus

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Posts by venus

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  17

  Good luck with that

  by Lost his mind in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the big deal when you say "good luck with that" or he just had bad luck?

  i have never been a jw, but what is the problem with saying these things?

  my husband was so mad, he went to bed and would not talk to me.

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  venus

  JWs associate luck with demonic worship, hence they do not use that expression. Demons really do not exist--for example Jews do not believe snake that spoke in the garden of Eden is Satan. In the temptation account involving Jesus, Satan is shown as somebody who believes the shape of earth is flat because he takes Jesus to the top of the mountain to show "all the kingdoms of the earth." Hence Bible too shows that Satan is symbolic of sin, not a real person. If Satan is real, he would have caused an accident where ever nuclear weapons are kept and would have already caused the destruction of the humanity. Hence modern history too shows that Satan is not real, hence his supposed supporters called demons too are not real.

  Hence you can use the expression luck because luck exists. For a high-profile job opportunity, suppose two equally good people are finally short-listed, yet one only will be selected--that one is the lucky one.

  Another example, my friend was to board a plane, but was prevented from doing so because of a spelling mistake found in his passport and other documents. But five minutes after take off, plane had a mid-air collision with another plane leaving no survivors. My friend's apparent bad luck turned out to be a real luck.
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  18

  Human element seen in 10 commandments

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i appreciate 10 commandments because they try to ensure law and order in the society.

  however, i have problem with introductory statements that say: “you shall have no other gods before[a] me… you shall not bow down to them or worship them; for i, the lord your god, am a jealous god, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (exodus 20:3-6).

  1) this contradicts the characteristics of god described in mathew 5:44-48 where love is described as loving everyone without thinking whether others reciprocate or not.

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  venus

  Thank you Simon for that link: Some of the rewriting of Christopher Hitches are too good such as:

  I: Do not condemn people on the basis of their ethnicity or color.
  II: Do not ever use people as private property.
  V: Do not condemn people for their inborn nature.
  VI: Be aware that you too are an animal and dependent on the web of nature, and think and act accordingly.
  VII: Do not imagine that you can escape judgment if you rob people with a false prospectus rather than with a knife.
  X: Be willing to renounce any god or any religion if any holy commandments should contradict any of the above
  
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  18

  Human element seen in 10 commandments

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i appreciate 10 commandments because they try to ensure law and order in the society.

  however, i have problem with introductory statements that say: “you shall have no other gods before[a] me… you shall not bow down to them or worship them; for i, the lord your god, am a jealous god, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (exodus 20:3-6).

  1) this contradicts the characteristics of god described in mathew 5:44-48 where love is described as loving everyone without thinking whether others reciprocate or not.

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  venus

  scratchme1010,

  My point is that one needs to accept from what appeals to his reason--not everything it says. What falls below the reason belongs to human thinking, hence to be treated accordingly.
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  18

  Human element seen in 10 commandments

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i appreciate 10 commandments because they try to ensure law and order in the society.

  however, i have problem with introductory statements that say: “you shall have no other gods before[a] me… you shall not bow down to them or worship them; for i, the lord your god, am a jealous god, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (exodus 20:3-6).

  1) this contradicts the characteristics of god described in mathew 5:44-48 where love is described as loving everyone without thinking whether others reciprocate or not.

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  venus

  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  Witnesses explain the word “inspired” using the illustration of “a boat being drawn along by the wind.”
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  18

  Human element seen in 10 commandments

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i appreciate 10 commandments because they try to ensure law and order in the society.

  however, i have problem with introductory statements that say: “you shall have no other gods before[a] me… you shall not bow down to them or worship them; for i, the lord your god, am a jealous god, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (exodus 20:3-6).

  1) this contradicts the characteristics of god described in mathew 5:44-48 where love is described as loving everyone without thinking whether others reciprocate or not.

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  venus

  Crazyguy & smiddy,

  What human writers wanted to convey they conveyed through the mouth of God giving the impression that God was conveying—may be to get more acceptance, hence we have all these discrepancies and mistakes.
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  5

  Happy are those concious of their spiritual need?

  by NikL in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  that was the title of the public talk given by the co today.

  it's a statement i've heard over the years many many times.it's based on the nwt translation of matthew 5:3i always use a different version of the bible when i follow the scriptures because it lets me get a better view of the scripture in question.well, imagine my surprise when i read the scripture in the nrsv bible to realise it says something completely different.the nwt renders it...3 “happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.. however the nrsv says...3 “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.. i was quite surprised at the completely different meaning so i looked at other translations and they pretty much all say the same thing.

  the only one who says anything like spiritual need is the nwt.

