can one find sunshine when one is only looking for gloomy clouds?.
can happiness be found if one only seeks sadness and anger?.
can joy be found if the seeker is only interested in discovering misery?.
Farkel,
Very good subject. Another thing that happens in JW-think is that this whole life is wasted, waiting for the next one. Well, what if there is no 'next life' and this life IS all there is? That is the only view which has evidence and logic. So, meanwhile one has, in effect, wasted much of their life missing out on all the happinesses you mention. How sad.
And it certainly contributes to inferior mental health.
Pat
the invisible enemy!
what are the similarities between osama bin laden and god?
the answer is really easy: they both hide!
There are such good points that I'll remember from this. From Larc that it's the Machevellian leaders who foment the wars for economic reasons and their tool is religion. Kent I liked your title of humans being "homo religiousio."
Didn't the WTS love quoting Hitler as saying he couldn't fight his war without religious people?
And how far would Moses have gotten with his genocidal wars without religion? Even when they lost, it was because god said they did wrong.
Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth, etc.) said that prior to the Hebrews' god, the peoples had goddesses and were much more peaceable farming communities. As farmers, they stayed in one area. The herders (Hebrews) were on the move and constantly butting heads with others. The Hebrews got rid of all the goddesses (too peaceful) and got a single deity that was bent on WAR.
As Larc said, "in the beginning, man created god. . . "
Pat
what's worse than a liar?.
an incompetent liar.. i'm reminded of a point made in the whole earth news.
magazine - that stupidity can be worse than theft because.
Hi Metatron,
I would hope that their expediency leads to some relief for the R&F in areas of blood transfusions, government, etc. I.e, becoming mainstream.
Pat
ive noticed many posts relating to evolution and i'm just wondering does anyone frequenting this board believe in the bible?
it seems that just because most have bad experiences with the wt that everyone here is an atheist.
i myself was something at least of an agnostic for quite some time after breaking free of the borg, but now i see things in a different light.
The reason I don't believe the Bible is inspired of God is because of what has been pointed out already: my own reading of books such as "The Bible Unearthed" "Hebrew and Middle Eastern Mythology," the ancient Sumerians, etc.
It had nothing to do with the WTS. And yes, I am pretty much an atheist although I won't label myself.
Pat
the dubs are riding high after the tragedy on the 11th.
men really need to hear this and said "go back to the national guard and.
as they shared the scriptures and told the brothers that there was a. place.
NikL,
Thanks for sharing that. I'm incredulous. I cannot believe that letter. When so many are volunteering with actual WORK, money, food, etc., it's not in the realm of possibility that those people would be SO grateful to have JWs come in and preach their religion. Nope, uh-huh, no way.
It's somebody's dream.
Pat
many onliners are already aware of the odd difference between jws and mormons in the area of humor.
while 78% of mormons have an active sense of humor, only 27.8% of jw have a responsive sense of humor.
there's been some research and testing at the esteemed clown college of los angeles, ca to determine if the jws simply have repressed,.
Hi RR,
Very clever. I'll have to work at restoring my sense of humor!
It's good to hear from you again!
Pat
here is my situation: my fiance is now 27 years old.
he was raised as a jw from the age of 2 through 18. at that time, his whole family left the "truth" except for his older brother who had already married another woman from the faith.
for the past 9 years, he has been living his life to the fullest, but still loving god, praying often and he is a truly honest and moral person.
Dear ConcernedFiance,
I'm glad you've joined the board and your situation is very interesting. There have been many good suggestions.
One thing that i keep wondering about though is that it is NOT a disfellowshipping offense for him to marry you. True, JWs are not supposed to marry out of their religion, but they do not kick such ones out.
Pat
i respectfully request that you take a few moments to read the following article, and i would appreciate hearing your responses.. - - - -.
future widows of america: write your congressman.
by ann coulter.
Crossroads,
You may be right.
Bridgette,
The difference is that the 'right-wing nutballs' are citizens. The immigrants who come to plot against the US are not.
Pat
there is a great series airing on pbs re: evolution.
it's informative, up-to-date, and entertaining.
it's on in my area all sunday afternoon (it's 8 hours altogether).
Touche, PorkChop.
Pat
i respectfully request that you take a few moments to read the following article, and i would appreciate hearing your responses.. - - - -.
future widows of america: write your congressman.
by ann coulter.
Nathan,
Very interesting article.
A point some seem to be missing is that it is not all aliens, but all NON-citizens who are Muslim. No citizens of the US.
This idea seems more palatable than starting bombing and putting so many lives at risk and killing so many.
I don't understand why reasonable alternatives inspire such vehemence. And attacking the writer's previous writings and character (ad hominen approach).
It seems like a reasonable, workable idea that needs more exploration. At least it's a peaceable possibility.
Thanks Nathan for posting the article.
Pat
