peacefulpete

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Posts by peacefulpete

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  21

  The Great Tribulation

  by Fisherman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  will the great tribulation hurt individuals more than what job, jesus, roman punishment, naz&i germany, hiroshima, jail, capital punishment, disease, pain, terror, horror, soldier in the battlefield or some terrible pain people experience this very moment?

  how worse can pain and suffering get.

  it is very common.

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  peacefulpete

  'tribulation' (thlipseōs) is a word used in a number (45) of texts in the NT meaning 'hardship' and often used to mean 'persecution' of Christians. (eg. Acts 11:19, 2Cor1:8) Revelation was written at a time of persecution and expectation was for this to increase and culminate in all Christians being killed and going to heaven.

  As an aside, the "the" as in "the great persecution".is just grammatically called for as this sentence follows a colorful description of that persecution. Much like the 'the' in Rev 1:9 is grammatically called for.

  "I, John, your brother and partner in 'the tribulation' and the kingdom"

  Yes the writer anticipated this persecution to come to a final head, so in that way the persecution anticipated in Rev 7 was greater than previous persecution.
  
  

  Well, It didn't happen, in fact in time the Christians became the persecutors. And here we are 2000 years later with some here still trying to shoehorn it into JW chiliast doctrine.
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  7

  Children being used as guinea pigs in New York

  by ignored_one in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  new york's hiv experiment by jamie doran .

  reporter/producer, guinea pig kids .

  hiv positive children and their loved ones have few rights if they choose to battle with social work authorities in new york city.

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  peacefulpete

  Perhaps a more balanced approach to this difficult topic.

  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/aids-drugs-tested-on-foster-kids/
  
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  14

  2013 New World Translation

  by Jerome56 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  on their website in the video "organizational accomplishments" watchtower devotes this segment to praising the superiority of the new world translation.

  about half way through, david splane relates the reason for a change in wording from the old 1984 nwt reference bible to the 2013 revised nwt.

  he said this was because of the recent discovery of an older manuscript that contained the greek word for overseer that was unavailable when the reference bible was being compiled.

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  peacefulpete

  XBEHERE...was that letter discussed somewhere?
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  13

  Does anybody ever wonder why ?

  by smiddy3 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  supposedly, god jehovah, el , or whatever else he may have been called many thousands of years ago, or so the storys goes ,dealt with humans on a regular basis communicating with them for either good or bad.according to how they pleased him or displeased him.. so the bible record says.. how is it that god , jehovah or whatever other name you want to call him has not communicated with humans on any level for the past 2000 years ???.

  in this scientific ,technological age ,wouldn`t you think this would be the time he would communicate with the potential dangers we face in potentially destroying ourselves and ruining the planets wildlife unless he interveined ?.

  that`s if you even beleive that such a god actually exists .. and if he does why so silent in this day and age,?.

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  peacefulpete

  Of course many, if not most, churches believe God is communicating today through miracles and charismata. Church Fathers centuries after the birth of Christianity believed that magic and sorcery by non-Christians was real. Read how it was believed that Simon Magnus could levitate for example. That outlook of accepting supernaturalism continues unchanged for many and seems immune from growth in scientific knowledge.

  Our religion as it happens did not have this acceptance of ongoing miracles and mocked those who did. But, at least when I was young, they still believed demons could make things and people do things supernatural. It's just another example of a church carving out a unique identity.
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  14

  2013 New World Translation

  by Jerome56 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  on their website in the video "organizational accomplishments" watchtower devotes this segment to praising the superiority of the new world translation.

  about half way through, david splane relates the reason for a change in wording from the old 1984 nwt reference bible to the 2013 revised nwt.

  he said this was because of the recent discovery of an older manuscript that contained the greek word for overseer that was unavailable when the reference bible was being compiled.

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  peacefulpete

  The role of translator is not only to convert one word to another but choose words that the translator believes reflects the author's meaning.

  Take this 1 Peter 5:2 for example. The word (episkopeó) is used twice in the NT and means "be watchful" . If you wish to add a shade of meaning you could use the English word "oversee" which carries the connotation of authority over or you could use a more neutral word like watchful or careful like the NWT does at Hebrews 12:15.

  The NWT is hardly unique in doing this, but few readers would be aware that the two verses use the same word. That is one simple example of of the tiny role translating has in perpetuating a church identity. Ultimately the identity is formed by personalities and circumstances and merely bolstered by the translation used.