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  venus

  Mat 5:3 is the most simple verse in the Bible that doesn't require any interpretation. It simply speaks about people who do not have any baggage of attachment or sense of ownership because they know such things do not last forever (1 John 2:17) hence look for its opposite (Kingdom of God)

  Unfortunately, JW Translators missed the whole point.
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  18

  Human element seen in 10 commandments

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i appreciate 10 commandments because they try to ensure law and order in the society.

  however, i have problem with introductory statements that say: “you shall have no other gods before[a] me… you shall not bow down to them or worship them; for i, the lord your god, am a jealous god, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (exodus 20:3-6).

  1) this contradicts the characteristics of god described in mathew 5:44-48 where love is described as loving everyone without thinking whether others reciprocate or not.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  venus

  I appreciate 10 commandments because they try to ensure law and order in the society. However, I have problem with introductory statements that say: “You shall have no other gods before[a] me… You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:3-6)

  1) This contradicts the characteristics of God described in Mathew 5:44-48 where love is described as loving everyone without thinking whether others reciprocate or not. This also goes against the very definition of God in I John 4:8 where word used for love is agape (unconditional love).

  2) This defies also the logic. If there is only one God, it would not have been possible for man to find another God to worship, hence prohibition of worship of other gods is unnecessary. If other gods exists, even then prohibition is unnecessary because other gods exists—a fact to be acknowledged.

  When God makes a statement, He can’t make mistake. If mistakes occur, it means a thoughtless human being is behind the message.

  In such a context, if at all God were to communicate, He would only say something like this: “I am source of all qualities, and have a fullness of them, hence I can only give, not receive, like the ‘sun’ that only gives, but never receives anything in return. (Psalm 84:11) By praising/worshiping Me, neither of us benefits. Instead, you become worship-worthy through your selfless acts. When people observe them, they would love you as worship-worthy, and would even feel inspired to behave like you—thus you both benefit.”
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  35

  Is JW.org unbreakable

  by UnshackleTheChains in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i ask this question for good reason.

  let's face it, despite all the books, videos, forums, court cases, hearings, protests etc that have been exposing the society for many years.

  jw.org continues to roll on almost 'it seems' unscathed.. for example, just walk into any kingdom hall there is not so much as a whisper about anything that has been exposed outside of jw land.

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  venus

  My friend who is still inside the org may be typical of many others. She says I know JW org is not the best to be in--it has its flaws, but If I change my religion it would reflect badly on me--because I have already changed my former religion to become one of JWs.
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  9

  Contrast Jesus and Einstein

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jesus did not use his (superhuman) skills to prove the existence of either god or immortality of soul.

  further, he did not answer direct, important questions put to him (mathew 21:23-27; luke 22:70 …), and most importantly never defined ego—the root cause of all problems ….

  however, einstein, whose business was not spirituality, still defined ego as “optical illusion of consciousness.” this definition helps a lot because when one internalizes the idea that ego is only an illusion, he knows how to effectively deal with it.. .

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  venus

  waton,

  excellent, I agree with you
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  9

  Contrast Jesus and Einstein

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jesus did not use his (superhuman) skills to prove the existence of either god or immortality of soul.

  further, he did not answer direct, important questions put to him (mathew 21:23-27; luke 22:70 …), and most importantly never defined ego—the root cause of all problems ….

  however, einstein, whose business was not spirituality, still defined ego as “optical illusion of consciousness.” this definition helps a lot because when one internalizes the idea that ego is only an illusion, he knows how to effectively deal with it.. .

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  venus

  Waton,

  This is not about the means of transportation both used; but subjects of vital and primary importance such as existence of God, soul, definition of ego …etc. There are even times when Jesus did not know the answer to the simple question put to him, yet gave an answer that dishonored God. (John 9:1-3). Then there are cases of comparing pagans with dogs, glorifying slavery (Mathew 24:45) etc. Regarding walking over water and other miracles he supposedly performed—did he really perform them? If so, a disturbing question would arise: Why did the witnesses and beneficiaries of those miracles not put up a corresponding response such as coming in support of him when he was subjected to a mockery of trial, taking up preaching work even after his death …. etc.