Posts by Rattigan350

13

We are in God's "image" but God's morality is repugnant

by yadda yadda 2 in

the bible says in genesis that god made human beings in his "image".. this means that christians believe human beings were made with certain attributes that they share with god.

attributes such as intelligence, creativity, an appreciation of beauty, and sharing a similar set of cardinal moral and spiritual values around love, justice, mercy, etc.. this linked article explains it from a christian perspective more fully.http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23549-qmade-in-the-image-of-godq.

and yet....we find in the old testament that god performs or endorses the most morally repugnant acts, such as ethnic cleansing, killing infants and children, causing famines and plagues, drowning the entire human population except eight persons, etc, etc - all actions that any reasonable and objectively sane person naturally finds morally incomprehensible, disgusting, evil.. this article here outlines some of the actions described in the ot that any normal, sane person would naturally find morally abhorrent:http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/raymond_bradley/moral.html.

Rattigan350

I'm just commenting on the definitions of the words used.

Morals are not a fixed concept, it changes from time to time, place to place, people to people. That is why laws based on morality are unconstitutional.

God has no morality.

13

We are in God's "image" but God's morality is repugnant

by yadda yadda 2 in

the bible says in genesis that god made human beings in his "image".. this means that christians believe human beings were made with certain attributes that they share with god.

attributes such as intelligence, creativity, an appreciation of beauty, and sharing a similar set of cardinal moral and spiritual values around love, justice, mercy, etc.. this linked article explains it from a christian perspective more fully.http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23549-qmade-in-the-image-of-godq.

and yet....we find in the old testament that god performs or endorses the most morally repugnant acts, such as ethnic cleansing, killing infants and children, causing famines and plagues, drowning the entire human population except eight persons, etc, etc - all actions that any reasonable and objectively sane person naturally finds morally incomprehensible, disgusting, evil.. this article here outlines some of the actions described in the ot that any normal, sane person would naturally find morally abhorrent:http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/raymond_bradley/moral.html.

Rattigan350

Do you actually know what moral means?

"of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior"

It comes from the word "morae' " which means a custom.

If killing things and sacrificing them is the custom, then it is moral. If having many wives or husbands is the custom, it is more.

That is why I hate how they use the phrase "Bible morality". That simply means what is customary for those in the Bible, which covers 4000 years.

There have been many customs over that time.

35

YOU WILL NEVER SEE THESE ACTS EVER MENTIONED IN A WATCHTOWER PUBLICATION

by steve2 in

faking of hours in field service or dragging service time out by making coffee stops or driving for hours "between" household contacts are never frowned upon, let alone mentioned, in the publications.

.

yet, in each congregation of jehovah's witnesses, to one degree or another, faking hours, padding time out with coffee stops and long journeys between opportunities to "witness" are endemic practices..

Rattigan350

The whole purpose of counting and reporting time was that back in the day, pioneers would get literature and meal tickets at a discount and also meetings with the CO and other things.

It was a means to keep them, and others, honest toward those things that people got.

But now there is no discounts as everything is free, so why does anyone care about reporting time at all.

28

Feb. 2014 WT , whats this all about???

by Crazyguy in

read this in another thread,,,,,,,,,feb 2014 wt.

there, they cast doubt on the application of daniel's 70 weeks prophecy to being fulfilled with christ.. "could the first-century jews have calculated the time of the messiahs arrival on the basis of the prophecy of the 70 weeks recorded at daniel 9:24-27 ?

while that possibility cannot be ruled out, it cannot be confirmed.

Rattigan350

I haven't read the article but based on your quote:

"While that possibility cannot be ruled out, it cannot be confirmed. The fact is that there were many conflicting interpretations of the 70 weeks in Jesus’ day"

It is simply saying that one can not say what they believed back then. Nothing controversial about that.

We get the formula from Daniel. 483 years ends in Jesus' baptism, then the last 7 years, half the week was his death, then it fully ended in 36 CE.

