JWs are also in the dark regarding the true meaning of Sheol/Hades.

by Schizm 49 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Schizm

  If Sheol/Hades/Hell is a place, it must be a metaphysical place - a place that does not exist in the physical realm, similar to Heaven. -- Nathan.

  I continue to stress that sheol/hades is NOT a literal place, and so it needs to be understood that nobody has ever gone there literally. It's merely an IMAGINARY (metaphorical) place that serves the purpose of expressing the helpless state of humans after they die. For example, mournful Jacob (thinking that his son was dead) greived because Joseph's soul (the life that was once his before death) had become prisoner to an imaginary place he called "sheol". Jacob had faith that his son would come back to life in the resurrection. When finally Joseph is restored to life it can be figuratively said that he (his life/soul) was released from the bonds of sheol.

  Schizm

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  LittleToe

  Schizm:

  When you said 14 pages, did you mean of the essay or of a thread full of empty rhetoric and vitriol?

  I'll read it if you bother getting around to posting it, because I find your perspectives intersting for the most part, but I'll probably bow out of even attempting a discussion on it as I find you completely unreasonable.
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  Schizm

  Leolaia,

  She's my niece. And soooooooo sweet.

  

  She is sooooooo precious, and so huggable. What an invention! ... and I'm not referring to the stuffed toy. She will grow up to be a beautiful woman.

  Thank you,

  Schizm

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  LittleToe

  Leo:
  My pleasure. And Schizm is right, she's a beautiful little girl

  Nephews and nieces are so cool, huh?

  Skyman:
  Sorry dude, I don't swing that way

  Hehehe.
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  Nathan Natas

  If Sheol/Hades/Hell is a place, it must be a metaphysical place - a place that does not exist in the physical realm, similar to Heaven. -- Nathan.

  I continue to stress that sheol/hades is NOT a literal place, and so it needs to be understood that nobody has ever gone there literally. It's merely an IMAGINARY (metaphorical) place that serves the purpose of expressing the helpless state of humans after they die. -- Schizm

  Would it be correct to say that you agree with the EARLY Watchtower description of Sheol as the condition of the dead?
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  Schizm

  Would it be correct to say that you agree with the EARLY Watchtower description of Sheol as the condition of the dead? -- Nathan.

  No, because there's a big difference between a "condition" and a "place". And, although imaginary, sheol is definitely a PLACE, even as Jacob's own words indicate: "[When I die] I shall go down mourning to my son into sheol!" Obviously, Jacob was not saying that he would "go" to a "condition" when he himself died. It's appears plain that Jacob thought of going "into" a PLACE, rather than a condition.
  

  A "condition" would merely highlight the fact that the person is deceased. Whereas sheol as a "place" puts the emphasis on the captivity aspect. Sheol is an imaginary PRISON, which has absolutely nothing to do with a person's place of burial (grave).

  Schizm

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  kid-A

  The jewish conception of the afterlife has fluctuated along with their history, influenced by the cultures around them. Even the concept of 'sheol' has been very fluid throughout the evolution of jewish eschatology.

  	Judaism before 623 BCE . The ancient Israelites originally followed a polytheistic religion; their beliefs were identical to other Semitic peoples. The dead were believed to have led type of shadowy existence under the earth, without energy, and separated from God. People worshipped both their ancestors in the underworld and many Sky Gods in heaven.
  	Judaism from 623 to 586 BCE : from the introduction of monotheism to the Babylonian captivity. Belief in the gods of the underworld and ancestor worship ended. Polytheistic belief was abandoned. Yahweh alone is worshiped. They continued to believe that the dead lead a shadowy, totally isolated existence under the earth in Sheol, cut off from their relatives and from God.
  	Judaism from 586 to 332 BCE : from the Babylonian captivity to the Greek invasion: Zoroastrian religious ideas are incorporated into the Jewish beliefs about Sheol. The faithful dead are viewed as being resurrected, to live a second life in a cleansed Jerusalem for 500 years. Then, they die, are annihilated, and are no more.
  	Judaism during and after the Greek occupation . All the dead will be resurrected. They will be judged by God and sent either to an eternal reward or never-ending punishment. The Christian religion, having been founded by Jews, continued much of this belief system.
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  Schizm

  Sheol is an imaginary PRISON, which has absolutely nothing to do with a person's place of burial (grave). -- Schizm.

  Now go read the parable of The Rich Man & Lazarus again.

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  JW_Researcher

  yes please and thank you.
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  Terry

  
  
  Ahhh, language is a funny thing indeed!
  

  
  
  Let me try and throw some wood on the campfire so we can warm our inferences and shed some light on this subject.
  

  
  
  Question: ARE THESE LOCATIONS?
  

  
  
  1. Akron, Ohio
  

  
  
  2. Never-never land
  

  
  
  3.The Magic Kingdom
  

  
  
  4.Heaven
  

  
  
  Are these "places" are they "locations" are they "actual"?
  

  
  
  You see, language isn't useful at all without a crosshairs on our sight. CONTEXT is what gives language its usefulness. Our ability to INTERPRET language is to be able to manipulate the mechanism of context and draw out useful information.
  

  
  
  1. Akron, Ohio is an actually existing place in reality where actual people actually live. It can also be used as a location in a novel in which imaginary characters live and function.
  

  
  
  2. Never-never land is an imaginary location in which actual humans cannot live or visit. It can become realized in a play or film by actualizing the descriptions made of it in Barrie's writing.
  

  
  
  3.The Magic Kingdom is, of course, Disneyland and it is a tricky example of mixing fantasy and reality while retaining magical languge.
  

  
  
  Walt Disney used entirely imaginary ideas and concepts to fabricate an actual location in which simulacra of his fictions could act out the fantasy in a real context.
  

  
  
  Ask yourself this question: A thousand years from now how will the above questions be answered correctly?
  I left out HEAVEN, you may have noticed. Why open THAT can of worms?