I have mentioned before, in earlier posts, my love of debate and have been thinking about what it actually says about my character and why I enjoy it so much.
My closest friends are the ones I can chat to about any topic and we're close enough to be able to argue about any given issue and share our personal views without fear of ridicule - that's the best definition of friendship. A friend loves to hear your views, is free to express their own and you both respect the others' right to their opinion.
The boundaries are obvious: never criticise a person's view, rather suggest alternative ways of thinking, whether they are your own or not; never insist on there being a 'winner' (something I struggle with!) and always be honest.
My love of debate comes from the need to question everything until I have an acceptable answer in my mind - a conclusion that I find understandable. I have not always been that curious about life. My Mum enjoys telling the story about when I was standing outside the House of Commons when I was a child and not being interested about my whereabouts, not questioning at all. On the other hand, she always says I craned my neck out of my cot when I was a baby, to see what was around me. I was a particularly nosy baby then! Either way I love to question and debate and am not willing to settle for easy answers.
A debate will always challenge me - the best require research and a full understanding of both sides of the argument. The worst debates are when the 'other side' are not willing to debate but are only interested in getting their view across, have no intention of conceding their point. They don't learn anything in the process. I find this when debating with Jehovah's Witnesses - they never believed I had made valid points, never really questioned their beliefs.
I find this very difficult to understand. My own faith journey started when I was eight and I started praying to God who was my best friend when I was bullied, he listened and helped me. It was only when I was older that I challenged myself to see the reason behind my faith. I was determined it wouldn't be blind, but based on reason and fact, as much as possible. The very nature of faith means I cannot prove it but historical evidence supports my faith. It is not blind.
I love being challenged by atheists because it causes me to really think about my answers, what I do believe and how I know these things. It challenges me not just to accept what I have grown used to but to challenge it until I have an acceptable understanding.
There are times when it is good to say that I struggle with a certain question or issue too - this is realistic and shows that not all Christians are prepared to argue silly and implausible opinions with zeal but are prepared to say that we don't know all the answers either. A proud Christian is a foolish Christian; a humble Christian accepts that there is a higher Being that knows far more than we do and still loves us.
Jehovah's Witnesses say that Jesus had his second coming already 'invisibly' in the year 1914 and then Jesus waited 3 1/2 years to appoint them the Watchtower society rulers of his earthly kingdom in 1919.
ReplyDeleteJehovah Witnesses are a spin-off of the second Adventist which all came from the Millerite movement.American war of 1812 army captain William Miller is ground zero for Jehovah's Witnesses.
Yes,the "great disappointment" of Oct 22 1844 has never died out... it lives on in the Jehovah's Witnesses.
The central CORE doctrine of the Watchtower,yes the reason the Watchtower came into existence was to declare Jesus second coming in 1914.When the prophecy (derived from William Miller of 1844) failed they said that he came "invisibly".
Watchtower reckless predictions of the (1914) (1975)..... second coming of Christ hardens skeptics in their unbelief and provides new fodder for cynics to mock the Christian faith.
Actual news releases on Armageddon 1975 prediction
http://www.dannyhaszard.com/1975.htm
This is their hard history and they cannot change it anymore than the Mormons can change Joseph Smith golden
I don't get why the dates are so important to Jehovah's Witnesses - Jesus himself never concerned himself with dates and when asked said He didn't know. Surely how we act now has more bearing on our future then worrying about what is happening in Heaven. God is outside of our time - dates are irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteDear Kelly, the Bible is supported by a lot of physical evidence to prove it is truly the inspired Word of God, the voice of God spoken through man, given by God and written down by faithful men. There is nothing wrong with questioning; yet we are warned that can the pot say to the potter. . . In other words there does come a time when faith requires no questions but trust, pure and simple like that of a child who trust his parents.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible also makes it very clear who God calls friend and who we should call friend, those who do the will of the Father in heaven. There is a difference between faith and indoctrination. This is the source of problems in the “church”. Religion, which Christ spoke against was indoctrination without question, faith is acceptance of authority of God without question.
We are not to be ignorant of the science behind faith, in which there is evidence to convict God of being God. It is from those who would desire to create gray areas and doubt that ignorance breads. It is from rebellion, rather passive or aggressive, which conducts behavior that would questions, the authority of God in order to build the pyramid of diametrically opposing “opinions”. Mankind for centuries has justified such behavior on the bases of health questioning, but it is a lie from the enemy of our soul from the beginning in the Garden of Eden.
“Did God really say?”, the one question that leads to a path of rebellion and sin. Indoctrination has a subtle nuance of intimidation, manipulation and even domination to promote the following of lies. Often the only way for the enemy to get his way is through such methods. There is nothing wrong with debates, but even the Apostle Paul had to admit, after his lengthy debates on Mars Hill with the philosophers who where the protégés of Socrates (and his cohorts), there is nothing but Jesus and Him crucified, worth standing for.
It is the authority and deity of Christ religions like the JW’s question and even indoctrinate it’s people from the truth, suppressing the truth. The Bible is very clear on its warnings of what will happen to those people, God’s wrath is being stored up against them. It is for the sake of spreading the truth that we must have at the core of our existence. According to the Apostle Paul it is our reasonable duty.
Science has proven the scientific information in Scriptures to be accurate and valid years before mankind; “the experts” prove it true. The fulfillment of over 200 prophecies of the first coming of Christ proved that God is God. It is the one measuring rod God said we can test him by.
God wants to be found so He made it easy for us, even in the evidence He left in nature to prove who He is and was and will always be. It is why He stated we are without excuse for not knowing there is a God. I pray your love of debate wins souls, treasures for the kingdom of God. Over the years in all the debating I did, it never did, it was the steadfastness of faith that won out and reason from His Word, for faith comes by hearing the Word of God. It is not indoctrination but assimilating His voice through the washing of His Word into our spirit and soul to witness to our spirit He is God.
Mrs. J.
The JW’s also say that Christ is an angel and the Bible is clear that no angel accepts worship, yet Christ did. To deny the deity of Christ and His physical existence, His life, death and resurrection, it is the core of the Christian faith, without it there is no faith. It is hard to debate anyone who does not believe the Bible is true and accurate and that no angel came with another gospel. The Bible warned clearly about that. There is a mountain of physical evidence to prove the accuracy of Scriptures, but it is being suppressed by religion. Thanks to the Internet and many books, one can find such evidence if they are willing to do the research. The Bible is clear also it is the law to the proud and disobedient, but grace to the humble. The great debater of faith, the Apostle Paul stated that is what he found out after so much debate with his own and on Mars Hill. Sorry I cannot follow this debate, as often I am not able to keep up health wise with the energy it takes to care on such.
ReplyDeleteMrs. J.