jws feel that their strength lies in the power of bible to foretell.
however, an impartial analysis would show that bibles prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its propheciesespecially those that are very much needed for what it calls last days.
to mention a few:.
Whoever contributes to global warming, terrorism, abortion as a birth-control means, sexual abuse, molestation or anything like that you may cite will reap appropriate consequence—I agree with you. Everyone is free to do what he likes, but no one is free to evade its consequences (Galatians 6:7)
jws feel that their strength lies in the power of bible to foretell.
however, an impartial analysis would show that bibles prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its propheciesespecially those that are very much needed for what it calls last days.
to mention a few:.
The category of women undergoing abortion for the reasons cited by you could be very few in number, and they are exceptions. At this time of what is called Information Age, a number of that size (which is more than double the size of Australia’s population) is inexcusable. What if we add the case of abortions that go unreported?
jws feel that their strength lies in the power of bible to foretell.
however, an impartial analysis would show that bibles prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its propheciesespecially those that are very much needed for what it calls last days.
to mention a few:.
JWs feel that their strength lies in the power of Bible to foretell. However, an impartial analysis would show that Bible’s prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its prophecies—especially those that are very much needed for what it calls “Last Days.” To mention a few:
1) Talking about the end of the world has been the work of religious people so far. But now it is also done by Government Agencies: “NASA WARNS NOTHING CAN STOP DANGEROUS SEA LEVEL RISE.” (http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002383837, 31/8/2015) “Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting faster than ever, and oceans are warming and expanding much more rapidly than they have in years past. Right now we have committed to probably more than three feet [one meter] of sea level rise… there is no reason to expect that ice sheets will melt at the same pace as they did in the past. According to the laws of physics, they will deteriorate faster. And they already are.” (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/27/world/science-health-world/ice-sheets-thaw-speed-sea-level-rise-threatening-florida-tokyo-pacific-isles-nasa-scientists/#.VhtjMNKqqko) “In 2013, global CO2 emissions due to fossil fuel use (and cement production) were 36 gigatonnes (36000000000 metric tons); this is 61% higher than 1990 (the Kyoto Protocol reference year) and 2.3% higher than 2012” (http://co2now.org/Current-CO2/CO2-Now/global-carbon-emissions.html) Situation is likely to continue to worsen as religious leaders and politicians are dependent on the money business people donate to them.
2) Targeting the innocent people who are in no way connected with conflicted parties is a marked departure from conventional war-pattern, and it goes on increasing globally despite the combined effort of virtually all world governments. (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wrost-year-global-terrorism-2014-article-1.2130490) This too Bible did not foresee.
3) Interestingly, there is a prophecy that backfired on the Bible. “Never. Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15) Here a mother forsaking her child is spoken as an exception that may happen too rarely. According to WHO, every year in the world there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions. (http://www.worldometers.info/abortions/) No war has killed that many innocent lives in a year. Yet this happens every year, in this part of the history.
many seek happiness externally and many a time assign others the possession of their happiness.
when they derive a sort of happiness from external sources, they dont feel satisfied, hence jump to the next and then to the next .... in contrast, jesus said gods kingdom (or real happiness) is within (entos) you.
this cannot be misinterpreted as jesus being the king of the kingdom was amidst them as jws do.
Cofty,
You cannot simply dismiss the ways of nature calling it “silly superstitions. Fuck off.” Nature acts like the statue kept in the courts (white lady with a black ribbon tied around her eyes). She sees everyone and every nation either as giver of happiness or giver of unhappiness, and does not seek approval of anybody before she sends back what individuals/nations send out. For example, see what nature did to a great nation. Brahmanas (combination of two words: brah = great + manas = mind) in India were very good in the beginning manifesting a great mind of viewing all with equality, and country flourished. When the Brahmanas turned into a superior class treating others as “untouchables,” nature brought over 700 foreign aggressions over that country—making the condition of that class of people miserable. If you want to see, you can see this everywhere in the case of individuals and nations.
You can delete me in imitation of JW disfellowshipping--that is your choice. But I am an individual, with individual views--having nothing to do with any organization.
many seek happiness externally and many a time assign others the possession of their happiness.
when they derive a sort of happiness from external sources, they dont feel satisfied, hence jump to the next and then to the next .... in contrast, jesus said gods kingdom (or real happiness) is within (entos) you.
this cannot be misinterpreted as jesus being the king of the kingdom was amidst them as jws do.
many seek happiness externally and many a time assign others the possession of their happiness.
when they derive a sort of happiness from external sources, they dont feel satisfied, hence jump to the next and then to the next .... in contrast, jesus said gods kingdom (or real happiness) is within (entos) you.
this cannot be misinterpreted as jesus being the king of the kingdom was amidst them as jws do.
Cofty,
There is a solution. Until now you have only heard from others. Now experiment yourself, just like a scientist does. Be seated in a comfortable posture. Withdraw your mind within—and you will experience your sixth sense (intuition) beginning to manifest itself, and will also find yourself pulled towards the vastness of your soul, the immaterial substratum of your physical body. You will gradually lose sight of all mental and physical boundaries. At this time you will feel like a person on his first airplane flight leaving behind all customary landmarks and soaring into a wall-less space. Keep going till you get linked with your Heavenly Father. Have a sweet conversation with Him. You will come back fully convinced that you are a spirit being in this physical body, and there is a loving heavenly Father, the Supreme Soul, who helps those seeking Him and wanting to know the truth.
many seek happiness externally and many a time assign others the possession of their happiness.
when they derive a sort of happiness from external sources, they dont feel satisfied, hence jump to the next and then to the next .... in contrast, jesus said gods kingdom (or real happiness) is within (entos) you.
this cannot be misinterpreted as jesus being the king of the kingdom was amidst them as jws do.
