Posts by THE GLADIATOR

106

If There was a Cosmic Pain meter...

by cofty in

imagine that it was possible to precisely measure the amount of suffering in the world at any given moment - a cosmic "pain meter".

decide for yourself what the unit of measurement would be.. we can only imagine a fraction of the combined suffering that is being felt right now.

physical pain, emotional despair, grief, desperation, loss, terror and hopelessness.. of course if there is an omniscient god then he knows to the last iota what that theoretical meter would read right now.. the bible contains a number of answers to the question of suffering - ever since the babylonian exile one popular answer has been to blame his nemesis the devil, "we know that we are children of god, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

THE GLADIATOR

If we believe in a personal god then we are compelled to attribute some of the blame for suffering to that god. To me the idea of a personal god that has made man in his own image but not other animals is just mythology and folklore. I don't blame a personal god for suffering as it is a part of life. There are individuals who cause unnecessary suffering to humans and animal and they are to blame for their own actions.

What I ask is this - is the universe aware of itself and conscious of its existence? If a universal awareness exists that we are a part of, that would be the closest thing to a god that I can at present comprehend. It is not possible to have only joy in a physical world. Joy and pain are two sides of the same coin. If we feel we will experience both pleasure and pain. The natural world is already a wonderful and worthy expression of life on earth. It continues to do what it has always done, that is to improve and advance. Life adapts and advances, basing its progress on the experience it has accumulated.

Despite all our failings, we are as a race making progress. There is huge room for us as humans to improve but life is improving for humans. We have a long way to go, and our journey will involve suffering, but humans are brave and wonderful creatures who will meet the challenges of the future. What we experience as humans in the natural world is not a failure but a living reality that offers us the opportunity to experience life in this part of the universe.

31

Invited to Attend a J W Kangaroo Court Proceeding: Tell Them to: Put the Reason for Requesting Your Presents in Writing Along With Any Alleged Charges of Wrong Doing, So You Can Give it To Your Lawyer.

by frankiespeakin in

by doing this the elders have to contact hq to get further instructions.

in many cases they will think it just not worth the red tape to proceed any further.

unless they concider you a real bad apple or threat that needs to be delt with in which case it should hold them off for a couple of months till they get direction from hq.. the wt is being threatened with law suits, they have to deal with big legal concideration of child molestation and other areas as the public is become less and less tollerant of wacko religions with abusive behavior.

THE GLADIATOR

blondie Your response was perfect and the lack of response said it all.

I do so admire applied intelligence. You chip away on this forum with so many factual challenges to the Watchtower Society’s claims and reliability. Although you may not always receive a huge response you efforts are appreciated.

546

non believers what if your wrong ?

by unstopableravens in

i do not wish to debate anything here like i have said in the past i have much respect for most on this forum (believers and non believers) i am simply wondering if the atheist or non god believers every worry about what if your wrong?

it seems that many who were jw for so many years attach jehovah/yahweh with the watchtower and since the wt is wrong than god does not exist.

i ask this question only because i care about people and salvation thats why i want to help as many as possable come out of this cult,and since i truly believe in god i dont know what is in the cinscience of those who dont.

THE GLADIATOR

Sorry but I am giving one of those awards to PSacramento

85

Old time JW's did some very devout JW's refuse to eat pizza with pepperroni because they believed "blood" was in the pepperroni?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

i have never heard this before until i read a life story of an ex-jws and how some jws in the past refused to eat pepperoni pizza because they thought blood was in pepperoni.

i do know some elderly jw sisters would complain about eating steak if it bled while cooking.

has anybody else heard of this pizza nonsense?.

THE GLADIATOR

It’s well known where I work that it is due to Jehovah's Witnesses aversion to blood that not one of them has ever become a gladiator .

Also saluting Caesar is a big no-no.

32

Why don't Jehovah's Witnesses Celebrate Thanksgiving?

by God_Delusion in

hi guys,.

being a brit living abroad, i never really understood the whole thanksgiving business.. i think growing up as a jw didn't help either.

anyway, i've rid myself of those jw shackles and have decided to take an interest into the goings on over the pond, especially as my favourite place on earth is bar harbor.

THE GLADIATOR

No one in the UK celebrates Thanksgiving.

It would upset Allah!

546

non believers what if your wrong ?

by unstopableravens in

i do not wish to debate anything here like i have said in the past i have much respect for most on this forum (believers and non believers) i am simply wondering if the atheist or non god believers every worry about what if your wrong?

it seems that many who were jw for so many years attach jehovah/yahweh with the watchtower and since the wt is wrong than god does not exist.

i ask this question only because i care about people and salvation thats why i want to help as many as possable come out of this cult,and since i truly believe in god i dont know what is in the cinscience of those who dont.

THE GLADIATOR

PSacramento "I reminded him that belief in God and Christ is done out of love for them, not to get some reward ( though a reward may be the "icing on the cake")

The Christian view is admirable. Then again many people who do not believe in God do good works. For me a reward would be the cake and the icing on it but then I am a carnal creature.

