who are the 144,000?
a critical examination of the teaching of the 144,000 from the perspective of an ex jx considering context and other references .this is from a series of videos called new light where i scrutinise all the major teachings of the watchtower.. https://youtu.be/aaseuzr-sxs.
how about the fact that there is a tribe of Joseph and another one for one of his sons? a departure from previous lists? A throwback to the original blessings, but why cropping up at that late date?
A sectarian revisioning? An editorializing signalling?
A screw up?
who are the 144,000?
a critical examination of the teaching of the 144,000 from the perspective of an ex jx considering context and other references .this is from a series of videos called new light where i scrutinise all the major teachings of the watchtower.. https://youtu.be/aaseuzr-sxs.
Strongly encourage everyone to read the above thread. It compares the contemporaneous use of this language and imagery as found in Jewish apocalyptic literature. Nothing is more relevant to understanding what a writer means by certain expressions and motifs than learning how others were using them at the same time.
In light of the above, the references to the 144,000 in Revelation are almost certainly connected to the apocalyptic expectation of the reconstitution of the twelve tribes of Israel, occurring alongside a gathering of a multitude of Gentiles for either battle (viz. 4 Ezra, 1QM) or salvation (viz. Testament of Benjamin, Testament of Asher, Justin Martyr). However it would be a mistake to simply conclude from the foregoing that the 144,000 in Revelation represents fleshly Israel, or a portion of fleshly Israel. If Revelation draws on a pre-Christian Jewish apocalyptic source (as a number of scholars believe), then it is certainly plausible that in an earlier edition or source the 144,000 originally referred literally to Israelites. But the author or redactor of Revelation may well have adapted these symbols and motifs to a new conceptual setting and intended the 144,000 to represent the Christian community or a portion thereof.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
Then I admit you lost me. I encouraged supporting watchdog organizations (such as amnesty international, whose report started this tangent we're on) and using our consumer leverage to press for change. You replied with that being some sort of lie perpetrated by the CIA and called it empty words due to misinformation.
I fear we're not moving in any constructive direction anyway. I hold that progress can and has often been made through public awareness and activism. You seem to be resolved the system is so corrupt and beyond reform there is no sense trying. We disagree.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
For some things there are not multiple suppliers
Not many. Currently about 50-65% of cobalt is from the DRC. That means 50-35% comes from elsewhere. There is a great amount of interest in cobalt potential in Canada for example. Further not all the companies active in the DRC are equally guilty of use of child labor. Child labor is a typical problem in third world and developing nations. It was for us.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
I think that's a lie that the democracy-interfering CIA peddle to you
???? The Amnesty International report that exposed the cobalt mine conditions is now a CIA conspiracy to destroy democracy?
the economics demand the cheapest, not the most ethically sourced, and the supply is inherently dangerous to those involved.
Capitalism has that tendency. But consumers have shown a readiness to pay a little more for ethically sourced products.
As to safety, not many years ago the issue was the horrible conditions in coal mines. Improvement came when the public pressed for it.
The choice consumers get to make is which system their dollars go to support.
We agree and yet somehow you insist we disagree.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
If the cost to transport goods goes up because I stopped infrastructure being built, wouldn't it be my fault?
Yep, but the facts show that is not what happened. Canada has not reduced exports to US but increased them using existing pipelines with much more capacity available. That was explained before, perhaps go back and read the articles.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
A nuanced look at the world shows there is such a thing as "soft power" and economic clout. I completely agree that consumers (and by extension governments) have great power to influence change. If one supplier is guilty of abuses, and this becomes known through watchdog organizations, the pressure is on that supplier to change or lose business to a competitor who is willing to conform to norms.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
"money can be exchanged for goods and services".
It's the same with oil and gas - the US wants it because the US needs it because the US uses it.That isn't changing anytime soon. The only question is who do you buy it from, and instead of buying ethically sourced oil from the closest ally, Biden ensured that the US instead has to buy it from dictators and has to compete with other idiots who also made themselves dependent on them.
Canadian oil exports to the US have increased since Biden took office. And, while still a small percentage, Candian oil companies are increasingly shipping through the US to the Gulf and reexporting it to China and India. Presently about 3 million barrels a day. Canadian oil barrels head out of the U.S. Gulf in record numbers | Reuters Remember two things, the world of international commerce is far more complex than Homer understands, and the US government DOES NOT dictate how oil brokers do business within the limits of sanctions and such matters. Brokers are the ones who decide who to buy from. These decisions are determined by corporate profits and oil purity needs of refineries. Again to assume the President is making these decisions is to assume a nationalization of the oil industry.
Presently the US has oil sanctions on Iran, Venezuela and Russia. These are on this short list precisely because they are dictatorships with bad human rights records.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
That pic of the kids is rough to see 😭
Careful you're sounding like a bleeding heart liberal.
first of all… i am ok. i was robbed at the gas station this morning.
after my hands stopped trembling, i managed to call the police.
they were quick to respond and calmed me down, but all my money is gone.
I think I will just walk
Always a good option when possible.
Change is always awkward and generally met with hundreds of excuses why not to change. If the supply chain of lithium or cobalt presently involves human rights abuses, get involved in human rights defense. Support organizations that seek change and expose abuses. These efforts do make a difference.
