Posts by deegee

65

My Younger Brother Has Left The Witnesses!! :-D

by pale.emperor in

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.

deegee

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.

13

Hearing voices, not always caused by demons.

by lancelink in

jw
friends

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.

deegee

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/

42

“Tree of good and bad” means what?

by venus in

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.

deegee

@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."

42

“Tree of good and bad” means what?

by venus in

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.

deegee

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?

42

“Tree of good and bad” means what?

by venus in

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.

deegee

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?

42

“Tree of good and bad” means what?

by venus in

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.

deegee

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.

42

“Tree of good and bad” means what?

by venus in

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.

deegee

The only meaning I see in this story is that God's "imperfect" creation has a keener sense of justice and empathy than their so-called merciful God.

God did not create Adam & Eve with a fully developed brain. They were like children whose cognitive development was incomplete so their brains were not able to perform certain functions such as distinguishing between right and wrong. They were also like the animals in this sense.

Yet, despite their being created without moral sense, we are told that God did not forgive them. He blamed them, and their billions of descendants anyway, demanding the ultimate penalty many times over.

This contrasts with courts around the world which show mercy to those who do not know right from wrong. A "Not Criminally Responsible" designation is a fundamental principle of many justice systems. Accused persons must have the capacity to understand that what they did was wrong - otherwise they cannot be found guilty of an offence; such persons are not fit subjects for retribution or punishment.

Children who commit wrong cannot be prosecuted as they are under the age of criminal responsibility.

In the U.S. brain science has been reforming juvenile justice policy and practice. They have abolished the death penalty for crimes committed during adolescence, found mandatory life-without-parole sentences for murder in violation of the 8th Amendment, and eliminated life-without-parole sentences for crimes less than murder. Opinions have started to change, providing the opportunity for reform and rehabilitation of juveniles.

12

Looking for an original copy of The Finished Mystery 1918

by dogon in

if anyone has a original copy of the finished mystery 1918 they would sell contact me at [email protected].

deegee

www.avoidjw.org has scanned copies of some publications.

46

THIS MAN proved that God exists and he did it effortlessly!

by Terry in

meet a really smart fellow named anselm 1043--1109 a.d.. .

he was elected abbot in lombardy in 1078 a.d.. .

that than which nothing greater can be thought exists in the understanding.

deegee

Coded Logic,

Consciousness is the product of brains. And brains are the product of billions of years of evolution.

Perhaps an argument could be made that God intervened in the evolutionary process and bestowed consciousness on man?

46

THIS MAN proved that God exists and he did it effortlessly!

by Terry in

meet a really smart fellow named anselm 1043--1109 a.d.. .

he was elected abbot in lombardy in 1078 a.d.. .

that than which nothing greater can be thought exists in the understanding.

deegee

It is possible that God could exist but if he does, does he speak to anyone? does he intervene in the natural world?

I think God's existence & whether he communicates with persons or intervenes in the natural world are two separate issues.

The evidence shows that God does not communicate with persons or intervenes in the natural world and if he exists, he is evil.