Of course many if not most cultures of the near east practiced circumcision. The odd ones were the Philistines who best evidence suggests migrated to Palestine from across the Mediterranean. Its suggested the practice comes from Africa and was spread in part by Egypt's hegemony over the region. It has religious symbolism to most all who practiced it not hygienic. In the Jewish writer's mind it was symbolic castration reminding the Jews that Abraham's fertility was by divine intervention. The grossest part of the practice was the sucking. Yes, I did not make that up. The Mishnah insists sucking on the infant's penis is a protective medical measure. Mohels who didn't do this were removed because of child endangerment. Of course this was in fact a terrible practice that spread disease. Please don't accuse me of anything vulgar, it is a fact.
peacefulpete
JoinedPosts by peacefulpete
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Was Jesus the Messiah circumcised ?
by smiddy3 inhas this question ever been raised before by jehovah`s witnesses?
and what`s the significance, if any ?.
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Who are the 144,000? Considering the immediate context of Revelation chapter 7
by raymond frantz inwho 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.
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peacefulpete
Revelation 21:3,4 which is one of the only proof texts for Earth that can be found in the New Testament.
FWIW.......It says clearly a "new earth" this one has been destroyed in the great tribulation and subsequent destruction by God. History was cyclical in the minds of many ancients.
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BEHIND the DOOR
by Terry inbehind the doorshe was a small girl wearing an old-fashioned bonnet.
like something out of a victorian painting.
her eyes were cast downward as she spoke to the psychologist; sometimes glancing at the scribbles the doctor made in response to certain words.behind her, in the hall, a tall, stout policeman near retirement age leaned in to catch what the girl was saying.
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peacefulpete
Got it. Thanks. You're right I imagined opening the door from outside. My bilco door has no interior lock provision or handle it simply pushes out if the lock on the outside is removed. It's pretty old so I'm sure they have changed that now. Touching story.
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BEHIND the DOOR
by Terry inbehind the doorshe was a small girl wearing an old-fashioned bonnet.
like something out of a victorian painting.
her eyes were cast downward as she spoke to the psychologist; sometimes glancing at the scribbles the doctor made in response to certain words.behind her, in the hall, a tall, stout policeman near retirement age leaned in to catch what the girl was saying.
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peacefulpete
I love your skills as a writer but fear this one has me confused. The girl opened the Bilco door and saw herself? Who were the children's voices? She then expressed wonder about being outside? Some kind of psychological breakthrough? Help me understand so I can rest my mind.
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Refuting the Alleged Evidence of Jesus' Resurrection
by truth_b_known inin the past few months there have been a few debates on this site over alleged evidence of the resurrection of jesus.
this can be a hot topic as most would agree that without the resurrection of jesus there would be no christianity.
i am not so sure of that, but i am more sure that dr. gary habermas' minimal facts approach to the resurrection has no evidentiary basis.. here is a 22 minute video on the topic.
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peacefulpete
Its been years but I once used the analogy of the Goldilocks and Three Bears story. Every story has to have some internal logic and continuity for it to be entertaining or even to be understood. My arguing that the story includes the factual sounding details that bears will eat porridge and that girls can break chairs too small for them, does not lead most people to conclude the fanciful aspects of the story to likewise be true.
Its the fanciful aspects of the story that require corroboration and demonstration. Talking bears cooking porridge in a house for example. Those who would argue for acceptance of the 3 Bears story have much to overcome.
Someone skeptical of the 3 Bears story might likely ask who wrote it and when. When research reveals that there were multiple versions of the story written by different authors and yet the primary source of the story are unknown a reasonable person would not likely find that reassuring. Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Wikipedia
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Who are the 144,000? Considering the immediate context of Revelation chapter 7
by raymond frantz inwho 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.
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peacefulpete
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? -
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Who are the 144,000? Considering the immediate context of Revelation chapter 7
by raymond frantz inwho 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.
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peacefulpete
The 144,000 and the Great Crowd of Revelation
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.
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I got robbed this morning!
by Iamallcool infirst 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.
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peacefulpete
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.
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I got robbed this morning!
by Iamallcool infirst 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.
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peacefulpete
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.
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I got robbed this morning!
by Iamallcool infirst 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.
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peacefulpete
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.