by jgnat 153 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
So says an extremist, himself.
Nothing in my faith would lead to such things. Something you would know if you knew my faith.
Your former faith might lead to such things, and i think you cannot deny this.
But not mine.
I am sorry Humbled, because your witness was so beautiful and I did not mean to detract from that. Just wanted to give my 'amen' to your testimony.
peace,
tammy (moving on from this discussion for now)
tec, my conclusion comes from reading a scholarly work from a man I deeply respect, Albert Schweitzer (link above). His search for the historical Jesus is more than thorough and his conclusion, devastating.
" Helpful - if you're an African American living in southern USA. Harmful - if you're a JW waiting for his imminent return."
Can you please explain this? I am very interested.
This is a very broad question and impossible to answer in a few sentences. Do you mean it in a personal or historical context?
If I talk just for myself, I have to say useful. Trying to strive for Christian ideals made me definitelly a better and more stable person in a culture that is increasingly relativistic; and when people have difficulty making their everyday decisions I appreciate the simple, basic guidelines for life as taught by Jesus.
If you look at the histirical context you can certainly take it either way. We live in a culture where Christian ideas are caricatured and ridiculed in media and sophisticated society so it is easy and popular to portray Christians as stupid, uneducated, hateful and so on, and to emphasize only the bad examples (crusades, inquisition. witch hunts, treatment of Galileo, Hitler being Christian). But we have to remember that the most progress in science, medicine, prison reforms, care for the marginalized, racial equality, working conditions,... was achieved in so-called Christian countries by people who were believing Christians. Just a few examples:
Michael Faraday(electricity, magnetism), W.T. Kelvin (physics), A. Fleming (penicillin), L. Pasteur, Father N. Copernicus, Monsignor Lemaitre (Big Bang theory), Catholic monk G. Mendel (genetics), W. Wilberforce (anti-slavery movement), Lord Shaftesbury (social reforms), Elizabeth Fry (prison rreforms), F. Nichtingale (care for the sick and dying).....................
They achieved great things not in spite of being Christians but because they were Christians and their faith in God and Jesus Christ moved them to study nature (God's creation) and help other human beings (created in God's image).
I started out most interested in the sociological context, but I like the way the thread is going.
confusedandalone, I think laika was referring to this:
I dont think that image in anyway demonstrates how Christ words or Christianity have been positive for African Americans in the south. I am thinking there was not much thought that went into that statement
At that moment I was thinking of the influence Jesus had on MLK and the civil rights movement, I wouldn't dare to say Christendom has been all positive for African Americans.
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. - Matt 19:25-29
Peter and the other disciples walked out on their families and businesses to trek around with Jesus. They "abandoned their nets".
Jesus justified this unethical behaviour with the false belief that they were about to share in his glory and all the things they had abandoned would be made up to them.
It was a false prophecy. After his death the disciples went home but tried to rescue something from the disaster by convincing each other that Jesus was alive in spirit and was coming back for them. For a while they lived in commune "holding all things in common" but eventually they had to find a more practical way to live and christianity was born.
They died still believing the dead carpenter was coming back for them. 2000 years on christians still do.
Cofty, I see you the Reverend Tammy are still at it. You are a better man than I. She doesn't deserve it, but at least this is a topic down her alley. As I see Jesus' teachings, everything he said or taught that could be considered 'good' was said or written years or centuries earlier by others. But he said and taught a lot of things that have caused misery, death, wars, genocide and the destruction of families.
So I would have to say that he has caused far far more harm than good.
