Posts by Island Man

37

How did you feel when you got baptised? Seriously....

by stuckinarut2 in

so recently, several over-righteous ones in the cong were discussing "how amazing it felt when they got baptised".

statements like "how awesome did it feel as you got raised back out of the water?!".

or the classic "i felt so close to jehovah as i came out of the pool"!.

Island Man

I've heard an ex-JW once say that he felt like someone's trophy - his bible teacher's trophy. And to make matters worse, they had to dunk him twice because the first time a tiny piece of his body didn't go all the way under. What's up with that? Is Jehovah and Jesus looking down legalistically and saying: 'Oh look his nose didn't go all the way under, so that means he's technically not baptised. That's one more to be destroyed at Armageddon, mwhaa ha ha ha!'

8

Why we need God

by Coded Logic in

if there was no god we would not have an objective standard to tell the difference between red from blue.

who would determine what is red and what is blue if there was no god?

it would be chaos!

Island Man

But Coded Logic, how could we possibly know that the enslavement and genocide of non-believers is a good thing, if God didn't condone and command it?

And how could we possibly know to shun our own religiously defecting sons and daughters, but for sacred writ?

So we do need God to tell us the difference between good and bad, less our imperfect conscience should move us to omit doing the good which our imperfect heart tells us is bad.

You see, only through revelation from a God would we ever know that shunning religous apostates is a good thing - an act of love. How are people supposed to know to do do such loving acts if there's no God to reveal to them that such acts are good?

32

How would YOU like to die - At home with your family, or in Hospital with Strangers

by fulltimestudent in

a big decision no one wants to make, but would you have a preference?.

and, i guess it may depend on what kind of relationship you have with your family.. .

Island Man

Healthcare Power of Attorney, sorry it is on google.

And here I thought the HC stood for Hospice Care

11

"bad blood" German TV

by inbetween in

http://www.ardmediathek.de/tv/reportage-dokumentation/b%c3%b6ses-blut-kehrtwende-in-der-intensivm/das-erste/video?documentid=24921128&bcastid=799280.

for those who understand german (some parts are in english).

basically the german public tv station aired last monday a program about the danger of blood transfusions and a needed change of habits of hospitals and doctors, also about the resistance of giovernments and blood banks, touching even on financial interests.

Island Man

Great illustration Cofty.

19

Do Jehovah's Witnesses fulfil Matthew 24:14 ?

by raymond frantz in

do jehovahs witnesses fulfil matthew 24:14?.

one of the most used verses amongst jws is matthew 24:14 .no other denomination has preached the good news of the kingdom with the intensity that witnesses have around the globe.surely this must be the actual fulfillment of matthew 24:14 ,or is it ?

this posts considers the reason why the preaching of the news performed by jehovah's witnesses today is a false sign .let me know what you think.

Island Man

JWs are not preaching the message that the bible indicates would be preached. Let me give you 2 examples from the bible

1. Revelation 12:17 describes christians as bearing witness to Jesus. There are other verses in Revelation which also mention christians bearing witness to Jesus. So Revelation indicates that christians would primarily be witnesses of Jesus - not witnesses of Jehovah, not Jehovah's Witnesses. The very Jehovah-centric and christ-diminishing Jehovah's Witnesses are not the christians that Revelation and other NT books speak about.

2. The question asked by the last days ridiculers' at 2 Peter 3:4 implicitly reveals that the presence of Jesus would start in a very visible and climactic manner. It also reveals that the presence does not begin with the start of the last days, like JWs teach. If that were the case, the ridiculers, as they are living in the last days, would also be living during the presence while foolishly asking where is the presence. But Peter does not say the ridiculers are foolish for not knowing that they are actually living during the presence. Nor does Peter say they are foolish for not knowing that the presence started invisibly. Conclusion: the ridiculers' are only wrong in doubting that the presence would come. Their implicit understanding of the nature of the presence is correct. So where did these ridiculers of the last days get their understanding of the presence? Who preached to them about the presence? Was it JWs? Obviously not, because the presence JWs are teaching is different to the one that the ridiculers and Peter speak about.

So the focus of the preaching work of JWs is off. The focus should be on Jesus - his sacrificial death and resurrection and salvation by faith in him. This is actually the most important facet of the good news of the kingdom. Because it is accurate knowledge of, and faith in, Jesus that would give someone salvation - not knowledge of, and faith, in a heavenly government. A person can have all the knowledge of the kingdom govt. and if they lack faith in Jesus they will not be saved. But a person can have all the faith in Jesus and lack knowledge of the heavenly govt. and still be saved. JWs foolishly think the good news of the kingdom is mainly about preaching about paradise earth and a heavenly govt. But it's actually about salvation and inheriting the kingdom by means of faith in Jesus. And JWs are, and always have been, teaching a false eschatology. JWs match the false prophets Jesus warned about at Luke 21:8.

33

Psychological Effects of Color

by RedPillPopper in

jw
friends

for item #1 check out the color for trust.

totally ironic and you know the borg chose this on purpose.. .

http://goweloveit.info/entertainment/these-8-psychological-facts-will-help-you-understand-a-lot-more-about-life-5-is-a-game-changer/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral.

Island Man

Actually, according to my college art class, it's not red that is the primary color, it's fuchsia.

I think you might have this mixed up a bit, Grreatteaher.

Fuschia - or magenta - does not exist within the visible light spectrum. Our brains make it up because our eyes don't respond to that particular wave of the electromagentic spectrum. Magenta sits outside of the nanometers that our eyes are attuned to. It is a combination of both ends of the visible light spectrum and those ends don't meet - our brain makes the loop.

