not to diss anyones beliefs, i thought this was humorous.. .
absurdity in the bible .
if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.--1 cor.14:38 .
How about the absurdity of the ransom.
An innocent man accepts punishment on behalf of guilty men and that makes the guilty men innocent. That doesn't meet even the most simplistic measures of justice.
Genesis seems to have been written primarily to show a direct link between God and the nation of Isreal. So they could believe that their religion was superior to everyone elses.
in the wake of lovelylil's recent threads on the "historical jesus," a side question.. let's assume, for the sake of the discussion, that the four canonical gospels are not historical accounts of jesus' life, but a much later elaboration of christian faith in narrative form -- there are many reasons for such a proposal, but i'm not going into them right now -- let's just assume.. what do you think would be better or worse to find out in the historical field, from the perspective of christian faith:.
1. that there was no "historical jesus" at all, and that the gospels are essentially a religious myth made (hi)story, "the word made flesh" so to say;.
2. that there was a "historical jesus" completely different from the christian saviour -- for example, a galilean apocalyptic prophet and political zealot, trying to cleanse the nation and the temple from both the roman occupation and ritual disorders, with no interest at all in starting a new universal (i.e.
I couldn't resist hitting the bait. Your original questions- which is preferrable to the beliver.
I say Option 1 is preferrable to the beliver. This is because a "believer" believes in the historical Jesus and the holiness of the Church. If you're going to pull the rug out from under the beliver by saying that there is no historical Jesus, at least the Church is left to stand as the one true source of communion with God. After all, you did assume that the Church put together this great mythology which unites, comforts, and encourages the masses.
What is the saying- The believer firmly believes in Christ and the one true church, Holy, Apostolic, Catholic- something like that.
my step daughter went to the memorial, which is her first meeting in many months.
a 7 year old girl came up to her and asked if she is baptised and when will she get baptised.. my sister has a 4 year old daughter.
when she was introduced to another 4 year old one question she asked was "does he love jehovah.".
I have been working on innoculating my kid. I want to teach him about logical fallacies, emotional appeals, demanding evidence, the difference between fact and opinion, etc. I have no doubt that my parents will work on him when he gets older. I just want to give him the tools to defend himself.
this year i came to the realization that the jw memorial is primarily about death, sin, and compliance.
easter is a celebration of resurrection, rebirth and life.
just like we have come to expect from the borg- take a positive, uplifting celebration and highlight the dark aspects of it.
Black Sabbath-
Twisted- but true
this year i came to the realization that the jw memorial is primarily about death, sin, and compliance.
easter is a celebration of resurrection, rebirth and life.
just like we have come to expect from the borg- take a positive, uplifting celebration and highlight the dark aspects of it.
Thanks for reading and responding...I was thinking that this topic would be Dead On Arrival but I'm happy to see your input.
Since I was raised a faithful dubbie, I'm doing a lot of new things this year- hid some candy eggs for my kid and the neighbor kids, cooking a lamb leg for a meal with the neighbors, posting on JWD while listening to Sultans of Swing.....
Choosing life- That is exactly why I want to try a church service once. Not because I believe, but because the hymns, the light coming through the stained glass after a long winter, a little bit of incomprensible latin to make you feel mysterious- Maybe I'm romanticizing it since I've never done it....
NMG- I agree. No guilt. Just trying to take back and understand my heritage. I totally understand the anger and bitterness that many on this board feel at this time of year. "This most guilt trippy nights" as someone on this board said recently
Starting Over- It may be easier for me because my wife scoffs at least as much as I do (maybe more), but I think that there is some value in reconnecting to social habits that have been ingrained in us for thousands of years.
kwr- Yes, Good Friday is all about the death of Jesus. And in general Christianity has a bit of twisted, blood thirsty logic to it. But most people don't dwell on that- they just try and take the day off (maybe leave early from work.) I'm just trying to extract the positive.
ok everyone, who has to go to the memorial tonight?
check in here, state the reason you have to go, and when you get back, let us know how it went and your impressions.
for me, i have to go for my family--since i'm doing the fade i figure it won't kill me to go.
It is amazing the mental gymnastics that are done to force applications of various scriptures:
Its hard to listen to the foolishness after having read the context. And it makes me ashamed that it took me so long to see it.
this year i came to the realization that the jw memorial is primarily about death, sin, and compliance.
easter is a celebration of resurrection, rebirth and life.
just like we have come to expect from the borg- take a positive, uplifting celebration and highlight the dark aspects of it.
This year I came to the realization that the JW Memorial is primarily about death, sin, and compliance. Easter is a celebration of resurrection, rebirth and life. Just like we have come to expect from the borg- take a positive, uplifting celebration and highlight the dark aspects of it. And use it as a tool to encourage compliance.
I have come to a place where I am not sure I believe that someone like the Jesus described in the most popular 4 gospels really existed, much less was resurrected. But it hits me that people have been thinking about resurrection, rebirth, etc at this time of the year for many thousands of years. Maybe this is just the reaction of an agricultural society to the natural phenomenon of the the changing of the seasons- but whatever the reason- it is a well engrained habit. Part of human's social DNA.
I am thinking about resurrection this year. Not the literal type, but more as a symbol. Its the time of the year to shake off the winter doldrums and reinvent yourself. I plan to do this- by reinvigorating my business, by renovating my house, and by continuing my efforts to be more involved with my community.
What are your thoughts about resurrection and/or memorial? Did you go to church today? Or the memorial yesterday?? Some day I want to go to a real Easter church service- just to experience it. If you are a christian- what are your thoughts on Easter?? If you are an athiest/agnostic, etc- what are your thoughts???
it happened last night guys.
i got early to the kh and the boe came to talk to me.
they ask me to read the bible and asked me a couple of questions.
So, I suppose saying "Happy Easter" would be inappropriate....
my 25 year old sister just called me with some big news...her husband...30...is of the annointed as of last december.
omg!
i'm having trouble processing this.
Women are soo "defiling"
Doesn't that phrase "not defiled by a woman" make you sick now. To me it just jumps out as proof that the bible is a product of 2000 year old Roman/Greek cultural norms and beliefs.
1. bethel in ny suspect high level apostate, cant identify it but know its there.
2. major organizational changes about to start rolling out, one is changes to the "service committee" and titles, po to be done away with, thats all i know for now.
was told that if you are the sort of person that cant handle changes, you wont stay in the org for long.
This isnt the case in the US. The PO is a separately appointed position. Who is the PO gets as much discussion as who to appoint as an elder. Then the CO has to approve it. If the PO is no longer serving as PO you have to write a letter explaining why. And the Service desk has to approve. If the CO isn't visiting the congo then all the local body can do is make an "interim" appointment.
It is much closer to the old Congregation Servant thing than most people realize.
