if there was ever a blatant display of the dangers of religious fanatacism, this is it.
the hi-jackers of the airliners that crashed today no doubt thought they'd immediately be sitting next to allah this-afternoon.
(quote)
"I think everyone needs to wait until it is confirmed who is responsible before jumping to conclusions. Remember the OKC bombing everyone was really sure it was a foreign attack and as we all know, it was not. "
Very true, and a good idea, to remember. It would be terrible, to presume wrongly, while the guilty party(s) walked, whoever they are.
if there was ever a blatant display of the dangers of religious fanatacism, this is it.
the hi-jackers of the airliners that crashed today no doubt thought they'd immediately be sitting next to allah this-afternoon.
My opinion, FWIW, if you take away, the excuse, of martyrdom, viewed as a great honorable endeavor, by Islam, then, a terrorist would not find such a large group of volunteer martyrs. So, it is the extreme,anti-societal aspect, of Islam, that it's radical members employ, to their end. In my opinion, these people have called us Satan, and openly, and repeatedly, stated we are an avowed enemy, worthy of dying against, in jihad...or "holy war". We have never returned such ill will, nor actively sought, to destroy them, or expressed support, for their demise. In fact, it was the continued inhumane practice of so called ethnic cleansing, that prompted us to exert force, in former Yugoslavia. Need it be said, who, we were trying to help? But sooner or later, if someone persists in viewing one, as an enemy, you will have to begin treating them, as such. I hope the entire Non-Islamic, and, Islamic, world, will now, see, this point.
how come that when jesus was on earth there were so many demon possessd people .. imagine how scared people must have been, creeping down the street wondering whether the next person you met was crased by demons and was going to attack you.. so how did they work out that someone was possessed by demons, who told them?how did they know it wasnt just a disease or other afliction?.
and were are all those demon possessions today ?.
you would think that with all the comunication technology today that at least one example of a positivly demon possessed person could be presented to the midia somewere in the world.. or perhaps we cant tell if someone is possessed or not because there are no extra outwould signs and any disease they caused would show up like a normal disease in tests.. maybe we are all possessed and dont know it.
Ya know, this is a neat question, for which, i only have an opinion, never really thought about this, before, but it makes ya wonder, dont it ? I'd say, Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmler, Ted Bundy,Attilla The Hun,The Spanish Conquistadors, a lot of folks, in former Yugoslavia,..Rwanda,..Indonesia, Nigeria,..Sacramento, CA,..hmmm, there's a million places, they could be hangin out at. I aint interested in runnin up on one, myself, tho. I hear, there's a lot of em, at Wake Forest, too, :)
please read it all, i know it's a bit long, but you need to read it all to see where i am coming from.
i beleive in creation in the sense that the big bang and spontaneous generation don't make logical sense to me.
i am sure funkyderek and jan will have some fun with me on this one.
well, to me its all pretty simple.....one either thinks, and trusts, that man can develop a reasonable and truthful explanation,......or, one accepts a Higher power, in my case, Jehovah God. Cut and dry, u either gotta do one or the other. Given man's track record, plus the innate qualities, that exist, within my psyche,...aint but one way i can go. Jus my 2 cents worth, to each, their own, keep on rockin in the freeworld :)
hello friends,.
since i have been a member of this forum since july, i have seen alot of posts by df'd or posts about disfellowshipping.
i just thought i would add my thoughts on the matter, for whatever it is worth.
my initial post,above, is a reply, to the originator of this thread....i read the post above it, after posting.....Ginny,...One needs to always, give another, the benefit of a doubt,...because, we are all ruled, and thankfully so, by a God-given conscious.....i understand, why that lady, felt, she needed to seek approval, it was her conscious,i cant fault that.....As far as your hearing went, it seems u gave em a honest answer,...all arguments aside, as to whether they deserved it,.......you do ya best, and never look back. If the time ever comes, when the situation is revisited......so be it...if it dont.....so be that, too.....in the end, it dont matter, what no comittee, or group of people, on this earth, ever think,.....believe that :)
hello friends,.
since i have been a member of this forum since july, i have seen alot of posts by df'd or posts about disfellowshipping.
i just thought i would add my thoughts on the matter, for whatever it is worth.
got a simple answer, Brother,.....what did Jesus do, when the crowd wanted to go stone a woman,.....He said,...let the first one of you, that aint sinned, throw the first rock,....think about it...What did he tell the criminal, that was hung, beside him, on that dark day ?
