Posts by Watkins

6

A Question for Sons of Anarchy Fans

by Watkins in

what is it about this show that compells you to tune in?

is it the cool choppers?

lol, no - really, i want to know.. a friend of my hubby's, when he learned we like the walking dead, said, "if you like that show, you'll love sons of anarchy.".

Watkins

No help? Hmm, I thought I saw mention of the show on the board in the recent past...

Well, okay.

13

We are in God's "image" but God's morality is repugnant

by yadda yadda 2 in

the bible says in genesis that god made human beings in his "image".. this means that christians believe human beings were made with certain attributes that they share with god.

attributes such as intelligence, creativity, an appreciation of beauty, and sharing a similar set of cardinal moral and spiritual values around love, justice, mercy, etc.. this linked article explains it from a christian perspective more fully.http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23549-qmade-in-the-image-of-godq.

and yet....we find in the old testament that god performs or endorses the most morally repugnant acts, such as ethnic cleansing, killing infants and children, causing famines and plagues, drowning the entire human population except eight persons, etc, etc - all actions that any reasonable and objectively sane person naturally finds morally incomprehensible, disgusting, evil.. this article here outlines some of the actions described in the ot that any normal, sane person would naturally find morally abhorrent:http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/raymond_bradley/moral.html.

Watkins

Such ancient written accounts are nothing but the self-serving inventions of Israelites priests to frighten the populace into subservience and submission, in the same way that churches and evangelists today preach scare-mongering nonsense that you will be tormented forever in a hot fiery hell if you don't repent. They should all one and the same be rejected for what they are: morally disgusting lies.

Couldn't agree more, yadda yadda. So many profitable religions are based on controlling with FEAR.

There is no fear... in love.

W~

6

A Question for Sons of Anarchy Fans

by Watkins in

what is it about this show that compells you to tune in?

is it the cool choppers?

lol, no - really, i want to know.. a friend of my hubby's, when he learned we like the walking dead, said, "if you like that show, you'll love sons of anarchy.".

Watkins

What is it about this show that compells you to tune in? Is it the cool choppers? Lol, no - really, I want to know.

A friend of my hubby's, when he learned we like The Walking Dead, said, "If you like that show, you'll love Sons of Anarchy."

As far as I can tell, the 2 shows have absolutely no common thread. One is about a group of misfits surviving a zombie apocalypse, and the other is about, from what little I've seen, violent rival outlaw motorcycle gangs, drug use, gun-running, the nitty-gritty profane lives the gang families lead.

I don't want to rush to judgement, having never really watched it - hubby's friend recorded one recent show for us a week or so ago - one of the first few scenes was some poor guy in prison getting corn-holed by another fat, greasy inmate - and I thought, wow, I don't need to see anymore of this. :S

There's got to be more to it that I'm not getting... Hubby's watching the first season dvd and says he 'likes it, but doesn't love it'. I can hear some good music wafting down the hall from the tv room. ;)

So what is it about the show that you like - what's compelling, what are it's redeeming qualities? Thanks for your imput!

~W

24

Do you miss the sense of superiority?

by Diest in

jw
friends

this is and odd topic but there is a part of me that really misses feeling that i knew more about the world than 99.9% of the people.

i spent so many years in school being the odd person because of religion.

i embraced it to some extent.

Watkins

No, I don't miss it. Learning ttatt and being humbled to the point of knowing I knew nothing was a big lesson for me. I hate the fact that I had ever thought of my super-dub-self as superior in knowledge. Humbling, oh yeah.

~W

14

new friend for me

by besty in

jw
friends

just spent some valuable time with a long-lost friend from back in the day.

a reminder for me that jw's are just bubbles waiting to float up into freedom.. one day they will post their story here :-).

.

Watkins

Wonderful! I hope it happens to me someday, too.

28

How the Watchtower Society Views Women

by daringhart13 in

hey gang,.....i continue to write as thoughts come to me.

i would love to hear how the ladies here feel about my observations on how the wtbs views/treats women.. new article here: http://darrinhart.hubpages.com/hub/gods-view-of-women-according-to-the-watchtower-bible-tract-society.

.

Watkins

Sounds spot-on to me. There are lots of things you can add - wasn't there a WatchTower that compared women to cows?

There were 'deaconesses' in the NT also, which wt denies.

7

500 Year Old Clam

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-clam-was-alive-for-more-than-500-years-2013-11.

i wish some enlightened billionaire would fund more studies of these "ageless animals".

evolution could tell us how to stop aging almost completely.

Watkins

but they killed it...

40

Scratch a Christian and see the Intolerance under the Skin

by fulltimestudent in

a bishop of the apostolic church (grandiose title, isn't it?

) in the cook islands, wants to ban local indians who are hindu's from celebrating their diwali festival.. he claims its blasphemy against the christian god, and that because the cooks islands is a christian country, no other form of worship should be permitted.. gotta love your average christian, don't you?

if they are banned or persecuted, they scream their heads off, but as soon as they control things they want to ban any alternative worship.. cooks bishop condemns diwali celebration as blasphemyupdated 15 november 2013, 14:52 aest.

Watkins

Well, I look around myself here in my corner of the world and see the full spectrum of people acting out their concept of Christianity. Some of them, imo, are completely wacko. Some of them, imo, are right on track. So I think it's their concept of 'the concept of Christianity' that colors their reactions and actions.

