In a few frank conversations with my dad through his last years I got the impression that he assumed I got the subtext. He was an intelligent adult convert, and I think that gave him a perspective I lacked. It worked for him because he saw it as, on balance, better than his old church. It really only now impresses me just how little I understood him growing up.
peacefulpete
JoinedPosts by peacefulpete
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37
1975 !
by Sea Breeze inhow many of you here remember 1975?
i hope the newer generations never forget.the true believers got shamed for it.
those who were hedging their bets, fared much better.
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Probability of Earth and life being how it is
by ballistic inthere are some things we don't know about existence and whether the earth is a simulation or even a creation.
but we can do some statistical analysis on it.. the probability of a planet like earth existing in the goldilocks zone and having a moon that perfectly eclipses the sun is extremely low, but it's not impossible.
the habitable zone (or goldilocks zone) around a star is the region where a planet could potentially support liquid water on its surface.
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peacefulpete
Notably, some sources highlight that he fulfilled 27 prophecies in a single day.
It's almost as if the writers of the Jesus story were using the Old Testament as a source.
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Probability of Earth and life being how it is
by ballistic inthere are some things we don't know about existence and whether the earth is a simulation or even a creation.
but we can do some statistical analysis on it.. the probability of a planet like earth existing in the goldilocks zone and having a moon that perfectly eclipses the sun is extremely low, but it's not impossible.
the habitable zone (or goldilocks zone) around a star is the region where a planet could potentially support liquid water on its surface.
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peacefulpete
Cause and effect arguments for a God simply end with special pleading in the case of God. Not just God himself but the space/dimension it which that God exists. Which came first the space/dimension in which God exists or God?
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1975 !
by Sea Breeze inhow many of you here remember 1975?
i hope the newer generations never forget.the true believers got shamed for it.
those who were hedging their bets, fared much better.
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peacefulpete
My family dealt with the disappointment/relief like most JWs. Carry on, pretend it didn't happen. I recall my father the PO at the time telling others that they had read too much into it.
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Jephthah's Daughter
by cantleave ini have read somewhere that jephthah's daughter did not really go into temple service but was a victim of ritual sacrifice.
the bible says that after weeping over her virginity that the maidens would visit her annually.
how could they visit her if she was killed?.
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peacefulpete
An interesting crossover with another recent thread discussing Micah 6:8 and the word 'chesed'. Verses 6-7 describe the potential offerings to be made to Yahweh. Included is his firstborn son.
With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.Here the writer at least makes acknowledgement of the idea of sacrificing the firstborn. Dating the work is notoriously difficult. It may retain elements from an 8th century prophet, however if so, the failed predictions were revived and reworked during the 6th/5th century. So, while the author of the passage above seems, like Ezekiel and other prophets, to disparage the idea of making sacrifices in favor of acts of loyalty/kindness, the mention of the sacrifice of the firstborn as a sin offering betrays the historical realities.
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Loyalty to the Governing Body? Timeline to Change
by blondie inhttps://jwfacts.com/watchtower/governing-body.php .
here is an example how the wts has "adjusted" scripture.
the governing body has gone as far as to change the text of micah 6:8 in their 2013 new world translation of the holy scriptures (nwt) in order to be able to demand loyalty.
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peacefulpete
I see I hadn't completed my comment earlier. The Hebrew 'chesed' (and its Aramaic cognate) had over time taken on broader meaning, allowing for the LXX translation and fresh interpretations (such as the Gospel and Rabbinic use) along with it. This doesn't suggest 'loyalty' or 'loyal love' is incorrect, it might be closer to the intended meaning in context. It does illustrate the under appreciated, but inevitable, role translating plays in shaping theology, not just recording it.
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Loyalty to the Governing Body? Timeline to Change
by blondie inhttps://jwfacts.com/watchtower/governing-body.php .
here is an example how the wts has "adjusted" scripture.
the governing body has gone as far as to change the text of micah 6:8 in their 2013 new world translation of the holy scriptures (nwt) in order to be able to demand loyalty.
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peacefulpete
"Once as Rabbi Yohannan ben Zakkai was coming forth from Jerusalem, Rabbi Joshua followed after him and beheld the Temple in ruins. "Woe unto us!" Rabbi Joshua said, "that this, the place where the iniquities of Israel were atoned for, is laid waste!" "My son, " Rabbi Yohannan said, "be not grieved. We have another atonement as effective as this. And what is it? It is acts of loving kindness as it is said: 'For I desire mercy (chasda Aramaic) and not sacrifice.'" Aroth de Rabba Nathan, 6
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Loyalty to the Governing Body? Timeline to Change
by blondie inhttps://jwfacts.com/watchtower/governing-body.php .
here is an example how the wts has "adjusted" scripture.
the governing body has gone as far as to change the text of micah 6:8 in their 2013 new world translation of the holy scriptures (nwt) in order to be able to demand loyalty.
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peacefulpete
As Vidqun's quotes demonstrate the Hebrew 'chesed' represents a variety of qualities associated with intimate relationships. The LXX used the Greek 'eleos' (mercy) for the word at Micah 6:8 and at the equally often quoted Hosea 6:6.
The writer of Matt 9:13 uses that LXX version of Hosea passage "I want mercy not sacrifice' as a proof text for the mercy/compassion Jesus shows sinners and the sick.
At Matt 12:7 the writer again uses the Hosea line to relegate ritual law to a secondary place to human need.
As Narkissos said years ago, the word is flexible enough in an ambiguous context to accommodate nearly any application featuring a 'good quality'.
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Did the Fred Franz style of writing cease after he died?
by SydBarrett ini was completely out by 1991 and 1989 would have been the last time i had to attend regularly.
that over the top franz writing style was still there in the 1980's although i've heard he wasn't actually doing much writing by then.
but his style was definitely picked up and imitated for many years beyond its wacky, outlandish peak of the the 50's - 70's.
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peacefulpete
I have no doubt Fred was strongly leaned upon in earlier writings but when i was there, the Prince o' Peace book was said to have been his only exclusive work. I recall twice GB members complaining about the book. They had apparently not read it before the general lay folks did. I recall one (don't remember his name now) asking me in the elevator before breakfast what I thought of the book's speculation. I was silent obviously.
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Jephthah's Daughter
by cantleave ini have read somewhere that jephthah's daughter did not really go into temple service but was a victim of ritual sacrifice.
the bible says that after weeping over her virginity that the maidens would visit her annually.
how could they visit her if she was killed?.
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peacefulpete
Stories in law books aren't there with all their gruesome details to entertain the readers. They are there to demonstrate the reason for the laws or their application.
Well, I understood that line above to be clear enough. The stories were 'there to demonstrate (religious/national) laws'. That those laws were unique to a sect makes them sectarian laws. So my comment agreeing that there was a 'sectarian motive behind the stories' wasn't rooted in some dark hate for the Bible, it was agreeing with your comment. I don't know why you keep blowing up.