Posts by SpiderMonkey

45

Is the Bible Really the Word of God?

by gumby in

jw
friends

is the bible really the word of god?

while sitting in my garage having a smoke, i reached up to an old publication (which i keep handy on my shelves).

it was the book stated above.

SpiderMonkey

anyone that is chosen by God is as much a piece of crap as the next guy... God's will is to choose who HE wants out of all the pieces of crap out there in the world. Man has no say on who's picked nor can he do anything right to be picked. All a piece of crap can do is crappy things... The truth is: No one has a choice on being chosen. It's God's choice alone...He decides who's sheep and goat, He decides who's wheat and weed, He dictates who's right and wrong, He decides what pieces of poo shall be chosen, called, justified an then glorified. What's that mean? It's ALL OUT OF EVERY MAN'S CONTROL. ME, YOU...EVERYONE.

Eeeeeeyucchhhh. Thank you, pomegranate, for so perfectly illustrating why organized religion makes me feel queasy. People choose to believe they have no control over who "gets saved," because they don't want control over their own lives. But they DO want to feel "special." So they convince themselves that the religion that they themselves chose is the one true religion approved by God (whether a specific religion like Catholicism, or a general religion like Christianity), and that God chose them - rather than the obvious truth that they simply chose a religion that made them feel good. You claim that everyone, even those "chosen by God," is a piece of poo, not elite at all. And yet you claim that it is God's choice, rather than man's decisions to believe and do certain things, that brings benefit to an individual. Sounds like an elite to me. An elite arbitrarily chosen by a tyrant. Gag me with a spoon. Predestination is now, and has always been, a rather stupid doctrine.

56

U.S. War with Iraq

by Crazy151drinker in

jw
friends

i just wanted to get some opinions on this matter from everyone.

support here in the states is pretty solid but very weak in europe.

i will make my prediction (ie you know) that we will be having a little sand party within a year.

SpiderMonkey

Personally, I am not against American ground troops losing their lives in the assault on Iraq. Much better, IMO, than a protracted bombing campaign which would only increase the number of civilians killed.

And whether nuke, tactical nuke, smart bomb, or whatever variant we might use (whatever euphemism we want to give it), the result would be that the overwhelming majority of those killed would be completely innocent people. In the Gulf War, American troops came almost to the threshold of Baghdad, where people were cheering, celebrating because they thought they were about to be liberated. I could never support turning all those people (that we let down in the first place) into a huge crater of jell-o.

28

Put Them To Death! Poll

by Derrick in

jw
friends

i believe punishment meted out to these despicable "parents" should be:

[ ] have the state put them to death!

[ ] have the state imprison them for life!

SpiderMonkey

I have always favored the castration idea for child molesters, that plus life imprisonment. Or, if we stretch logic to agree that death *isn't* too good for them, as I recall the Assyrians had some interesting methods for the death penalty.

24

I just don't get it

by safe4kids in

jw
friends

.

nope, i sure don't.

life, the universe, and everything.....

SpiderMonkey

Life is an end in itself, and its own best justification and joy

Well said, onacruse! I've long felt that the question of "the meaning of life" is simply a trick question. Life *is* the meaning. No one can answer this so-called question for anyone else, but life just inherently has meaning IMO.

45

Is the Bible Really the Word of God?

by gumby in

jw
friends

is the bible really the word of god?

while sitting in my garage having a smoke, i reached up to an old publication (which i keep handy on my shelves).

it was the book stated above.

SpiderMonkey

We would have to assume that either all the men who wrote in Jesus time or else those who later....added to their writings.....all lied. They ALL fabricated who Jesus was. What would be the chances of that?

The chances that they all thought they were lying, and yet lied anyway, are basically nil. Yet, how many people in America invoke the memory of "the founding fathers" to support their own political agenda? They may fully believe in their politics, and yet know little of the politics of the founding fathers, not to mention their experiences, background, and so on. And still use one quote or story from such an historical person to support their own agenda. I believe this is what happened, with a vengeance, in the case of the memory of Jesus. It seems indisputable to me that he was a real person, and indeed a wise and influential one at that. But it also seems to me that no one who wrote about him was one tenth as wise or inflential, and that they all wanted to have some share of the glory he achieved by not seeking glory. I don't know of any historical proof that any of these writers gave an unbiased account of who or what Jesus was, or even what he taught. There are some similarities in their accounts, but there is also blatant evidence of infighting and politics. Even while Jesus was alive, the apostles supposedly argued about which was the greatest. And these are the men that we are supposed to trust to tell us The Truth?

45

Is the Bible Really the Word of God?

by gumby in

jw
friends

is the bible really the word of god?

while sitting in my garage having a smoke, i reached up to an old publication (which i keep handy on my shelves).

it was the book stated above.

