Posts by Eyes Open

31

My Story - Part 2

by Jeremy C in

like many jw children, i was deeply influenced and motivated by watchtower society artwork depicting the new system of things.

i was profoundly influenced by artwork (particularly in the book: you can live forever in paradise on earth) that portrayed children petting tigers, playing with lion cubs, running through grassy fields with kites, and enjoying care-free lives.

what i now realized about myself is that for a jw to desire such things; and to go through the motions - performing organizationally-programmed activity in order to receive this reward; does not necessarily require a love for god or christ that is any deeper than other religionists.

Eyes Open

Thank you Jeremy - look forward to the next part.

23

the day after armageddon part deux

by Crumpet in

jw
friends

day 8

the elders announced a new meeting schedule at the morning meeting.

on sunday, we will still have the public talk followed by a study of old watchtower articles until we get new magazines.

Eyes Open

Ooo, nice twist. :)

193

One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

by snowbird in

while this may be construed as a rebuttal to nvr's thread re: why i post about atheism, that is not my intent.. it is my intent, however, to show how i developed a belief in and love for the god of the bible.. my paternal grandfather, who died before i was born, was a baptist preacher, so you could say i cut my teeth on the bible.

i loved having it read to me, and once i learned how, reading it for myself.

i'm convinced that spirituality runs deep in my blood.. i've always had such a strong sense of right and wrong that injustices make me literally sick.

Eyes Open

snowbird

If you're referring to what I said in my opening post about the gross immorality and hypocrisy that I saw among people who claimed to worship God, let me spell it out a little more.

When I mentioned judging and name-calling I wasn't referring to your original post - I was referring to the following:

BurnTheShips

Haters coming out of the woodwork....

snowbird

Hi EyesOpen,
Indeed, come they did; the bitter, the cynical, the doubting, the questing, and the true-blue believers.
Hi snowbird. I'm curious - which of those names do you judge me as? (Obviously not the last one...)
Not to worry, though. Everyone's eyes are opened at different times.
Sylvia

Perry

Many Christians would rather quench the Spirit as Paul warned the church at Thessalonica about doing (I Thessalonians 5:19). Today Christians have a myriad of ways to choose from in order to quench the Holy Spirit's working in their life. The majority of these ways can be lumped into two different categories. The first way many Christians quench the Spirit is by simply refusing to separate from the world and its lusts. The majority of Christians dress and talk so much like the world that you would not know them to be a Christian outside of them attending a church service on Sunday - though that does not make one a Christian. We need to follow what the Bible says in II Corinthians 6 and separate ourselves from the ways of the heathen.

Hi IP Sec, ....... What an incredibly ignorant and thoughtless remark.

I found out that 'pleasing Jehovah" was a fool's errand.

nvgbk, it is not your logic that damns you, it is your premise.

Although one or two posters seemed to enjoy mocking belief, there are a good few comments from atheists/non-Christians in this thread who specifically state that they are not attacking the person, but challenging a point posted. This is what happens on forums, in line with:

snowbird

I'm not attacking anyone else's stance on this subject unless stating one's opinion can be regarded as an attack. If that is the case, then so be it.

trevor

There have been a few harsh exchanges but for the most part the exchange of views has been civil and sensible. Why not just address the posters who are polite?

Exactly.

Moving on... if someone can't deal with having their beliefs, opinions and reasoning challenged, what are they doing posting them on a forum? It's very sad that people feel they need to play the 'being bullied' card when they are faced with questions and points which they don't want to deal with (and during my quick scan of the thread I saw plenty of references to such by those who had taken the time to post their honest responses to snowbird's statements).

Christians: your beliefs are not under siege because the world and his dog are opposed to your God and bent on being evil - they are being challenged because more and more people view them as unfounded.

snowbird

I refuse to be part and parcel of a religion that touts its purity above all others while hiding the numerous skeletons in its closet. That is not name-calling or being judgmental; it is standing for what is right.

Quite right, too. And I feel similarly about all of Christianity, including your version.

