Manuel Boyet Enicola

Haha 😆. Been celebrating my birthday secretly. And for me, it's a matter of conscience --- making sure nobody gets 'stumbled'. 🥂

Hmmm, that's new insight for me. Thanks for sharing such spiritual food. 😊

On 2/8/2024 at 4:50 PM, Srecko Sostar said:

He did not write a letter asking the priests to delete him from the genealogy and list of religious members. He did not tell others or ask them that they should renounce the Jewish faith in order to be baptized in water or in the spirit.

Judaism was the true religion during Jesus' times. But most Jews did not accept Jesus as the prophesied messiah; hence, the whole nation was rejected by God and replaced with Christianity. This 'new' religion is still based on Judaism sans observance to the Mosaic law. The additional belief is faith in Jesus' ransom sacrifice. Ergo, no resignation letter needed.... 😁

Just wondering why so much 'hatred' (sorry for lack of term; do help me here.) for the GB/JWorg.  Same thing could be said of other religious groups --- and even worse.  😁

I fully agree with doctrinal unity. But uniformity? Mmmm, creation shows us to leave room for variability. 

Let's boil down to the 'practicality' of this discussion:  

1.  The Romans are not stupid.  They must have figured out after their first few executions that it is very tedious to plant a stake or cross each time somebody is executed.  It will be far more easier to use a dead tree or have a permanently planted pole (stake / xylon) and simply raise and attach on top a stauros / patibulum with the condemned nailed to it.  

2.  A whole cross would weigh well over 135 kg (300 lb), but the crossbeam would not be quite as burdensome, weighing around 45 kg (100 lb). (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2651675)  If Jesus was to carry the pole (stake / xylon) only, that would still amount to 90 kg (198 lb) and is no easy task.  Carrying the crossbeam (stauros / patibulum) is deemed more realistic.  But then, an exhausted person deprived of sleep would easily stumble even on the lighter weight, so that Simon the Cyrene was compelled by the soldiers to carry it for him. 

3.  While the bible is silent on the details, it is interesting to note that nailing is associated with stauros, and hanging with xylon. 

Bottom line:  there is no conflict on translating stauros as torture stake/stake and xylon as stake or tree.  Using the word cross for any of the Greek words mentioned likewise do not give a clear picture. 

5 hours ago, Anna said:

Wait a minute, I thought Simon of Cy·reʹne carried the torture stake

Jesus carried it initially.  Later, the Roman soldiers "compelled" Simon of Cyrene to carry it for him....

6 hours ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

... and say WHAT?

The word 'responsible' is not mine.  I typed it in quotation marks..... 

Nah, you know what I mean.....

On 10/26/2017 at 8:31 PM, JW Insider said:

Just had to comment on the point at 23:55 in the video: "In a well-known Bible translation we can read, 'I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be.' " The video won't say, of course, what translation this is, but we already know it's the old NWT:

• (Exodus 3:14) At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to YOU.’”

 

 

"I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be" is a literal translation of eyyeh-asher-ehyeh.  Nehemiah Gordon, a Karaite Jew and a Dead Sea Scroll researcher translates it that way directly from his Hebrew bible.   The translation is not a JW exclusive. 

Hi folks. Just tuned in late, but this is how I see it: 

1.  Jesus carried the stauros or stake. 

2.  Both of his HANDS were nailed to it while grasping it, a meter or a yard apart.  That is, nails were driven from the back, not from the palms.  

3.  He was then HANGED on a stake, creating a letter "T" cross.  Probably the stauros (patibulum) had a notch that would fit nicely at the top of the already upright stake. 

4. The feet were then nailed or tied tight to prevent a further escape. 

With the above, we can reconcile the following: 

1.  Jesus was nailed to a STAKE (stauros). 

2.  He was HANGED upon a tree. 

3.  With arms outstretched and gripping the 'cross beam', he could last for hours until exhaustion did its job. Otherwise, any healthy person hanged with both hands tied together won't last an hour owing to a compressed lungs.

4.  Finally, we get to understand the implication of John 21:18,19 regarding 'arms outstretched' and the 'manner of death' mentioned. 

Cheers everyone!

5 hours ago, Jack Ryan said:

Interesting that Leah Reminis Twitter acct is fraught with accusations that she only interviewed fmr DUBS and not active ones. But she begged the GB for interviews... and they declined.

I think Leah must have said she wanted an interview re JW beliefs. And the answers are of course on the jw.org website. If she asked to interview about something NOT on the website, then I suppose, she had her day!  Maybe at the very least, a 'responsible' brother will be willing to be interviewed.

A "secret" follower? Who knows really....

Lately, I came across this blog: 

https://www.nehemiaswall.com/1000-manuscripts-yehovah 

Nehemia Gordon, a Karaite Jew and Dead Sea Scroll researcher has proof that the pronunciation of the tetragramaton is YehoVAH in Hebrew (Jehovah in English).  

What can you say?  

The actions of these people could easily trigger the start of the Great Tribulation wherein Babylon the Great is burned by the 10-horned beast. In the end, to Jehovah belongs the victory and this will usher in the New World order.... 

