Posts by Bleep

35

WHY THE PRESENT CRISIS ISN'T UNIQUE

by ballistic in

because any crisis (such as this anti-crisis) is always accompanied by you know and the watchtower claiming it is unique.. .

crisis?

what crisis?.

Bleep

The Watchtower is simply a tool to help Bible students study many fine topics of the Bible since it has everything to do with the Bible. It is an aid and is backed up BY the Bible. As a congregation it is shared and first read in advance. Then it is disected.

4

Jehovah Hates The Course of Treachery WT 2002/5/1

by Elsewhere in

watchtower may 1, 2002. jehovah hates the course of treachery.

does anyone have a scanned copy or the full text of this article?.

"as every one knows, there are mistakes in the bible" - the watchtower, april 15, 1928, p. 126 .

Bleep

Why not get a subscription?

8

Gods Organization. Ever refining....

by refiners fire in

various watchtowers between june 1 1967 and october 1 1967 contained a series of study articles on the subject of gods organization.. they are worth reading in sequence.. some quotes:.

wt june 1, 1967 "god kindly leads his organization" .

association necessarily leads to organization, and jehovah's witnesses, the new world society, are organized... jesus said this would take place in the time of the end...to many people organization has the connotation of regimentation, undue encroachment on freedom, a coldhearted machine that moves ahead for its own aggrandizement without taking into consideration the welfare of its members.

Bleep

Very nicely done. I need some leasons. Is it right for me to give info from the Watchtower Library if it deals with my view? Any other suggestions to show my view in accordance with the Watchtower publication?

104

WHY THE PRESENT CRISIS IS UNIQUE

by You Know in

thanx for your perspective yk.

often i've tried to explain the last days....but i'm not very good at self-expression.. i have a great fear for mankind.

we are so cruel to each other.

Bleep

Here is my view on the present crisis and why it is not unique.

Terrorism-What Is Behind It and Why?

"LONDON, April 17-Machine-gun fire from the Libyan Embassy raked a crowd today during a protest against the Government of Muammar el-Qaddafi, killing a police officer and wounding 10 people."-The New York Times.

"In plain view, the gunmen inside fired from an open window, riddling the demonstrators with automatic gunfire . . . The unarmed policewoman was shot in the back. . . . Ten days after this barbaric incident, the British government provided the killers, along with their murder weapons, with safe passage out of the country."-Terrorism-How the West Can Win.

As embassy staff, the gunmen were granted diplomatic immunity.

WHY do people and groups resort to terrorism? Who are the main targets? What does terrorism accomplish?

One point of view is that terrorism is a symptom that can indicate a variety of racial, social, and political injustices. Catholic priest and theologian James T. Burtchaell stated: "Some terrorism is perpetrated by an ethnic and/or religious (and usually economic) minority that demands self-governance: Basques in Spain, Catholics in Ulster, Huks in the Philippines. . . . Some is undertaken by governments threatened by majority dissent . . . Some is the venture of a national minority that aspires to control the government."

But is it just minority groups that resort to terrorism? Burtchaell continues: "Some terrorism is sponsored by governments to discredit, destabilize, and displace the government of another, uncooperative nation."-Fighting Back.

According to other commentators, the motives behind terrorism can be interpreted differently, depending on the observer's political sympathies. Some argue that when injustices are committed and the people have no legal redress, terror becomes their only answer. Others see in terrorism a strategy against Western democracies, inspired and manipulated by the opposing political ideology. Let us examine some of the facts and opinions about this complex problem.

Why the Terror in Northern Ireland?

According to the writers of Northern Ireland-The Divided Province, British Protestants, many from Scotland, were transplanted onto Irish Catholic soil over 350 years ago, which created a clash of cultures and later led to competition for jobs. That book states: "The Protestants of Northern Ireland mostly arrived during the 17th century in a process begun in 1607 and known as the 'plantation' of Ulster. This at last established firm English rule upon the whole island of Ireland." This English rule has been the basis for bitterness and violence for centuries.

