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The God Pill

Well-known member
Started the clementine recognitions last night apparently it and homilies are two variants of an older source text. Don't know much about it but a lot of modern anti Paul judaizers seem to base there views partly on it as well as use it to argue the nonsensical claim that Paul was Simon Magus 😆 its really long so may take a while.
 

MickHewitt

Well-known member
Started the clementine recognitions last night apparently it and homilies are two variants of an older source text. Don't know much about it but a lot of modern anti Paul judaizers seem to base there views partly on it as well as use it to argue the nonsensical claim that Paul was Simon Magus 😆 its really long so may take a while.
It's incredible how these pontificators through time have found support from sponsers. There surely is a higher conspiracy!
 

Artist77

Member
On the Reliability of the Old Testament by Kenneth Kitchen- Excellent book about archaeology and the Old Testeament. Shows that all of the Old Testament books are from the time period they claim. This is super academic by a professsor of Near Eastern languages. Highly recommended for those interested in archaeology and the Bible. The best book on archaeology/ the bible that Ive ever read

Language and Literacy in Roman Judea- A study of the Bar Kohba documents. I never believed the scholarly narrative that you always hear that Hebrew was extinguished in First century Judea. My instincts were completely right. Hebrew writings found from the Bar Kokhba rebellion and other places show that a popular Hebrew was very much alive during the time. Whether Aramaic or Hebrew was more popular is debated from the finds. Neverthelss, since Aramaic was the lingua franca, and Hebrew was the native language, personally I think Hebrew was still more popular. This shows that you should never put your faith completely in in "Scholars", since virtually all of them in the early 1900's till relatively recently said that Hebrew was all but wiped out.
 

MickHewitt

Well-known member
Started the clementine recognitions last night apparently it and homilies are two variants of an older source text. Don't know much about it but a lot of modern anti Paul judaizers seem to base there views partly on it as well as use it to argue the nonsensical claim that Paul was Simon Magus 😆 its really long so may take a while.
You love it! I can take in large chunks of information but can no longer write a thesis! You have been blessed with an incredible appetite for the academic. I am gorging and absorbing with the hope we get the privilege of using it in Zion!
 

The God Pill

Well-known member
You love it! I can take in large chunks of information but can no longer write a thesis! You have been blessed with an incredible appetite for the academic. I am gorging and absorbing with the hope we get the privilege of using it in Zion!
Hungers hard to satiate still have much to learn. Never hesitate to share or weigh in when you can. 🙂
 

The God Pill

Well-known member
The so called letter of paul to the laodiceans was ok I don't recall bad doctrine the author was decent at mimicking Paul's style even the times when not copy pasting verses from authentic letters of Paul but you could still tell it was a forgery. The letter was real short barely over twenty verses it seems it was created as a minimal effort so someone could say the church had the letter Paul said in one of his letters he wrote to the Laodiceans.

Often alleged letters of Peter to James and Clement to James are attached as an introduction of sorts to homilies and recognitions it was interesting because we always hear catholics claim Peter was the first pope but little details on his supposed time in Rome or first few "successors" in the letter of clement to James we get a mythology of peter ambiguously near death supposedly making clement his successor however because the text was from Jewish Christians it doesn't exalt Peter or Rome as much as a catholic work would as James is the more pope like figure the "bishop of bishops" Peter's subordinate to. The letter of Peter to James basically treats Christianity like a mystery school where copies of the scriptures are to be kept few in number and only for the sufficiently initiated to prevent many sects from springing up and that James writings are the standard to weigh any book claimed as NT scripture against to evaluate validity.

Eusbesius mentions the source text for homilies and recognitions in the early 4th century as rather wordy fakes I have to agree recognitions scarcely seems the product of someone unlettered and ordinary you can reject it about 4% through at the point in the narrative Peter teaches Clement that Jesus appeared to Abraham to teach him the immortal soul doctrine and a few others. It also denies the nephilim were fathered by corrupt angels instead attributing it to men who lived like angels before getting lusty. And it claimed Abraham had two sons before Isaac not one.

