Posts by THE GLADIATOR

14

What is your truth?

by iamwhoiam in

what is your truth since you left the wt?.

im still in physically, but mentally left many years ago.

i'm just in for my family as is the usual story.

Awareness is everything - it separates illusion from reality. The search for truth is a personal responsibility and sometimes the conclusions reached may not be the ones we had hoped for. It is sometimes easier to believe what we want to, rather than face reality. Reality is not always agreeable, but it is always truthful. There is truth in love. There is truth in the silent witness of nature, for it never lies, it simply is.

Life has chosen to live in us therefore we were worthy of life before we were born. We should never surrender our birthright to gain the approval of those who claim that our right to life is dependent on membership of their club.

We have already been invited to the banquet of life and it is free. The only qualification required is that we are alive and we are wonderfully alive.

27

Do we have the right to judge god?

by mankkeli in

do we have the right to judge god?.

this is an important question.

non-believers often become and remain non-believers because they judge that god is incomprehensible or malevolent, and therefore of dubious existence in the form believers claim.

THE GLADIATOR

Re: Do we have the right to judge god?

No! God should be allowed to continue enjoying his retirement in peace and let the Devil continue to run the world.

He always tells the truth and knows how to party.

161

There is No Morality Without God

by whereami in

addressing the argument, made by many christians, that with no god there can be no morality.

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnu-qbgxmn0.

THE GLADIATOR

JonathanH " The world was only a better place for straight white men. Everyone else I'm pretty sure would rather live today than a hundred years ago."

Far more straight white men have been oppressed than have been oppressors. They have suffered terrible injuries and deaths in war for the entire existence of the human race. At one time the average age expectancy for a working man was 40 years. They were worked to death in ship yards, mines and factories. Perhaps reading up on the suffering endured by white men and women during the Spanish inquisition would be educational.

By the way, white men were used as slaves long before black men. Homosexuality was embraced and encourage in both, Greece , Rome and many other cultures, thousands of years ago. Christianity was largely responsible for prejudice developing.

The history of the human race has been one of suffering and exploitation. Just as many white men have been victims of others greed and lust for power as any other human.

Why do I bother to point this out? Because long as people try to claim victim status by blaming the white bogey man, progress will be hampered. How about a little praise for the huge improvement in longevity and quality of life as a direct result of white men’s inventions and their service to humanity. Let’s have a little balance here.

Morality is often a cultural thing and collectively decided by society according to its needs and aims.

151

A Woman, A Woman - Oh What Can She Be?

by LoneWolf in

hi, peeplezs,.

down over the years i have experienced plenty of discouragement and cynicism about faith and the existence of a god who cares for us.

if i allowed myself to dwell on those things alone, i suppose that i too would be feeling hopeless and cynical and would be just waiting until my time is up.. however, i don't feel that way at all.

THE GLADIATOR

Thanks for sharing your feelings and so much of your life LoneWolf.

You come accross as a caring and sensitive man who has lived a full and rewarding life filled with love.

233

Does the Issue of Universal Sovereignty make sense to you as an explanation for evil?

by gubberningbody in

jw
friends

it used to for me, and now it doesn't.. i'm not sure how i was able to accept that argument now that i don't, but perhaps it was connected with my increasing compassion for people and their personal suffering as i've grown older.. now it seems like a sick excuse.

more like a bar-bet with satan and all of creation suffers.. i read paul's words and he has no rejoiner except to say in effect "sucks to be a vessel of wrath...glad i'm not one, but who are you to complain anyway, huh?

who's bigger, smarter and more powerful than you, you, you complaining vessel of wrath, you.

THE GLADIATOR

...MANY mentally disadvantaged individuals have made the choice to believe that Jesus Christ is their Saviour.

myelaine Are you speaking from experience?

14

My career as a budding alcoholic is over

by Qcmbr in

i've had a goal to drink my first alcohol this year and i decided that i would take the plunge while in my hotel.

i chose a tiny bottle of jacob's creek and retired to my room.. i had two sips and had to stop.

seriously vile.