Dear Librarian, 

Let us be vigilant lest we inadvertently post spoofs and inaccurate "news" like this one! 

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 0:11 PM, Shiwiii said:

What proof is there of this statement of yours? All of the early manuscripts do not contain the name jehovah. None. 

A quotation of the Greek septuigent still does not contain "jehovah". When it is quoted of Jesus, the nwt omits this and adds "lord" when applied to Him. 

Put you proof out here so we can discuss it.

Did you opened the link?  That was the proof!

Anyway, to make it convenient for you, here it is again, just click on it:  http://www.eliyah.com/lxx.html 

The NWT Committee determined that there is compelling evidence that the Tetragrammaton did appear in the original Greek manuscripts. The decision was based on the following evidence:

• Copies of the Hebrew Scriptures used in the days of Jesus and his apostles contained the Tetragrammaton throughout the text.

• In the days of Jesus and his apostles, the Tetragrammaton also appeared in Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures.

• The Christian Greek Scriptures (NT) themselves report that Jesus often referred to God’s name and made it known to others. (John 17:6, 11, 12, 26) Jesus plainly stated: “I have come in the name of my Father.” He also stressed that his works were done in his “Father’s name.”—John 5:43; 10:25.

• Since the Christian Greek Scriptures were an inspired addition to the sacred Hebrew Scriptures, the sudden disappearance of Jehovah’s name from the text would seem inconsistent. About the middle of the first century C.E., the disciple James said to the elders in Jerusalem: “Symeon has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name.” (Acts 15:14) It would not be logical for James to make such a statement if no one in the first century knew or used God’s name.

• The divine name appears in its abbreviated form in the NT. At Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, 6, the divine name is embedded in the word “Hallelujah.” In fact, reference works explain that Jesus’ own name means “Jehovah Is Salvation.”

• Early Jewish writings indicate that Jewish Christians used the divine name in their writings. The Tosefta, a written collection of oral laws that was completed by about 300 C.E., says with regard to Christian writings that were burned on the Sabbath: “The books of the Evangelists and the books of the minim [thought to be Jewish Christians] they do not save from a fire. But they are allowed to burn where they are, they and the references to the Divine Name which are in them.” This same source quotes Rabbi Yosé the Galilean, who lived at the beginning of the second century C.E., as saying that on other days of the week, “one cuts out the references to the Divine Name which are in them [understood to refer to the Christian writings] and stores them away, and the rest burns.”

• Some Bible scholars acknowledge that it seems likely that the divine name appeared in Hebrew Scripture quotations found in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Under the heading “Tetragrammaton in the New Testament,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary states: “There is some evidence that the Tetragrammaton, the Divine Name, Yahweh, appeared in some or all of the OT quotations in the NT when the NT documents were first penned.” Scholar George Howard says: “Since the Tetragram was still written in the copies of the Greek Bible which made up the Scriptures of the early church, it is reasonable to believe that the NT writers, when quoting from Scripture, preserved the Tetragram within the biblical text.”

• Recognized Bible translators have used God’s name in the NT. Some of these translators did so long before the New World Translation was produced. These translators and their works include: A Literal Translation of the New Testament . . . From the Text of the Vatican Manuscript, by Herman Heinfetter (1863); The Emphatic Diaglott, by Benjamin Wilson (1864); The Epistles of Paul in Modern English, by George Barker Stevens (1898); St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, by W. G. Rutherford (1900); The New Testament Letters, by J.W.C. Wand, Bishop of London (1946). In addition, in a Spanish translation in the early 20th century, translator Pablo Besson used “Jehová” at Luke 2:15 and Jude 14, and nearly 100 footnotes in his translation suggest the divine name as a likely rendering. Long before those translations, Hebrew versions of the Christian Greek Scriptures from the 16th century onward used the Tetragrammaton in many passages. In the German language alone, at least 11 versions use “Jehovah” (or the transliteration of the Hebrew “Yahweh”) in the Christian Greek Scriptures, while four translators add the name in parentheses after “Lord.” More than 70 German translations use the divine name in footnotes or commentaries.

The word translated "worship" is προσκυνέω (proskyneo) in Greek.  So what is the meaning of προσκυνέω? 

According to a Greek lexicon, this could mean:

On ‎5‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 11:12 AM, Jesus.defender said:

The Watchtower Organisation Claims To Be Prophets

"So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come?  These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet? . . . This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian witnesses . . . Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a "prophet" of God. It is another thing to prove it," (Watchtower, Apr. 1, 1972, p. 197).

"So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? 