On non bible adjacent stuff 40% through analects of confucius.
 
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The God Pill

Well-known member
Halfway through the septuagint version of Jeremiah which is one of the OT books that most contrast in regard to lxx vs mt. It's supposed to be 1/8 shorter word count wise organized a little different sequentially contain a few verses here and there the jews edited out in the mt and lack a number of interpolations present in the MT. The versions of Jeremiah were familiar with aren't fresh in mind enough for me to compare mentally chapter to chapter or verse to verse etc save the first 15 chapters where i read them parallel and lxx seemed marginally richer but I am noticing from the part ive just gone over chapters 16-27 of the lxx version that it sounds a bit more Revelation like and that it includes verses mentioning Jehovah humiliating "gods" of the nations that are absent in the MT including the Egyptian Apis the MT still kept the references to Belus/Marduk and Chemosh and Malcam to its credit.
 
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The God Pill

Well-known member
Thirty nine chapters through now two differences I'm noticing is lxx has a more negative and mt more positive view of Moab's outcome another is that lxx references the ointment (anointing oil of the priesthood) in a paragraph mentioning the bride bridegroom and Menorah while the mt replaces ointment with hand mill for some odd reason.
 
J

Jehovahsloyalchild

Guest
I started reading the Bible again....this time from front to back...studying it intently with prayer and I can feel Jehovahs holy spirit opening my mind to every scripture giving me keen insight. It's almost as if I am right there living in that time. Jehovahs word truly is ALIVE 🙏
 

The God Pill

Well-known member
Lxx Jeremiah is done not much really to report on it but one point I read in a book recently was cool. Apparently there are three levels of holiness holy, most holy and holy holy holy something most holy can impart holiness to something or someone else and holy holy holy can impart most holiness. That suggest to me that the seraphim that applied the coal to Isaiah was of a most holy state.
 

White Stone

Well-known member
Was reading Antiquities of the Jews and found similar events so far in reading regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint.

For example, according to Josephus, before Adam and Eve sinned, all animals spoke of the same language—that’s why the serpent can talk to Eve—which was also written in the Book of Lamech if I remembered correctly. Also, according to Josephus, Seth was born when Adam reached 230 years of his life, similar to what is written in the Septuagint.
 

BARNABY THE DOG.

Well-known member
Was reading Antiquities of the Jews and found similar events so far in reading regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint.

For example, according to Josephus, before Adam and Eve sinned, all animals spoke of the same language—that’s why the serpent can talk to Eve—which was also written in the Book of Lamech if I remembered correctly. Also, according to Josephus, Seth was born when Adam reached 230 years of his life, similar to what is written in the Septuagint.
Does Josephus discuss how animals had the facility of speech back then and the ability to reason on the spiritual plane?
 

White Stone

Well-known member
Does Josephus discuss how animals had the facility of speech back then and the ability to reason on the spiritual plane?
The book Antiquities of the Jews Book 1 Chapter 1 pr. 4 reads:

4 God therefore commanded that Adam and his wife should eat of all the rest of the plants, but to abstain from the tree of knowledge; and foretold to them, that if they touched it, it would prove their destruction. But while all the living creatures had one language*

*Hence it appears, that Josephus thought several, at least, of the brute animals, particularly the serpent, could speak before the fall. And I think few of the more perfect kinds of those animals want the organs of speech at this day. Many inducements there are also to a notion, that the present state they are in, is not their original state; and that their capacities have been once much greater than we now see them, and are capable of being restored to their former condition. But as to this most ancient, and authentic, and probably allegorical account of that grand affair of the fall of our first parents, I have somewhat more to say in way of conjecture, but being only a conjecture, I omit it: only thus far, that the imputation of the sin of our first parents to their posterity, any further than as some way the cause or occasion of man's mortality, seems almost entirely groundless; and that both man, and the other subordinate creatures, are hereafter to be delivered from the curse then brought upon them, and at last to be delivered from that bondage of corruption, Romans 8:19-22.]
Just a speculation, but could it be the reason that Noah was able to communicate with the animals back then and have them in the ark, and even command the birds to fly to look for a land?
 