Red is a 'primary' color.

You, or your instructor, may have 'primary' confused with 'purity' of color.

What are considered as the primary colors in the field of physics is actually different from what are considered as the primary colors in the field of art/decorating.

26

Parousia (again)

by leaving_quietly in

i noticed this during the wt study on sunday.. 1 cor 15:23: "but each one in his own proper order: christ the firstfruits, afterward those who belong to the christ during his presence.

"the greek word for presence is "parousia", which needs no explanation here as to how wtbts views this word versus the rest of the world.. what i noticed was the striking contradiction made just a few verses later.. 1 cor 15:51,52: "look!

i tell you a sacred secret: we will not all fall asleep in death, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye, during the last trumpet.

Island Man

" Matt.24 does use parosia and comming interchangeably-vs.30,36,37,42,44,50."

Yes. Technically speaking - from a strictly linguistic standpoint - there is a difference between presence and coming. However, this techinical difference is mostly irrelevant since the presence starts with christ's coming. This is why the NT writers use the 2 terms interchangeably. Watchtower is making much ado about a technicality that is irrelevant in the context of the NT.

Also, contrary to Watchtower's claims, the events that Jesus mentions in Matthew 24, indicate, not that his presence is here, but that it is near.

"Likewise also YOU, when YOU see all these things, know that he is near at the doors." - Matthew 24:33

Jesus often illustrated/compared his return to that of a person (a master, a bridegroom or a thief) who returns/comes to a house, unexpectedly. His disciples are always pictured as the ones inside the house - as slaves or as virgins of the bridegroom. With this in mind, when is the visitor (Jesus) actually present? Is it not when he enters the house? Obviously so. When he's not in the house with the others he is absent. The expression "near at the doors" used at Matthew 24:33 appears to be an implicit allusion to one of these house visitation comparisons that Jesus often made. If he is near at the doors he is still outside and therefore not yet present - but just about to be. Thus contrary, to what Watchtower claims, Matthew 24 gives events that would indicate that Jesus' presence is near - not already here.

33

Psychological Effects of Color

by RedPillPopper in

jw
friends

for item #1 check out the color for trust.

totally ironic and you know the borg chose this on purpose.. .

http://goweloveit.info/entertainment/these-8-psychological-facts-will-help-you-understand-a-lot-more-about-life-5-is-a-game-changer/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral.

Island Man

So the gray cover of the new NWT is an attempt at JWs exhibiting a more neutral and calming presence to potential converts when carrying and reading the NWT in the field?

You know, gray is also a metaphor for that which is unclear/uncertain/questionable. When I see the gray NWT, the expression "gray area" comes to mind.

26

Parousia (again)

by leaving_quietly in

i noticed this during the wt study on sunday.. 1 cor 15:23: "but each one in his own proper order: christ the firstfruits, afterward those who belong to the christ during his presence.

"the greek word for presence is "parousia", which needs no explanation here as to how wtbts views this word versus the rest of the world.. what i noticed was the striking contradiction made just a few verses later.. 1 cor 15:51,52: "look!

i tell you a sacred secret: we will not all fall asleep in death, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye, during the last trumpet.

Island Man

1 Corinthians 15:52 says the resurrection of those who belong to christ happens at the sounding of the last trumpet. Matthew 24:29-31 indicates that a great trumpet will sound at the time of Jesus' coming after the great tribulation. Logically, then, the last trumpet cannot sound before the great tribulation (because it wouldn't be the last trumpet, since a trumpet is to sound after the great tribulation) and therefore the resurrection of the anointed cannot occur before the great tribulation. The Watchtower teaching that the resurrection of the anointed already started around 1918, is thus proven to be false.

2 Peter 3:9 indicates that God is patient in bringing the promised presence because he is giving time for all to repent because he doesn't desire any to be destroyed. This clearly implies that when the presence begins there would not be any time to repent because it will begin destructively - not as a century of invisible rule from heaven, as the JWs falsely teach. 2 Peter chapter 3 repeatedly uses "presence" and "the day of the Lord (Jehovah, NWT)" interchangeably thus demonstrating that the presence starts dramatically with the destructive day of Jehovah and not as a century of invisible rule from heaven. The idea that the presence already started in 1914 and yet there has still been a whole century of time for people to repent, contradicts what is clearly implied by 2 Peter 3:9. Note, also, that according to JW theology which holds the start of the presence to be synonymous with the start of the last days, the ridiculers mentioned in 2 Peter 3:4 would be asking where is the presence while living during the presence, and this great irony is lost to the inspired writer, Peter. Clearly, the JWs are teaching rubbish.

James 5:7 tells christians to exercise patience until the presence of Jesus. This use of until implies that when the presence starts christians would no longer need to exercise patience because at that time they will at last experience deliverance from their trials by receiving their heavenly reward. (2 Thessalonians 2:1) But according to JW theology a christian who was alive when the presence started in 1914 would have to continue exercising patience throughout his life - for a whole century! - after the presence begun. JW theology invalidates the encouragement given at James 5:7.

1914 has royally screwed up the JWs eschatology.

16

Examining the Watchtower daily

by kairos in

...i mean scriptures.. .

wow, how did i miss this.. open up you examining the scriptures daily ( "daily text" ).

the booklet is about 80% watchtower comments.

Island Man

I know right. It's like this other misnomer: Congregation Bible Study, where they actually study, not the Bible, but a Watchtower publication.