32

Why don't Jehovah's Witnesses Celebrate Thanksgiving?

by God_Delusion in

hi guys,.

being a brit living abroad, i never really understood the whole thanksgiving business.. i think growing up as a jw didn't help either.

anyway, i've rid myself of those jw shackles and have decided to take an interest into the goings on over the pond, especially as my favourite place on earth is bar harbor.

THE GLADIATOR

Jehovah's Witnesses have nothing to thank Jehovah for yet. They will only have one thanks giving day.

They will thank Jehovah just as soon as he keeps his part of the pact and whisks them off to The New World.

546

non believers what if your wrong ?

by unstopableravens in

i do not wish to debate anything here like i have said in the past i have much respect for most on this forum (believers and non believers) i am simply wondering if the atheist or non god believers every worry about what if your wrong?

it seems that many who were jw for so many years attach jehovah/yahweh with the watchtower and since the wt is wrong than god does not exist.

i ask this question only because i care about people and salvation thats why i want to help as many as possable come out of this cult,and since i truly believe in god i dont know what is in the cinscience of those who dont.

THE GLADIATOR

Tec/Tammy - "I can see sometimes if someone is following Christ or not though. "By their fruits you will recognize them" "

Your comments really brings us back to the title of this thread and my own philosophy. People are defined by how they treat others not what they claim to believe. If people treat others well they can’t be wrong because they are demonstrating ‘the fruits of the spirit.’ They stop being non-believers because they do believe in something, namely treating others well. There of plenty of people who believe in God, both Christian and pagan that do not demonstrate ‘the fruits of the spirit.’

The bible states that faith without works don’t count. The reverse is true; works without faith do count. As a Christian you give the credit for your good works to Jesus but it is your good works that define you. Still, believing in Jesus as well could be a sensible move; charity is good but so is insurance.

546

non believers what if your wrong ?

by unstopableravens in

i do not wish to debate anything here like i have said in the past i have much respect for most on this forum (believers and non believers) i am simply wondering if the atheist or non god believers every worry about what if your wrong?

it seems that many who were jw for so many years attach jehovah/yahweh with the watchtower and since the wt is wrong than god does not exist.

i ask this question only because i care about people and salvation thats why i want to help as many as possable come out of this cult,and since i truly believe in god i dont know what is in the cinscience of those who dont.

THE GLADIATOR

Perhaps the way to never be wrong is for an individual to simply say, I don’t know if a genuine personal god exists. Give me a little more time to consider all the different gods on offer and decide if one of them is genuine.

If I die without coming to a conclusion, a merciful god will send my spirit to high school. I can't believe a loving god would raise me up just to punish me for not being smarter. If I never achieve consciousness again, then I will not be in a position to rue my procrastination.

35

Were you afraid of "apostates"?

by everchangingworld in

jw
friends

i remember hearing rumblings of a few that had gone "apostate" and feeling absolute dread of the dark world they had stepped into.

i would re-double my studying efforts.

to me, "apostates" had gone over into the "dark side".

THE GLADIATOR

How's this for a trip dpwn memory lane. I was a school-boy at the time:

Today we were all off to the 1963 International Assembly at Twickenham Stadium. It was to last an historic eight full days and involve sitting listening to many lectures. Some of the Watchtower Society’s top speakers would be there and with so many thousands gathered, there would be a lot of God’s Holy Spirit around. Firstly though, we had to get to the stadium and it appeared there was a problem. I had heard of the ‘evil slave class’ through our study books. This was anyone collectively or singularly who had joined our church and then left. They were to be avoided at all cost, as it was believed they were possessed by demons and very dangerous. We were warned by attendants along the route that we should be on our guard, as a group of evil slaves were near the gates of the stadium.

Father instructed me and my brother John to keep as far away from them as possible and not to even look at them. He explained that Jehovah’s spirit would protect us, so we should make it to the safety of the stadium unharmed. I ran a quick prayer through my mind asking for protection for our family. As we neared the stadium, I felt a rush of excitement mingled with fear. I had never before seen a demonised and dangerous evil slave and started to imagine what one would look like. Would he have two heads and sharp claws? What colour would he be? We drew nearer and in the distance, I could just make out a small group gathered on one side of the pavement. John focused with all his attention, mouth agog. As we got nearer, we ignored the warning not to look at them. We could see them more clearly now. They were remarkably ordinary looking men and a couple of women; smartly dressed and wearing placards that I could read the writing on.

‘Watchtower is Snare & Racket.’

‘Watchtower Society Lies.’

As we walked past, I noticed that they were offering tracts just as we did. Probably noticing the look of awe on my face, a stout middle-aged evil slave smiled at me. My face was too frozen with fear and fascination to smile back at him. In any case, it would not please Jehovah. I looked back at the women hoping to see something evil happen but they looked totally normal. We were past the evil slaves and safely on our way into the stadium. Suddenly the excitement and danger was over.

‘They weren’t very scary!’ I exclaimed.

‘Your father told you not to look,’ mother snapped. ‘When are you going to learn to do as you are told?’

‘They looked so ordinary,’ I said, looking disappointed.

‘Of course they did. The Devil transforms himself into an angel of light to catch out disobedient children. Next time you might not have such a lucky escape!’