Posts by SM62

34

A Diatribe - Feel Free To Vent With Me

by ZeroKool29 in

fascism machine.

reminder of all that is hateful and wrong.

and supply of faith that was not strong.

SM62

ZeroKool29,

I can't believe what I have just read - you took the words out of my mouth. I was just thinking this weekend how sick to death I am of feeling that I have somehow failed because I no longer want to be a JW. They get things wrong, twist scripture, make you feel like a loser, act like hypocrites, and then, when you no longer want to be part of this any more, they make you feel really bad and an utter failure. I am so heartily sick of feeling like a failure. I seem to have felt like this for so long, that I don't know if it's me or them any more. Deep down,I know the WTS have done a lot of damage, but I still can't shake this feeling of despair because of it all. It's quite hard to put into words, but you expressed it so well.

Terri

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

Dolphman,

I believe you. Why would you make it up? I have every reason to think you are 100% genuine and these things really happened. I don't know why others find it so hard to believe. You don't have to experience something to believe it. One thing - I would love to know why you had this experience and not me. What sets you apart as someone who can have such an experience. I wish I could say I have been through something similar, but I haven't. I'd love to hear how you get on after you have had all the tests in Washington.

Terri

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

Lots of interesting viewpoints. All I know is this - I have spoken to a few people who have seen/heard things that can't be explained. These people are not liars, and they are not mad or prone to hallucinating or anything, as far as I know. They have nothing to gain by stating that they saw such things. One of them saw his dead brother - he isn't the sort of person to lie - he really isn't. If I saw my dad sitting in my living room, I'd know what I saw. I'd know it was him and I'd be annoyed if people thought I was making it up for attention. I have never had this sort of experience. I have never had any sort of unexplained experience. I can't see auras, I can't predict the future, I don't even have what some class as feminine intuition. I am pretty boring and never experience anything untoward. BUT - I don't doubt those who say they have. What have they got to gain by lying? So many people have had such experiences, they can't all be liars, mad, hallucinating etc etc. Personally I don't know what to believe, but I wouldn't rubbish the experiences of others just because I haven't experienced the same things myself The same goes for those who say they have had wonderful spiritual experiences and they are convinced there is a God because Jesus came into their lives etc etc. Just because I have never felt such a thing, I wouldn't say that those who have are fooling themselves. It isn't good to shut off your mind to things just because they don't fit in with your own personal view. An open mind is healthy.

Terri

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

Alias,

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't see auras. I have never had any weird or supernatural experience either - I live in hope! I'm still curious as to why a loving God would enable people to have specal powers, only to punish them for using them - seems pretty strange to me.

Terri

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

Sirona,

Thanks for the link - it shows how scriptures can be twisted to mean just about what anyone wants them to mean.

From what I have read about Wicca so far, it is all about respect for life and the main rule seems to be to do no harm to anyone or anything. I can't understand why Christianity is so opposed to this when all Wicca is advocating is good. Why people can't just believe what they want to, and let others do the same, is beyond me. However, I can see how people can be fooled into believing the Bible says this, that and the other, when it says nothing of the kind. I find it so difficult to study because some of it is impossible to understand. But I am determined to persevere, because it is difficult to discuss the Bible when I don't really know what it teaches. I wasn't a very good Bible student and relied too heavily on the WT literature to do the work for me. I thought the WTS was an honest, clean, loving organisation with no hidden motives - how stupid I was.

Terri

35

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 1-25-04 WT Study

by blondie in

review comments

will be in black and parentheses ()

wt quotes

SM62

Thanks for this Blondie - I read it and it helped to clear things in my head.

So we are 90 years into the end - which is going to last 120 years in total! I can't believe they are implying, in a roundabout sort of way, that the end will come 2034ish. I am pretty sick of all these predictions now. How on earth does the average JW cope with all of this? What about those that have lived through the 1975 fiasco - are they really going to swallow this all over again? I'm glad I'm out and can see things clearly at last.

Terri

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

Mac - your son sounds amazing. That is exactly what I am talking about. He has this 'special' sort of sense, but it isn't harming anyone and definitely is not evil. So why do Christians and the Bible frown on such things. If you told a JW what your son can do, they would freak out!

