aqwsed12345
JoinedPosts by aqwsed12345
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Less or More Violence Today?
by peacefulpete inon another thread msjones posted a link to a video lecture dealing with the lucifer effect which i enjoyed but then found the a steven pinker lecture dealing with the myth of increasing violence and had to share it.
reaserch reveals a sharp decline in violence over the millenia, centuries and decades.
he postulates why and why we commonly perceive the opposite.
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aqwsed12345
Were the Early Christians Jehovah’s Witnesses?
- http://www.cephas-library.com/jw_faith_of_our_fathers_1.html
- http://www.cephas-library.com/jw_faith_of_our_fathers_2.html
The Alleged "Apostasy" Of Christendom
A recent Watchtower magazine expounds the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ view that orthodox Christianity ("Christendom") underwent a great apostasy after the death of the apostles: "The death of the apostles removed a restraining influence, allowing a widespread apostasy to develop. (2 Thessalonians 2:7, 8) An organization grew up that unworthily professed to be God’s congregation. It falsely claimed to be the holy nation anointed with God’s spirit to rule with Jesus."
The Witnesses believe that the influx of pagan converts brought in doctrines and concepts from Greek philosophy and religion which were then integrated into the Christian faith, resulting in such "false" teachings as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the immortality of the soul, and eternal punishment in hell. According to the Watchtower Society, Christendom lived in darkness for 18 centuries after this apostasy. Yet they believe there were always individuals who were faithful to divine truth — a truth more fully unveiled when their founder, Charles Russell, began to study the Bible in earnest in the 1870s. To support this view, Watchtower literature regularly cites passages from the church fathers to demonstrate that, even after the apostasy, there were some who believed as Jehovah’s Witnesses do today.
In light of this line of argumentation, it is worthwhile to examine the writings of the early church fathers. If indeed such writings reveal that early Christians believed as Jehovah’s Witnesses do today, then surely a reevaluation of orthodox Christian teachings is needed. If these writings fail to support Watchtower claims, however, then one must conclude that Jehovah’s Witnesses represent a new religious tradition of the late 19th century, with no historical connection to apostolic Christianity.
The body of literature of the postapostolic church is substantial, and a full review would be outside of the scope of a limited survey such as this. The most critical period is that prior to the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, because it is historically closest to the apostles. Part One of this series will examine writings from this period that relate to the question of whether the church underwent a great apostasy. It will also investigate what the church fathers say about one of the most critical doctrines of the Christian faith — the divine nature of Christ. Part Two will review other important doctrines of the faith, such as the nature of the Holy Spirit, the soul, and the fate of the wicked.
Did a Great Apostasy Occur?
Was the true faith taught by the apostles lost or corrupted within the first generation after the apostles? If so, then the true faith was not successfully transmitted anywhere in the evangelized world of the first and second centuries — including churches established by the apostles, with leadership appointed personally by them. A "great apostasy" would require an extraordinary event: the simultaneous loss of faith by an entire generation of Christians throughout the civilized world. Included in this apostasy would be disciples of the apostles themselves, as well as those who witnessed the thousands of martyrs who, just a short time previously, refused to deny Christ, either explicitly or by worshiping pagan gods.
A great apostasy, wherein the doctrines of Greek pagan philosophy replaced apostolic teaching, would most likely have begun in areas where the church was accepting a large number of converts with backgrounds in Greek religion and philosophy, such as Alexandria, Egypt. The prominent western churches established directly by the apostles, such as those in Rome and Antioch, would likely have fallen into heresy more slowly. But the historical facts do not support this (or any other) scenario of a "great apostasy." Had a great apostasy begun immediately after the death of the apostles, as the Watchtower claims, a mixture of "true Christianity" (i.e., Watchtower–type teachings) and "pagan heresy" (i.e., orthodox Christian teachings) would be discernible in the literature of the early church, which was widespread in its geographical points of origin.