The Catholic Irish Free State (Eire) was formed in 1921, and the six mainly Protestant counties in the northeast were left as a separate entity, forming Northern Ireland. From the Irish nationalist viewpoint, this act dismembered Ireland. Ever since then, the illegal IRA (Irish Republican Army) has continued its fight to reunite Ireland-which the Protestants strongly resist. Why? Because they refuse to come under what they perceive to be 'Catholic Papist rule' in Dublin.

The Protestant viewpoint is summed up in the words of The New York Times regarding the recent vote in Ireland to keep a ban on divorce, which was upheld by a 3 to 2 margin: "Politicians in Northern Ireland who oppose any ties with the republic were among the first to denounce the vote as a measure of the 'stranglehold' of the Roman Catholic Church on the Irish Republic."

The IRA is presently divided into two factions-the Officials and the Provisionals (Provos). According to professor of history Thomas E. Hachey, "the IRA Officials are committed to an all-Ireland, thirty-two-county socialist republic. . . . The Provos advocate a federal solution and a federal constitution for Ireland." (The Rationalization of Terrorism) How seriously the latter feel about their aims was illustrated in 1984 when the Provos left a time bomb in a Brighton hotel, nearly killing British Prime Minister Thatcher and her cabinet.

In spite of religious, political, and ethnic factors, some questions remain: Are there any deeper motives behind terrorism? To what extent are the great powers involved?

The Motives Behind Terrorism

Most of the Arab terrorist groups justify their actions by pointing to the plight of the Palestinian refugees who lost their homeland, Palestine, when the nation of Israel was formed in 1948. Over the decades, feelings have run so high that now the Arab terrorists' aim is not just a separate homeland but something more sinister to Jews-the annihilation of Israel. How is this known?

The following quotation is taken from the "Open Letter" of Hizballah ("Party of God"), a Shi'ite group operating in the Middle East.

"Our sons are now in a state of ever-escalating confrontation against these enemies [Israel, United States, France, and the (Lebanese) Phalange] until the following objectives are achieved:

"Israel's final departure from Lebanon as a prelude to its final obliteration from existence and the liberation of venerable Jerusalem from the talons of occupation."-Hydra of Carnage.

On the other hand, many terrorist acts have been perpetrated by "martyrs" under the influence of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini and his philosophy, expressed in these words quoted from the book Sacred Rage: "The governments of the world should know that Islam cannot be defeated. Islam will be victorious in all the countries of the world, and Islam and the teachings of the Koran will prevail all over the world."

This perspective leads to his further conclusion: "We have in reality, then, no choice but to destroy those systems of government that are corrupt in themselves . . . and to overthrow all treacherous, corrupt, oppressive and criminal regimes. This is the duty that all Muslims must fulfill."

The driving force behind other terrorists is revolutionary socialism and the overthrow of capitalism. Writer Jan Schreiber states in his book The Ultimate Weapon-Terrorists and World Order: "In general the capacity to exploit is equated with capitalism, and capitalism, whether or not tempered by democracy, is equated with fascism." As a Japanese supporter of terrorism expressed it: "What we will never accept in this world is the fact, brought about by capitalism, of people exploiting other people. And this is our motive for being willing to fight."

However, others see terrorists in a different light. Israeli ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu writes: "Terrorism is not an automatic result of anything. It is a choice, an evil choice." He reasons: "The root cause of terrorism lies not in grievances but in a disposition toward unbridled violence. This can be traced to a world view which asserts that certain ideological and religious goals justify, indeed demand, the shedding of all moral inhibitions."-Terrorism-How the West Can Win.

But why has our modern society suddenly become the victim of terrorism?

A Vulnerable Society

Neil Livingstone, a U.S. expert on terrorism, writes: "As our world has become ever more urban and complex, we have correspondingly become ever more vulnerable to the designs of small groups, or even single individuals, bent on disrupting the lives of or inflicting their will on, the majority." Why is our society so vulnerable to terrorist activity? "Our slender lifelines of water, energy, transportation, communication, and sanitation are all at the mercy of sophisticated terrorists and saboteurs."-Hydra of Carnage.

