I do believe there is evidence that Canaanite tribes were conquered by the Egyptians just as they were by the Persians (aka "Babylon"). That would be the Egyptian slave connection to the Israelites. The nation of Israel was created as a fictional mythos for Canaanites in Persian captivity who did not want to lose their identity as was common for conquered peoples of antiquity.
truth_b_known
JoinedPosts by truth_b_known
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Moses, Pharaoh and the Exodus Fairytale
by RULES & REGULATIONS inexodus 7. .
new king james version.
moses before pharaoh.
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Can you be a JW who does not have the GB as their leader?
by DoubtingThomas ini am.. they are just fellow brothers, old and getting senile.... but enlightened, despite all the whining.....
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truth_b_known
Can you be a JW who does not have the GB as their leader?
I am.
They are just fellow brothers, old and getting senile...
But enlightened, despite all the whining....Congratulations on crossing the line over into apostasy as defined by the Watchtower and Jehovah's Witnesses. Please pick up your new member kit and gift bag from Simon. We are happy to have you in our ranks.
P.S. The Governing Body, Jehovah's Witnesses, and most of Christendom tend not to be "Enlightened" as Christianity in its current form tend to be Egocentric.
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Moses, Pharaoh and the Exodus Fairytale
by RULES & REGULATIONS inexodus 7. .
new king james version.
moses before pharaoh.
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truth_b_known
What choice did the Pharaoh have after the Lord hardens his heart and refuses to budge?
To soften or harden the Pharaoh's heart would both be a violation of freewill.
There is no record outside the Old Testament that the 12 plagues happened. No remains of an Egyptian army have ever been found at the bottom of the Red Sea. There is no Egyptian records of Moses or the events as portrayed in the Bible.
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Faith-Apostasy-Atheism
by DoubtingThomas ini have been on m any different forums, and only carm is similar to this.. all the rest have rather hypocritical trust in god.. this and carm are for those who apostate to the wtbs and to god.. turned off by the gb, or hypocritical examples in the congregation, they drop worshiping god and their belief in the bible... for they know too much,.
that's why scripture isn't discussed, and jws like me, are demonized.. i am cool with that!
maybe some of you will come to their senses!.
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truth_b_known
Question posed to me - "Does God exist?"
How I answer - "I do not understand the question. What do you mean by 'God' and 'exist'?"
Question posed to me by myself - "Do I exist?"
How I answer - "I do not understand the question. What do you mean by 'I' and 'exist'?" The reality is that there is no "I". In Latin "I" is "Ego", which is why psychology uses the term Ego. The Ego is a fictitious character the brain invents because the brain thrives on consistency. Consistency is equated to safety. All organs of the human body are geared to ensure the body goes on living. The brain does this by creating thought and the Ego.
If I do not exist, what does it matter if there is a god that exists or not?
Does Jesus exist? Was there a historical Jesus? Does Christianity exist? Does it matter to Christianity if Jesus never existed or at least did not exist as the Bible portrays him?
1. I do not know. Does it really matter?
2. Perhaps he did. Does it really matter?
3. Yes.
4. Unfortunately it is paramount to Christianity, in its current and previous forms, that the Bible be 100% accurate. No Jesus means no Christianity.
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truth_b_known
WAC probably will boot you if not believing the Trinity.
This is probably true. That is why my first choice would be Catholicism. It has been said that one of the symptoms that a religion is dying is that the religion insists you believe in all its doctrines. Another is you are not allowed to disagree with the clergy.
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Faith-Apostasy-Atheism
by DoubtingThomas ini have been on m any different forums, and only carm is similar to this.. all the rest have rather hypocritical trust in god.. this and carm are for those who apostate to the wtbs and to god.. turned off by the gb, or hypocritical examples in the congregation, they drop worshiping god and their belief in the bible... for they know too much,.
that's why scripture isn't discussed, and jws like me, are demonized.. i am cool with that!
maybe some of you will come to their senses!.
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truth_b_known
and I realized that all you atheists had only your brief little lives to look forward to (not much left, in many cases), and I felt sad for you... and then the moment passed!
As a child I would look up into the night sky and see what appeared to be an endless sea of black and stars. My father would gaze up next to me and say, "It makes you realize just how small and insignificant we are and how great Jehovah is."