....Think about it......what did he tell Peter, both before,and during,the night of his apprehension ?.....Think about it....What did he tell some associates, when a lady brought some finery, to him, in the time just before his death, and the associates thought that it was a waste, of something, that coulda been used for the temple ?...Think about it......your finest example, of whats real, Friend :)
the question, "why are you here?
" is simple enough, and your answer may be straightforward.
however, when i asked that of myself, i find that my answer is pretty complicated.
Well, i jus found this place, few days ago,...and i've spent a whole lotta time, jus readin the archives. it brought back to me, a lot of stuff I let go , years ago, and had forgot. I guess i'm gonna hang around, i think most of yall are fine people, and no, i aint sayin some of ya aint, im jus sayin.....the internet is a jungle, sometimes, i dun learned that..hehe. That being said, i find
that a lot of viewpoints and current developments truly interest me, and , also, if there was ever a way i could help a friend out, by tryin to talk about a prob, i'd want to do that, and vice-versa. My life aint been no cakewalk, but I'm content in how i tried to live it, so far, and I know how it feels, to live with somebody tellin ya God has a sword hangin over ya head,...growin up....that is the worst insult, someone could inflict, upon Jehovah, to me, and I empathize with the effects born by any, from it, and aim to try and get em to see things, in a better light. All in all, feel a sense of comradery, here...as to the in-fightin, all i'll say, specially since i'm a rook, here, is.... it takes 2 or more to fight,..if one walks away, the other is left flailing at air.
Peace :))
i thought it would be interesting for people to just post a few things about themselves so we can get to know each other just a bit.. try posting 10 facts about your life.. joel.
1. i was born and raised in south georgia.. 2. my favorite subject in school was math.. 3. i was in the fulltime service (bethel and pioneer) for 4 years.. 4. my favorite color is blue.. 5. mitch and i have been together over 12 years.. 6. we live in a suburb of atlanta georgia.. 7. we love to eat out and have friends over for dinner and board games.. 8. the only sport i was ever any good at is tennis.. 9. my favorite tv show of all time is the simpsons.. 10. we are both naturists and wish we could lay on the beach naked every day.
Wow,...neat thread, yall,..10 personal facts of little consequence in the big picture :)
1-Aint had a haircut in 15 years(it aint that long, tho, natural boundary , i guess)
2-love to don headphones and play the drums w/ CCR, U2, Skynyrd,Bad Company,LIVE
3-Skipped 3rd grade
4-single father, bout dun raising my two(daughter-20,son-18)
5-If ya ever got a satellite question, jus ask
6-a Southern Man
7-we always had Thanksgivin, at our house, growin up.
8-lifelong resident of North GA, hope to move to western NC, in not-so-distant future
9-need to quit smokin
10-pretty good spades player, play often, online
11-considering the purchase of a spleen protector, if i ever have to go to Atlanta, again ..:)
with all the problems in the 'truth' and all the things that we know are wrong with it there seems to be aspects of their theology (i.e the sequences of the world powers, statue in daniel, the promise of world restoration again found in daniel) that to me still make sense.
although i cannot follow a religion that believes in the destruction of all humanity barring those that respond to their own preaching work i still believe in a creator and cannot accept the teachings of other religions that have no purpose for the earth and believe that mankinds only destiny is in heaven.
my mind keeps telling me that if god was behind a religion it would be so much better than that of the jws.
"Which way do I go , now ?".......wow, what a deep question. Thats a simple one, to answer, tho..Follow your heart, and believe in your own merit, be humble and love your Creator, but let no man, ever ..give you cause for self-doubt. God reads all hearts, if your heart is pure, or if it aint, He's the only one that it really matters, to. That makes it very simple to me, and easy to do, which...is actually, in my book, how He intended it to be, originally. Peace :))
i found this place, purely by accident, and have been very amazed, at all of these touching, personal revelations, that many are sharing, here.
i actually was doing a search, jus tryin to learn how michael jackson's appearance came to be so radically changed..(that's a whole nother topic, and i came away, feelin sorry for him, after all i read, but, another time ) and ran across this forum.
im 41, was "raised" in the truth, my mother and her whole side of our family are long time witnesses, my father converted when i was around 4 years old.
