A blog by Tom Sheepandgoats (aka Tom Harley)
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“Just Give up and Admit You’re an A**hole”
You have to have a high tolerance for profanity if you are going to listen to Ani Difranco. Fortunately, I do. In a world in which the f-bomb has become the new “um," one either gets used to it or resigns oneself to not coming out of the Kingdom Hall. I even opined once about Ani that she might be the next Bob Dylan, with…
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Why do the Apostles Speak so Little About Living Forever on Earth if That is the Hope for All Mankind?
Jehovah’s Witnesses think the first century congregation represents a major unfolding of God’s purpose toward humankind. It represents just how “Abraham’s seed” is to bring blessings to “all the nations.” (Genesis 12:3, 18:18) Galatians 3:8 ties that seed to the early congregation. It is a new page in God’s handbook, that some from humankind would rule with Christ to bring blessings to the earth, the…
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They will not put up with the wholesome teaching, but … will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled.” (2 Timothy 4:3)
There is a speaker who uses his own children to illustrate the verse. He doesn’t use them specifically, but he has several of them, and the application would not likely have occurred to him otherwise. ‘Say your child approaches mom for an ice cream bar at 4PM, clearly not ice cream time,’ he says. ‘Mom says no. Unperturbed; the child then approaches dad with the…
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Just How Replaceable are Children? (Job 42–the Resolution)
"When reparations are made—only after Job has carried out the above instructions and interceded for his former tormentors—there is no question that Job has won his case. He went from everything to nothing and he goes back to everything. His lawyer got him twice what the insurance company said, not to mention (42:13) seven additional sons and three additional daughters. "Here, [Harold] Kushner chokes. Most…
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Did they tell Charles Darwin that God was picking flowers?
Did they tell Charles Darwin that God was picking flowers? Charles Darwin’s favorite child, Annie, contracted scarlet fever at age 10. She agonized for 6 weeks before dying. Also a casualty was Darwin’s faith in a beneficent Creator. The book Evolution: Triumph of an Idea, by Carl Zimmer, tells us that Darwin “lost faith in angels.” That’s an odd expression. Why would it be used?…
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Doc Blake Revisited: Why is there evil and suffering?
“In the absence of a workable theodicy, when people have no clue as to why a God of love would permit evil and suffering, God takes many shots. He took one in an episode of the TV whodunnit series, Dr. Blake. An elderly priest had been murdered. Upon solving the crime in his customary way: with unusual insight, unusual empathy, and unusual flare for getting…
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TV Doctor Blake Operates Without Blood
I don’t think I’ve ever seen movie or TV treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses that didn’t editorialize over the ‘life-saving’ nature of blood transfusions should the subject come up. As a rough guess, the drama over blood transfusion accounts for as much as half of all Witness mentions in movie or television. Almost always, the Witnesses get shellacked. For example, in one breathtakingly stupid episode of…
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Book of Galatians: Chapters 5 & 6 in Today’s English
You are free from slavery. Don’t go back to it. Or if you do, you’d better not miss a single one of those ‘I’s or ‘T’s. (5:1-6) You were doing so well. Who tripped you up? Who made you think you need circumcision? It ain’t me, babe. Those Jews would give me a free pass if they thought I was turning Christianity into just one…
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Book of Galatians in Today’s English: Chapters 3 & 4
What on earth is wrong with you? How can you be so dumb? You break free but then turn around and go back because you forgot your leg irons? Are you kidding me? (3:1-5) Don’t pull this Abraham stuff on me. Wait, no. If you want to talk Abraham, let’s talk Abraham. You think he earned anything? No! He “put faith in Jehovah, and it…
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Book of Galatians in Today’s English: Chapters 1 & 2
Dear Galatians: Remember me? It’s Paul. How are you? (1:1-5) The reason I say ‘remember me’ is because I’m not sure that you do! I can’t believe how quickly you are screwing up! Is that chair I used to sit in even cold yet? What is this about louts trying to change the whole narrative? They’re not allowed to do that! Look, even angels are…