He's on a beach. Enjoying it, I hope, 'cause I am stuck in Pennsylvania where it is COLD and I am trying to live vicariously through the vacation I am imagining the lout's having. Even my nipples have nipples. Br-r-r-r-r.
He was in such a hurry to leave that he didn't even get to meet my brother who drove through here on Saturday afternoon.
merriam-webster french-english dictionary .
main entry: peddler.
function: noun.
They started out as peddlers of the word of God whether or not they remained peddlers of the word of God. I personally believe they are still peddlers of the word of God.
Regardless of whether they are currently, when they started out they were not "adequately qualified for these things", so they were not sent from God, so Jesus wouldn't have chosen them in 1919.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
as you know dad there are many, many things in the hebrew scriptures that have always troubled me about gods dealings with man.
these type of things make it difficult for me to not only draw close to him, but make me question if i could really worship him.
over and over i have been taught he is always just, he is love....and yet he had laws that allowed young girls to be raped by a man and then she actually had the privilege of marrying her rapist...if she was not engaged.
Carmel: Not sure what the reference to the detainees at Gitmo had to do with anything though....
The way I took it he was saying that even the INNOCENT Gitmo detainees are likely more dangerous now than they were when imprisoned because of the way they have lost liberties. If they weren't anti-American, they are now.
The young women whose families were butchered by the invading Israelites would have been a serious threat simply for that fact.
That's what I took him to mean, but I could be wrong.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
new thoughts of how you make no sense!.
dad, i was at watchtower.org today after talking with wife about trying to understand god and how holy sprit works...which i have been unable to do for a long time.
the first two pages were about the subject below, and included similar questions about why man-caused tragedies occurred.
It is a very good thread, oompa. It is just so self-contained and clear-cut, there is nothing else to say but:
so the reality is, .
- i am in 'good standing'.
- i am questioning/doubting the validity of the bible.
Robert,
If they do ask and you answer honestly, yes. In fact, they won't even consider it a disfellowsipping. As far as they are concerned, if you are doing what you listed, you have already disassociated yourself.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul (DA'd since November 22, 2005)
this is an idea that really freaked me out when i was still "in".
i asked it several times in groups of friends, and i would get two reactions: confusion/not understanding, and silence/looking at the ground.
if you die, and your body disinegrates, and the soul doesnt live on; in fact, nothing lives on, then what is resurrected?
According to the JW answer: "In that day his thoughts do perish."
Except ... his thoughts do NOT perish if they live on in the mind of God awaiting a regenesis (which is very different from "standing again") of a body for those thoughts to be housed in.
It is a conundrum for which they have no answer.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
dear friends.... "happy saturday""!!!
and merry christmas to you all!!.
it is truely amazing how many new ones are coming on the forum!!
I was.
So were about 20 other people I have reached. And another 15 or so that were on their way in. And whoever else my posts might have helped avoid it that never told me (I hope that number is in the hundreds ).
i've often enjoyed the 3rd article in this watchtower series on propaganda.
it's so amazing that the watchtower could print it, warning about avoiding being the victim of propaganda.
all of their descriptions of it fit the meetings, mags, assemblies to the proverbial "t".
They changed the link to the article. It is the box on page 7 of the June 22, 2000 Awake! entitled "Is the Work of Jehovah's Witnesses Propagandistic?":
To my knowledge, JWs haven't EVER tried to defend this rank example of outright deception. Regardless of the arguable moral benefits of being a JW, the work they do is propagandistic. Even this ARTICLE is propaganda. The writers shifted the focus from the STYLE and METHODS to the potential moral benefits, and in so doing they knowingly perverted the entire thrust of the World Book article they cited.
They had to clip out the only portion of the entire article that might seem supportive, but they even had to edit the sentence in which that appeared since they do not have a democratic society. They also do not have a climate where ideas circulate freely, they accuse and disfellowship people for attempting to freely circulate ideas.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
a friend (someone i respected a great deal / mentor) at my job has shared some information with me.
he cheats on his wife.
wow!!.
No. All men do NOT cheat.
I know for sure.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
according to the old testament, yahweh/jehovah regularly and violently made himself manifest.. according to the new testament, there were miraculous works performed to prove that the messiah was who he said he was and that his followers were authentic.. why are there no such public manifestations of jehovah/yahweh/jesus/holy spirit today?
i say public because some individuals describe very personal experiences detailing some sort of miracle or divine intervention in their lives, most often at a low or desperate point.
i have no interest in discounting such personal experiences.
Jesus was sent to the earth (trans-dimensional travel/ not REALLY virgin birth)
to change people from a nationalistic orientation
to a planetary/universal paradigm.
The capital of the earth is the New Jerusalem - the Jerusalem above.
The objective was never to convince the whole world
by means of miracles (cognitive bribes). Humans have to
experience the contrast between destructive nationalism
and the conserving power of cooperation.
A long-range objective as humanity is groomed into an acceptable segment of that larger society?
All Bible miracles, every single one recorded, are theoretically possible given the proper technology. Most of the feats attributed to the ancient Gods of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas are similarly possible given the appropriate technology. The descriptions of the miracles were not penned by the persons USING the technology, but by witnesses to the events or people to whom the tales were told.
In my opinion, reports of miracles could very well be evidence of advanced technology perceived by primitive minds.
In that sense, miracles still happen daily. Moreso now than ever before. Heck, miracles have become downright commonplace in the Information Age.
