Posts by robhic

19

Question on jw interpretation

by A Paduan in

.

can someone tell me, how do jws portray the idea of "the wheat and the chaff" ?

paduan

robhic

The Witnesses believe everyone who dies before Armaggedon and did not have a chance to accept the bibles message... ( really it's THEIR message) will be resurrected to have a chance to hear the good news or reject it.
If you are resurrected, hear the message, and reject it.......you will be thrown into the "Apostate bonepile". This will be a special designated place for all onlookers to gaze at, to remind the faithful what happens to those who think for themselves. ( this last paragraph is a bold faced lie)
Gumby

Does having the chance to hear their message include those who turned them away at the door? Like if you refuse to be annoyed on a Saturday morning you get dead with no chance of resurrection just for that? Wow, that's kinda harsh.

And if there really was any truth to the teachings and you got to be resurrected, will the JW teach "the whole truth and nothing but the truth"? Will they not gloss over important points like those who die before the Big A and get resurrected cannot marry nor have a sex life? Seems that might make the decision a bit more difficult than just accepting jehovah's word.

All things being equal, if there really was a resurrection (like they teach) who wouldn't accept jehovah after seeing this first hand? Other than the sex issue, it seems a slam-dunk from this perspective. Even doubting Thomas (the apostle) would believe it after seeing that!

Robert

3

The flood?

by l3gi0n in

has the wt ever state how manny people they think died in the flood?

robhic

A worldwide flood is a fairly slim possibility, in my opinion. I always figure that to the inhabitants of earth 1000's of years ago, the immediate area was the whole earth to them. A regional flood of epic proportions is certainly possible and (I think) actually proven by some scientists. I also have often wondered of those who talk about a "worldwide flood" if they take into consideration that those alive in those days thought the earth was flat, too? People on some remote islands thought the "whole world" consisted of their island and little else.

An earth that was flat and probably thought to be about the size of Isreal and little more is really no big deal in today's scope...

My opinion,

Robert

9

Persecution?

by robhic in

i am not now, nor have i ever been a jw but i have seen their propensity to try to play up being persecuted.

a friend of mine who is a jw (and the reason i sought out these message forums) made it abundantly clear that she thought (and i guess was encouraged to think) that most everything was persecution because "people hate jw's.".

now, from my experience i can say that i don't think people actually hate jw.

robhic

I am not now, nor have I ever been a JW but I have seen their propensity to try to play up being persecuted. A friend of mine who is a JW (and the reason I sought out these message forums) made it abundantly clear that she thought (and I guess was encouraged to think) that most everything was persecution because "People hate JW's."

Now, from my experience I can say that I don't think people actually hate JW. I think most people find them annoying and quite a bother but really hating them seems to be overkill. You don't literally hate mosquitoes (at least I don't) but they are an annoyance like any number of other small things and that's all.

What I have seen as far as the most hostile feelings towards JW seems to be almost exclusively from ex-JW! The message forums I have been reading for about 6-7 months are filled with nice, intelligent and humorous people. But ... when the subject really gets serious about JW topics the ex-JW really get stoked about it. I can see why this would be the case but do other "worldly" people feel this way?

Is this your perception also? Did you experience actual persecution as a JW or more or less people's annoyance and nothing much worse? Am I getting a good read on these feelings? I am curious about JW's need to feel persecuted. Is it some sort of validation? I think it's just kinda sad.

Robert

20

Ancient Biblical Incest leads to Racism

by gumby in

cavallino lot & his lusty daughters

"and they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

thus were both the daughters of lot with child by their father.

robhic

I think there's a difference between passing out and having black outs.
Tell me you or anyone else haven't had blackouts while drunk and done things they don't remember doing and later find out from people telling them what they did that they don't remember doing in the first place and talk about major embarrassment when they do find out.
Yizuman

Well, I can say that in my youth I got very drunk more than a few times. That said, I can say that I never "blacked out" per se, but had a somewhat foggy recollection of events the night before.

My point was more a physiological one, however. It is difficult, if not impossible, to perform when that drunk. And as Gumby says, I think I, too, wouldn't have a problem under any circumstances recognizing my own daughter!

Between recognizing my own child and having a gut full of booze I truly think having sex (with anyone) would be mostly impossible. At least for me.

Robert

20

Ancient Biblical Incest leads to Racism

by gumby in

cavallino lot & his lusty daughters

"and they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

thus were both the daughters of lot with child by their father.

robhic

What has always bothered me about the story of Lot and his daughters (besides the outageous incestual content) is that if Lot was so drunk as to be effectively passed out, how did he "do it" with not only one but two people?

Maybe it's just my experience (many years ago at a much earlier age even) but when I had had enough to drink to where I was passed out drunk, I couldn't <ahem> copulate very well (as my wife would have attested). Lot must have really been a man's man to have done the deed not once but twice while passed out drunk and being so old to boot! Am I being overly simplistic here? It just don't happen, IMO.

