“What I teach is not mine. . . 

(John.7:16)

This post is based of of the October 1, 2015 Watchtower. I would like and hope that this blog shows that Jehovah has helped the Witnesses that is his chosen people, and has educated them in many different ways. During the apostasy, Satan has succeeded in introducing false teachings such as the Trinity. This teaching carries no benefit when it comes to not being able to  understand certain aspects of its nature. However, when compared to Jehovah's aspects that are incomprehensible to us his creation, it's actually of a great benefit to His creatures!

The doctrine of the Trinity is one teaching found in the churches that most who believe in it cannot explain to another individual. They claim it is a mystery, or even those who are versed in that doctrine could even find himself getting lost in an explanation of it, I had this experience more than I could remember. Here is a quote by C.S. Lewis who believed in the Trinity, He said this about his view on Christianity in general, this quote could also include the puzzling Trinity doctrine. If you're one of Jehovah's Witnesses, then you've heard this puzzle all to well. They have tried to use Illustrations like the egg, clover, pretzel ect.

Compare the difference between Philo & The Apostle Paul 

“God is incomprehensible.”—Philo of Alexandria, first-century philosopher.

“[God] is not far off from each one of us.”—Saul of Tarsus, addressing first-century philosophers in Athens.

AS YOU read those two statements, which one describes your view? Many find the words of Saul of Tarsus, also called the apostle Paul, comforting and appealing. (Acts 17:26, 27) And the Bible contains other assurances like that one. For example, Jesus offered a prayer that contains a warm assurance that his followers can come to know God and receive his blessing.—John 17:3.

This means everlasting life, their coming to know you,* the only true God,  and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. - (John.17:3)

However, philosophers such as Philo took a different view. They implied that we could never know God at all because he is completely incomprehensible. Where does the truth lie?

The Bible frankly acknowledges that there are some things about God that are difficult for humans to understand. 

For example, the length of the(1) Creator’s existence, (2)the brilliance of his mind, and (3) the depth of his wisdom cannot be measured, quantified, or fathomed. They simply exceed human comprehension. However, those aspects of God present no obstacle to our getting to know him. In fact, meditating on those very things can help us to “draw close to God.” (James 4:8) Let us consider a few examples of such incomprehensible things. Then we will look at aspects of God we really can grasp.

What Aspects Are Incomprehensible?

(1)

GOD’S ETERNAL EXISTENCE: The Bible teaches that God exists “from everlasting to everlasting.” (Psalm 90:2) In other words, God had no beginning and will have no end. From a human point of view, “the number of his years is beyond comprehension.”—Job 36:26.

How you benefit: God promises you everlasting life if you truly come to know him. (John 17:3) How reliable would such a promise be if God himself did not live forever? Only “the King of eternity” could fulfill such a promise.—1 Timothy 1:17.

(2) 

GOD’S MIND: The Bible teaches that God’s “understanding is unsearchable” because his thoughts are so much higher than ours. (Isaiah 40:28; 55:9) Appropriately, the Bible asks the rhetorical question: “Who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”—1 Corinthians 2:16, English Standard Version.

How you benefit: God is able to listen to millions of prayers at the same time. (Psalm 65:2) He even notices every sparrow that falls to the ground. Will God’s mind ever be overloaded, preventing him from noticing you and listening to your prayers? No, because his mind is not limited. What is more, “you are worth more than many sparrows” to him.—Matthew 10:29, 31.

(3) 

GOD’S WAYS: The Bible teaches that man can “never find out the work that the true God has made from start to finish.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Hence we will never know everything about God. The wisdom behind God’s ways is “beyond tracing out.” (Romans 11:33) However, God is willing to reveal his ways to those who want to please him.—Amos 3:7.

The length of the Creator’s existence, the brilliance of his mind, and the depth of his wisdom cannot be measured, quantified, or fathomed

How you benefit: If you read and study the Bible, you will never cease to learn new things about God and his ways. This means that we can draw ever closer to our heavenly Father for all eternity.

What You Can Know

Just because we cannot fully comprehend certain aspects of God does not mean that we cannot get to know him at all. The Bible contains plenty of information that helps us to get to know God better. Consider some examples:

(1) 

GOD’S NAME: The Bible teaches us that God has a name. He says: “I am Jehovah. That is my name.” God’s name appears some 7,000 times in the Bible, more than any other name.—Isaiah 42:8.

How you benefit: Jesus said in his model prayer: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.” (Matthew 6:9) Could you also use God’s name in your prayers? Jehovah is willing to save everyone who shows proper respect for his name.—Romans 10:13.