Because of the fragility of our life-support systems, one terrorist can exercise the power of an army of ancient times. Livingstone adds: "As a result of technological advances . . . one man can command more killing technology than ever before. One individual in the age of technology is potentially the equal of an army [of the age] when the chief weapons of war were the sword, the bow, and the spear. This is one of the chief reasons why terrorists represent such a threat to the contemporary world."

Another vulnerable point in modern society is the instant impact of news events. Television multiplies the power of terrorism. The terrorist wants international publicity for his cause-and thanks to the media, he gets it!

Only about a century ago, it took days for news to travel around the world. Now news is instantaneous. In some cases the terrorist can actually see himself enacting his role on TV. Often he knows what the other side is doing while he continues to play his cards close to his chest. Jan Schreiber goes so far as to say that "the drive to seize public attention" has been "the most consistently successful terrorist ploy."

But are there any other reasons why terrorism continues to prosper?

Terrorism and Two Opposing Ideologies

Offering no hope for the future, two consultants on terrorism write: "Terrorism will not disappear. Small, weak states have discovered that it can greatly increase their political clout, and plagued as they are by resource shortages, they are not likely to abandon terrorism as a political and military tool." At the same time, they add, some major powers see advantages in waging surrogate warfare through terrorism. "Larger, stronger states, by contrast, have discovered that terrorist proxies can help them achieve their national objectives without the risk attendant to other forms of warfare."-Fighting Back.

If the stronger states have discovered that terrorism can help them achieve their aims, could this account for some, or a major part, of world terrorism? Jan Schreiber writes: "Disclosures in the mid-seventies confirmed what dispassionate observers had long known without proof; that the two dominant ideologies of the world had employed, and would likely continue to employ, all means, fair and foul, to confound their enemies and gain, or retain, supremacy."

This clash of ideologies is implicit in a speech by Soviet leader Gorbachev when he said: "It must be crystal clear that international relations can be channeled toward normal cooperation only if the imperialists abandon their attempts to solve the historical argument between the two social systems by military means."-A Time for Peace.

Others also recognize this international "chess game" between the two major powers. For example, Robin Wright states in her book Sacred Rage: "Muslim militants also feel the United States has looked at the Middle East primarily as an area for rivalry with the Soviet Union, virtually ignoring the powerful local forces at play. In a bipolar world, the U.S. has not been sensitive to the frustrated calls for recognition of the emerging Third World." Apparently, some smaller nations see themselves being used as pawns in the clash of ideologies.

Western experts view much of terrorism as another weapon being used to destabilize the capitalist system. Ambassador Robert B. Oakley, a U.S. expert on counterterrorism, stated: "Left unchallenged, the rise of terrorism will undermine the system of political, economic, and military relationships which the United States and its allies have come to rely upon to preserve, protect, and promote their national and mutual interests . . . During the years ahead, we must be prepared for continued serious threats from international terrorism . . . much of it supported or encouraged by a handful of ruthless governments."

U.S. ambassador Robert M. Sayre expressed his opinion more directly: "Terrorism is politically motivated and is planned and organized. . . . Most of it is carried out by states and groups of Marxist-Leninist persuasion, and the Soviet Union and its Eastern-bloc partners lend support and comfort to them."-Department of State Bulletin.

Terrorism and Bible Prophecy

Why is the clash between the two great powers, with terrorism as a tool, of special interest to Bible students? Because of a significant prophecy found in the Bible book of Daniel, chapter 11. This prophecy describes an ongoing conflict between two great powers, "the king of the north" and "the king of the south." "The king of the north" is identified as being atheistic, having rejected "the God of his fathers." (Daniel 11:37) He magnifies himself and gives glory to the god of fortresses, or armaments. He acts effectively against fortified strongholds and establishes his world position. (Daniel 11:38, 39) Does "the king of the south" stand idle while his opponent expands?

