Kelsey
The devil makes me write all my post. To bad I did not believe in him any more. ;)
Take Care
Dragon
one of the most amazing and disturbing events in human history, has got to be the time of the black plague.
in which people were dying so fast and in such numbers that the authorities were unable to bury them fast enough.
disease in general has been a terrible part of the human race, even today.
Kelsey
The devil makes me write all my post. To bad I did not believe in him any more. ;)
Take Care
Dragon
a few days back i was talking to the one friend i have that is still a jehovah's witnesses.
actually, i think he is in denial that he left, since he has not been regular to meetings for four years.
well we got in this discussion about prophesy.
What bother me most about the JW's is that they are now depending on there age to keep their followers ignorant. Meaning, because a lot of the old timers are passing away. They can now get away with looking like they are something, they are not, because fewer and fewer people are around that can call them on it. Thus, to the average new Witness, it would appear that their books of prophesies were told before the events of the 20th century and not after. Thus making them seem like they are in deed guided by God, instead of what is really just strategic placement of knowledge.
Just my added thought
Dragon
one of the most amazing and disturbing events in human history, has got to be the time of the black plague.
in which people were dying so fast and in such numbers that the authorities were unable to bury them fast enough.
disease in general has been a terrible part of the human race, even today.
One of the most amazing and disturbing events in human history, has got to be the time of the black plague. In which people were dying so fast and in such numbers that the authorities were unable to bury them fast enough. Disease in general has been a terrible part of the human race, even today. In the 1970's we never heard of AIDS, yet today we almost all know or have met someone with it. Even recently we have seen the "West Nile Virus" go from something we only read about to something that has grown nearer to our own home town. Basically, we have learned that disease is something humans will always deal with, as it grows throughout our culture. So when I think of these diseases, I think about how they spread. Did a God promote their existence and power so that they would grow faster, and then slower at times? Or was the growth caused by natural encounters between people and animals? Why do I wonder this?
Well for one thing, when I was a Witness I was told that the only way a organization like the Watchtower could grow would be through the power of God. That Jehovah was directing his people and making sure the message got to all corners of the earth. Which is something I believed, as the organization went from only few hundred to millions by the time I left. Is that true though, does growth need God's hand to ignite it?
Well keep in mind the immune system. Some people have a natural immunity from certain aliments, while others do not. So when a virus enters a culture, those with the power to fight the virus live, while the rest succumb to the virus and die. Did that mean that God had some play in it?
Not likely, as science has now shown through mapping of the genes that not everyone is 100% a like. For example, some families are more susceptible to heart disease or cancer, where as another family may be more open to diabetes and other traits. So basically, it seems that it only natural then to expect that in this world there will always be a certain portion open to certain viruses.
Now on this planet is over 6 billion people, and of those only 6 million are Witnesses. So what that tells me, is that about 5,994,000,000 people have an immune system in their mind to what the Witnesses preach. The other people had something missing, and thus they succumbed to the message. It could have been birth (born into it), depression, insecurities about life, lack of education, or any number of things. The things is, what this tells me is this.
Anything can spread in our society, anything! It does not matter if it is a disease, religion, fashion trend, or philosophy. Some where out there a certain percentage of people who are going to lack the immune system to fight it, and thus they will ingest the virus. What makes us different?
Well much like those children of ours that got their immunity shots young to make them strong, we got our taste of the religion enough to make us strong. By natural means, we made our immune system mentally strong enough, so that we could truly see what was a disease growing on it's own and what was truly a life of happiness.
My thought
a few days back i was talking to the one friend i have that is still a jehovah's witnesses.
actually, i think he is in denial that he left, since he has not been regular to meetings for four years.
well we got in this discussion about prophesy.
A few days back I was talking to the one friend I have that is still a Jehovah's Witnesses. Actually, I think he is in denial that he left, since he has not been regular to meetings for four years. Well we got in this discussion about prophesy. As you might expect this comes up a lot with almost all Witnesses. So what was it about?
Well he was trying to explain to me that he felt he needed to go to meetings more, because the way the economy is looking is like the prophesy of "money being worthless, and thrown into the streets." What I have noticed on here, and in my real life is that some of us do this. We see one thing coming true, in a sense, and it raises some concerns as to whether or not the Witness are correct. Not that it is wrong, as we were in that religion for years and it is only natural that something will surface from time to time that bothers us. There is a problem in this fear and logic though.
That problem is that you can not look at the small things a religion gets right, and ignore all the major things they got wrong. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and it only stands to reason that if you throw 100's of prophesies out there over a hundred years or more, a couple are going to match something. What few people realize about the organization, is that many of the publications on prophesy were written after the fact. What does that mean?