“btw I am not a supporter of either Carl Sagan or iconoclastic. I just like reading about such debates and the different ideas they generate as most of this occupies a controversial arena which can enrich us.”
many seek happiness externally and many a time assign others the possession of their happiness.
when they derive a sort of happiness from external sources, they dont feel satisfied, hence jump to the next and then to the next .... in contrast, jesus said gods kingdom (or real happiness) is within (entos) you.
this cannot be misinterpreted as jesus being the king of the kingdom was amidst them as jws do.
Due to power-failure signal, I had to stop abruptly. Hence here is an addendum:
When I did my marine engineering, one of my professors was a visionary. He instilled in me the above line of reasoning. He used to say that in his native tongue, the word for good conduct is sadachar which is a combination of two words (sada = always + char = performing something with 100% involvement). Such action is naturally good and effective and one who performs action in this manner is always happy, he is in kingdom of God—something that Jesus too implied.
He also said that the word for coconut is nariyal (from the root nar, man) which means both—man and coconut—have some things in common. Coconut has three eyes—two are useless and one real through which the sprouting happens. Similarly, man has two eyes which are in a sense useless as they are capable of seeing only the superficial, and has one inner eye of understanding that sees the eternal (essence) behind the ephemeral (details). One who sees himself as eternal spirit in material body, he will also see others as eternal spirits in material bodies—which would mean he would always see good in others and do good to others, and will never harm others and feel that no can harm him either. Also, coconut has a hard shell which symbolizes ego in man. When it receives a hard hit, the shell is broken—sweet water flows. So are with people—when they receive a hard hit, their ego is broken—after that sweet behaviour starts freely flowing. Thus egoless living means kingdom of God. This explains custom of breaking the coconut before house-warming ceremony which symbolizes the concept that “from now onward members of this family will live without ego bringing sweet behaviour.”
hi, i m new here and not so good in english, but ive give it a try and hope you understand.. .
the whole idea of the overlapped generation is not only illogical, there are also serious errors in reasoning and how to interpret the scripture.. .
the only "scriptural argument" that the governing body has managed to bring in this matter is exodus 1: 6 where they say that a "generation" can be stretched to cover a longer period than usually meant by a "generation".
Welcome to the forum. Nice post.
When Jesus used the word "generation", he was speaking to his disciples who were not linguistic scholars, hence would mean only what the world means for the common man. There is no scope for interpretation and to lengthen the meaning of the word "generation."
many seek happiness externally and many a time assign others the possession of their happiness.
when they derive a sort of happiness from external sources, they dont feel satisfied, hence jump to the next and then to the next .... in contrast, jesus said gods kingdom (or real happiness) is within (entos) you.
this cannot be misinterpreted as jesus being the king of the kingdom was amidst them as jws do.
Many seek happiness externally and many a time assign others the possession of their happiness. When they derive a sort of happiness from external sources, they don’t feel satisfied, hence jump to the next and then to the next …. In contrast, Jesus said God’s kingdom (or real happiness) is “within (entos)” you. This cannot be misinterpreted as ‘Jesus being the king of the Kingdom was amidst them’ as JWs do. Jesus used the same Greek word when he said: “You cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside (entos) they are full of plunder.”
When the disciples took Kingdom as outside, they lost all their peace; because they were scheming to become number one in that supposedly external kingdom—two of them even used their mother to influence Jesus to assign them cherished positions in the kingdom with one being as Jesus’ right hand and the other his left hand. And this took a worse turn when Jesus left the earthly scene with each one setting up his own kingdom—saying “I belong to Paul, but I belong to Apollos, but I to Cephas”—a never-ending journey that continues even today with over 41000 sects with each one claiming ‘we only are the true church’ (among whom JWs is just an insignificant sand).
One can easily prove kingdom of God is within himself/herself. You will experience real happiness when you try to correct yourself (but unhappiness results when you try to correct others). You will experience real happiness when you compete with yourself (but unhappiness results when you try to compete with others). If you are moderate in your desires you are really happy, but when you want things more than what is called basic luxuries, you lose your happiness as it is ego that steps in (as it also incites envy in others which would bring problems one after the other). Enormous money and possessions do not ensure happiness. Look at the condition of the Gulf countries towards which money flows from other countries. Even their wealthy kings do not sleep in peace. Look at the increased number of psychiatrists in the world’s wealthy countries.
Man’s life is a paradox. He is the eternal spirit within (which is the copy of the Supreme Spirit), which can be satisfied only with divine pleasures; yet bodily incarnate, he is familiar only with sensory experiences. True happiness unfolds from within when one is in harmony with truth—primarily in harmony with the truth about himself that he is an immaterial reality residing in the material body (as this helps him to choose wisely between the real soul pleasures and the illusory pleasures of the senses. When one thinks that he is this body, he limits himself to a particular body, and it is pitiably cabined, cribbed, and confined, and experiences highs (when body is healthy) and downs (when body is tired or begins to age) and also gets affected proportionately by the external changes.
Thus elusive happiness experienced on the global scale is a reminder that one should return to his original nature that he is a spirit in this body, and seek spirit’s nature (which is giving, not about receiving). God, the Supreme Spirit, is the teacher, and He sends His message (free of cost) every day through his sun which gives us light and heat which means one should live as though he is an enlightenment and empowerment to others. In other words, sun is known for giving (not for receiving). Happiness unfolds in giving (rather than in receiving)