Is it possible that all the writings of the followers of the "true faith" were completely destroyed by the paganized church? Such a view is highly improbable. Many manuscripts have survived from Gnosticism (a widespread religious movement of this period which combined elements of Greek paganism and eastern mystery religions), despite several centuries of concerted attack and condemnation by the church. Yet not a single document exists pointing to a group who believed as the Jehovah’s Witnesses do today.
The absence of such early "Watchtower" literature causes one to doubt the existence of the so-called "faithful and discrete servant class." After all, the stated purpose of these 144,000 anointed servants in Jehovah’s plan is to provide "meat in due season" — that is, literature that imparts "accurate knowledge" about the Bible. If these early Jehovah’s Witnesses were true to the kingdom gospel, handed down to them by the apostles, they would have written sufficiently to provide the faithful with an understanding of the Scriptures. Keep in mind that the Watchtower Society teaches that the Scriptures cannot be properly understood without such aids. Yet where is the Watchtower literature of the first and second centuries — or for that matter, of any century prior to the 1870s? Its absence is most telling, and highly damaging to the claim of a general apostasy with just a few of the dedicated faithful surviving.
Perhaps the most compelling argument against a universal early apostasy may be found in the commissioning and empowering of the apostles themselves. If a universal apostasy occurred immediately after the death of the apostles, we would have to judge the apostles as incompetent or negligent evangelists who utterly failed to accomplish Jesus’ commission to make disciples. Such an apostasy would reflect poorly on Jehovah God as well, whose "holy spirit" was unable to preserve His followers for even a single generation.
There is, therefore, no reason to believe that a great apostasy occurred following the death of the apostles, with the resulting loss of the "true" Christian faith for over 1800 years. This conclusion seems undeniable in view of the Great Commission, the power of the Holy Spirit, the absence of literary evidence for an alternative group of believers with a gospel similar to that preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the implausibility of the required simultaneous loss of faith by an entire generation of geographically dispersed Christians.
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Public Talks - German
by username11 inhas somebody of u public talks on german??.
or just a website where to download it.
i m very interested in listening to this talks.
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The Second Death
by cameo-d inwe are born into this world spiritually ignorant.
in the same way that many of you feel that you were trapped by circumstances in this religion by being a "born in" likewise many other people experience the same feelings whether it is a religion or a political system.
i think it is our mission in this world to become aware of the falsehoods that we are brought into by birth because it develops our conscience.
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aqwsed12345
Gehenna / Hell / The Lake of Fire
. . . It is the loss of all good . . . and the misery of an evil conscience banished from God and from the society of the holy, and dwelling under God's positive curse forever . . . The decisive and controlling element is not the outward, but the inward . . . The figurative language of Scripture is a miniature representation of what cannot be fully described in words . . . the unholiness and separation from God of a guilty and accusing conscience, of which fire and brimstone are symbols . . . the future punishment of the wicked is not annihilation . . . the wicked enter at death upon a state of conscious suffering which the resurrection and the judgment only augment and render permanent.
(Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology, Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1907, 1033-1036)
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CHRIST is not my MEDIATOR? coincidental?
by clarity inshocking, that i never realized that christ was not my mediator until 2 yrs ago!.
funny, the things the watchtower comes up with......i wonder where all these new 'teachings' hatch from?
imagine the gb sitting in their 'secret' office scratching their collective heads, searching for new leads!
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What is a false prophet?
by Spade inif jehovahs witnesses are false-prophets, who can we look to as a prophet(s)?.
http://www.watchtower21.org/2011/01/what-is-false-prophet.html.
a false prophet as described in the old testament under the mosaic law covenant:.
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APOSTLES OF DENIAL by Edmond Charles Gross (helluva book)
by Terry ini got my hands on a copy of this book and started reading it.. what a great book!.
interview with author dr. edmond gruss.
written by ed gruss and randall watters wednesday, 26 august 2009 15:21randall watters interviewed dr. edmond gruss at his home in 2001, while proofreading ed's new book, "jehovah's witnesses: their claims, doctrinal changes, and prophetic speculation" book.
