No shortage of prophecy

by jean-luc picard 12 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  jean-luc picard

  It is easy to understand why some could have nagging doubts when seeing world events.

  "maybe it is the truth after all?"

  I came accross this site http://www.prophecynewswatch.com and realise ( well I knew already) that there is no shortage of prophecy, or prophets.

  In 1970, I was just a boy, I remember hearing on the radio

  "by 1978 there will be no water left that is fit enough to drink, but we shouldnt worry because by 1977 the air will no longer support human life". I was excited. After all Armagedon was coming in 1975 to save us all.

  What rubbish. We're still here.

  And what about no petrol by 1990? I could go on.

  How do you deal with nagging doubts, and prophecies that seem to touch on reality?
• 

  the-illuminator81

  By studying history and seeing that conditions in the past have been far, far worse on scales unimaginable by humans living today.
• 

  alanv

  It's not easy after being in such a depresing religion. The problem is that most people who are attracted by the religion are fairly vunerable. I believe it attracts lazy people who are quite happy for someone else to give them all of lifes answers.

  Since leaving years ago I have realized that there has always been famine, wars, unrest etc. Not just things that happened in our generation.

  Strangely enough yesterday I had a look at Wikopedia at all the wars that have gone on in past centuries. I couldn't believe it, there were so many.

  And yet I used to believe it had been a preaceful earth before 1914.

  Today there is no excuse for anybody not to know their history. It really is so easy with the internet now available.

  So that is my advice. Check for yourself if you have any doubts. The Watchtower works for many because they are ignorant about the past and the truly terrible things that went on in past centuries.
• 

  jean-luc picard

  Interesting comments alanv and the illuminator.

  One problem is that the GB discourage reading other material, other than their own.

  I wonder why.
• 

  the-illuminator81

  When the GB talks about pestilence post 1914, it is so incredibly ridiculous, when you look at diseases like the black plague where half of the entire european population died off. It was so terrible that in many cities a horse and carriage would come by daily to collect dead bodies.

  Can you imagine over a four year period, half of the people you know dying to a disease? You can't. People living today simply can't imagine that.

  How can you know this and still have a straight face when you tell people that we live in the end of days and the world has become worse since 1914. You simply can't. And this is just one of many terrible disasters humanity faced before 1914.

  What does the society say about issues like this? Nothing. Just like on how many animals were in the ark. They don't say anything about stuff like this because they know it disproves the entire bible and their whole scam. They know, because they have people who spend their entire lives researching the bible and answering questions from readers. They are not ignorant. They know they are wrong.
• 

  steve2

  Each nervous generation thinks its on the cusp of significant change,that it will witness stupendously apocalyptic events. The French Revolution was thought to usher in a new age for mankind. The American civil war was seized upon as evidence mankind was in the last days. As has been observed so often in the past, humans have a need to make sense out of chaos and what better way than to spin stories about how "meaningful"tragic events are. Just don't think too much about how tragic history has been for millenia.
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  sizemik

  I know that doubt jlp . . . I wonder if in fact it's an ever-diminishing mental "footprint" . . . a part of which we all have to a greater or lesser degree . . . lesser with time but never gone entirely.

  Religious faith to me now is like asking me to believe something without the needed information. And if God wishes to punish me for simply wanting reliable information and a reasonable measure of proof of it . . . I plead guilty.

  But all that I see going on in the world can be explained easily with the information we do have available. . . nothing unusual, supernatural, or even unexpected (in the wider sense) is happening. Things are changing for sure . . . but I see nothing beyond what well-researched facts (not prophecies) tell us to expect . . . (I haven't seen the oceans turn into blood)

  I'm still in the process . . . but finding this to be true.
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  TotallyADD

  If I remember my history back in the 19th century we had France warring with all of Europe and UK warring with US then I think Germany twice trying to dominate all of Europe. Our history teacher called the France and the 2 German wars as World Wars. For those folks who lived back then it was not a peaceful time to live and for most life was very hard. I may be wrong on this but this is what I was taught back in the 60's. Totally ADD
• 

  sizemik

  Good eg. TotallyADD . . . when you leave out the smoke and mirrors of religion . . . the facts paint quite a different picture . . . benign of anything supernatural or divine . . . unless you add a modified or distorted perception of it.
• 

  Terry

  Every piece of information you receive was filtered by somebody with an opinion.

  News has become a competition centered industy. News is SOLD as entertainment or disaster.

  It is a product.

  The most outrageous story wins the lead.

  The wider your selection of sources of information the better able you are to put events in a neutral perspective.

  BEWARE sensational claims.