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Bible Students' Bigotry Exposed!


BeachOfEden

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I realize that most here came from other fundamental faith groups background than JW's or their cousins, the Bible Students...but I encounter a Bible Student who voices bigotry towards Christians who embrace the restored earth destiny belief and I thought I'd post it here..so that this may be added to the Progressive Christians achieves for all to read....

 

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Round II With RR

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Wednesday, 11 May 2005

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Beth Sarim Community JW Reform Forum Open Discussion

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Author Message

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BeachOfEden

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The Use of Insulting Theological Terms - 2005/05/10 05:06

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It would be really appreicated if faith such..such as JW's and Bible Students, of which we have been speaking about here..but this also goes for Evangelical Protestants and Catholics...would stop using insulting words and phrases to discribe those outsider their own set of belief system. There Are words to discribes non-memebsr withOUT being insulting.

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There is no need, for example, for JW's to call non-JW's "Wordly". Likewise, there is no need for Bible Students to use such words as "UnChristian," to discribe their restored earth destiny embracing brothers and sisters. Just as there is no need for Evangelical Protestants to call others "cults' or "Unsaved."

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ALL these types of words give the impression of judgement upon others, that is, that the one using these words is setting themselves as JUDGE. Why not call non-JWs precisley that, non-members? Why not Bible Students call their earhtly brothers and sisters simply that, earthly? And why not Protestants call non-Protestants precisley that, non-Protestants?

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reply Warrior User

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Re:The Use of Insulting Theological Terms - 2005/05/10 08:09

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You've got a point BOE (and not Body of Elders) LOL!

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I try to refrain from using negative terminology to describe others but sometimes it just slips out. Must be all these Goyim on this site!!!!!!!!

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(for those who don't know, Goyim - gentiles - is not merely a description of non-Jews but carries with it some very derogotory connotations - hence the fact I don't use it.

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Jesus is judge. He knows who is Christian or unchristian, Saved or unsaved etc. Our judgement is in the safest hands possible.

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Shalom.

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reply

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BeachOfEden

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Re:The Use of Insulting Theological Terms - 2005/05/10 09:54

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I was thinking of that, Warrior, how Jews sometimes call non-Jews gentiles, but that too. I wonder fundamental Buddhists go around calling other Buddhists or non-Buddhists UnEnlightened?

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RR

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Re:The Use of Insulting Theological Terms - 2005/05/10 14:49

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I don't recall on thsi forum any BIble Student calling you UnChristian!

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BeachOfEden

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Re:The Use of Insulting Theological Terms - 2005/05/11 03:18

From Beliefnet.com Jehovah's Witnesses Debate Board

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10/10/04 8:34 PM

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RR:

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"Perhaps if you could show us (I am a Bible Student) a scripture or scriptures, that tells us that Christians will live forever on a restored earth, we would accept such. However, there are NONE. The hope of the Church is heavenly, until that door is closed."

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RR144

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Marken, those are great scripture, but do they apply top the Church? Those anointed with his holy spirit?

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RR144

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10/10/04 8:39 PM 9 out of 15

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"Sher, I never said no one was going to live on the earth, I simply said that the"Christians" hope is not earthly. Mind you I am not talking about people who believe in Jesus, that in itself does not make one Christian. HOWEVER ... the Church class, the true Christians in THIS age, inherit the heavens." <P>

"There is NOT ONE SCRIPTURE that states that CHRISTIANS will inherit the earth. the hope of the Christian in the new testament was heavenly." <P>

BeachOfEden

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Do you remember, now? :angry:

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I wonder fundamental Buddhists go around calling other Buddhists or non-Buddhists UnEnlightened?

 

Yes :P

 

Bigotry is not limited to this or that religious or ethnic group; it's a universal blight on the human condition.

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The difference is that claiming someone is unenlightened from a Buddhist perspective is not an insult. Enlightenment is a state that is equivalent to the Christian goal of going to heaven, so claiming someone is unenlightened would not be an insuult, as very few, if any of us, are actually enlightened beings.

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The difference is that claiming someone is unenlightened from a Buddhist perspective is not an insult. Enlightenment is a state that is equivalent to the Christian goal of going to heaven, so claiming someone is unenlightened would not be an insuult, as very few, if any of us, are actually enlightened beings.

Well, the difference is between whether "unenlightened" means "not a Buddhist" or really not enlightened! I imagine a spiritually immature Buddhist, like a spiritually immature Christian, would think everyone outside their religio-cultural sphere is worse off than they are; whereas a mature person in either tradition understands that there are wide ranges of realization everywhere.

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Incidentally (not referring to the original post) there is a very important difference between saying "you are unenlightened" as an attack against another person or group, and saying it very carefully in the proper context, if its deemed that it's not going to fall on deaf ears, and/or set the person back even more. Not all such statements that challenge another person's views can be construed as "religious bigotry." If that were the case, many of the posts on this board would be guilty of it as well. We're all here because we actually believe that progressive Christianity is a more compelling alternative than the authoritarian varieties.

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The difference is that claiming someone is unenlightened from a Buddhist perspective is not an insult. Enlightenment is a state that is equivalent to the Christian goal of going to heaven, so claiming someone is unenlightened would not be an insuult, as very few, if any of us, are actually enlightened beings.

 

Well, this is true :lol: .

 

However, to stick to the point, buddhists do fight over doctrine and dogma and tradition. A lot, actually.

 

There are fundamentalist buddhists and non-traditionalist buddhists and all manner of buddhists in between. The fundamentalists believe that anyone who doesn't believe their orthodox version of what the buddha taught (which varies from sect to sect) is not practicing the religion correctly or with the proper amount of reverence.

 

Some of the strictest non-traditionalists believe that anything which smacks of mysticism has to be a remnant of superstitious cultural baggage and refuse to consider that mysticism may be a valid part of religious experience.

 

In addition, buddhism as it's practiced in the west is a very different animal from buddhism in the east, and there are even cultural "issues" between practitioners of Chinese vs. Japanese vs. Vietnamese vs. Korean forms of zen.

Edited by Lolly
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