  The WT today using computer software could create a new translation in short order. Motives for a new translation are probably twofold, raise revenue selling millions of new Bibles and projecting an image as a scholarly religion.
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  14

  2013 New World Translation

  by Jerome56 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  on their website in the video "organizational accomplishments" watchtower devotes this segment to praising the superiority of the new world translation.

  about half way through, david splane relates the reason for a change in wording from the old 1984 nwt reference bible to the 2013 revised nwt.

  he said this was because of the recent discovery of an older manuscript that contained the greek word for overseer that was unavailable when the reference bible was being compiled.

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  peacefulpete

  Worrying about which translation to use is a bit of a red herring. For the WT it merely perpetuates the narrative of being a "bible based" religion. In reality religions are about community and Identity. Us or them, being inside or outside.

  All Christian religions use the same book and yet have different doctrine. Doctrine merely serves to differentiate one group from the others. Few members care about the doctrinal details, in fact it can change over time. As long as it is different, it works.

  Translations play a very small role in this. JWs were JWs long before making their own translation. It was basically a pet project of F. Franz that cemented his reputation for being a 'scholar' among JWs. In reality anyone can make a new translation using reference works and following the lead of the preexisting translations. There really isn't much in the NWT that precedents can't be pointed to by someone with similar theological outlook on a particular topic. Don't get drawn into believing the NWT is the issue, it's not any worse than most others, it's just different.
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  99

  If not the WT/JW relgion where else are 'we' to go? Why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism?

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  sometimes jws wonder if the wt/jw is not the truth, 'then where else are we to go?

  ' i say 'why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism and why not a secular philosophy which teaches a way of life?

  ' what do you folks say?.

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  peacefulpete

  Wow, so glad you came through. No idea why the bleeding?

  No worries about offending me, I left the JWs 22 years ago. I left mentally and physically. My wife gets irked by my having been on this forum for 20 years. But for me it was a valuable sounding board and place to vent my new outlook on life. I've matured some in my understanding but basically I came to terms with the Bible being cultural literature not a message from God long ago. I feel like a detective trying to put together clues when discussing the theological evolution of the Jews and Christians.

  Well anyway, I wish you well and lets try to revitalize this board with real conversations.
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  99

  If not the WT/JW relgion where else are 'we' to go? Why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism?

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  sometimes jws wonder if the wt/jw is not the truth, 'then where else are we to go?

  ' i say 'why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism and why not a secular philosophy which teaches a way of life?

  ' what do you folks say?.

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  peacefulpete

  We all want a simple solution for complex medical issues. I have cancer and am currently taking a fairly high dosage of D3 and Magnesium as well as Pterostilbene. Enough studies have shown a value for D3 those with cancer, ironically it has been recently connected with a higher risk of some cancers for those who do not have cancer. Resveratrol has good invitro results but problem is it is very low absorption and pretty worthless as a supplement as a result. Pterostilbene is a related compound that has better absorption. I'm not endorsing it, just saying it may have value, it might yet prove to do harm who knows.

  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221111155632.htm
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  13

  Acts 20:28

  by Fisherman in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  acts 20:28 literally says: “his own blood”.

  nwt interprets the verse: “the blood of his own son”.

  nwt is an accurate interpretation because the verse is axiomatically referring to the blood of jesus and not the blood of god..

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  peacefulpete

  how anyone in this life or any other life could think of GOD having blood

  As a theological concept it actually has much appeal. We are in God's image right? Judaism's founding texts certainly had no problem with their God having a body. He walks around and eats and interacts like anyone else. Many Rabbis throughout the centuries asserted he did have a physical body. While others disagreed it was due to the increasing sophistication of their theology not by textural rebuttal. It makes God accessible and relatable like the Jesus figure does centuries later.

  (.https://www.amazon.com/Limits-Orthodox-Theology-Reappraised-Civilization/dp/1906764239) Has a chapter on the evolving notion of God's body.

  Interestingly millions of Christians today embrace the idea of God having a body...they are called Mormons:

  Doct&Cov 130 22 The aFather has a bbody of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of cSpirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not ddwell in us.
  
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  25

  God Has Only One Visible Organization on Earth!

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  why is it important to some that god only have one visible organization to represent him on earth?

  why is it important to jehovah's witnesses that people recognize their organization as such?

  what makes a witness more moral or righteous or save-worthy if they accept that it is his one and only organization?

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  peacefulpete

  That aspect of Christianity was probably inherited from it's Jewish rootstock. Judaism was incredibly diverse by the first century, with dozens or more sects that each hated each other. For example, the Qumran community famously rejected the apostate priesthood in Jerusalem. The Romans saw Jews and Christians as equally stubborn, sectarian and divisive.

  As it happened it was this intolerance (combined with State power) that eventually established one branch of the cult as a world religion.