Perry

Moral relativists can justify anything by their own nature and imagined autonomy. Consesquently, they regard ANY moral certitude as "judging" and a personal attack...... because they themselves are at the center of their worldview.
Just for clarification, when a Christian comments on right or wrong, he is not "judging" in the sense that he is somehow better; or isn't guilty of the thing he brings attention to. He/She is simply stating moral truth as related by Jesus.

Based on what we have written about Jesus in the bible, if he came back to earth today (saying, for arguments sake, that he's real) I imagine he would have a few things to say to you about your condescending view of those "in the world". Looking down your nose at others is one of the things that JW's have to do to enforce their world-view and belief system - it's not actually very Christian.

Also bear in mind that many of those without the beliefs you hold are very interested in morals and living good lives. They just don't need someone looking over their shoulder to be so.

So in short, here's what I'm trying to say: believe what you think is right. If you post your beliefs here, don't be surprised when people disagree.

45

Relief for nighttime leg cramps

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

okay, i'm closing in on 500 posts, but have almost no 'new topics' to my name.

i don't feel like starting anything profoundly spiritual.

so, i'll share this tip that has worked for my kinfolk.. on both sides of my family, we frequently suffer from nighttime leg craps.

Eyes Open

Make sure you drink lots of water.

193

One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

by snowbird in

while this may be construed as a rebuttal to nvr's thread re: why i post about atheism, that is not my intent.. it is my intent, however, to show how i developed a belief in and love for the god of the bible.. my paternal grandfather, who died before i was born, was a baptist preacher, so you could say i cut my teeth on the bible.

i loved having it read to me, and once i learned how, reading it for myself.

i'm convinced that spirituality runs deep in my blood.. i've always had such a strong sense of right and wrong that injustices make me literally sick.

Eyes Open

I can't help thinking that some Christians just love to think they're being persecuted. I haven't reread this thread, but I've considered it a discussion on a forum involving people with different beliefs and ways of thinking who disagree about some things, not the evil atheist vitriol you seem determined to see. (In fact, the original poster, a Christian, and other theists indulged in some name-calling/judging.)

Talk about a storm in a tea cup.

10

Reinventing the Sacred --- A New View of Science, Reason and Religion?

by hamilcarr in

jw
friends

i've just finished one of the most awesome non-fiction books i've ever read.

it's entitled 'reinventing the sacred: a new view of science, reason and religion' and written by stuart kauffman, well known for his theories on the origin of life and other complex systems, and author of the highly acclaimed 'origins of order', a must read for anyone interested in contemporary post-darwinian biology.

in rts, kauffman tries to transcend the huge divide between secular humanists and those believing in a transcendent god by exposing the inadequacies of both world views.

Eyes Open

Thanks for the post.

So what's the gist of it? That there is no actual transcendant God, but we could/should respect our universe and the things in it as if we're all part of it (it being his "God")? Or am I way off?

Thanks.

58

Jesus Saves

by Farkel in

prove it.. farkel.

Eyes Open

Jesus saves. Prove it. Jesus saves. Quite circular of you, don't you think? I could use some of that wine, though.

I'm guessing you didn't realise that was a link, White Dove... :)

58

Jesus Saves

by Farkel in

prove it.. farkel.

Eyes Open

Prove it.

Jesus saves.

25

Jehovah's Witnesses and Apostates

by tfjw in

jehovah's witnesses basically define the term "apostate" as someone who was once a member of the "organization" (a jehovah's witness) but no longer follows the teachings, rules, regulations and practices.

the society gives their official definition in the following manner: "apostasy is abandoning or deserting the worship and service of god, actually a rebellion against jehovah god.

some apostates profess to know and serve god but reject teachings or requirements set out in his word.

Eyes Open

Thank you tfjw - tagged for later.

37

My Story - Part 1

by Jeremy C in

i have never posted my personal story about my years as a jw, and my departure from the organization.

i thought that my personal story might be of interest.

it is my hope that some of my experiences and observations might be of help to some of you who have recently left the organization.

Eyes Open

Hi there Jeremy C - welcome to the forum. Enjoyed part 1 - I too felt the baptism pool was strangely special when I was a kid and sometimes used to look at the water in it at our circuit assemblies.

May I suggest you insert a link to the other parts once they are done to your original post? This will make it easier to read your entire story once it is complete.