The ominous prophecy states: "And in the time of the end the king of the south will engage with him in a pushing, and against him the king of the north will storm with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he will certainly enter into the lands and flood over and pass through." (Daniel 11:40) Logically, terrorism under its different guises is now being used by both kings in their struggle for world dominance. Daniel's words indicate that there will be competitive coexistence between the two leading world powers until God brings an end to their rivalry at his war of Armageddon.-Revelation 16:14-16.

The questions remain: Can man alone end the scourge of terrorism? If so, how and when? If not, why not?

7

What is God's view of judgement?

by Bleep in

here are most views:.

1)adam sinned so when we die we automaticly go to heaven if we are good or hell if we are bad.

2) our judgement according to this is here on earth so if we live only to be two years old that is how long we have to show that we are good.. jw views:.

Bleep

Here is what Bang must have for that post up top:

Burnout Syndrome

What is "burnout syndrome"? It is "a symptom that appears when dedication to a goal is not rewarded" and that shows up with feelings of exhaustion, failure, and self-hatred, says Japan's Mainichi Daily News. When 498 Japanese doctors and nurses were surveyed with regard to their mental health, the results showed that about 37 percent of the nurses had some sort of mental disorder and almost 32 percent were suffering from burnout. Among the doctors, psychiatrists were the most seriously affected. Almost a quarter of them "were in a state of serious burn-out," reports the paper.

104

WHY THE PRESENT CRISIS IS UNIQUE

by You Know in

thanx for your perspective yk.

often i've tried to explain the last days....but i'm not very good at self-expression.. i have a great fear for mankind.

we are so cruel to each other.

Bleep

Why does everyone thing I cut and paste? Maybe I have a good memory. There are people out there who can type real good and have a photographic memory. A typical Vet responce I am sure. Just keep on scrolling to the next post ok?

33

The Bible Does Not Condemn Witchcraft

by Sirona in

the jws are against anything remotely pagan and they're certainly against witchcraft.

they say the bible condemns it.

scriptures such as exodus 22:v18 "you must not preserve a sorceress alive" (nwt) or as the king james version says "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live".

Bleep

If you want to know where this all comes from read some of this.

Searching for the Unknown Through Magic and Spiritism

"MEN of Athens, I behold that in all things you seem to be more given to the fear of the deities than others are." (Acts 17:22) That was what the Christian apostle Paul told a crowd assembled on the Areopagus, or Mars' Hill, in the ancient city of Athens, Greece. Paul made that remark because earlier he had seen that "the city was full of idols." (Acts 17:16) What had he seen?

2 Without a doubt, Paul had seen a variety of Greek and Roman gods in that cosmopolitan city, and it was obvious that the life of the people was wrapped up in their worship of the deities. For fear that by chance they might neglect to venerate any important or powerful deity who could thus become incensed, the Athenians even included "an Unknown God" in their worship. (Acts 17:23) That clearly demonstrated their fear of the deities.

3 Of course, fear of the deities, especially of unknown ones, is not limited to the Athenians of the first century. For thousands of years, it has dominated nearly all mankind. In many parts of the world, almost every aspect of the people's life is directly or indirectly involved with some deity or with spirits. As we have seen in the previous chapter, the mythologies of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and others were deeply rooted in ideas about gods and spirits, which played an important role in personal and national affairs. During the Middle Ages, stories about alchemists, sorcerers, and witches were rampant throughout the realm of Christendom. And the situation is much the same today.

Rites and Superstitions Today

4 Whether people are aware of it or not, many things that they do are linked with superstitious practices or beliefs, some having to do with deities or spirits. For example, did you know that birthday observance has its origin in astrology, which attaches great importance to one's exact birth date? What about the birthday cake? It appears to be related to the Greek goddess Artemis, whose birthday was celebrated with moon-shaped honey cakes topped with candles. Or did you know that wearing black at funerals was originally a ruse to escape the attention of evil spirits said to be lurking on such occasions? Some black Africans paint themselves white, and mourners in other lands wear unusual colors so that the spirits will not recognize them.

