http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.
Do you think Jesus would tell me to kneel and pray? I seem to recall Jesus slipping through the crowds to avoid being thrown off a cliff. He told his follwers to evade persecution when they could by removing from one place to another. a little cut-and-run is a very respected tradition in Christianity.
So, Gladiator, you, too,would run under some circumstances?
the death of ray franz hit me harder than i would have thought.. i had to reflect for awhile....alone......and quietly.. .
after all, fine people die every day and some of them are indispensable, yet, we go on....don't we?.
but, ray franz was something that can only be described in the phrase sui generis (one of a kind).. my task was to ask myself what it was that made ray so singular, potent and admirable without a trace of scandal or ill will attached to his memory.. .
Amen, Terry
john said "...the truth came through jesus christ" ?
--------the kingdom of god---------- .
"the kingdom of god is near.
We get it wrong if we try to NAIL IT DOWN for somebody else. When the spirit moves, it moves in each person's soul. Those flames of fire in Acts weren't a candle for one man to hold for everyone else.
If it's all about the written words alone then many followers of Jesus couldn't follow him at all. A lot of his followers can't/couldn't read at all.
I'm not so extreme as you, Terry. But in many ways I do agree, the Bible does become a tar pit for real faith--even Jesus said as much.
And I read the Bible carefully. I think that Jesus cautions us about relying only on the written word at John 5:39--"You diligently search the scriptures because you think that by means of them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me. Yet you refuse to come to me to have eternal life." He was the living Logos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.
The whole point of rationalism is that it rejects the Concept of magic.
I do not see how that is so. Fear is the rational response to threat (Terry very well has taught us that is we didn't know that already).The overwhelming emotion produced by fear is wild fight/flight. What does rationalism do to quell this cause and effect, since that is what rationalism claims to do. (magic imo)
When we are actually threatened(not just in our mind), what actions we take may depend on our core confidence. Am I clear that the original topic has to do with Christ's love vs. rationalfear?
Also, I notice that the video didn't failed to say that rationalists do about their enemies. It doesn't tell you anything.
This area of fear confounds everyone,Gladiator-- which is all I rationally think we can get to at this point.
I really hope for a draw on this one--no fight to the finish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.
Come on, Gladiator--engage.
What is the magic of rationalism? How does it throw out fear better than love?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.
re: Rational people do not live in fear. (approriately colored in yellow)
Q. If fear is the rational response to aggression why does fear so often result in irrational behavior?
A. It's because you're afraid.
Rationalism isn't the answer.
It IS a freakin' scary world.
bush's glib waterboarding admission sparks outrage.. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/bushs-glib-waterboarding_n_599893.html.
bangalore.
.
This demonstrates that humans, not just the WTS, willingly sacrifice their core values saying that the reason they are doing it is to protect the group's core values.
Fear that we will lose control can make us throw away with both hands our own truth.
my story part 2: trouble at bethel.
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[endif]by my third year at bethel i was really enjoying it and determined to make bethel a life career.
Thanks, Randy.
Realizing that the motto on the Brooklyn Bethel:"Read God's Word the Bible Daily" is just a PR ploy is absolutely the damning to the WTS. When they have to campaign against Christian grace and freedom surely people will wake up.
I try whenever I can now to let others know that the reason I left the Witnesses is not because I don't love God--- I left because I do.
Great hearing your story.
i don't understand why the elders want this letter so badly ....for one i don't remember signing a contract to become a jehovah's witness ,why do i need to resign ?.
also i was baptised in 1978 before the baptism questions changed , i dedicated myself to god not an organization .
my vow was to follow the direction by holy spirit as revealed to me through the bible, not the watchtower ...... if i belonged to the luthern church and quit going after three yrs they drop your name off the member list ........but if i chose to come to easter or christmas service everyonre would still talk to me i just wouldn't be a member any more .. .
Take a deep breath.
You have the right. The spirit moves as it wants to......It really is your call.
i don't understand why the elders want this letter so badly ....for one i don't remember signing a contract to become a jehovah's witness ,why do i need to resign ?.
also i was baptised in 1978 before the baptism questions changed , i dedicated myself to god not an organization .
my vow was to follow the direction by holy spirit as revealed to me through the bible, not the watchtower ...... if i belonged to the luthern church and quit going after three yrs they drop your name off the member list ........but if i chose to come to easter or christmas service everyonre would still talk to me i just wouldn't be a member any more .. .
I felt that the process of leaving was stressful the way that birth is on a baby: the pressures and force applied on a baby presses out old fluid in the lungs and prepares them for breathing when it separates from the womb.
Think of it as being born again!The wierd thing is, we are kind of in labor with ourselves.
As for what way gives them the power or not? Hey--any way that you have a live baby in the end is good.
My opinion.
All the best--You are doing GREAT!
