i would really like to read the thoughts of an evolutionist as they lie on their deathbed.
their "honest to nogod" thoughts.
their terrors.
ND,
We understand how scary it is for you to confront & come to terms with your mortality..........it is the curse if consciousness so I know that it must be you who is squirming, squirming, squirming.
Get over your self-importance ND & confront your mortality.
i would really like to read the thoughts of an evolutionist as they lie on their deathbed.
their "honest to nogod" thoughts.
their terrors.
Now we see why people believe in religion/God - they can't stand the idea that death is the end of them.
i would really like to read the thoughts of an evolutionist as they lie on their deathbed.
their "honest to nogod" thoughts.
their terrors.
ND,
What is your motive/objective?
Are you trying to use the fear of death to scare people into believing in an afterlife?
Has anyone been back from the dead and personally told you about their conversation with God, what he/she said to God and vice versa, and provided you with the details of what the afterlife is like?
I imagine the fear of death is the reason why you believe in an afterlife?
Perhaps our notion of self-importance is what causes us to believe that we shouldn't become nothing at death but we should live on ad infinitum instead?
absolutely thrilled to give you the news that my younger brother, a zealous full-time pioneer has left the witnesses!!.
i haven't seen or spoke to him in a year.
i'd lost all contact with him, no facebook, no mobile number, i didn't even know his address because he'd moved house.
continuing.............
JWs are conditioned/brainwashed into looking for any evidence of how terrible things are as a sign that the end is nigh. You are made to feel guilty if you find anything praiseworthy about "this system of things"™
This mind set of negativity can only poison you against the world resulting in your feeling depressed.
absolutely thrilled to give you the news that my younger brother, a zealous full-time pioneer has left the witnesses!!.
i haven't seen or spoke to him in a year.
i'd lost all contact with him, no facebook, no mobile number, i didn't even know his address because he'd moved house.
Pale Emperor,
What your brother said:
I haven't read a Watchtower in months and i feel so much "lighter"
I had the same experience. I felt so much lighter when I stopped reading the publications and attending the meetings.
We are in the world but not of the world. We must put kingdom interests ahead of our interests, detach ourselves from the world, our desires, our loves, and our passions.
Then there is the constant obsession with focusing on how awful things are as evidence that the end of the world is nigh. I remember once saying to an elder how the religion makes out everything to be so bad - he of course made feel that the problem was with me not the WT.
“Depression is a natural result of loss, and if you internalize teachings that poison you against the world, then of course you will become depressed.”
- Dr. Lorin Roche.
my wife and i for the past three months have been caring for a teenage girl who was abused by her parents.
she stole a car to get away, and living in prison was a welcome relief for her.
she was in prison for four years, and the state was going to release her, but she would not go back home.. a co-worker teacher that my wife knows told us the situation, and we agreed o help the girl get back on her feet.. well, she dealt with abuse from all aspects 😔, and is pretty messed up in the head from all of that.. but by being in our home, she was safe and was learning how to deal with her problems.
lancelink,
I know from personal experience while a JW, that people can be reserved/hesitant about helping someone in crisis, seeing them through, helping them to come out on the other side. So much for that Christian love which you think should move persons to at least point you in the right direction if they themselves cannot or are not prepared to help. So kudos to you for not abandoning this girl.
You may find to be of interest the following presentation by someone who had a similar experience of hearing voices as result of trauma from childhood sexual abuse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syjEN3peCJw
There is even now a hearing voices support group (Hearing Voices Network) – no place for demons there.
https://www.hearing-voices.org/
if “tree of good and bad” were literal, it would mean adam and eve would know what is “good and bad” only after eating of that tree.
however, even before eating of it, they would think “it is good for us to eat of this tree” which means they are already endowed knowledge of “good and bad.” that means “tree of good and bad” is symbolic of something.. since religious organizations interpret this differently, each reader has to adopt his own conclusion.
for me it looks like this: one thinks of good and bad in relation to himself—if something is beneficial for him he would say it is good for him, and bad for him if it is not beneficial.
@Venus:
Whom should we listen to - God or ego? They fell when they listened to their ego....
