Posts by knowsnothing1

84

Spirit Channeling at Wallkill's Bethel

by Marie33 in

look what an ex-bethelite has to say about the spirit channeling he saw first hand up at wallkill:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfmqnzbyrko.

now i believe rayven's story of horror at brooklyn bethel:.

knowsnothing1

Deegee,

Thanks for your kind words. I have been rather busy, I don't have time to give you an adequate response, but know that I am not the only one with these experiences.

Did you watch the video of the ex Satanist?

84

Spirit Channeling at Wallkill's Bethel

by Marie33 in

look what an ex-bethelite has to say about the spirit channeling he saw first hand up at wallkill:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfmqnzbyrko.

now i believe rayven's story of horror at brooklyn bethel:.

knowsnothing1

deegee,

You continue to question God without acknowledging his existence. I'm baffled really.

I have not responded to all your points because I am responding from my phone. I don't always have access to a computer, when I have time I will attempt to address all your questions.

As for the panic attacks, I will give you a better background on how they began and all that I went through.

I used to live in Florida in 2016, but got laid off. I wasn't making too much money doing Uber and Lyft, and at that time I was still a JW, physically in, mentally out. I wanted to get out of being a JW, but I didn't want to lose contact with my mom, so I was able to get work as a medical interpreter in Virginia through the witnesses. I moved end of January 2017.

I managed to get a cheap apartment and also started working at a bank to supplement my income. The problem was I couldn't get away from the witnesses because they had contact with my mom, and so I was forced to go out in field service and to the meetings with them.

This made me very depressed. I was finding no escape. I had suicidal thoughts. I would play video games till 4 or 5 in the morning and sometimes only get 1 or 2 hours of sleep.

One morning I woke up early after 5 hours of sleep. It was on a Monday. I couldn't go back to sleep and I felt bad. I started to prepare to go to the hospital, I was going to drive myself. Before I was fully dressed, I had my first full blown panic attack. I had never had one like that before, and so I called the ambulance. I thought I was having a heart attack. My heart rate must have gone up to about 150? I laid against the door of my apartment on the outside waiting for the ambulance. I felt as if I were about to faint. It was a terrible experience. They took my vitals and my blood pressure was a bit high, but not too bad. I requested I be taken to the hospital. Obviously they found nothing.

This was only the beginning. I went to the hospital many times after that. In one episode my blood pressure was 166 over 95, but still my heart was working just fine. I had to quit my job and my sister offered me to stay at her apartment in California. She flew to Virginia so that we could take my car driving to California. I drove for as long as I could before I got a panic attack and then she had to take over.

Once in California, I almost immediately went to a psychiatrist. They prescribed Xanax(anti-anxiety), citalopram(anti-depressant), and gabapentin (for muscle twitches at night). I took these medications faithfully.

A therapist started coming to the apartment. I did all the exercises he asked. Breathing techniques, grounding, decatastrophizing, yoga, guided meditation.

I went several times to the hospital in California as well. I even ended up in the psych ward a partial night. I had had a manic episode the night before where I fled at 2:45 am in my car (the first and only time such a spontaneous act I committed) They didn't find anything sufficiently wrong with me to merit staying, but I still had trouble sleeping and so they prescribed Seroquel (anti-bipolar/anti-psychotic drug).

I tried everything under the sun. Homeopathic medicine, healthy eating, exercising daily, you name it. I took a long break from religion and decided just to live my life as I pleased. In California I had that freedom.

Nothing worked my friend. I would still have panic attacks. Some weeks more frequent, some less, but it persisted.

84

Spirit Channeling at Wallkill's Bethel

by Marie33 in

look what an ex-bethelite has to say about the spirit channeling he saw first hand up at wallkill:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfmqnzbyrko.

now i believe rayven's story of horror at brooklyn bethel:.

knowsnothing1

deegee,

Yes, I think we've come at an impasse in our discussion. I do appreciate the time you've taken to show me the dark side of meditation. I certainly agree that there are situations where it can drive you mad.

However, my case was far from it. I was not seeking God at first. I was trying to live my life as distant as possible to God or and religion for that matter. It was only through God's power that I stopped having the panic attacks. I tried everything I could in my own hands to control it, but I couldn't.

I hope that just because you had a bad experience, doesn't mean you will never again seek God. He is only a prayer away. God bless you.

