A blog by Tom Sheepandgoats (aka Tom Harley)
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Who is Michael?
Who would have thought that Jehovah’s Witnesses were not alone in identifying the archangel Michael with Jesus? That the idea is also found in the writings of Martin Luther and John Calvin? That a host of other theologians have said it too? It was news to me. Really enjoyed this exhaustive article. Were it not for the Michael/Christ identification running afoul of trinitarian concerns, I…
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Jesus and Socrates: It’s Amazing the Parallels that can be Drawn
Jesus and Socrates Both Socrates and Jesus had a way of buttonholing people, prodding them to think outside the box. Both attracted a good many followers in this way. Both were outliers to the general world of their time. Both were looked upon askance for it. Both infuriated their ‘higher-ups’—so much so that both were consequently sentenced to death. Their venues were different, and so…
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Jehovah’s Witnesses—“Micro” “Macro” evolution and abiogenesis
In the main, Jehovah’s Witnesses have no problem with “micro-evolution,” the stuff of bird beak variations that Darwin found on the islands. Where they object to it, it is because of correctly anticipating the truckloads of dogma that atheists will drive through the door it cracks open. One can always argue with “macro-evolution” but there hardly seems a point. Plenty of religious people will say:…
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At the Darwin Martin Frank Lloyd Wright Home
Not too long ago we visited the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Buffalo. FLW is regarded as an artist who brooked no interference from his clients. In one bedroom, the built-in bed was 4 feet long. When the clients complained, he told them it was their own fault. They had insisted upon a closet, so he put it at the head of the bed. Couldn’t…
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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…