JW Insider

Constantine was not an emperor in the 3rd century.

"TWO BABYLONS" ALARM TRIGGERED!

Carefully back away, people, and make your way to the factual part of the internet.
https://www.gotquestions.org/easter-origins.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2009/april/was-easter-borrowed-from-pagan-holiday.html

You both! @JW Insider @Eoin Joyce
I like dogs

????
Edited to add. While I was writing something here and before I pressed 'submit' I saw a message pop up that Eoin was just then already responding so I quickly removed everything I had written so that I could first read what Eoin's take on this had been. It sounds like Eoin was thinking about the same thing that I was.  It has always been my experience that Eoin is one of most careful to avoid actually attacking the messenger. It has been my experience that he makes the forum a pleasure because he deals with the subject matter rather than the personalities. It's not that I don't know what it might have sounded like he was saying, but the very fact that it might have sounded like he meant something that he didn't actually say is an opportunity to check our own pre-judgments about what was meant.
My original response was going to include:
Why does my current response in this topic remind me of Proverbs 27:17? 
(Proverbs 26:17) 17 Like someone grabbing hold of a dog’s ears Is the one passing by who becomes furious about a quarrel that is not his. Of course, I was happy to remove it (initially) because I didn't want anyone to think I was calling them a dog.
 

No, not at all. No mention of messengers in my post. The message, however, was my focus. Sorry if that was not clear. 

????
Edited to add. While I was writing something here and before I pressed 'submit' I saw a message pop up that Eoin was just then already responding so I quickly removed everything I had written so that I could first read what Eoin's take on this had been. It sounds like Eoin was thinking about the same thing that I was.  It has always been my experience that Eoin is one of most careful to avoid actually attacking the messenger. It has been my experience that he makes the forum a pleasure because he deals with the subject matter rather than the personalities. It's not that I don't know what it might have sounded like he was saying, but the very fact that it might have sounded like he meant something that he didn't actually say is an opportunity to check our own pre-judgments about what was meant.
My original response was going to include:
Why does my current response in this topic remind me of Proverbs 27:17? 
(Proverbs 26:17) 17 Like someone grabbing hold of a dog’s ears Is the one passing by who becomes furious about a quarrel that is not his. Of course, I was happy to remove it (initially) because I didn't want anyone to think I was calling them a dog.
 

There are ways to use this fact to better effect than the stack of letters themselves.

There are ways to use this fact to better effect than the stack of letters themselves.

There are ways to use this fact to better effect than the stack of letters themselves.

Fact is that humans have given their lives for all manner of causes, real and imagined, religious and secular, admired and condemned by others. 
It is an extraordinary feature of humans that, throughout history, some are prepared to place principle above immediate personal survival. This has been exploited by religious and political schemers throughout that same history.
Jehovah made man this way, and recognised it in tolerating Satan's cynical and false assertion that “Skin for skin. A man will give everything that he has for his life" (Job 2:4). In fact, and to the contrary, a man will give his life for everything that he holds dear.
In his attempt to prove otherwise, Satan has caused many lives to be sacrificed, not the least those described at Ps.116:15: "Costly [Lit. Precious] in the eyes of Jehovah Is the death of his loyal ones.".
It is true that the relative, though sadly often only temporary, peace many of us presently enjoy has been hard won by the sacrifice of brave men and women, who regardless of their ignorance of the real issue, have served to prove the Devil's lie. It is reassuring to contemplate that their lives have not been wasted. In the coming Messianic kingdom, even those countless "Unknown Soldiers" will be back to tell their stories, and to embrace at last "the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ" 2Cor. 4:4. This is something far better than plaques and statues, memorial days and moments of mass silence. Or the embittered tears of fatherless, motherless, brotherless, sisterless families.
Then they will learn about the greatest and most efficacious sacrifice ever made, the Ransom Sacrifice of Jehovahs greatest warrior, His Son, Jesus Christ. And that event all who love Jehovah in the world today will be commemorating on Tuesday 11 April 2017 after sundown. And we can now do this shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Russia, knowing that Jehovah has given them this brief respite. And we can pray that Jehovah will fortify them for the uncertainty of the coming days as they too prove the lie to Satan's claim that “Skin for skin. A man will give everything that he has for his life".

UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN OVER TREATMENT OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN RUSSIA
https://www.ushmm.org/information/press/press-releases/museum-statement-on-jehovahs-witnesses-in-russia

...
It's not a moot point , but what has been presented above is a SUMMARY of a transcript, this one is pretty good, but some I have seen have  probably translated with a software program, such as "Google Translate".
The BIG QUESTION that begs to be answered for me is this: 
Since somewhere around 5.5 million Brothers spent somewhere around 20 million hours writing letters to the officials of the Russian Federation mailing an average of somewhere around 4 letters each at an international postage rate of perhaps 80 MILLION DOLLARS, total ... why has the WTB&TS not translated FOR THE BROTHERHOOD, translations of the Russian REAL transcripts, so we will know exactly what is going on?
You would think that for 80 or so MILLION DOLLARS, some usable hard data would be forthcoming, from people that reportedly are the world's best translators !!
Soon, an English translation WILL be available somewhere, possibly from several sources.
Why do we have to go elsewhere for hard news?
.
.
 