MickHewitt

Well-known member
The book Antiquities of the Jews Book 1 Chapter 1 pr. 4 reads:


Just a speculation, but could it be the reason that Noah was able to communicate with the animals back then and have them in the ark, and even command the birds to fly to look for a land?
Job 12:6-9 "Ask please the animals.....do they not know that Jehovah has done this..." I used to ask Jah to get the local crows to sit on the roofs of the prospective interested ones....titter....I used to also ask if my hair could grow back....Long time back ...hee hee but interestingly since maturity my nasal and ear hair is doing very well..but not on the solar panel...
 

White Stone

Well-known member
Job 12:6-9 "Ask please the animals.....do they not know that Jehovah has done this..." I used to ask Jah to get the local crows to sit on the roofs of the prospective interested ones....titter....I used to also ask if my hair could grow back....Long time back ...hee hee but interestingly since maturity my nasal and ear hair is doing very well..but not on the solar panel...
Thanks for the scriptures MickHewitt. Even animals are aware of Jehovah’s presence or glory.

Did the local crows sit on the roofs as you prayed?

Back then on the memorial invitation campaign first year of the pandemic with my friend, it was really hot outside as it is afternoon. Before going out, I prayed that it be a cloudy day, an hour later it did become cloudy but then later rained heavily.😂 We were able to finish the work that afternoon but have our clothes wet.
 

MickHewitt

Well-known member
Thanks for the scriptures MickHewitt. Even animals are aware of Jehovah’s presence or glory.

Did the local crows sit on the roofs as you prayed?

Back then on the memorial invitation campaign first year of the pandemic with my friend, it was really hot outside as it is afternoon. Before going out, I prayed that it be a cloudy day, an hour later it did become cloudy but then later rained heavily.😂 We were able to finish the work that afternoon but have our clothes wet.
We all tried everything to get a bible study...didn't we... I do miss them bro's and sis and the happy times on the ministry....Our laughter would echo through the estates......Back to Josephus and Hislop they got alot right but........Thank Christ for scriptures because it's the only golden truth on earth. Lovely stuff WhiteStone.
 

MickHewitt

Well-known member
A thread for mentioning and/or discussing any books on the bible I'm mostly focusing on non watchtower publications but old WT books and literature are good too as I'm always eager to hear brothers and sisters insights. Any recommendations are very welcome. 😊 The past year I've read

On the ancient front

Justin Martyr's Apologies and dialogue with Trypho
Iraneus Against Heresies
Eusbesius Church History
1/4 of Josephus antiquities of the jews
Tertullians treatise on idolatry
Philo's treatise on the giants

On the modern books front

Psalms 82 by Brian Godawa (highly derrivative content and preterist view of revelation its not devoid of value but fictions clearly his strong suit)

The Unseen Realm and Reversing Hermon by Michael Heiser (insightful to those not already familiar with his work 1st or second hand I can't fathom how he remained a trinitarian over the years)

The Great Angel a Study of Israel's Second God by Margaret Barker (a rich and dense read though Margaret's feminism biases her work occasionally)

Right now I'm 1/3 way through Margaret's book temple mysticism

On spiritual warfare front (the theology of these are very mixed bags roughly half utility half junk)

The Water Realm by Uzor Ndekweu

The Queen of the Coast, Defeating the Python Spirit, and Monitoring Spirits by Prayer M. Madueke. 1/5 through his book on Leviathan.

I've heard some on the forum mention the commentary on James that might be a good place to start anything bible adjacent is good.
You are blessed GodPill, what an appetite you have. Thanks for always sharing your knowledge.
 
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