Bridge of Reason

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Resurrection or Cloning?

In the film “The Sixth Day”, based in the near future where cloning of pets is allowed but not of humans, the main character, Adam, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, wakes up in a taxi, not knowing how he got there. He travels home only to see another man inside with his family; this man looks exactly like him. Before being able to confront the imposter, Adam is attacked by unknown assailants and has to run. This being an Arnie movie there are lots of shoot outs and the body count is high as Adam attempts to find out what is going on. It turns out that he has been cloned and the cloning company is trying to clear up the loose ends. Spoiler alert; it turns out he is the clone and the other Adam is the original. The story highlights some problems with the Watchtower’s ideas about ‘resurrection’. They teach that, at death, who we are ceases to exist; there is no soul or spirit that survives death, nothing of our essence continues on. ...

The Times of the Gentiles - by Dawn Partington

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that “the times of the gentiles” is a time period of 2,520 years, beginning in 607BC and ending in AD1914. According to their doctrine, Jesus was enthroned as King in AD1914 when the “gentile times” ended. 1. Only one verse in scripture mentions “the times of the gentiles”: 'They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.' Luke 21:24 NIV. The Jehovah's Witness organisation has linked this one verse with other prophetic passages to calculate the supposed length of these “gentile times”, notably a time period which began hundreds of years before the incarnation and ended over 1900 years after it. 2. Simple examination of the text of Luke 21 reveals what Jesus was referring to when he used the phrase “the times of the gentiles”. Let's look at the passage together and distil this into four points which you may...

The Stages of Faith

You have left a cult, or you are helping someone come out; so what comes next? The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: 'But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.' 1 Cor.3:1,2 There is a process of growth every Christian needs if they are to come to full maturity in Christ. The same is true for Christians coming out of cults. What are stages of this growth? How might we think about, and identify where people are in this process of sanctification? How are we to help them move on and grow further, from the milk to the meat? Recorded at the Reachout Trust Conference, September, 2024.

Telling the Truth Means You Don't Need to Remember What You've Said Before!

Telling the truth means you don’t need to remember what you've said before is a valuable expression to note as it can help us to separate the lies from the truth. The Watchtower is famous for the vast amounts of literature and information it pumps out to its members. In recent years the number of written items has reduced, being replaced by visual media mostly on JW Broadcasting, but the sheer volume seems to be remaining the same. This can sometimes result in slip ups in what pronouncements are made by the Governing Body. During the recent 2024 Annual Meeting of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (available for viewing on JW Broadcasting) an announcement was made, by the Governing Body member Gerrit Losch, that two new members were being added to the Governing Body. Those new members are Jode Jedele and Jacob Rumph who are both somewhat younger than most of the present members of the body, Rumph now being the youngest at 52. Losch welcomed these new me...

How Will Jehovah Forgive Us

The June 2022 Watchtower Article 24 titled “ Jehovah—The Greatest Forgiver ” attempts to paint a picture of Jehovah as a wise, just, and knowledgeable judge – which, of course He is. However, it also shows Him as a judge who has a number of requirements before He will forgive. The article quotes numerous Old Testament scriptures showing that Jehovah will forgive our transgressions and agrees that this forgiveness is made possible through Jesus dying for our sins, though it doesn’t mention the covenant this sacrifice generated. As Christians we would understand that Jesus’ sacrifice, the shedding of His blood, pays for our sins so that a just God can be merciful and forgive them; the price for those sins has already been paid (1 Cor 6 v 20, Heb 9 v 22). In contrast, the Watchtower article talks of there being other requirements for Jehovah’s forgiveness. It states that, before Jehovah will decide to offer forgiveness, “ He needs to be able to consider...

Jehovah: Believe Error or Die

Could you agree that it is possible that God would ever require you to believe something to be true that is actually false, on pain of Him irrevocably destroying you? Titus 1 v 2 (amongst other scriptures) would tell us that God cannot lie and Proverbs 12 v 22 (amongst other scriptures) would tell us that God hates a liar. So, it would seem inconceivable that He would require us, on pain of death, to believe a lie. But, this is exactly what the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society teaches, even though they may not put it in that way, or even realise that they teach it. It is a matter of record that, since its inception in the late 1800s, the Watchtower Society has never got all its doctrine correct at any one time, it has always taught something that later turned out to be false. By 'false' I mean something that has had to be 'clarified' under their 'brighter light' policy taken from Proverbs 4 v 18. And by 'clarified' I mean completely cha...