5 Besides these popular customs, people everywhere have their superstitions and fears. In the West, breaking a mirror, seeing a black cat, walking under a ladder, and, depending on where you are, Tuesday or Friday the 13th are all viewed as omens foreboding something evil. In the East, the Japanese wear their kimono with the left side folded over the right, for the other way is reserved for corpses. Their houses are built with no windows or doors facing the northeast so that the demons, which are said to come from that direction, will not find the entrance. In the Philippines, people remove the shoes of the dead and place them beside the legs before the burial so that "Saint" Peter will welcome them. Old folks tell youngsters to behave by pointing out that the figure on the moon is "Saint" Michael, watching and writing down their deeds.

6 Belief in spirits and deities, however, is not limited to seemingly harmless customs and superstitions. In both primitive and modern societies, people have resorted to various means in order to control or appease the fearsome spirits and to gain the favor of the benevolent ones. Naturally, we may first think of people in remote jungles and mountains who consult spirit mediums, medicine men, and shamans (priests of magic) when sick or otherwise in dire straits. But people in cities large and small also go to astrologers, psychic readers, fortune-tellers, and soothsayers to inquire about the future or to obtain help in making important decisions. Some, even though nominally belonging to one religion or another, pursue such practices with enthusiasm. Many others have made spiritism, black magic, and the occult their religion.

7 What is the source or origin of all these practices and superstitions? Are they just different ways of approach to God? And most important, what do they do for those who follow them? To find the answers to these questions, we must look back into the history of man and get a glimpse of his early ways of worship.

Reaching for the Unknown

8 Contrary to what evolutionists may claim, a human possesses a spiritual dimension that makes him different from and superior to the lower creatures. He is born with the urge to search out the unknown. He is ever struggling with questions such as: What is the meaning of life? What happens after one dies? What is man's relationship to the material world and, in fact, to the universe? He is also driven by the desire to reach out to something higher or more powerful than himself in order to gain some control over his environment and his life.-Psalm 8:3, 4; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Acts 17:26-28.

9 Ivar Lissner in his book Man, God and Magic put it this way: "One can only marvel at the perseverance with which man has striven, throughout his history, to reach outside himself. His energies were never directed solely toward the necessities of life. He was forever questing, groping his way further, aspiring to the unattainable. This strange and inherent urge in the human being is his spirituality."

10 Of course, those who do not believe in God do not view matters quite that way. They generally attribute this human tendency to man's needs, psychological or otherwise, as we have seen in Chapter 2. However, is it not our common experience that when faced with danger or a desperate situation, most people's first response is to appeal to God or some higher power for help? This is just as true today as it was in times past. Thus, Lissner went on to say: "No one who has carried out research among the oldest primitive peoples can fail to understand that they all conceive of God, that they possess a lively awareness of a supreme being."

11 How they endeavored to satisfy that inborn desire to reach out to the unknown was quite another matter. Nomadic hunters and herdsmen trembled at the power of wild beasts. Farmers were particularly attuned to the changes in weather and seasons. Dwellers of the jungles reacted quite differently from people living in the deserts or mountains. In the face of these varied fears and needs, people developed a bewildering variety of religious practices through which they hoped to appeal to the benevolent gods and appease the fearsome ones.

12 In spite of the great diversity, however, there are certain common features recognizable in these religious practices. Among them are reverence and fear of sacred spirits and supernatural powers, the use of magic, divining the future by signs and omens, astrology, and diverse methods of fortune-telling. As we examine these features, we will see that they have played a major role in shaping the religious thinking of people around the world and throughout the ages, even including people today.

