by smiddy 51 Replies latest watchtower bible
"No religion is right, they are all man made to control women and the vulnerable."
Spot on !
A personal faith though Kate, is different from a religion ?
Personally I do not have a faith, but I think it is O.K for people to have one, as long as it does no harm to them, or anyone else.
" Failing to listen to God's message of redemption through the blood od his Son, most people will only hear God speak on Judgment Day. This will not be a friendly conversation. "
I FREAKING HATE TO SEE THE FEAR MONGERING WRAPPED IN A PRETTY CHRISTIAN BOW.
Hi,
That would be too easy...Everyone loves a good Fight...even God...I wonder the same question myself....he could settle the entire religious thing. From the Bible I read, God will, in his time. I think God is letting us duke it out...& saying ...."Moron's treat each other right, stop trying to dominate one another & take care of one another". The NT is all about Love...but we humans just can't seem to get the message. We want to know how many wives Solomon had, why was God angry with David, why did God kill the person who tried to catch the Ark when it was about to fall on the ground....etc. What I have found by reading the bible is...CONSEQUENCES...God many times warned what he would do, just like our parents....so when they didn't do it, he had to show them he meant what he said, but if you read it you will find that many warnings were given...Except in Noah days, God already chose who he would save. Sodom & Gomorrah, he kept asking Lot, if you can find x amount of folks he would save the city...but only Lot & his family..I think it was Lot. God didn't start his day saying, hey, I think I'm gonna kill a bunch of people because, well just because...I'M GOD. Nope, consequences. I'm not against the notion God could come & set things straight, he did he sent his son to show how we should love one another & are we....All we do is say to one another ...."MY GOD IS BIGGER, BADDER & BETTER THAN YOUR GOD" Everybody wants to be right...
Legacy
What if the thing we call God has given us clear examples of how to live in peace with all mankind(Godship between Christians/Jews/Muslims). Isn't it possible that every time one of these examples occurs it is turned into a copyrighted "brand" by scribes, preachers and priests to divide and market madness and misery--and to consolidate power?
If there is a Goodness that is the basis for our well-being--(mind/body connection if you will), a Goodness that appreciates good humor and kindness, a Goodness that makes us resent unfairness, how would we find it through religion?
How could we know the Goodness if we believe that the only knowing-of-it comes through a third party (religion)? We believe the bloodiest and most incoherent interpretations of past testimonials. These stories have been passed on through the most inefficient and faulty means possible--through tribal loyalties and priestly entities (and sometimes bad writing and editing)--Yet we react only to these as if these are reliable representations of that thing we call God.
Whether we claim to be atheist or theist it seems clear that we are reacting only to religion's control of our minds.
What if we are actually supposed to love our neighbor as ourself and love Goodness with all our heart, soul, and strength?
What if George Carlin was really one of God's messengers?
What if George Carlin was really one of God's messengers?
Surely better reasons that those that fall heavily upon "What if's" are needed. The human mind endlessly generates "What if?" scenarios.
"What if" questions are unboundaried and lead to endless speculation.
What if Catholicism is the light of the world?
What if JWs are right after all?
What if Joseph Smith did receive visions from "Our Heavenly Father"?
What if "God" speaks to more than one group?
What if "God" speaks only to one group and our task is to find that group?
What if the Bible is not the Holy Book we should be reading?
One thing we know for certain: The more hooked into "What if's" we become, the more our finite lives pass us by unconcerned we spend more time in speculative musings than productive living in the here and now. And on that note....
Steve 2,
About wondering:
Being able to wonder without prohibition and examine the Rules-and-Regs without fear helps us to live productively. My own wonderings that I carefully wrote were substantially what got me out of the JWs and all religion.
I DO wonder why so many peoples around the world have had a version of the Golden Rule for ages and ages, for instance--( a thing we might conceivably attribute to a god who wanted peace). So why wouldn't I wonder how we can lodge a general complaint about God's silence.
George Carlin certainly saw how corrupt religion is--I certainly valued his cutting insights into its hypocrisy. Maybe it is a stretch to call him a messenger of God.
Maybe he was a messinger of God .
Perry- I mentioned Paul because so much of christian theology is based on his interpretations and revisions of OT texts and his inventions of a Judaism that didn't exist. As for Jesus talking about blood and covenants and being born again it can be interesting to think about what was being proposed but then you realize he died and hasn't been around for 2000 years so that means he fails the test of the Jewish Messiah and therefore anything said or promised in the NT fails along with it..
yes humbled, wondering is helpful and necessary because it reminds us all of the need to acknowledge there is so much we do not know. The human tendency to leave it over to experts or cherished leaders dominates most people's lives to the point where they dare not wonder (or wander!). A conversation stopper is the tendency to cite an authority as if that "completes" the discussion.
Steve Says:
What if" questions are unboundaried and lead to endless speculation.
What if Catholicism is the light of the world?
What if JWs are right after all?
What if Joseph Smith did receive visions from "Our Heavenly Father"?
What if "God" speaks to more than one group?
What if "God" speaks only to one group and our task is to find that group?
What if the Bible is not the Holy Book we should be reading?
Why in the world you wouldn't include God in that list is just plain NUTS!
Here's a question that seems impenetrable to the reprobate mind :What if God is right? Just what if GOD IS RIGHT?
What if there really is a judgment after you die? Just WHAT IF God is REALLLY, REALLY offended at your efforts to love like Jesus did and perfectly treat others the way you want to be treated. WHAT IF IT REALLY WAS impossible to be perfect. And What if God really wants to fellowship with You even though on your own efforts YOU cannot keep his standards? And, just what if God OFFERS TO DO IT FOR YOU through the new birth, with a NEW SPIRIT THAT CANNOT SIN?
Why be obsessed with whether one group or thing is right or wrong, when I ASK YOU DEAR MAN : What if God is right?
You mean "God" as defined by the NT writers. To accept this "God" and all claims in the NT you need to accept things which science has proven unture- Geocentrism, Adam and Eve and the human species being only 5774 years old. Just those two things prove everything written in the NT about salvation and judgement are just the imagination of late Iron Age religious philosophers.
