i hope this will be as respectful a debate as possible.
here is the premise: many of us (most) seem to be ex jw's on this board.
that means, whatever your motivation, for a time you bought into the theology of jw to one degree or another.
Narkissos : But imo the potential good or bad of faith has little if anything to do with a belief being true or wrong. You can be a nice, kind and helpful person with absurd beliefs, and a dreadful inquisitor with correct beliefs.
Agreed
Since faith is a personnal thing - to me it should stay as a philosophy forme seen from outside.
The fanatics are Dangerous in many ways
we can take it!
c'mon tell us why we're so stupid, it can't be that difficult we elected tony blair for god's sake!.
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MrsJones/LT/Mouthy
... I agree ... (Brits all white ) .... that was very stupid !!! Sorry Folks !!!
we can take it!
c'mon tell us why we're so stupid, it can't be that difficult we elected tony blair for god's sake!.
.
... ... !!!
well the Brits have a HUGE sens of humour (very WIDE possibilities, almost EVERYTHING can be joked about - including themselves / it still depends on have it been understood or not - the state of mind and of course the mood - one factor or all together at the moment ) just behind them I would put the Chinese not that different just either more or less subtile (or maybe the only real difference is that the brits are white and speaks English) dunno
dear friends,.
i am taking some time away from posting.
i don't really know if or when i will be back.
Lilly ... Enjoy your break
and come back ... (you will ...) Take care
bindery...........5th floor building 3 bindery line 5.............. the machines conquer all.. standing in the same spot, doing the same motion thousands of times a day........you would get the 1000 yard stare (seen in the war movies)..........the first week, you would think about everyone you ever meet........the next week you would think about every movie you ever saw...........the next week, about every place you would like to travel to.............................the next week think about every mistake you made...............the next week, someone would walk up and ask you "what are you thinking about?".
"nothing".......you would say........you were brain dead.. there is eternality!......................some hours felt like it.
a good friend of mine, jim pipkorn (also from the lanudry) who was also shafted to the "end sheet gluer" in the bindery, got so depressed that for months, he would come back to his room make himself some dinner and go to bed, at about 7:00 p.m...................i asked him why he was doing that, he said "it makes the days go by quicker" .
... ...
black thursday september 1972. knorr gathered all the bethel "heavies" and gb to the kh in the 119 building.
the three freds (circuit overseers).............and about 50 brothers.....thats right only 50. the other guys chickened out, they knew it was going to be a blood bath.
i was there with 7 others from the launrdy............... it started out with dan smoally (not even 30 years old and partaking) telling about what max larson (head of the whole factory) told him "there was no way he was one of the anointed!
... ...
don't get me wrong...........there was no one more self righteous then me at 19. moved to kansas at 18 to pioneer and even printed up cards that said............ "have sword with travel"---------contact casarona salina kansas------ aaa (availabe after armegeddon)-----ss (sacred service)...... oh, i was full of myself!
thought of myself as a spiritual gun fighter.
to defend truth, justice and all the watchtower bible and tract society stood for.
... ...
one thing you'll see me and many others do is the good old bible bash with scriptures flying around.
i cannot move away from the idea however, that when we cannot agree on the interpretation of scripture how can we possibly claim our understanding is superior to anothers?
yet upon such topics hangs the supposed destination of one's soul.
Id like somehow, someone would open a specific range of topics related to differents views on scriptures.
so that anyone trying to give at least 1 to 3 interpretations of each in staying in the context (of the verse and it's meaning)
The verses studyed would be some who are debated in other topics (for instance - lunched on after this other) otherwise we would have to think about wich verses to talk about.
one thing you'll see me and many others do is the good old bible bash with scriptures flying around.
i cannot move away from the idea however, that when we cannot agree on the interpretation of scripture how can we possibly claim our understanding is superior to anothers?
yet upon such topics hangs the supposed destination of one's soul.
To be more explicite :
the path to me is that simple (= not that much – Charity, forgiveness Able to shut down your Ego when needed) you don't really need more than that (it's not a wide range of laws - but it leads to a wide range of solutions)
one thing you'll see me and many others do is the good old bible bash with scriptures flying around.
i cannot move away from the idea however, that when we cannot agree on the interpretation of scripture how can we possibly claim our understanding is superior to anothers?
yet upon such topics hangs the supposed destination of one's soul.
Since faith is a personal matter whatever is said can just inspire us or not (but again since you get too much into details it’s getting confusing because we put too much of our understanding into it) and here is a demonstration from the verse you chosed :
they could have different meanings
(New Testament | Matthew 7:13 - 14)
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that lead eth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
The JW – and most religious once (seen as a very precise path to get salvation – which is not totally false to me) but because this message is also talking about false prophetsyou can also see it as : what is really important (= not that much – Charity, forgiveness Able to shut down your Ego when needed - but most might not understand it). False prophets don’t really lead to that and a lot do take there Path.
Two actually differente meanings ... one will lead to follow false prophets (for salvation = bad) ... the other one will lead to understand what is important ...
