Justin

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Topics Started by Justin

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  25

  Gentile Times - When did they end?

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  recently a poster commented that pastor russell may have clapped his hands two days too soon because the gentile tiems were not supposed to end until october 4/5, 1914. i guess october 4/5 is the date now given (though i haven't seen it in print, being unfamiliar with the newer publications), whereas russell was satisfied to have passed october 1.. one would assume that, as the downfall of the judean kingdom (supposedly in 607 bce) was the beginning of the gentile times, that whenever they ended in 1914 would be the date that would correspond to the overthrow in 607 bce.

  (it would, given all the society's presuppositions, be difficult to come up with an exact date, as the hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar and must be periodically adjusted to keep it in synch with the solar year.

  ) after all, god's words to zedekiah (the last judean king) are usually quoted to support the idea that the gentile times began when that king lost his crown and the kingdom authority would be held in abeyance until "he comes whose right it is" - understood to be christ jesus at the parousia.

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  24

  "God is Love"

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  after my thread on seminary education, i am doing one more about liberal clergy.

  my previous thread dealt with the idea that their education seemed incompatible with their calling, and this naturally led to the possibility that they may hide an underlying skepticism from their parishioners.

  in this thread i am asking why many of them present a god whose love goes beyond that of the biblical god or even the god of traditional theology.

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  23

  Another JW alternative

  by Justin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those interested in an alternative to the jws, check out http://www.bibledecoded.com/index.html .

  the lws claim to be the successors to the jws!

  they have their own chronology, disfellowshipping rules, etc.

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  20

  Seminary education

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as has been demonstrated on this forum, the only two positions regarding religion which are logically consistent are fundamentalism and unbelief (whether of the atheist or agnostic variety).

  an in-between position, though some of us would like to hold it, is not logically persuasive.

  yet, that is exactly the situation which is produced in mainline (or "liberal") seminaries today.

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  17

  Will they ever be mainstream?

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some religions which have been on the fringe of society are eventually accepted into the mainstream because they have an aspect which is socially acceptable or beneficial to society.

  for example, the seventh day adventists have hospitals and the mormons have the tabernacle choir.

  but the jws seem to have nothing with which to appeal to the larger culture.

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  16

  What is orthodox Christianity?

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  we frequently contrast what jehovah's witnesses believe with orthodox christianity (or what they call "christendom").

  but what does orthodox christianity look like if allowed to stand on its own, not defending itself from outside attack?

  the archbishop of canterbury (rowan williams) recently gave his own description to a group of non-christians - his audience being at the islamic university in islamabad.

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  16

  Culture or the lack thereof

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  to belong to a culture is part of being human.

  yet, jws and evangelicals are told to avoid being contaminated by the secular culture.

  the evangelical movement, however, has created a subculture of its own.

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  14

  Another resource

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  strictly genteel - theocratic resources/skk theocratic library, a pro-jw site, now contains publications from the rutherford era, including: the finished mystery (1917), millions now living will never die (1920), the harp of god (1921), deliverance (1926), and creation (1927).

  the russell writings are found on this site as well.

  link: http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/

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  13

  History of Pyramidology

  by Justin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the great pyramid awaits thee.

  click on the following link and you'll learn the history of pyramidology, including russell's involvement.

  http://www.greatdreams.com/pyramid.htm

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  12

  Dogs and Communion

  by Justin in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have been attending an independent church lately where they allow people to bring their pets (dogs) and give them communion.

  for those who don't know the procedure, people file down to the front of the church and receive a piece of bread and a sip of wine - of course, they don't have two classes.

  well, if you have your doggie with you, the pet can also receive (i assume only the bread - what a mess it would make for them to slurp from the chalice!).

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