a very close acupuncturist friend of mine told me that there is an instant cure for anyone who catches that nasy summer fungal infection known as "athletes foot".. basically, when you take your shower, you pee on your infected feet and the cure is almost instant.. i, however, now intend to get some antiseptic cream from the chemist, just as soon as i have finished screaming.. englishman.. ..... fanaticism masquerading beneath a cloak of reasoned logic.
Hey, Venice, if you're not interested in Friday... er, Yadirf or Englishman, y'know, I'm sort of availab.... <smacks self upside the head> Sorry about that. Please ignore. But I just had to tell you sooner or later that you are a MAJOR babe!
*Rochelle, "glad to get that off her chest" class.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
we have often times seen jw come here and say:.
why don't you guys get a life- well here is a perfect example of a group of folks who need to get a life.
while many of us left wt and have gone on to college and gotten jobs where we are able to provide these things for ourselves and our famiies poor jw are sitting around waiting to cash in thier new system coupon in order to get these things.
YK,
I believe you when you say you're not looking for a title. But I do think you need to feel special. That's not a crime; everyone does sometimes, especially those born with the mixed blessing of a creative streak. (Yes, I include myself in this.)
I can tell by the way you write and even what you've said right here about your love of landscaping and gardening that you're actually a very creative person, but somewhere along the way, that creativity became overwhelemed by JW influence and isn't really yours anymore. The only way you have to express it, it seems, is through your pronouncements of doom and such. I also wonder if your sense of being annointed and your visits here might stem from that natural need to feel special which, in creative types especially, can sometimes reach epic proportions. *g* I'm not passing judgement on you here. I'm just hazarding an educated guess.
I know I could be completely off base, but just the same, I wonder. Is there anything creative that, in your secret heart and wildest dreams, you've ever thought of doing? Writing a mystery novel, perhaps, or a hit screenplay? I'm not trying to be your friend or talk you out of your beliefs, if that's what you're thinking. I just like playing amateur shrink, and I'm curious about you.
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
most of the stuff posted here is negative, hateful, and blasphemous against god.
even if many of you are right in saying that the jws are wrong on many and important issues, that does not make you right.
so unless you are convinced that there is no biblical god you are facing serious trouble when you die or if the lord comes during your lifetime.
ook at what you are saying here, and think about it. You are calling God evil, because He takes due vengeance out on those who reject Him, just as He will in the end times.
I know this might be a little off the beaten path (and it probably sounds a little rude, for which I apologize), but I have to ask.
When I read things like this, all that I can see is fear, insecurity, and some serious psychological issues on the part of this vengeful God. He sounds very mean and scary, and I'd rather not get anywhere near him.
I don't go around killing people just because they made me mad. My parents didn't torture and murder me, no matter how many times I didn't clean my room, or even when I kinda-sorta started a small kitchen fire when I was little. They found other ways to get their point across. And in the case of this deity, all he'd have to do is show up to make people believe in him. Why can't he just do that instead of resorting to mindless slaughter?
*Rochelle, genuinely curious.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
obviously a lot of you are no longer jws, for whatever reason, but surely you can find something better to do with your time.
you seem to spend a lot of your spare time slating the society or picking holes in your former beliefs.. if you've left and think what jws believe is a load of rubbish, thtat fine, you cn do what you want, but why you have to go on about it?
if being a jw means so little to you, why not just leave it behind and get on with your life?
So until then, if you don't want to be part of Jehovah's organisation so much, why not get yourselfs a life and do something useful with the time you have left.
Let me see.... I'm writing a science fiction novel that I hope to have finished by the end of next month and sold by sometime next year. Does that count for anything?
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
what makes you happy and what hobbies and / or interests do you have?
what are your dreams and aspirations and ideally what would you like to do with your life given the chance?
how far along are you in delivering upon your objectives?
What makes me happy? The warmth of sunlight. My girlfriend's kisses. A clean house. Babies, provided that they're not crying and that I don't have to take care of them. Finding myself on a creative hot streak where I feel like I could write or draw forever. There's a lot more, but I guess that's a decent sampling.
As for the board, I guess it's what you make of it.
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
deism - a religion for the 21st century?.
more than 200 yrs ago deism made its mark on history.
many noteworthy people including a number of the founders of the united states were deists.
