The basic qualification, other than being an elder, is that you not drop the baptismal candidates as you dunk them. (like I did one time).
CyrusThePersian
JoinedPosts by CyrusThePersian
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On my way into work today,,,,,
by Jomavrick ini was listening to some southern radio preacher giving his sermon.
he was talking about the need to sell out to god and not just say that you love god but prove it.
he then said something that made me laugh - he said " a wife doesn't prove that she loves her husband in the parlor, she proves her love for him in the kitchen".. now i find that hilarious for a couple reasons, what do you ladie's and gents think??
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CyrusThePersian
I'm with Balter447 on this one, there are ALL KINDS of ways a woman can show love for her man in the kitchen...
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MUST READ: Books for Young JWs - a Required Reading List
by Oubliette ini've been contemplating a list of works of fiction that should be read by every young jehovah's witness, (12 - 18 years old).
the goal is to plant seeds of truth and critical thinking skills which could ultimately invoking cognitive dissonance and help them wake up to the truth about "the truth" (ttatt).
my idea is an adaptation of steven hassan's approach of not attacking a cult members beliefs directly, but rather indirectly by getting them to look at other similar belief systems and social structures, in this case fictional ones that mirror many of the destructive, oppressive features of jehovah's witnesses.
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CyrusThePersian
Another work of fiction that I think is good is Robert Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love". It's about a man who never died (a JW dream) and it contains a quote that, for me was life changing:
"What are the facts? Again and again and again-what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what the stars fortell, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable 'verdict of history' -what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!"
CyrusThePersian
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Question about 607/587
by drewcoul ini am not an expert on this issue.
i have read and re-read information about it, but i guess i am somewhat dense when it comes to this topic.. my question is simple: the watchtower suggests that they believe the bible is the unerring word or god.
that it must be believed above anything else.
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CyrusThePersian
There are no dates in the Bible. Therefore, we have a relative chronology.
This isn't 100% true. There are three places where the Bible presents an actual accurate date--and one corresponds to a 587 BCE date for Jerusalem's destruction. All three dates are in the book of Zechariah. The one that's important for this discussion is Zech. 1:7 --"On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius ..." which would be exactly February 15, 519 BCE. On this date Zechariah received a vision wherein an angel asks, "How long O Lord will you not show mercy to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, whom you have denounced these seventy years?"(v.12)
Why is this important? Do the math. Seventy years from 519 BCE is 589 BCE--certainly close enough to the actual date of Jerusalem's destruction date of 587 BCE -according to modern scolarship, and nowhere near the Watchtower's date of 607 BCE.
CyrusThePersian
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untitled
by CyrusThePersian inhere we are at the close of 2010. since i have many family members who are still jehovah's witnesses, and who still believe that the end of the world is coming any minute now, i thought i would post a little list of events, a timetable if you will, of some end-time prophesies and how long ago they were.. .
around 1,980 years ago jesus promised,"...this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.
also around the same time jesus said," truly i say to you that there are some of those standing here that will not taste death at all until first they see the son of man coming in his kingdom.
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CyrusThePersian
Here we are at the close of 2010. Since I have many family members who are still Jehovah's Witnesses, and who still believe that the end of the world is coming any minute now, I thought I would post a little list of events, a timetable if you will, of some end-time prophesies and how long ago they were.
Around 1,980 years ago Jesus promised,"...This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." -Matt 24:34
Also around the same time Jesus said," Truly I say to you that there are some of those standing here that will not taste death at all until first they see the son of man coming in his kingdom." -Matt 16:28
Around 1,960 years ago Paul thought that he would be among those living who would be caught up alive to heaven. -1 Thess. 4:16,17 (note the use of the first person 'we' in verse 17.)
About 1,920 years ago, John quotes the resurrected Jesus as saying,"Yes, I am coming quickly"-Rev 22:20
Moving on to more modern times, in 1888, 122 years ago, Charles Taze Russell stated in the book, The Time is at Hand "That the Lord must be present, and set up his Kingdom, and exercise his great power so as to dash the nations to pieces as a potter's vessel, before A.D. 1914, is then clearly fixed; for it is 'in the days of these kings' - before their overthrow - i.e. before A.D. 1914 - that the God of heaven shall set up his Kingdom.. The 'Times of the Gentiles'.. will run fully out with the year A.D. 1914, and at that time they will all be overturned and Christ's Kingdom fully established.. Both of these ripenings (Rev. 14:1-4, 18-20) will be completed in a period of forty years, ending with the year A.D. 1914." 1914 was 96 years ago, folks.
Russell's successor, J.F. Rutherford thought that the end would be in 1925. In the Watchtower of March 1, 1923, it states, "Have we more reason, or as much, to believe the kingdom will be established in 1925 than Noah had to believe that there would be a flood? .. Our thought is, that 1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures, marking the end of the typical jubilees." 1925 was 85 years ago.
