i've heard some view points that state, atheists are generally more moral & caring for fellow humans, than are theists.. i'd like to hear some personal stories of life changes and quality of life after you became atheist.
i have a simple theory that may explain this.. i'll explain my theory if you'd like, after a few responses, as i really am interested in the personal changes that you experienced.. thank you very much, and i look forward to your stories..
I've heard some view points that state, Atheists are Generally more Moral & Caring for fellow humans, than are Theists.
I'd like to hear some personal stories of Life Changes and Quality of Life after you became Atheist. I have a simple theory that may explain this.
I'll explain my Theory if you'd like, after a few responses, as I really am interested in the Personal Changes that you experienced.. Thank You very much, and I look forward to your stories.
so at the convention, one of the talks was about how all people will speak a single language in the new system.
my ears perked up when i heard at the outset "now, we can't be dogmatic about this" because that immediately makes me think that they're backing away from a previously dogmatic stance.
he went on to say that everyone will be speaking hebrew in the new system because "evidently" (another word that gets my ears to perk up these days) that was what was spoken before the languages were confused at bable.
Yes I agree with this viewpoint, that Ancient Hebrew is the Language of God.
If the Watchtower takes this stance, I'm curious if they would agree with the Fulfillment of Prophecy that Hebrew has begun ito be restored and used by The Jews.
A PURE LANGUAGE: “I will restore until the peoples a pure language” Zeph 3:9. For nearly 2000 years, Israel has been scattered through out the earth, yet in the last 50 years, they have revived the Hebrew language spoken as it was 2000 years ago.
"worthy, therefore, of rejection is every one who is willing so much as to hear anything against the monarchy of god; but if any one dares to hear anything against god, as trusting in the scriptures, let him first of all consider with me that if any one, as he pleases, form a dogma agreeable to himself, and then carefully search the scriptures, he will be able to produce many testimonies from them in favour of the dogma that he has formed.
how, then, can confidence be placed in them against god, when what every man wishes is found in them?".
clementine.
An unconfirmed Clementine.. He claims to have known Barnabas & Peter.. He has a really Insightful way of deciphering matters.
One of his works can be found here.. http://biblehub.com/library/unknown/the_clementine_homilies/
Very interesting reading, and thought provoking. - The Bible that he's referencing is the OT
"worthy, therefore, of rejection is every one who is willing so much as to hear anything against the monarchy of god; but if any one dares to hear anything against god, as trusting in the scriptures, let him first of all consider with me that if any one, as he pleases, form a dogma agreeable to himself, and then carefully search the scriptures, he will be able to produce many testimonies from them in favour of the dogma that he has formed.
how, then, can confidence be placed in them against god, when what every man wishes is found in them?".
clementine.
"Worthy, therefore, of rejection is every one who is willing so much as to hear anything against the monarchy of God; but if any one dares to hear anything against God, as trusting in the Scriptures, let him first of all consider with me that if any one, as he pleases, form a dogma agreeable to himself, and then carefully search the Scriptures, he will be able to produce many testimonies from them in favour of the dogma that he has formed. How, then, can confidence be placed in them against God, when what every man wishes is found in them?"
Clementine
in a recent email conversation that i had with a jw friend, he brought up,the holocaust, as proof that jws were the true religion.
he said something to the effect of... "hitler targeted, jws because they serve jehovah.. hitler wanted them to renounce their faith as witnesses, if the witnesses didn't have the truth why would satan have hitler target them so brutally".
i responded "hitler put 6 million jews to death, and a few thousand witness's to death, what does this mean?".
I have been interested In Judaism and The Jews for some time now.. There are several things that interest me, however one of the first things that I was first amazed by is their Lack of Doctrine, and their "Un-Exclusivity".. As in they know that they are "Gods Chosen People" however unlike the witnesses they don't claim to be the only people that will gain salvation. Their charitability and sense of community is also commendable.
