our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
it is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
Burns --Will this thread could spawn a match-game thread on character flaws? I hope not --at least wait until I've strung up enough clothes line for my dirty laundry in that regard.
But we try, don't we? Love yourself as your neighbor/your neighbor as yourself. It has helps raise ourselves and each other.
Thanks for the music, brother. And cheers! Maeve
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.
IMHO:
Both Jesus and the Bible can be misunderstood in terms of the doctrines that hang-in-the-NT-and-can't-be-proven: transsubstantiation, predestination, election, original sin, trinity, Holy Orders, the qualities of hell(fire)/gehenna--even what salvation/being a child of God materially and/or spiritually provides a believer(what is IN his Fathers house?).
Some say there is the "fine print" of doctrine implied in the words of Jesus and the disciples. Where are these ? The Bible. We have more broad teachings that come from bundled words that show us the mind of Christ. But even here the teachings embedded in stories he told --parables--can have as much ambiguity as the single words themselves--else the disciples wouldn't have asked him personally --"What does that mean?" So why do we think church leaders will have the precise answers?
So--if doctrinal teachings hang on words of long ago that are inherently debatable just as much now as when they were first uttered AND we have to depend on translations which in turn depend on many other issues of scholarship. (Heck, we still don't know how God's name was pronounced.)---how is it we let ourselves refer to doctrines that are hatched from the minds of others? And was there a moment in the years since the apostles died until now that the church has not been dominated by politics and division??!!!!!
Let's face it--If words in print are the only thing we have to base our faith on is a letter from God that our wardens(councils and Governing bodies)has proofread and edited before he reads it to us, then, to paraphrase Paul: we are to be pitied more than all men.
Does this mean we should not attempt to use the Bible?
Or does it mean that holy spirit has a role even more dynamic within the believer than a Pope, a Calvin or a Fred Franz can tolerate?
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if so, you might like the other pictures, also.. http://www.bbaaghs.org/photos/snowhillinstitute/.
syl.
That is a BIG old tree the guy is standing next to.
Were these pictures taken on "Decoration Day"? That's what they call it here,Memorial Day. Maeve
our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
it is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
CoCo, This flower may not be adequate to say "thanks".
Maeve
my experience is in no way remarkeable but i felt like sharing it anyway.
i was raised a jw.
my mom became one the year i was born.
Hello Mr Freeze, That was a balanced way to say things. Just assessing it all. I liked that you acknowedged the effort so many make to be good Christian Witnesses of Jehovah.
I left a lot of good people behind that I know tried. It was hard on them. And there was no joy in the obedience to the reqirements. My friends were mostly women whose husbands hated the "Truth".
Thanks for telling us about yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qfkcgtfn3o.
and with that, we segue into "con te partiro".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcrfvp11hbo.
Thanks , Burns. this stuff unhinges me.
We do so have to rely on some love and providence to even see the light of day. That was beautiful.
now that i have secured more time with my children and i have established my interest in the religious side of their lives i wonder what is best next.. what sort of material is best to use to get them thinking?
i want to get them thinking.. what sort of real truths matter to teens in the jws these days?.
i know that they dont beleive everything, such as shunning and that worldly people are all bad.
Broken,
were you cynical at her age? do you think things are worse, that is, more obviously screwed up now? Just wondering.
Also, what part of the country were you raised in?
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if so, you might like the other pictures, also.. http://www.bbaaghs.org/photos/snowhillinstitute/.
syl.
Oh, Snowbird! I want your book. Tell your story!
That looks like the Ozarks and where I'm moving to. When will we have the story?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.
Maybe we should give our answers through questions for the most part. At least for the sake of discussion.
The verses coming up to 2 Pet. 3:9 tells about a flood that swept the ungodly away. So, it would seem that God wants his children to stop disowning him but that some people reject God. The worst that happens? We die.
But, again, the terms of salvation? Reading Jesus' life and sermons without "religious" definitions of what he means is taking time. I trust God will value Ghandi appropriately as he will those so miserably damaged by the WTS.
I trust that God is kinder than we are. We still are alive, there's still alot to hope for. And alot of questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.
Dear leavingwt,
Tell me carefully what fellowship extends to and what darkness is as well.
The infection of past expressions and the indoctrination of the WT has damaging effects on my ability to use and understand words. In other words I have to be careful how I think we are communicating.
Just how am I to interact with others? Am I entering "darkness" if I talk with a "non-believer" iwho is not closed to "light"? Am I staying in the "light" if my being with a "believer" embraces "darkness"in a way that I ignore just because they say they are Christian?
Jesus's words (he is the Logos) are written down--but they don't bind us up and and give us spiritual constipation. Even if print nails his words down in black and white they aren't the polarizing "dark" and "light" that kill. They give life. They live freely, it seems to me. He invited thought, he did not teach dogma.
I'm having to reevaluate my own vocabulary. So I'm really not quibbling with you.
I'm just trying to rethink my Christianity.
I'm struggling to be an intelligent Christian who obeys Christ.