Sacred Spirits and Supernatural Powers

13 The life of people in early times seemed to be filled with mystery. They were surrounded by inexplicable and perplexing events. For example, they could not understand why a perfectly robust person should suddenly fall ill, or why the sky should fail to give rain at the usual season, or why a bare, seemingly lifeless, tree should turn green and appear full of life at a certain time of the year. Even one's own shadow, heartbeat, and breath were mysteries.

14 With man's inborn spiritual inclination, it was only natural that he attribute these mysterious things and happenings to some supernatural power. However, lacking proper guidance and understanding, his world soon came to be filled with souls, spirits, ghosts, and demons. For example, the Algonquian Indians of North America call a person's soul otahchuk, meaning "his shadow," and the Malays of Southeast Asia believe that when a man dies, his soul escapes through his nostrils. Today, belief in spirits and departed souls-and attempts to communicate with them in some fashion-is nearly universal.

15 In the same manner, other things in the natural environment-sun, moon, stars, oceans, rivers, mountains-seemed to be alive and to exert a direct influence on human activities. Since these things appeared to occupy a world of their own, they were personified as spirits and deities, some benevolent and helpful, others wicked and harmful. Worship of created things came to occupy a prominent place in almost all religions.

16 We can find beliefs of this kind in the religions of practically every ancient civilization. The Babylonians and Egyptians worshiped their gods of the sun, moon, and constellations. Animals and wild beasts were also among their objects of veneration. The Hindus are noted for their pantheon of gods, numbering into the millions. The Chinese have always had their sacred mountains and their river gods, and they express their filial piety in ancestor worship. The ancient Druids of the British Isles held oak trees as sacred, and they gave special reverence to mistletoe growing on oak. Later, the Greeks and Romans contributed their share; and belief in spirits, deities, souls, demons, and sacred objects of all sorts became solidly entrenched.

17 Though some people today may view all such beliefs as superstitions, these ideas are still to be found in the religious practices of many people around the world. Some still believe that certain mountains, rivers, strangely shaped rocks, old trees, and numerous other things are sacred, and they worship them as objects of devotion. They build altars, shrines, and temples at these places. For example, the Ganges River is sacred to the Hindus, whose fondest wish is to bathe in it while alive and have their ashes scattered on it after death. Buddhists consider it an extraordinary experience to worship at the shrine in Buddh Gaya, India, where the Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment under a bodhi tree. Catholics go on their knees to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico or bathe in the "sacred" waters at the shrine in Lourdes, France, in search of miraculous cures. Veneration of created things rather than of the Creator is still very much in evidence today.-Romans 1:25.

The Rise of Magic

18 Once the belief had been established that the inanimate world was full of spirits, good and bad, it led easily to the next step-attempts to communicate with the good ones for guidance and blessings and to appease the evil ones. The result was the practice of magic, which has flourished in practically every nation past and present.-Genesis 41:8; Exodus 7:11, 12; Deuteronomy 18:9-11, 14; Isaiah 47:12-15; Acts 8:5, 9-13; 13:6-11; 19:18, 19.

19 In its most basic sense, magic is an effort to control or coerce the natural or supernatural forces to do man's bidding. Not knowing the real cause of many everyday happenings, people in earlier societies believed that the repetition of certain magical words or incantations, or the performance of some ritual, could bring about certain desired effects. What lent credibility to this sort of magic was that some of the rituals actually worked. For example, the medicine men-essentially magicians or sorcerers-of the Mentawai Islands west of Sumatra were reported to be surprisingly effective in curing people suffering from diarrhea. Their magical formula was to have the sufferers lie face down near the edge of a cliff and lick the ground from time to time. What made it work? The soil on the cliffs contained kaolin, the white clay commonly used in some of today's diarrhea medicines.

20 A few successes of this kind quickly negated all the failures and established the reputation of the practitioners. They soon became members held in awe and high esteem-priests, chiefs, shamans, medicine men, witch doctors, mediums. People went to them with their problems, such as the healing and the prevention of sickness, finding lost items, identifying thieves, warding off evil influences, and meting out vengeance. Eventually there came to be a large body of superstitious practices and rituals that dealt with these matters as well as other events in life, like birth, coming of age, betrothal, marriage, death, and burial. The power and mystery of magic soon dominated every aspect of the people's lives.