(2)

GOD’S DWELLING: The Bible teaches that there are two “realms”—a spirit realm where spirit creatures with spirit bodies exist and a physical realm consisting of our earth and the universe. (John 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15:44) In the Bible, the word “heavens” often refers to the spirit realm. The Creator’s “dwelling place” is in those “heavens.”—1 Kings 8:43.

How you benefit: You get a clearer picture of God. The Creator is not an obscure force that is everywhere and in everything. Jehovah is a real Person who lives in a real place. Still, “there is not a creation that is hidden from his sight.”—Hebrews 4:13.

(3)

GOD’S PERSONALITY: The Bible teaches that Jehovah has endearing qualities. “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) He never lies. (Titus 1:2) He is impartial, merciful, compassionate, and slow to anger. (Exodus 34:6; Acts 10:34) It may come as a surprise to many that the Creator desires to have a “close friendship” with those who respect him.—Psalm 25:14.

How you benefit: You can become Jehovah’s friend. (James 2:23) Then, as you come to know Jehovah’s personality, you can better understand Bible accounts.

“SEARCH FOR HIM”

The Bible portrays a clear picture of Jehovah God. He is far from being incomprehensible. In fact, the Creator wants you to get to know him. His Word, the Bible, promises: “If you search for him, he will let himself be found by you.” (1 Chronicles 28:9) Why not get to know God by reading and meditating on Bible accounts? If you do so, the Bible promises that God “will draw close to you.”—James 4:8.

You might wonder, ‘Since I cannot comprehend everything about the Creator, how can I ever be his friend?’ Consider this: Does the best friend of a surgeon need to have a degree in medicine? Not at all! The surgeon’s friend might have a completely different profession. Still, a close friendship is possible. What really counts is that the surgeon’s friend knows the surgeon’s personality as well as what he likes and what he dislikes. Similarly, you can learn from the Bible what kind of person Jehovah is—exactly what you need to know in order to forge a friendship with him.

Far from providing a faint outline of the Creator, the Bible contains the kind of information that we need in order to get to know God. Would you like to learn more about Jehovah God? Jehovah’s Witnesses offer a free home Bible study program. We invite you to contact the Witnesses in your area or to visit our website, www.jw.org.

The Reliability of the Christian Greek Scriptures/ New Testament (Internal Evidence)  

There is a book by J.J. Blunt,  named ''Undesigned Coincidences", which demonstrates that the Bible is internally reliable and can therefore be  trusted. This book is old enough to be free on a pdf and I'll put a link right here.  Undesigned Coincidences  .  However, I have noticed in our publication, " A Book for all people'', printed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, it contains the same line of reasoning. So this would be taken from our Brochure.

(1)
At times, detailed explanations are omitted from one account but are provided from else were by statements made by in passing. For instance, Matthews account of the trial of Jesus before the Jewish Sanhedrin says that some people present  "slapped him in the face, saying:
' Prophecy to us, you Christ. Who is it that struck you? ' "  (Matt.26:67,68) Why would the ask Jesus to '' Prophecy who had struck Him, When the striker was standing there right in from of Him? Matthew does not explain. But two of the other Gospel writers explain the missing detail, Jesus' persecutors covered His face before he was slapped.( Mark.14:65) (Luke.22:64) Matthew presents his material without concern as to whether as every last detail was supplied.

(Matt.26:67,68) Then they spat in his face and hit him with their fists. Others slapped him on the face, saying: “Prophesy to us, you Christ. Who struck you?”

Why did they ask Jesus who hit him? Matthew does not explain. But two of the other Gospel writers explain the missing detail.
Highlighted in red


(Mark.14:65) And some started to spit on him and to cover his face and hit him with their fists and say to him: “Prophesy!” And slapping him in the face, the court attendants took him.

(Luke.22:64) and after covering his face, they kept asking: “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

(2)
The Gospel of john tells of an occasion when a large crowd gathered to hear Jesus teach according to the record, when Jesus observed the crowd, " he said to fill up: ' Where shall we buy loaves  for these to eat ' " (John.6:5) Of all the disciples present , why did Jesus ask Philip to buy some bread? The writer did not say. In the parallel account,though  Luke reports the incident took place near Bethsaida, a city of the north shore of Galilee, and earlier in johns Gospel it says that "Phillip was from Bethsaida. " (John.1:44) (Luke.9:10) So Jesus logically asked a person whose home town was nearby. The agreement between the details was remarkable, yet clearly unwitting.


