Posts by Silverleaf

I don't know anything about the group, but as far as sending money so your BIL and his family can travel, I wouldn't. I'd tell them enjoy the trip, drop a postcard if they can, and give a call when they get back, but I wouldn't send them a dime. It's great to help people who really need it, but when it comes to giving your money to other people, I think you have every right to be choosy. If your DH insists, I'd show him the bills you've got and ask him who will send you money to pay THEM?

JMHO,

Silverleaf

7

Your religion = Do what feels good?

by happysunshine in

so... what is an acceptable reason to join a religion or live by a certain philosophy?

does it essentialy come down to "if it makes you generaly 'feel good', its ok"?

by 'feel good' i mean satisfy current needs, physical, cognitive, whatever.

Silverleaf

Hi happysunshine,

You asked:

"So... what is an acceptable reason to join a religion or live by a certain philosophy? Does it essentialy come down to "if it makes you generaly 'feel good', its ok"? By 'feel good' I mean satisfy current needs, physical, cognitive, whatever. "

I'm going to answer your question with a question: Why would you want to join a religion or philosophy that makes you feel bad?

I've had a lot of religious discussions come down to this question. As a Pagan, a lot of people have asked me how I feel about a religion that is very free, and relies on a lot of self-determination - of course you like being Pagan, you can do whatever you want to...as if for some reason doing whatever you DON'T want to do, or HATE doing somehow makes you more pious or more spiritual.

For the most part, unless a person is a sociopath, there's nothing wrong with doing what makes you feel good, as long as you can support your family, stay out of jail and not hurt anyone else, pay your taxes, eat your vegetables and be able to look yourself in the eye, why would 'doing what feels good' spiritually be wrong?

Silverleaf

7

What constitutes a Hero?

by wasasister in

jw
friends

a friend and i recently had this conversation in email.

i feel very bad for everybody involved with the project, the families, etc.

as a male child of the 60s i grew up enthralled at the whole nasa project -- building gemini models, posters on the wall, "where were you on 7/20/69", etc.

Silverleaf

Hi Wasa,

I know what a hero is not:

A hero is not someone who commits suicide to make a point.

A hero does not fly a plane into a building full of people or wear a bomb strapped to their back and get on a bus. A hero does kill in the name of God.

A hero does not swing a baseball bat or lob a football through a crowded stadium and go home with millions of dollars to spend on drugs. A hero does not sing to a packed amphiteater or ski down a mountain while fans cheer them on.

A hero pushes the human envelope. A hero risks their lives so that others may live, or learn or grow or dream. A hero sacrafices their well-being to do something that often will go unnoticed or unremembered and a hero won't care if they have scores of cheering fans or a large paycheck to compensate them.

The Columbia crew were heroes in my opinion. No more so than firefirghters, policemen or rescue workers, but definitely heroes. The space program is not an overpriced hobby, it's they key to the future of mankind. They represent the best that we can be and achieve and they should be honored as such.

JMO,

Silverleaf

13

Do you fear Unexpected Retaliation if we go to war

by JH in

jw
friends

debkafile - we start where the media stop .

mega-terror menaces on three continents .

combined debkafile-debka-net-weekly special report .

Silverleaf

Of course retailiation is a possibility if we go to war. The Middle Eastern nations involved in this lunacy are primitive societies that operate on the school yard bully principle. They are jealous of us, they see us as a threat to their backward way of life and they resent our technology, our freedom and our ability to rise above the petty disputes that bog down their lives.

If a bully goads you into fighting back, the bully then usually manages to come off looking like the injured party and considers themselves justified in retaliating, they never believe they're getting what they deserve, nor can they be convinced they've brought their suffering on themselves. Unfortunately Iraq is going to keep poking the sleeping the bear until it gets it's dirty little fingers bitten.

Silverleaf

13

Why isn't the Watchtower the true religion?

by StinkyPantz in

i have been asked by a jw friend of mine to share with him the reasons why i believe that the watchtower is not the true religion.

what all do you think that i should share with him?.

-i'm going to share the information about their hypocrisy in being a un ngo.

Silverleaf

Ozziepost, I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with your statement:

The "true" religion is not the Watchtower, nor the Mormons, nor the Scientologists, but simply being Christian.

There is no one TRUE religion, it's not Christianity any more than it is Islam or Judiasm or the Watchtower. Religion is in our hearts and every heart is different. We all have our own path and no one else can walk it for us or tell us the 'best' way to go.

Silverleaf

108

Why is the Bible wrong?

by StinkyPantz in

this primarily goes out to other agnostics and athiests.

this week i got into two interesting conversations that i will admit that i was ill prepared for.

one was with a jw friend of mine who wanted to know why i thought jw's were wrong.

Silverleaf

Hi StinkyPantz,

A few days age there was a great thread entitled "what made you doubt the Bible"

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=45596&site=3

I think there was a lot of good reasoning there that would probaby help.

Silverleaf

88

SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA MISSING!

by D8TA in

jw
friends

turn on the news!

Silverleaf

True heroes all. They represent the pinnacle of human achievement - the last people this world needs to lose. May Goddess bless their jounrney to the next world.

Silverleaf

3

Penn & Teller's new TV show

by Nathan Natas in

jw
friends

penn & teller's "bullsh!t!

" show.

did anyone catch this new half-hour show on showtime last night?

Silverleaf

Not a fan of Penn & Teller but I caught their show and I was impressed. Amazingf the release forms the audience members of the psychic shows have to sign so they can't tell anybody how wrong some of the readings were.

Silverleaf

18

FINALLY stood up to my father re: religion!

by back2dafront in

as you all may remember, i left the organization 4 years ago - never df'd, never dissassociated, just left.

my parents initially tried everything they could to get me to come back but to no avail.

they've never really shunned me because we still talk on the phone, but seeing that we live on the opposite coasts, i've only seen them once in 4 years.

Silverleaf

Hi back2dafront,

you wrote: Do those that have sex before marraige have a higher divorce rate than those that don't?"

Interestingly I have heard that people who live together before marriage do have a higher divorce rate than those who don't - [I don't know about people who don't live together but still have sex] unfortunately I can't remember the source of this info so I don't know if it's biased or not. I don't agree with the statistics, however and since my DH and I lived together before we were married and just celebrated our 10th anniversary, I don't think it necessarily has to do with living together or anything else, the longevity of a marriage has to do with how hard the people are willing to work at it. Making sure you're with the right person for the right reasons is a good first step to working at it.

Silverleaf