i've added to it in bold letters:.
january 2023 study watchtower, page 20, pars.
1 - 3.. almost 2,000 years ago, jesus gave his life in our behalf, opening the way for us to gain everlasting life.
noun: pattern;
a regular and intelligible form or sequence discernible in certain actions or situations.
"a complicating factor is the change in working patterns"
One time does not constitute a pattern.
It was Jesus' dinner. Jesus did the inviting, not his disciples. It was a pretty exclusive guest list. That is because the dinner had a purpose.
the common thread of beleivers / creationists of a god creating life is design .. and if something / anything is designed it must have a designer ?.
however this reasoning is discarded when talking about the existence of god.. and if such a being as god somehow existed without a designer why not all forms of life itself as existing on earth ?.
coming into existence without a designer ?.
Biological organisms on Earth are proof that there was no designer. Why would an all powerful, all knowing being create life that is feeble, easily killed, depends on the breathing of air and the consumption of other living organisms to live? The human body alone would be a disaster of a design if it were designed.
Just look at the human throat. Air and food, both required to keep the human body alive, go down the same pipe. People die from choking on food. This is one example of how poorly the human body works.
The complexity of something does not equate to intelligent design.
let me explain :.
after the creation account of the bible, tribes of people and nations began to form and spread around the land.. god first chose noah and his family to protect them as he destroys all others in the flood.. and he ticks off everyone in babel ?
and then he favours abraham and his descendants as the nation of israel culminating in the jewish lineage to jesus the son of god.. he has never had any dealings with any other people`s or nation isn`t that some form of favouritism ?
The Minimal Facts argument has been debunked.
https://www.gcrr.org/post/minimalfactsapologetics
Minimal Facts argument has at least 2 logical fallacies -
1. Circular reasoning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_fOyxk7DdU
2. Non Sequitur
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzroWL3NlZA
"Even if an argument seems to makes sense it cannot be valid unless the form is valid and it does not exhibit on of the logical fallacies." - Mr. Spock
The fictional character in the above 2 videos speaks more truth than Gary Habermas.
let me explain :.
after the creation account of the bible, tribes of people and nations began to form and spread around the land.. god first chose noah and his family to protect them as he destroys all others in the flood.. and he ticks off everyone in babel ?
and then he favours abraham and his descendants as the nation of israel culminating in the jewish lineage to jesus the son of god.. he has never had any dealings with any other people`s or nation isn`t that some form of favouritism ?
One cannot use the New Testament to defend the YHWH of the Old Testament.
let me explain :.
after the creation account of the bible, tribes of people and nations began to form and spread around the land.. god first chose noah and his family to protect them as he destroys all others in the flood.. and he ticks off everyone in babel ?
and then he favours abraham and his descendants as the nation of israel culminating in the jewish lineage to jesus the son of god.. he has never had any dealings with any other people`s or nation isn`t that some form of favouritism ?
The Old Testament "God" is an invention of the Israelites that helped ensure they maintained their national identity. After being conquered and occupied over and over again some device had to be manufactured to make sure the Israelites where not simply absorbed into the nations that were their rulers. It worked quite well.
Here's the rundown -
So, yes, the god of the Bible is rather partial. He is the god of the Jews first and foremost. He is not Jesus and Jesus is not the god of the Jews. Jesus is not even the foretold messiah.
episode 203 of netflix ... i am a killer looks at the murder of christopher chavez in texas.
christopher chavez was a 22 year old ministerial servant and a born-in son of an jw elder.
after a thursday night meeting and a quick bite to eat afterwards with friends at a local restaurant, he was kidnapped, taken to a gas station and forced to drive his killers around for hours while they were in the back seat.
Yes, Jehovah's Witnesses won't carry guns, but they will quickly call on those who do to come to their rescue.
JWs also cannot hold privileges in the congregation if they hold a job that requires them to be armed to defend against other people (e.g. Police Officer). However, JWs have no problem calling the police out to save them. Rather hypocritical.
episode 203 of netflix ... i am a killer looks at the murder of christopher chavez in texas.
christopher chavez was a 22 year old ministerial servant and a born-in son of an jw elder.
after a thursday night meeting and a quick bite to eat afterwards with friends at a local restaurant, he was kidnapped, taken to a gas station and forced to drive his killers around for hours while they were in the back seat.
If I had to guess, and it is an educated guess, I would say that poor Christopher Chavez grew up hearing the same examples of Witnesses who were protected by invisible men that only the assailants could see. Chavez heard time and time again of Witnesses who were subject to attempted murder, rape, and armed robbery only to be miraculously saved by "calling upon Jehovah."
Many have commented on this website how the Watchtower takes artistic license and turns incidents with JWs into fishermen's tails of the one that got away. I have no real evidence, but I will make the allegation that the Watchtower fabricates the stories of miraculous saves of JWs from acts of violence. There are too many documented cases, like Christopher Chavez', where JWs are murdered and raped.
The Watchtower as far back as the early 1990s got to the point of refusing to state that a person should even attempt to use force in the defense of one's self or an innocent third party. Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands, but Jehovah doesn't seem to want you or I to even throw a punch to save a life.
a simple " me" if you dont want to say more--or a short explanation about who is shunning you and how long has this been going on.. i'll set the ball rolling: my daughter--her husband and children; my younger son --no contact from them for 40 years...because i left their religion.. (edit--i just noticed the typo in the header--if should be of ).
The shunning for me started before I even left. I noticed that friends I had for a decade or two decades stopped communicating with me. At that point I was inactive in the ministry and occasionally attended meetings.
It was at a Circuit Assembly that I first realized the shunning began. It was custom to go out to dinner after the afternoon session with friends. No invites were received.
I have been completely out for about 12 years. 1 parent and 1 sibling have not spoken to me in years. None of my friends speak to me.
w13 7/15 p. 20 “who really is the faithful and discreet slave?” revealed it was a bunch of guys in new york, back in 1919.. the apostle paul must have been un-inspired when he wrote this back in the 1st century:.
(1 corinthians 4:1, 2) “a man should regard us [all christians/paul, apollos & peter?
] as attendants of christ and stewards of god’s sacred secrets.
They will tell you that the New Testament is speaking to anointed Christians. With a heavenly hope. So the GB claims to be from the anointed class so they can claim that they are the faithful and discreet slave.
That use to be the Watchtower dogma. Now the Watchtower excludes all Annointed ones on Earth and names only the members of the Governing Body as the faith slave.
the tourist guide as obtained from the kingdom rule book chapter 5 paragraphs 1-6. the book states..... the spirit of the truth .
will guide you into all the truth.”.
the spirit is jesus’ means of teaching his followers whatever they need to know about god’s kingdom—right when they need to know it.. me: who are your tourist guide today?.
What starts out here as a mass movement ends up as a racket, a cult, or a corporation.
