so i went to a christmas evening candlelight service tonight and it hit me.
i was primarily doing christmas since leaving the jw for the children.
lots of people do it for family without really thinking of the relevance.
Amazing how most people who are born in christian countries have christian beliefs. Its mind blowing.
Clearly, it must all be true just because of this. I was born in a christian country and I too was raised a christian. I didnt need critical thinking because I was automatically right - just like you guys.
Anyway, all the best for the new year.
here is my story of becoming a missionary after having kin suen (pronounced “shin”) as my circuit overseer.
my father wanted me to go to college, but since he wasn’t a witness, i knew he just didn’t understand how close we were to the end.
i had actually become a circuit overseer!
I started to realize that I was once just an impressionable kid who was heavily influenced by the adults around me. Adults that were wrong.
And right there is the moral of the story.
Children getting baptised at 11 to impress their parents, who in turn use it to impress others.
Getting advice from elders or their wives about the importance of pioneering, who stopped pioneering years before and have their own businesses.
Elders telling you about the dangers of university and they send all of their own kids there anyway.
If there are any younger ones reading this, remember that just because your parents happen to believe something, it doesn't make it true. You will be the one to pay for your mortgage or rent and put food on your table, no one else. Picture your life 40 years from now. How do you want it to be?
this information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.
(i don’t go on jw dot org).
it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. don’t know what to say except that i’m so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.
Our trust in Jehovah’s hand could also be tested as we consider what our situation might be like when we grow older. The Bible encourages us to work hard so that we can care for our future material needs. (Prov. 6:6-11) It is reasonable, as our means allow, to set something aside for the future. Money does provide a measure of protection. (Eccl. 7:12) However, we should avoid making the quest for material things the focus of our life.
5 In some cultures, couples primarily have a family so that the children can provide financial support to the parents when they grow old. In a sense, these couples view their children as a “retirement plan.” The Bible says that parents should care for the needs of their children. (2 Cor. 12:14) Of course, parents may need to receive some practical help as they grow old, and many children are happy to arrange for that. (1 Tim. 5:4) But Christian parents recognize that their greatest joy comes, not from raising children with a view to getting financial support from them, but from helping their children to become servants of Jehovah.—3 John 4.
like the one in tennessee, this one in maddison, wi, was done be a female.
the police chief points out that: .
“yes, i don’t know whether [the shooter] was transgender or not, and quite frankly, i don’t think that’s even important.
Anony Mous@joey jojo: that statement is misleading, the EU does not collect information about gun or most other crime in any centralized manner nor do a lot of other countries. Estimates in studies must use proxies such as whether people are self-reported victims of crime and criminal assault with a weapon is significantly higher in the EU. The most dead in what FBI considers mass shootings (note EU does not have a definition of statistics on mass shootings) in the last decade is the EU, because their police nor schools are prepared to deal with gun crime and people with guns cannot stop criminals with guns.
And you should be honest about the consequences as quite a few countries have an equally “high” per capita gun ownership rate as the US, yet you claim there is no proportional gun crime.
Here are just a few outstanding examples of guns in Europe.
November 2015 - FRANCE - Islamist attackers in Paris armed with guns and bombs target the Bataclan music hall, six bars and restaurants, and the perimeter of the Stade de France sports stadium just outside the French capital, killing 130 people - including 90 concertgoers in the Bataclan - and injuring hundreds.
I didnt mention 'proportional gun crime'. This French attack was clearly a terrorist attack. Much different than an average school-kid blasting through a primary school. The E.U has about 0.9 deaths per 100000, the U.S is 4 times that figure.
If you want to compare the U.S. to the poorest, war-torn, or second/ third world countries, then yes, the stats look better, there are quite a few countries with a higher per capita gun death rate. But the U.S still has the highest gun deaths per capita of any advanced country.
I'm not making up these stats, they are there for anyone to see. You can disagree and spin the figures in whatever way makes you feel better.
like the one in tennessee, this one in maddison, wi, was done be a female.
the police chief points out that: .
“yes, i don’t know whether [the shooter] was transgender or not, and quite frankly, i don’t think that’s even important.
Liam
This is just another "Normal Day" in the life of Homo-Sapiens.
In America, the lefties will always blame the Guns.
But in the Global sphere, the same thing is happening Every Single Day, even in Countries when Guns are banned.
Sorry Liam, this is false info. The U.S. has a huge problem with guns. There are only 2 or 3 other countries in the world with more gun related homicides. Those countries are Latin American and run by drug cartels.
You may believe it's everyones right to own a gun, that's another argument but at least be honest about the consequences.
jesus is the creator god, but why did he create us?
what say you?.
Man created god to explain the endless cruelty and injustice of the world that left them feeling helpless.
Why did a good mother lose 3 of her 8 children before the age of 1, and then died in childbirth with the last one?
Why did lightning kill an entire family in a small stone age community as they huddled in their pathetic hut to shelter from the storm?
Why does the ground tremble?
Why do floods kill innocent children?
What is lightning?
The only reason we know the answer to these questions is science and research. However, religion is already a part of the human condition and has evolved and passed from generation to generation in some form.
Religion is like a drug that dulls the senses and allows humans to escape reality. It is completely understandable that it was invented by early humans to allow them to cope with a world that doesnt care about feelings.
Humans crave just, loving gods and an afterlife because we refuse to believe that this is all there is.
jesus is the creator god, but why did he create us?
what say you?.
"WHY DID MAN CREATE GOD?"
There you go Sea Breeze - I fixed it for you.
You're welcome.
that's what the word says.
.
colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..
@joey jojo
You noted that if the Trinity were "cut and dry," it wouldn’t require extensive explanation. However, the complexity of the Trinity arises because it attempts to articulate the nature of God—a being beyond full human comprehension.
If articulation of the nature of god is too complex for human minds, why do you insist on your point of view being the correct one? You are admitting that no one can understand it.
Maybe the complexity of the trinity arises because it makes no logical sense.
that's what the word says.
.
colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..
There are walls of text on this topic in this thread. There are even charts supplied by Sea Breeze. Surely if the trinity doctrine was so cut and dry - even obvious, none of this would be necessary.
A lot of the scriptures 'supporting' the trinity are bible commentators saying what they believe to be the case, not quotes directly from jesus and these are mostly from John. Objectively speaking, that raises concerns.
The most basic example of this paradox is Jesus (the word) himself saying, ' the father is greater than I'. Then you have John, who says, 'the word was god'.
What about the quote from jesus at Matt 24:36? 'No one knows the day or hour but the father'? How can anyone possibly read that verse and decide it means that jesus = god, without serious mental gymnastics?
Im waiting for the 3000 word reply. Please include more charts - there can never be enough.
that's what the word says.
.
colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..
peacefulpete
I see someone gave me a negative. Was something in the comment incorrect?
It wasnt me.
The Jewish religion almost universally rejects the notion of a trinity. There are hints of polytheism in the old testament but that is completely different than a trinity.
Gen 1:26 is an interesting scripture in the context of this discussion. To use the phrase 'like one of us' almost sounds like man is equal to god. Believers of the trinity certainly extrapolate more meaning into other verses with far less substance to support the idea that jesus = god.
