Posts by Cold Steel

11

Self Defense And Eschewing Violence: Mutually Exclusive?

by Cold Steel in

it seems that the views on handgun ownership and weapons are sporatic among jws.

if i understand it correctly, it's generally okay to own guns and knives as long as they aren't to be acquired as weapons...even self defense.

some jws say they have no problems with gun/knife ownership; others say that it's easier not to tell anyone they have them.

Cold Steel

When cornered and threatened, call on Jehovah for help. Remember: “The name of Jehovah is a strong tower. Into it the righteous runs and is given protection.” —Proverbs 18:10

Somehow I think the writer may be a bit confused. Is this canonized or just advice? It's not like getting a blood transfusion, is it? Anyway, a man who will not defend his wife and children is a coward. And a woman who will not defend her children is worse.

Years ago, a woman was confronted by an intruder. She had a handgun, but could not bring herself to shoot him, despite the knife he held in his right hand. As he realized she didn't have it in her, he advanced steadily while the woman's hand and gun shook. Then something amazing happened. Her four year old son came into the room. The mother and intruder saw him at the same time, and the man turned to the woman and grinned wickedly. He then stepped towards the child and was then plugged by all six shots from the woman's revolver! She wouldn't shoot for her own defense, but when the guy threatened her son, she blasted him into the next world! We see animals defend themselves from other animals. We see mothers protect their young. Doesn't nature teach us that this is the proper way? Man is the only animal that I know of who has no built-in means of self defense. In the wild we can fall prey to cougars and bears, and in the cities we can fall victim to 2-legged animals. And should we take their lives, it prevents them from harming others.

I know many JWs who don't abide by the Watchtower advice. They have their guns and just keep them out of sight. But what happens if a JW shoots a convicted rapist or other dangerous criminal? Will disciplinary action be taken against them? (Oh, and BTW, that bit about professional shooters bopping off "amateur" homeowners is hilarious! There are many cases where bad guys are routinely snuffed by homeowners with guns.

And what do they say aboutLuke 22:36-38?

Question:What if a Jehovah's Witness writes a letter to the editor of the Watchtower similar to the above? Would they 1) publish his/her letter in the WT with a reply; 2) send a note to his or her KH Overseer suggesting one of their members has a roaring bad attutude; or 3) other?

15

Isn't it hypocritical for the Governing Body to feature a biochemist in Awake! magazine but at the same time condemn higher education?

by matt2414 in

the january awake!

has an entire article about a woman, a molecular biochemist, who became a witness, and yet the watchtower leaders condemn and blacklist any of their members who get a college education.

i couldn't stop thinking about this as i read the article.

Cold Steel

You guys are rilly behine the times. Don't tell no one, but I have it on EXELINT uhthority that Armagedon is so close at hand that wastin' your monee on hi-er education is jest a waste of time. Ah'm sooooo excitted thet I quit mah job, ca$hed in my reetiremant and am spending my live's savings! Shucks, why knot? It don't hardly make no cense keepin' everthin in banks and paper thet's only going to be dee-stroyed when Armagedon comes! I ain't no fool, y'all. You guys who are going to loose everthin in Armagedon's dee-struction are gonna feel awful foolissh if you dont spend it now! In fact, I here tell if Bethel is wrong about this that they'll re-fund any money you may loose; ain't that right?

Whoo needs hi-er educatsion when it's all so close? Uoo wont find me makin' thet misstake, no, sir!

31

A problem with my daughter

by DATA-DOG in

should i try to dissuade my daughter from being baptized?

she doesn't seem to be in hurry.

all her " friends " are already baptized, some since early childhood which is ridiculous in my opinion.

Cold Steel

This is a tough call. On the one hand, you don't want her to be deceived, but on the other hand, you don't want to destroy her faith in Christ or Christianity. Also, if it destroys your marriage, that's another thing.

First, I would insist on baptizing her myself if I were you. Then I would tell her that regardless of how she might feel about the Jehovah's Witnesses in the future, that her baptism would always be her commitment to Christ and the gospel. In other words, it would always be her symbolic acceptance of the gospel and not neccessary the church.

I don't know if you're a JW or not, or whether you're in good standing; however, if you are, you have every right to baptize your daughter in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit yourself. Is it not so? What you want to do is make it a special day for her and one she'll remember, even if she chooses another path later. If the JWs want to do it themselves, simply find another place to baptize her and do it then do it yourself...even if an elder does it earlier.