THE GLADIATOR

Qcmbr If you can live comfortably without alcohol why bother taking the risk of becoming used to something that can lead to dependency? There are great advantages to a life without alcohol but very few benefits come from drinking.

If I were you I would enjoy the freedom you have and set myself a more worthy goal.

131

Proof of God or Christ without a holy book

by Awen in

jw
friends

in some previous posts i have asked certain questions that still haven't been answered.

so without going back to those threads and possibly de-railing them i thought it best to make a new topic.

please bear with me.. i have asked certain ones to prove the existence of god or christ without referencing any biblical writings or characters.

THE GLADIATOR

Go onThen!

131

Proof of God or Christ without a holy book

by Awen in

jw
friends

in some previous posts i have asked certain questions that still haven't been answered.

so without going back to those threads and possibly de-railing them i thought it best to make a new topic.

please bear with me.. i have asked certain ones to prove the existence of god or christ without referencing any biblical writings or characters.

THE GLADIATOR

JW's do not have good people skills. We have to relearn them or learn for the first time when we come out, how to interact without that fear and the superiority we had as JW's.

This is very true FlyingHighNow

When I left the Jehovah's Witnesses, c oming to terms with the reality of so many wasted years and learning to live outside the organization and accept as worthwhile, people who I had previously condemned, was a long hard climb. Even so, I will never forget the friends and relatives whose affection I lost, along with the feeling of safety that belonging to the Watchtower Society's world brought me.

All my life I had been promised that I would never grow old and die but would live forever on earth, when it was turned into a paradise. Then I realized that I was going to grow old and die like every other human.

131

Proof of God or Christ without a holy book

by Awen in

jw
friends

in some previous posts i have asked certain questions that still haven't been answered.

so without going back to those threads and possibly de-railing them i thought it best to make a new topic.

please bear with me.. i have asked certain ones to prove the existence of god or christ without referencing any biblical writings or characters.

THE GLADIATOR

FlyingHighNow That’s an interesting viewpoint based on your life’s experience. For most of my life I did believe in God. Bring raised by strict parents as a Jehovah's Witness, God to me was Jehovah. I believed in him, talked to him, worshiped him and became a Pioneer.

As I grew into an adult I began to examine the evidence. It was found wanting. I left the Watchtower Society and searched for a more loving God. I found much of what I sought in eastern religion. Alas still no proof. I lacked the one thing that was required – total faith.

There are many like me who did once believe but no longer do. We had something up there but no longer do. We are prepared to believe again but live by that telling adage. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"

131

Proof of God or Christ without a holy book

by Awen in

jw
friends

in some previous posts i have asked certain questions that still haven't been answered.

so without going back to those threads and possibly de-railing them i thought it best to make a new topic.

please bear with me.. i have asked certain ones to prove the existence of god or christ without referencing any biblical writings or characters.

THE GLADIATOR

Discussions like this often come down to our own idea of what god is. Like many others I don’t have faith in Jehovah, Christ, Jaheshua, Allah, Zeus, Odin or any of the named gods. No one can offer objective proof that these gods exist or that they don’t exist. It comes down to whether we want to believe in the existence of one of them and consider our choice to be ‘almighty God.’ Such a conclusion can only be based on our interpretation of our own subjective internal experiences. Acceptance of experiences that others share is also a factor. The result is faith in God.

Those that choose not to believe in any of the gods on offer are not automatically staunch atheists. Nor does it mean they have concluded that humans are the only intelligent life in the universe.

On a probability basis it is likely that there are other forms of life on other planets which those creatures are suited to. Maybe there are beings that are invisible to the human eye that do not need the surface of a planet to dwell on. Perhaps other dimensions of consciousness do exist beyond our present knowledge and an ultimate source.

If we are to be objective, until these things and the existence of a god can be proved beyond doubt, the concept of an all powerful invisible being must remain a theory or a possibility. As a mere mortal, air breathing, earth dwelling, carbon unit , I am content to accept my limitations and continue on my spiritual journey with an open mind, knowing that my time on earth will run out without ever knowing the secrets of the universe.