No. I do not. I am serious about this (for once) 
He is in danger of being made to look like an ass due to the machinations of the house church. I would spare him.
I do not share the common sentiment of maligning him. Nor is he my buddy. He is the leader of another form of government, that's all. 
Look, all human governments will drop the ball. Recognition of this fact explains why we are where we are. The other question unclear is upon which toe will it land.
Jesus is Jesus and he can read hearts and slam villains. I can't and I won't.
Even when I have carried on about apostates, it is not personal. They are fulfilling a role, and it is the role I don't like.

Interesting discussion. Something which came to mind for me reading this.
We obviously cannot be any more certain of Isaac's age than the suggestion in the Insight book. The term "At any rate" is often used to modify the preceding statement in a sentence. In this case, the defining of a specific age for Isaac in Jewish tradition being speculative, the writer prefers reasoning on the task Isaac is carrying out as a preferable indicator of his age. In view of the comparison with Jesus, I would feel a need to place Isaac toward the upper end of the age spectrum here. However, that would be a personal judgement.
Another interesting question for me relating to the demonstration of faith here would be in connection with Abraham's statement that "God himself will provide the sheep". Was Abraham using a  strategy as a consideration for Isaac's inadequate faith? Or was it a prophetic utterence, regarding the yet to be clarified ransom provision? After all, even the High Priest Caiaphas prophesied regarding the ransom without understanding the significance of his words (Jo 11:49-52). 

Bible believers have anguished over this account about Abraham and Isaac for thousands of years. Some have tried to soften the impact, because it jars our sensibilities. It's like reading about David having his enemies hacked up, or Jephthah offering his daughter as a burnt offering. Or Hosea being asked to marry a prostitute, or Ezekiel being asked to cook with human excrement, or Isaiah being asked to father a child by a prophetess who isn't described as his wife, and to walk around completely naked for three years. The list could go on and on. For centuries, Bible translators have often made decisions to soften the ideas from the original languages to protect more modern readers.
But this particular account is the most disturbing. How many of us would kill our child because we heard a voice and we had faith was God's voice. Abraham had the faith to go through with it. And we have no idea if the already weaned child was 5 years old, 6 years old, 10 years old, or even 20 years old, which is about the maximum age that the Hebrew word for "boy" is generally used of someone's son. We know he could speak, and that he could carry a bundle of sticks.
It's hard to say if Isaac really had faith in the resurrection at the time. Abraham lied to him or misled him when Isaac asked where the animal for sacrifice was. If Abraham was not misleading him when he told Isaac that God would provide the sheep, then that would mean that Abraham did not really have faith to offer up his son, because he expected a replacement all along. The Bible does not say that Isaac was willing to be bound. If Isaac was really willing to have a knife plunged into him, there might be no need to bind him anyway.
At any rate, this is not a story that we should just think of as another story for a book of children's Bible stories. It should make us anguish over what it really means to have faith. What is the difference in following a voice and dreams that tell you to murder, or voices and dreams that really come from God? The difference in Abraham's case seems to be a relationship with Jehovah that was undeniably real and close, as if he were speaking to a friend. And yet it wasn't completely based on things actually seen, but things unseen: faith.

Agree,  Ann. Seems like you can post any old picture or video with any date about some current event and call it something and people would believe it and forward it to others.  Witnesses  should learn to spot fake news and evaluate information as they should be more attuned to what is truthful.  We  were warned in the Kingdom Ministry years ago when the Internet was new.

@Arauna OK, Thanks. No argument from me. It's just that you said it so definitively I wondered if there was some additional resource you might have known about. (Hoping there was some related tradition from Islam, or something like that.)
As far as traditions handed down from Josephus, that was in the original post, too. We usually treat Josephus with some skepticism when he adds things that aren't indicated in the Bible record.
 

Bible believers have anguished over this account about Abraham and Isaac for thousands of years. Some have tried to soften the impact, because it jars our sensibilities. It's like reading about David having his enemies hacked up, or Jephthah offering his daughter as a burnt offering. Or Hosea being asked to marry a prostitute, or Ezekiel being asked to cook with human excrement, or Isaiah being asked to father a child by a prophetess who isn't described as his wife, and to walk around completely naked for three years. The list could go on and on. For centuries, Bible translators have often made decisions to soften the ideas from the original languages to protect more modern readers.
But this particular account is the most disturbing. How many of us would kill our child because we heard a voice and we had faith was God's voice. Abraham had the faith to go through with it. And we have no idea if the already weaned child was 5 years old, 6 years old, 10 years old, or even 20 years old, which is about the maximum age that the Hebrew word for "boy" is generally used of someone's son. We know he could speak, and that he could carry a bundle of sticks.
It's hard to say if Isaac really had faith in the resurrection at the time. Abraham lied to him or misled him when Isaac asked where the animal for sacrifice was. If Abraham was not misleading him when he told Isaac that God would provide the sheep, then that would mean that Abraham did not really have faith to offer up his son, because he expected a replacement all along. The Bible does not say that Isaac was willing to be bound. If Isaac was really willing to have a knife plunged into him, there might be no need to bind him anyway.
At any rate, this is not a story that we should just think of as another story for a book of children's Bible stories. It should make us anguish over what it really means to have faith. What is the difference in following a voice and dreams that tell you to murder, or voices and dreams that really come from God? The difference in Abraham's case seems to be a relationship with Jehovah that was undeniably real and close, as if he were speaking to a friend. And yet it wasn't completely based on things actually seen, but things unseen: faith.

