there is little evidence to indicate that there were many christians in the first 2 or 3 centuries of its existence.
but after the conversion of constantine (or, at least his toleration of christianity) things changed.
with one notable exception all future emperors promoted christianity.
African people caught onto that one quite quickly - particularly the irony of it all.
A parody of the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” reads
”Onward Christian Soldiers, into pagan lands,
Prayer books in your pockets, rifles in your hands,
Bring the gladsome tidings, where trade might be done,
Spread your peaceful Gospel, with the Maxim Gun”.
Both the point of a Roman sword and the muzzle of Maxim Gun proved to be very effective methods of converting the “heathen.”
a good friend of ours and i were chatting the other day about the difference between a zealous person and fanatical person.. what is the difference?.
why is someone praised for being "zealous" , but another person is mocked or condemned for being a "fanatical" person?.
how would jws be classed?.
Be very bloody careful, lest “zeal” turn into fanaticism - particularly when either religion or politics get involved.
remember when we could never say an opinion regarding politics?
it’s refreshing to see that we can tell everyone what our political stances are and have no fear of shunning .
Giordano,
You hit the proverbial nail fair on the head there!
It would seem that the JW “All or Nothing” mentality does take a long time to break from.
i was talking to a very pimi relative the other day.
despite been ultra orthodox she is a sweet old soul.
because of this i had to be super careful how i worded things, due to my respect for her and not wanting to upset or get her aposta-dar homing i’m on me.
Joe,
You have a PM
paranormal stuff is common where my family is from it's almost expected.
native american background, my great grandmother was a witch doctor a damn good one too, my non witness relatives dabble in it.
so i have seen stuff and experienced stuff.
After living and working in Papua New Guinea for many years, I am less inclined to dismiss all such events out of hand as nonsense.
The ability of many Papua New Guineans to easily locate missing items bordered on the uncanny. If this was “intuition” at work, then it certainly raised the meaning of that term to a whole new level.
No trickery, definitely no mind-altering drugs involved (I certainly wasn’t taking any!) But whatever was at work, I was more than once grateful for it!
i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.
apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.
luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.
A very informative read is to be found in the New York Review of June 7 2012 (www.nybooks.com. 2012/06/07).
In this, the reviewer (Jared Diamond) examines the work of Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty.” The authors are very much of the opinion that these differences in wealth distribution, country by country, are solely the result of good or bad “institutions”.
As the reviewer goes on to show, however, when it comes to the question of why nations differ in wealth, “The factors are multiple and diverse”. There is certainly no “silver bullet”! The one advocated by the OP would only serve to drag everybody down to the same level of poverty.
(I have witnessed this in Papua New Guinea, where the traditional “Wantok” system, when used in a modern industrial society, only serves to impoverish everybody).
facts we don't want to know.
the purpose of war is to kill humans.. .
which humans?.
When it comes to this sort of thing, I very much doubt if any country is squeaky clean. While Britain didn’t “ invent” concentration camps (that dubious honour fell to Spain in the Cuban War of Independence), it came a very close second in the Second Boer War (1899-1902). If ever there was a “Banker’s War”, that would have had to have been one - being fought for nothing other than the Witwatersrand Goldfields of the Transvaal.
Also, Britain’s atrocities in its own backyard bear scrutiny. For example, look up on YouTube Peter Watkin’s 1964 documentary “ Culloden”. For another example, look up just about anything you like on the Irish War of Independence (1916-1921).
No, the “White hats” - “Black hats” business is by no means as clear cut as we might imagine.
i am a born in jw for over 30 years now and have been in various positions in the organization.
now i'm guessing most of us recognize that older generations tend to be more fundamental and less reasonable when it comes to their outlook and beliefs.
i find this to mirror the differences you see outside of the organization as well (older people less tolerant of other religions, newer technology, lgbt, etc.).
It does seem to me that those who endure with the JW religion pay lip service to all the demands of the GB, but quietly ignore its more extreme requirements.
PS: Many thanks to my eldest daughter and my grand-daughter.
hi friends one and all i just thought i would let you know it`s our 57th wedding anniversary today .
and we are setting off this morning for 3 nights in eden nsw i think it has more to offer than the one in genesis.. with a bit { or a lot } of luck we will make our fortune .
have a good day everybody.
Happy Anniversary, Smiddy.
we have had another shooting.
many are blaming trump and the republicans and the nra.. is it because of guns that there are so many massacres or could it be that these killers are mental?.
do you think guns should be removed from our society so that these atrocities never occur again?
People's mental health and anger don't stay constant throughout their lifetime.
That is why in this country, Firearms Licences are issued for a maximum of ten years, after which the licence holder has to once again go through the whole background check / vetting / safety testing process.