Listen to God you say yet God was not forthcoming with information that could have helped Adam & Eve steer clear of danger.
Could it be that A&E fell because God was not forthcoming with information that could have helped them steer clear of danger?
God did not alert Adam and Eve to the presence of the snake or instruct them to avoid it. If Eve was without the knowledge of good and evil how could she know the snake was evil? God knew the snake was the big threat, he created it and already had said what a nasty character he was. So why didn’t he warn his new babies about him?
Why would Eve believe a snake instead of the Creator of the Universe who apparently walked through the garden during the cool of the day and communicated with them?
Is it because Eve being without the knowledge of good and evil did not know that the snake was evil?
Is it because she felt that:
" God created everything. He is my father and I trust him to protect me. God would certainly not create, or allow to exist, anything evil that would threaten me or my family. Besides, he did not alert me to the presence of the snake or instruct them to avoid it. Therefore if this snake is offering me something – it MUST be a good thing."
if “tree of good and bad” were literal, it would mean adam and eve would know what is “good and bad” only after eating of that tree.
however, even before eating of it, they would think “it is good for us to eat of this tree” which means they are already endowed knowledge of “good and bad.” that means “tree of good and bad” is symbolic of something.. since religious organizations interpret this differently, each reader has to adopt his own conclusion.
for me it looks like this: one thinks of good and bad in relation to himself—if something is beneficial for him he would say it is good for him, and bad for him if it is not beneficial.
not to touch it. a sure invitation to do so.
God went out of his way to make sure that the fruit would be tempting to A&E.
God made the fruit “desirable to the eyes” and “pleasing to look at” (Genesis 3:6).
The fruit could have been made stinky, slimy and repulsive, therefore helping Eve resist. That way the only virtue it would have had is the wisdom it could give, but even that was a temptation since god made Eve with desire to want to be like gods further decreasing the chances of her resisting the temptation.
Why was the Tree put there in the first place? Why not put the tree out of their reach in Alaska?
Didn't God realize that without a moral sense, Eve and Adam would probably eat the fruit sooner or later? Any parent who puts a plate of cookies in front of their 12 month-old infant and tells them not to eat any is aware of what the infant will do.
Satan didn’t require temptation by fruit. He fell all on his own so why was there a need to put the tree of good and evil in the garden?
if “tree of good and bad” were literal, it would mean adam and eve would know what is “good and bad” only after eating of that tree.
however, even before eating of it, they would think “it is good for us to eat of this tree” which means they are already endowed knowledge of “good and bad.” that means “tree of good and bad” is symbolic of something.. since religious organizations interpret this differently, each reader has to adopt his own conclusion.
for me it looks like this: one thinks of good and bad in relation to himself—if something is beneficial for him he would say it is good for him, and bad for him if it is not beneficial.
Not brain dead Irishdub.
Just offering another perspective on who to trust.
Think about this:
JWs & other believers are strongly and specifically instructed to avoid people of bad influence. Why? Because these people can deceive, spread false doctrine, twist words and bring ruin.
Yet God allowed the snake into the garden and DID NOT ALERT ADAM & EVE TO ITS PRESENCE OR INSTRUCT THEM TO AVOID IT especially given their naive state as they were created without moral sense; so what reason was there for Eve to not trust the serpent?
if “tree of good and bad” were literal, it would mean adam and eve would know what is “good and bad” only after eating of that tree.
however, even before eating of it, they would think “it is good for us to eat of this tree” which means they are already endowed knowledge of “good and bad.” that means “tree of good and bad” is symbolic of something.. since religious organizations interpret this differently, each reader has to adopt his own conclusion.
for me it looks like this: one thinks of good and bad in relation to himself—if something is beneficial for him he would say it is good for him, and bad for him if it is not beneficial.
What Irishdub said:
Eve’s view: ‘God created everything. He is my father and I trust him to protect me. God would certainly not create, or allow to exist, anything evil that would threaten me or my family. Therefore if this snake is offering me something – it MUST be a good thing’.
Gods view: like the villain in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade – ‘don’t trust anyone’ – ie you shouldn’t have trusted me.