84

Spirit Channeling at Wallkill's Bethel

by Marie33 in

look what an ex-bethelite has to say about the spirit channeling he saw first hand up at wallkill:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfmqnzbyrko.

now i believe rayven's story of horror at brooklyn bethel:.

knowsnothing1

deegee,

What you are saying is that God will protect you from demonic attack, but he won't protect you from other life threatening, fatal situations? Why is God's protection so selective? This doesn't make any sense to me.

You still haven't arrived at a conclusion that he exists, so how can you question what doesn't exist?

But you can take Paul's example. God didn't prevent his suffering, not Christ's, nor many of the thousands upon thousands of Christians executed. They happily went to their deaths. Suffering != God's inexistence, so you're going to need a better argument.

(5) How, exactly, does an immaterial spirit interact with a brain and body of matter?
What force or causal influence does it exert, and by what mechanism?

I'm not sure. Just because I can't explain it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

I have not experienced many of the symptoms you have related. When I pray, I don't receive a vision or anything, just peace of mind and comfort. If I've sinned, my conscience draws me to repentance and to confess my sin to God.

78

Pacifism is Morally Indefensible

by cofty in

i have been surprised recently to see so much support by ex-jws for the watchtower's refusal to fight and kill.

in my opinion it is a vice masquerading as a virtue.

of course war should always be a last resort but there are occasions that it has to be done.

knowsnothing1

War can never happen on the scale of WWII again. It would be the end of humanity as we know it. The rules have changed.

78

Pacifism is Morally Indefensible

by cofty in

i have been surprised recently to see so much support by ex-jws for the watchtower's refusal to fight and kill.

in my opinion it is a vice masquerading as a virtue.

of course war should always be a last resort but there are occasions that it has to be done.

knowsnothing1

In defense of pacifism, remember that in a war, many civilian casualties occur. There are other ways to stop criminals that involve non lethal methods. Tasers, nets, mace, I mean the list is endless. I don't think anyone is advocating for criminals or terrorists to run over you.

When police in the US want to stop a high speed chase, they don't always shoot. They set up traps to blow tires, box criminals in, etc. Using force doesn't necessitate using deadly force.

84

Spirit Channeling at Wallkill's Bethel

by Marie33 in

look what an ex-bethelite has to say about the spirit channeling he saw first hand up at wallkill:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfmqnzbyrko.

now i believe rayven's story of horror at brooklyn bethel:.

knowsnothing1

Hi deegee, sorry I didn't see your response.

I think you are going a bit off track here, your going into the problem of natural evil, the Epicurean trilemma.

The first question shouldn't be why evil exists, but rather is God real? Then we deal with the problem of evil.

The other question about why he chooses to act in certain situations and not others is also another dilemma, but I don't feel has merit in this discussion.

The question is, was my and your experiences real? Did we misinterpret something that we saw? Are we or were we crazy? Were these experiences only in our mind, or were there external players?

I take it you don't believe in God, you believe these experiences were in our minds only, and that believing in this stuff is rubbish and even harmful at times, and that we should stick to a strictly material view of the world. I don't want to box you into a belief system, I'm trying to understand what you believe and where you are coming from so we can further develop this conversation.

6

Good standing

by Jrjw in

hi does anyone know why you're classed as not in good standing if youve separated when you aren't breaking a commandment by being separated.

1 cor 7:11 - but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled with her husband; and a husband should not leave his wife..

knowsnothing1

The organization has extra biblical rules it piles on to its adherents.

For example, where in the Bible does it say you have to have a certain number of hours in field service to qualify as a ministerial servant? There are many more examples.

29

What if the crucifixion never took place..

by Jayk in

i googled it and pretty much my understanding is the same as what i imagine.

no one really knows, your guess is as good as the next.

interesting thought to consider imo..

knowsnothing1

venus,

The OT is full of prophesies of Jesus, and that he would have to suffer that fate. The whole OT is a "shadow of the things to come". Each year, animals were sacrificed for atonement of sin. Jesus was the only sacrifice able to pay for the sins of all.

John 1:29

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

If you believe in the resurrection, the only way it's possible is because of Jesus' death and resurrection.

1 Cor 15:12-20

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

29

What if the crucifixion never took place..

by Jayk in

i googled it and pretty much my understanding is the same as what i imagine.

no one really knows, your guess is as good as the next.

interesting thought to consider imo..

knowsnothing1

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus

No scholar worth their salt denies a man called Jesus was crucified over 2000 years ago under Pontius Pilate. You can disagree that he was a Divine being, you can disagree that he performed miracles, but you cannot deny that he was crucified.