the other day, we were discussing whether satan is a real person (fallen angel) or just the personification of evil.
i was trying to see people's thoughts on this topic because many christians i know claim satan is not real.
even clergy today teach this.
During OT times, the terms snake, serpent, or dragon were used for those who were opposers of God.
Really... How is it that Moses' staff turned to a snake then? What about the healing snake idol that was used in that one story (I forget the names involved and the scripture, if anyone wants to help out), where they all fell before Jah's agent and his golden snake on the post and were healed? (The caduceus or Asclepius.)
The snake was not exclusively associated with "opposers of God".
i 've heard snippets of this absurd urban myth about jay leno asking j denver to leave his show because he hated jw's.
but why on earth on a prime time slot would j leno start asking j denver about jw's?
and i don't think j leno is a particularly spiritual guy or wt supporter is he?
You might note that the snopes article does not say "true", "false", "unverified" or anything else about it, like it does with just about every other article I've read there.
I'm not saying I believed any of it happened as I tend to be highly sceptical. But I just wanted to note that snopes doesn't explicitly say one way or the other like it does with the rest of its articles.
for example, i often hear atheists say that while they have a "lack of belief" in any gods (negative position), they are going to make the positive step in their lives and live them like there were no gods.
which is to say that they make their own morals and choices without fear of some god.
but what if an atheist decided one day that so and so religion, that worships so and so god, makes him feel good emotionally, and gives his ever vigilant left hemisphere a break on sundays.
Not reading all the comments...
My opinion is that if one is living their life in ways that belie what they profess to believe, then they are being dishonest. Now, that is not to say an atheist going to Sunday services is being dishonest necessarily if they present things the way you did. However, if they adamantly profess all believers to be utter idiots and then sneak in for the occasional mass, then I'd have to say that person is less than an honest person, with themselves and with others.
It's not very beneficial to the individual to be split thus.
consider the scene: jesus has just been baptized and immediately leaves for an extended stay in the wilderness all on his lonesome.
now ... already this is something the governing body would discourage any jw from doing, but i digress.. along comes satan.
jesus knows it is satan, because of how satany he is.
I have a side question. Was Jesus perfect before the temptation? Or was his success in resisting the temptation part of his becoming perfect?
Also, how could he have been said to be perfect having been born of woman, in the flesh? Even with Jehovah's seed? He'd be at least 1/2 imperfect human.
If the temptation was part of his becoming, then all "True Christians" should follow his example and confront Satan head on.
Auldsoul, I don't see how your comparison to yourself is really very valid. You are, after all, just you, not Jesus or Satan.
i had a memory come up today.
i recall there was a time when kids were allowed to read the subheadings at the watchtower study.
they cut that out because they wanted kids to participate in the same way as the adults, by answering the questions for the paragraphs.
I agree to a certain extent. My mother used to call me "old man", I was so serious most of the time. Gee, I wonder where I got that...
But we never had any of the perks you mentioned such as the review geared towards the "My Book of Bible Stories". So, I think you guys were lucky.
and introduce myself.
i was raised in "the truth", and for the longest time it was all i knew.
i spent my childhood going through all the things that other witness children went through; not celebrating holidays, not standing up and reciting the pledge of allegiance, not going to school events, or associating with "worldly" children much.
Another Dallasite! Welcome to the forum.
ahh the joys of living on your own and actually having to give a shit about how much money you have.
gone are the days when you needed extra money and you could just whip up a nice dinner for lover man, give him a kiss on the cheek, and be all, "sweeeetie.
can i have some moneeeey?
Ah, memories... my old spool table wasn't nearly this nice:
hope this is not a repost.
seems prince hosted a 'bash' with all the worldly entertainers from the golden globes,,,,not a 'brother' in sight,,,,sigh,,just bad association.... .
justin timberlake and cameron diaz, who announced last week that they'd split up, got into a heated argument at prince's golden globes afterparty early tuesday morning.
Hasn't he been an "off-and-on" JW for a while now?
I sometimes wonder if the WBTS has an official stance on his status as a Witness since any normal JW would have been in deep doo-doo for some of the things he's known to be involved in.
now that you've done your practice on starting conversations with strangers, it's time to actually approach women.. first of all, let's cover what not to do when approaching a woman:.
1) never approach a woman from behind.
you will startle her.
Some of you are taking some of the process that Nos is describing way too seriously. You're assuming predator-type behavior here, which it doesn't necessarily have to be.
I've used some of these methods before, though I'd never read it in some "How to Seduce Women" book and my intention was never to "seduce".
It's common sense for the most part, and part of "the hunt", "the chase".
I've led a woman away from her "pack" before, and it's never been rough as some of you seem to be thinking it would be. I sit and chat, make eye-contact, smile openly, laugh... When I think she's adequately attracted and interested, I might ask her if she wants to play pool, or whetever, and I would likely place my hand upon her arm to gently guide her. All this without really even thinking about it.
Creeps are creeps no matter how they approach. But Nos' suggestions will work for a person who has problems with the approach. Some of the terms used are rather mechanical, ("target", etc.) which is what I think a lot here had a real problem with, but otherwise, not too bad. But many men work better with a set of direct instructions, Step 1, Step 2, etc. without all the cushiness women often need. I'm sure a book geared towards women on how to meet men looks entirely different.
just a little breaking news:.
after several years of a great friendship with diane (previously posted as xena) things have started to really come together recently and i've succumbed to making an honest woman of her (or at least as honest as it's possible to make her.
last night (xmas day) i popped the question and she agreed to marry me (i wonder if she knows what she's let herself in for!!!)..
Your wedding will be the Apostafest of the Century!
Oh my! I'm pretty sure you're right!
