I'll keep both of you in my thoughts.
OldSoul
JoinedPosts by OldSoul
-
9
not doing so great again
by Cygnus insorry for my lack of participation here the last couple of days, i'm not doing well, please keep me in your thoughts as i try to get through this struggle, thank you
-
-
-
32
14 years later- still a wreck! What's up with me!
by doffy inthe listener said on an earlier postyou've been out for awhile, perhaps your insight will help some of us who are still in the exiting process.
which was a lovely thing to say, and made me feel 'valued' (thanks listener!).
but, you know, 14 years on, and there are times, when i feel like i just left.. i took the children to the pictures yesterday (to see 'wallace & grommit').
-
-
OldSoul
D is for Discussion.
BTW, you missed your thread... http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/99775/1.ashx
OldSoul
-
6
Very confused, please help!
by confused boy ini am not a witness, however my life has been greatly affected by the religion.
my mother was disfellowshipped before i was born, and therefore has no contact with any family members.
i on the other hand have occaisional contact to my other witness family members and i love all dearly.
-
-
OldSoul
You have come to the right place. There is tons of information here on the subject.
Disfellowshipping is taught as an act of love. It is supposed to be a means of correcting someone who has sinned "grossly" after being taught God's moral code.
However, in practice it is used to do more than correct. It is also used to punish an offender and frighten the flock into conformity. The circumstances under which one can be disfellowshipped now encompass far more than the Scriptures allow for, and the congregation (families, etc.) rarely even know what the person was disfellowshipped for. Especially would that be the case when the family member lives in another congregations territory (as is often the case).
Ostensibly, the purpose of secrecy over what the wrong actually was has to do with protecting the one who sinned, but the effect is that no one knows why the person was disfellowshipped, so no one can determine whether they agree with the disfellowshipping. It is an excellent case of this Organization controlling the thinking of its adherents in a way that is strikingly contrary to Scripture. Nothing in the Scripture indicates that elders have authority to disfellowship/excommunicate anyone.
I hope this kicks off the discussion nicely.
Respectfully,
OldSoul -
-
-
OldSoul
Hee-hee! Let me try!
Why CHICKENS are POULTRY: Because, that's why.
This is fun!
Why MY OLDER BROTHER is an ANUS: Because, that's why.
Heh, having fun now.
Why ATHEism atrracts ATHEISTS: Because, that's why.
Okay, now I'm bored. That was fun, Satanus!
-
87
Mormons/LDS
by Evanescence inwhat would your views be on mormons?.
was there much incidences where jw's and mormons would ever catch eachother while going door-to-door?.
just curious cause both of you do it and wondered if there was ever any conflict between the two..... evanescence
-
-
OldSoul
Qcmbr,
I'm missing the full import of what your saying here.
I agree! And how refreshing it was to read that.
There is definately a structure in the NT.
No disputing it. There is structure. Evident throughout the Greek Scriptures. However, there is no inherent basis for a claim of authority simply because of the existence of structure. Is there?
Key to my point is Jesus continual assertion that the sheep were his. Well, what authority does a shepherd have over sheep that aren't his? None.
If the shepherds are shepherding someone else's sheep, and they themsleves are also sheep, then the authority belongs to the owner (Christ) and the shepherds have no authority over the sheep. Any attempt to exercise illegitimate authority over fellow sheep amounts to beating one's fellow slaves.
In my opinion. But, I am sure I can post dozens of Scriptures, in context, that demonstrate this very thing.
Respectfully,
OldSoul -
11
Go AA! It's your birthday!! Gonna par-tay, like...
by OldSoul inh i p p y barthday, a[lltheway]atheist!!
!
-
-
OldSoul
bttt, Yay, Dave!!
-
34
You're going the thong way!
by tall penguin inso a friend told me something recently that just blew my mind.
she was interrogated by some elders regarding her choice of underwear.
she was being questionned regarding her conduct with a man and apparently her choice of undergarments reflected the level of intent in her actions.
-
-
OldSoul
Born free...
OldSoul (of the "Fewer Clothes" Class)
-
11
Go AA! It's your birthday!! Gonna par-tay, like...
by OldSoul inh i p p y barthday, a[lltheway]atheist!!
!
-
-
OldSoul
H i p p y Barthday, A[lltheway]Atheist!!!
-
38
Oh My Cawed! $29,000+
by BrendaCloutier inok. i "won" a "fully favorable" social security disability claim on august 29, 2005. from there it takes 2 - 6 months to receive a letter outlining just how much i will receive in back pay and in monthly.. today i got an envelope with $29,794.00.
no letter, no nothing!.
oh, my, cawed!.
-
-
OldSoul
(((Brenda)))
I am so happy for you!!!
Respectfully,
OldSoul -
105
How do you defend your god's inaction?
by AlmostAtheist inthis is a question for those that believe in a god or gods, particularly those described as "all knowing" or "almighty".. how do you defend to yourself that your god has not in any modern situation saved his people from anything?.
people of all faiths are regularly killed by various natural elements.
of course, if you knew such a thing was going to befall a person and you could do something to protect them, you would.
-
-
OldSoul
SNG,
If you are looking for an ethical/moral model to use for my concept, which seems to be the thrust of this thread, the best one I can come up with is R. Daneel Olivaw (from Asimov's Foundation series, and other novels) and his deliberations with Giskard over the Laws. Eventually they arrived (on their own) with a need to apply a Zeroth Law that took precedence over the First Law. But, application of the Zeroth Law necessitated an ability to foreknow the impacts of any course of action/inaction on humanity as a species. Without knowing the outcome, Daneel postulated, it is impossible to know whether the action/inaction would result in harm or benefit. Killing a specific human (in violation of the First Law) was justified once he knew the outcome to the species would be beneficial.
Let's try applying that model on a grander scale. I say again, without being able to know the eventual impacts to the species it is impossible to know what "bad" or "good" is except in a metaphorical way. You look at a specific instance and judge the outcome to be "bad," but you really have no basis in fact to make such a judgment because you do not know what the eventual results to the species would be if things had occurred differently, do you?
In evolutionary theory, I am sure you are aware of the impacts of cost/benefit on species development. Is it true that sometimes a short term cost ends up having an effect of benefit to a species?
I hope this helps you to grasp a bit more my relating that God's moral judgment may not match moral judgment among humans, because it is derived from an entirely different perspective. You might think it odd that I call upon a character designed by a devout atheist (Asimov) to demonstrate that morality may be different given different perspectives, but I have a great degree of respect for the man's mind.
If there are other aspects you have concerns about, I will happily do my best to answer those as well.
Respectfully,
OldSoul