I think what it comes down to is Doing as Opposed to Knowing, while they have a strong desire for knowledge and study in the Torah, they don't get puffed up about their particular interpretation of Ezekiel 39 or some other unknown future Prophecy.
in a recent email conversation that i had with a jw friend, he brought up,the holocaust, as proof that jws were the true religion.
he said something to the effect of... "hitler targeted, jws because they serve jehovah.. hitler wanted them to renounce their faith as witnesses, if the witnesses didn't have the truth why would satan have hitler target them so brutally".
i responded "hitler put 6 million jews to death, and a few thousand witness's to death, what does this mean?".
Not the exact study that I found but similar.
Data on education, employment, occupation and income for the total U.S. population come from the combined, weighted sample of respondents to NJPS and the National Survey of Religion and Ethnicity (NSRE). For more information on the NSRE, see the Methodological Appendix.
Relative to the total U.S. population, Jews are more highly educated, have more prestigious jobs and earn higher household incomes. The educational success and socio-economic status of Jews constitute a significant source of strength for the community and its organizations, with positive implications for charitable resources, cultural sophistication and influence in the public sphere.
More than half of all Jewish adults (55%) have received a college degree, and a quarter (25%) have earned a graduate degree. The comparable figures for the total U.S. population are 29% and 6%. Jewish men are more likely than Jewish women to have college degrees (61% vs. 50%) and graduate degrees (29% vs. 21%).
Proportionally, slightly fewer adult Jews are currently employed (61%) than in the total U.S. population (65%), reflecting the older Jewish population. More than 60% of all employed Jews are in one of the three highest status job categories: professional/technical (41%), management and executive (13%), and business and finance (7%). In contrast, 46% of all Americans work in these three high status areas, including 29% in professional/technical jobs, 12% in management and executive positions, and 5% in business and finance.
The distribution of household income among Jews, especially at the high end of the income scale, reflects their relatively high education levels and high status jobs. More than one-third of Jewish households (36%) report income over $75,000, compared to 18% of all U.S. households. Proportionally fewer Jewish households (22%) than total U.S. households (28%) report household income under $25,000. The current median income of Jewish households is $54,000, 29% higher than the median U.S. household income of $42,000. In 1990, the median income of Jewish households was $39,000, 34% higher than the median income of $29,000 for all U.S. households.
in a recent email conversation that i had with a jw friend, he brought up,the holocaust, as proof that jws were the true religion.
he said something to the effect of... "hitler targeted, jws because they serve jehovah.. hitler wanted them to renounce their faith as witnesses, if the witnesses didn't have the truth why would satan have hitler target them so brutally".
i responded "hitler put 6 million jews to death, and a few thousand witness's to death, what does this mean?".
Open Mind - What do you believe attributes to the Hindus Wealth? This is interesting.
in a recent email conversation that i had with a jw friend, he brought up,the holocaust, as proof that jws were the true religion.
he said something to the effect of... "hitler targeted, jws because they serve jehovah.. hitler wanted them to renounce their faith as witnesses, if the witnesses didn't have the truth why would satan have hitler target them so brutally".
i responded "hitler put 6 million jews to death, and a few thousand witness's to death, what does this mean?".
Some quotes from "Why The Jews" I'll find the source for the wealth statistics later today.
"though numbering just over 2 percent of the population,Jews have won almost a third of the Nobel Prizes awarded American scientists, are overrepresented in medicine, law, and mathematics by more than three times their proportion to the general population, in psychiatry by more than five times, and in dentistry by four times.
The two most significant studies of American Jews, the 1990 Combined Jewish Federation National Jewish Population Survey and the 2001 American Jewish Identity Survey, documented that American Jewish males are twice as likely as non-Jewish males to have completed a college or graduate degree, and American Jewish women are three times as likely as their non-Jewish counterparts to have done so. American Jews are twice as likely as non Jews to graduate college,and are represented among Ivy League students more than five times their percentage in the population. This Jewish passion for study in turn helps to explain why Jews have the highest income of any ethnic group in the United States.
