Posts by Greenpalmtreestillmine

15

My Recent Combative Posting

by Greenpalmtreestillmine in

jw
friends

i seem to have fallen in an ocean of sorts, the ocean of compative posting.

my apologies to all here.

i will make every effort to not post in a compative manner from now on.

Johnny Carson Died

by El Kabong in

jw
friends

msnbc just reported that former tonight show host johnny carson died of emphysema this morning.

.

rip johnny 1925-2005

Johnny Carson was unique. It is this unique potential of each individual that is beautiful. Yet, some feel that that beauty is made by evolutionary processes. We see the glint in his eye, the sincerity, the largeness of the man; no, I do not believe he is a product of evolution. I never will.

Sabrina

15

Respect - what is it?

by Norm in

aretha franklin sings about respect and the word is frequently used in all languages.. the definition of the word can be : respect, esteem, regard -- (an attitude of admiration or esteem, held in esteem).

many people seem to think that respect automatically follows a position or office, like for instance a president, a bishop, a prime minister or similar lofty titles.

others hold that respect has to be earned and shouldn't be automatic and points to the often obvious fact that some people holding high offices often show themselves to be utter bastards and corrupt crooks that deserves no respect.

Greenpalmtreestillmine

Norm,

I think that while a religion or features of a religion may garner disrespect, there are individuals who do not practice the negative extremes of their religion. They rise above and practice the good found in their religion. In my opinion, these can be respected though disagreed with.

Sabrina

15

My Recent Combative Posting

by Greenpalmtreestillmine in

jw
friends

i seem to have fallen in an ocean of sorts, the ocean of compative posting.

my apologies to all here.

i will make every effort to not post in a compative manner from now on.

Greenpalmtreestillmine

FlyingHighNow and HappyDad,

I really appreciated your posts! Thank you so much.

Sabrina

71

'This Generation'

by fairchild in

jw
friends

yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

Greenpalmtreestillmine

Fairchild,

I highly recommend you make a careful verse by verse study of Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Luke 17:20-37. Please note the differences not only of wording but in the general tone, the urgency. Leave behind the JW teachings on these chapters and take careful note of which chapter uses what terminology. Do not think of them as applying to the same time period, start with that possibility anyway. I will say no more about this for now.

Brotherly love to you,

Sabrina

15

My Recent Combative Posting

by Greenpalmtreestillmine in

jw
friends

i seem to have fallen in an ocean of sorts, the ocean of compative posting.

my apologies to all here.

i will make every effort to not post in a compative manner from now on.

Greenpalmtreestillmine

I seem to have fallen in an ocean of sorts, the ocean of compative posting. My apologies to all here.

I will make every effort to not post in a compative manner from now on. I don't like it and it accomplishes nothing.

Even more importantly, it may cause some unintentioned hurt, something I would never want.

Time for a change on my part.

Sincerely,

Sabrina

105

What kind of atheist are you?

by Narkissos in

chief rabbi leon ashkenazi said: "the difference between an atheist christian and an atheist jew is that an atheist christian does not believe that god exists, while an atheist jew believes that god does not exist.".

i'm not so sure about the jewish-christian borderline, but i love the nuance.. so which sentence suits you better?.

"i don't believe that god exists.".

Greenpalmtreestillmine

SixofNine,

No, of course not. The irksome part however, is that you make no sense.

LOL, then you are in grand company since AlanF and Hillary_Step agree with you! Congratulations!!

No sense, Sabrina.

105

What kind of atheist are you?

by Narkissos in

chief rabbi leon ashkenazi said: "the difference between an atheist christian and an atheist jew is that an atheist christian does not believe that god exists, while an atheist jew believes that god does not exist.".

i'm not so sure about the jewish-christian borderline, but i love the nuance.. so which sentence suits you better?.

"i don't believe that god exists.".

Greenpalmtreestillmine

Seattleniceguy,

The analogy was meant to promote a reality check. Humility is a good thing. It was this feature of the analogy that got SixofNine all worked up it seems. I do not loathe mankind, on the contrary I love him. But it does help sometimes to be reminded of our simpleness. We are nothing more than an earthworm with a brain and hands capable of fashioning tools. This is not self loathing so much as the reality of our situation.

