Posts by robhic

4

Specific Last Days Question

by robhic in

i have a document i found somewhere a while ago of 9 questions to ask "where in the bible is this clearly stated?

" it is a few of the common jw doctrines that are not spelled out any place in the bible (1914, etc.).

number 6 is:.

Narkissos:

Thank you for your reply. I must really be slow because it still doesn't seem to be a big deal to me. Although after reading your post and the scriptures in context I think it is making a bit more sense to me.

Maybe after I read it a few more times I'll grasp the significance. Either that or change my list of 9 things to a list of 8 things!!!

Thanks again for the depth of your reply,

Robert

4

Specific Last Days Question

by robhic in

i have a document i found somewhere a while ago of 9 questions to ask "where in the bible is this clearly stated?

" it is a few of the common jw doctrines that are not spelled out any place in the bible (1914, etc.).

number 6 is:.

robhic

I have a document I found somewhere a while ago of 9 questions to ask "where in the Bible is this clearly stated?" It is a few of the common JW doctrines that are not spelled out any place in the bible (1914, etc.).

Number 6 is:

6. That the "last days" began in 1914, and that when the apostle Peter (at Acts 2:17) spoke of the last days as applying from Pentecost on, he did not mean the same "last days" that Paul did (at 2 Timothy 3:1)? Where is this clearly stated? (Scriptures below for reference.)

** Act 2:17 And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams:

** 2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.

I don't understand this comparison or its relevance. Can anyone shed some light on this question and what it is saying? I am no bible scholar nor a JW so please keep it fairly simple. If I have occasion to mention it to a JW in conversation I'd at least like to know what I'm talking about! The other 8 are fairly straightforward.

Thanks for any help,

Robert

4

Christmas celebration in old days

by robhic in

i seem to remember reading more than a few times how christmas was celebrated in the "old days" along with wearing the lapel pin with the cross & crown insignia.

seems christmas got the boot from rutherford but was celebrated for a while in brooklyn and even had some pictures from one of the parties.

problem is, i can't seem to find anything.

robhic

Thanks to all for the replies. I went to the site Mrs. Jones (I keep hearing Billy Paul's "Me & Mrs. Jones" in my head) posted and ended up somewhere where there were pictures from 1926 Christmas celebration at Bethel with 4 members of the GB (Knorr, Franz, Henschel and da Judge) in the picture. I suppose the "true believers" will say the picture is either fake or doctored but it's cool to have anyway.

I also have a WT quote from 1906 that I doubt will get much attention because it's so old and obviously printed under old, inferior light. New light against Christmas would obviously prevail. But, again, it's cool to have it is needed.

Thanks for the tips,

Robert

4

Christmas celebration in old days

by robhic in

i seem to remember reading more than a few times how christmas was celebrated in the "old days" along with wearing the lapel pin with the cross & crown insignia.

seems christmas got the boot from rutherford but was celebrated for a while in brooklyn and even had some pictures from one of the parties.

problem is, i can't seem to find anything.

robhic

I seem to remember reading more than a few times how Christmas was celebrated in the "old days" along with wearing the lapel pin with the cross & crown insignia. Seems Christmas got the boot from Rutherford but was celebrated for a while in Brooklyn and even had some pictures from one of the parties.

Problem is, I can't seem to find anything. I checked the "Quotes" site and a couple others I use for reference but nothing there. I did find a picture of an old WT with the cross & crown emblem on the cover but it's hard to see in detail. Still nothing about Christmas.

What I did last night while visiting my JW girlfriend was let my mouth overload my brain to one of her congregation who was there reading the "Daily Text." It was about jehovah's righteous punishment of David (or some such nonsense). I said (I just had to pipe in...) that it seemed that David got to have his woman's husband killed, commit adultery and be a general sleaze while the baby got killed for it. Not justice in my book.

The JW lady shrieked "jehovah didn't kill the baby ... he only allowed it to die!" WTF? What's the big difference? Not killing a baby but allowing it to die seems pretty similar to me. And still it was the baby getting dead for his philandering father's deeds.

We went back & forth a bit her taking jehovah's side and telling me how truly, heartfelt sorry David was so that made it OK. I said heartfelt sorry or not the baby was still killed (I just had to use that word again to rile her up) and David was alive.

Then we sort of tapered off and she was preparing to leave telling my G/F to keep witnessing to me so that she might remove Satan's blinders from me. (!!!) Satan?! I said "no way, Satan was a myth" (I know, bad tactics again...) and told her I could show her things she would never believe. She really stressed at my query about 1914 in the bible itself.

I don't know how she arrived at christmas celebrations but my mouth was already used to overloading my brain by this time so I blurted out that the JWs used to celebrate christmas themselves in the old days. She said "No way!" this time and I told her I had seen articles AND pictures in a WT somewhere. She said she'd have to see that so that is why I am trying to find the articles/pictures of christmas at bethel to give her.

Can anyone out there help my brain to overload my mouth this time? Any help, sites or links appreciated. Thanks a bunch! (That's my brain talking.)

Robert

If the Israelites had labeling laws

by robhic in

.

if only the israelites had had the labeling laws we have today, a whole bunch of problems could have been averted!.

robhic

If only the Israelites had had the labeling laws we have today, a whole bunch of problems could have been averted!

14

Why not just hide?

by robhic in

after reading "running man's" excellent piece regarding cain and able the thought hit me: why not just hide from jehovah when armeggedon comes around?

he had to ask where able was after cain killed him.

adam and eve effectively hid from him in the garden after eating the apple.

robhic

After reading "Running Man's" excellent piece regarding Cain and Able the thought hit me: Why not just hide from jehovah when armeggedon comes around?

