Posts by Navigator

8

What constitutes a life that pleases God?

by Billygoat in

it's an interesting question i came across with the new book i'm reading: the reflective life by ken gire.

i had the privilege of meeting ken a few years ago at a church retreat.

he was a shy, quiet speaker, with a very unassuming presence.

Navigator

Saint Satan

Excellent post! God is incapable of seeing us in any fashion other than in the perfection in which we were created. Good thing too! Regretably, we are all too capable of seeing ourselves less than perfect. I am reminded of the genesis account of Adam and Eve hiding in the Garden of Eden after they had "eaten the forbidden fruit". When God asked them why they were hiding, their response was "we were hiding because we were naked". God's response, "Who told you that you were naked?" are some of the most profound words in the bible and indicate a level of sophistication by the J source writer totally missed by those who insist on a literal interpretation. I am also reminded, as you are, of the millions slaughtered by those harboring some perverted notion of pleasing God.

20

Would you allow someone else to discipline your kids?

by freedom96 in

jw
friends

there is much debate on whether or not a parent should discipline their child by spanking, or sometimes even worse.

minimus asked about this on a recent thread.. it reminded me of hearing stories about how those in positions of authority would sometimes spank a child.

the first that comes to mind is teachers.

Navigator

Oroborus 21

Well presented and reasoned post Eduardo.!

8

Jesus' body was raised.

by hooberus in

the follwing scriptues are taken from the book of john.. 2:18then answered the jews and said unto him, what sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

2:19jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple, and in three days i will raise it up.

2:20then said the jews, forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

Navigator

Biologists will tell you that the body you have now is not the body you had 3 months ago, or last year, or 10 years ago. Cells and organs and even your skeletal structure are constantly renewing and replacing themselves. Yet, the skin cells on your body, though completely new, may reflect a faded image of a surgery you had 10 years ago. We are continually transforming our bodies. We all have a spiritual self and a material self. In referring to his life, Jesus said, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again". Of course, the left brained Pharisees thought he was insane. Because of his "connected consciousness", Jesus claimed the power to enter and leave his material body. This is not so strange as it might seem and has been demonstrated by many "spiritual adepts" or Yogis in India. Was the body Jesus appeared in the same one that he was crucified in? It depends on how you view matters. Jesus was probably able to do in a couple of days that which we take months and years to do, namely transform or renew our flesh bodies.

29

New Job & New Life in Vancouver Canada!

by ESTEE in

jw
friends

this is my little note to say i won't be on the forum very much in the next while because i am moving.

big move .

from saskatoon, saskatchewan to vancouver, bc .

Navigator

Congratualations! Beautiful city. I was there last summer returning from an Alaskan cruise. Stanley Park is gorgeous as are the Burchart Gardens over on Vancouver Island. If you are going to work downtown, you may need to practice your Chinese.

15

Can Good Exist Without Evil??

by Sargon in

some ponderings:.

the laws of physics tell us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

good and evil are equal and opposites of the same concept.

Navigator

Everyone should go back and reread funky derek's post on this thread. The operative word is "concept". If God knew about "evil" it would be real and permanent. The "concept" of evil is humankinds deal. God gave us the ability of freewill. The dream of separtation was our choice.

greven is right about our creativity thriving on "problem-solving". Being "aware" of less than perfect conditions gives us the impetus to do something about them. We grow in the process. Perhaps this is the technique that God is using to bring us to our senses. Have you considered that life in the so called "Garden of Eden" must have been terribly boring?

10

Reconciling with Dad

by jws in

as you may or may not know from previous posts, i am a born & raised jw who just drifted away (no df/da) from a father and two sisters who still keep the jw faith.

and while my father is aware that i have "apostate" beliefs of some kind, he prefers not to hear of it.

as a result, we still enjoy each other's company and nobody has "shunned" me.

Navigator

I can certainly empathise with your situation. I've been living in that same situation for about 40 years with my wife. We don't discuss religion. I'm very active in my Unity church and she is a full time pioneer who gave up trying to convert me years ago. She uses her religion as a crutch and I'm not at all sure how she would make it mentally without her crutch. It goes back to an unfortunate childhood. She is an intelligent, well educated woman who has made a choice to be blind to the "warts" on the face of that so called religion.

