Posts by Rattigan350

51

Christmas - love it or leave it?

by Xanthippe in

jw
friends

i am just watching my neighbours across the road putting up christmas lights while their children run around bursting with excitement.

i am feeling all christmassy now.

can't wait for my daughter to come home from uni next weekend so we can go and buy a tree from the garden centre.

Rattigan350

It seems like Christmas is popular and people celebrate it because of that.

The group One Direction is popular. People follow things because it is popular - and people claim to be more enlighted in the 21st century.

46

Number of anointed partakers in new yearbook?

by JWOP in

i haven't seen the 2014 yearbook on the jw site yet.

i'm looking to see if the number of partakers has increased again (as it has for many years now).

anyone have a scan of it yet?.

Rattigan350

Where did you get "anointed" partakers in the subject?

The number is just those who ate bread and drank wine at a specific time. Does not mean they have been anointed by holy spirit.

Any increase simply means more people eat and drink at the memoral.

As for " Watchtower has totally butchered the truth about Jesus' brothers".

To claim that anyone butchered any truth, one must know it first. Has any other religion proclaimed a truth about heaven?

No, since there has been no proof that anyone has been resurrected to heaven after death.

All it is that they take Jesus words and want to be with him. A fairy tale fantasy.

12

Acts 20:28

by never a jw in

acts 20:28 nwt.

pay attention to yourselves+ and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers,+ to shepherd the congregation of god,+ which he purchased with the blood of his own son.

king james and other translations.

Rattigan350

This is a written transcript of what Paul said to the elders at Ephesus.

Paul was a Israel history scholar. Paul was not inspired as to what he said anymore than a circuit overseer talking to elders in a congregation is inspired. He and the Ephesus elders knew about sacrifices and how people brought animals to the temple to buy back a clean state with the blood of the animals. Thus Paul was inspired by the temple and sacrifices (and thus inspired by God) so what he wrote had to follow that lead. God bought people to a clean state with not his own blood (God does not have blood) but with the blood of his son (Abraham, Isaac) just as people bought their clean state with the animals blood, not their own.

Context and history provide the answer.

13

HELP: the cross or the stake

by never a jw in

jw
friends

just asking for help from the vast number of very knowledgeable people here.

when was the "stake" doctrine adopted by jw's and what publication contains that information.

thank you..

Rattigan350

Thank you Searcher for stating that. I agree.

As to when the WTBTS started the stake thing. In the 1930s it was done to show that they were different from the rest, implying that they were correct.

27

In effect the GB says the new testament was only written for the 144k - right?

by Comatose in

because if you just read it then its plain that all should partake of the emblems and go to heaven etc.

they get around that by saying it only applied to those when written who all anointed and then a small group today.

so they take away the bible for the average witness.

Rattigan350

Yes, you are in a coma.

The gospels are the sayings of Jesus and the things he said were to others listening to him in his time. If they listened to him they could get the holy spirit at Pentecost.

The Acts were the actions and sayings of the apostles and the letters of Paul, Peter, James, Jude were to people of their day.

Revelation is for our day.

Really, the 26 books of the Christian Greek Scriptures were applicable for the people back then.

Anointing of holy spirit was more prevalent then. But partaking of the bread and wine did not mean one goes to heaven.

There is no evidence that anyone who has lived has gone to heaven as a spirit since death. Since there is no communication to us or interaction and proof of it, what is the deal with believing it.

90

Why do so many think JW Religion is a Cult? (NO APOSTATES PLEASE)

by Brother Mike in

jw
friends

my question is, why do so many think the watchtower bible tract society is a cult?

.

Rattigan350

The WTBTS is not a cult, but it is a printing company. But the materials it prints are the basis for controling people to use their materials, but to control people to further the organization as the main goal.