After the fact, meaning they took prophesies from the Bible and years later said that events in the past fit these. So they did not predict nothing, they just worked things that happened into events we all know. How much would you respect a scientist if he told you that he developed a machine that can tell you where a earthquake was, as long as you did not mind knowing until two days after it happened? I don't know about you, but I would think he is a quack!
Now I know, whether we admit it or not, a few out there get scared at times when they watch the news. They worry that this might be the end and some of that teaching put in their head, resurfaces as fear. Just remember when this happens, that you have to have a true north of logic. That logic being, "how can you trust people, who are wrong about so much, even if they get something right now and then." Basically, even a broken clock is right twice a day! ... but would that make it a reliable time piece? I don't think so, do you?
My thought
when it comes to cars, i tend to like toyota's.
when it comes to food, i like chinese and italian.
when it comes to vacations, i like the mountains or tropical beaches.
Good point, and in addition there are trillions of numbers ... why only add up to
4 when there is so much more out there.
when it comes to cars, i tend to like toyota's.
when it comes to food, i like chinese and italian.
when it comes to vacations, i like the mountains or tropical beaches.
What is interesting about my point, is that despite how you answer ... it proves it. If you answer with scripture of JW BS, it shows you found what makes you happy ... if you agree, it shows you found what makes you happy ... and if you joke, it shows you are happy. Whether or not you accept that all religion is okay for some people, does not change that fact that it is. Thus, acceptance in the future to me, will not be based on culture and religion ... acceptance will be based on just that, accepting that everyone has the right to do what makes them happy and we can not dictate our reasons for happiness to them and expect them to follow.
Just my thought
Dragon
when it comes to cars, i tend to like toyota's.
when it comes to food, i like chinese and italian.
when it comes to vacations, i like the mountains or tropical beaches.
When it comes to cars, I tend to like Toyota's. When it comes to food, I like Chinese and Italian. When it comes to vacations, I like the mountains or tropical beaches.
So when I think about these things, I am happy that I live in a world that gives me so many options. I can do this one day, and something completely different the next. I have friends who like Fords, and Dodge ... so they buy those at the lot that sells them. When they eat, they like Mexican food, and they eat at the best Mexican food restaurants in town. So they too, get to enjoy the variety of life. Could you imagine a world that only had one car maker, one food type, and one region to vacation too. It would be hard to imagine that, as we live in a world that offers up things that fit our individual taste.
So I ask you then, why does there have to be one right religion? Why in a world that teaches variety and individual taste, would we accept that God wants things done only one way. The planet to me educates us through nature that what ever God there is out there, likes variety. Thus you have continents with different animals, plants, languages, climates and even people. All example of the universe showing us the spice of life.
When someone tells me that there is only one religion, like the Witnesses do. That there is only one God, like the Witnesses do. I think to myself, why then does that God send out such a different message in his/her creation. If God is really so boring, and so structured, wouldn't it make sense that he/she would be that way in all things?
So when I sit at night and realize my mom and sister our Christians, this other good friend is Wiccan, this other is Jewish, this other his Buddhist, and this other is Agnostic. Yet I think of them all as good people and friends. I realize, what I am seeing is what makes sense. There is no "one right religion" there is only the variety of life and religion that allows us to choose what is right for us. What brings us contentment and happiness, and the same balance and variety we see in the nature we live in.
What do you think?
Just my thought
just wondering about some of the profile pics...i think its nice to know a bit about the person you want us see, or the person you don't want us to see.
so what were you thinking when the pic was taken, how long ago, and where were you?
mine was taken last month, just after my 36th birthday.
Mine was taken in Cancun Mexico about 9 months ago. I was getting on to a tour bus to go to the Pyrimids and my wife took the picture. The background is something I designed.
Take Care
Dragon
who was your favorite witness?.
mine was john richards.
when i got to know him, he was an old man, and our theocratic ministry school servant.
There was a man who was like my father named Craig Powers who I have never faced about my exit. He lived 8 hours away. I hope I never face him ... he would be difficult! ... I could just see it, "Hi Craig, I am a black belt in Martial Arts now and practice Wicca, Shamanism and spend a regular amount of time in meditation." LOL
There was also this guy named John McLaughlan ... who was like a real brother, who Pioneered with me. He was at Bethel when I left, and as far as I know, is still there. He was suppose to be my Best Man in my wedding, but called to Bethel and could not come back.
Oh well, I am dead to them now ... but they still live on the planet with me.
My thought
Dragon
one of the things the congregation secretary has to do is tabulate field service reports.
i always loved it when i would get a report that had an enormous amount of hours and placements.,especially if the person never was seen in the ministry.
i knew a lot of "phantom pioneers".
I was a Pioneer, or course I cheated at times. ;) Although I did spend a hell of a lot of time out there. Near the end I did lie a lot, then I realized I was fooling only myself.
Just my thought
Dragon