How many here are EX Jehovah's Witnesses (Jesus, Moses, Earth)

[Bangbang]

I left for many reasons. I realized I was following an organization ruled by men and not Jehovah(most likely a mistranslation). I feared the organization and men not a god and was full of guilt that could not be relieved by service to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. I was serving men not a god.


A Simple Overview of The Divine Name



All of the material here is historical fact. I present it not as a religious piece but as simple information. Please note that Hebrew is spelled right to left, and is so written in this document.

1. The Absolute Name as originally given to Moses on Sinai (Exodus 3:14) is AHYH ASR AHYH: "I Will Be Who I Will Be."
2. "I Am That I Am", while quite valuable, is ultimately a mistranslation. This is a Christian interpretation applied 1000 years after the fact.
3. Saying "I Will Be" made people very nervous. So "I Will Be" (AHYH) was changed into "He Will Be": YHWH This Name is known as the Tetragrammaton: "The 4 Letter Name." In English you most often see this Name as "Yahweh." The certain original pronunciation has been lost. Over 30 different pronunciations are known to the Kabbalists.
4. The Tetragrammaton, spelled vertically, is the pictogram of a human being: . This is a visual representation of what it symbolically means to be created in the image of God.
5. Over the years this discomfort with the Divine Name continued. Soon, people would not pronounce YHWH at all. Whenever they saw YHWH in the Bible, they would either say "The Name" (Ha Shem) or "The Lord" (Adonai).
6. Originally, Hebrew did not have vowels. Eventually the Hebrews felt it was wise to insert little dots (called vowel points) around the letters to remind the reader of the exact pronunciation.
7. When they came to YHWH in the text, they added the vowel points for Adonai ("Lord") to remind the reader that the Divine Name was not to be pronounced.
8. In the Middle Ages, around 1500, translators misunderstood that the vowel points were for "Adonai", not "Yahweh". Thus, they combined the letters of YHWH with the vowels of Adonai. The result was "Jehovah". This is, quite simply, a mistranslation. (NOTE: We are NOT saying that this is evil, or that those who use this name are sinners, nor that everyone in the Jehovah's Witnesses are going to hell. No, No, NO! But the etymological fact is that "Jehovah" is a mistranslation based upon a historical misunderstanding.) Like changing "Betty" into "Botta" by keeping the same consonants but using the wrong vowels.
9. In our modern Bibles, then, whenever YHWH is found, we usually "translate" it as LORD or Jehovah. Both are wrong, though Jehovah is certainly preferable to LORD.
10. "God" is a noun. It is a type of Being. "God" is not a name. "Human" is what you are....but you also have a name.
11. Thus, when catechisms & preachers say "What is God's name? God is God's name" they are also simply wrong.
12. As you can see, the farther we go in time, the more confusion & ignorance we acquire. At this point, very few of even the ordained clergy understands any of this. Of those who know it, only a small percentage actually cares.
13. Yet the 3rd Commandment STILL SAYS, "Thou shall not take the Name of YHWH your God in vain, for YHWH will not leave him unpunished who takes His Name in vain."
14. Thus, the need for The Church of Yahweh.
15. YHWH sent His Son YHSWH (Jesus) to the earth to remind us that we are all YHWH's children. YHSWH came in the Name of YHWH.

http://www.yhwh.com/asimple.htm

[Solon]

Interestimg material. " I will be who I will be " and if I want to to be a great demon, and destroy, then I will be. Put's a whole new slant on Christianity, perhaps Christians are the real Devil worshippers then.

S

[Bangbang]

Originally Posted by Solon

Interestimg material. perhaps Christians are the real Devil worshippers then.

S

It has crossedmy mind more time that I want to think about.

[FFH]

I have had the Jay Double u's (JW's/Jehovah's Witnesses) come to my door more than once. Three times while living near Tokyo, Japan and one time here in Salt Lake City, Utah. They really get around.

In Japan they used to, literally, mark the door posts with a small, almost undetectible scratch. Each time they came they left a mark, if no one answered.

I also worked with a JW. He was cool. I like the Jw's. They have always been fun to talk to. They are never pushy. They only want to inform. "Get ready for the Second Coming", seemed to have been the overall message, at the time.

[robtex]

So Bangbang, do you believe in a God at this point or are you more inclined towards non-theism? If you believe in a God is it the Christian God?

[Flappycat]

Personally, I worship a sort of hypothetical god. I consider such notions ludicrous and don't think they have any bearing in fact whatsoever, but what can I say? I'm a weirdo. The almost certainly nonexistant god that I follow couldn't care less whether you believe he exists or not, and there's nothing he detests more than a repulsive sycophant. He especially loves kids, doggies, and anything with the right amount of sugar, and he holds storytellers and artists in special favor, though a scientist or inventor with the right amount of vision and passion for his work can also enjoy a great deal of his affection. The best way for others to make him smile is to embrace their lives, work, and hobbies with a loving, sincere, and passionate dedication to excellence. I'm pretty certain that such things don't exist, but that's okay because he wouldn't care, anyway. I don't have any intention of worshipping a god who would be the least bit offended by it, and I won't be persuaded on the matter.

Personally, I've never liked the idea of "pearly gates." Too many of my meals have passed through pearly gates for me to be comfortable with someone who wants me to walk through his pearly gates.