THE GLADIATOR

Joined

• started 14 topics
• posted 2,719 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by THE GLADIATOR

• 
  11

  Conditional love Vs Unconditional love

  by highdose in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a thought occured to me today that very rarely in the bible is god shown to have unconditional love.

  his whole basis of looking after the israelites was about " do as i say and i will love you, but if you don't i will kill you!".

  surely thats as about as conditional as love can get.. then of course there is jesus dying for us.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  All love is conditional. We love according to the values we hold.

  For example a Christian who professes unconditional love is still unlikely to love the devil or his demons. They are instructed to hate what is bad. Though it could be argued that the devil portrayed in the bible is more honest than the Israelite god and not 'bad.'

  But leaving the Christians alone, because they are such nice people on the whole, we all place conditions on whom we will love unconditionally. Do human parents love their children unconditionally? Or is the condition that they are their children. According to the bible, God loves those who choose to become his children through adoption based on faith is Jesus. For the bastards, those left outside, a day of fiery judgement is reserved.

  I like to think that I am honest enough to admit that my relationships are conditional. To give your heart to someone is an act of great trust and must not be undertaken in a rash, careless and unconditional way.

  Hearts can be broken.
• 
  14

  Resentments

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i first heard this when i was in rehab five years ago.

  i cant find the video they showed us on line may be just as well.

  the speaker was a priest with some funny mannerisms but he knew what he was talking about.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  This is very true.

  It takes a lot of energy to keep recreating our version of the past in our mind.

  We can stop supplying that energy and divert it to a useful endeavour.
• 
  404

  The Issue is Not that God WANTS Us to Suffer...

  by AGuest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear ones.

  rather, it is our adversary who says we will do anything... anything... to avoid it.

  a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. even curse god to his face.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  The Issue is Not that God WANTS Us to Suffer...

  Suffering is a part of life in the physical world. There is no God. No issue.

  "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - from Hamlet , Wm. Shakespeare; Act II, scene ii.

  Its a beautiful morning here in southern England. No sign of God in my garden, just foxes, squirrels and birds. I just knew I would feel better if I settled this debate before I went out.

  May your imaginary gods go with you, as do mine, and your devotion to many words not become an unbearable burden to you.

  A slave of life who won his freedom.
• 
  36

  Is your Intellect Pre-Enlightenment or Post-Enlightenment?

  by Terry in

  1. social
  2. current

  before the age of enlightenment the earth was filled with many nations living under vastly differing beliefs about the world.. tribes, nations and empires possessed fanciful superstitious beliefs about their own importance in the big picture.. religion helped man find a place among fearful gods and demons.

  faith and belief, ritual and performance duties, helped man allay fears by.

  becoming active in appeasing the gods and shunning the evil spirits.. judaism allowed adherents a means of ridding themselves of sin (animal sacrifice) and accounting for wrongs (justice via law).. christianity removed animal sacrifice and substituted fealty to the church (catholic).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  In answer to the topic thread, what little intellect I have is invested in being a Post-Enlightenment freedom fighter.

  "I will not make any deals with you... I've resigned... I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered! My life is my own."

  Patrick McGoohan as Number 6
• 
  30

  Jesus Is Not the Atonement.

  by whereami in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the new testament is full of applications of passover imagery to the execution of jesus.

  however, passover had nothing to do with atonement for sins.

  in this video, we'll see how jesus' death failed to fulfill the actual jewish ritual for atonement on the day of atonement (yom kippur)--this despite all the claims that jesus perfectly fulfilled the law.. what say some of our in house theologians?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  Flowers would be nice

  But a drink would be appreciated more
• 
  63

  Do you consider yourself to be quiet or outgoing?

  by mrsjones5 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  something someone said on one of the popularity topics got me to wondering who on the board is quiet and who are the outgoing ones in real life.

  i'm a quiet person in real life, takes me a while to warm up to folks that i just meet, but if i really like a person my rarely used gift of gab comes out.. how about ya'll?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  It was all summed up on my final school report; A quiet and polite lad who could do well at anything he chose to - if only he would stop daydreaming!
• 
  35

  Could They Dump The Assemblies?

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my theory continues to be that the governing body will be forced to break down the organization piece by piece.. so, i wonder: could they dump the assemblies?.

  it is clear - that they are having some problems in this area.

  they are selling off assembly halls in some countries, they have moved some district assemblies to assembly halls (to save money on rent) and the pleas for donations from the platform have not let up.. while zombie witlesses may drag themselves to meetings and out in service (with whatever literature/magazines the watchtower manages to afford) indefinitely, i watch this area with interest.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  When I was a boy, and I was - the circuit assembly used to be 3 days long and include many hours of canvassing in the surrounding area. We sat on hard chairs and each prayer was an hour long.

  Now they have all gone soft in the middle. They are down to a Sunday afternoon snooze, through a short talk, after a heavy lunch.

  Soon they will just walk around for 5 minutes, make a donation, eat a biscuit and get a blessing, before going home. A bit like a visit to the Vatican!

  What is the world coming to?
• 
  30

  Jesus Is Not the Atonement.

  by whereami in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the new testament is full of applications of passover imagery to the execution of jesus.

  however, passover had nothing to do with atonement for sins.

  in this video, we'll see how jesus' death failed to fulfill the actual jewish ritual for atonement on the day of atonement (yom kippur)--this despite all the claims that jesus perfectly fulfilled the law.. what say some of our in house theologians?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  It is understandable that 2000 years ago there was some confusion among Jews about the new idea of a divine son of God. Theological debates about about atonement and whether Jesus is Yahweh or Yahweh is Jesus are par for the course.

  But before I could publicly claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus and that his spirit had borne witness with mine, I would expect to know without a shadow of a doubt whom I was having that relationship with.

  If Jesus was unable to communicate such a vital and fundamental piece of information to me, I am afraid I would have to assume that we were not communicating.

  My apologies for spoiling the party. I will return to my box and secure the lid.
• 
  71

  I didn't even know i WAS an apostate!

  by GrandmaJones in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am currently just sick with grief.

  i can't believe this is happening to me.

  all the jokes i've made about me never "falling out of the truth" and self confidence about my spirituality.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  GrandmaJones

  The people here have given you good advice. You need time to adjust and take in the realisation that you have come to. There is nothing to be gained by trying to tell other congregation members how you feel.

  Life goes on and if you don't rock the boat you may not have to lose your family and friends.

  Take your time and wear a hat to cover the horns that you are starting to grow.
• 
  63

  Forgive the Watchtower!

  by sabastious in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was abused by my father growing up.

  physically and emotionally.. as a entered my adult life i had next to no self esteem, in part because he didn't really attempt to help me get some because i didn't chose the career path that he dreamed for me.. 2 years ago i forgave him.

  i let go of the anger that i had for him because i knew that when it was all said and done, he did what he did and i believe that he did his best.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  It is understandable to want an organisation that has caused so much pain and discontent t be punished. The difficulty is that the people that run the WT are constantly changing.

  Then again, if we are to demand penalties of religions that have misled people and caused pain, perhaps we should start with the Roman Catholic church and work our way down the list of offenders.

  The situation is summed up by one of only truthful statements ever made by the WT: Religion is a snare and a racket!