What is "The Good News?"

[EBA]

Tell me, what is "The Good News?"

Peace be to all.

[JehovahsWitness]

Jesus was simply teaching people how to live in the presence of the Lord , as living in the kingdom of God.

I agree, Jehovah's Witnesses believe there will be no war between nations or peoples in the new world, so we "Learn war no more" now. Same for morals and good spiritual habits.

JW

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 137 by JehovahsWitness]

Well, all I can say in reply to your point is:

By saying nothing and instead quoting plenty of seemingly unrelated NWT scripture?

Hmm.

[Checkpoint]

Tell me, what is "The Good News?"

Peace be to all.

the good news is that all mankind is and can be saved form eternal separation from God by the blood of Yeshua, God only begotten Son...

Yes, that is PART of the Good News. There's more. What was Jesus' main topic in his preaching work? THE KINGDOM. He talked about it wherever he went. The Kingdom is a real government with Jesus as the King, that will be the avenue by which the earth is brought back to pristine conditions and mankind will experience real peace and joy.

He said: "I must declare the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this I was sent forth." (Luke 4:43)

Yes, that is PART of the good news. There's more.

More than promise of what will be one day. More than a future king and kingdom with its real experience of peace and joy.

The good news is that these are present today, for every believer.

John 14:

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, that the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

Romans 14:

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

[Elijah John]

To all who believe and teach that the "Good News" (the Gospel) is that Jesus died to "pay for" our sins, where in his ministry did Jesus himself teach this?

Do you think any good Jew would have listened to him if he actually taught:

"Blessed are the bloodwashed, for they will receive mercy and inherit eternal life"

"Blessed are those who believe I will die to pay for their sins".

Where did Jesus tie the notion of his impending crucifixion being some sort of an atonement to his proclamations of the arrival of the Kingdom of God? Did the Isaiah scroll portion from which he read at the start of his ministry contain any such declaration? How about the Beattitudes at the beginning of his most well known sermon? His Parables?

Could it be that Jesus himself preached a "different" Gospel from Paul's Gospel? And that Paul shifted the focus from Jesus own Gospel centered on preaching simple repentance and a return to the merciful Father, to a theological interpretation of his unexpected death on the cross as a "blood atonement"?

If so, ironically, it is Paul who preached the "different Gospel".

[JehovahsWitness]

If so, ironically, it is Paul who preached the "different Gospel".

Don't you mean to say "Ironoically I believe it is Paul who preached the "different Gospel"?


Assurance or Arrogance?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 420#919420

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 143 by Elijah John]

To all who believe and teach that the "Good News" (the Gospel) is that Jesus died to "pay for" our sins, where in his ministry did Jesus himself teach this?

Here.

Matthew 20:

27 "and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Matthew 26:

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Mark 10:

44 "and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.�

Mark 14:

23 Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."

Luke 22:

19 And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.�

20 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you."

[Elijah John]

[Replying to post 144 by JehovahsWitness]

I did say "if so" didn't I.

Do you preface all of your statements with "I believe"? Glass houses.

And wasn't it you who said "there are no contradictions in the Bible"? That's pretty emphatic, to say the least, especially in light of the evidence to the contrary, that is constantly presented on these forums.

Also, please review this OP:

viewtopic.php?t=31687

I never accused any individual of being legalistic. This is not the first time you have misrepresented my position.

[Elijah John]

[Replying to post 145 by Checkpoint]

Those statements are towards the end of Jesus ministry, when it was clear to him he would be executed. Where are similar statements in bulk of his ministry, the Sermon on the Mount, the Parables?

That's important, because it's a matter of emphasis. Jesus emphasized the merciful Father, not his impending sacrifice.

Is it wise to forumlate whole doctrines based on a few passing statments attributed to Jesus?

Can't prove it at this point, but I think those were theological additions put on Jesus lips by NT authors.

Also, those statements are open to interpretation, and do not necessarily mean Pauline, blood-ransom atonement.

[shnarkle]

you claim ... that cancer is obviously a "bad thing

So are YOU claiming cancer is not a bad thing? That it's a good thing? Are you claiming that that no problems exist?

Is that your position?

JW

After reading a few of these posts, it occurred to me that people are incredibly ignorant when it comes to things like natural disasters, cancer, etc. Most people are aware that smoking causes cancer, chewing tobacco causes cancer, excessive radiation causes cancers, etc. But most people are unaware that a bad diet causes cancer, a sedentary lifestyle can cause cancer, not getting enough rest can cause cancer. BPA, pesticides, fungicides, chemicals that outgas from furniture, computers, carpeting, carpet padding, etc. all cause cancer.

We wouldn't fault anyone but the person who decides to build their house on the rim of an active volcano, or right on a fault line, yet we call it an act of God when people who live right in the path of hurricanes, tornadoes etc. People live in places that are known for earthquakes, mudslides, drought, etc. Who better to blame than those who choose to live under these dangerous conditions?

It was discovered almost a hundred years ago that sugar is a major factor in producing cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. The list of ailments due to consumption of sugar has grown to nearly 80, and most people are still completely ignorant of this problem. Almost anything that has been processed has sugar added to it, and most people who live in first world countries have high rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, IBS, restless leg syndrome, etc.

Cancer in and of itself isn't good or bad. Cancer cells multiply rapidly when the body becomes unbalanced due to any number of factors including hormone imbalances, enzyme imbalances, acidic ph, metabolic acidosis, etc. Cancer serves a purpose in preventing cellular death due to oxygen derpivation, it also alerts those who are aware of these imbalances. Those who aren't paying attention usually die, which may be unfortunate for them, but if we're going to blame anyone blame them.

The good news is that we don't have to live like this. We don't have to eat garbage. We don't have to live under these dangerous conditions. Jesus comes along and points out that we don't even have to work for money anymore. We don't have to work for a bunch of little green pieces of paper. In fact, we can give it all to the government because it's there monopoly money anyways, and we can depend completely upon the providence of God.

Under that arrangement we would never have to pay another dime in taxes ever again. Now that sounds like some pretty good news, doesn't it? Well, for those who want to work for Mammon rather than for God, it's not going to sound all that great, but wait...there's more. By getting out of the rat race, you don't have to set aside some nest egg for the future. You don't have to pay insane insurance premiums for a policy that won't cover you when you get cancer or heart disease. You don't have to be a sucker anymore.

So the good news is that you don't have to if you don't want to, but a lot of people don't want to go that route.

What they don't know is that they can be what they won't.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 148 by shnarkle]

We (Jehovah's Witnesses) believe the good news is that the day is coming when all diseases (including that of Cancer) will no longer cause suffering and death and that everyone will be able to live long happy and health lives!

JW