when i read the letters of apostle paul i see that many christians had doubt about faith in jesus christ and the power of the ransom sacrifice.. example: jewish christians who felt keeping the law was still necessary for salvation.. and i also see that there were christians that were not anointed or led by the holy spirit and walking in the flesh.. as paul said in romans 8:12-17:.
12 so, then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh to live in accord with the flesh; 13 for if you live in accord with the flesh you are sure to die; but if you put the practices of the body to death by the spirit, you will live.
14 for all who are led by gods spirit, these are gods sons.
Hi DWiltshire,
Re where did UB get the info on Paul embellishing his writings about Jesus, Earl Dougherty has a very good site with tons of information. Also, a search on Mithraism will yield interesting similarities of that religion with Paul's writings. Mithraists were first though.
Happy hunting!
Pat
next time you're at a kingdom hall, or during a watchtower study,.
or book study, make the following statement out loud:.
"jesus exaggerated a lot!".
Dear Metatron and UncleBruce,
Excellent posts! At first I didn't catch on to UB's ideas. LOL!
Pat
my dub sister planned this little event to see the lion king.
she invited my two other sisters and their families and purposely left me out.
when my family asked about me, she just shrugged her shoulders -- the little hypocrite couldn't "stumble" them by telling them she was shunning her own sister.
Blue,
What a wonderful way to handle such an uncomfortable situation! You come out smelling like a rose and with your pride intact. It puts the blame and embarrassment where it belongs: on the perpetrator!
Pat
i was given this book by a psychiatrist 30 years ago.
the thought behind the book was that jesus would not have stayed single and they gave the reasons why.
now that i am looking for more insight into religion, i would like to have the book again.
Hi Judith,
I did a search for the author on Amazon.com and came up with 'out-of-print, limited availability.' You may be able to purchase a copy from them.
Pat
it seems to me this site is full of anti jehovah's witness members.its easy to point out weaknesses of others or the organization they represent.jehovah's witnesses do often with other religions.if you all have decided that jehovah's witnesses are bad people or that the organization is false,then which one is the true religion?which religion teaches the correct doctrines?which religion represents gods truth?this question is for anyone.i'm asking this question with sincerity.
True religion? That's an oxymoron, right?
has anyone else noticed that we get a lot of "who has the truth" and "what is the true religion" type messages?
but you never hear anyone ask something like "how do i develop authentic spirituality?
" granted, the word spiritual is abstract and vague, but there is the matter of the individual aspect of the word spirituality.
Thanks Introspection and SS,
I have neglected this aspect since leaving the JWs, being very pragmatic and all. But I do feel a need to pay attention to my "spirit" as it were. It is a vague term, but meditation seems like a good place to begin.
Cheerio!
Pat
someone on another thread asked about schnell's book, thirty years a watchtower slave.
i have a copy of it, but hadn't looked at in many years.
i reviewed it again, and understand its importance better now that i know more about the jw history.. let me summarize some of the information that struck me.
Hi Larc,
Thanks for the info from the book.
It's an embarrassment to me that I followed such a controlling group so easily and 'happily' for so long. What was I thinking ????
No beards, no good reasons,just do it or else! Duh!
Oh well, lotsa folks did that and other such follies. At least we're recovering(ed).
Pat
the best evidence that the bible teaches that the earth is flat is found in the following passages.
the first is in matthew: .
"[t]he devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them".
Hi Joseph,
The fact that the devil had to take Jesus up to a tall mountain indicates to me that it was to be taken literally.
If it were all a vision, why go up to a very tall mountain? The writer seems to have thought that if you were high enough you could see all the kingdoms of the world. Ergo, he thought the earth was flat. As did Daniel.
Pat
let's assume that there are about 9,000,000 armageddon survivors (baptised jw's and their children), after just 30 years every survivor will be sexually mature and with increased vigour and health.. .
chemical contraception, condoms, i.u.d's etc will all be long gone so any married couple with a normal sex-drive will be producing children at an average rate of about 1 per year.. .
world population at the beginning of the 20th century was less than 1.5 billion.
Well, the answer may be the one religionists can all fall back on: there will be miracles.
Thenceforth, all rationale can be suspended because of the miracles. No need for explanation.
That seems pretty much how the creation, flood, sun standing still, etc., etc., are explained.
So, it's all moot, according to the religionists.
Of course, it becomes unexplainable if you try to apply reason to it.
My 2 cents,
Pat
they all have the american flag, crosses, and symbols.
if i go to the kingdom hall i will just get shunned and i do need association.
my husband won't let me take my son to a church.
Hi Serena,
I don't attend a church, but I know several folks who go to the Universalist Church, which sounds to me like one that provokes thought without endoctrinating folks.
Have you thought of some kind of support group? I attend Al-Anon because of a family member and it's very helpful. There are many groups who meet in my town for a variety of reasons of community involvement.
Do you intend to become a JW again? Or are you open to new ideas?
I wish you all the best.
Pat