Take the child abuse issue - certainly, reporting it as criminal to the authorities seems like THE clear-cut reaction for any thinking, feeling person. It dumbfounds me that a religion could make someone not think and feel normal human emotions; make them not react in the right way, no matter what anyone says. But that's what we have in the wt and many other religions that have been 'outed' in the news because someone did the right thing. As we've seen, many members of those religions don't have those 'light-bulb moments' when they realize what their religion teaches is wrong. They go along as if it doesn't matter, especially if it doesn't affect them directly. People are fallible, blah,blah blah... it's religions' lamest excuse.

I've always thought the Bible message was simple - do the right thing, have a good conscience. But so many religions don't teach that - they teach secrecy to whitewash their church; they teach hate and intolerance to segregate themselves from the very world they think they're sent to 'save'. It's bass-ackwards! They do NOT represent the Christ I think I know.

Since leaving the wt, one of my major 'ah-ha' moments was the realization that for the most part religion is religion is religion. It doesn't train good consciences or teach good works - it works for itself and trains it's adherants to defend it, right or wrong. There are a few exceptions, but those are not exceptions to the religion, but exceptions in the men and women who lead and teach. There are definitely some 'good apples' - the dipshit in your OP is not one of them. He's just another one who's giving the Jesus I think I know a black eye.

I have no room for religion in my life. But I still have faith in God and Christ - I still believe, but without religion's interference. I truly believe that religion has evolved to what it is now, from very humble beginnings that very quickly went way off track. God's not intervening, letting us play it out to the finish, letting us show our true colors - and I don't think the excuse, "but I was only following orders", will cut it. Religion is so screwed-up... and getting even screwier. :/

I wasn't defending religion at all, you see, because I agree with you. BUT(you knew that 'but' was coming, lol) there are some people who, if 'scratched', will not have hate and intolerance bleeding out of them. But then, you'll never see them in the news. ;)

Peace! ~Watkins

40

Scratch a Christian and see the Intolerance under the Skin

by fulltimestudent in

a bishop of the apostolic church (grandiose title, isn't it?

) in the cook islands, wants to ban local indians who are hindu's from celebrating their diwali festival.. he claims its blasphemy against the christian god, and that because the cooks islands is a christian country, no other form of worship should be permitted.. gotta love your average christian, don't you?

if they are banned or persecuted, they scream their heads off, but as soon as they control things they want to ban any alternative worship.. cooks bishop condemns diwali celebration as blasphemyupdated 15 november 2013, 14:52 aest.

Watkins

I thought it was obvious that the guy is wrong, fulltimestudent. I'm not reluctant to say it or avoiding saying it - it's obvious. If that's the response you were trying to elicit, then why paint all Christians with the same brush? There are bad apples in every bushel basket and there's no justifying them

For my part, I absolutely would've reported any child abuse I knew of in any church. I don't like religion either, or most anything done in the name of religion. But really...

I don't know what you're going on about.

58

"Jesus is My Boyfriend" Christianity

by cofty in

there is a trend in modern evangelical, charismatic and "non-religious spirituality" that gets dangerously close to erotic love of jesus.. it's something that i first observed during my christian years especially in the lyrics of christian songs and sometimes during open-prayer times.

if you haven't experienced open prayer you are the lucky ones.

everybody adopts the shampoo position - elbows on knees, head in hands - and whoever is "moved by the spirit" speaks up for a while, followed by an awkward silence, followed by two people speaking up at the same time, followed by silence, and so on.. anyway back to the topic, here are a few random examples .... "lord i give you my heart.

Watkins

That's just freakin' weird, cofty. It's upside-down, you're right... it's depraved, and I'm repulsed by it, too.

Discussing agape' and eros types of love - what happened to philia, brotherly love - is it not referenced in Bible text at all? Philia, to me, is the perfect love - not erotic or general love, but love like blood brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, family= kin.

That was the kind of love I expected to find at the kh. I was very disappointed to find that it only existed there with great difficulties... same as everywhere else. There were cliques and exclusive circles; there was jealousy, assumption, prejudice and pride, gossip, judgmentalism... and paranoia. I expected a real 'spiritual paradise' and it was just the same as anywhere else in the world. I expected to be able to enjoy platonic, trusting relationships with members of the opposite sex - like real brothers. (I never had a brother and have always longed for a relationship like that. I had 3 sisters and all of us could've used the loving guidance and protection of an older brother, for sure!) I've noted with irony that the only completely platonic friendships I've ever had were with gay men!

BUT - I was(I'm old now, lol) an attractive 'sister' - very happily married, but in their eyes, to a 'non-believer'. There were a few 'brothers' who actually flirted with me - one ended up serving in Bethel. :/ I can count on 3 fingers the brothers I would've trusted to never go over that line, and one was 80! Honestly, the khs are NOT morally 'cleaner' than any other religious sect or secular organsation. Even though it was due to all the hype in my study before baptism, I clearly expected too much from 'The Only True Religion'. sigh.

Sorry, back to topic --- even I've said "I'm IN love with Jesus" - but it's not that kind of love - cosmic, not orgasmic. A friend of mine, recently widowed, voiced the same symbolic sentiment when she said that 'now Jesus is my husband', meaning that she's comforted in thinking of Jesus looking after her until/if she finds another life mate. I don't know anyone who takes it literally!

I'm with whoever said that anyone who thinks like that needs therapy - quick!

~W