Posts by peacefulpete

25

Eating of blood prohibition specifically not forbidden for non-Jews

by peacefulpete in

deut 14:21 you shall not eat anything that has died a natural death; give it to the stranger in your community to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner.

for you are a people consecrated to yhwh.... it seems quite self evident the ritual of blood letting prior to eating meat was understood by the deuteronomist as binding only on jews..

peacefulpete

Fisherman....A subtle shift in the significance of blood has taken place in your mind and that of many others.

According the author of the Genesis dietary directive, life is sacred, bleeding a animal ensured the life was not present in the animal when it was eaten.

However in time the close relationship of blood with life morphed into a magical property whereby blood became synonymous with life itself. Even so, Jewish thinking then and today denies blood had value for forgiveness of sins. Animal sacrifices were an ancient tradition all over the middle east so naturally worshipers of Yahweh did it as well. However, they were gifts of thanksgiving or a reminder of the failures to keep perfect obedience, not a tool of redemption. At some point the novel idea that blood could buy forgiveness crept into certain early Christian thinking. Not all Christians adopted this view, branches of Christianity existed without the novel idea of blood redemption at all. But among the circle of Christians represented in Acts two views are in tension, Christians like Paul understood the blood of Christ alone had significance while certain other Jewish Christians felt the blood of animals had magical value yet. JWs cling to this later view in contradiction of Paul.

25

Eating of blood prohibition specifically not forbidden for non-Jews

by peacefulpete in

deut 14:21 you shall not eat anything that has died a natural death; give it to the stranger in your community to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner.

for you are a people consecrated to yhwh.... it seems quite self evident the ritual of blood letting prior to eating meat was understood by the deuteronomist as binding only on jews..

peacefulpete

Good comments but no one addressed Deut 14:21. Clearly a Jewish merchant could sell unbled meat to nonJews.

Wouldn't this strongly suggest it was understood as a prohibition for Jews only? Couldn't then a JW work in a blood bank by this logic?

As a larger point, a more fundamental point is how to interpret Gen 9:4:

4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood."

Jewish commentators and Rabbis understand the primacy is on the life not the blood itself. IOW what was prohibited was eating animals with life still in them. Removal of the blood ensured that the animal was dead and not blasphemous to eat.

15

“A Better World Is Near.”

by Rattigan350 in

"the campaign will feature the distribution of a special edition of the watchtower magazine containing the cover series “a better world is near.”".

"more than 36 million printed copies of the magazine will be distributed in some 230 languages to communities in 240 lands around the globe.

in addition, the digital publication is available on various platforms in nearly 400 languages.".

peacefulpete

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

That was written nearly 2000 years ago. why stop saying it now.

16

JW's were born and built through primitive religions dynamics

by Victor in

russel and his followers were a byproduct of the religious orthodoxy revolt that originated in europe.

this revolution of ideas crossed over to america seeding all the fringe groups who russel then became a part of.

this resistance to the establishment is similar to what we have seen recently with the q annon phenomena.

peacefulpete

Victor, I've not much experience with EXJw organizations or sites, other than being a long-time poster here, and so not sure what to make of your statement paralleling the drive for influence and esteem. But I'm sure it happens in some cases where the need to be admired outweighs the need for accurate exchange with others with questions of faith and history. I admit personally, I do enjoy teaching. But even more I enjoy learning.

25

Eating of blood prohibition specifically not forbidden for non-Jews

by peacefulpete in

deut 14:21 you shall not eat anything that has died a natural death; give it to the stranger in your community to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner.

for you are a people consecrated to yhwh.... it seems quite self evident the ritual of blood letting prior to eating meat was understood by the deuteronomist as binding only on jews..

peacefulpete

Deut 14:21 You shall not eat anything that has died a natural death; give it to the stranger in your community to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people consecrated to YHWH...

It seems quite self evident the ritual of blood letting prior to eating meat was understood by the Deuteronomist as binding only on Jews.

28

"You must not boil a kid in its mother's milk" - Huh?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

"you must not boil a kid in its mother's milk" - huh?

why on earth did god feel the need to point this out?

was this a popular thing to do?

peacefulpete

Thought I'd share this explanation suggests by a Rabbi centuries ago. First, the prohibition of boiling kid in mothers milk is repeated three times:

Exod 23:18 You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with anything leavened; and the fat of My festal offering shall not be left lying until morning. 23:19 The choice first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of YHWH your God.You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk(

(a doublet at ) Exod 34:25 You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with anything leavened; and the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover shall not be left lying until morning. 34:26 The choice first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of YHWH your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

and the Deuternonymists revision at Deut 14:21 You shall not eat anything that has died a natural death; give it to the stranger in your community to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people consecrated to YHWH your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

In the Exodus context the emphasis is upon the notion of proper sacrifices, specifically not delaying sacrifice until the full crop has come in while the later Deuteronomist interprets the phrase as being a food prohibition.

R. Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor (12th cent.) Sees the issue as a matter of mistranslation by the Deuteronomist himself.

He writes:

According to the plain meaning, the term “bishul” here means grow or complete, similar to its use [in the verse (Gen. 40:10)]: “its clusters ripened (הבשילו) into grapes.” This is what the verse is saying: do not allow [the kid] to grow up and be weaned from its mothers milk. [In other words, do not] wait until [the kid]’s mother grows it with her milk, rather bring it at the beginning. This fits with the context of the first part of the verse, “the choice first fruits of your soil [you shall bring].”

While, as was mentioned in this thread, there MAY have been some specific ritual in mind, this explanation certainly sounds persuasive.

10

Which Proverb fits best when encountering Ideologues.

by peacefulpete in

proverbs 26:4. do not answer a fool according to his folly,.

proverbs 26:5. answer a fool as his folly deserves,.

that he not be wise in his own eyes.

peacefulpete

Well, I'm glad someone found something to contemplate. Contradiction wasn't really the point of the thread but rather whether to engage with people who are not open to disproof. This collection of sayings (Proverbs) from countless anonymous authors is probably one of my favorite parts of the Bible precisely because it represents many ancient viewpoints.

3

Spoilers JAMES BOND

by peacefulpete in

how the ending of the new film set with you?.

peacefulpete

Simon, ..............Margaret Keane eyes.

3

Spoilers....JAMES BOND

by peacefulpete in

how the ending of the new film set with you?.

peacefulpete

How the ending of the new film set with you?

10

Which Proverb fits best when encountering Ideologues.

by peacefulpete in

proverbs 26:4. do not answer a fool according to his folly,.

proverbs 26:5. answer a fool as his folly deserves,.

that he not be wise in his own eyes.

peacefulpete

The proverbs are not "my" proverbs they are a set of contradicting proverbs posted here to stimulate constructive discussion. And yes you are right many times the person convinced his opponent is being the fool is in fact not only mistaken but being belligerent about it.

Anna Marina, made a logical comment that she felt addressed the topic. You are free to think it is a waste of time.