Perhaps "collapsing" is too strong a word, but big economic changes ahead. Regarding the US, they are facing a "fiscal cliff." They have two options, either lift the tax base, institute strict austerity measures (and stifle economic growth), or carry on as they are and end up in the same position as Europe. And there is no doubt that the European Union will break up, each country going back to his old monetary standard. This will certainly cause economic pain, suffering and unrest. The world will have to move towards a more sustainable system.
Posts by Vidqun
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61Do you think our society is on the verge of collapsing?
by jam innot to sound like the gloom and doom cult we were apart,.
but are we heading for an collapse in our society?.
iam sure we all are familiar with the signs that bring about.
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169
The title of this forum should be changed to Judas' Witnesses.net to accurately reflect it's makeup.
by Theocratic Sedition ini've been browsing here for some time now and i've read the erroneous arguments supporting 587, the petty feelings over the un, blah blah blah.
this is a community of disgruntled people telling each other what they want to hear.
you've all essentially created your own truth, tickling your own ears.
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Vidqun
Must say, I'd rather be here than in the pedophile paradise, contributing to the paedophile protection program.
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169
The title of this forum should be changed to Judas' Witnesses.net to accurately reflect it's makeup.
by Theocratic Sedition ini've been browsing here for some time now and i've read the erroneous arguments supporting 587, the petty feelings over the un, blah blah blah.
this is a community of disgruntled people telling each other what they want to hear.
you've all essentially created your own truth, tickling your own ears.
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Vidqun
Another one-hit-wonder, or is it a hit-and-run driver? Who cares for his/her opinion anyway!
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23
Starting University in 3 weeks...
by MsGrowingGirl20 ini'm very excited!
you all helped me to make this decision and stick to it and i thank you all.
eve though my life(spiritual) hasn't been sorted yet...i'm really looking forward to this!
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Vidqun
Wonderful news! Wish you the best. In three weeks time starts the first day of the rest of your life. And initially it might be a shock to the system. In school (and in the congregation) you are spoon-fed, but now you will will have to start eating all by yourself. May it turn into a feeding frenzy, with you enjoying it all the way.
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82
Is the Governing Body EVIL or IGNORANT?
by cedars insome of you will have noticed that i've been paying a lot of attention to the governing body recently.
this is because most jehovah's witnesses venerate them collectively (even if they can't name them individually), and i feel this makes it important to understand this group of men properly and expose their mindset as individuals.
as the saying goes, i feel it's important to "know your enemy".. i realize it's very convenient to think of the governing body as being "evil" when we consider that they are ultimately responsible for all the damaging jw teachings and beliefs.
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Vidqun
Another reason: Why is it that the NWT has not had a revision since 1984? Because Fred Franze is dead and there is no other qualified for such a job. Dealing with the Bible all the time, one would think that they, or those under them, would be encouraged to study the original languages of the Bible.
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82
Is the Governing Body EVIL or IGNORANT?
by cedars insome of you will have noticed that i've been paying a lot of attention to the governing body recently.
this is because most jehovah's witnesses venerate them collectively (even if they can't name them individually), and i feel this makes it important to understand this group of men properly and expose their mindset as individuals.
as the saying goes, i feel it's important to "know your enemy".. i realize it's very convenient to think of the governing body as being "evil" when we consider that they are ultimately responsible for all the damaging jw teachings and beliefs.
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Vidqun
I listen to what they have to say. They discourage secular education. Call it primitive thinking if you like. Definitely no rocket scientist amongst them. Fred France would have been the exception.
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82
Is the Governing Body EVIL or IGNORANT?
by cedars insome of you will have noticed that i've been paying a lot of attention to the governing body recently.
this is because most jehovah's witnesses venerate them collectively (even if they can't name them individually), and i feel this makes it important to understand this group of men properly and expose their mindset as individuals.
as the saying goes, i feel it's important to "know your enemy".. i realize it's very convenient to think of the governing body as being "evil" when we consider that they are ultimately responsible for all the damaging jw teachings and beliefs.
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Vidqun
The question should be: Weak or wicked? The Bible takes a dim view on the latter. The GB as a collective is a product of their own making. They are intellectually stunted, because that's how they like it. No, they cannot be excused. Each of them has a brain, better than any man-made computer. The fact that they preferred not to develop it, is unpardonable. They will be judged adversely for that. That's why their organization is going down the tube, it's like a stagnant pond, where everything rots, producing a great deal of methane (hot air?). Could one compare them to the leadership of the Nazis? Those that did survive the war, were not excused. A favorite excuse: "I merely followed orders." And does the Bible not say that the teachers are going to receive a "heavier judgment." No, their actions and decisions cannot be excused by God or man.
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15
Daniel 8:20,21 - what do secular authorities say?
by konceptual99 ini am looking for anything that suggests there is a rational explaination for daniel apparently predicting the rise of greece as a world power.
there is some stuff online suggesting that scholars years ago thought it was modified over time but evidence points to it having been written in the 6th centuary bc and they have been forced to correct their view.. is there anything anywhere that presents the accepted secular view of this passage?.
cheers.
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Vidqun
First of all, I have to make something clear. I am firmly committed to the authority of Scripture as divine revelation. I also believe the book of Daniel to be viewed as a unitary structure and should be studied as such (I do admit that a measure of editing has gone into the book). On this basis I study the book.
When it comes to prophecy: 1) It should agree with context and fit in with rest of Bible. 2) It should be true according to the principle in Deuteronomy (18:22). 3) It could have more than one fulfillment as demonstrated by Jesus. By the way, he rejected the Maccabean interpretation of Daniel.
