What factors were behind the rapid growth of Christianity in its first few centuries?

[Pudgy]

21 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Hold this thought. I’ll get back to you when I have a minute.

.ok

[Witness]

1 hour ago, TrueTomHarley said:

“If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4:20

I do believe that to you, I once said something like, 'how can I not love you?'  I am not the one who hates his brother and sister in Christ.  But ask your GB whom they hate; those they have dictated must be disfellowshipped - thousands of their brothers and sisters who question their teachings.  It is hate to feel you must silence anyone who speaks against your falsehoods.  Why do they do this?  To protected their organization.  "Jehovah's organization" is said to be "spirit-directed" as if blessed by God. 

Rev 13:11-15 - Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath (spirit-directed) to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

God does not tolerate false teachings, why do you?  Why do all JWs tolerate the false teachings of the GB Beast who  appears to be sent by Christ, but speaks "like a dragon", the liar?

[TrueTomHarley]

1 hour ago, Pudgy said:

.ok

 

Hey, that’s funny. I enjoyed that a lot.

Hey, that’s funny. I enjoyed that a lot.

Hey, that’s funny. I enjoyed that a lot.

Hey, that’s funny. I enjoyed that a lot.

Hey, that’s funny. I enjoyed that a lot.

Hey, that’s funny. I enjoyed that a lot.

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

1 hour ago, TrueTomHarley said:

It’s called “conducting yourself in the house of God, which is the congregation of the living God”

I'd like you to explain that a little deeper.  The true congregation of God is the true Anointed. And if you think that your Closed Club is the 'house of God' then you are indeed insulting YHWH. 

Quote "for those who have given their all in Jehovah’s service". I think you mean 'for those that have given their all in the GB / JW Org service, which does not serve YHWH in a pure way.

 

[Arauna]

3 hours ago, Patiently waiting for Truth said:

other how wonderful their F&DS are. A

We can actually have a good discussion there without the Hate-OCD remarks that are so  meaningless because they are merely a repetition of the same old incoherent things over and over.. 

[Arauna]

3 hours ago, Witness said:

AraunaSorry for this...should be "extremely"

I have no problem with spelling mistakes or other mistakes - I often do them myself. I do take some offense that you imply an intelligent "cunning" from me.  But I do not want to argue with you about any of it. Not worth it. 

[TrueTomHarley]

4 hours ago, Pudgy said:

Thanks for the kind invitation TTH, but the reason I left before is I was offending some very fine people with a very different sense of humor.

Hmm. Well, we DO have to work on that. On the other hand, police are known to develop a sort of “gallows humor” due to what they have experienced. Maybe it’s something like that with you too.

4 hours ago, Pudgy said:

For that reason alone, I initiated and asked the Elders to disfellowship me, and reluctantly, they eventually did, so the Truth may not be spoken of abusively.

You didn’t have to say this. No one here would ever have known. The fact that you did say it nonetheless indicates several things: 1) respect for the arrangement of the congregation of God, 2) a personal sense of honor, 3) proof that you do what you do out of fear of God and not humans, and 4) a desire not to ensnare others, even unknowingly, into violating congregation discipline not to engage with disfellowshipped ones. My respect for you has steadily heightened, and with this it goes through the roof. 

At the same time, I still see no reason you should not join the closed club, nor for @Annato reject your request when you make it. Disfellowshipped ones can attend meetings, in fact they are encouraged to do so when repentant. I’ve no doubt that the ‘honor system’ would compel you to behave there as though sitting in the Kingdom Hall. There’s no reason to cut yourself off from proper association, particularly as there are those there who are just the ticket for you to be readjusted. Find things worthwhile and you could even repackage them for the crowd here. I mean, the malcontents here repackage and run again the same pablum ad infinitum. No reason you can’t repackage stuff as well.

4 hours ago, Pudgy said:

I have learned to live without support from anyone, and may survive this …. Because, after all … it’s “one to a box”.

Well, yeah. I see where you’re coming from. But there’s no need to add to it unnecessarily. You should come, as the eagle does, to the carcass that is JWI—and all the others, too. 

4 hours ago, Pudgy said:

I initiated and asked the Elders to disfellowship me, and reluctantly, they eventually did, so the Truth may not be spoken of abusively.

I’m not sure what to make of this. Yes, you don’t want the Truth to be spoken of abusively. But with the elders apparently willing to keep you on board under some lesser form of discipline—well, I’m not sure one has to be less forgiving than God. Lots of sins are exposed these day. Adding them up, Jehovah’s people still have less than the population in general, because of the godly principles they diligently seek to apply. Even without holy spirit, it rubs off through sheer repetition.

We all fall short many times, James says. The truth of the matter might be as when Bud was replacing my car brakes and he couldn’t figure out how to reinstall the anti-rattle clip. “What’s one more rattle on a Ford?” he said at last as he threw it away.

Maybe I can serve as a character witness for you someday. I’d like that.

”Dear, TTH. Please don’t offer to serve as a character witness for Pudgy. We’re well away that he’s a character.”—the brothers.

[Witness]

2 hours ago, Arauna said:

I often do them myself. I do take some offense that you imply an intelligent "cunning" from me. 

That was not my application when saying you are extremely intelligent.  It is just a fact, you are extremely intelligent.  

It is your leaders who use cunning tactics to mislead their listeners onto the wrong path.  

[Anna]

5 hours ago, Pudgy said:

, I initiated and asked the Elders to disfellowship me, and reluctantly, they eventually did,

I am surprised they did. Usually they don't disfellowship someone just because they ask to be disfellowshipped (?) The only way I think that would work is if you handed them a letter of dissasociation...(?) But what do I know....

And yes, if you want to join the closed club you can.....as Tom said, it might be more beneficial for you than here only. 

[Pudgy]

The “Closed Club” mission statement says only JWs “in good standing… etc.” may join…. last time I checked.

It’s a very good idea.

” Sometimes the needs of the many are greater than the needs of the few, or the one.“ -  Spock

[Arauna]

11 hours ago, Witness said:

Nothing said about the Father and the Son, but about an organization...... 

We want to discuss scripture and our peeves in peace without having hate-OCD change the new subject of  hate for the GB in every thread...... that is why we want to get away from you.  Your nastiness follows us wherever we go. Most of us were prepared to put up with you - and we all did that for a very long time.... but now I think we have just decided it has been enough...

 

[Arauna]

5 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Well, yeah. I see where you’re coming from. But there’s no need to add to it unnecessarily. You should come, as the eagle does, to the carcass that is JWI—and all the others, too. 

Ditto - even if you are a smelly vulture.... lol. 

Seriously - you are adding to your own burdens /load.  No need to go as far as to punish yourself. 

I knew a brother who did the same as you.  He was also a character due to the fact that he grew up in an orphanage and (who knows) what happened to him there. He was never adopted. He learnt to only rely on the self... they are always awkward and do not generally fit in.  They themselves always feel different.  Children come out of these institutions with some unsociable traits such as quirky or extremely dark humor and an individuality which does not fit in. He was accepted back in the truth before he died.

I do not always understand your humor But I have not experienced it to be nasty or deprecating.  Sometimes only of the self!     Why continually expose yourself to the truly nasty ones?  Not worth it.