Later on, the Watchtower Society felt that 1975 was the end. The May 1 1968 Watchtower said, "Eight years from the autumn of 1967 would bring us to the autumn of 1975, fully 6,000 years into God's seventh day, his rest day. The immediate future is certain to be filled with climatic events, for this old system is nearing its complete end. Within a few years at most the final parts of Bible prophecy relative to these 'last days' will undergo fulfillment, resulting in the liberation of surviving mankind into Christ's glorious 1,000-year reign!" 1975 was 35 years ago.
What's the point of all this? Just this: It ain't gonna happen folks! People have been saying that God's going to give the world an enema for the past 2000 years but it hasn't happened yet and it's simply not going to happen. WAKE UP! It's 20-frickin'-10 already! Enjoy your life now and quit twiddling your thumbs waiting for a "New Order" that's never going to come.
Amen.
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taken from wt october 15 paragraph 17 page 11
by booby injehovah could read the hearts of david and bath-sheba and see their genuine repentance.
taking.
such a factor into consideration, he judged them accordingly, in a merciful and loving manner.. .
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CyrusThePersian
"I could never figure out why Jehovah was so quick to forgive King David for murdering Bathsheba's hubby, yet He instantly killed Uzzah simply for touching the Ark of the Covenant." -Mary
Ironically, even David himself was a bit perturbed at God's ferocity! -2 Samuel 6:8-10. He may have wondered, as do we, what happened to that "slow to anger" God that Moses talked about!
CyrusThePersian
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taken from wt october 15 paragraph 17 page 11
by booby injehovah could read the hearts of david and bath-sheba and see their genuine repentance.
taking.
such a factor into consideration, he judged them accordingly, in a merciful and loving manner.. .
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CyrusThePersian
I personally don't think that this story is a crock. It just smacks too much of reality. Else why would someone write about Isreal's most beloved king being involved in an adulterous liason with the wife of one of his soldiers and an elaborate murder-by-proxy scheme to cover it up?
I believe (and this is just a hypothesis, I have no evidence to back it up) that what we are reading in the Bible is a little bit of ancient damage control. The situation with David and Bathsheba may have become known to the community so an ancient writer "came clean" and wrote about the affair, incorporating David's subsequent family troubles (also probably real events) into some sort of "curse from God" in order to possibly placate a community disturbed by David's not being punished according to the law.
CyrusThePersian
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The Greeks had a word for "channel of communication"
by JeffT ini'm reading a book about the battle of salamis and i ran across a real gem.
the ancient greeks had a class of people who were devoted to communicating the thoughts and will of the gods to the people.
these people, and their instutions were considered the gods' spokespeople.
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CyrusThePersian
Hi JeffT
Sorry to 'bust yer bubble' on a technicality, but "oracle" is an English word, not Greek. It is derived from the Latin oraculum. The proper Greek words are χρησμ?σ and/or μαντε?ου (pronounced Chrees-MOS Man-TEE-yoo).
CyrusThePersian
EDIT: My silly Greek fonts apparently aren't working. The question mark in the first word is an omicron (o). The second question mark is an iota, which looks like the letter i without the dot on top.
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On the (apocryphal?) source of 1 Cor. 2:9 and more ...
by behemot inin 1 cor.
2:9 paul states: "just as it is written: 'eye has not seen and ear has not heard, neither have there been conceived in the heart of man the things that god has prepared for those who love him".
(nwt).
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CyrusThePersian
Behemot,
Another quotation is found at James 4:5. Leolaia did an excellent essay on this scripture here:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/80498/1310189/post.ashx#1310189
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On the (apocryphal?) source of 1 Cor. 2:9 and more ...
by behemot inin 1 cor.
2:9 paul states: "just as it is written: 'eye has not seen and ear has not heard, neither have there been conceived in the heart of man the things that god has prepared for those who love him".
(nwt).
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CyrusThePersian
Just because Paul may have used a source familiar to his readers does not mean that Paul is validating that entire source as inspired. All Paul is doing is making a particular point with information familiar to them
Interesting idea, JM, however one may ask, why did Paul use a non-Biblical source when he could have used a much more authoritative source, the Hebrew Scriptures, to convey the same thought? (Isa. 52:15, 64:4, 65:17) After all, at least some-if not most- of the Corinthian congregation were Jews. (Acts 18:1-11)
The big problem is not that these writers used apocryphal writings, but how they used them. In most of the references Behemot listed above these quoted writings are treated with utmost respect and authority ("as it is written..." "The scripture says", etc.) Contrast this with the way Paul refers to a definitely non-scriptural reference in Acts 17:28 where he says "..one of the poets among you" distancing himself from the reference and showing that he doesn't consider this poet to be an authority.
CyrusThePersian