Ross you are truly amazing and I tip my hat to you.
Sherry
Maybe There's a Heaven...
by LittleToe 141 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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SixofNine
I think you worthy and due all the love there is to have, Ross.
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mouthy
Little Toe ....As I sit here crying!!!! You have expressed my heart & thoughts in a way I could never have expressed. I consider myself a Christian .....Yet I have never really imagined I could see Christ.... Yes I know HE PAID it ALL & He promised we WOULD be with him....But this is one part of MY Christian :thoughts" That I find it SO hard to enter Heaven or the Heavenly "Place" with HIM!!!!
It is so funny you should express this at this time as it has been on my mind of late. I had the great pleasure of meeting Deputy Dog & shared a special conversation I dont usually share with others. But I told him I didnt think I was going to Heaven that is why you see he posted this.Mouthy are you reading this, what are your thoughts?
So Keep your thoughts coming Little Toe. They will help this growing Christian who loves Jesus with all her heart HONESTLY HE IS MY LIFE!!!!!
Deputydog!!!!! Your a wonderful fellow. Thanks for having the privilege of meeting you (((HUG)))
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ozziepost
G'day H.S.,
'owyergoin?
LT isn't online yet, I suspect he's otherwise engaged on Sunday morning but being downunder, I've got back from my church. so I can enjoy the posts before Ross does.
Anyway, I concur with the comment Ross made that often (always?) the first thing a dub will say back to you after you tell them you're now a christian, is "So you believe you're going to heaven now, do you?" - the very first thing they say. To me, from my vantage point, that's amazing since a christian doesn't think of going to any particular place, it's a matter of being at one with the Lord, wherever that may be, and I'd argue that christians believe in both a new heaven and a new earth to be inhabited. Rarely would the WT ever comment amount a personal relationship with Christ; a few years back a study article spoke of "having Christ in your heart" but that's been about it. So, my retort to a dub might well be, "Does it matter?"
If I read LT correctly these past few years, the "epiphany" doesn't lessen, simply matures. Often comments are made about "does it lessen?" as if it should be a temporary abberation and "never mind, dear, you'll get over it!" sort of approach. It can sound patronising to hear but can only be answred truthfully, i.e. No, it just grows with age!
Now let's wait on LT for his take on this.
Cheers mate,
Ozzie
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Sparkplug
I envy you Ross, I truly do. I hope you know me well enough now that I am sincere in what I say.
For a lot of reasons I suspect I will never feel what you do. Having said that, I am glad to see you open up a bit and share what is in your heart. I know that is not an easy thing to do, especially knowing that the response may not be a positive one. That takes a lot of courage.
Be well my friend,
Chris
Cris and LT. I could not agree more and must say Chris has written all I was thinking.
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hillary_step
Chris,
I know that is not an easy thing to do, especially knowing that the response may not be a positive one. That takes a lot of courage.
Quite right. Perhaps one of the reasons that Ross has the respect both of religionists and the other camp is that he meets difficult subjects head on and does not dishonestly sidetrack these issues as do many Christian apologists on this Board. He reminds me of 'Ros', a better looking sharer of his name , and a sadly infrequent poster to this Board who ably defends her beliefs without ducking from serious challenges to her faith.
Ozzie,
Good to see you too!
Often comments are made about "does it lessen?" as if it should be a temporary abberation and "never mind, dear, you'll get over it!" sort of approach. It can sound patronising to hear but can only be answred truthfully, i.e. No, it just grows with age!
I understand this I think, though my interest is more based on the visceral experience itself. It is difficult to describe, but I will try.
A religious experience occurs. It is manifest in an emotional feeling normally of a feeling of 'oneness' and belonging. This 'feeling' seems to be a very similar one viscerally to those that occur in numerous religions, from the very primitive and oten brutal, to the highly sophisticated whihc Ross described. Are these 'feelings' on a visceral level really different from one another, or are they the same experience viscerally, though interpreted in the only way that the person can describe them, through their religious background. So to a Christian it is Christ, to the Hundu, Vishnu, to the Voudo the spirits etc. etc.
Best regards - HS
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reneeisorym
This really blessed me tonight! The love of Christ certainly fills that emptiness you never realized what was until its full of love from above. I am so happy for you. Its truely wonderful. This reminds me of how I felt when I first accepted Jesus into my heart. I couldn't describe it better than 1 Cor 2:1 "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling." I came to a point where I dropped all I ever was taught as a JW and realized that all I was sure about was "Christ and him crucified" May God bless you in the days to come!! Renee
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proplog2
Little Toe:
I know you have been burning up with this and you just needed to give your "witness".
It just shows that our wetware can surprise us.
I would rather be certifiably insane than to have such an experience. It's probably quite like many of the annointed claim to experience.
It's kind of like trying to figure out what makes a man want to have his penis cut off, grow breasts, have the male brow flattened with collagen, take elocution lessons to talk like a female. And I'm talking about someone that then wants to be in a lesbian relationship. The mind can get you to do strange things. I'm not trying to make fun of this. A man that thinks his life will be better and more wonderful and fullfilling without his penis MUST absolutely do this. And if the powerful feelings of love for Christ puts bounce in your step and so enhances your outlook on life, well then you MUST absolutely go in that direction. But I don't believe it has anything to do with the REAL world but is an obsession created by your own imaginative powers.
Just curious did you ever have an alcohol addiction?
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M.J.
I very often find your posts her very inspirational.
I've been learning a fresh perspective on HEAVEN from a book called "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn. Sure, he's a bit hyper-enthusiastic, but I just have to say it's a pretty refreshing book...and the whole book provides a far superior, and more satisfying answer to the JWs view of the subject.
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ozziepost
proplog:
Just curious did you ever have an alcohol addiction?
Come off it!
I think you've just illustrated my point:
Often comments are made about "does it lessen?" as if it should be a temporary abberation and "never mind, dear, you'll get over it!" sort of approach. It can sound patronising to hear but can only be answred truthfully
Not just patronising but derogatory too.