Bible believers have anguished over this account about Abraham and Isaac for thousands of years. Some have tried to soften the impact, because it jars our sensibilities. It's like reading about David having his enemies hacked up, or Jephthah offering his daughter as a burnt offering. Or Hosea being asked to marry a prostitute, or Ezekiel being asked to cook with human excrement, or Isaiah being asked to father a child by a prophetess who isn't described as his wife, and to walk around completely naked for three years. The list could go on and on. For centuries, Bible translators have often made decisions to soften the ideas from the original languages to protect more modern readers.
But this particular account is the most disturbing. How many of us would kill our child because we heard a voice and we had faith was God's voice. Abraham had the faith to go through with it. And we have no idea if the already weaned child was 5 years old, 6 years old, 10 years old, or even 20 years old, which is about the maximum age that the Hebrew word for "boy" is generally used of someone's son. We know he could speak, and that he could carry a bundle of sticks.
It's hard to say if Isaac really had faith in the resurrection at the time. Abraham lied to him or misled him when Isaac asked where the animal for sacrifice was. If Abraham was not misleading him when he told Isaac that God would provide the sheep, then that would mean that Abraham did not really have faith to offer up his son, because he expected a replacement all along. The Bible does not say that Isaac was willing to be bound. If Isaac was really willing to have a knife plunged into him, there might be no need to bind him anyway.
At any rate, this is not a story that we should just think of as another story for a book of children's Bible stories. It should make us anguish over what it really means to have faith. What is the difference in following a voice and dreams that tell you to murder, or voices and dreams that really come from God? The difference in Abraham's case seems to be a relationship with Jehovah that was undeniably real and close, as if he were speaking to a friend. And yet it wasn't completely based on things actually seen, but things unseen: faith.

Or you could just say that it was taken from here:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402011526

Or you could just say that it was taken from here:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402011526

cuhear Yes! Of course, a title should be in capitals I learned in school. Correct? When scriptures have it in caps I see and use it. Hope that is what you are referring to? Bible Speaks ???
i agreed with everything you wrote. I wasn't making a correction or disagreeing in any way. As explained above, I was simply drawing attention to something that when reading our publications may have confused some people as to why the difference, especially as it relates to our newer understanding of the passage.
To put it another way:  If "the word of God" as expressed in Hebrews 4:12 were referring to a book, (the whole Bible)  - as a noun - "word" would have had a capital "W."  But it doesn't. "word of God" as expressed here is referring to God's promises, yes, as often expressed in the Bible, but not the whole Bible itself. That is different from the way we used to view it as shown in  JW Insider's post.  People may be confused when our publications historically have used that passage to allude to the Bible and using a capital "W" "Word of God" to make the point, when in fact the point made by that passage is to God's promises - an understanding which updates our previous understanding/application. 

Or you could just say that it was taken from here:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402011526

I read in some commentary in the Bethel Library that the Bible never speaks of the Bible as the "word of God" or "God's word." This always bothered me a bit because I had always thought of Hebrews 4:12. At the time we always used it this way:
*** w80 3/15 pp. 22-23 pars. 7-8 Living Up to Our Choice ***
7 When the apostles proclaimed the “good news,” whom did God through his Word commend? The people in the synagogue at Beroea, for, the Bible says, “they received the word [of the good news spoken by Paul and Silas] with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things [that even the apostle Paul said] were so.” (Acts 17:10, 11) They made these things their own, not merely listening with agreement but also examining the firm Scriptural basis for the things they eagerly received into their minds and hearts.
8 We should follow the course of those sincere Beroeans. Why? Because we may hear the truth preached or taught by human teachers, but when we read it in the Bible it becomes a fully founded, permanent motivating force in our hearts, for “the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and their marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) Constant study of the Bible prevents us from remaining spiritual babies. God’s Word infuses his spirit into our hearts, making us strong, mature. The same principle is in operation when we declare the “good news” to others. It has greater force if we let people read it in the Bible than if we use our own words.
It is obvious, even from the Greek and the context of Hebrew 4:12 that this isn't the Bible, specifically, being spoken about, but I was still surprised to see it stated this way in the more recent 2011 Watchtower.  @Bible Speaks is quoting above from the Simplified Edition.
*** w11 7/15 p. 32 par. 20 God’s Rest—Have You Entered Into It? ***
When Paul wrote that “the word of God is alive,” he was not referring specifically to God’s written Word, the Bible.