If you have questions for a Jehovah's Witness:

[SnufflesDOW117]

Another excerpt"

A second reason often given for omitting God's name from the Bible involves a long-standing tradition of the Jews. Many of them hold that God's name should never be pronounced. This belief is evidently based on a missapplication of a Bible Law that states: " you must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave the one unpunished who takes up his name in a worthless way." Exodus 20:7

This law forbids the misuse of God's Name. But does it forbid the respectful use of his name? Not at all. The writers of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) were all faithful men who lived by the law that God gavae to the ancient Israelites. Yet, they made frequent use of gods name. "

Definitive for

Many times in psalms jehovah or (YHVH/YHWH) is used. These songs were sung outloud. So don't use gods name? they sung it.

[da_mean_cat]

wow... is great how people keep avoiding my question!

Again:

if you don't believe in hellfire explain this scripture in revelation please.

Revelations 20:14-15

"14 - Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the SECOND DEATH. 15 - If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Can someone care to explain please?

[monahan]

My faith teaches me that a name has great power over it, and to use the name of someone assumes you have power over them, or even in the case of incantation, dominion; in fact the qballah and satanism (classical and laveyan) subscribes to this idea as well - isn't it a bit presumptuous to use the name of God so casually?

[Gow616]

Originally Posted by SnufflesDOW117

Many times in psalms jehovah or (YHVH/YHWH) is used. These songs were sung outloud. So don't use gods name? they sung it.

With alteration so that they did not say it, it is a fear for using the name in vain and a matter of respect...the former being one of the commandments. Are you reading the Torah or a Bible for all the YHVH / Jehovah references?

I will check my Translated to English from Hebrew by Hebrews Torah if you want me to. Just write down a bunch of passage numbers and I will write what is down from the English translation. Granted older Hebrew is more complex so a perfect translation may not be possible but this is as close to perfect as one can get.

if you don't believe in hellfire explain this scripture in revelation please.

Revelations 20:14-15

"14 - Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the SECOND DEATH. 15 - If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Hades is a Greek word, which could be source of the translated text. A Greek translation of Hebrew or more likely Aramaic. The Bible is riddled with stories and sayings that tell people they will be punished if they do not follow whatever rules that have been handed down.

However, a lake of fire != hellfire and using Hades muddles up the proper translation as Hades was and is not Hell. It is simply a place of the dead and only those who have truly angered the Gods suffer, not mention the true Greek Hell is Tartarus where the Titans are imprisoned. If Hell is truly meant, Tartarus would have been used. The Greeks who did the translations know this like you and I know their is an old and new testament. It is more likely that the passage has been misinterpreted time and time again with a improper English perception.

What is most likely meant is this:

14 - Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the SECOND DEATH.

Death is the actual physical death and Hades the land of death, limbo or purgatory is more synonymous with Hades than Hell as I had already mentioned. Keep in mind FIRE is not a damning element in the older Christian church and Hebrew thought. Instead it is a purifier cleaning the impurities from the impure. So what is meant that Death and Limbo/Purgatory are cleansed by a purifying fire. Once purified where do things go?

15 - If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Obviously, if the person is not in the book of life, he/she is impure and must be purified. Cast into the lake of fire, they are made purified...where do they go after?

To paraphrase the Kabballah of the Hermetics...

From God comes all things and to God do all things return.

[da_mean_cat]

Well my friend, I understand what you said there but it actually not making sense. That verse of the Bible is talking literally about LAKE of Fire and there are other verses that talk about it. Some that say there will be only crying and crushing of their teeth, only pain. OK... let's start:

Matthew 5:22

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Matthew 5:29
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Matthew 5:30
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (here, check how it says that you can be destroyed after death in hell, so I guess when you die is not over)

Matthew 23:33
"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

And about Hades. We're not talking about the Greeks... but about the Bible. They use Hades also because, doesn't matter if it's a greek word, they use it since that's the word they know but still talking about the same thing. Here's an example from the Bible:

Matthew 16:18
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

and even a story:

Luke 16:19-27

19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.