Rain Dances and Spells

21 In spite of the enormous variety in the magical practices of different peoples, the basic ideas behind them are remarkably similar. First, there is the idea that like produces like, that a desired effect can be produced by mimicking it. This is sometimes called imitative magic. For example, when shortage of rain threatened their crops, the Omaha Indians of North America danced around a vessel of water. Then one of them drank some of the water and spit it into the air in imitation of a sprinkle or shower. Or a man might roll on the ground like a wounded bear to ensure that he would be successful in his bear hunt.

22 Other people had more elaborate rituals, including chants and offerings. The Chinese would make a large paper or wooden dragon, their rain-god, and parade it around, or they would take the idol of their deity out of the temple and place it in the sun so that it could feel the heat and perhaps send rain. The ritual of the Ngoni people of East Africa includes pouring beer into a pot buried in the ground in a rain temple and then praying, "Master Chauta, you have hardened your heart towards us, what would you have us do? We must perish indeed. Give your children the rains, there is the beer we have given you." Then they drink the remaining beer. This is followed by song and dance and the shaking of branches dipped in water.

23 Another idea behind magical practices is that objects that have belonged to a person continue to influence him even after they are separated from him. This led to the practice of casting a spell on someone by working on something that once belonged to that person. Even in 16th- and 17th-century Europe and England, people still believed in witches and wizards who could cause people harm with this kind of power. The techniques included such things as making a wax image of a person and sticking pins into it, writing his name on a piece of paper and then burning it, burying a piece of his clothing, or doing other things to his hair, fingernail cuttings, sweat, or even excrement. The extent of these and other practices can be seen by the fact that Acts of Parliament were enacted in England in 1542, 1563, and 1604 declaring witchcraft a capital offense. In one manner or another, this form of magic has been practiced by people in almost every nation throughout the ages.

The Future in Signs and Omens

24 Often magic is employed to uncover hidden information or to peer into the future by signs and omens. This is known as divination, and the Babylonians were noted for it. According to the book Magic, Supernaturalism, and Religion, "they were masters in the arts of prescience, predicting the future from the livers and intestines of slaughtered animals, from fire and smoke, and from the brilliancy of precious stones; they foretold events from the murmuring of springs and from the shape of plants. . . . Atmospheric signs, rain, clouds, wind, and lightning were interpreted as forebodings; the cracking of furniture and wooden panels foretold future events. . . . Flies and other insects, as well as dogs, were the carriers of occult messages."

25 The Bible book of Ezekiel reports that on one military campaign, "the king of Babylon stood still at the crossways, at the head of the two ways, in order to resort to divination. He has shaken the arrows. He has asked by means of the teraphim; he has looked into the liver." (Ezekiel 21:21) Conjurers, sorcerers, and magic-practicing priests were also a regular part of the Babylonian court.-Daniel 2:1-3, 27, 28.

26 People of other nations, both Oriental and Occidental, also dabbled in many forms of divination. The Greeks consulted their oracles regarding great political events as well as mundane private affairs such as marriage, travel, and children. The most famous of these was the oracle of Delphi. Answers, thought to be from the god Apollo, were provided through the priestess, or Pythia, in unintelligible sounds and were interpreted by the priests to create ambiguous verses. A classic example was the answer given to Croesus, king of Lydia, which said: "If Croesus crosses the Halys, he will destroy a mighty empire." It turned out that the mighty empire destroyed was his own. Croesus met defeat at the hands of Cyrus the Persian when he crossed the Halys to invade Cappadocia.

27 In the West the craft of divination reached a peak with the Romans, who were preoccupied with omens and portents in nearly everything they did. People of every social class believed in astrology, witchcraft, talismans, fortune-telling, and many other forms of divination. And according to an authority on Roman history, Edward Gibbon, "the various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true." The famous statesman and orator Cicero was an expert in looking for omens in the flight of birds. The Roman historian Petronius observed that judging by the multitude of religions and cults in some Roman towns, there must have been more gods than people in them.

