Nope, I'm all for it, why should we straight folks have a lock on divorce, custody battles, property settlement disputes, etc. For the gay folks, be careful what you wish for...
Big Dog
JoinedPosts by Big Dog
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28
10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong
by avishai in10 reasons why gay marriage is wrong.
01) being gay is not natural.
real americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.. .
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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.
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Big Dog
I rather liked this explination.
Where is God?
This is always the question that is asked when disaster strikes.
Where is God? Why didn’t God stop this? Why hasn’t God delivered these poor, suffering people? God must not be that “almighty” if “he” can’t stop all this suffering.
God, in my opinion, is not living up to his advertising. In a year that has witnessed the aftermath of the south Asian tsunami (approximately 225,000 deaths), Katrina (118 confirmed dead and rising), and Wednesday’s Baghdad bridge stampede (some 953 Shiite religious pilgrims dead), it has become impossible to reconcile current events with the notion of an omnipotent, omniscient, magnanimous deity. “The Almighty” appears to be either an unaware, powerless, and/or misanthropic absentee landlord — or no one whatsoever.
This view shows just how pervasive the right-wing view of the vending machine God has taken hold in our country. It’s a perversion of God’s nature.
The right wing, with its black and white answers to every question, and the ever-pervasive “prosperity gospel” that teaches people that if they do the right things (namely contributing to the purveyor of the prosperity message) God will make them rich in return, has led people to misunderstand God when disaster strikes. They believe the hype that God is this super-human in the sky who controls the weather, who controls people who fly planes into building and who controls who lives and who dies.
God doesn’t work that way.
God is not a vending machine - spitting out miracles if we put in the right kind or amount of prayer. God is not a super-human being in the sky, bigger and stronger than we are and all knowing. God is not an evil overlord in the sky, waiting with glee for just the right moment to smite the sinners and bless the saints. God is not even a benevolent, kind papa in the sky, sending waves of “lurve” to us if we’ll just meditate and think good thoughts.
According to the scriptures, God is … and that’s about all we can really say. God is unknowable. God’s ways are not our ways - God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. We think God should stop storms and prevent suffering, but that’s not on God’s agenda. That’s the human agenda and we are so quick to blame God when things don’t go our way. We stamp our feet like scorned children and tell God to go to hell.
God is not a human. True we are made in God’s image - possessing that spark of the divine that creates our better nature - but God is not us and we make a mistake when we expect God to act or think like us.
God is God - and the scriptures tell us that God is ever with us, working in and through us if we seek God’s will for our lives. When we search for God we should not search for God in the wind, the thunder or the hurricane. We only find God in that still, small voice - that voice that comforts us, that voice that guides us, that voice that assures us that no matter how tough things get or how bad things seem, there is always hope.
God has never promised us a trouble free life. Believing in God does not get one a pass on tragedy. Believing in God does not mean that we’ll be rich, thin and good looking. Believing in God simply means that against all odds, we will have hope. Believing in God means that against all odds, we will believe that things can get better. Believing in God means that we will be motivated to survive, to grow, to change things for the better - because we understand that justice - real distributive justice - only comes about when those who believe in the eternal goodness and hope of God act on our convictions and work for the betterment of every single person on the face of this earth.
Read the Psalms and understand. When people search for God they find God in the suffering. They find God in the face of hopeless situations. They find God in the depth of their hearts where their strength lies. They find God in the depth of their hearts where their hope lives. They find God in the depth of their hearts where despair is finally defeated.
If this current disaster teaches us anything it’s that we’ve forgotten where God is and how God works in our world. God works through us. God lives within each of us and if we neglect that divine spark in ourselves or anyone else, chaos follows.
Deroy Murdock concludes his article stating that “we are on our own.” It’s that kind of attitude that has brought us here. Only when we realize that we are all in it together will we understand the true nature of God. We are woven together on this earth as a fine fabric and when we truly believe that we are on our own and we don’t need each other then we destroy the fabric of life - the fabric of God. We can only understand God when we understand that we are woven together on this earth - completely dependent on one another. How we live affects one another and until we understand that interconnectedness - that utter dependence upon one another - we will forever feel angry with and forsaken by God.
