When I was studying (and this was in the 1980's) my bible study conductor definitely told me that elders were appointed by qualifications set forth in the bible (which were inspired by holy spirit). Not directly by holy spirit. So mistakes could be made.
paul from cleveland
JoinedPosts by paul from cleveland
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17
Fact vs Faith vs Delusion
by jwfacts inreligious groups regularly refer to their belief system as truth.
religious truth is generally a mix of fact and faith.
for some groups, truth extends beyond faith and into the realm of delusion.
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Musings of a manic mind
by paul from cleveland inif time is infinite, how can we be alive now?
wouldnt everything that can happen have happened already?
given an infinite amount of time, wouldnt the sun have burned out and the universe reached the ultimate state of entropy?
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paul from cleveland
I'm sorry I've posted this stupid topic. If I could delete it I would. It's just that my thoughts have been going around about creation, living forever, Jehovah, etc. Then I scare myself about what the future may actually hold. If I share my thoughts, and get them out of my head, I can be told how crazy and wrong they are. (or funny) That usually stops my cycle of negative thinking. Perhaps I've posted to many seemingly unrelated topics lately but they're all related to the current anxiety I'm going through.
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23
Musings of a manic mind
by paul from cleveland inif time is infinite, how can we be alive now?
wouldnt everything that can happen have happened already?
given an infinite amount of time, wouldnt the sun have burned out and the universe reached the ultimate state of entropy?
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paul from cleveland
If time is infinite, how can we be alive now? Wouldn’t everything that can happen have happened already? Given an infinite amount of time, wouldn’t the sun have burned out and the universe reached the ultimate state of entropy? However long that takes wouldn’t that amount of time have passed already? Given that, if we’re still alive now, does that mean that this is the second time around? (Perhaps the millionth?) All the chance events that brought us to our existence today obviously happened. Couldn’t they, given an eternal amount of time, happen again? (And again and again and again?) Are we doomed to live this same life over and over?
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idolatry
by paul from cleveland inis the attention directed toward the accomplishments of the organization really a form of idolatry, as some contend, or is it simply following jesus' admonition to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven"?.
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paul from cleveland
"The ultimate trick of hypocrisy (and idolatry perhaps) is making God's "name" your brand name"
I've never thought of it that way before.
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25
Do you still want to live forever?
by paul from cleveland indo you still have the desire to live forever on a paradise earth?.
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paul from cleveland
Regardless of the logic or possibility, I still have a strong desire to live forever on a paradise earth. The idea is so ingrained in my mind I can't give it up.
As Woody Allen said, "I don't want to gain immortality through my work; I want to gain immortality through not dying."
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25
Do you still want to live forever?
by paul from cleveland indo you still have the desire to live forever on a paradise earth?.
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paul from cleveland
Do you still have the desire to live forever on a paradise earth?
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46
If Adam hadn't sinned, where would he be right now?
by paul from cleveland inif it wasn't god's purpose for us to live forever on the earth, where would adam be right now?.
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paul from cleveland
No, this is seriously a question that I have. It was directed toward those that still believe the Bible is God's word. Many here still do believe that but contend that the bible only offers a heavenly hope. If that's true, it raises questions in my mind about what God's original purpose was for the earth. If he didn't want us here, why did he create us here in the first place. Was death part of his original plan? Did God change his plan for the earth because of Adam's sin?
Of course I knew I'd get a lot of silly answers. Some are hilarious. (especially the video) That doesn't mean I'm still not waiting for an answer that makes sense to me.
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idolatry
by paul from cleveland inis the attention directed toward the accomplishments of the organization really a form of idolatry, as some contend, or is it simply following jesus' admonition to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven"?.
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paul from cleveland
Is the attention directed toward the accomplishments of the Organization really a form of idolatry, as some contend, or is it simply following Jesus' admonition to "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven"?
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Who Really IS the Faithful and Discreet Slave?
by AGuest into the household of god, isarel... and those who go with... may you have peace!.
when among those loyal to the wtbts, i recall having conversations with those of "the great crowd," who believed that, while perhaps christ led "the anointed," it was the ""faithful and discreet slave" who led them.
certainly, the wtbts teaches this lie.
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paul from cleveland
Dear AGuest,
If it weren't for that "stack of bound paper pages with words written on them", where would you have learned about Christ? You quoted that "OBJECT" to justify your entire belief system and discredit the source of that belief all at the same time. Your reasoning does not make sense to me.
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24
Creation - struggling
by wantstoleave ini am in the process of leaving, and those of you who have followed me will know i spoke to my family briefly the other day about my doubts, but not since.
my dad has offered the occasional prayer for various things in the past week, as well as say he wants to study with my preschoolers.
he has also added in the extra tidbits to do with jehovah being the only true god etc.
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paul from cleveland
I believe In God because of the nature of our consciousness. Our consciousness is apparently the result of the electrical rhythms within our brain. The universe is composed entirely of energy. Is it inconceivable that the dynamic fluid energy of the universe, given enough time, couldn’t, by sheer chance, replicate a pattern of energy similar to that which creates consciousness within our own mind? To me this seems more plausible than our consciousness arising first from energy in the form of lifeless matter.