I found this place, purely by accident, and have been very amazed, at all of these touching, personal revelations, that many are sharing, here. I actually was doing a search, jus tryin to learn how Michael Jackson's appearance came to be so radically changed..(that's a whole nother topic, and i came away, feelin sorry for him, after all i read, but, another time ) and ran across this forum.
Im 41, was "raised" in the Truth, my mother and her whole side of our family are long time Witnesses, my father converted when I was around 4 years old. I grew up, not finding much joy in the imposed practices (no Little League, Boy Scouts, yall know the deal), but i did, during my adolescence, make a somewhat serious attempt at soul-searchin, and came very close to
gettin baptized. My grandfather, and grandmother, on my mother's side, were second, if not 3rd generation, Witnesses, and they had a very large, prolific family, I have about 28 or so, first cousins, just on that side. At the time,I almost got baptized,
looking back at it, it seems that in the immediately preceding years(69, 70, 71), several of my cousins had done so, as well as my older sister. It's in retrospect, that i realize, at least two of them,(cousins) were very fearfull of the draft, i remember being very concerned, about them, myself, at that time. But as these turbulent, confusing years went by, 3 of them got D'F'd, for actions like "loose conduct"..normal, teenage behavior, nothin really that terrible, but..it shook our whole extended family. My father was an overseer, and, he , if im not mistaken, sortof recused himself, or abstained, from voting, at these meetings, but i think he did sit in on them, some, if not all, trying to help. I can imagine the difficulty that posed, for him. My
grandfather, the one man i loved more than anyone else, in my life, was very hurt, and struggled with his faith, during these years, as well as later, because, he could not quit smokin, and they D' F'ed him, in a time of his life, when he didnt have much longer to live,...he and i were very close. But i always say, to anyone, that he is the one, that taught me what Jehovah is about, my grandfather taught me nothing but the beautiful side, of God, and His love. If it werent for him, i doubt i would have much faith. But....i been digressing, lemme get back to how i didnt get baptized......around 73, 74,.. i was really ponderin things, u know,..they told us the end was comin,..very soon..and, to me, that was a scary thing, for a 14 year old to contemplate..i felt like i had already, been livin with the Sword of Damocles hangin over my head, my whole, incomplete, young life. But its time, to search myself, and make a descision, aint got long, ya know ? So, I started tryin to prepare myself
by studying the pre-baptism book,..and gettin ready, and guess what my father did, in the few weeks, jus prior to the time we was gonna go to the assembly, and me get baptized ?....He sat me down, and read me a few scriptures, the main one being, where Solomon said.."it is better, not to make a vow, than to make one, and not keep it". He also told me, I needed to think about how old, Jesus was, when John baptized him....Then, he said,.."I aint gon tell ya what to do, jus make sure, because nobody is tryin to force you, to dedicate your life,..no one can, think about these things". Well, that's how i never did..My father never told me, that he was worried, I might get D'Fed, but somehow, after listenin to him, i knew, that what he had had to sit in on, and be a party to, with my cousins, troubled him, and made him very concerned, over my plans. I'm thankful, that he told me those things, because, they saved me from making a mistake, that would've only brought more pain and hurt, in our big family. After i decided not to get baptized, i jus figured, If i'm meant to die, let it happen...it aint nothin but sleep, no how. I also decided, well, i aint got long, and there's a few things i wanna try, before i die, like..sex, worldly friends..yall know the score. I left home, on the day i turned 17, I still attend the memorial, fairly regularly, and have a deep appreciation for most of what i was taught. But I've never been able to reconcile certain differences, and dont think i will, either. Theres a lot more, i could relay, but......maybe thats for later.....thats my story, and I enjoyed reading yall's, too.:)
