Posts by FlyingHighNow

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

FlyingHighNow

Once again, the topic is about how theists reconcile their god with the specific events of 26th December 2004.

Cofty, the last page there was mention omnipotence. I am commenting on the concept of omnipotence: a god who can do anything it wants to do. My comment also addresses the idea that if there is a god, he must be omnipotent and choose to stop a tsunami or other natural distaster. God(s) didn't stop the events on the 26th of December 2004.

I have realized that we don't know that god or gods are perfect, omnipotent or omnibenevolent . We don't know if God is omnipotent, all powerful, or a lone god. We don't know if God is all good or if there are good gods and bad gods. We just do not know.

People can be good. People can be evil. Why does any theist, deist or atheist insist that if there is a god, he has to be omnibenevolent and omnipotent?

Being a non Christian theist, I am struck by the concept that it is people who have deemed their gods perfect. How does anyone know if God or gods are perfect?

45

A rose by any other name..............

by sparrowdown in

jw
friends

i'm curious, why and how did you choose your username?.

does it hold any special significance for you, is there a share-able back story?.

for me sparrowdown is a playful reference to matt 10:29 and the title of the movie black hawk down.. matt 10:29 was my go-to scrip to "prove" that god cares about us as individuals.

FlyingHighNow

Neon Madman, how cool....Bob Dylan and all that.

Apog, glad you aren't nophos any longer.

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

FlyingHighNow

Being a non Christian theist, I am struck by the concept that it is people who have deemed their gods perfect. How does anyone know if God or gods are perfect? For that matter, how do we know there is only one god or that there aren't goddesses? How do we know there is one all powerful god?

I came across this quote in a book about John Lennon and Yoko. It's very thought provoking, with the concept involved:

''I believe in everything, until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists even it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams aren't as real as the here and now?'' John Lennon

We can't even prove the Greek and Romans gods didn't or don't exist. Not saying they do exist, but I am saying we cannot prove they don't. For all we know...

I do not worry about God. I figure if he isn't fair or just, I'm not going to worry about what he thinks, or they think. I mostly know what's fair and I am only a mortal.

122

Do You Regard President Obama In The Same Way As You Did BEFORE The Election?

by minimus in

jw
friends

lately, even late night comedians are starting to make fun of the president.. i hear more negatives about the president than ever before---even from his own voters.. (i had high hopes for him when he beat mccain but since then, i believe the president has been a huge disappointment)..

FlyingHighNow

An obstructionist Congress and a do nothing Senate have held us back and now the merchants of War have succeeded once again.

Glad I voted for the President twice.

I am, too. I would vote for him again.

15

US Air Force to Atheist: Say God in oath or dont re-enlist

by Dis-Member in

an atheist airman is being denied the ability to re-enlist in the us air force because he refuses to use the word god in his oath of office, according to the american humanist association (aha).. the unnamed member of the air force refused to take the oath containing so help me god, wanting a secular affirmation instead.

so he crossed out the phrase on his contract.

the airman was told by his superiors that he must swear to god or leave the air force, the aha said in a press release.

FlyingHighNow

Viv, you and I know you don't really mean that.

122

Do You Regard President Obama In The Same Way As You Did BEFORE The Election?

by minimus in

jw
friends

lately, even late night comedians are starting to make fun of the president.. i hear more negatives about the president than ever before---even from his own voters.. (i had high hopes for him when he beat mccain but since then, i believe the president has been a huge disappointment)..

FlyingHighNow

I voted for him twice. I was skeptical the first time I voted for him. I am not skeptical anymore. I do wish he had been able to keep the teeth in the affordable care act. I must say though, I am very glad to have health insurance again. I love how he interacts with his wife and daughters.

I believe his inexperience kinda hurt him, but over all, I am happy with the job he's done.

45

A rose by any other name..............

by sparrowdown in

jw
friends

i'm curious, why and how did you choose your username?.

does it hold any special significance for you, is there a share-able back story?.

for me sparrowdown is a playful reference to matt 10:29 and the title of the movie black hawk down.. matt 10:29 was my go-to scrip to "prove" that god cares about us as individuals.

FlyingHighNow

The governing body held us down. The had their feet on our necks, with our faces in the dirt. Learning the truth about the truth sets us free so we can soar above the earth, to the ends of the rainbow, or even to the far reaches of space. Hopefully we are all flying high now. I know I sure felt like I was flying as I broke the chains of the WTBTS, not even gravity could hold me.

15

US Air Force to Atheist: Say God in oath or dont re-enlist

by Dis-Member in

an atheist airman is being denied the ability to re-enlist in the us air force because he refuses to use the word god in his oath of office, according to the american humanist association (aha).. the unnamed member of the air force refused to take the oath containing so help me god, wanting a secular affirmation instead.

so he crossed out the phrase on his contract.

the airman was told by his superiors that he must swear to god or leave the air force, the aha said in a press release.

FlyingHighNow

Advise people to use their heads when making major life decisions. Your decisions can make or break you. If you have a military career underway, it's a heavy, heavy thing to walk away from insurance, free housing or housing allowance and other benefits you get. It's a lifestyle. JWs do foolish things like quit good paying jobs with good benefits for religious reasons. I know that my jw husband, who is now my former husband, did just that. He quit a very, very good job that required him to work over time here and there and most Saturdays for half a day. It spelled financial ruin for us, which helped unravel our marriage. Save the sticking with your principles for things like who you will vote for, not showing racial prejudice, etc.

15

US Air Force to Atheist: Say God in oath or dont re-enlist

by Dis-Member in

an atheist airman is being denied the ability to re-enlist in the us air force because he refuses to use the word god in his oath of office, according to the american humanist association (aha).. the unnamed member of the air force refused to take the oath containing so help me god, wanting a secular affirmation instead.

so he crossed out the phrase on his contract.

the airman was told by his superiors that he must swear to god or leave the air force, the aha said in a press release.

FlyingHighNow

These are my feelings on things like this: considering the re-enlisting bonuses they get, I'd say, "Choose your battles." My son in law used to get many thousands of dollars to re-enlist in the Navy. He was not religious at all: he just said his vow and then moved on with his life.

Long before I was a JW, I stopped saying the pledge to the flag. I was in high school. My decision had nothing to do with the "under God" part. My decision was because of the "with liberty and justice for all" part. I felt like until the day came that there really was liberty and justice for all, I wasn't going to say the pledge. I was the closest I've ever been to being an atheist at the time. The god part didn't ever cross my mind. I remember that another guy in my homeroom class didn't say the pledge for religious reasons. I respected his reasons. Danged if I didn't find him sitting at the KH, the first time I went to a meeting.

39

I HAD MY BICYCLE STOLEN!

by Terry in

jw
friends

three months ago i had to stop driving my car.

it wouldn't pass inspection and it would cost about $3k to get it up to par.. well, it's a 98 honda accord with about 179 thousand miles on it, what did i expect?.

.. i decided i would switch to riding a bicycle instead.. it has worked out fairly well.. i put about 10 miles a day on it.

FlyingHighNow

How awful, Terry. I was without a car, most of it during the worst winter Michigan has seen in years. I went close to seven months on foot, begging for rides to work and catching the bus.

Some churches have bike ministries to give bikes to people who need them. Wal-mart has some pretty inexpensive bikes. You could get a much less expensive bike to ride while you save for a nicer bike.