Posts by THE GLADIATOR

13

Why Did Jesus Suffer?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

if i want to forgive someone, it's not necessary for me to punish anyone.

it makes absolutely no sense to me, why an almighty, loving god would punish his son, for an offense that someone else committed.

here is what some others to have to say on the topic.

There is nothing new about sacrificing to a god or gods. Like most of the bible the ideas are taken from mythology and rehashed. "Many religious ceremonies have included sacrifice, the act of giving up something of value and offering it to a deity. Worshipers may make a sacrifice to win the favor of the deity, to give thanks, or to maintain a good relationship with the god. Myths from around the world contain many examples of sacrifices in which animals, humans, and even gods shed blood or die. Sometimes the sacrifice is linked with creation or with the continuation of life on earth." Read more: Sacrifice - Myth Encyclopedia - mythology, god, story, names, ancient, tree, animal, war, Norse, Hindu, world, creation, life, king, people, fire, warrior http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pr-Sa/Sacrifice.html#ixzz10afH3PdE

62

What silly things have you been counselled on or simply been told off for?

by 3Mozzies in

so what silly things have you been counselled on or simply been told off for?.

back in my early 20's, i had a pair of comfy old jeans that started to tear in about 3 places on the leg.

it was the fashion at the time so not only did they feel great to wear, they also looked 'in', not that i cared for that, but it was a bonus .

THE GLADIATOR

Wearing suede boots on the platform.

60

Had a wicked fall this morning

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

omg i got up and tripped over some cases i had on the floor.

i landed on my forehead, left knee and left fist.. my glasses moved up and dug into my forehead so i have some pretty interesting marks there.. i have a doctor who lives two doors down from me and he came over and checked me out.. i didn't lose consciousness or have other signs of concussion.

no broken bones.. but i am sore all over.. my doctor friend said if i have any problems to call him.

THE GLADIATOR

Lady Lee

Sorry to hear of your tumble. These cases you triped over were they contraband?

I hope you are on the mend.

11

Conditional love Vs Unconditional love

by highdose in

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.

THE GLADIATOR

Deputy Dog Repentance of sin and faith are gifts from God as well.

Ah! I missed out on those presents.

Must have been because I didn't celebrate Christmas for so many years .

11

Conditional love Vs Unconditional love

by highdose in

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.

THE GLADIATOR

AK - Jeff

Don't know if I fully concur, Gladiator.

Most people don't concur with me Jeff. I have some wacky ideas! My younger brother has not spoken to me for 9 years due to his JW allegiance. I still love him unconditionally but only because he is my brother, which is a condition.

I hope you and your sister can get close again.

Ding

Salvation is an unconditional GIFT from God obtained by repentance of sin and faith in Christ's sacrifice.

Sounds conditional to me.

You see I can't meet those requirements or conditions, so I will have to pass on everlasting life.

11

Conditional love Vs Unconditional love

by highdose in

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.

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

jw
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.. .

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

jw
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.

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

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).

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

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?.

THE GLADIATOR

Flowers would be nice

But a drink would be appreciated more