People who come out of the religion often come out with a feeling of hostility and of course they no longer recognize their earlier baptisms and other ordinances, if any. Anciently, people were baptized by water, then they were given the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. This apparently takes divine authority, which the WTS does not pretend to hold, so they say it's no longer necessary since only the apostles are seen by them as having that authority. But you can baptize her as a symbolic commitment to Christ and I wouldn't let the church tell me I couldn't. You have at least as much authority to baptize as they.

What words do the baptizers use in the WTS?

11

Self Defense And Eschewing Violence: Mutually Exclusive?

by Cold Steel in

it seems that the views on handgun ownership and weapons are sporatic among jws.

if i understand it correctly, it's generally okay to own guns and knives as long as they aren't to be acquired as weapons...even self defense.

some jws say they have no problems with gun/knife ownership; others say that it's easier not to tell anyone they have them.

Cold Steel

So no one has any stories regarding the right of self defense as viewed by Bethel? And has there been anything published in the Watchtower or Awake! magazines?

If not, what kind of steel are you packing? And what do you keep in the dresser?

I don't carry, but I do have a beautiful Ruger Security-Six loaded with police .38 Spc +P. Most churches don't try to interfere with a member's right to keep and bear arms, but few want members packing heat at church.

31

Jesus=The archangel Michael?

by WatchTowerofBabel in

(the first chapter of hebrews seems quite explicit on the issue).

but since scriptural texts don't seem quite enough for my jdub kinfolks (wtf?

), i tried to find out where this poppycock idea first popped up.. .

Cold Steel

Paul wrote: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first." (I Thessalonians 4:16)

Don't assume that Jesus is the one who is shouting or who is blowing the trump of God. It clearly says that the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, but it doesn't say he will be the one shouting. He is, after all, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End; but if so, who is "the archangel"? As far as we know, it will either be Michael or Gabriel, both high ranking angels; but it won't be Jesus who makes the shout or blows the trump of God.

Jesus' premortal name was Jehovah, and this is indispubable. Jehovah, anciently, was the Son, and the earliest Jews understood it. Methodist theologian Margaret Barker has written extensively on this and you can find her articles and books on the Internet. Jesus clearly revealed his identity when he told the Jews, "Before Abraham was, I AM." It so enraged the Jews that they picked up stones to stone him, but he escaped. There was no misinterpreting his statement. Jehovah was the great I AM.

So, no, Jesus isn't Michael, nor is he an archangel.

82

The reason for my delay......

by EndofMysteries in

for those waiting and wondering what my situation is right now.

here is an illustration i think kind of explains it well.

feel free to chime in what you think would be the right thing to do.

Cold Steel

Whatever cough medicine he's taking, I want to buy a case!

9

Crosses, Beards and Wings

by Cold Steel in

i've always been fascinated by the pictures in the watchtower.

back in the 70s, i was intrigued by pictures of a beardless jesus hanging on a stake with two theives hanging beside him.

he usually had a full head of hair, but it looked strange for a beardless jesus to be standing in the midst of his disciples, all with beards!

Cold Steel

I've always been fascinated by the pictures in the Watchtower. Back in the 70s, I was intrigued by pictures of a beardless Jesus hanging on a stake with two theives hanging beside him. He usually had a full head of hair, but it looked strange for a beardless Jesus to be standing in the midst of his disciples, all with beards! And I wondered what was up? Yeah, I know pictures of Jesus still show him hanging from the stake, even though history has thoroughly debunked it. But I always wondered about the lack of a beard. What was with that? A number of pictures have also (over the years) shown angels with wings. Really? Why would angels need wings? How does that work? And how, aerodynamically, do the angels fly and what keeps their feet and legs up while they're zipping around the vaults of the heavens?

When John was on Patmos he records: " And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, 'See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.'" (Rev. 22:8-9) Here the angel is telling John that he once lived on Earth as a prophet, and that now he was an angel with such glory that it caused John to fall at his feet and try to worship him. Yes, this flies in the face of the Adventist doctrine that men don't have spirits because this angel, whoever he was, was John's "fellowservant" and "of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings" of the book (which John was writing). So perhaps all angels existed one time as men on the Earth or will at some future time live on the Earth. Regardless, do JWs believe that angels have wings?

What really amuses me are the pictures that show the Edenic paradise on the future Earth. Everyone is dressed in nice clothing and some are playing violins, others are hiking with walking sticks or doing an oil painting overlooking a beautiful countryside -- things the great crowd are going to be doing for eternity, right?

Are pictures cleared or designed by the church authorities? Or do the artists come up with them? Is the church going to stick with the stake over the cross?

11

Self Defense And Eschewing Violence: Mutually Exclusive?

by Cold Steel in

it seems that the views on handgun ownership and weapons are sporatic among jws.

if i understand it correctly, it's generally okay to own guns and knives as long as they aren't to be acquired as weapons...even self defense.

some jws say they have no problems with gun/knife ownership; others say that it's easier not to tell anyone they have them.