(John.6:5) When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip: “Where will we buy bread for these people to eat?”


(John.1:44) Now Philip was from Beth·saʹi·da, from the city of Andrew and Peter.


(Luke.9:10) When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus all they had done.With that he took them along and withdrew privately into a city called Beth·saʹi·da.

remember (John.6:5) and (Luke.9:10) are parallel accounts (John.1:44) explains unintentionally why Jesus asked Phillip where to buy bread.
Jehovah's Word is no myth!

Found a video of  internal biblical evidence. Not promoting the beliefs of the speaker's in the video.

Non Christian Sources of Jesus Christ
 
The Death of Jesus
⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”^[a] When he had said this, he breathed his last.

(Luke 23:44-46)

Thallus. 

In the Book, by  Norman L. Geisler in his Baker Encyclopedia
of Christian Apologetics, on page. 382, it reads,

 Thallus wrote about A.D. 52. None of his works are extant, though a few fragmented citations are preserved by other writers. One such writer is Julius Africanus in about 221, who quotes thallus in a discussion of the darkness which followed the crucifixion of Christ:
On the whole world their pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of hid History calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. [ Extant Writings , 18 in the Ante-Nicene Fathers. 

Africanus identifies the darkness which Thallus explained as a solar eclipse with the darkness at the crucifixion described in Luke.23:44-45

Where Does Science point to Atheism or Theism?

Two types of causes exist in our universe, 1. intelligent causes and 2. unintelligent / or natural  causes. Atheism vs Theism some think that these two faiths are a matter over evidence; but it's not. The debate is  over philosophy for we all have and believe in different philosophical thought/views.


One Philosophy that makes men of science deny a creator is materialism.

Materialism  defined as:

1.The position that nothing exists except matter — things that can be measured or known through the senses. Materialists deny the existence of spirit, and they look for physical explanations for all phenomena.


   Many atheists, however, view science through the lens of materialism—a philosophy that assumes purely material causes for the origin of life. “We have a prior commitment . . . to materialism,” wrote evolutionist Richard C. Lewontin. “That materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.” Hence, materialists embrace the only alternative they have—evolution.   November, Awake, 2011 p. 7

Yet if this is the scientists' only alternative then how do they know if its really true? IF they full out the other cause that is an intelligent causes over a natrual casuse then they have no real way of knowing how the universe came to be.

Which Approach Is More Reasonable?


NO HUMAN witnessed the beginning of life on earth. Nor has anyone seen one kind of life evolve into another kind—a reptile into a mammal, for example. Therefore, we must rely on the available evidence to draw conclusions about the origin of life. And we need to let the evidence speak for itself rather than force it to say what we want it to say.

In a book published by Jehovah's Witnesses "Creation"
 it mentions Richard Lewontin in Scientific American, under the heading  “Adaptation,” by Richard Lewontin, September 1978, p. 213.

 Evolutionist Richard Lewontin admitted that organisms “appear to have been carefully and artfully designed,” so that some scientists viewed them as “the chief evidence of a Supreme Designer.”

Richard Dawkins  admits that 

Biology is the study of complicated things that have the appearance of having been designed with a purpose. -Richard Dawkins, (The Selfish Gene.)

     
So why do these two gentlemen believe that everything came from nothing and that all this something has the appearance of being designed?
In a nutshell it would be the philosophy of materialism!


Isaac Asimov tells us that the '' universe can be explained by evidence obtained from the universe alone. . . no supernatural agency need be called upon. " - Isaac Asimov's Book of Science and Nature Quotations (New York: Weidefeld & Nicolson, 1988), p. xvi.

Carl Sagan I feel has a pretty smooth way of defining what the philosophy of materialism is: He asserted at the beginning of His television series, Cosmos on  PBS, " The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be." In other words no God.

Philosophy defined as:

1.The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.

• a particular system of philosophical thought.
• the study of the theoretical basis of a particular branch of knowledge or experience.

  "the philosophy of science"

Evolutionist, Atheist,  all together rule out intelligent causes before they come to any conclusion, when it comes to the cause of the universe or life, because of their prior commitment to materialism. Would it be wise to use a metal detector in search for a plastic bottle? That's what happens when one carries a preconception that distorts our view/attitude toward science or scripture.

