i was inspired by @lastmanstanding to check out the jan 15 1892 watchtower and came across this little gem from the same article covering russell's trip to europe.
i think this will be particularly interesting to the aussies here considering our ongoing debate about the treatment of immigrants and refugees.
the people are generally intelligent, industrious, busy and comfortably clothed and fed—far beyond our previous suppo sitions.
@slimboyfat - yes, that's exactly how I'm reading it and what I think he is meaning to say.
As to whether that was typical of the time, I can't really comment as I obviously wasn't around then, and I haven't read much other literature from that time aside from Watchtower stuff.... but you may be right, perhaps it is quite typical. However, I would expect that there would be a higher standard in "God's true organisation"
i was inspired by @lastmanstanding to check out the jan 15 1892 watchtower and came across this little gem from the same article covering russell's trip to europe.
i think this will be particularly interesting to the aussies here considering our ongoing debate about the treatment of immigrants and refugees.
the people are generally intelligent, industrious, busy and comfortably clothed and fed—far beyond our previous suppo sitions.
I was inspired by @lastmanstanding to check out the Jan 15 1892 Watchtower and came across this little gem from the same article covering Russell's trip to Europe. I think this will be particularly interesting to the Aussies here considering our ongoing debate about the treatment of immigrants and refugees.
The people are generally intelligent, industrious, busy and
comfortably clothed and fed—far beyond our previous suppo
sitions. \Ve could not help wondering whence come some of
the worst specimens of all races to this country as emigrants.
Evidently the people of the United States are performing a
service of inestimable value to the whole world in receiving
their scum of ignorance and their dregs of degradation
their scum of ignorance and their dregs of degradation—both
due more to evils of the past than to those of the present,
and chiefly chargeable to priestcraft, superstition and igno
rance fostered for centuries by that old “Mother of Harlots,”
which falsely claims to be the church-system founded by our
Lord and his apostles
And then there was also this bit of repugnant racial stereotyping (even if it was not their idea, repeating it and somewhat endorsing it is just as bad in my view)
The effect of this general education may be imagined: the people are awake to an appreciation of their rights in a way and to a degree that no one would have suspected but a short time ago, when the German brain was generally credited with being rather slow and sluggish. No other nation on earth is so fully awake now.
with hundreds, if not thousands, of letters being sent in to the society asking for answers re their child abuse policies and poorly supported doctrines, what does the watchtower decide is the most important question from readers to answer this month?
why is paul always depicted as bald apparently!.
???????
with hundreds, if not thousands, of letters being sent in to the society asking for answers re their child abuse policies and poorly supported doctrines, what does the watchtower decide is the most important question from readers to answer this month?
why is paul always depicted as bald apparently!.
???????
With hundreds, if not thousands, of letters being sent in to the Society asking for answers re their child abuse policies and poorly supported doctrines, what does the Watchtower decide is the most important question from readers to answer this month? Why is Paul always depicted as bald apparently!
????????
so this is just a general question.
call it curiosity.. what sort of phobias do we have?
heights?
@stuckinarut - absolutely! However, the public toilet alone is hell enough without all the other stuff. If I was a benevolent dictator I would make a law that all men had to sit down at the toilet until they learned to aim properly!
so this is just a general question.
call it curiosity.. what sort of phobias do we have?
heights?
Spiders
Heights
Germs
Confined spaces
Swimming places where I can't see the bottom
Public toilets
i love people's being creative with this genre.
i stumbled on this video which is a lot of fun.
past the end credits is out takes and how it was made.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=211lnk5vnjm.
Yes, I do!
i have thought long and hard about this, you know in those midnight hours.. you will probably string me alive in what i say, but here you go-.
i feel that the jw's do have the truth.
i do agree with the doctrines and biblical exgenesis they propound.i do feel that they have the 'truth' i do understand they are imperfect, and i think they have had to 'refine' their teachings as time has gone on-and change accordingly- i see nothing wrong with this.
I find this very difficult to defend, and I think the WTBTS has got this so wrong.They need to change.
Bringing reproach on Jehovah's name is very serious.I would implore again that they re-think.
This is difficult to defend at work when others know of my beliefs.
More importantly, no child should suffer. That is the main.
Then how can they possibly have God's "spirit"
all will be very familiar with:.
"all scripture is inspired by god and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 timothy 3:16, nrsv).
"we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great god and savior, jesus christ.
I am fascinated by 2 Tim 3:16. Of course I used to apply it to the whole Bible, but when you stop and think about it it, evidently Paul did not mean that as the NT had not been written yet.
When you take that a step further though and ask what exactly was Paul referring to when he says "all scripture" it gets complicated. You realise there is actually no way to know or define what Paul had in mind from this limited verse and therefore as a statement on what to believe it is practically useless.
For instance some may argue, he was referring to the Hebrew Scriptures, the OT. But which one? The original Hebrew version? The Septuagint? Which canon? There were various ones and there were various versions of the individual books in those canons doing the rounds. We can't retroactively say Paul was referring to the Hebrew canon we have now in the 20th century (of which there are still three versions- the Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox)
Then you have to consider does "all scripture" refer to any ands all religious texts including all the apocryphal books and other gospels/letters that did not make it into the modern Christian canon. And what about other "scripture" - Hindu, Moslem, Zoroastrian etc etc?
religion is declining in many countries around the world and hardly exists in some countries.. it would fair to say that scientifically acquired knowledge has taken a bite of religious practice over the years.
the premising suggestion that there is a god looking at everything mankind does or should do is vanishing out the human consciousness.. should we emulate the social directives written in ancient manuscripts established by those ancients for their civilization ?
is it possible that mankind can control and guide itself now with all the acquired knowledge we have attained, toward the ending betterment of humanity ?
To answer the question in your title - I would say NO. Why?
1. Statistically, countries with lower rates of religious adherence tend to be more socially responsible on a number of indicators and have lower crime rates in many categories etc...
2. Society has become progressively more socially responsible as it has become more secular, despite religion (religion always seems to be the last one to come round to these social changes) - i.e, slavery, women's rights human rights, anti-discrimination, assisted voluntary euthanasia etc
3. The problem with the idea of "morality from authority" (which is basically the Christian view, that you can't have any moral absolutes or values without a God telling you what they are) is that it is based on the unproven assumption that God is moral and not just a human construct anyway reflecting human/society values. If God is above his own law and can authorise immoral behaviour then it defeats the purpose of morality form authority (for example: God says murder is immoral, but uses murder as a tool to enforce his morality)
4. I think principles like that found in the hippocratic oath - "first, do no harm" if applied to form a moral framework offer just as much guidance as any spirituality.