Okay, the God of the OT:

The God of the OT makes many, many more pronouncements against the hypocrisy of his own people than he does of those who are not his people. And he also shows his love and tender heart.

Jeremiah 7:31, "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart."

Malachi 2:13, "And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, 'For what reason?' Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant."

Deuteronomy 10:16-19, "Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

A careful reading of the scriptures above yields an interesting comparison with the spirit of the teachings of Jesus. Yes, God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Sabrina

105

What kind of atheist are you?

by Narkissos in

chief rabbi leon ashkenazi said: "the difference between an atheist christian and an atheist jew is that an atheist christian does not believe that god exists, while an atheist jew believes that god does not exist.".

i'm not so sure about the jewish-christian borderline, but i love the nuance.. so which sentence suits you better?.

"i don't believe that god exists.".

Greenpalmtreestillmine

SixofNine,

An analogy about Johnny and toys, vs, Johnny not getting toys, to compare with God directing humans to slaughter other humans and take possesion of their virgin daughters, is a SHIT FOR BRAINS analogy. It insults my intelligence and sense of decency.

Think and believe what you want. I make no apologies. Look, mankind is a hole. Through one end enters the food out the other comes what's left. Don't give me any higher than thou standards.

As for SHIT FOR BRAINS that is the best description I've seen on this board for mankind him/herself.

See ya!

Sabrina

105

What kind of atheist are you?

by Narkissos in

chief rabbi leon ashkenazi said: "the difference between an atheist christian and an atheist jew is that an atheist christian does not believe that god exists, while an atheist jew believes that god does not exist.".

i'm not so sure about the jewish-christian borderline, but i love the nuance.. so which sentence suits you better?.

"i don't believe that god exists.".

Greenpalmtreestillmine

Hillary_Step,

I believe this is the crux of the problem: the mistaken idea that God in the OT is violent but in the NT is all love. The acts of war or other violent events in the OT are not the only things recorded there. There are many loving words and acts attributed to God in the OT. YHWH in the OT is also a God of love. That is all too quickly forgotten many times. In the NT God's love is manifested through his son, and through his son a way was opened for a personal relationship of sonship with God. Jesus was the exact representation of his Father. As such his love reflected his Father's love, yes, that love that was evident in the OT was now seen in action right before their eyes. Striking it was! Beautiful it was! But another thing is also forgotten when the NT itself is discussed. And that is that Jesus spoke of something else besides love he also spoke of destruction of the wicked. Jesus also spoke of war in the book of Revelation.

So this idea that the OT God is violent and the NT God is all lovie dovie all the time is not an accurate portrayal of either the OT or the NT

You balk at the idea of AlanF defining God in human terms and using such terms as 'monster' to describe a person who in your view is above such definitions, and yet the Bible itself defines God is such terms,

I think you may have misunderstood my meaning. My only objection was to AlanF's claim that if the Christian God is a monster that then means he does not exist. To claim something does not exist simply because we have formed a bad opinion of it, is not logical. It was that line of thinking I questioned. I did not voice an objection to his use of the word "monster" when he referred to God.

God is absolutely described/defined in human terms in the Bible this is not only well known but of course necessary because if he were described in terms or ways not of this world how would we understand him? I have no objection to defining God in human terms. I only have an objection to speaking about God in black and white terms. He is neither always violent nor is he always spreading hugs and kisses to everyone he meets. Jesus didn't and neither does his Father.

Either God is defined in human moral terms and learns to live with the consequences of that, or God then becomes an amoral pantheist ( imho if God exists then it is in an a patheistic amoral guise ) but you cannot have it both ways.

Here's how I think of it. Is a good father good when he gives little Johnny all the toys he wants and lets him do whatever he wants? But then is that same father bad because the next day he tells little Johnny, "No, son. Today I'm not buying any toys. And if you climb on the fence again you're going to get spanked." I suppose then from Johnny's point of view his father is "an amoral pantheist" one day he's all good and the next all bad and Dad is just going to have to live with the consequences of Johnny's moral evaluation of him. It would be better though if Johnny realized that his father cannot be put in a black and white box. And that maybe he does not see the whole picture.

Sabrina