If you want to rage at something, rage at the selfishness and vanity that humanity (especially Western humanity) has embraced. Rage at our insensitivity to one another. Rage at our inability to rise above our tribalism. Rage at what the human race has become by our own choices and decisions. God hasn’t put us here - we have.
God is with us. God is in the despair, in the struggle and in the suffering. God is within us all, and only when we realize that divine spark of every human being and how powerful we are when we realize and act upon our connection to everyone - only then will we truly understand the power and nature of God.
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What does the WTS have to gain?
by Low-Key Lysmith inthe one question that still burns in my mind is what does the wts possibly have to gain by keeping so many people deluded and brainwashed?
does the gb really think they are doing god's work knowing full well that they are nothing but a bunch of liars?
how can they, in good conscience, encourage people who will die without blood transfusions do so knowing full well that it's a farce?
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Big Dog
I think Poppers nailed it, once an institution reaches a certain level it takes on a life of its own, has sort of an inertia about it that is hard to stop. Also Lady Lees point about digging themselves in a hole, after all the finger pointing at other religions and circular reasoning, there simply is no going back.
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DRUG INDUCED DECISIONS...not such a good thing.......
by Sparkplug inwell i heard from my brother that a childhood friend that i write to (as he lives in prison) got his sentence.
first in texas there is a 3 strike rule.
so seeing this is his third strike and then some i do not know how that lucky son of a jw got an offer for only 9 years.
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Big Dog
How about some of the resident stoners weighing in? Drug induced decisions, good, bad, or moot?
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For all you bad spellers out there.
by stevenyc inget google toolbar!
it comes with a spellcheck.
type out anything on the web, hit the button, and hey presto!.
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Big Dog
As the saying goes, bad spellers of the world, untie!
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DRUG INDUCED DECISIONS...not such a good thing.......
by Sparkplug inwell i heard from my brother that a childhood friend that i write to (as he lives in prison) got his sentence.
first in texas there is a 3 strike rule.
so seeing this is his third strike and then some i do not know how that lucky son of a jw got an offer for only 9 years.
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Big Dog
I am all for the legalization of drugs, I agree with 144001 in that the justice system spends far too much of its resources trying to stop drug use and punishing those that do use. If drugs were cheap and available I think much of the crime associated with drugs would be eliminated, the huge profits that are reaped now from the sale of drugs lead to an incredible amount of death and mayhem as sellers seek to protect their turf and product. It seems we didn't learn much during the prohibition.
On the other hand, I don't think drug use is all that cool, and the potential for harm to others while under the influence is great.
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She said I seem really bitter about my JW experience....
by Sirona in.
i was talking to someone at my new job - she has known me for about 3 months and had something like 2 five minute conversations with me about the jws.. she said "you do come across as really bitter about it".. (note she is definately not a jw).. it was a real eye opener, because although i try and educate people about the truth of jws, i didn't think i was "bitter".. what about you?
sirona
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Big Dog
LOL, yeah I've had people make that comment to me, to which I usually respond like Lawrence, bitter is way too mild a word. Hate, deep, deep hatred would be much closer to the truth.
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Were you ever called upon to answer when you didnt.........
by ButtLight inraise your hand?
put on the spot and didnt know the answer?
or just werent paying attention?
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Big Dog
Once, and I asked them if they wanted my answer or the preprogrammed canned answer contained in the paragraph that was meaningless to me. Never got called on again, got reamed by the parents when we got home but it was worth it.
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Not everyone left the JW Org for the same reason...Why did you leave?
by JH insome left because they couldn't follow the pace.
some left because they knew they were living a double life.. some left because they rathered live a life of sin.. and some left because they considered it a cult.. i stopped going because i was unable to keep up with all their demands and expectations, and i found them too controling.
also because they cover their past and give false hope for the near future.. why did you leave?.
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Big Dog
My cult membership expired at 18 when I became an adult and I didn't renew it.
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Big Dog
As Calvin once said to Hobbes, Okay Jack, time for your lobotomy.