Poll Bible

[Mister Michael]

What's a nihilist?

 

[Willie T]

What's a nihilist?

A person who believes that life is meaningless and rejects all religious and moral principles.

 

[Mister Michael]

A person who believes that life is meaningless and rejects all religious and moral principles.

not me i just said that things we do don't

Really mean anything

 

[Mister Michael]

not me i just said that things we do don't

Really mean anything

What i mean is that are deeds don't do anything.

 

[lforrest]

What i mean is that are deeds don't do anything.

You'll have to be more specific about what you think their benefits are or aren't.

 

[Mister Michael]

You'll have to be more specific about what you think their benefits are or aren't.

doesn't matter

 

[bbyrd009]

doesn't matter

it would after a secluded week in a cave i betcha

 

[Willie T]

it would after a secluded week in a cave i betcha

It might depend upon how aware you are while in that cave.....

The Parable of the Pit
There are discoveries of God’s grace you can only make in situations of weakness. Here‘s a simple parable to make the point:

You are told that you will live in a pit for one week, and then you will never return there. During that time in the pit, you are to use your waking hours to make a life and a future.

You are lowered into the pit. It is dark, damp, and it smells. You feel around; the walls are slick, yet sharp, like glass. You cut your finger. You think, What can I do here to make a life and a future?

After you settle down, depression comes over you in this darkness. The one thing that sustains your hope is that you know you will only be in the pit for a week, and that you will never be there again. You count the hours, and you count the days. Finally the day of release comes, and you are lifted from the pit. Your ordeal is over. You will never have to go through that again. There’s a spring in your step as you leave the pit, but as you look back, you stop and stare at a sign. You can hardly believe what you are seeing. You have just spent a whole week in a diamond mine!

There are some gems of God’s grace that can only be mined in the darkness. God has hidden them in the places we would rather not have been. If you are going through this experience of weakness, determine that you will not come out empty-handed.

 

[bbyrd009]

the "study" you referenced

i was mostly flopping around trying to get a read Mary, ya, i wouldn't trust any of that in court or anything. But any highly deterministic model makes more schizophrenics, which is i guess a biased way to say that bc no one is holding a gun to their heads right. I'm sure kingdom halls follow the same bell-curve as pretty much everything else

 

[bbyrd009]

not a nihilist i don't even know what that is

your google broke?

 

[Mister Michael]

your google broke?

well google definition might be different from yours.

 

[Pilgrimer]

this is from the jw.org on why they don't celebrate Christmas.

is there any truth to this is their reason valid?

I didn’t see any response to your question so I’d like to answer.

No, there is no truth to what they are stating, neither from a Biblical, historical, archaeological, or even a meteorological standpoint.

In the month of December, Bethlehem is cold, rainy, and snowy, so shepherds would not have been staying outside with their flocks at night. What do we learn from this? Jesus was born when the weather was mild, not in December. Both the Bible and historical evidence indicate that he was born sometime during the months we now know as September and October.

The average low temperature in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve (December 24/25) is 42 degrees F. That is mild weather by any standard, and certainly not too cold for wooly sheep and burley shepherds to be outside. Most Decembers are rainy (the heaviest rains are in January/February) and rarely there might be a light dusting of snow, but usually the weather is comparable to Lake City, FL. Plus there is direct Talmudic references to the flocks of sheep being out in the winter and in the summer, or all the year round. So the idea that sheep would not be in the fields in December is not supported by any Biblical or historical data, or even common sense considering the weather is actually quite mild.

But aside from that obvious error, the shepherd’s field at Bethlehem was no ordinary sheep field any way. There were Rabbinical laws against keeping livestock near the holy city and with the tens of thousands of animals that were required annually for the Temple cultus, anyone who has ever been near a stockyard can appreciate the reason. According to citations from Talmudic writings, the valley just north and east of the ridge on which Bethlehem was situated, only 5 miles from Jerusalem, was where the “Temple flock” was quartered, in what is today called the “shepherd’s field.” Josephus reports that in New Testament times as many as a quarter million lambs were sacrificed during Passover alone, so you can well imagine the number of animals, (lambs, sheep, goats, and cattle) that were needed for Temple use. Animals for sacrifice was the primary import commodity in Judaea. And these sacrifices went on daily in the Temple so there would have been some number of animals, inspected for any spot or blemish and approved for cultic use, kept ready at all times to be driven up to the city for sacrifice.

Another interesting point. Back in the days of David’s reign, there was a royal palace that was located in the valley that became the shepherd’s field. By the time of Jesus it has already fallen to ruin, however, there is an interesting prophecy in the book of Micah (4:8) that the coming of the Messianic kingdom would be announced from the “Migdal Eder,” or “watchtower of the flock,” one of the watchtowers from the ancient Davidic palace that was maintained and in the time of Jesus used as a watchtower to keep watch over the Temple flocks and herds in the valley. And it was most likely the shepherds watching over the Temple flocks from this watchtower that were the first to hear the good news of the birth of a Savior in the city of David, and were certainly the first after visiting the newborn king to go about the village and announce the coming of Messiah.

