not a captive

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Posts by not a captive

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  18

  How You Live Your Life

  by compound complex in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  how you live your life.

  concerns me not, but,.

  strangely, pulls me in.

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  not a captive
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  1

  Author Of New Book on The Colbert Report Tonight - Have you heard of it?

  by mentallyfree31 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  stephen prothero was on the "colbert report" tonight discussing his new book: "god is not one: the eight rival religions that run the world--and why their differences matter".

  it looks quite interesting.

  have you heard of this guy?

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  not a captive

  I hadn't heard of it but clicked the link. Looks like good discussion of points that get hit on this board. It got some pretty good reviews. Thanks.
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  17

  A Picture Worth 10,000 Words

  by snowbird in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_state_of_black_america_news/19434.

  syl.

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  not a captive

  Are the pictures we saw a while back from your family? Has that been your family home for a while?
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  103

  Why not make a true religion?

  by frigginconfused in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with everthing ive read here it seems like eeveryone has the attitude that they cant fix the wts.

  why havent you all joined together and made a declaration of independence?

  why not fix it and make a true religion of peace and jesus' message?

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  not a captive

  Question: So religion has been around a long time but do you think that God wants us doing religion?
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  103

  Why not make a true religion?

  by frigginconfused in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with everthing ive read here it seems like eeveryone has the attitude that they cant fix the wts.

  why havent you all joined together and made a declaration of independence?

  why not fix it and make a true religion of peace and jesus' message?

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  not a captive

  "At stake is the freedom to pursue spiritual truth untrammeled by arbitrary restrictions and the right to enjoy a personal relationship with God and his Son free from the subtle interposition of a priestly nature on the part of a human agency."

  Friggin, those words are the words of a man who had to be thrown out of "true religion" because religious organizations make laws that we are bound to break.

  Jesus was seen as a law breaker too.

  BE a Christian, TALK to others. You do on this forum, so just keep on..

  Just don't strong arm any one.
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  103

  Why not make a true religion?

  by frigginconfused in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with everthing ive read here it seems like eeveryone has the attitude that they cant fix the wts.

  why havent you all joined together and made a declaration of independence?

  why not fix it and make a true religion of peace and jesus' message?

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  not a captive

  You are asking the right questions,like the others said--keep asking, keep on...
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  103

  Why not make a true religion?

  by frigginconfused in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with everthing ive read here it seems like eeveryone has the attitude that they cant fix the wts.

  why havent you all joined together and made a declaration of independence?

  why not fix it and make a true religion of peace and jesus' message?

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  not a captive

  Before you go too far with a true religion ask why Jesus never once used that word in connection with those who follow him. Ask why he would illustrate the way we would have to pray continually and never lose heart but it is a solitary journey--you are alone---as in Luke 18:1-8. He ends by asking "But when the Son of Man comes , will he find the faith on earth?"

  There is unity but do you find it through forced conformity or through respect and conversation? Faith is what Jesus talked about.

  How does love bind us without hurting?
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  34

  Questions for Leolaia (possibly the board's brainiest poster :)

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  leo, do you have reference books about the bible stored on your computer?

  you seem to have a lot of info at your disposal that you can pull up quickly.

  what is your motive for learning so much about the bible?

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  not a captive

  Thank you, Dave--I believe that the point is very well made that those who control the text can create stories. I did look through the material and took in what I was able of it. I have known that there are problems in the text the more one considers parts of it. I also know that centuries of religious rulers have beamed in on holy writings as their tool of choice for keeping people childlike before themselves --not before God.

  Oddly, I find more compelling than some anonynous "other" writing to me ( and aren't we wondering who wrote what?) to think of the value of oral traditions in conveying important truths--I think that the idea of important information might be more truly passed on from parent to child.

  The connection between a parent and a child is less fraught with the twisted motives that poison a priesthood. We are broken societies, especially our religious societies. Those who write to extend the reach of their voice risk having other interfere with the message--or even inventing messages that they never wrote.

  The power of a pure oral tradition having benevolent effects is interesting to think about. There is the well documented account of an island tribe in the path of the Huge tsunami of a few years past-who had an oral teaching that saved the entire village from destruction. It was integrated into everybody's mind so completely that when the sign of imminemt danger showed itself when the fast retreating tide exposed a vast sandy plain of fish all ran as one. Their loving ancesters had for centuries told the story and cast forward the bare essentials of warning for their distant offspring.

  The blog is of some interest but I find it is glib in it's dismissal of gospel love that reaches beyond the family circle but does not exclude it. Just as it is hard to create ethical equations that fully prescribe behaviors that serve the needs of one person and doesn't tread on the needs of another.

  At present I have the idea that some stories were told by individuals to their households. They had great value to that community of people. Butthey were not to fall into the hands of "priests".

  There is no one group that I trust to tell the stories now. Not even scholars know what is gold and dross entirely. I believe that God still reaches us with his spirit and it is good.My sense is that there was one called Jesus who did say never to be a Leader nor to follow one. I take that saying to heart--whether I can prove who said it or not.
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  17

  A Picture Worth 10,000 Words

  by snowbird in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_state_of_black_america_news/19434.

  syl.

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  not a captive
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  28

  "It seems to me you folks are worshiping the teapot instead of drinking the tea."

  by BabaYaga in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a friend just shared this quote with me.

  he read it in "pass the jelly; tales of ordinary enlightenment" by gary crowley, in which the narrator makes witty zen observations as he wanders through his day.

  while having a discussion with some jehovah's witnesses who came to his door, he tells them, "it seems to me you folks are worshiping the teapot instead of drinking the tea.

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  not a captive

  Has anyone here had tea made in a tin can? (or anything else that's handy)