i smell something burning; oh, just me thinking again!!.
anyway, one thing i always missed were the holidays-christmas especially.
i know that this is an unproven celebration to say the least, but i have always loved the warmth and beauty of this holiday, although very commercialized in this day and age.
The only thing that I enjoy doing since
leaving the jw religion is recognizing
birthdays as a way to honor and celebrate
the lives of the ones I care about.
I still don't care cared much for holidays.
Not because I think they are bad or wrong.
But because I don't like the obligation
to give. The giving that brings me the
most joy is the spontaneous unexpected
giving.
Quester
i'm just curious as to how many ex-witnesses here still believe in the god of the bible ?
and how many, due to the societies teachings have given up on god all together ?
Abaddon,
I would say that my belief in God's
existence is a combination of research
and experiences.
I don't believe God can be known or
experienced thru the intellect/logic/reason
alone.
And my beliefs about God and my relationship
with God change as I learn and grow and
experience life.
Quester
i would like to know why you still beleive in god and what, based upon the bible, leads you to believe in god.. i likethe scripture that states the earth was a circle and hung upon nothing.
i also find that there is evidence the flood existed.
anybody know the stats of the "supposed" ark on mr. ararat?.
D Wiltshire,
Yes, I have heard some think a flood really
did happen, but not a global one.
You brought out some good points.
Appreciated your comments.
Quester
who is jesus?.
is jesus god or a god or any think else?
have you consider your opinion about this or just swept it out on you mind.
As someone who has been within the
Christian tradition all my life,
I have never believed Jesus was God.
I think people deified him after his death.
I think Jesus exemplified what a life with
God is like and shows us how to have that
same kind of intimate son/father type
relationship.
Quester
growing up in the borg we were always told that we are decendants of adam and eve and because they fu**ed up we have to pay the price and accept jebus as redemption for our sins.
.. the analogy that comes to mind (surprisingly) after all these years, was that of a baker with a dented pan- anything baked in that would mold to that shape.
.. i have a retort for such a train of thought, if you cut the tails off of 2 mice and let them mate, will their offspring be born with a tail?.
The doctrine of original sin came from Augustine,
who had some major dysfunctional issues with sex.
One book I read recently,
"The Codependent Church", by Virginia Curran Hoffman,
talked about Augustine writings called "Confessions."
Hoffman said Augustine was an unrecovered sex addict.
Like an alcoholic who abstains from alcohol
but never deals with the issues-the old
destructive attitudes and behaviors ("dry drunk").
For a complete history on the doctrine of
original sin, Check out Elaine Pagels book,
"Adam, Eve, and the Serpent."
Quester
i'm just curious as to how many ex-witnesses here still believe in the god of the bible ?
and how many, due to the societies teachings have given up on god all together ?
Thanks for responding, MrMoe.
No flak from me.
I think this issue is a biggie for a lot of people.
So I enjoy reading people's experiences of how
they deal with this and remain believers.
I know it's not an easy one answer solution.
In my own life I have experienced good come from bad.
I kinda like me--battle scars and all.
I have become "strong at the broken places." (Hemingway)
We may not know why, but we do have a choice of how we
respond.
Quester
do any of you know anything about bikers for christ ?
my husband was getting a part for his motercycle and was chatting with another customer.
this guy gave him this buisness card.
Hey, we had Bikers for Christ group
visit our area. I thought it was
kinda cool and was tempted to check
out the church service, but didn't.
I don't really know what kind of
group they are though, Pentecostal,
or what.
Maybe their website would tell you?
* http://www.bikersforchrist.org/
If you check them out. Please post
it and let us know what it was like.
I'd love to know.
Quester
a general text from my story.
i make some changes each time i give my testimony.
many of you unbelievers will think some of my statements are foolish.
Christian religions are not all the same.
Some are fundamentalist type, and can seem
similar to the jw religion.
There are dysfunctional unhealthy religious
environments. But not all of them are that
way.
That is only a small part of what's out there.
I think the jw religion is probably one of the
most toxic high control groups out there.
Not at all what I've experienced when visiting
some of the more liberal Christian religions.
I am not a member of any religion.
But I do visit various ones, just for the
spiritual association.
Quester
i would like to know why you still beleive in god and what, based upon the bible, leads you to believe in god.. i likethe scripture that states the earth was a circle and hung upon nothing.
i also find that there is evidence the flood existed.
anybody know the stats of the "supposed" ark on mr. ararat?.
What about the flood?
Alan F. has tons of stuff on that:
* http://www.geocities.com/osarsif/index2.htm
What about "the circle of the earth"?
(Which happens to be Alan F. again.)
* http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/pub/soc.religion.christian/faq/earth-mythology
Still a believer but not for the above reasons.
I still believe in the Bible in that I take
it seriously. I just don't take it all literally.
To understand mythos in the Bible, I highly
recommend well-known Christian author, C. S. Lewis.
Quester
i'm just curious as to how many ex-witnesses here still believe in the god of the bible ?
and how many, due to the societies teachings have given up on god all together ?
MrMoe,
Your mom committed suicide when you were
5 yrs old and your brother died of AIDS.
Geez, sounds rough.
Things like that do cause people to reject God.
So I'd like to hear more about how you reconcile this.
Did you go thru an anger-at-God stage because he didn't
prevent these things from happening?
Genuinely curious and still a believer.
Quester
