rocketman

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Posts by rocketman

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  24

  When or how did YHWH get pierced?

  by Tyre in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i can't found any topic in this forum about this verse.

  may be you can enlightened me.. zec 12:10 and i will pour out on the house of david and the inhabitants of jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.

  they will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

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  rocketman

  I recently came across this verse (Zech 12;10) while reading the NIV, and noting the odd structure (and difference between the rendering in the NIV, and many translations) and the New World Translation, I felt obliged to research it, which led me here, among other places. Leoleia's explanation and others, are very helpful. It seems as though the bottom line is that this verse is indeed very difficult to resolve, whether John's application of it is included or not.
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  22

  Mentally diseased translation in NWT.

  by newdawnfades in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  perhaps this has been discussed before.

  1 tim 6:4. nwt .

  4 he is puffed up [with pride], not understanding anything, but being mentally diseased over questionings and debates about words.

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  rocketman

  Weymouth uses "crazy" which seems about on the same level as "mentally diseased".
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  19

  PO refuses to give me a "shepherding" visit ... wtf ???

  by Calebs Airplane in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so 2 weeks ago i received an email from the po... he wants to give my wife and i a shepherding call very soon... but get this... he mentioned that they had already made shepherding calls to the entire congo and we were the only ones left... i don't know whether i'm i supposed to feel loved or despised (by that completely irrelevant comment).

  he's probably doing this to impress the co who is probably visiting soon.... my response to his email was basically: no problem... please feel free to stop by anytime... however, no need to come with a second person.

  i would prefer a 1 on 1 meeting (not 2 on 1).

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  rocketman

  He knows you're married, and that may be another factor. What if he visits alone and your wife is home but you're not there for some reason? It's a precaution.
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  16

  How Could Jesus Be A Perfect Human When...?

  by OneStepOut93 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  how could jesus have been a perfect human on earth if he was born from mary?

  doesn't thewatchtower believe since we are all sons and daughters of adam and eve, that we are all genetically imperfect?

  so if mary also came from adam and eve like the rest of us but gave birth to jesus then wouldn't jesus have been born imperfectlike the rest of us?.

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  rocketman

  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2009/01/09/the-science-of-virgin-birth/

  Problems arise, as the article states, but science has manipulated the process. Those who believe in God obviously maintain that He could do the same, while overcoming the problems.
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  38

  TV Show, 'The Bible'

  by LV101 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anyone planning to watch 'the bible' tv show march 3 on the history channel.

  five episodes focusing on o/t and five about the n/t.

  any thoughts?

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  rocketman

  I watched it. It was OK, not great. They skipped over major stories as already mentioned, such as Joseph (one of the most compelling stories in the OT) and golden calf incident. They seemed to take some dramatic liberty, especially at Sodom with the Samuri Angels.

  The best scene so far, to me, is Abraham's dialog with God as they looked upon Sodom.

  I also liked how they portrayed God's voice. Not all booming and thunderous, just sounded like someone talking. The quieter tone and higher pitch actually seemed to enhance the seriousness of what God had to say.
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  26

  Question 3 of this weeks Oral Review???

  by Comatose in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  3.. why did jesus say that his disciples would not complete their circuit of preaching "until the son of man arrives"?

  (matt.

  10:23) [jan. 14, w10 9/15 p. 10 par.

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  rocketman

  Actually, their web site is an ace in the hole in this matter. They now have a means of widespread 'preaching' without talking directly to the 'hearers'. In fact, one might well wonder why, after using means of mass communication in their early days such as radio and sound cars, they pulled back and relied mainly on direct contact.
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  76

  Are homosexuals born that way? The March 15 Watchtower seems to say so.

  by matt2414 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  15 one brother who was raised in a christian household wrote that for as long as he could remember, he struggled with homosexual tendencies.

  he said: i always felt awkward.

  it seemed that i didnt fit in anywhere.

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  rocketman

  This excerpt does seem to acknowledge that such tendencies are with a person from the get-go.
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  33

  December 15 Watchtower --- A New Low in WT Anti-Intellectualism

  by Room 215 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i wonder whether any of you took note of the article in the 12/15 study edition wt "the simplified watchtower .. why introduced" i couldn't believe they actually had the temerity to put such tripe into print and onto the record.. i was flat-out astonished with its put-down of vocabulary building and self-improvement:.

  one egregious example: " the time spent looking up words and explaining expressions (ostensibly from the "smart people's" watchtower) is now spent gaining an understanding of the scriptures and how they fit into the lesson.".

  one jw cited in the article actually blames her college education for causing her to fall into the bad habit of "speaking and thinking a way that was more complicated than necessary.

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  rocketman

  All of us, at times, have to simplify things in order to be understood. Parents have to simplify things for their young children, which seems to be a major part of the purpose of the Simplified WT.

  The college-educated woman apparently recognized that, being very-well educated, she may have had difficulty expressing certain concepts in simple terms. This can hinder rather than help, depending on the person being addressed. Talking over someone's head isn't going to help them, nor is turning them away until they matched her educational level going to help them either. The simple fact is, some people are more educated than others.

  I would think that, with more people of low-income, low social status, and people from third-world countries making up the bulk of newer converts, the simplification is necessary and helpful to the jw cause, whether you suspect that cause to be nefarious or not.
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  43

  May 15 2013 WT: "REAL elders skip meals and lose sleep!"

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  finally we have the society's expectations of elders in print.. this is from page 9 of the may 15th study edition.... "as indicated by the experiences of the apostle paul, our ministry may result in sleepless nights and times without food.

  (2 cor.

  6:5) these expressions paint a vivid picture of self-sacrifice and may well remind us of pioneers who give their ministry first place in life while supporting themselves financially.

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  rocketman

  We need to be careful about making a bit too much of this.

  I was an elder for a decade. Yes, there was sacrifice involved. Many times, I "lost sleep" due to elders' meetings that were held after the Service Meeting. I'd never want to do that again. But it was part of the business of the congregation. The alternative was no better - holding elders' meetings on a non-meeting night - it would take you away from your family for yet another night.

  That's basically the nature of the gig. The only thing that would make it better would be for the religion to stop demanding so much of these guys.

  But it's not all negative. Some people need their clery to be available, sometimes at the drop of a hat. I would think church members lean on their clergy just as much. It's part of his job, too. And in most cases, there's only one pastor or priest to serve an entire church.

  The difference is that the clergy get paid. Ideally, elders should too, but then the flock would be expected to donate more and perhaps even a collection plate would need to be passed.
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  143

  A thought experiment about what it means "to be" GOD

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  all believers in god begin with the premise that he is the creator.. but-stop!.

  go back one step.

  what about before god was a creator.. creation is the "beginning" for the created--but--not for god.. .

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  rocketman

  Thanks Terry....I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all of it, but I am finding this thread very challenging and interesting.

  And I think I can safely say that God = Cake.