IDENTIFYING THE "PROPHET" 
These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet? ... This "prophet" was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian witnesses. ... Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a "prophet" of God. It is another thing to prove it. The only way that this can be done is to review the record. Thus this group of anointed followers of Jesus Christ, doing a work in Christendom paralleling Ezekiel's work among the Jews, were manifestly the modern-day Ezekiel, the "prophet" commissioned by Jehovah to declare the good news of God's Messianic kingdom and to give warning to Christendom." Watchtower 1972 Apr 1 pp.197-199 'They Shall Know that a Prophet Was Among Them'

"commissioned to serve as the mouthpiece and active agent of Jehovah … commission to speak as a prophet in the name of Jehovah…" The Nations Shall Know that I am Jehovah" - How? pp.58,62

"… commission to speak as a "prophet" in His name…" Watchtower 1972 Mar 15 p.189

"The Watchtower is a magazine without equal in the earth …. This is not giving any credit to the magazine's publishers, but is due to the great Author of the Bible with it truths and prophecies, and who now interprets its prophecies." Watchtower 1943 Apr 15 p.127

What Really Is a Prophet According to the Bible?

- When Ezekiel in a vision was told to “prophesy to the wind,” he simply expressed God’s command to the wind. (Eze 37:9, 10)

- When individuals at Jesus’ trial covered him, slapped him, and then said, “Prophesy to us, you Christ. Who is it that struck you?” they were not calling for prediction but for Jesus to identify the slappers by divine revelation. (Mt 26:67, 68; Lu 22:63, 64)

- The Samaritan woman at the well recognized Jesus as “a prophet” because he revealed things about her past that he could not have known except by divine power. (Joh 4:17-19; compare Lu 7:39.)

So, too, such Scriptural portions as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:1-36) may properly be defined as prophecy, for these were an inspired ‘telling forth’ of God’s mind on matters, even as were the pronouncements by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other earlier prophets.—Compare Isa 65:13-16 and Lu 6:20-25.

So while prediction, or foretelling, is not the basic thought conveyed by the root verbs in the original languages (Heb., na·vaʼʹ; Gr., pro·phe·teuʹo); yet it forms an outstanding feature of Bible prophecy.

What then can we conclude: is The Watchtower Society a "prophet"?

When it comes to "revealing God's will", the answer is YES; but when it comes to "prediction" the answer is NO.

Case 1:  Annie.  Her mom used to be a witness but was disfellowed.  Shunning will remind the mother of the gravity of her acts, that is an unrepentant attitude.  Note that a person is disfellowed not for a particular sin, but because such person is unrepentant.

Case 2: Taro. His parents are NOT witnesses in the first place.  That explains his attitude.

I hope this answers your dilemma on "blatant hypocrisy",

On ‎5‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 1:39 PM, Eoin Joyce said:

 

What is your definition of "prophecy"?

- When Ezekiel in a vision was told to “prophesy to the wind,” he simply expressed God’s command to the wind. (Eze 37:9, 10)

- When individuals at Jesus’ trial covered him, slapped him, and then said, “Prophesy to us, you Christ. Who is it that struck you?” they were not calling for prediction but for Jesus to identify the slappers by divine revelation. (Mt 26:67, 68; Lu 22:63, 64)

- The Samaritan woman at the well recognized Jesus as “a prophet” because he revealed things about her past that he could not have known except by divine power. (Joh 4:17-19; compare Lu 7:39.)

- So, too, such Scriptural portions as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:1-36) may properly be defined as prophecy, for these were an inspired ‘telling forth’ of God’s mind on matters, even as were the pronouncements by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other earlier prophets.—Compare Isa 65:13-16 and Lu 6:20-25.

Prediction, or foretelling, is not the basic thought conveyed by the root verbs in the original languages (Heb., na·vaʼʹ; Gr., pro·phe·teuʹo); yet it forms an outstanding feature of Bible prophecy.
 

19 hours ago, Ann O'Maly said:

I didn't see the part where he publicized to the other Hebrews that God had revealed he was using him to save them. Is there a verse somewhere?

Yes, Moses did not "publicize".  But killing the Egyptian is in itself a "statement" and very powerful at that.....

20 hours ago, Ann O'Maly said:

So then, if Jehovah was using a congregation member to correct the Org or elders, and the congregation member was punished for doing so, surely it is the Org or elders who need to repent of their actions and not the congregation member who was used by Jehovah, right?

Sure.  The key question is: What is Jehovah asking of us? Loyalty to him, period.  Humans sin, lie or deceive.  What we need is to stay close to Jehovah at all times....

19 hours ago, Ann O'Maly said:

That's a sweeping statement. How do you know that they didn't leave because they loved Jehovah and Jesus more than an organization they felt had led them down a false path?

If they DO love Jehovah and Jesus, where will they go?  Back again to non-biblical teachings such as hellfire and the trinity? (2 Peter 2:22) Otherwise, they would have stayed, as Simon Peter and the others did. (John 6:68)

19 hours ago, Ann O'Maly said:

You're late to this party. Here's a recap. For a long time, JWs taught that 1935 was the year the door to the heavenly calling closed. In 2007, the Org changed its mind and said that the door to the heavenly calling seems to be open still. Numbers of partakers kept going up every year so the '1935 door closed' idea was no longer tenable - evidently there had to be a rethink. Check your WT CD-ROM.

You're correct.  But JWs never quoted the Bible as "basis" for the year 1935, hence the question itself is, say, "defective".  Pardon me, I couldn't think of a more appropriate term....