Posts by VM44

Listen, O sons, to the discipline of a father and pay attention, so as to know understanding. 2 For good instruction is what I certainly shall give to YOU. My law DO not leave. 3 For I proved to be a real son to my father, tender and the only one before my mother. 4 And he would instruct me and say to me: "May your heart keep fast hold of my words. Keep my commandments and continue living. 5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding. Do not forget, and do not turn aside from the sayings of my mouth. 6 Do not leave it, and it will keep you. Love it, and it will safeguard you. 7 Wisdom is the prime thing. Acquire wisdom; and with all that you acquire, acquire understanding. 8 Highly esteem it, and it will exalt you. It will glorify you because you embrace it. 9 To your head it will give a wreath of charm; a crown of beauty it will bestow upon you."
10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings. Then for you the years of life will become many. 11 I will instruct you even in the way of wisdom; I will cause you to tread in the tracks of uprightness. 12 When you walk, your pace will not be cramped; and if you run, you will not stumble. 13 Take hold on discipline; do not let go. Safeguard it, for it itself is your life.
14 Into the path of the wicked ones do not enter, and do not walk straight on into the way of the bad ones. 15 Shun it, do not pass along by it; turn aside from it, and pass along. 16 For they do not sleep unless they do badness, and their sleep has been snatched away unless they cause someone to stumble. 17 For they have fed themselves with the bread of wickedness, and the wine of acts of violence is what they drink. 18 But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.19 The way of the wicked ones is like the gloom; they have not known at what they keep stumbling.
20 My son, to my words do pay attention. To my sayings incline your ear. 21 May they not get away from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart. 22 For they are life to those finding them and health to all their flesh. 23 More than all else that is to be guarded, safeguard your heart, for out of it are the sources of life. 24 Remove from yourself the crookedness of speech; and the deviousness of lips put far away from yourself. 25 As for your eyes, straight ahead they should look, yes, your own beaming eyes should gaze straight in front of you. 26 Smooth out the course of your foot, and may all your own ways be firmly established. 27 Do not incline to the right hand or to the left. Remove your foot from what is bad.

Although the first part talks about acquiring wisdom and understanding, the middle part talks about not walking into the path of the wicked one, and how the wicked one cannot sleep unless they have done badness. A contrast is made between the path of the righteous one and the way of the wicked one. The final part talks about walking straight, and do not what is bad.

Proverbs 4:18 is a key scripture for the WTS concept of "new light," or doctrine of Progressive Revelation, that Jehovah God reveals knowledge and understanding gradually at the appropriate time. But it really does not lend support for that doctrine at all.

Wasn't there a recent posting (which I cannot find!!!) where someone said that the Progressive Revelation doctrine originated from the Second Adventists, and that Russell just carried it over into his set of core beliefes? (If anyone can find that thread, please post the reference.)

--VM44

27

Confidentiality at the Doctor/Dentist Office?

by blondie in

clash of religion, privacy creates difficult exposure.

bradford, michael

business insurance

VM44

Your first duty is to keep the congregation clean, and if you get fired then that is a sacrifice that you have made for ~~Jehovah~~ The [Man Made] Watchtower Society!

16

The other "new release"

by codeblue in

just found out from a friend.... the other release is:.

good news for all mankind...it replaces the other one.

the message is in 100 languages.

VM44

How many languages is the New World Translation in?

Many, however, the NWT in languages other than English is a translation of the ENGLISH version!!!!

Biblical Languages (Hebrew, Greek, etc.) -> English(NWT) -> Other Languages

And the WT claims the NWT is the most accurate translation of the Holy Scriptures? More like a "translation of a translation"!

--VM44

49

Can you even stomach the name "Jehovah"?

by logansrun in

i can't.

in the few times i have prayed since leaving the dubs i notice i catch myself -- "dear heavenly god jeh----......" there's just so much emotional baggage connected to the name.

i wish to leave it behind altogether.. b.