As I said, there are so many things that go on that cannot be explained. The people I have spoken to who have experienced really weird things have no reason to lie. They just aren't like that. One of them was a real sceptic and didn't believe in anything - and yet he saw his dead brother - he swears he saw him - he hadn't been thinking about him or anything and he wasn't dreaming - he was at home and his brother just appeared to him. Was he mad or lying?

I wish I could see auras - I can't see anything - I have tried. I don't have any strange experiences or tales to tell because I have never had a supernatural experience - but that doesn't mean I doubt all those who say they have. I wish I did have a strange story to tell you all - I must be so boring - but I am intrigued by this subject. I don't think you can put all these sightings down to vivid imaginations or dreams or tricks of the light.

Terri - still keeping an open mind

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

But Simon, loads of genuine people have seen ghostly sightings. These are people who are not seeking attention or anything - most of them weren't even thinking about seeing a ghost - things just appeared to them. Why does that happen? How can you scientifically 'prove' what someone is seeing, if you can't see it yourself?

There are people who can take an object belonging to someone, and they can give details about that person - really accurate details. How do they do that? And why is it wrong to try to develop such powers? If it is possible to develop psychic powers, such as telepathy, why is it wrong? I don't understand that. You are not harming anyone by doing it, so why does the Bible condemn it?

Terri

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

Gopher - that's an interesting point about God being jealous - it does say somewhere in the Bible (wish I'd paid more attention at the meetings) that God is a jealous God, but I never thought of it the way you put it, that he wants all the attention for himself like a spoilt child.

Plmkrzy - I was never given that reason as a JW. I can see their point though - what if you were dabbling with something that seemed harmless. but which wanted to harm you? I am sure that I wouldn't be that daft, though. I would check things out first.

Gumby - I have never had a supernatural experience, and I get annoyed about that sometimes. If there are special powers, why don't I have them? But having said that, the last time there was a post about people who have had strange experiences, or had seen a ghost or something, there were so many who had seen strange things. They can't all be liars can they? I know loads of people who say they have seen people who have been dead for years. I would like to go to a clairvoyant or something one day, just to see if they can tell me accurate things about my past - I wouldn't want to hear vague stuff such as 'The letter J figures predominantly in your life' or 'I have an old man here in a grey suit' or rubbish like that - I would want names, dates etc.

Thirdson - I have never believed in Uri Geller - plus he always bored the pants off me.

Nathan Natas -

There is no "spirit realm" populated with any sort of immaterial intelligent creatures.

How do you know this? How do you account for all the weird sightings around the world? Are you saying the millions of people over the centuries who have had paranormal experiences such as seeing dead people are lying? Or are they all mad? I don't really know what to believe, but I always keep an open mind.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Terri

197

Why does God allow people to develop 'forbidden' special powers?

by SM62 in

something i have been wondering about lately.. whether you believe in god or not, are a christian or some other religion or no religion at all, i'd be interested in your opinion.. according to those who believe in the bible including most christians, god condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities.

for example, esp, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc.

however, if god created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers?

SM62

Something I have been wondering about lately.

Whether you believe in God or not, are a Christian or some other religion or no religion at all, I'd be interested in your opinion.

According to those who believe in the Bible including most Christians, God condemns the use of 'special' powers/abilities. For example, ESP, tarot, astrology, consulting a medium, spells etc. However, If God created us, did he not give us the ability to develop and use such powers? I am convinced some people have some sort of special gift - they can see/do things that others can't. They can't all be charlatans or head-cases, can they? Why would God give us the ability to develop these special powers, and then condemn us to destruction for tapping into such things? It doesn't really make sense. If he created everything, he created these powers also. Why allow humans access to such things if we aren't allowed to go near them or even research them, for fear of the 'demons'. Also, for those who have no beliefs, would you shy away from such things out of fear, and if so, fear of what?

Also, according to the Bible, God allowed humans to use special powers in the past, such as phrophesying, healing the sick, raising the dead, speaking lots of languages. If it was ok for them to do it back then, why can't we look into the paranormal now, or am I being really dense?

Basically, what I am rambling about is this - Why give humans special abilities and then destroy them for using these abilities?

Ta

Terri