The Two Creepy Commandments

by Farkel 59 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • glenster
    glenster

    the whole of it. The concept of Him being unchanging is in regard to certain
    special qualities, like being eternal, that define Him as unique, but not that
    He can't realize everything else changes so have different reactions in regard
    to that or know different ways to handle one thing. The latter doesn't make God
    untrustworthy any more than it would show that a person was.

    Otherwise, it's a personal faith choice like the God concept itself. It is
    possible to reject it cynically. I can only recommend that a person could over-
    do how positive or negative it has to be understood and reject a caricature. It
    isn't that way for a lot of us.

    I don't see any reason in that to change what I meant: considering that common
    human selfishness seems to always have been unfortunately all-too appropriately
    named, that the idea that He'd reconcile people to Himself (possibly everyone
    with the Unversalism belief) to give them a purely good life not only contra-
    dicts your characterization of Him as too critical than warrented but more
    generous than the quality of what many people do with their free will warrents.

    ": Lord knows why, but He does."

    "Well, when he explains all of my question to you, please let me know."

    The belief in God taking people into eternity isn't based on people being
    perfect so deserving a perfect eternity, so that's what I have on that so far.
    Otherwise, the questions didn't seem very hard (let alone so hard as to need a
    divine intervention to answer!)--it was kind of fun.

  • glenster
  • Lillith26
    Lillith26

    Sorry Farkel, your a funny guy, but I dont find those commandments creepy at all.

    As a mum all I ask of my children is to love me in return and to be kind to each other- this makes for a peacefull and loving home to live in. Saying thankyou and not acting like a spoilt brat is not really that big an ask is it??? or is it???

  • Farkel
    Farkel

    :As a mum all I ask of my children is to love me in return and to be kind to each other- this makes for a peacefull and loving home to live in.

    Asking is not the same as commanding. Obviously, you missed the main point of the topic.

    Farkel

  • Walkin
    Walkin

    Farkel, This has been my thinking for years. How can you even make friends with someone you don't know? Don't you have to be introduced first and then it would take some time to get to know this person? How could you not even meet this person and someone else tells you that he commands you to love him upon pain of suffering?

    Those "Two Greatest Commandments" were not written or quoted from a loving personality. It was some translaters who thought of this and then want us to believe that Jesus made that statement concerning a God who nobody knows. That is why I don't believe that God inspired any of the things written in that book called "The Holy Bible". Its all the doing of controlling groups of men down through the ages.

    You are spot on ...on this one.

    I hope you feel better and keep your music going.

    Walkin

  • Lillith26
    Lillith26

    Farkel- the second commandment is pretty self explanitory, if we all look after everyone else, then no one goes without. But you wouldn't follow the second if you didnt follow the first...

    IMHO the first is the most important. If your mum or dad said "please dont play out on the road" would you do as you were asked because your good kid or because you love and trust that your parents know better than you do??? would you heed advice from someone you hated??? or would you play out on the road because mum and dad dont exist as far as your concerned???

    Where is mum you ask, go out side and look around- thats her. Where is dad- close your eyes and feel him with your heart!

    Parents dont bark orders at their children because they are just mean and want to control everything, they set rules/commandments/bounderies for their children to keep them safe and their household a peacefull and loving place to live...

    I didnt miss your main point- just is, I aint a spoilt brat who doesn't like doing as their told

  • The Almighty Homer
    The Almighty Homer

    George Carlin's viewpoint on the ten commandments

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkRYaMiP4K8&feature=related

  • AllTimeJeff
    AllTimeJeff

    Farkel, good breakdown as usual.

    I really don't have any opinion except what I always say about bible verses, even the good ones: It was written by men, explaining their understanding of what god is to them at the time.

    I understand why those who feel they must be reverent to the bible take verses like this seriously. On the surface, it sounds good. But it has to be admitted that the idea of "loving" everyone is not the invention of the judeo/christian people. So Jesus says, 'Love god with EVERYTHING! and love your neighbor as you love yourself'. A rather subjective way to rate people considering all the self loathing that exists, esp in Borgville.

    My point is simply that it isn't god who is saying to love god, it is superstitious man who says to love their god, as they understand him. As always, god seems to be not the least bit interested in sharing anything about himself.

    I discern 'god' sometimes, and I don't discount the whole "higher power" thing, but I don't need verses to tell me to love people, and then expect me to be blown away by it. (as if I will worship your god because of this? Frankly, big deal)

    If god wants me to love him, he knows (one would think) my number and home address. Not that I'm holding my breath.

    I like the words attributed to Jesus. It sounds to me like he was smarter then most on many levels. Sometimes, if you could just take the words attributed to Jesus, take from them what you will, then you might be able to make a go of the "god" thing on your own level.

  • Billy the Ex-Bethelite
    Billy the Ex-Bethelite

    Good one Farkel!

    Okay, if he is such a perfect God, I should copy him, right? So I imitate Hojovah's "Love me ... Or I'll KILL YOU " attitude, by stalking some beautiful women. Hmmm, I'm thinking there will be restraining orders in my future and the court will require some counselling for me. Perhaps Hojovah just needs a good therapist and medication. I think he has some "mother issues" from his childhood that make it hard for him to give and receive love.

    On these two commands, it sounds good, but it's obviously a gross over-simplification for the real world. With the laws of loving God and neighbor, polygamy should be fine, and sacrifices should have never been in the Mosaic Law in the first place. Wouldn't love of God require Christians to slaughter all their non-Christian or non-Samaritan pagan neighbors? And don't the JWs base their law of disfellowshipping on love of God and neighbor? Yeah, those two commands are left more like... "Love God (and love God is what I tell you to do) and love your neighbor (as I tell you to)". How many real civilizations have ever existed solely on those two laws? It never worked in Judaism. It never worked in Christianity... just ask Apostle Paul... "womenfolk ought to keep their big yappers shut and just make babies and dinner". It always leads to more questions of interpretation, followed by more and more laws.

    On something of a tangent, the following verses have Jesus bitching and moaning about the Pharisees hypocracy. I had done some research and found that, actually, the Pharisees are heavily criticized in the NT, but were often misrepresented therein. Many of the things Jesus supposedly said were actually taken from different schools of the Pharisees before his time, even the criticism of fellow Pharisees. Sadducees were disorganized and they were the ones most completely literal and harsh in interpreting the Mosaic Law, eye for eye. However, the Pharisees used the oral law to liberalize the Stone Age Mosaic Law nonsense into something nearly liveable. Financial compensation would be paid for someone losing an eye, not just gouging out the eye of someone causing the accident. How would you interpret the Sabbath? Actually, the Pharisees were progressively liberal, many of the schools created more and more loopholes, such as eruv, just claim it all as one property and you can take food over to your family down the road, etc. Most of the Pharisees weren't that judgmental and would never have criticized anyone who could cure a sick person on the sabbath. It was the Pharisees that encouraged rescuing endangered animals on the sabbath. Many of the Pharisees were also liberal with the clean/unclean issues and were satisfied with easy rituals rather than complex requirements of the written law. Current rabbinic Judaism descends directly from Pharisee tradition. Sure, they have lots of odd requirements in their religion still today, but you can be sure that any kosher foods are up to a higher standard of purity and cleanness than regular FDA mandates. Yet, even the most radical, letter-of-the-Law JEWS ACCEPT BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS!

  • TMS
    TMS

    farkel,

    unconditional love for your essay!

    tms

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