To The Christians On This Here Board (page 3)

snowbird

Yes, it would be baiting.

There's a Latin term for that, but I can't think of it right now.

Sylvia

John Doe

Ok, so it's baiting when an atheist does it, but not when a christian does it. Right. . .

The Road that stretches before the feet of a man is a challenge to his heart long before it tests the strength of his legs. Our destiny is to run to the edge of the world and beyond, off into the darkness: sure for all our blindness, secure for all our helplessness, strong for all our weakness, gaily in love for all the pressure on our hearts.

In that darkness beyond the world, we can begin to know the world and ourselves, though we see through the eyes of Another. We begin to understand that a man was not made to pace out his life behind the prison walls of nature, but to walk into the arms of God on a road that nature could never build.

Life must be lived, even by those who cannot find the courage to face it. In the living of it, every mind must meet the rebuff of mystery. To some men, this will be an exultant challenge: that so much can be known and truth not be exhausted, that so much is still to be sought, that truth is an ocean not to be contained in the pool of a human mind. To others, this is a humiliation not to be borne; for it marks out sharply the limits of our proud minds. In the living of life, every mind must face the unyielding rock of reality, of a truth that does not bend to our whim or fantasy, of the rule that measures the life and mind of a man.

.......

God has said so little, that yet means so much for our living. To have said more would mean less of reverence by God for the spendor of His image in us. Our knowing and loving, He insists, must be our own; the truth ours because we have accepted it; the love ours because we have given it. We are made in His image. Our Maker will be the last to smudge that image in the name of security, or by way of easing the hazards of the nobility of man.

The Great Truths that must flood the mind of man with light are the limitless perfection of God and the perfectibility of man. The enticements that must captivate the heart of man are the divine goodness of God and man's gratuitously given capacity to share that divine life, to begin to posess that divine goodness even as he walks among the things of earth. The truths are not less certain because they are too clear for our eyes. The task before our heart is not to hold a fickle lover but to spend itself.

Without these truths, and the others that fill out the pattern of a man's days, we are underfed weaklings, starving waifs, paralyzed in our living not only by lack of strength but even more by lack of light. To live a man must move by these steps of his heart; and how can he move until he can see and be drawn by the beauty of Goodness and Truth?

No man can get such wisdom of himself in time to begin living his life or, indeed, in time to end it. Wisdom must be given to him, for it belongs to God. He can have this wisdom that must be had; but not through the stumbling steps of his own reasoning. He can have it if he will take it from his Maker. He can see in the darkness if he will look through the eyes of God. He can begin life with wisdom lent by God, and have his heart flooded with gratitude for the loan; or he can prefer the false light of the illusion that tells him he if self-sufficient, and die before he begins to live.

A man hardly dare face mere natural life alone; alone, he cannot even dream of sharing the divine. Yet, to escape disaster, he must not only so dream, he must make the dream come true.

BTS

snowbird

Thank you, Burn.

You know, I always get Augustine and Aquinas confused - even though they were separated by almost a millenium!

Sylvia

BurnTheShips

I think I am just scratching the surface myself.

BTS

Truth and Justice

Hi Snowbird,

I appreciate your bringing this subject up. Yes, I do have similar feelings. I had not checked anything on this JW Forum for quite a long time because it was not encouraging. This should be a place for encouragement, inspiration, and good wholesome interchange of thought. I am not saying every one is going down the tube, it's just some of the content here is not encouraging or uplifting. There is always that dozen or so that have so much discouragement or unhealthy talk, and seem to control the boards. For example, imagine some one for the first time wanting to see what this Forum can offer, runs into subjects that degrade individuals, sexual sort of conversation, or subjects that are not very uplifting. Lately, I have been experiencing foul language and F-word on this site, very discouraging to me. Some will say, "Well, go find another site," yes, that may be true, but I am looking to help and inspire people.

When I got out of the JW organization, I had never at any time gave up Praying to Jehovah or reading my Bible. I have always believed in Prayer, not just thru bad times like most people do, but thru good times, and he has answered me. As long as he's answering me, I have no intention of giving it up now. Between the politics on the news, economy tanking around the world, people losing jobs, anxiety and stress, countries around the world gearing up for war, it's no time to give up on our Father in Heaven. So Sylvia, like you say we need Prayer and Endurance.

There are so many other people on this Board that I have never heard from, I would love to hear their voice and what they have to say. I will do my best to inspire and motivate as best as I can. We are all in this together. There are some on this Board that are truly helpful and are eager to help bring people out of their misery, this coupled with the fact that we need to pour our heart out to Jehovah with Sincerity and Honesty. (Psalms 34:19)

Sincerely, Truth and Justice May Happy Trails come your way!!

John Doe

Hi Snowbird,

I appreciate your bringing this subject up. Yes, I do have similar feelings. I had not checked anything on this JW Forum for quite a long time because it was not encouraging. This should be a place for encouragement, inspiration, and good wholesome interchange of thought. I am not saying every one is going down the tube, it's just some of the content here is not encouraging or uplifting. There is always that dozen or so that have so much discouragement or unhealthy talk, and seem to control the boards. For example, imagine some one for the first time wanting to see what this Forum can offer, runs into subjects that degrade individuals, sexual sort of conversation, or subjects that are not very uplifting. Lately, I have been experiencing foul language and F-word on this site, very discouraging to me. Some will say, "Well, go find another site," yes, that may be true, but I am looking to help and inspire people.

When I got out of the JW organization, I had never at any time gave up Praying to Jehovah or reading my Bible. I have always believed in Prayer, not just thru bad times like most people do, but thru good times, and he has answered me. As long as he's answering me, I have no intention of giving it up now. Between the politics on the news, economy tanking around the world, people losing jobs, anxiety and stress, countries around the world gearing up for war, it's no time to give up on our Father in Heaven. So Sylvia, like you say we need Prayer and Endurance.

There are so many other people on this Board that I have never heard from, I would love to hear their voice and what they have to say. I will do my best to inspire and motivate as best as I can. We are all in this together. There are some on this Board that are truly helpful and are eager to help bring people out of their misery, this coupled with the fact that we need to pour our heart out to Jehovah with Sincerity and Honesty. (Psalms 34:19)

Sincerely, Truth and Justice May Happy Trails come your way!!

For someone concerned with uplifting people and motivation, seems your entire post was negative. First you bash the posters here, then you bash the political, social, and economic environment, then you judge everyone. There's a word for this, can you help me out with it?

Twitch

Everyone's got an opinion, eh? The longer I'm here, the more amusing the exchange is between the two camps. Nowhere else have I found people more intent on trying to prove their viewpoint/belief or take exception to someone's opinion, as if their opinion is more important or "right"

I mean really, who gives a f***? Just get on with it and let the cards fall they may. You get what you give,...

lmao

LouBelle

I don't call myself a christian - to do that one needs to really walk the path of christ - my personal feeling is people use it too willy nilly - like the word love. Plus I don't believe much of what the established christian religions believe - I follow my own path.

As for keeping ones cool - distance yourself from your ego - it helps.

Chalam

Hi T&J,

Yes this place can be tough but I suppose at least people are at liberty to believe what they want, good and bad.

Anyhow, don't give up, keep pressing on a Paul says Philippians 3

7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Everything else is rubbish or even worse Philippians 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss compared with Jesus. Get to know Him like Paul says.

All the best,

Stephen

To The Christians On This Here Board

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