Posts by humbled

58

Christians please answer something for me

by confusedandalone in

or should i say some things.... reading over another thread and a number of other threads i have to ask, why are we making excuses for jesus / god.. how can you fathom and all powerful god who created the universe and all the laws that govern it was not capable of:.

1. making sure the proper pronunciation of his name is not available.

2. that all his teaching are not preserved in an easy to discern manner so that ther is no confusion.

humbled

Try this for a how the scriptures were presented in black and white:

newmedia.eng.haifa.ac.il/?p=2043

(I don't know how to make this clickable)

I took a copy of this to the elder when I was in trouble. This crude way of writing--how could they fault me for not agreeing with the WT view of reality?*

If if gets to you the same way it has gotten to me, I can't see how any story isn't mistaken from how it is in the mind of it's first "teller". It just seemed wrong to make a religion out of these writings. It seems that every man for himself--And, if there is a god he/she would understand how confused we are at the crap information we've got to work with.

*They didn't care, BTW.

9

A potsherd with writing from the time of King David--How 'bout that?

by not a captive in

writing on a potsherd found over a year ago in qeiyafa near the elah valley has been deciphered by professor gershon galil of the university of haifa.

it is said to be the oldest known extant inscription in the hebrew language.

the potsherd was radiocarbon dated to c. 1000 bc which is around the time of king david.

humbled

Confusedandalone,

You might have known this already.... but this is some of the writing used to transmit bible stories.

Really rough stuff.

When the elders were taking me to task for trying to think about the way the bible was translated, I found this story about a potsherd with writing on it.

I got a copy of the weird writing and enlarged it. I showed it to them. I asked how could anyone work out theology from this kind of writing--I mean, people burnt at the stake (and disfellowshipped) over this stuff!

Guess how much they cared?

P.S. Originally this was posted right after I was in trouble and soon to be " announced" as "no longer one of......."

Sorry you are having a rough time.

58

What do you say if you get asked "Are you an Apostate?"

by KateWild in

i am reuniting with past students and return visits.. i met up with a young lad i used to call on.

he is not baptised, but at university in his 20's and living away from home.

his mother is a jw and his father is not.

humbled

Kate,

when I was searching for some answers about "truth" lol, I found an archive with a letter from a Gallic bishop of the 5th century--the note was a response to a "new lite" edict that now made his old lite heretical. He responded--"But no, YOU are the heretics!"

Apostates? What a laugh that they hit anyone over the head with that question!

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

humbled

It is hard to be honest about what i feel about faith.

Kate said "So am I sinning against the spirit now expressing my thoughts?"

I figure that sinning against the spirit is the same as lying to yourself.

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

humbled

Confusedandalone--

You aren't the only one in a twilight zone. Some of us came off the thread about a tsunami. Some of us find the OT just short of a dog-and-pony show.

Personally, I like Jesus' teachings-- even if he isn't a god/man. I don't think he was. Part of the problem with saying"god/man" is that I really don't think god is who I thought he was. And I don't know who he is or isn't now.

As for ears hearing...Who knew that would step on so many toes.

Cofty, I spent a bit of effort on that bit about St. Teresa--It was a point in keeping with the discussion.If your ears heard that bit, acknowledge please.

Zound, Jgnat, or anyone else stung by the offending phrase: I repent. I apologize. My own hearing has been called into question. If there is meaning beyond some basic things from Jesus, I do not hear it. But he has helped me--if I heard him right.

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

humbled

Confusedandalone,

Do you think it would help if Jesus wrote an accurate gospel?

If he did, the churches would burn it up--first thing. Or better yet: have someone anointed explain it to us.

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

humbled

Hummingbird,

"If you have ears to hear" isn't an insult to us, IMO. It is a phrase that shows up in the sayings of Jesus sometimes.

I used it because I am disagreeing with cofty over a scripture from the gospel of Thomas.

He maintains that Jesus' saying about women which he supplied in his post shows that Jesus was a misogynist.

I maintain that the scripture expresses the equal value of women to men--a concept completely foreign in Jewish society at that time.

Who is right? The one who has ears to hear :)

Maybe cofty is right. Who will judge?

Each of us has to decide for ourselves. It is an odd saying.

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

humbled

Is Mary the Magdalene the sister of Lazaras? It is thought not

Yet the Mary of Bethany , Lazaras' sister, didn't cook(like a man) for Jesus' visit, and she is not reprimanded when her sister complains about her.

Jesus well knew his followers,it seems. Peter complained about Mary magdalene in other writings--writings deemed heretical.

Yes Pete influenced the early church. And the patriarchal big "C" church persecuted for centuries that unbroken tradition of the women-are equal-to-men branch that HAD understood Jesus' teaching about women. One being the Cathars.

But to return to the OP. Jesus' teachings have been helpful--if you have ears to hear.

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

humbled

that they were lovers.... ?

There are credible arguments that she was even his spouse. Your point?

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

humbled

This saying simply reminds me of the age old problem of discussing any equivalence of men and women in a pervasively misogynistic environment, one that only recognizes invidious comparisons in communicating that women even so DO have the mental power of men....

This point is made in this story of Teresa o' Avila. She was a 16th century nun whose strong spirituality was matched by a mind also strong. Her confessor in trying to express to a fellow priest that this woman was not a vapourish nun who was subject to fancies of holiness, described her mental integrity by saying "she has a beard".

I hope you don't cavil at this by forcing me to prove that she didn't in fact HAVE a beard.