I differ those rejecting the predictive element of prophecy while emphasizing probability. For one, modern scholars ignore the internal evidence. Here’s a few examples.
Daniel is first and foremost a book of prophecy. It concerns the future. This we see from the arrangement of the contents. One quarter describes happenings in the life of Daniel and his friends. Three quarters contain prophecy.
This we also determine from the book itself. Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar: “However, there exists a God in the heavens who is a Revealer of secrets, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what is to occur in the final part [’acharith] of the days” [“the latter days”, KJV] (Dan. 2:28). [1]
Later the angel Gabriel informs Daniel: “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of [the] end” [“the end time”, NAB] (Dan. 8:17b). [2] He continues: “Here I am causing you to know what will occur in the final part [’acharith] of the denunciation, because it is for the appointed time of the end”. The “final part of the denunciation” refers to God’s anger during “the time of the end” (cf. Dan. 8:19, 25).
The small horn or fierce king will rise “in the final part [’acharith] of their kingdom, as the transgressors act to completion” (cf. Dan. 8:23). Gabriel concludes: “And you, for your part, keep secret the vision, because it is for many days” [“it concerns the distant future”, NIV] (cf. Dan. 8:26b).
Concerning the final vision, the angel reveals: “And I have come to cause you to discern what will befall your people in the final part [’acharith] of the days, because it is a vision yet for the days [to come]” [“for the vision pertains to future days”, NET] (cf. Dan. 10:14). [Cursive script added.]
The final King of the North “will certainly prove successful until [the] denunciation will have come to a finish.” Again the “denunciation” here refers to God’s wrath, indicating that the final King of the North would from hereon remain the same, enjoying great success, until his destruction towards the close of “the time of the end” (cf. Dan. 11:36, 40, 45).
Secondly, they lose sight of the fact that the final vision (Dan. 10-12) starts with the Persian Empire and ends with the resurrection. Getting stuck with Antiochus IV Epiphanes is unrealistic, especially concerning Dan. 11:40-45. This would make Daniel a liar.
Leolaia has touched on it, but here is a prophecy that did come true. In sharp contrast to Maccabees, Daniel makes no direct mention of Hellenistic Reform. The angel in Daniel’s final vision would also doom a Jewish uprising, by saying: “And the sons of the robbers [“violent ones”, CSBO] belonging to your people will, for their part, be carried along to try making a vision come true; and they will have to stumble”, i.e., die [3] (cf. Dan. 11:14b).
This is what a conservative scholar had to say about current research. I agree with him:
The vast body of literature on the prophets has shown them to be first of all religious spokesmen in their own world and to their own times. That view is certainly correct, but not to the exclusion of their theological relevance for the future of Israel and the world. Unfortunately modern critical methodology has not consistenly set the stage for greater confidence in the integrity of the biblical prophets and the authenticity of their oracles and writings. The ongoing and asymmetric editing of the prophetic meterials in the biblical period, as suggested by some modern approaches to this literature, is at best hypothetical. Much remains to be discovered about the literary process, and that inquiry must take place not only in a literary context but in a theological one as well. [4]
[1] This eschatological marker often occurs in the prophetic books of the Bible, corresponding to a new era in human history (cf. Is. 2:2; Jer. 23:20; 30:24; 48:47; 49:39; Dan. 12:13; Hosea 3:5; Mic. 4:1; cf. Ezek. 38:8).
[2] This eschatological marker occurs six times in the book of Daniel. Only the prophet Daniel would use it (cf. Dan. 8:17 , 19; 11:35, 40; 12:4, 9) .
[3] The Hebrew word for stumble is kâshal (= “to cause to fall”). Especially in the book of Daniel this verb refers to a literal stumbling because of war (cf. Dan. 11:33b). In most cases the Syriac interprets it as “to overthrow.” This fact is corroborated by HALOT: to fall, collapse (of a government, dynasty) Dan. 11:14, 19, 33, 35, 41. In each of these cases, the verb refers to people, not countries. The Maccabean dynasty, and all break-away groups, disobedient to God, would come to a violent end.
[4] C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books, Mooody Publishers (2007), p. 33.
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97
I think the Society might drop its appeal over the Conti case
by cedars ini've been giving some thought to the recent development in which the judge has ruled that the society is barred from completing any property transactions until the appeal is over, which could take up to two years or even more.. i've submitted an article to randy at freeminds in which i basically argue that it is no longer in the society's interests to appeal this case.
if i correctly understand the restrictions placed on the society by the judge, then the governing body has far more to lose by appealing than they could conceivably gain.. think about it.... by appealing, they buy themselves time in which to formulate a long-term strategy for dealing with the fallout of this case, but will be barred from liquidating $1 billion in property assets at a time of global economic uncertainty when their donations are dwindling.
there is also no guarantee that their appeal will be upheld.by dropping their appeal, they take a hit and pay $23.8 million but retain the freedom to see through their real estate projects; retain their financial flexibility to respond to dwindling donations, and get to pretend to their followers (as with the un scandal) that it never happened.of course, i am only saying that dropping the appeal would be the only intelligent option for the society, assuming they are aware of how legally precarious their child abuse policies are.
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Vidqun
If they do lose the appeal, it'll open the floodgates, and they'll want to avoid that, come hell or high water.
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50
When you were active, did you feel you would survive Armageddon?
by Band on the Run ini am curious about this issue.
personally, i never felt i would be good enough for a split second.
one would think that knowing you can not be good enough to survive would it make it easier to leave the witnesses and live for the present.
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Vidqun
No, never. Like the pie in the sky, it was just was too high (Pink Floyed if I'm not mistaken).