28 In China, more than 100,000 pieces of oracle bones and shells dating from the second millennium B.C.E. (the Shang dynasty) have been unearthed. They were used by the Shang priests in seeking divine guidance for everything from weather to the movement of troops. The priests wrote questions in an ancient script on these bones. Then they heated the bones and examined the cracks that appeared and wrote down the answers right on the same bones. Some scholars believe that from this ancient script, Chinese writing developed.

29 The most well-known ancient Chinese treatise on divination is the I Ching (Canon of Changes; pronounced Yee-Jing), said to be written by the first two Chou emperors, Wen Wang and Chou Kung, in the 12th century B.C.E. It contains detailed explanations of the interplay of the two opposing forces yin and yang (dark-bright, negative-positive, female-male, moon-sun, earth-heaven, and so on), which many Chinese still believe to be the controlling principles behind all life's affairs. It presents the picture that everything is ever changing and nothing is permanent. To succeed in any undertaking, one must be aware of and act in harmony with all the changes of the moment. Thus, people ask questions and cast lots and then turn to the I Ching for answers. Through the centuries, the I Ching has been the basis for all manner of fortune-telling, geomancy, and other forms of divination in China.

2

A paraphrase - mostly.

by Bang in

jason beduhn has written extensively on these comments by others, showing how worthless the comments are.

so you have a "i'll quote one scholar, you'll quote another" - game.

i thought beduhn, stafford, kedar, furuli and others had managed to stop this silly game by now.

Bleep

Those are bold statements and considered to be:

frivolous information
not true
unwise

on your part Bang.

25

What is our major life decision?

by Bleep in

in modern times, the term "proselytism" has been used to mean forcible conversion of one kind or another.

the bible does not support such a practice.

rather, it teaches that men were created as free moral agents with the privilege and responsibility to choose how they will live their lives.

Bleep

I am sure that we can test everything since no one is perfect down here.

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What is our major life decision?

by Bleep in

in modern times, the term "proselytism" has been used to mean forcible conversion of one kind or another.

the bible does not support such a practice.

rather, it teaches that men were created as free moral agents with the privilege and responsibility to choose how they will live their lives.

Bleep

In What Way Can We Rightly Test God?

Even with natural disasters, there are often warnings-the previous history of the area, recent signs, or scientific data-that indicate a strong possibility of danger within a certain time period. Perhaps an area is prone to flooding. Then a reasonable person must weigh all the factors to decide if a move to another district is necessary and viable. Of course, it is impossible to predict the time and place of every natural disaster. Still, the law of averages can be taken into account and also the margin for safety if the worst happens. But it is not reasonable to expect special protection from God. To do so would be to put God to the test in a way that is not licit or balanced.

However, in a different sense, Jehovah does invite us to test him. Back in the time of the prophet Malachi, Israel was wrongly testing God by presenting shoddy sacrifices on the altar. By their polluted bread and lame animal offerings, they showed that they despised Jehovah's table. Through Malachi, Jehovah invited them to turn around and rectify their course of action. "'Bring all the tenth parts into the storehouse, that there may come to be food in my house; and test me out, please, in this respect,' Jehovah of armies has said, 'whether I shall not open to you people the floodgates of the heavens and actually empty out upon you a blessing until there is no more want.'"-Malachi 3:10.

Yes, in regard to spiritual blessings, we can "test," or prove, Jehovah's faithfulness. If we seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, then, as Jesus said, all 'other necessary things will be added to us.' Jesus also said: "Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you." If imperfect men give kind gifts to their children, "how much more so will your Father who is in the heavens give good things to those asking him [in accordance with his will]?"-Matthew 6:33; 7:7-11; 1 John 5:14.

Here we have some testing going on. Thank you come again.