Decades later I stood on a frozen mountain top. I saw the sky above and the valley below. For a moment I was the sky, the mountain, and the valley. I then realized that I was the universe experiencing itself. I am eternal, though changing form as conditions change. I realized then that life and death are the same thing.
May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all. We are all one and separate at the same time. Not one. Not two.
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truth_b_known
If I were to join a church it would be one of 3 -
The Catholic Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church
The last is the We are Church program started by Francis Chan which you can read about here https://www.wearechurch.com/
The basic structure of We are Church is -
- Congregations meet in private homes. No property is owned by the church.
- Each congregation is capped at 19 members with 2 being the leaders. Once they reach 20 people the congregation splits with one leader going with each group of 10 and in each new group a new assist pastor is made.
- There is no clergy or laity classes. Everyone is expected to participate.
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Films of the decade - 80s
by LoveUniHateExams inlots of great films in this decade, too.. the elephant man (1980).
the empire strikes back (1980).
the shining (1980).
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truth_b_known
The 1980s was truly a great decade for film. You touch and great ones. I was a young kid and have been into sci-fi/fantasy genre my whole life. Here are a few I would like to add under those genres -
Blade Runner
Outland
Conan the Barbarian
I started getting into the production and behind-the-scenes stories on these films. Blade Runner and Conan the Barbarian are truly quintessential to their respective genres in so many ways.
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Elders hounding members to quit their jobs due to missing too many meetings
by RULES & REGULATIONS inhow many times did you see elders hounding congregation members to quit their jobs due to missing meetings?.
my brother worked at a grocery store at 16 years old.
he would miss tuesday's ministry school due to his work schedule.
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truth_b_known
This topic brings back a lot of hurtful memories.
I was a born in JW. My father is self employed. He is the owner/operator of his own business that I was not invited into. I was not born with a silver spoon. I was not going to inherit a fortune. I had to play by Watchtower rules.
Here are the Watchtower rules -
- You must be self-sufficient. Food, clothing, shelter, vehicle that can be used in the ministry, and any other expenses are all on you. Do not even think of asking the organization/congregation for financial assistance.
- Do not seek training or education that will assist you in obtaining employment that will fulfil rule #1. If you do you lack faith in Jehovah and that the end is near. You will not be disfellowshipped, but you will be marked, which is almost as bad.
- Whatever job you do find must have a work schedule of Monday through Friday from the morning to 5:00PM. You must not accept employment that will interfere with meetings or Saturday field service. In addition, you must be able to take time off for Assemblies and Conventions. If you cannot get the Friday of the first day of a Convention off you are to quit that job to make the Friday session of the Convention.
- Whatever job you find must not violate Watchtower religious principles. If an employer is involved in anything that goes against those principles you cannot accept the job even if the actual work you will be doing is benign. If you are a janitor for a tech company that has a division with military contracts the whole company is deemed blood guilty. Even the janitor of that company is blood guilty.
There I was; an 18 year old high school graduate who earned straights A's and took the military ASVAB test where I scored 95% or higher in all areas. I had no car. No family business to take over. I was working minimum wage jobs in construction.
Now, remember, if I wanted to be in a romantic relationship I had to be in a position to marry. So, not only support myself, but a wife and children. So, young adulthood was highly frustrating and depressing.
It is insulting to the intelligence of the human race why the Watchtower either cannot figure out why young Witnesses are leaving in high numbers or intellectually dishonest on the behalf of PIMI Witnesses.
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Elders hounding members to quit their jobs due to missing too many meetings
by RULES & REGULATIONS inhow many times did you see elders hounding congregation members to quit their jobs due to missing meetings?.
my brother worked at a grocery store at 16 years old.
he would miss tuesday's ministry school due to his work schedule.
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truth_b_known
We had a Circuit Overseer who, in a talk, stated we should not take jobs involving shift work. We had several brothers (Elders and MS) who worked at the nearby refineries or as firefighters. The missed few meetings because of work. Not good enough.
A couple in the same circuit, but different congregation, took the same CO out to lunch. The CO told the wife that he thought she should quit her job and pioneer. He asked her, "What do you think?" She replied, "I think you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you."