SpiderMonkey

the book also mentioed the THEME of the bible running throughout it's pages and say's in affect...."What are the chances of one theme weaving itself throughout the bible over that many years.

I also am rusty on the specifics of this debate, but on this point, #8: Who decided which books comprise the Bible? There is a certain "accepted" range of about 66 books (give or take, depending on your religion), but couldn't there just as easily be only 6? Or 666 for that matter? Who chose which books are "really" Bible books and which aren't? I don't think the usually agreed-upon Bible harmonizes 100% in the first place, but even if it did, how hard would it really be to pick and choose 66 writings over the course of 1000's of years that *seem* to prove a universal theme?

56

U.S. War with Iraq

by Crazy151drinker in

jw
friends

i just wanted to get some opinions on this matter from everyone.

support here in the states is pretty solid but very weak in europe.

i will make my prediction (ie you know) that we will be having a little sand party within a year.

SpiderMonkey

Though I am usually the last to advocate a "hawkish" response from this country for any reason, I do believe the time has come for the U.S. to liberate Iraq by force. I agree with the statements some others made; we should have done it the first time around, with or without a U.N. mandate.

I recently read the book "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose, an account of the battles the famous Screaming Eagles fought against Germany, from Normandy til German surrender. And I was struck by some similarities with the Iraq situation. Saddam will never become as big a threat as Hitler was; Hitler very nearly won, but with Saddam this "possibility" is a joke. In large part that is due to U.S. intervention in the Gulf War. And Hitler grew to become the huge threat he was because so many nations ignored him and hoped he would go away, much the same way Europe does with Saddam. Without the U.S. involved, no one knows what the situation in Europe would be today, but one thing is certain: Hitler would have won. He very nearly beat us all. And he was on the road to building the atomic bomb himself.

With Saddam already possessing the capability for an unknown range of chemical and biological weapons, as well as having the demonstrated desire to use them to build an empire for himself, not to mention the desire for and will to use nuclear weapons, I do not believe there is any rational alternative to taking Saddam out of power. Letting him do whatever he wants, until he actually becomes a threat, would end up causing far more upheaval for the entire world than simply doing the right thing and taking him out.

I, like some others on this thread and others, am tired of America taking unlitateral action against anyone who sneezes. But in the case of Saddam Hussein, it is justified and necessary.

Edited by - spidermonkey on 9 August 2002 21:50:17

84

Hellfire loves "Dumbass people".

by Bleep in

any questions about hellfire are welcome.

the only response i got from crazydrinker was, "youre a dumbass".

rofl .

SpiderMonkey

-Principle of fidelity-keep promises and acts faithfully
This is what those Apostates need. When they got baptized they knew the principles that were agreed when taking that test.

Bleep, tell me, please: Which court in which nation would accept as binding an agreement someone made when age 13, or younger? And, if indeed there is one, do you wish to equate the ethical level of Jehovah's Witnesses with that of said court or nation?

9

why dogma?

by SpiderMonkey in

i think the title is self-explanatory for the most part, but to clarify: i'm not talking about jw dogma.

i mean, why do so many, even ex-jw, settle on dogma?

why use one "holy book" to define your spirituality?

SpiderMonkey

Some people are satisfied with the most simplistic of explanations about life. They feel happy and secure to think that its all explained for them.

That is my thought too, Sirona... That it is a paralyzing "need to know" that leads so many to accept dogma as ultimate truth.

I went home, And discovered god, Inside, where he had always been. He smiled with joy/happiness/love that he had been found.

"How shall I get liberation?" "Find out who has bound you," said the Master. The disciple returned after a week and said,
"No one has bound me." "Then why ask to be liberated?" That was a moment of Enlightenment for the disciple,
who suddenly became free.

I very much enjoyed these posts, SS & Bang!

"The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings... He doesn't think about his actions; they flow from the core of his being. He holds nothing back from life; therefrore he is ready for death, as a man is ready for sleep after a good day's work." - from Tao Te Ching

77

I MAY HAVE HIT BOTTOM

by BONEZZ in

jw
friends

i thought i'd hit it several times before...as i have been thru the divorce over the past couple of years...lost all my so-called friends...lost my belief in what i thought was the "truth"....and now my own loving daughter, being the good little dub she is has told me she doesn't want me to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

she told me today at lunch.

i almost threw up.

SpiderMonkey

((((((((Bonezz)))))))))

I've never been in your situation, but my father has... He helped pay for the wedding of my older brother and fully paid for the wedding of my younger sister... Was invited to both weddings, but neither reception... And was not asked to walk my sister down the aisle. To paraphrase his words, he quit having anything to do with either of them while he was sitting at my sister's wedding. I have only seen him cry twice in my life; once was when he was talking about that, and he asked if we could just stop talking about it ("Haven't we hurt enough?" I think he said). This is one of the truly heartbreaking things about the travesty of disfellowshipping; my heart goes out to you.