This unique intellectual achievement is not due, as is sometimes alleged, to some innately superior intelligence among Jews, but solely and directly to Judaism. Though many Jews have ceased to keep the laws of Judaism, the belief in the need for education has remained a significant value for almost all Jews.
The relative absence of poor Jews has led many non-Jews to believe all Jews have money. But Jews have simply aided their needy more than other groups have aided theirs. This pattern continues. To cite one large-scale example, between 1948 and 1951, Israel almost doubled its population by absorbing more than 500,000, largely penniless, Jewish refugees who had fled the Arab world. The 650,000 Jews of Israel, with help from Jews elsewhere, housed, clothed, fed, educated, and provided a livelihood for these Jews. In contrast, at the very same time, an equal number of Palestinian refugees were left in great poverty by all the Arab states, and this never changed, despite the enormous growth of Arab oil wealth. It was non-Arabs who have provided the large majority of the Arab refugees’ aid. "
i recently sent this to a former friend that called me an apostate.. it's really straight forward, and there is really no way to get around it for the watchtower.
(not that the bible matters to witnesses, but it's good info).
- apostasy.. that's an interesting term, do you know when it was first used in the new testament?.
The Apostles confirmed that Circumcision of Adult Males was not Necessary, this Regulation fell under the Abrahamic Covenant.
The Mosaic Law requires Infants to be Circumsised at 8 Days Old.. All of the Apostles Upheld the Mosaic Law until their Death.
These 2 Requirements have nothing to do with each other.. However the Watchtower Bundles all Circumcision together, and Says that it is not Required at all..
Opus.. I see that you are new here. If you are Interested in Biblical Truth vs. Watchtower Dosctine, I'd enjoy showing you some of my Research.. I have broken down Every Watchtower teaching against the Bible. And I have Extensive Notes and Research on each..
If you're interested in Discussing any of it, please PM me. It's rare that some one leaves the Organization as anything Except an Atheist or an Agnostic, so I'm always pleased to see some one that is Still Concerned with Yahweh and His Word.
Take Care
i recently sent this to a former friend that called me an apostate.. it's really straight forward, and there is really no way to get around it for the watchtower.
(not that the bible matters to witnesses, but it's good info).
- apostasy.. that's an interesting term, do you know when it was first used in the new testament?.
I recently sent this to a former friend that called me an Apostate.. It's really straight forward, and there is really no way to get around it for the Watchtower. (Not that the Bible matters to Witnesses, but it's good info)
- Apostasy.. That's an interesting Term, do you know when it was first used in the New Testament?
From the Insight Book under the Term "Apostasy".."The religious leaders of Jerusalem charged Paul with such an apostasy against the Mosaic Law." Acts 21:21 "But they have heard it rumored about you that you have been teaching all the Jews among the nations an apostasy from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to follow the customary practices."
Paul was (falsely) accused of Apostasy... And the Elders in Jerusalem brought it to his attention. The Reason? Some one had falsely Reported that Paul was teaching that Circumcision of a new Born child on the 8th day was no longer necessary.
What did the Elders and Paul do about this Accusation? They asked him to Prove that this was a false Accusation! "everyone will know that there is nothing to the rumors they were told about you, but that you are walking orderly and you are also keeping the Law." (Acts 21:24 b)
The Council in Jerusalem found at Acts 15:6-35 took Place in 50 AD The False accusations of Paul's False Teachings were made 8 Years Later in 58 AD
Now let's see what the Governing Body has to Teach Modern day Gentiles about The Mosaic Law and Circumsicion.
"Not Required of Christians. After Jehovah showed his acceptance of Gentiles into the Christian congregation, and since many from the nations were responding to the preaching of the good news, a decision had to be made by the governing body at Jerusalem on the question, Is it necessary for Gentile Christians to get circumcised in the flesh? The conclusion of the matter: The “necessary things” for Gentiles and Jews alike did not include circumcision" .—Ac 15:6-29. http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/845
To Recap :
So.. Is the Bible Wrong, or is the Governing Body in Reality teaching the Apostasy, that Paul was accused of?