A rational explanation might be - there is no explanation right now - there is not enough evidence to form a conclusion. An irrational explanation would be to say that a phenomenon had a supernatural or spiritual cause, since we don't have a natural explanation yet.
I think this is where the confusion comes in. I don't think that anything has a spiritual "cause," but I think that everything in the natural world has a spiritual aspect. In the immortal words of Mufasa from The Lion King, "We are all connected in the great Circle of Life." And at the risk of sounding like I'm trying to further the Neopagan agenda, <g> I wish everyone could see that. If everyone did... I think that there would be a lot less violence in the world, and we'd be more careful in our use of natural resources.
I have nothing but respect for your beliefs and for the way you express your spirituality, but that is only because you seem to be balanced in your views. You don't mistrust science like fundies do, but you find pleasure in your spirituality.
I don't see the point of living any other way.
Looking back, I don't know how I ever became a Witness. What they teach has nothing to do with who I really am. I guess I'll just have to chalk it up to being a scared teenager who wanted a loving "family"... and having fallen for the "All good people become Christians" stuff that I'd picked up since I was a kid.
That is fine, as long as those spiritual explanations are not taught in schools as a competitor to science (as creationism has tried to do - a spiritual explanation for the beginning of the universe).
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
it's a general question for anyone, and it's a very personal one that requires personal answers.
i'm not asking what the bible says, what science says, what the dictionary says, or what your mother says.
i'm asking how you, as an individual with your own ideas, feelings and perceptions, conceptualize spirituality.
Shelby,
Ah, well... that one 'exception' most probably should have remained silent, eh?
I was thinking YK's canned response that shows up in every single Watchtower, but I didn't want to mention names. I specifically asked for personal thoughts, not for regurgitation of what you've been told.
In other words, no, I didn't mean you, if that's what you're worried about.
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
deism - a religion for the 21st century?.
more than 200 yrs ago deism made its mark on history.
many noteworthy people including a number of the founders of the united states were deists.
Rem,
I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but why does it matter so much to you how I choose to define my own perceptions? I have made no attempt to convince you or anyone else that my way of seeing things is the only way (I'm a Wiccan, not a Fundy), and I wouldn't dream of doing so. The only thing I really want is to be listened to fairly, honestly, and with an open mind. No, I don't ask or expect anyone to quit being an atheist. All I want if for the atheists to realize that having a spiritual side doesn't make a person ignorant, irrational, stupid or inferior. It's how you act upon it that defines such things.
For about the thousandth time, I think that science is wonderful, and I see no conflict at all between science and spirituality. Nor do I see why one should have to supplant the other. They are two completely different things, and one should not be used to define the other... although I do believe that science can enhance one's spiritual life if you keep an open mind. I believe in evolution, I don't think the earth is 6,000 years old, and I have an interest in quantum theory. How, exactly, does the fact that I choose to define certain things using spiritual terms make my views less valid than yours? I wouldn't be surprised at all if we believe a lot of the same things, but only choose different means of expressing our ideas.
I hope you'll answer the question posed in my "How do you define spirituality?" thread. I'd like to discuss the issue further in less confrontational territory.
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
it's a general question for anyone, and it's a very personal one that requires personal answers.
i'm not asking what the bible says, what science says, what the dictionary says, or what your mother says.
i'm asking how you, as an individual with your own ideas, feelings and perceptions, conceptualize spirituality.
With one glaring exception, everyone so far has given interesting, thought-provoking answers, and I can find some common ground with just about all of them. I'll probably give more individual responses later, and I apologize for not giving them right now. But I just wanted everyone to know how much I appreciate their participation in this thread.
Oh, any anyone else who feels like responding, please do!
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
hi everyone, i don't know if i believe in god or not.. can someone give me a really convincing reason why to believe in him or not.. or is it just down to faith???.
faith in god is a bit like playing the lottery.. you have to sacrifice 1 a week, but you might just win.
you may as well, it's not much of a sacrifice, infact it helps people (lottery money helps projects/investments), but the prize is well worth winning.. anyone like my anallergy (is that how you spell it?).
If you're referring strictly to the Bible's God, I'm afraid I can't give you any reason to keep believing in him, but could give you dozens of reasons why his existence seems unlikely. If you're referring to "God" in a more general way -- i.e. as a concept, but not necessarily as a personage -- it all comes down to your own perceptions and how you choose to define them.
So, why don't we start with this: What do you mean by "God"?
*Rochelle.
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"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."