He had to ask where Able was after Cain killed him. Adam and Eve effectively hid from him in the garden after eating the apple. Why can't others hide when he comes aswoopin' down on a horse?

Hide behind a bush or in a closet; tell whoever asks that you are someone else; use a disguise or any number of things you could do to fool someone so easily fooled! How can somone supposedly capable of keeping in his memory or consciousness all of the lives of every single person who ever lived on earth (and elsewhere?) not be able to find someone when there are only 4 people on earth? (OK, maybe five since Cain had to find a babe to marry and spawn with.)

His power of perception and possibly his vision must suck, with a capital 'S'. I'll take my chances with a wig behind a tree.

And what happened to Running Man's recent articles? I went looking for them and they have disappeared. Any ideas? Thanks.

Robert

22

The Atheist's Book of Bible Stories - Ch. 1 - In the Beginning

by RunningMan in

here is the long awaited first chapter.

as always, a complete formatted copy can be obtained if you drop me your email address.

in the beginning.

robhic

Now, up to this point, God has miraculously willed the universe into existance. Yet, when it comes to creating one more thing, a female human, he finds it necessary to look for parts. Fortunately, he placed a superfluous rib in Adam. So, he anesthetises the man, removes the spare rib, and builds himself a chick – Eve.

Excellent, excellent, excellent! What a great piece of writing. If the rest of this work is as good as the first installment, this is gonna be one kick-ass book. Maybe it'll even surpass the original bible. It makes more sense, is easier to read and is fun.

I just thought of something when reading the above (quoted): if the "great creator" needed a spare part to fashion his "woman project" from, why not use the tonsils or appendix? I mean, they aren't of any use, as opposed to a rib which adds structural integrity. Why take out a functional part instead of using a useless part?

In that respect, why would a supposed great creator make his most important, highest functioning creation with wonky parts? Why make the appendix, tonsils or any other part that is useless instead of something useful? Like WINGS or something equally cool?

I can see a "great architect" drawing up a building blueprint with all sorts of useless additions. I feel he wouldn't hold his position as "great architect" for very long. At least not with that firm...

Great work, Running Man. Looking forward to the next installment.

Robert

9

The Da Vinci code

by sym in

hi there - has anything been discussed/announced on this book by the jw's - i know other religious groups have.

i kind of think it backs up some jw beliefs that the church is built on ideas formulated by rome and not christ but that also it undermines the very basis of all christianity as well - i just imagined it being the type of book the elders would tell you not to read.

i remember when i used to go, there where lots of things we should not read or become educated on.

robhic

> ...I kind of think it backs up some JW beliefs that the church is built on ideas formulated by rome and not christ but that also it undermines the very basis of all christianity as well...

I think it backs up a whole lot of people's ideas that all is not as religious leaders of all types would have you believe since, um, since the beginnings of organized religion!

The book makes some interesting assertions. They don't have to be true. But they aren't necessarily false, either. What's wrong with Jesus being married? It wouldn't change anything he said or did as far as I'm concerned. Would it be a propblem for you?

I saw a show on (I think) the history channel where they opined that a 33 year old Jewish man to be unmarried was extremely unusual. Siring sons to carry on the name and all that stuff, it was almost a mandatory thing for Jewish men to get married. So Jesus not being married at 33 would have been very unusual.

Also, they said that Mary Magdelene was NOT a prostitute but was painted with that brush by the early (probably that damn Clement) church leaders to remove some of her significance/power. They couldn't have a woman holding power instead of only men! Unthinkable! They had to "dog" MM to knock her down a peg or two.

Is it proveable? Who knows? Does it make you stop and go "Hmmm..."? Oh yes it does. Interesting book, nonetheless, I just wished they hadn't made that old English scholar-guy like some "Professor James Bond." Lessened its credibility for me.

Robert

5

Could God have taken a "Short Cut"?

by JH in

since billions of people suffer because of adam's sin, wouldn't there have been a better and faster way to solve the problem?.

after adam and eve's sin, why did god permit their descendants to become imperfect?

since manking has to become perfect once more during the millenium, for the only purpose of being tested once more by satan in order to obtain eternal life.. .

robhic

Interesting thought. Makes sense, too. And just why did A&E's descendants have to suffer for their parents' mistake? Kinda makes the scripture about a child not suffering for the parent's sin questionable and hypocritical, doesn't it?

Robert

5

Keep On The Watch - Week of June 6

by ezekiel3 in

the following is from keep on the watch!

currently studied by jehovahs witnesses in their book study meeting.

questions at the end of each section are supplied by our kingdom ministry (april 2005) as part of this arrangement.

robhic

Jesus foretold: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near." He also said: "When you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation . . . standing in a holy place, . . . then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains."

Isn't this more of a "Duh!" moment than keeping some vigilant watch? Let's see, the city is surrounded by hostile forces. "Duh!" There is some "disgusting thing" (a sewerage-monster or feces beast like in the movie 'Dogma'?) outside the place you live. "Duh!" Newsflash: It's time to hit the road, you idiot! Would these people need prodding into action if noticing someone with a sword or dagger standing behind them preparing to strike? "Duh!" No, of course not.

This, above, is only one of many instances in this article that seem to equate common sense with extreme vigilance and keeping on some kind of watch! It also seems to be written on an 8th grade reading level.

Did jesus have to tell folks to not touch the fire because it was hot? Not to put your hands into the mouth of a wolf or lion (except the beachball-playing lion ) or other such moronically simple caution? Jeez...

Robert