Posts by CyrusThePersian

11

HALF AND HALF or 50/50

by Terry in

jw
friends

there are only a thousand people left on earth.. about ten percent of the survivors (of some unnamed disaster) have professional expertise of some kind.. 80 per cent have some education, but not any practical grasp of how things operate.. 10 per cent are extremists of varying kinds; a sort of lunatic fringe with knee-jerk "solutions" they propose to carry out.. a temporary leader/spokesman acts as a referee to sort things out.. a meeting is conducted with all 1000 present.. after much arguing, a vote is conducted.. 51 % want to carry out one set of plans while 49% want know part of it.. the thin majority start doing things their way and the minority get more and more outraged.. what happens next?.

.

CyrusThePersian

I think that the problem in the USA is actually quite different than your scenario. I believe that America - especially the American economy is spiraling toward an almost medieval situation, wherein all the wealth and power is controlled by a tiny elite group and all the rest (the "99%") are slowly being stripped of their financial well-being.

It's my opinion that soon the economy will become so unbalanced that an actual revolt could occur. I see the "Occupy Wall St" protests from a couple of years ago as the rumblings of massive discontent.

The two party political system in the USA has become a joke. The politicians are bought and paid for by the elite and do their bidding.

CyrusThePersian

139

Ever consider joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

by rawe in

has anyone here left jehovah's witnesses to join the churuch of jesus christ of latter-day saints?

what was your motivation for doing so and how has it worked out?.

if you haven't joined the lds or considered it, as an ex-jw, what is your general view of the lds faith?.

CyrusThePersian

I was about to post that I would never again be a part of a cult that was pretty much made up by someone, like Joseph Smith, C.T. Russell or L. Ron Hubbard or their ilk, but in reality all religions were basically made up by somebody.

The only advantage that Christianity, Islam and Judaism have is that they are older, but in my mind the same rule still applies-somebody, at some time, made the whole thing up so I don't want or need to be a part of any of them.

CyrusThePersian

13

Yay!! I got a valuable piece of garbage

by ILoveTTATT in

jw
friends

i got what could well be the craziest wbts book: the finished mystery!!.

relatively cheap, 65 bucks.

can't wait till i have it in my hands!!.

CyrusThePersian

The Finished Mystery is awesome! I don't think any one book the society published can quite compare with this insane tome. Be sure to look up some of the crazier quotes from the internet and bookmark them to show your mother.

I hope you got the 1917 edition. That one is the silliest of them all. The subsequent editions are more watered down in their rhetoric.

And leaving_quietly, even though having the book in PDF format is cheap, there is nothing to compare with having the actual ink-and-paper book in your hands. That way no one can say that you got the info from "apostates."

CyrusThePersian

11

HALF AND HALF or 50/50

by Terry in

jw
friends

there are only a thousand people left on earth.. about ten percent of the survivors (of some unnamed disaster) have professional expertise of some kind.. 80 per cent have some education, but not any practical grasp of how things operate.. 10 per cent are extremists of varying kinds; a sort of lunatic fringe with knee-jerk "solutions" they propose to carry out.. a temporary leader/spokesman acts as a referee to sort things out.. a meeting is conducted with all 1000 present.. after much arguing, a vote is conducted.. 51 % want to carry out one set of plans while 49% want know part of it.. the thin majority start doing things their way and the minority get more and more outraged.. what happens next?.

.

CyrusThePersian

A schism occurs and they have a war or they separate into two opposing groups. With only a thousand people left, it sounds like social suicide but such is human nature unfortunately.

51

Christmas - love it or leave it?

by Xanthippe in

jw
friends

i am just watching my neighbours across the road putting up christmas lights while their children run around bursting with excitement.

i am feeling all christmassy now.

can't wait for my daughter to come home from uni next weekend so we can go and buy a tree from the garden centre.

CyrusThePersian

Since I'm single and live alone and my kids are still stuck in the troof, my celebrations usually consist of hitting a few parties and watching my favorite Christmas movies like A Christmas Story, White Christmas and Holiday Inn.

21

Why remove John 8:1-11 in the NWT if these verses speak highly of Jesus

by I_love_Jeff in

i understand these verses were removed in the nwt as well as some other bibles because they were added later & considered uninspired.

jesus protected an adultress so why remove it?

it fits in nicely with his teachings, does it not?

CyrusThePersian

In other words, the WTBTS is just like those false religious organization from which they claim to be so different!

I think you just helped prove my point. Thanks.

You're welcome. In my humblest of opinions, all religions are full of baloney, but I've become a diehard atheist so what do I know?

CyrusThePersian

13

Death Of Print Update

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://gawker.com/new-york-magazine-begins-to-give-up-on-print-1474820408.

little by little....... print media is dying.

i understand the head of buzzfeed asserted that 'there are no new newspaper subscribers being born', statistically speaking.. metatron.

CyrusThePersian

Like Simon said, it's hard to compete with a gizmo that can hold a whole library in the palm of your hand. But when I look at my "stack of shelves with dust covered books" I can't help but feel a little nostalgic.

CyrusThePersian

21

Why remove John 8:1-11 in the NWT if these verses speak highly of Jesus

by I_love_Jeff in

i understand these verses were removed in the nwt as well as some other bibles because they were added later & considered uninspired.

jesus protected an adultress so why remove it?

it fits in nicely with his teachings, does it not?

CyrusThePersian

The Codex Sinaiticus also contains the Epistle of Barnabas and The Shepherd of Hermas.

The point being that the Watchtower isn't alone in cherry picking what should and should not be "canon". The Catholics and Protestants have been doing that for centuries.

The issue is not really whether the pericope is inspired or not but rather whether or not it belongs in the book of John, which available evidence indicates that it does not.

As to whether the apocryphal books like Tobit and Maccabees are canonical, the Catholic church eventually relagated these works to a secondary status and the Protestants rejected them altogether. The Watchtower Society, being founded by Protestants, use a Protestant Bible canon and ignore the apocrypha.

15

Interview with an Apostate: Dazed but not confused

by dazed but not confused in

tell us a little about yourself and your family.. my wife and i are born ins.

we have 2 beautiful children.

whenever i run into jws i knew, they usually give me a hug and tell me they miss me.. how long have you now been out?.

CyrusThePersian

You have a beautiful family. It makes me kind of sad for what my family missed out on.

Great story! Keep looking up!

21

Why remove John 8:1-11 in the NWT if these verses speak highly of Jesus

by I_love_Jeff in

i understand these verses were removed in the nwt as well as some other bibles because they were added later & considered uninspired.

jesus protected an adultress so why remove it?

it fits in nicely with his teachings, does it not?

CyrusThePersian

Hi Perry!

Most of the references you gave are quite late and have little impact in proving the authenticity of the pericope adulterae. The one reference that is significant is Papias (as quoted by Eusebius, a 4th century exegete).

If we can trust Eusebius, he states that Papias, who lived in the late first century into the early second century, wrote of the existence of a story of a woman accused of many sins that was found in what Papias called "The Gospel of the Hebrews".

There is some evidence that the pericope is very old, and may even date back to nearly the time of the apostles, if we can believe Eusebius. However, whether it belongs in the book of John remains in doubt.

CyrusThePersian