Robert (of the easily amused/confused class)

4

Special Meeting on 4/27/03 ?

by robhic in

a friend told me she wanted to attend a special meeting today, sunday april 27. her health has been bad for the last few months so she hasn't attended anything except the memorial in about 6 months.

why this meeting was referred to as "special" wasn't mentioned.. since the jw like to march in lock-step uniformity, i am assuming this meeting is going to be the same country (world) wide?

is a local meeting being special allowed if all other meetings are not (for the most part)?

robhic

A friend told me she wanted to attend a Special Meeting today, Sunday April 27. Her health has been bad for the last few months so she hasn't attended anything except the Memorial in about 6 months. Why this meeting was referred to as "special" wasn't mentioned.

Since the JW like to march in lock-step uniformity, I am assuming this meeting is going to be the same country (world) wide? Is a local meeting being special allowed if all other meetings are not (for the most part)? I am just curious as to the subject of this meeting.

Any ideas? Could it be a "new light" announcement? Membership in the UN being announced? Any input or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Robert

5

"Special Meeting" 4/27/03 ???

by robhic in

my friend who is a jw happened to mention to me last night that there is a "special meeting" today, sunday 4/27/03.

i know the jw do things in a lock-step, uniform way so i wondered if this is an organization-wide special meeting or could it just be a local one?

is a local meeting that isn't in accordance with country- or world-wide uniformity allowed?

robhic

My friend who is a JW happened to mention to me last night that there is a "special meeting" today, Sunday 4/27/03. I know the JW do things in a lock-step, uniform way so I wondered if this is an organization-wide special meeting or could it just be a local one?

Is a local meeting that isn't in accordance with country- or world-wide uniformity allowed? It just makes me curious because she seems very determined to make this meeting. As her health has been poor for a few months precluding meeting attendance (except for the Memorial) I wonder why this meeting is different.

Anbody know anything about this? Is it maybe a first step to introducing "new light?" Like possibly the welcoming of the UN as something other than the "Scarlet Beast?"

She just seemed a bit more hyped up about this meeting and with all the speculation about coming events regarding the UN it got my curiousity up. Thanks.

Robert

17

"Special Meeting" on Sunday 4/27/03. How special?

by robhic in

a friend of mine who is a jw told me last night that there is a special meeting today that she wanted to attend.

since her health in the last few months has prevented meeting attendance (other than the memorial) i wonder why she is so determined to make the meeting today, sunday april 27, 2003. could it just be a local thing?

do the jw do that or is every meeting in lock-step with all the meetings in the country if not the world?

robhic

A friend of mine who is a JW told me last night that there is a special meeting today that she wanted to attend. Since her health in the last few months has prevented meeting attendance (other than the Memorial) I wonder why she is so determined to make the meeting today, Sunday April 27, 2003. Could it just be a local thing? Do the JW do that or is every meeting in lock-step with all the meetings in the country if not the world? I know they like their uniformity.

There seems to have been some speculation I've been reading here regarding "new light" coming soon. Possibly regarding the JW and the UN connection? Something else or is it possibly just a local thing and I am mis-reading the importance entirely?

Thanks for anyone who can shed some "new light" of their own onto this question of mine.

Robert

19

Are Birthdays and Christmas celebrations really rooted in Evil????

by bk62 in

during the last two months i've tried and tried to rationalize the jw view that, since these "pagan holidays are not based upon the scriptures, they must not be practices by christians".

i've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and trying to come up with their motivation for these policies.

they can't think that celebrating will actually hurt, yet they obviously can't honestly think the practice goes against the bible.. i thought it might just be another "control" for them to place on the flock - and a way to differentiate themselves from other faiths.

robhic

So when you have somebody in a situation such as mine (with a JH wife) they are forcing me to make a decision instead of letting me walk the fence.

Not completely on topic, here, but I feel compelled to ask if you got married before or after your wife's conversion to JW? I wonder how so many folks seem to have JW spouses yet I have hit a brick wall in regard to this topic with a woman I am in love with who is a JW (since 2000 and has no other family in the organization) regarding the same.

She is an "equally yoked or nothing" type person and I can't figure it. Allowing for personal choice I can see, but not agree with it. As a "policy" matter" this doesn't seem completely without exception. Did you get married to a JW woman? This is perplexing to me...

13

Jesus Resurection, Voodoo trick or for real?

by seedy3 in

i just watched a program about voodoo magic, one point they discussed was the zombies.

the voodoo witchdoctors have the ability to give a person a poison that slows down the bodies system funtions so slow that even modern medical equipment can not pick it up, then a little later when no one is looking they go out dig up the "body" and resurect them.

now given this point is it at all possible?

robhic

For an interesting perspective on this topic from a scientific, perpheral direction see the book "The Jesus Conspiracy" by Holger Kersten and Elmar R. Gruber. It investigates (with actual experiments!) Jesus' death and the Shroud of Turin, also.

I read it a few years ago. Very thought-provoking.