i have been having doubts for years about the org, but it's mostly been just the past couple of months that it's really all unravelled for me.
i'm at that stage now where i don't know what i believe about anything...esp about what happens when you die.. and maybe it's just cause i never had to think about death before (was always countin' on that resurrection in paradise earth!
), but lately i can't stop thinking about it!
2pink,
Like Jeff said it will get better with time and with the new goals and pursuits that will come along. Armageddon, second death, Hell, god being angry or disappointed in you are all tools used by religion to bludgeon people into unhealthy states of mind. You'll get over it and look back like it was a bad case of the flu. Think how free you'll feel as you regain your inner health.
witnesses have famously (and gleefully) tossed the usual christain "t" cross symbol overboard after having used it themselves for quite some time.
one common arguement is that "if christ had been shot by a rifle, you would not worship the image of the gun" -.
and yet, they do not shy away from insisting on the notion of the upright torture stake.
Hi teel,
The dreaded C word! If a person wanted to wear a cross why not. Try using the other C word some time in a group of Witnesses- Calvary, yikes.
on page 3 the question box asks: what should you do if directed to stop preaching?.
the answer?
"in some instances, police have approached publishers who were sharing in some form of the ministry, informed them that they were violating the law, and directed them to stop.
The Society has not wanted to contest their civil rights and religious freedom stances for some time. Even in the late 60's and early 70's we were instructed to leave territories when asked by the police or property managers. You might have to check out the old booklet 'Legally Establishing the Good News'.
witnesses have famously (and gleefully) tossed the usual christain "t" cross symbol overboard after having used it themselves for quite some time.
one common arguement is that "if christ had been shot by a rifle, you would not worship the image of the gun" -.
and yet, they do not shy away from insisting on the notion of the upright torture stake.
I remember making the faux pas of speaking of the crucifixion at a Book Study one evening back in the early 80's, got the silent stare from the group, Ha!
since jehovah's witnesses reject the notion the idea that human beings are spirits, what is the general thought in the community regarding animals?
are they considered intelligent?
if so, are they covered under christ's eternal atonement?.
Narkissos,
Back in the late 60's the Society was promoting two views about the length of the creative days and the length of the 7th Day. Fred Franz was a huge proponent of septem-millenarianism which the Watchtower and Awake journals were heavily promoting, but the Aid Book had a different view calling the days 'The Bible does not specify the length of each of the creative periods', p.392. Fred won that ideological power struggle for a few more years.
I was giving a lecture at a college in Los Angeles in 1969 to a comparative religions class and they asked about our view on creation and I blabbed on about the earth being 48,000 years old (classical Fredism) I tell you the collective laugh almost knocked me off the stage. What a journey.
well, i just finished reading marley cole's "jehovah's witnesses - the new world society" book from 1955. i'll provide a few quotes to introduce it in case you aren't familiar with the book.
ray franz in crisis of conscience, p74, 2004 hc edition: cole wrote the book as if he were a non-witness writing an objective account.
the idea was that by having the book published by an outside publishing firm it might reach persons who normally would not take society literature.
Marley was a frequent guest speaker at the Hall I attended. At the time, in the 90's, he was living near Encinitas Ca.. Still have a dusty copy of his 1955 book. He and Kite and a few others had their glory days pre 75. The air got let out of the tires after that embarrassment.
i have just been watched the first part of a sort-of theist vs atheist debate on youtube featuring christopher hitchens.. what struck me is that in all of these types of debates that ive seen, the christians, when faced with the question why does god allow suffering, never really provide any sort of satisfying answer.
its usually something along the lines of:.
our question shouldnt be what is *god* doing, but, rather, we should ask ourselves: what am *i* doing?
This where a little study of the Talmud and Mishnah can help the modern Bible reader to grasp the underlying concepts in books like Job and Genesis. Personifications given to evil, plays acted out, puppetry and the retelling of the oral traditions.
Yetzer Tob and Yetzer Ha-Rah
Fundamentalists would give a Rabbi a good laugh or a good cry by some of their literal readings. In the Talmud is a story of a flying rodent, Mighty Mouse to the rescue!
i have just been watched the first part of a sort-of theist vs atheist debate on youtube featuring christopher hitchens.. what struck me is that in all of these types of debates that ive seen, the christians, when faced with the question why does god allow suffering, never really provide any sort of satisfying answer.
its usually something along the lines of:.
our question shouldnt be what is *god* doing, but, rather, we should ask ourselves: what am *i* doing?
The Jewish Sages wrote that the human inclinations were not absolute but conditional, subject to moral controls of the mind and will, it marked the end of fatalism. The Talmud contains a reflective retelling of Cain and Able and the Jobs among us.
How many of the Evangelicals and Fundamentalists here hold to the literal 6/24 creation days in Genesis.
i have just been watched the first part of a sort-of theist vs atheist debate on youtube featuring christopher hitchens.. what struck me is that in all of these types of debates that ive seen, the christians, when faced with the question why does god allow suffering, never really provide any sort of satisfying answer.
its usually something along the lines of:.
our question shouldnt be what is *god* doing, but, rather, we should ask ourselves: what am *i* doing?
Ah, the good ol KJV, now it makes sense where this 'why does God bless anyone' and people 'deserve Hell' stuff is coming from.
A little couse in Judaism might be helpful here, study: Yetzer Tob and Yetzer Ha-Rah 'why do we build houses and marry, and engage in trade' asks the Mishnah.
