Posts by trevor

My generation was brought up to be protective towards women. To give way on the side walk, give up our seat, open doors for them and pay for everything.

14

Is there a underlying pattern here or am I imagining things?

by Terry in

judaism.

source authority: selection by jehovah as chosen people.. claim for that authority: promises and prophecy and legal covenant.. test of authenticity: keeping the law.. failure: failing to perfectly obey the law.. .

messianic judiasm.

trevor

Those wishing to achieve authority have to offer their followers something desirable. Politicians make promises to get elected, then break them. Church leaders do the same.

Tammy summed it up when she said, ‘ Everyone seeks to follow other men, and not God. ’

If I were to follow a spiritual path that involved belief in intelligent invisible beings, any communication would have to be direct; between me and that intelligence. If other men were required as mediators and authority figures, it would cease to be a spiritual experience.

84

Arrrghhh! enough you pompous christians!

by Aussie Oz in

jw
friends

ok, to all you 'christians' who love to and rightly do comment on threads attacking your 'lord', enough with the.

''may you have peace dear so and so''.

''your fellow slave in christ''.

trevor

Platitudes can be irritating but I would rather someone said 'peace to you' or 'greetings' than they call me pompous, patronising, sanctimonious, and self righteous.

We all have our pet phrases and if they are used with kind intent, there is no need to take offence. Perhaps it is the message that accompanies them that is the cause of irritation?

19

the story of a little old lady who loved god

by warmasasunned in

jw
friends

heard an interesting story today of a little old lady in her nineties.

the poor old dear had been in hospitial very poorly for a few months but as soon as she was discharged, even though she was still very weak,.

she told her daughter "i must go to church on sunday".

trevor

If god hadn't caught her she could have died.

God is not as quick as he was - he's not so young himself.

140

Are atheists less imaginative about the unknown?

by sabastious in

jw
friends

almost every atheist i have ever come across i can get along with well.

i love to debate and talk about the world around us and they seem to as well, but i feel like i get a lot of "eye rolls" from the atheists i speak to.. it's ironic that i am six feet six inches tall because i would describe myself as a man with his head in the clouds.

it's up there most of the time and i feel at home when thinking of the future.

trevor

Tammy: But how was the spiritual conceived out of the physical?

Although I have not experienced a personal god that made man in his own image, that does not mean I have no interest in spirituality; the idea that what is manifest throughout the universe comes from an underlying cause that is not visible to humans.

11

Morality: Is it common sense? Instinct? Or from God?

by PublishingCult in

from where do we get morality?

we know the god of the ot was very immoral.

he sanctioned murder, slavery, rape, human sacrifice, and other really bad stuff we'd go to jail for today.

trevor

To me, morality is doing what is right for ourselves while taking in to account other peoples needs and feelings.

Love your neighbour as yourself - sums it up!

140

Are atheists less imaginative about the unknown?

by sabastious in

jw
friends

almost every atheist i have ever come across i can get along with well.

i love to debate and talk about the world around us and they seem to as well, but i feel like i get a lot of "eye rolls" from the atheists i speak to.. it's ironic that i am six feet six inches tall because i would describe myself as a man with his head in the clouds.

it's up there most of the time and i feel at home when thinking of the future.

trevor

Tammy: Try and think of a concept that is completely alien to your existence and experiences.

Ancient man(this term includes women) had invented nothing new. He did not understand what caused thunder, so he looked at what he could see around him and used his imagination to attribute physical characteristics to the puzzling phenomena.

“Generally good-natured, Thor had a hot temper, and his anger was dreadful to behold. He was a fierce enemy of the frost giants, the foes of the Norse gods. When people heard thunder and saw lightning in the sky, they knew that Thor was fighting these evil giants.”

There are thousands of mythological gods but all took the form of a human or animal, often a mixture of both. They were a mental projection of man’s reality into the sky. We now know what causes thunder and lightening. We also know that these mythological gods never really existed.

That does not prove that no god or gods exist, just that man's early attempts to understand his world was flawed.

175

Does the Christian message fall apart without a literal interpretation of Genesis?

by nicolaou in

.

what's the point of jesus if adam & eve did not 'fall' and condemn us all to sin?.

trevor

Terry - You cannot successfuly point to Jesus as AFFIRMING the Old Testament or the reality of Adam.

That was a most enlightening post. Having read your take on Jesus and his ministry, I can better understand what Tammy is trying to say.

I will give this matter some thought in the hope that I can learn something new.

140

Are atheists less imaginative about the unknown?

by sabastious in

jw
friends

almost every atheist i have ever come across i can get along with well.

i love to debate and talk about the world around us and they seem to as well, but i feel like i get a lot of "eye rolls" from the atheists i speak to.. it's ironic that i am six feet six inches tall because i would describe myself as a man with his head in the clouds.

it's up there most of the time and i feel at home when thinking of the future.

trevor

DagothUr Your observations make sense to me.

The first humans had no idea how the world came to be; why thunder & lightning, volcanoes and earthquakes occurred. They attributed these events to invisible humans that became known as gods. In time, those that believed in gods proudly wore a label that said ‘theist.’ Those that were not convinced were automatically labelled ‘a-theist.’ The rest is history.

All people are on a journey through life on planet earth and are looking for answers. Imagining something, then setting out to see if it exists is a common scientific method. Often imagination leads to new discoveries.

Once one decides to wear a badge that says, ‘Theist,’ they are declaring that they have found the answer to the mystery of the life on earth. A god is responsible and he will take care of everything so long as they love and obey him. No further imagination is required. Their search is at an end. They are, in their own words, ‘saved.’ Those who are still searching for the answers to the mystery of life need to employ their imagination in order to continue their search.

Personally, I prefer not to wear a badge of any kind. The knowledge I have gleaned in my short time on this planet is so incomplete and inadequate, that to wear a badge stating my ‘position’ would make me look very foolish.

I am not an ‘eist’ of any kind - Just a seeker of truth, looking among the seaweed for profound answers. That takes a hell of a lot of imagination. My belief is that I will die, so I am unlikely to be disappointed and things should work out very neatly.