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The April 2011 Awake
by Yan Bibiyan inthe new asleep is available on jw.org in its full color pdf glory.. i only glanced trough...seems pretty blah....except for the opening article and the pictures in particular.. the article addresses parents grieving to the loss of a small child due to an infectious disease.
an unimaginable situation for any parent (myself included)!.
the wt seems to show the natural reaction to the loss of a child and the expected grieving in a way that any normal parent would react.. however, it stood out in a stark contrast to the 1994 awake, where children lost to a stupid misunderstood and missaplied belief were lined up all smiling and their parents commended for the very actions that cut the life of their own children short!!.
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aqwsed12345
Secrets of Pedophilia in an American Religion—Jehovah’s Witnesses in Crisis, (2007) A commentary written by former member of the Watchtower organization's Writing Department staff, Barbara Anderson. The author chronicles her experience inside the Watchtower organization with child abuse issues.
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I need help with what to believe?
by hannahmcmanus ini've been jehovah's witness for about a year now, and recently i've been finding problems in some teachings that my parents and congregation can't answer satisfactorily.
since i began voicing my issues my mum in particular has become increasingly overbearing and, although she says there's nothing wrong with asking questions, it's obvious she doesn't like me having doubts and not accepting her answers, even though they don't explain any of my problems.
it feels like i'm being forced down a path that i don't want to take, but i don't know what to do.
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Is the salutation ... "Are you in The Truth?" ... still in use?
by Lion Cask inthe title is the question.
when i was actively studying with the witnesses back in the mid 70's i was often asked that question.
i guess it was a reflection of the crowd i was hanging around with and the fact that i was a friendly at the time, but on reflection i haven't been asked the question for eons.
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aqwsed12345
Watchtower Dictionary says:
- " come into the truth, to To become a Jehovah’s Witness. “I came into the truth in 1991. When did you come into the truth?”"
- " in the truth slang Associated with the Watchtower organization. Examples: “I’ve been in the truth ten years; how long have you been in the truth?” “I was born in the truth.”"
- " truth , the The JW organization, as in, “I’ve been in the truth since 1981.”"
This very diehard JW dictionary says:
- true Christian
- Synonymous with ``one of {Jehovah's Witnesses}'' among people {in the Truth}. The implication is that the one referred to is {doing well}. Of course there are many {unbelievers} who have a different opinion. <<A faithful, hospitable widow in Canada was raising four young daughters as true Christians.>> [w95 10/15 32] She was raising them to become Jehovah's Witnesses.
- true religion, true worship
- The worship of Jehovah as outlined by Jehovah himself in the Bible, and not by men, and carried out by his {organization}, both the heavenly and visible parts. (Joh 4:23)
- truth, Truth
- That which is actually so; it is never at odds with itself. When spelled with a capital (in mid-sentence), it refers to the full body of revealed Truth about God and his purposes as explained in his Word, and taught by his{organization}. The practice of consistently spelling it with a capital when referring to the Truth in the sense defined here may be my own, and is modeled after Acts 9:2 and other verses that show the early disciples used the phrase ``The Way'' to refer to true Christianity. (Note that The is capitalized, as it appears all three times in NW.
NOTE: The scriptural and divinely inspired name for the true worshipers of Jehovah, {Jehovah's Witnesses}, is a recent acquisition, seen in retrospect to have been given to satisfy a need to be distinct from other groups who likewise profess to be Christian. Thus when outsiders ask us what our religion is, we quickly reply: ``We're Jehovah's Witnesses!'' Under such circumstances it would not be adequate to say: ``We are Christians.'' A Roman Catholic or Baptist might give the same reply. Nor would it be meaningful to say: ``I'm in the Truth.'' However, inside the organization, among one another, we refer to our religion as ``the Truth'', because that is what it is. <<How long have you been in the Truth?>>
- in the Truth
- The state of being a dedicated, baptized servant of Jehovah. <<How long have you been in the Truth?>> <<I have no fleshly relatives who are in the Truth.>> (See also {Truth}.)
NOTE: The phrase does not intend to imply anything about how well a person might be doing in the Truth. <<So you've been in the Truth for ten years, huh? But how long has the Truth been in you?>> An admittedly cheeky question.