compare: (http://m.wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102005142 - emphases mine).
... satan charged god with lying and implied that jehovah was unfair in not letting adam and eve decide for themselves what was right and what was wrong.
after adam and eve sinned and as the earth began to be filled with their offspring, satan questioned the motive of all humans.
Theism is fascinating! Overall i suggest that all of you are free to think, whatever you want! Modular belief systems, if it doesn't make sense to you, set it aside for something better! You may or may not be correct, but at least you select, and you choose.
Think for yourselves, forever, and always.
Will definitely be getting this for PS3!!
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judge j.f.
I see this pattern every where. People don't stop and consider trajectory. Are they really supporting something they grasp and understand? or are they supporting it because of social pressure from others? Do they agree with direction it's heading (Religion, Politics, Philosophy, etc)? When I was in the Watchtower I never considered how much the society had changed from where it first started, to where it is now, I just went along because I assumed the way things were done and interpreted were for the best reasons, and under the guidance of 'the spirit'. Obviously many things change over time in the natural world. One can argue, the caterpillar transforms into the butterfly. All I see is a different creature all together, where the watchtower is concerned - though to be fair, any semblance of humanity within the organization comes from the individuals within, before the actual collective. Where it's written that Jesus said, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20 (NIV) I know he wasn't promoting an oligarchy - the GB. http://www.blueletterbible.org/
given the ot has a lot of cruelties, hatred and so on, surely the fact these attributes, saying and actions far outweigh the supposed love of jesus why dont they say its all fake and throw it out ?.
like what marcion did.
wouldnt it be easier to simply delete the ot and move on ?.
I was listening to a lecture by Alan Watts, and in one of them he was speaking about Jesus. Imagine Jesus having a cosmic consciousness experience, how is he now going to relate this higher concept, to a group of people who believe in what is written in scrolls, based on hearsay? What was the predominant narrative of his surroundings? He had to adapt his teaching to what his listeners understood, which was in the social narrative of his predominant cultural heritage, based on the Old Testament. Had Jesus been born amongst the Maya, the teachings would have been tailored to make sense to that culture. On that note, would it matter if Jesus was Black? Would it matter if Jesus looked Chinese? Questions for the Christians to ponder.
do you find yourself, since leaving the religion, having an exhorbitant amount of personal paradigm shifts?.
sometimes i question my sanity.. i feel so open to ideas...don't know where to start sometimes.. don't feel dogmatic about too many things...maybe feel that it just 'isn't for me'...at least for right now (lol).... but in all of this, i never tire of these epiphanies and spontaneous feelings of gratefulness and love.. .
does anyone else out there experience this ?.
I've had a number of massive "Paradigm Shifts" throughout the years. I totally relate the whole questioning of sanity aspect. I'm open now to "all possibilities", but that doesn't mean that I believe everything, yet I am free to question Everything. I think the watchtower was useful in that it was a layer of disillusionment that I had to break through to be a free thinker.
this quote is from an interview with eckhart tolle:.
.. you cannot fulfill the commandments unless you are egoless--and there are very few who are--as all the people who have tried to practice the teachings of christ have found out.
"love your neighbor as yourself" is one of the main teachings of jesus, and you cannot fulfill that commandment, no matter how hard you try, if you don't know who you are at the deepest level.
Powerful.
all is well and good in my life right now :) with one small catch... i have a secret that i have hidden from my girlfriend.. for the first time since coming out of the borg, i have found romance.
i was lucky to meet a girl called romilda (name has been changed), and we get on like a house in fire.
we have been in a relationship for a few days now, but some of my friends have pointed out that i should be honest with her and be straight about my sexuallity.
Sounds like you care for her, which means there's no harm in waiting to tell her, let the chemistry build up, 'pair bond', tell her later when she knows you more deeply
thought dating and marriage was tough in the year 2000...well just check out what david had to go through.. david wants to marry michal, sauls daughter.so whats he have to do?.
samuel 18:25-28. at that saul said: "this is what you men will say to david, "the king has delight, not in marriage money, but in a hundred foreskins of the philistines".
so david rose and struck down among the philistines two hundred men, and came bringing their foreskins and giving them in full number to the king to form a marriage alliance with the king.. lol
Barbaric savagery, this passage is totally bizarre, +1 for absurdity, how can this be justified? Totally the word of man. A contradiction to higher forms of Reason.
i read with interest the thread about how people who are mentally out yet still attend (some) meetings manage to do continue to do it and it got me wondering, how do those of us who are completely inactive, no longer practicing members of the faith, manage to pull off our new ex-jw life, yet never invite scrutiny or investigation from former friends, elders, etc.. take me, for example.
i've been out several years now, but have never officially renounced my faith.
i've never out and out called it a crock of shit to anyone who could make real trouble for me.
My mom is DF'd and all of her family are not witnesses, so for her it's worked out, and for me it works out also. Most of my Dad's family aren't witnesses, and he's a bit of a lukewarm brother, so I don't have to worry about getting shunned from his part, plus he hasn't told me but I think he feels 'blood is thicker than water'. Years ago when I was in trouble with the law, and not attending the local congregation he covered for me, telling the C.O very minimally that I moved, and that's all he would say.
After using nothing but the Bible when two elders came to see me, I opposed them and they haven't returned since. A separate elder that was my mentor spent 8 hours on varios separate occassions trying to convince me to return. I went to one Convention one last time, but the Blood issue, Silent Lambs issue, UN issue, were huge along with few others, I couldn't stay.
Now I'm into personal development, I read books from leaders like John C. Maxwell, and that's given me some direction. I have Deist inclinations after reading Thomas Paine's "Age of Reason". After I left the Watchtower I decided it was time to invest in myself, that's my focus right now. Sometimes it's good to be a little selfish.
My game plan was:
Challenge myself get in shape, hire a personal trainer
Go out and meet different women everywhere, go on dates
Get new friends, since my watchtower fam was no longer there, develop relationships
Invest in myself, Read books apart from religion, like comedy, travel, and others
Not having to go to meetings a few hours a week gives me time to do a whole lot more, things that I want to do
A challenge I have right now is learning how to consistently stick to a positive routine, and positive habits from a personal goal set schedual that I set for myself.
Actively building a life and lifestyle that I want and desire will take time but it's worth the effort because we're worth the effort.
Everyone has problems, no one's life is perfect... Two people were working the fields in the mud at night. One person saw mud, the other person saw the stars. Sometimes the negative things have to be called out for what they are, and sometimes the positive, beautiful things should be called out, chased, and embraced, not trying to be preachy or one up anybody, but my 2 cents. Cheers!
welcome to august's book club thread.. first my apologies for getting this thread posted late.
it's been a crazy month/summer for me.. this month we are discussing 1984 by george orwell.
this book was suggested by sad emo.
I hope that such a story doesn't manifest in our reality.