Cold Steel

It seems that the views on handgun ownership and weapons are sporatic among JWs. If I understand it correctly, it's generally okay to own guns and knives as long as they aren't to be acquired as weapons...even self defense. Some JWs say they have no problems with gun/knife ownership; others say that it's easier not to tell anyone they have them. And still others have had problems with anti-gun elders.

The bottom line is that if someone wants to collect knives or shoot for recreation or hunting, that's okay. But to buy a gun or knife for self defense is a no-no. The question then is whether a man or woman can use a so-called "weapon of death" to protect themselves or their spouses and children. Most religions have no problems with self defense and being prepared against crime and violence.

When you guys were active, or if you're active now, what were/are your experiences regarding the question of self defense? If you had to shoot someone in self defense and your .357 magnum was loaded with hot hollowpoints, it's clear you weren't going to use it for plinking. So what does the church teach or how does it lean? Do they take a turn-the-other-cheek approach or do the elders generally understand that self defense is a God-given right?

5

Why the jehovah witness do not pray to the Son?

by Jaime l de Aragon in

why not pray witnesses to the son, only the father?, another biblical interpretation very `sui generis' of wacthower.

how to pray the son?

(say a witness) pray the son!

Cold Steel

Because God has no son. Have you read the OT? God is never said to have a single son anywhere...Jesus the name is unknown in the OT, God can spend pages and pages worrying about men not shaving their beards but he never tells us about his "son".

There are numerous references to the Messiah, such as Isaiah 53 . Also, Zechariah writes: " And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. " (Zechariah 12)

Daniel also wrote about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the faithful three that were thrown into the fiery furnace:

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire." (Daniel 3)

There are many more similar messianic scriptures that Jesus fulfilled, and some that are remaining to be fulfilled. Jesus, too, correctly prophesied regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews. When the Roman armies swept down on the holy city, the Christians had vacated to Pella and other locations because of revelations warning them to flee. Tens of thousands of Jews were crucified and put to the sword, but the Christians escaped because Jesus had warned them when to flee.

And in light of new discoveries and research:

Development of name-titles in Israelite history

I n the Old Testament, the title Elohim often emphasizes the strong, covenant-keeping qualities of God while the name Jehovah, the self-existent and eternal attributes; and Adonai, the characteristics of a sovereign lord; they have not always been applied to just one God.

A study of the various Hebrew words used for deity in the Old Testament reveals that the same name-titles were often used for both true and false gods as well as for human leaders. Thus, the Hebrew for Elohim and Jehovah were often used in a generic sense. Such usage could especially cause confusion if the text were later modified.

Eugene Seaich has indicated that many scholars have found that early Canaanite and Israelite theology recognized two separate and distinct sets of divine traits: one for a "Father of gods" and "Father of men" and the other for a son of the former who was a "dying-and-resurrecting god, who gave life to all creatures" and "managed the cosmos for his Father." Seaich explains that the High God was called "El and his son was called Ba'al at least through the time of the Israelite monarchy." The Israelites who returned from the desert with the Mosaic religion referred to El's son as Yahweh. Some evidence of this distinction still survives in our Old Testament scriptures (see Deuteronomy 32:8–9; Psalm 82; Proverbs 30:4). He also notes that Genesis chapter 1 speaks of Elohim (the longer form of El) as the creator while chapter 2 speaks of Yahweh-Elohim. Seaich writes:

...the Mosaic reform, which only began as an attempt to root out the licentious excesses to which the old polytheism had sunk (Ex. 32), took at least a half-dozen centuries to establish itself as Israel's "true" religion, eliminating in the process many former truths, before emerging as the "ethical monotheism" of late Judaism.... In the new monotheism...the earlier Elohim and Yahweh became the single "YHWH-Elohim" of Deut. 6:4.... The complete assimilation of two gods into one probably took as long as the "Monotheistic Reform" itself, i.e. from ca. 1500 to 500 B.C..... Finally, the Old Testament itself was thoroughly subjected to a corresponding revision (known as the "Deuteronomic Revision"). ( Seaich, pp.15–21)

27

WT video. Green screen paradise.

by aposta-Z in

first off, i am unable to post this as a link for some reaon.

sorry to make you copy/paste.

but i had to share.... .

Cold Steel

Nice video, but who said God created matter? Theologians say He did, but the scriptures only say He "organized" it. And with all those worlds and suns, are we to believe that we're the only humans God created? What if God has created billions of inhabited worlds?

Does the FDS say anything about this?