Government turning on religion - or - I how I learned to stop worrying and love Drumpf

by undercover 32 Replies latest jw friends

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  2+2=5

  Say anything negative about Trump and you will have your comment disliked.

  Everything that comes out his mouth is verbal diarrhea, and the U.S media is his toilet bowl. Enjoy.
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  Village Idiot

  2+2=5: "Say anything negative about Trump and you will have your comment disliked."

  If it will make you happy I liked your comment.
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  Radrook2

  You are right, the only direct reference JWs literature makes concerning governments finally turning on religion immediately prior to Armageddon is found in Revelation where the wild beast turns on the harlot that rides on its back.

  However, as you also know, they link the Harlot as representing religion by quoting scriptures in the OT. First they take you to Genesis where the tower of Babel caused false religion to spread worldwide. Then they make reference to ancient Israel's spiritual infidelity to God where such infidelity is described as harlotry.

  They also quote the book of Daniel where beasts appear in a vision and are identified with a sequence of world powers. Then these are linked to the composite seven-headed beast in Revelation which the Harlot Babylon the Great, which they tag as the world empire of false religion whose riding the beast is described as its cooperation with world governments and its spiritual harlotry and voila! There you have it. When the so-called composite beast is attacks the harlot it therefore is really attacking the world empire of false religion.

  Those with the mark of the beast are slaves of the beast and are those who support the beast.

  Here is where the voting part emerges.

  So to Bible students who have no background in the Bible it all seems 100% true and it becomes extremely difficult to give these symbols any other meaning except the one which seems clear from the scriptures themselves as explained by the WTBTS.

  Actually, I am still reluctant to participate in voting because of this teaching.

  What gives me pause is that Daniel Shadrac, Meshach, and Abednego had no qualms whatsoever in working for the government back then and if they indeed had thought it as being marked by the wild beast then they would not have done so.

  It also seems irresponsible to remain neutral when a government is abusing the citizens and we might vote that government out of office and in that way alleviate suffering. I really don't see how that constitutes a rejection of God's Kingdom in favor of a solution by mankind. In fact, it is an act of compassion to the victims and compassion or empathy is a quality that the Bible repeatedly tells its readers is very important to express.

  I don't see how standing by with arms crossed while millions are being abused and exterminated in concentration camps and simply praying for a day when all will be under God's rule is a virtue. It could very well be viewed as callousness toward suffering of others or tacit cooperation with the wicked.

  So despite all the biblical references there are ethical problems that emerge and which bring to mind what Jesus told the Pharisees "I want mercy and not sacrifice!"
  
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  sir82

  I've discovered that you can tell how anti-Trump a post on this board is, not only by reading the post, but seeing how many "dislike" markers you get.

  Watch:

  Trump is a misogynist egomaniac who appeals to uneducated, poor, angry, hateful, white men who are fearful of the inevitable change that is sweeping away 400+ years of white privilege. Trump is the last gasp, the dying breath, of desperate white folks who hate, or fear, or both, everyone not exactly like themselves. Furthermore, Trump is perfectly aware that this still sizable, but shrinking, portion of the American populace exists, and is pandering, pandering, pandering to them. He has no intention to actually institute even 10% of what he blathers on about - he just knows that by such pandering, he will get attention and votes.
  

  There. I'll have a dozen or more dislikes by this time tomorrow.
  
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  LoveUniHateExams

  Trump is a misogynist egomaniac - true.

  who appeals to uneducated, poor, angry, hateful, white men who are fearful of the inevitable change that is sweeping away 400+ years of white privilege - also true. He may also perhaps appeal to people who've had enough of their arrogant, out-of-touch political elite. Voting Trump may be a way of telling the Clintons of this world to go reproduce with themselves

  Trump is the last gasp, the dying breath, of desperate white folks who hate, or fear, or both, everyone not exactly like themselves - this may be so. But what will replace white privilege America? Any guarantees that it will be benign?

  *awaits red arrows*
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  Sanchy

  As opposed to who? If you can supply tangible evidence of someone else who can do it better, then go ahead and i'll vote for that person. Otherwise government is all we have to keep things running even if it's not perfect.

  Depends what it is gov is doing. I'm not saying that we need NO government. I'm just saying that perhaps conservatives have a point in keeping gov as small as possible, keep it doing what it is best at doing and what are essential gov roles: Mainly the military, civil protection, treaties etc. Since government is really really REALLY inefficient at doing pretty much anything else, usually what happens when they step in is that they do more harm than good.
  

  
  

  only because she carries a blob of fertilized cells that will eventually result in a baby, is an extreme view

  Ok, "blob of fertilized cells"? Have you looked at pics/vids of aborted babies? They are usually not "blobs of cells". They are pretty well formed, even at very early ages. Some of the tactics used by the right to try to stop women from having abortions may be foolish and perhaps "extreme", but to stand in up in general for human life even within the womb I would argue is NOT an extreme view.
  

  
  
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  Vidiot

  I'll say this for Trump; he may be right-wing, but he doesn't seem beholden to the Christian Right.

  If Trump is elected and his administration indirectly contributes to making life difficult for the WTS, I certainly won't complain.
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  Village Idiot

  Vidiot: I'll say this for Trump; he may be right-wing, but he doesn't seem beholden to the Christian Right.

  Huh?
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  Harvard Illiterate 411

  You do realize that Mitten Mitt Romney Mr Right Wing Religio-nut himself has basically told everyone not to vote for Trump. The whole GOP establishment is against Trump. That should say something, nuh?
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  LoveUniHateExams

  that is sweeping away 400+ years of white privilege

  An interesting phrase that I'd like to come back to. Is it just Trump that is part of this white privilege?

  Hillary Clinton is white and gets paid silly money for 30min speeches. Is she part of this 'white privilege' too?

  *****

  @Harvard - yeah that'd be Mitt Romney - the loser against Obama - waxing lyrical about Trump. You couldn't make it up.