Posts by bebu

28

Jews practiced human sacrifice

by peacefulpete in

lev.27:28,29 says ..."but any devoted thing which a man devotes to jehovah from all which belongs to him, of man or of animal, or of the field of his possession, it shall not be sold nor redeemed.

everyone devoted to destruction(sacrificed) is most holy no devoted thing which is dedicated by man shall be ransomed; it shall surely be put to death.

this explains why jeptha, when promising to offer as burnt offering the first person to great him upon his successful return from war, had to kill his daughter dispite his feelings for her.

bebu

In my mind, Jepthah very probably did sacrifice his daughter. Does this prove that what he did was accepted practice by Jews for centuries?? No. Was Jepthah grieved by this oath? Yes.

Does the Bible state that God was pleased with this? No. God's reaction is not recorded; in fact, the book of Judges is filled with what people did when people just did "what was right in their own eyes." It's kind of the theme of the book, if you read it in any direction.

It is hard to say why God allowed the daughter to come forward. It seems they recorded this because of the realization that they would be responsible for making rash oaths. [Didn't cure them of it, though. There were a group of Jews who bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until Paul was dead... and God delivered Paul, so these guys either had to starve to death (keeping the oath) or else break that oath. I personally think that God would not have held them to that oath if they had repented of their murderous ideas first.]

None of the "proofs" that have been presented on the thread so far has impressed me. Do you have anything more substantial, or is this it??? (Seriously!)

bebu

edited to add: I'm not disputing that human sacrifice ever existed/was practiced. It apparently did in Canaan, and it was, I recall, one of the reasons God judged the people there so fiercely. I also don't dispute that the Israelites began to follow pagan practices, including human (child) sacrifice, during the time of the divided kingdom... This lead to the exile, another judgement from God. But what impartial evidence has shown that the nation embraced this practice as part of the Jewish religion? That God endorsed it?

4

THE FLASH MIND READER

by nicolaou in

i've tried this several times, so have my wife and kids.

it worked every time!.

nic'.

bebu

At first I was amazed... and then I figured it out. My kids are stumped, though!!

bebu

3

Loving God with all your heart?

by bebu in

a few thoughts.... dt.

6:5 love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (also matt.

psalm 16:2: i said to the lord, you are my lord, i have no good apart from you.. psalm 37:4: delight yourself in the lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.. question: how can the dubs look at these verses, and still insist that god meant for the vast majority of people to live in a "paradise" away from the "desire of their heart"?

bebu

A few thoughts...

Dt. 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (also Matt. 22:37)

Psalm 16:2: I said to the LORD, you are my Lord, I have no good apart from you.

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Question: How can the dubs look at these verses, and still insist that God meant for the vast majority of people to live in a "paradise" away from the "Desire of their heart"? Isn't the LORD the Desire of our heart, if we are obeying the command to love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength?

PS 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

PS 27:4

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

David wrote the above. How is it that God would not allow him to be in heaven, but consign him to "paradise" earth?

The whole teaching sounds like idolatry: replacing God with what is a pious fantasy. No wonder there are so many hurting hearts in JW-dom.

bebu

45

Last night I asked about getting reinstated...

by Gadget in

jw
friends

after the meeting last night italked to some of the elders in the car park, and asked what more i neede to do to get reinstated.

they commended me on the things i've been doing (?

), and said the main point for reinstating would be how much contact i've been having with my fiance, who's still a wittness.

bebu

What about your fiancee? Has she talked about what she would do? Is she pressuring you to be reinstated? If she is, and you were going to do this , is she prepared to cut off all communication for the time it takes to be reinstated?

Has she thought out a plan "B"? If so you should have quite a project in working with her toward a solution. If you discover that it is exasperating to solve this with her, then you might have a clue about how frustrating your marriage might be (and also, if she carries bitterness into it because of sacrifices she's had to make for you--because of what you told her to do, etc.).

On the other hand, if she is committed to you and you can find a solution TOGETHER, then this will show that your marriage can snap away from the remote control of the WT. That would be a good sign of your marriage being able to weather what married life can hurl at you.

Even if things don't work out at this time, events can happen anytime that could bring you together again in the future when circumstances are better.

Best wishes in all your planning and plotting,

bebu

9

Baby Showers

by Larry in

jw
friends

hey folks - what's the newest 'light' on attending babdy showers when the couple isn't married and having a baby out of wedlock?

i know, years ago, most j dubs wouldn't go or support the event.

i ask b/c my brother's mate is having a baby shower and he told me that my mother and sisters (all dubs) are coming.

bebu

That reminds me of an unusual shower at our church a few years ago in our church, when the daughter of one of the board members got pregnant out of wedlock. She had grown up in the church, and was known and loved by the congregation. (We were new to the area, so didn't know her or her family at this time.)

