by Knowsnothing 93 Replies latest watchtower bible
@Knowsnothing, ( sorry i cant quote your post )
you realise that the NT writings were letters of counsel to congregations...they are the apostles explanation of the hebrew scriptures and of how to follow Christ.
That kind of makes the WT publications very similar to the NT writings.
SparrowAmongMany... Are you serious? How can you say that Watchtower publications are very similar to New Testament writings? Do you realize that Watchtower publications are littered with twisted reasoning, intentional deceit, false predictions and flat out lies? How can you possibly make such a statement?
"You people chopping scriptural logic are why I became a Buddhist. I prefer realizing, for myself and in this very life, the things that are promised, rather than hoping, praying, and chopping bible-logic like a sushi chef."
I had a few minutes this morning to further respond to some comments.
Liberty93, since Buddha's teachings were taught orally and not written down and decided upon until 500 years after his death, did this present an issue for you? How does one decide what was correct teaching? Or is it all relative? Who is the correct interpreter of what was written down? Out of the 80,000+ schools of Buddhism, is there absolute truth? Thank you for your response.
"Buddha was looking for truth, a way, etc. It is an atheistic religion."
Godrulz, this is far too simplistic in description. There are 80,000 schools of Buddhism. Some believe in God, some believe in many gods, and some don't believe in any at all. My brother came from a school that believed in many gods, mixing a blend of Buddhism and Taoism. It leans more towards it's Hinduism roots.
"They come, they Evangelicize, they leave."
I'm not familiar with this word. Did you mean evangelize?
Very briefly, it doesn't bother me. What makes the teachings authentic is not that they are the utterance of some god-like figure, but that they are in accord with the four seals of buddhism, and are teachings which bring about freedom when they are heard, thought about, meditated upon, and practiced.
It has been said that there are 84,000 doors to the dharma. This does not mean that there are 84,000 actual traditions, but that the buddhas teach in whatever way is needed to reach easch and every being. (Buddhists, as you may know, are not generally fans of extreme literalism.) All religions were taught by Buddhas. All of them. Reconciling this with the fact that religions often seem better at producing walking sermons and/or people who think that having memorizing more verses and being Doctrinally Correct has anything at all to do with a pure heart is what we buddhists call "pure view" - keeping in mind constantly that reality is actually free of faults, flaws, or stains of any sort.
There is one way to heaven/God, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12; Jn. 3:16). When Buddha claims to be God and rises from the dead like Jesus, then you might have a case. The stupidest thing is to leave food for a fake Buddha idol (that may have a demon if anything).
Prove that Jesus rose from the dead.
There are books written by lawyers, etc. who set out to disprove the resurrection, but now affirm it due to the evidence. The Gospel accounts are historical narrative and record eyewitness accounts, etc. You likely reject the Bible as divine revelation/Word of God, so I cannot prove it to you. The reality is that Jesus existed and the tomb is empty. Even those who accept the Gospel accounts come up with rationalizations to explain the empty tomb, etc. (swoon theory, hallucination, etc. Each of these false views can be refuted based on the evidence). How can I prove the existence of God to you? Prove to me that Plato existed and that it was not just a fairy tale.
I could prove Jesus rose from the dead by killing you (Phil. 2), but I don't want to go to jail. You will know the truth when you die. If you give your life to Him, you will also know His resurrection power/reality as He reveals Himself personally to you. Being godless, Buddhist, etc. keeps you in the dark, spiritually blind/deceived. Hundreds of millions do know the risen Christ and will died for that belief. It is hard to explain the disciple's willingness to die for the resurrection after being afraid and denying before it. It is a matter of cumulative evidence. If He did not rise from the dead, Christians are fools without hope (I Cor. 15).
That kind of makes the WT publications very similar to the NT writings.
Yeah, and the GB will some day in the future decide which issues of "The Watchtower" were "inspired", and therefore are part of canon, and which were only "spirit-directed"...