But back to the point, the speculation that winters were too severe in Bethlehem for wooly sheep and shepherds to be outdoors is simply not accurate, and even then, there would be animals in the fields at Bethlehem on any given day, and certainly during the feast of Hanukkah, which occurs at the same time of year, when there would be more than the regular daily sacrifices and offerings.

6, 7. (a) How did many popular Christmas customs begin? (b) What should be our reason for giving gifts?

Our Christmas customs have developed over a long period of time and they are all the result of godly men and women living out and celebrating the faith. The idea that Christmas and it’s customs is an adoption of paganism is not only grossly erroneous, but factually the opposite. It is not Christians who have adopted paganism, it is pagans who have adopted Christian holidays, Christmas being the most popular, which is celebrated by cultures the world over, even by those whose national religion is non-Christian. In fact, the oft-lamented commercialization and secularization of Christmas is proof of just how well and truly the world has adopted Christian holidays.

Our reason for giving gifts is because that is how Jesus was honored, by the Magi bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but also as celebration of the gift of salvation that God has given to the world.

6 So how did Christmas begin? It came from pagan festivals, such as the Roman festival Saturnalia, a celebration dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Encyclopedia Americana says: “Saturnalia, a Roman feast celebrated in mid-December, provided the model for many of the merry-making customs of Christmas. From this celebration, for example, were derived the elaborate feasting, the giving of gifts, and the burning of candles.” Also, the birthday of the Persian sun-god Mithra was celebrated on December 25.

None of that is true. The celebration of the “Feast of the Nativity,” as it was first called, dates back to the time of Hyppolytus (c. 170-236) who recorded that Jesus was born on December 25. The Roman Saturnalia didn’t even come along until almost 200 years later, and then it was a winter solstice celebration that ran from December 17 to December 22. And feasting was a form of Godly celebrating by the Jews long before there even was a Roman republic. Saturnalia did not involve any gift-giving, and every culture used candles, including the Mosaic Temple. It is nonsense to ascribe any of the Christmas traditions to paganism and simply a poor attempt to discredit Christmas and consequently Christianity itself.

7 However, most people who celebrate Christmas today are not thinking of its pagan origins. They simply look forward to Christmas as a time to be with family, enjoy good food, and give gifts. Of course, we love our family and friends, and Jehovah wants his servants to share with one another. As 2 Corinthians 9:7 tells us, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Jehovah does not want us to give to others only on special occasions. Jehovah’s people enjoy giving gifts and getting together with friends and family at any time of the year, without expecting anything in return. They give because they love others.—

The point of Christmas for Christians is not the gift-giving, it’s the celebration of the birth of the Savior. It is noteworthy that those who condemn Christmas celebrations of Jesus’ birth don’t actually celebrate his birth at all.

There is a lot more that could be said, it would fill several books, but that is the short answer to just those few questions.

And by the way, a very Merry Christmas!

In Christ,
Pilgrimer

 

[GodsGrace]

What i mean is that are deeds don't do anything.

Wow. How could anyone think this??
If you were sick, and I gave you the cure...it wouldn't mean anything?

 

[bbyrd009]

It is nonsense to ascribe any of the Christmas traditions to paganism

hmm

 

[bbyrd009]

Wow. How could anyone think this??
If you were sick, and I gave you the cure...it wouldn't mean anything?

fwiw i don't think he is around any more

 

[Pilgrimer]

hmm

I would add that is equally true of Easter and it's customs.

In Christ,
Pilgrimer

 

[GodsGrace]

fwiw i don't think he is around any more

Thanks bb.
Never heard such a thing!

 

[Hidden In Him]

The celebration of the “Feast of the Nativity,” as it was first called, dates back to the time of Hyppolytus (c. 170-236) who recorded that Jesus was born on December 25. The Roman Saturnalia didn’t even come along until almost 200 years later, and then it was a winter solstice celebration that ran from December 17 to December 22.

Greetings, Pilgrimer.

I found your post interesting, but when I got to this part here I needed to question you on it. Saturnalia went back to well before the second century BCE. Yet you have it coming along in around 400 AD. Where did you get your information from?

Blessings in Christ, and thanks for the response
Hidden In Him

 

[bbyrd009]

I would add that is equally true of Easter and it's customs.

In Christ,
Pilgrimer

ok, ty

 

[bbyrd009]

Thanks bb.
Never heard such a thing!

i might be wrong, doesn't look like he's been here for a month or so tho