Richard Dawkins acknowledged his philosophical bias in an e-mail to DR. Phillip Johnson, author of Darwin on Trial, Dawkins Wrote, " [My] philosophical commitment to materialism and reductionism is true, but I would prefer to characterize it as a philosophical commitment to a real explanations opposed to complete lack of explanation, which is what you espouse." Stealing From God, Frank Turek,

“The belief that life on earth arose spontaneously from non-living matter, is simply a matter of faith in strict reductionism and is based entirely on ideology.” Hubert P. Yockey, 1992. Information Theory and Molecular Biology,  p. 284.

"Every time I write a paper on the origins of life I swear I will never write another one, because there is too much speculation running after too few facts, though I must confess that in spite of this, the subject is so fascinating that I never seem to stick to my resolve."-Life Itself, p. 153, Francis Crick,

"Everything about evolution before the bacteria-like life forms is sheer conjecture." The Plausibility of Life by Marc W. Kirschner and John C. Gerhart,

Despite Richard Dawkins saying this he remains an atheist, as said earlier, it's not a debate over evidence its a debate over different philosophical thought. Science says nothing, scientist do. Yet they rule out an intelligent cause before they make a conclusion.

Which Lens will you wear?



Many evolutionist, atheist, materialist  view/approach science through the lens of materialism—a philosophy that assumes purely material causes for the origin of life.

-Materialism, refers to the theory that physical matter is the only or fundamental reality, that everything in the universe, including all life, came into existence without any supernatural intervention in the process.-

 Hence, materialists embrace the only alternative they have—evolution.

Religious people too may have preconceptions that distort their attitude toward science.  Some creationists cling to the erroneous notion that God formed the world in 6 literal days a few thousand years ago. Having made that prior commitment, they try to force the evidence to fit their extremely literal interpretation of the Bible.


                                            
                                                REVIEW
                         Science points to Theism or Atheism?

1. Their are only 2 types of causes 1. intelligent causes and 2. unintelligent causes or natural causes .

2. Atheism & Theism is not a debate over evidence; it's a debate over philosophy.

3. The average scientist believes that the philosophy of materialism is true however this rules out one cause and gives the man only one out of the two causes of our universe. This philosophy that is materialism restricts it limits the scientist.  Would a judge have already came to a conclusion before a hearing? Is that responsible of the Judge?

We  are all susceptible to have a lens that distorts how we interpret the evidence.

4.Science says nothing, scientist/people do!

5. Many evolutionist,approach  science through the lens of materialism—a philosophy that assumes purely material causes for the origin of life. Irresponsible just like the judge mentioned earlier.


Where Does Science point to Atheism or Theism?
Well it goes to what you force it to. We should be open and let it speak for itself. Would you like to begin now?

What makes more sense that everything came from nothing or that everything came from something.

 All living things came from nothing or that all living things came from something. 
Life only comes from life. 

A refutation of Christendom's interpretation of Christ having a physical body after the resurrection.

Jehovah's Witnesses preach and teach that the bible is clear that Jesus was raised a spirit with no blood and not a body of flesh.  This post will refute the error Christendom has believed in and that the witnesses are correct on their interpretation of the resurrection of Christ. 

Christendom will use (Luke.24:36-39) to support their interpretation. We will examine the scriptures and see how Luke associates the Greek word spirit with the Greek word demon. 


(Luke.24:36-39)

36 While they were speaking of these things, he himself stood in their midst and said to them: “May you have peace.” 




37 But because they were terrified and frightened, they imagined that they were seeing a spirit.

[ We will soon see that spirt was synonymous with a demonic spirit!]


38 So he said to them: “Why are you troubled, and why have doubts come up in your hearts? 

39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones just as you see that I have.”




Jesus assured them that he was no spirit; they could see his body of flesh and could touch him, feeling the bones; he also ate in their presence. 

Similarly, in the past, angels had materialized in order to be seen by men; they had eaten, and some had even married and fathered children. (Gen. 6:4; 19:1-3) 

Following his resurrection, Jesus did not always appear in the same body of flesh (perhaps to reinforce in their minds the fact that he was then a spirit), and so he was not immediately recognized even by his close associates. (John 20:14, 15; John.21.4-7)


However, by his repeatedly appearing to them in materialized bodies and then saying and doing things that they would identify with the Jesus they knew, he strengthened their faith in the fact that he truly had been resurrected from the dead.

We will consider how Luke associates the Greek word spirit with the Greek word demon.



