Posts by THE GLADIATOR

94

Atheists - Do you ever talk to God?

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

i scream out sometimes.

am i angry at a 'being' that i don't think exists?

or the embedded concept?.

THE GLADIATOR

No Jeff that would make me insane. Though I do talk to myself knowing that I am listening.

I understand the anger and disappointment you feel. Life without faith can seem rather pointless.

Many years ago I used to read Frank Yerby's books. I was fascinated by his railing against a god that he did not believe in. He concluded that we struggle against a blind fate; but if god is fate or chance is indifferent to man's desires or actions, the individuals struggle is ultimately with him or herself.

He also decided that we became true adults when we accepted our situation as humans and resigned ourselves to the inevitability of death.

I envy people who are able to sustain a faith and believe that there is more to life that the present. I enjoy life but knowing that it will one day end, it might be better if I did not enjoy living.

6

who rules our inside thoughts, me or my other self.

by robson in

jw
friends

hi i would try to keep this short and explain my topic as i see in my mind.. .

if we are in this reality system of things living a life that would never come to us again ;like this is it we won't reverse our actions and so forth.. how can i know my own mind won't guide me to a hole in the matter of serving god and his org.. is me thinking i'm in the wrong path or is just the devil influencing me somehow.. what pill should i take.

red or blue.. red you wake up in worderland and everything is as it was before.. blue, you wake up to reality where things are all changed.. what should i do.

THE GLADIATOR

The whole illusionary world that Alice experience, happened because she fell asleep.

The answer is to stay awake. Question everything and accept nothing until it has passed the reality test. All the rest is fairy tale.

If at times the harsh glare of reality is to much for you, avoid the red and blue pills. Look for a bottle containing an amber liquid and drink some on the rocks.

57

Let us discuss HOLY

by Terry in

ever searched for nostalgia items, collectibles or antiques on ebay, craig's list or some such venue?.

a lot of junk has become valuable with the passage of time.. yes, junk.. gradually it seemed to gather a mysterious inflation of valuation.. the items themselves receive wear and tear but they way they are regarded takes on an almost awesome patina of wonderful.. .

i'll give you an example.. i loved to play cowboy when i was a young kid; especially gunslinger/fast draw style.. my favorite guns were made by stallion.

THE GLADIATOR

Terry, your above post is astute, as always.

What reality will we permit and what illusion must we create?

Ah! There's the rub!

57

Let us discuss HOLY

by Terry in

ever searched for nostalgia items, collectibles or antiques on ebay, craig's list or some such venue?.

a lot of junk has become valuable with the passage of time.. yes, junk.. gradually it seemed to gather a mysterious inflation of valuation.. the items themselves receive wear and tear but they way they are regarded takes on an almost awesome patina of wonderful.. .

i'll give you an example.. i loved to play cowboy when i was a young kid; especially gunslinger/fast draw style.. my favorite guns were made by stallion.

THE GLADIATOR

Gladiator - are you okay? I've loved reading your posts lately. So insightful and caring. This latest one makes me worry about you.

Thanks for your concern Tammy.

Allowing ourselves to get close to the flame is a dangerous game, because though truth is often pretty it can also be ugly.

57

Let us discuss HOLY

by Terry in

ever searched for nostalgia items, collectibles or antiques on ebay, craig's list or some such venue?.

a lot of junk has become valuable with the passage of time.. yes, junk.. gradually it seemed to gather a mysterious inflation of valuation.. the items themselves receive wear and tear but they way they are regarded takes on an almost awesome patina of wonderful.. .

i'll give you an example.. i loved to play cowboy when i was a young kid; especially gunslinger/fast draw style.. my favorite guns were made by stallion.

THE GLADIATOR

Unlike other animals, us humans have built an imaginary world in our word driven minds and projected our illusions into the minds of other humans. The natural world of animals is unaware of the games we play.

To reinforce our imaginary world we place huge value on the memorabilia that supports the concept that our illusions have value.

We are utterly delude. The problem is that once free of our illusions, our purpose as humans vanishes.

We are in fact a waste of space; a strange destructive species that lives in anxiety and fear of death. We think that we are the solution, when in fact we are the problem.

Viewing ourselves as Holy or special is our greatest delusion.

Even our concept of love is a delusion but it is possibly the closest we get to having value.

108

IF THE BIBLE is so darned great---why don't people JUST read IT?

by Terry in

working in a bookstore i notice the thousands and thousands of books "explaining" what the bible really "means.".

those are what people read.. when people say they read the bible they are really saying they "try".

but, it is like reading chinese.. so, what they end up doing is reading opinions.. opinions, conjectures, hypothesis, fantasy, imaginative ruminations, fanciful concoctions......other people's ideas presented as documentary fact.. .

THE GLADIATOR

Yet, amputees can pray their assess off and God never regrows a limb. Why is that?

Salamander my dear Watson!

37

What are your favorite Bible passages?

by BurnTheShips in

jw
friends

i'll excerpt this bit from 1 samuel 7. always has given me goosebumps.

32 david said to saul, "let no one lose heart on account of this philistine; your servant will go and fight him.".

33 saul replied, "you are not able to go out against this philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.".

THE GLADIATOR

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

41

Is the Bible Authentic?

by chron82 in

my wife is searching for facts that will prove to her why the bible is or is not the authentic word of god.

she knows the direction i am leaning and i have shown her a few examples of why i feel as i do.

however, it is always good to hear the opinions of others.this is where you come in.... how would you answer the following questions:.

THE GLADIATOR

Many Christians do not believe that the bible is the word of God. But if your wife becomes a Christian he will talk to her personally and give her his word on any question she may have. Or his son will, which I am told is the same thing.

Personally I prefer to put my faith in google. It has never failed to provide accurate and useful information that enables me to negotiate my way through life in a way that was not possible before google-ism manifest itself to us.

38