Don't worry about your Dad. No one is going to be lost. God made us all perfect and that is the only way He/She can see us. The remembrance and realization of the wasted opportunities will no doubt be painful to him when he gets to the other side and realizes that he lived a lie. Be as loving as your conscience will allow you to be regarding the "religion" he holds so dear. Since you revere the bible, reread the story of the Prodigal Son. It tells us everything we need to know about God and how we will be treated when we finally come to our senses and decide to return home; however unworthy we might feel.

6

Jesus temptatation by Satan...a JW conumdrum

by logansrun in

some liberal christians view the charachter of satan as being a symbol for the evil within humans which tempts us all.

the jws will often point to jesus being tempted by satan as being proof that this is an unreasonable explanation since "jesus was perfect and he could not have evil thoughts in him.

" now this raises a conumdrum for a similar, but related matter.. just what can a perfect person do or not do when it comes to "sinful" thoughts?

Navigator

A more reasonable explanation is that the Hindus have it right. IT'S ALL ILLUSION!

18

IN THE NAVY

by josephus in

jw
friends

this week i did what ive allways wanted to do and joined the navy,,, well nany reserve is the best i can do right now.. im waiting for all the tests now, but i just wanted your thoughts on the "moral rightness" of joining the military.. im still gonna do it though!.

cheers bigears.

josephus

Navigator

It will be an interesting experience for you and you will learn a great deal. I served in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years so I don't have any moral qualms about serving.

14

War or No War --- The Dispute

by hornetsnest in

jw
friends

i usually don't get involved in things like this, as i've long known the futility and uselessness of arguing with jello.

however, for the benefit of those looking on and wondering where the truth really lies, i figured i'd say a few things.. back2dafront made quite a spiel over on another thread about how terrible it is to serve in the armed forces, and i must say that the tears of purple koolade were just pouring down my cheeks in rivers.

he's such an abused little fellow ... personally, i'll bet my wife's been shot at more than he has.

Navigator

There is a saying that "those who refuse to learn from history are condemed to repeat it." Encouraged by the latest round of anti-war protests, Saddam is reneging on his pledge to cooperate with the UN weapons inspectors. It is ironic that those who participated in these rallies are bringing about the very thing they were protesting against. The only thing that is going to prevent the war in Iraq is a decision by Saddam to stop playing games and declare his illegal arms and open them up for inspection. He is not going to stop playing as long as he thinks he can win in the court of public opinion.

19

Thoughts on The Apostle Paul

by El Kabong in

jw
friends

it's early on a saturday morning and i really couldn't sleep.

so, i'm just rambling on right now.

i got to thinking, are many of the divisions in christianity caused by the writings of the apostle paul?

Navigator

I suspect that Francois is correct about Jesus having a large retinue of female disciples. Their presence at the cross without the men and at the tomb before the men would seem to demand that conclusion. Their contribution was largely overlooked by the writers/assemblers of the New Testament. Although John is often cited as "the disciple whom Jesus loved", I suspect it was more likely Mary Magdeline who got a really bad rap by those who translated from aramaic to Greek. All of the fundamentalist churchers are missing out on the wonderful talent that so many women have who are called to the ministry, but forced to serve in secondary positions. That is especially prevalent in the WTBTS. While I would not go so far as to call Paul a fanatic, it is clear that the Christianity practiced today is Pauline Christianity and has little to do with the teachings of Jesus. Sargon makes a good point that when the canon of the New Testament was decided, only those books were selected which fit the pre-conceived notions that had developed up to that time. Much of Paul's writings and teachings are applied "out of context". The situation in Corinth was unusual and unique and I doubt that he intended to have his advice specific to that situation applied universally. It is interesting to note that in the New Thought Community (Unity, Religious Science, Divine Science) about 65% of the ministers are female. Even the orthodox churches (Disciples of Christ, Prespryterians, Northen Baptists, Methodists) are electing women elders. It is about time!.