It adds up. Nothing controversial about this prophesy and fulfillment at all.

18

Why do we dress up for Meetings? - This weeks Cong Bible study

by KateWild in

because the gb say so, and they are guided by hs.. anyother offers from the brochure?

kate xx.

Rattigan350

Because that is respectful.

and Blondie, who would want to see pants on sisters. Show off the legs.

47

Question for believers: on which Heavenly "Day" did God create humans?

by adamah in

simple question here on genesis chronology and how god counts heavenly days (jws seemingly believe in a conversion factor of 'one god day is equal to 1,000 human years', based on 2nd peter).. genesis 2:1-2 says this (niv):.

1 thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.. 2 by the seventh day god had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

3 then god blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.. day seven was the sabbath, the day of rest from all work, specifically from engaging in creative activities (jews observe the sabbath specifically because of the words found in genesis 2:2).. however, god's not quite done creating things, since genesis continues with this, on day eight (8), the day after the sabbath:.

Rattigan350

"Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth a and no plant had yet sprung up" That means that they have not grown from the rain. There was a spring that watered everything. It did not say that plants had not existed or were not created by then, but the condition pre flood.

Genesis 2 is an overview of Gen 1. Gen 2:7 is the same time as 1:26.

17

INTERESTING QUOTE FROM A DISTRICT OVERSEER

by The Searcher in

i personally recorded a district overseer's statement he made in a talk, regarding calling someone a "despicable fool".

(matthew 5:22) .

he basically equated that term with calling someone an apostate!!!

Rattigan350

Jesus' words are not to be taken literally.

The same with many of the other Bible writers.

21

Gosh, what do you do with people like this?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

ok i'm chatting on facebook with a guy who's studying with jws, who isn't yet an unbaptised publisher because he can't kick the cancer sticks.

now i don't believe in the bible anymore, but i say i do to get a bit of common ground with this guy.

it's a common attitude among jws.

Rattigan350

You jumped around from subject to subject and then loaded and fired the anti-watchtower material, which is not good toward your purposes.

49

Now my marriage vow is directly connected to remaining a witness...

by DavinciCodeBreaker in

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i recently informed my wife of 25 years (the love of my life) that i just cannot go on any longer with this facade.

Rattigan350

If she is the love of your life, then you would want to do everything with her. If she wanted to pioneer, you would be at her side for 100+ hours.

No matter how bad the meetings and ministry are you would put those feelings aside for her, if she was the love of your life.

If you value the relationship, you put everything else aside. But then if your heart is just into her and not what she is into, it will show by the lack of attention to what she is into.

I'm glad of my wife's sicknesses. Somedays she is too tired to go to the meetings. I don't go also. Saves gas and gets things done at home.

I'm tired of how she is too sick to do things around the house or work but yet will do things for the congregation. I tell her that she is trying to teach others about living a clean life, but lives in a dirty house. That is why I tell her that I don't do field service. It is a waste of time when we have so many other things that need to be done.

I do have the benefit of working Saturdays and Sundays and getting home late midweek so I don't go to meetings and field service.

52

What was your "Aha!" moment?

by Hortenzie in

for me it was when i learned that gb makes their decisions by 2/3 majority vote, not by direction of holy spirit..

Rattigan350

Add to it: On Survivor Redemption Island with Boston Rob. He told the ones in his tribe to use the buddy system to keep the other tribe from influencing them and upsetting Rob's alliance and if those in his alliance turn on him they will report it back to him and vote that one out. The result is that Rob could keep his pawns to benefit him.

At that tribal council, Julie from the other tribe said he was running it like a cult.

That got me thinking about how JWs go door to door in twos for protection from being influenced from changing their loyalties. They keep their association with other Witnesses and avoid association with non-Witnesses for the same reasons. In that Survivor season, Rob did that for his benefit, not for the benefit of those others. The Governing body instructs Witnesses for the GB's benefit, not the Witnesses' benefit. They are running it like a cult to keep their pawns.