I really appreciate the usual French view (utopy?) on secularism: the society is supposed to be made up of individuals, not communities, and it would be good for the public space to be religion-free. But I fear the present decision will only lead fundamentalist parents to send their children to private, confessional schools, or remove them from any education at an early age, and this will be worse for the children involved. In fact it might result to be a shortcut to the communitarian society we theoretically want to avoid. Or are perhaps Chirac and his team secretly dreaming of a communitarian society?
Narkissos
JoinedPosts by Narkissos
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24
My Mama
by Sentinel inmy brother is probably just now arriving in fl to be with our mother.
he is her youngest child and only son.
she has been a very firm and faithful jw since 1958, and is scheduled for open heart surgery this week and she requested that he fly down to be with her.
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Narkissos
Just read this thread now. Thinking of you (((((Sentinel)))))
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What love is...out of the Mouths of babes
by proandcon injust thought this was worth passing along...comments from young children...so simple yet so profound...best wishes to all.... what love is.
a group of professional people posed this question to.
a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "what does love mean?".
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Narkissos
Smiles and tears. Thanks Proandcon!
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60
Your Ideas On The Bible?
by shamus inso, what do you think about the bible?
is it really ispired of god?.
i am strongly believing that the bible is nothing more than folk-tales, half-truths, and suggestions by man.
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Narkissos
Ole Toreador! Welcome!
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5
Anarchism and Christianity
by Narkissos in.
nietzsche wrote anarchists and christians were of the same kind, because of their rejection of reality (as he saw it).
he hated both and was at the same time fascinated by both.. french author andre malraux wrote that jesus was the only successful anarchist.. french essayist jacques ellul, who was a protestant and is still very influential in the "alternative movement", wrote an essay entitled "anarchy and christianity", where he tried to show the convergence and difference between the two ideologies.. what do you think?
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Narkissos
Nietzsche wrote Anarchists and Christians were of the same kind, because of their rejection of reality (as he saw it). He hated both and was at the same time fascinated by both.
French author André Malraux wrote that Jesus was the only successful anarchist.
French essayist Jacques Ellul, who was a Protestant and is still very influential in the "alternative movement", wrote an essay entitled "Anarchy and Christianity", where he tried to show the convergence and difference between the two ideologies.
What do you think?
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19
My trip to the Bethel library....
by logansrun intowards the middle of my eighteen-month critical investigation of the jws and the bible i decided to pay a visit to my sister and brother-in-law at the patterson bethel complex in new york.
perhaps it was a last-ditch effort to salvage whatever faith i had in the organization, or maybe it was the realization that i would not be able to see my sister under semi-normal conditions again if i left; i don't know.
of course, the trip did not save my crumbling faith.
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Narkissos
Hi Leolaia,
No censorship in the French Bethel Library (until 1985 of course).
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My trip to the Bethel library....
by logansrun intowards the middle of my eighteen-month critical investigation of the jws and the bible i decided to pay a visit to my sister and brother-in-law at the patterson bethel complex in new york.
perhaps it was a last-ditch effort to salvage whatever faith i had in the organization, or maybe it was the realization that i would not be able to see my sister under semi-normal conditions again if i left; i don't know.
of course, the trip did not save my crumbling faith.
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Narkissos
My first contact with serious Bible scholarship was at the French Bethel library. It had a great part in changing my life.
I remember the "brother" who was the head of the translation Department, and who took care of the "Creation" book, checked the scholarly references in the published French translations. He told me once how shocked he was that quotations were blatantly taken out of their original context. Yet he is still inside, he even became the President of the national legal association of JWs.
So life goes...
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Why do the JW's not Believe in Hell?
by Tirisilex ini may have asked this question before awhile back but i was not able to find it in the search.
other than what the nwt provides for information.. how do the jw's provide proof for this no hell belief?
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Narkissos
Archangel,
In case you don't know, I've been reading / studying / translating / editing / commenting the Bible for many years now. As a consequence of that, I'd never say: "The Bible says". Because I came to understand how different the texts which eventually were gathered into the Bible are, so there is no such thing as a "Bible message".
However, if I had to choose between heaven and hell I'd certainly choose hell. Company's better, the best people are there.
I don't know what Church you belong to, but if it is somewhat related to Calvinist teaching, you must know there is NO choice in fact: from eternity God has decided who was to accept his love and who wasn't. Loves everyone anyway. Screwy of screwies.
Breathe: your life is here. It is not in a book, fascinating as it may be.
Take care,
Narkissos
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37
How important is the Devil to God?
by Narkissos ina few days ago, on the thread about ?a new view of the trinity?, rubadub voiced his disappointment as to the lack of any really new view, such as a fourth member who could turn it into a quadrinity or replace any of the members of the trinity in case of emergency.
at the moment i just laughed, but later on i thought the devil could be a very good candidate.
just think: under the influence of persian dualism, shortly after yhwh, the god of ancient israel, became god in the absolute sense (say in the 6th century bc, with second isaiah), satan (from a common hebrew noun meaning ?opposer?
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Narkissos
Thanks everybody,
Sirona, I found your post very enlightening. Your "pagan" view is in tune with the old "polytheistic" perspective which makes up the deepest and oldest strata of the Bible texts -- when there were not yet a God and a Devil. It really convinces me that "monotheism" is basically related to moral dualism: it emerged under the cultural influence of Persian dualism indeed!
Still I'd like Christian believers to express how important or unimportant the Devil is to their belief in God. Maybe ClassAvenger's lapidary comment was from this viewpoint (???). Come out, come out, wherever you are! We Frenchies (and/or shameful Marxists) will behave...
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WOW!!! Really enjoyed it!!!
by Doubtfully Yours ini have to report that i enjoyed the christmas pageant very much last evening.. told hubby i was attending an event from work and off i went; returned home around 9:30 p.m.. i'm telling you all, one thing is read about jesus christ's life, death, and resurrection in the bible, and a much more different experience is to see in enacted.
it was so vivid i almost cried a couple of times, because it touched me so.
the customs, the music, the sound, the stage, all those animals parading around, even a couple of camels!
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Narkissos
Great DY!
The "Biblical Dramas" at assemblies, silly as they could be sometimes, were definitely the best literary productions of the WT. It's the stuff I most enjoyed translating when I was in Bethel.
Sunnygal, I'll remember "Amen and Awomen"... Best "inclusive language" I ever heard!