(Luke.4:33)

33 Now in the synagogue, there was a man with a spirit,[pneuma] an unclean demon,[daimonion] and he shouted with a loud voice: 

(Luke.8:29)

29 (For Jesus had been ordering the unclean spirit [pneuma] to come out of the man. It had seized him on many occasions, and he was repeatedly bound with chains and fetters and kept under guard, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon [daimonion] into the isolated places.) 

(Luke.9:39)

39 And look! a spirit [pneuma] takes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth, and only with difficulty does it leave him after bruising him. 

(Luke.9:42)

” 42 But even as he was approaching, the demon,[daimonion] hurled him to the ground and violently threw him into a convulsion. However, Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit [pneuma] and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 


These scriptures make it clear that a reference to " a spirit '' frequently meant a demonic spirit!

Now let's hear what 3 outside sources have said on the matter. 


[1] Ignatius (who died sometime during Trajan's reign [98-117CE]) wrote the following to the Smyrnaens (3:2); " For I know and believe that he was in the flesh even after the resurrection; and when he came to Peter and those with him, he said to them; " Take hold of me; handle me and see me that I am not a DISEMBODIED DEMON." 

The Apostolic Fathers Translated By J. B. Lightfoot & J. R. Harmer 2nd Edition page.187

-End Quote-


[2] Gary Habermas in his book " The Resurrection of Jesus" in a footnote on p. 41 it reads,

 " While no judgment was made as to the exact composition of Jesus' resurrection body, the evidence does reveal that He rose in a change (Spiritual) body, as perceived by the eyewitnesses."

-End Quote-

[3] Norman L. Geisler in his Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, He quotes Irenaeus from the 2nd century, concerning the resurrection under the heading, " Flesh and Blood" found in (1 Corinthians.15:50). On page 662 it reads; 

" Flesh and Blood " and the Kingdom. Paul said, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" (1Cor.15:50). As early as the second century Irenaeus noted that this passage was used by heretics in support of their "very great error" (Irenaeus,30.13), that the resurrection body will not be a body of flesh.

-End Quote-

The book just quoted on page 565 also said that Origen from (185-254) "denied that Jesus was raised from the dead in a physical body". 

What we learn from the last 2 quotes is that even though these two men that  the "supposed heretics"and even the second quote from Origen  denying the physical body; is that in those early times their teachings were diverse on the matter of the resurrection of Christ and his body being raised spiritual or physical, blood or no blood.




Please read (1 Cor.15:42-50) down below.
Notice the Contrast the scriptures bring out.




42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised up in incorruption. 

43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised up in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised up in power. 

44 It is sown a physical body; it is raised up a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual one. 

45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living person.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 

46 However, what is spiritual is not first. What is physical is first, and afterward what is spiritual. 

47 The first man is from the earth and made of dust; the second man is from heaven. 

48 Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust; and like the heavenly one, so too are those who are heavenly. 

49 And just as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we will bear also the image of the heavenly one.

50 But I tell you this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s Kingdom, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.




Jesus clearly doesn't have a body of flesh, but did take on a physical body to strengthen his followers. Remember that Gary Habermas quote? " While no judgment was made as to the exact composition of Jesus' resurrection body, the evidence does reveal that He rose in a change (Spiritual) body, as perceived by the eyewitnesses."



The doctrine that Jesus has his physical body after his resurrection would include Jesus having two natures. 

 I'm hoping that this post will help other's see that the Dual Nature of Christ is contrary to scripture.

I've noticed that the Dual Nature that Christ supposedly has is what keeps the Trinity tightly knit.

 It's a strong link of the Trinitarian chain and needs to be addressed.


At this point, if you the reader accepts this post and the contrast that Paul brought out in 1 Corinthians on scriptures to be true. Then at this point, Jesus is only a man and the Dual Nature by means of still having a body of flesh and taking it in heaven doesn't hold up to scripture. 

After Jesus’ Resurrection, Was His Body Flesh or Spirit?

JimSpaceBlog Jesus’ Resurrection Body

Atheist can't use their own mind/argument to reason or have any arguments against GOD!





"Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, 

no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for 

the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms 

inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to 

arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-

product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I 

trust my own thinking to be true? It's like upsetting a milk jug 

and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map 

of London. But if I can't trust my own thinking, of course I 

can't trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore

have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I 

believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never 

use thought to disbelieve in God."

C.S. Lewis The Case for Christianity p.32

But then with me the horrid doubt always arises whether the

convictions of man's mind, which has been developed from

the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all

trustworthy. Would any one trust in the convictions of a

monkey's mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind?

-  Charles Darwin Quote