15

Florida teacher suspended over [JW] kids Pledge of Allegiance

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.azcentral.com/news/free/20131106florida-teacher-suspended-over-kids-pledge-allegiance.html?odyssey=obnetwork.

associated presswed nov 6, 2013 3:34 pmspring hill, fla. a florida school district has suspended a teacher after requiring a fourth grade jehovahs witness to participate in the pledge of allegiance.. the tampa tribune (http://bit.ly/1arwmom) reports that the hernando county school board recently concluded an investigation.. the student, who is jehovahs witness and prohibited by the religion from worshiping objects, refused on religious grounds, the investigation found.. officials said teacher anne daigle-mcdonald twice placed the students hand over his heart when the class recited the pledge.. the student told mcdonald during the incident that jehovahs witnesses do not worship objects, and that he stood during the pledge of allegiance out of respect for the country, but was not permitted by his religion to place his hand over his heart, according to the investigation.. after the student informed mcdonald of this, mcdonald went to the front of the class and said, if you dont want to say the pledge, you still have to put your hand on your heart and if you dont want to do that, you should move out of the country, according to the report.. the report also shows mcdonald said something about there not being a religion that prohibits doing the pledge, according to the investigation.. the district says that mcdonald violated a host of state education rules, professional conduct principles and the students right to free speech and freedom of religion.

several other students in the class corroborated the allegations, according to the investigation.. mcdonald was removed from student contact, and placed on alternative assignment on sept. 12.. while speaking to administrators at the school on that date, mcdonald said she thought the religion applied only to holidays, but said she did not attempt to contact the students parents for clarification, according to the report.. the investigation showed that she also said she didnt think it was good practice to regularly place hands on students, and that she feels strongly as a citizen of the united states that one should show respect to the flag.. superintendent lori romano ordered mcdonald be suspended five days without pay, reported the incident to florida department of education and ordered mcdonald provide proof of completion of diversity training..

Rattigan350

This whole business about children standing and putting the hand on the hearts and saying the pledge reminds me of youth in Hitler's day. They stood and placed their arms up and Heiled Hitler.

NCO said "Much as I disagree with the JW mindset of taking advantage of the freedom we have in this country without being a part of ensuring we retain that freedom"

With you wearing military colors, I am assuming you are referring to the military as that which part that retains the freedoms.

But you are wrong. The military does nothing to protect our freedoms. They eliminate bad people. It is the ACLU, the lawyers, the judges, the legislators and the people that protect the freedoms. They also are the ones taking it away.

13

Is Jesus dying really more important than his resurrection?

by Band on the Run in

i was reading about khs on wikipedia and i noticed a link for the memorial of jesus' death.

why would any christian religion celebrate his death and not his resurrection.

a man dying is fairly common.

Rattigan350

"How was his death any kind of sacrifice if he got resurrected?"

A sacrifice is giving up something of value to get something of greater value. Jesus gave up his original life in heaven to

be a human. Then he gave up that perfect human life, which there was no reason for, to benefit all mankind past and present and future

and to sanctify his father's name by keeping integrity.

A sacrifice does not prevent a blessing afterward.

13

Is Jesus dying really more important than his resurrection?

by Band on the Run in

i was reading about khs on wikipedia and i noticed a link for the memorial of jesus' death.

why would any christian religion celebrate his death and not his resurrection.

a man dying is fairly common.

Rattigan350

"REJECTING the command Christ gave to eat and drink it."

No, that is not rejecting the command Christ gave.

First, it is not a command. Jesus did not give commands. Even the 'go therefore and make disciples' is not a command.

Second, he did not tell that to us. He told that to those 11 there with him. What makes people think that it applies

to the? Because Paul wrote of them doing that in his letters? What makes Paul right?

15

The most Disturbing Story in the Bible

by fulltimestudent in

i posted elsewhere about dr. james tabor's take on the book of revelation as re-write of an earlier non-christian document.

but in browsing his site i was reminded of an early biblical story in genesis that essentially throws so much jewish and subsequent christian thinking out of the window.. .

can your mind handle the concept of yahweh standing in front of you, with a human body like yours, eating, drinking.

Rattigan350

That was not Jehovah. You are assuming that Abraham was being accurate.