VM44

From:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh

--VM44

The Tetragrammaton, literally means the four-letter word. The word in question is the Hebrew word יהוה spelled using the Hebrew alphabet : yodh י heh ה waw ו heh ה. (Note that Hebrew text is written from right to left). This is the ineffable name of God in Hebrew, and it is believed to be so holy by observant practitioners of Judaism that they ritually read it as "[Adonai]" to mean "My Lord" in their prayers and when learning and studying the Torah or Talmud . When they refer to the name in conversation or in a non-textual context such as in a book, newspaper or letter, they call the name "Hashem" which means simply "The Name".
A reading from the Tanakh when Moses was faced with the burning bush on Mount Sinai , interprets the Tetragrammaton as I am what I am or I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be (Exodus 3:13). Because of the strictures in Judaism, the pronunciation is controversial.
Yahweh is thought by some to be the most accurate equivalent of the Tetragrammaton (rendered YHWH or YHVH) in English. It is the Memorial name of God divine personal names in the Tanakh (or Old Testament ). When first translated into English by Tyndale in 1525, it was rendered IEHOUAH. Later it came to written as Jehovah (see below). There are other representations, including Yahwe, Yahveh, Jave and Yehowah.
According to one variant of Jewish tradition, the Tetragrammaton is related to the causative form, the imperfect state, of the Heb. verb ha·wah´ (become); meaning ?He Causes to Become?. This particular name for God is rendered as THE LORD (in small caps) in many modern translations of the Bible ; two notable exceptions are the American Standard Version (1901)and The New Jerusalem Bible (1966). In strict Jewish tradition, the Tetragrammaton is a taboo word, and it is blasphemy to utter it. Thus, except for the rare leaders of a few ultra-orthodox Jewish sects, no one claims with absolute certainty just how it was pronounced ? but that the Heh's in YHWH are silent. In the end, it is impossible to state definitively how it was pronounced.
In recent years, a debate has grown over the derivation and meaning of this name. In this tradition, Yahweh is often rendered as meaning "I am the One Who Is." Indeed, this last fits nicely with the admonition from Yahweh of the Burning Bush to Moses to tell the sons of Israel that "I AM has sent you." Some suggest: "I AM the One I AM". This may also fit the interpretation of Yahweh as "He Causes to Become." Many scholars believe that the most proper meaning may be "He Brings Into Existence Whatever Exists" (Yahweh-Asher-Yahweh).
The first English representation of the Tetragrammaton (that is, the actual four Hebrew letters Yod, He, Vau, He) appeared on the title page of William Tyndale 's translation of 1525 as "IEHOUAH." Subsequent translations in English, including Miles Coverdale's (1535), the Great Bible (1539), The Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishop's Bible (1568) and the Authorized Version of 1611 also used IEHOUAH in several places, while most occurences of the Tetragrammaton were rendered as THE LORD. Some aver that this practice reflects the Jewish tradition that it is blasphemy to utter this name of God.

49

Can you even stomach the name "Jehovah"?

by logansrun in

i can't.

in the few times i have prayed since leaving the dubs i notice i catch myself -- "dear heavenly god jeh----......" there's just so much emotional baggage connected to the name.

i wish to leave it behind altogether.. b.

VM44

The New Jerusalem Bible uses the name Yahweh, which might be the closer to what was used in the Old Testament.

--VM44

29

Numbers both literal and symbolic (April 1st Watchtower)

by ozziepost in

i wonder how many readers of the watchtower have noticed the seeming inconsistency of the 144,000 teaching in the april 1st issue?.

after discussing the symbolic nature of the numbers 666 on the wild beast comes this statement:.

"immediately after disclosing the number 666, revelation mentions 144,000 followers of the lamb, jesus christ, who have his name and the name of his father, jehovah, written on their foreheads.".

VM44

Hi Blondie,

Reasoning book p 167 Heaven
Is the number 144,000 merely symbolic?

The answer is indicated by the fact that, after mention of the definite number 144,000, Revelation 7:9 refers to "a great crowd, which no man was able to number."

A "definite" number, 144,000, is followed by mention of an "indefinite" number, "a great growd." The Reasoning book writer should be careful in making distinction between literal and symbolic numbers, and definite (fixed value) and indefinite (no fixed value) numbers.

If the number 144,000 were not literal it would lack meaning as a contrast to the "great crowd."

Would it really? This statement is merely the writer's opinion. Also writing style has changed considerably over the 2000 years since Revelation was written.

Viewing the number as literal agrees with Jesus? statement at Matthew 22:14 regarding the Kingdom of the heavens: "There are many invited, but few chosen."

Jesus' word would apply to either 144,000 representing either a literal definite number, or a large indefinite number. This is not proof for either viewpoint!

The Reasoning book writer presents no logic, merely speculation based upon his opinion of the style the writer of Revelation uses when contrasting two symbolic groups or classes of people.

--VM44

15

What Proof Is there that Jehovah Selected them in 1918?

by VM44 in

the watchtower bases its authority on the claim jehovah made an inspection of christianity around the years 1918/1919 and selected the bible students (now jehovah's witnesses).

ok....but other than making this claim (over and over and over again!

) what proof does the wt present that they were indeed selected?

VM44

The Watchtower bases its authority on the claim Jehovah made an inspection of Christianity around the years 1918/1919 and selected the Bible Students (now Jehovah's Witnesses).

OK....But other than making this claim (over and over and over again!) what proof does the WT present that they were indeed selected?

They are not clear in presenting any evidence that they were selected, or that even any selection occurred at all!

Their claims are merely made up, improvable statements! Fantasies!

--VM44

40

Guards at Stadium Conventions during Song and Prayer

by VM44 in

jw
friends

when did the wt start having guards come out during the song and prayer at stadium conventions?

i noticed this at a convention in san diego, right before the song begins, a bunch of "brothers" come out and stand at key positions facing the seats, and scan the audience!

they remain until after the prayer, and they do not bow their heads during the prayer, but keep scanning the audience.

VM44

Here is the Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium:

alt

Interesting fact, this stadium in San Diego is very close to where the house, Beth Shan, used to be!

That house, like Beth Sarim, was deeded to the WTSand even had a bomb shelter! It was to be a place of protection during WWII, just in case the U.S. was invaded.

The existence of Beth Shan was kept secret, so much so, that the Watchtower even once published a statement once there was no such place, and for the WItnesses to keep preaching and not to continue to spread rumors that the Society was building a "place of safety" in San Diego!

After Rutherford died, the Society even suggested he be buried at Beth Shan!!!!

Think of it! The stadium might have been named "The Joseph F. Rutherford Memorial Baseball Stadium"!!!

The mind boggles at the thought!

--VM44