Introspection

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Posts by Introspection

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  18

  Destruction of Families: A False Prophecy

  by JosephAlward in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the author of the matthew gospel was by far the most unreliable of the bibles writers, as evidenced by his appalling lack of understanding of the old testament and his willingness to imagine that it was filled with prophecies of the coming savior.. he was wrong about jesus triumphant ride into jerusalem, about jesus being born of a virgin, about his being born in bethlehem, about being called a nazarene, about herod ordering the slaughter of the innocent children after jesus birth, about judas thirty pieces of silver, and many other events in the life of jesus because he evidently completely misunderstood or misrepresented stories in the old testament.

  readers dont have to take my word for it.

  the evidence is on display in the articles in the false prophecy section of the directory at the web site at .

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  Introspection

  Actually, this is a message that is found in many world religions if you examine closely, it is rather short sighted to focus on the biblical examples. Of course, I doubt it's to be taken literally. Simply put, interpersonal relationships are dependent upon the individuals involved, if an individual goes through some kind of dramatic change then any relationship with that individual automatically changes, whether it be familial ties or anything else.

  This could be applied to the JW shunning policy: A member of the family becomes enlightened regarding the religion and chooses not to follow it anymore, but if the rest of the family regards him as apostate then there will certainly be disharmony.
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  16

  JWs in China?

  by crochunter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does anyone have any info about jw in china?

  i've never heard about this topic?

  since everyone is supposed to be witnessed to, china is obviously important.. thanks.. croc.

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  Introspection

  Maybe people in those lands have some kind of immunity... Worth studying?
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  17

  The LOVE problem

  by Mazza in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why is practising "love" so difficult for christians?

  given the theme of the bible is about love and given that christians are constantly expounding the virtues of believing, why is there such a problem following this most basic of christian teachings?

  it's a huge problem, apart from isolated instances of exceptional goodness which are found radomly occuring throughout all humanity - christians do not have a good track record with this most simple concept of their belief system.

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  Introspection

  Hi Marilyn,

  I believe the answer is simple, and that is belief has nothing to do with it. It's just an intellectual concept. Even if you believe it is possible for you to perform like an olympic athlete, that doesn't mean you can do it. Now of course it IS possible, but you have to go through a lot of training. So I think you had the answer already, it's a matter of practice. I think there's a certain relaxing rather than tense effort when it comes to this type of practice though, I mean you can't force someone to be loving. If you do you'd probably end up with someone like Ned Flanders from the Simpsons.. (recall the episodes when he snapped..)
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  15

  Religion vs. Spirituality

  by Introspection in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone else noticed that we get a lot of "who has the truth" and "what is the true religion" type messages?

  but you never hear anyone ask something like "how do i develop authentic spirituality?

  " granted, the word spiritual is abstract and vague, but there is the matter of the individual aspect of the word spirituality.

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  Introspection

  Thanks for all the posts everyone. Undecided/Ken, I wanted to address your message. I don't think spirituality is about feeling a certain way at all, even though there is a feeling associated with a relaxed state of mind where alpha or theta waves might be dominant. I don't consider that being spiritual. What is spiritual, I think, can be made manifest in all sorts of things that we do. In fact, I think in some cases it's shown by a lack of feeling a certain way. Someone could be kind because that is their nature, and they wouldn't feel particularly good about themselves because that is very ordinary to them. In fact, sometimes a person can be surprised by some kind of praise..
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  15

  Religion vs. Spirituality

  by Introspection in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone else noticed that we get a lot of "who has the truth" and "what is the true religion" type messages?

  but you never hear anyone ask something like "how do i develop authentic spirituality?

  " granted, the word spiritual is abstract and vague, but there is the matter of the individual aspect of the word spirituality.

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  Introspection

  Well Petty thanks for being the first to ask! I think the idea of authentic spirituality isn't totally new, even JWs have this concept of "make the truth your own". Not that accepting something as "your own" is it, but it has to come from your self in some sense. I guess one example would be having love for people. It's one thing to do good deeds because it's something you're supposed to do, (and of course in that case good deeds can be defined in all sorts of arbitrary ways) but it's another thing if you feel moved to do it or it just comes naturally to you (which may not be a big feeling, but you do it) because someone else is in need etc. It seems to me there are plenty of situations in life where we can practice this, but we can get caught up in us giving away something or the other person should do this and that or be more responsible for themselves or whatever. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, I guess the key is to be genuine and honest about it. And of course, practice.
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  15

  Religion vs. Spirituality

  by Introspection in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone else noticed that we get a lot of "who has the truth" and "what is the true religion" type messages?

  but you never hear anyone ask something like "how do i develop authentic spirituality?

  " granted, the word spiritual is abstract and vague, but there is the matter of the individual aspect of the word spirituality.

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  Introspection

  Has anyone else noticed that we get a lot of "who has the truth" and "what is the true religion" type messages? But you never hear anyone ask something like "how do I develop authentic spirituality?" Granted, the word spiritual is abstract and vague, but there is the matter of the individual aspect of the word spirituality. Even the witnesses believe you can be a part of the religion without being spriitual right?
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  23

  What church should I go to now?

  by serenaj92 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they all have the american flag, crosses, and symbols.

  if i go to the kingdom hall i will just get shunned and i do need association.

  my husband won't let me take my son to a church.

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  Introspection

  I'm sorry Serena, I think I may be missing some background info. You said in this thread your husband won't let you take your son to a church, have you talked to him about it? I take it both of you are ex witnesses..?
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  23

  What church should I go to now?

  by serenaj92 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they all have the american flag, crosses, and symbols.

  if i go to the kingdom hall i will just get shunned and i do need association.

  my husband won't let me take my son to a church.

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  Introspection

  A couple of things from your message stands out to me Serena. If it's really just our opinions, do you really need it?? But here's a thought, you can see if it makes sense to you.. It occurs to me that even the bible says in one of the letters to the Corinthians that "an idol is nothing in the world." You know, it's where Paul talks about meat sacrificed to idols and stuff. I think that's a good point, I mean a rock sitting by the side of the road could be an idol potentially, but it depends on the individual and their attitude towards it. In a way, people may think of religion in this way. If you don't care for it that's one thing, but you might attribute more to them than is warranted if you start thinking religions can make you do anything. Of course for many organizations you have to do certain things to be a part, but you always have the choice to say no. The reason why it's such a big deal for JW's is, of course, conscience. All these conscience matters, what it comes down to according to the bible itself is that these people are weak and become stumbled.

  You also said you need association - what does that mean exactly? Do you really need to be in a church or is it just a matter of being around people? In any case, why do you need association, whatever that means for you? It seems like an obvious need that everyone would recognize, but nobody ever asks that question. How much of it is just a matter of having a sense of belonging? You could meet people at other places, or you can go to different churches. It's up to you. What you want to emphasize, the cross on top of the building or the people - is also up to you. Spirituality is found in people, religious or not. Neither status is a guarantee that they will be kind and "good association."
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  45

  if i may ask....

  by gotcha in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what's the meaning of life for you?

  what's the point in living?

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  Introspection
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  45

  if i may ask....

  by gotcha in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what's the meaning of life for you?

  what's the point in living?

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  Introspection

  "To drive your enemies before you, to hear the lamentations of their women." - Conan

  LOL! Good call Nathan!