The Bible is there and there's no escaping the truth. According to the Bible, there is a hell!

[Gow616]

Hades is a Greek word, which could be source of the translated text. A Greek translation of Hebrew or more likely Aramaic. The Bible is riddled with stories and sayings that tell people they will be punished if they do not follow whatever rules that have been handed down.

However, a lake of fire != hellfire and using Hades muddles up the proper translation as Hades was and is not Hell. It is simply a place of the dead and only those who have truly angered the Gods suffer, not mention the true Greek Hell is Tartarus where the Titans are imprisoned. If Hell is truly meant, Tartarus would have been used. The Greeks who did the translations know this like you and I know their is an old and new testament. It is more likely that the passage has been misinterpreted time and time again with a improper English perception.

Plus multiple translations later from earlier English texts, which had Hades in them, switched Hades to Hell and that name has been kept ever since.

Almost all English Translations of the Holy Bible stem from the same source in the New Testament... Greek translations or parts written in Greek.

Bible passages can be thrown out in the tons but it will still fail to address that the source of those passages (not inspiration) had put the word Hades down and not Tartarus. Hades != Hell = Tartarus

A place of the dead removed from God's presence would be torture for religious people.

In fact that is the oldest understanding and translation of Hell is...no fire or demons just a person in darkness removed from God's presence and light.

[sixstring38]

I have a new question.....i noticed you (snuffles) said that you beleive in God and Jesus his son. But what about the Holy Spirit? Is the trinity at all involved in your religion?

[Scrapz616]

Yes, Jehova's witnesses do believe in the Holy Spirit, except the holy spirit is not a person nor a thing to them, instead it is Jehova's force of power. They don't believe in the Trinity, Jehova is only Jehova, not three different people.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Scrapz616

Yes, Jehova's witnesses do believe in the Holy Spirit, except the holy spirit is not a person nor a thing to them, instead it is Jehova's force of power. They don't believe in the Trinity, Jehova is only Jehova, not three different people.

Well, in all honesty, no Christian ought to call them seperate people either. They are all part of one God, but they also have equal amounts of deity, as opposed to sharing the power of one being. The "God is an apple" metaphor is complete bull****, not even close to being doctrinal sound.

[sixstring38]

alrighty then...cause i thought i read somewhere about jehovas not jsut excluding the holy spirit/trinity idea and calling it heresy.

[ChaosbyWind]

Originally Posted by sixstring38

alrighty then...cause i thought i read somewhere about jehovas not jsut excluding the holy spirit/trinity idea and calling it heresy.

I'm a JW, and we don't go by "Jahovahs" Its Jehovha's Witness. We believe in the Holy spirit as God's Active force, however we do not believe in the trinity, in any form. God is God, Jesus is his son (and are not the same) and the Holy spirit is what God uses to carry out his purpose.

any more questions?

[lasthand]

Originally Posted by ChaosbyWind

I'm a JW, and we don't go by "Jahovahs" Its Jehovha's Witness. We believe in the Holy spirit as God's Active force, however we do not believe in the trinity, in any form. God is God, Jesus is his son (and are not the same) and the Holy spirit is what God uses to carry out his purpose.

any more questions?

Does that make you a polytheist?

[ChaosbyWind]

Originally Posted by lasthand

Does that make you a polytheist?

no, because We do not believe that jesus is God, he is a god (note w/o the capital G) but not God, who is the only true God. Just as pharoh was refered to as a god, but he wasn't God.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by ChaosbyWind

no, because We do not believe that jesus is God, he is a god (note w/o the capital G) but not God, who is the only true God. Just as pharoh was refered to as a god, but he wasn't God.

Then that means that you have multiple gods. If he is not God, then there are more than one, just like how the Greeks had multiple gods, some stronger, some weaker. If Jesus is not God, then he is something else. If he has divine power and right, then he is a god. If he is a god, and we know that God is a god, then there are more than one god in your worldview.