She gave the child up for adoption, and the women's ministries group gave her a shower to comfort and encourage her (personal gifts and books, and refreshments). I couldn't make it, but heard that it was well-attended, and that the young lady was deeply appreciative of the support. I believe that it had nothing to do with her dad's position, but everything to do with how much she was personally loved.

She's now married to another fellow, and they have a healthy tiny baby now. They're very happy and we see them frequently.

22

Preaching Work Complete!!! or is it?

by iiz2cool in

in 1989, we as jw's distributed and studdied many articles in the watchtower.

i remember one study article in particular that indicated that the preaching work would end by the end of the 20th century.

when the year 2000 came around, i searched bound volumes and the watchtower cd, but couldn't find the statement.

bebu

Wow!!! uis2cool!

Thanks for uncovering their secret "new light"... some light get changed without announcements, it's so hard to explain!

What a great treasure you've uncovered. Let us know if when you find more!!

bebu

86

Your Username

by RAYZORBLADE in

there are many reasons why we choose a username.

on this forum, aside from some of the more obvious names associated with our avatars, what does your nickname/username mean or refer to?.

some are first names.

bebu

I lived and taught for 4 years in Japan. The Japanese would call me Bebarii-san (Beverly), very graciously. But the American teacher I taught with would call me simply Bebu, and it really sounded weird for some reason. Maybe it was the American way she used it, "Hey, Bebboo..."

27

We helped a boy in a car crash last night...made us think about things

by LyinEyes in

jw
friends

last night we were coming home from a night of dancing,and came upon a really bad wreck, a young man, had flipped his jeep, several times and his car was on fire.

we must have just missed the wreck, because there were two cars there that saw it and they didnt know what to do......i told my hubby as we stopped to see if anyone had called 911 yet, and asked him to ask if anyone needed first aid.

i am not in the medical field but i know enough first aid to help until the emt arrived.

bebu

(((Lyin and Hubby)))

That must have been such a strange ending on such a carefree evening. Life has so many enjoyable, fun moments (like an evening of dancing) that make us think that is 'all' that goodness is about. But next, in what appeared to a possibly unthinkable moment, God brought you in to share a much deeper goodness: selfless caring. To see and care for a complete stranger and yet connect with him more deeply.

When God puts moments like these in your life, and you find yourself doing the work that love commands, it is so very powerful--as you have shown.

God bless you, your husband, and your son.

bebu

31

Should a Christian Fight in a war, or join the military service?

by l3gi0n in

ecclesiastes 3:8

: there is a time for peace and a time for war.

there are some arguments as to weather a christian would fight in military service, or would remain peaceful to all men, up until death.

bebu

just because someone said it wasn't, what would God say it was? just because the country you live in says: "pick up that gun son and blow off all the heads of every jap and kraut you see." -some how doesn't make it murder? because some dickhead who is just as human as anyone else says to do something it over-rides what God says?

Just because someone (you) say something IS murder, would God say it was?

Isn't the answer here depending on What God Says?

I also think you are stereotyping with your descriptions.

bebu

31

Should a Christian Fight in a war, or join the military service?

by l3gi0n in

ecclesiastes 3:8

: there is a time for peace and a time for war.

there are some arguments as to weather a christian would fight in military service, or would remain peaceful to all men, up until death.

bebu

l3gi0n

I agree with the gist of what you say. I have always thought along the lines of living/dying by the sword being the hazard of the job for a soldier, anyway. Not everybody is cut out to be a combat soldier; some feel more comfortable going into support services that the army uses. I guess it just means that on the individual level, is your conscience ok with going forward? Do you have lots of JW family or pacifist friends that you feel you've got to keep explaining to?

Onacruse,

Yeah, I later thought, y'know it would be interesting to see what kind of posts Paul would write here. I think folks would enjoy the challenge of debate, and see that his letters were messages to folks he knew. I think a lot of the views people have of him (mine included) are based on whatever emphasis others have brought in. I, for example, have always understood the remarks he made about the "super-apostles" were directed toward "superfine pseudo-apostles" who arrived and caused confusion about the gospel. Folks on this board have held the same contempt for how the WT used similar tactics. Paul's words about "super-apostles" were not meant to scorn the real apostles in Jerusalem, but the "self-annointed class". ...So anyway, if you're gonna do the homework I think you will... I'm looking forward and sure I'll enjoy it, but watch out for that bias.

bebu