tor1500,
You summed up matter very nicely:
"Religion has forgot the heart of the matter....Love God and Love one another." Ironically, they are all travelling in the opposite direction--they teach (by their action) us how to remain divided.
thinking people have always sought a right reason for people to feel self-motivated to love each other (which is the goal of all religions).
in the process each religious leader presented some reasons which were not adequate because division appeared once the founder left the stage.. however, carl sagan (astronomer, astrophysicist, and science-fiction novelist ….etc) got it right when he wrote: “for small creatures, such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love” (contact, chapter 24 p. 430).
when an interviewer said this was the best of his quotes and asked him to put it in simple words, sagan said: “we exist in vastness of the universe, hence should have vast (great) mind of treating every one as residing/subsisting on the same (planet) home who breathe the same air (in contrast to going into smallness of contraction with each one seeking own interest).
tor1500,
You summed up matter very nicely:
"Religion has forgot the heart of the matter....Love God and Love one another." Ironically, they are all travelling in the opposite direction--they teach (by their action) us how to remain divided.
i am compiling my reasons.
you can add your reasons.. 1. there are injustices in religions.. 2. prayers to the deity people call god are not answered..
Interesting thing is that God is not interested in proving His existence. It seems He wants to enjoy the fun going on between both atheists and theists.
The former is scared of the question: Why the universe is fine-tuned, and
The latter is scared of the question: Why does injustice exist?
thinking people have always sought a right reason for people to feel self-motivated to love each other (which is the goal of all religions).
in the process each religious leader presented some reasons which were not adequate because division appeared once the founder left the stage.. however, carl sagan (astronomer, astrophysicist, and science-fiction novelist ….etc) got it right when he wrote: “for small creatures, such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love” (contact, chapter 24 p. 430).
when an interviewer said this was the best of his quotes and asked him to put it in simple words, sagan said: “we exist in vastness of the universe, hence should have vast (great) mind of treating every one as residing/subsisting on the same (planet) home who breathe the same air (in contrast to going into smallness of contraction with each one seeking own interest).
scratchme1010,
You see the contrast here. Religious founders were seeking reason whereas for Carl Sagan it was too openly available--something that requires no search, no organization ...etc. In other words, what religion claimed as their exclusive zone where the science cannot reach is actually reached and correctly discerned by a scientist.
thinking people have always sought a right reason for people to feel self-motivated to love each other (which is the goal of all religions).
in the process each religious leader presented some reasons which were not adequate because division appeared once the founder left the stage.. however, carl sagan (astronomer, astrophysicist, and science-fiction novelist ….etc) got it right when he wrote: “for small creatures, such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love” (contact, chapter 24 p. 430).
when an interviewer said this was the best of his quotes and asked him to put it in simple words, sagan said: “we exist in vastness of the universe, hence should have vast (great) mind of treating every one as residing/subsisting on the same (planet) home who breathe the same air (in contrast to going into smallness of contraction with each one seeking own interest).
Thinking people have always sought a right reason for people to feel self-motivated to love each other (which is the goal of all religions). In the process each religious leader presented some reasons which were not adequate because division appeared once the founder left the stage.
However, Carl Sagan (astronomer, astrophysicist, and science-fiction novelist ….etc) got it right when he wrote: “For small creatures, such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love” (Contact, Chapter 24 p. 430). When an interviewer said this was the best of his quotes and asked him to put it in simple words, Sagan said: “We exist in vastness of the universe, hence should have vast (great) mind of treating every one as residing/subsisting on the same (planet) home who breathe the same air (in contrast to going into smallness of contraction with each one seeking own interest). Where ever we look, we hear “be of vast/great mind, and there is no way we can escape this eternal command.”
i just watched this lovely lady's heartfelt message to the governing body.
i hope that the men she named and all lurkers who have some clout at bethel listen to this message and stop this cruel and divisive shunning policy that has ruined so many family's around the world.
this is just one voice of many many people who feel this way about your (governing body) destructive policy.
Very sad to hear her story.
Like Hitler who never realized he was
losing the battle (because he used to kill messenger that comes with unpleasant
news), this organization never realizes that they do not benefit in any way by
shunning. Those who have gone through shunning are only hardening their stand
not to return to the org.
we have been taught that the name jehovah means “he causes to become.” it is interpreted that he causes himself to become whatever needed to accomplish his will—as happened in the case israelites to whom he “caused himself to become” a savior leading them from slavery in egypt.. but there is a problem with this definition.
nobody would use the phrase “cause to become” with regard to himself.
one may say: “i helped him,” (but he won’t say: “i caused myself to become a helper to him.”) “causing myself to become a helper to another person” obviously implies helping nature comes with effort as though it is not in my nature.
Crazyguy, I agree with you. Israelites were equally fond of varieties as seen in their very names Isaiah, Ezekiel, Abijah, Jehobam ...
we have been taught that the name jehovah means “he causes to become.” it is interpreted that he causes himself to become whatever needed to accomplish his will—as happened in the case israelites to whom he “caused himself to become” a savior leading them from slavery in egypt.. but there is a problem with this definition.
nobody would use the phrase “cause to become” with regard to himself.
one may say: “i helped him,” (but he won’t say: “i caused myself to become a helper to him.”) “causing myself to become a helper to another person” obviously implies helping nature comes with effort as though it is not in my nature.
Interestingly, Bible writers themselves are confused.
1) Abraham says God's name is "eternal" (Gen 21:33)
2) Isaiah says His name is "holy" (57:15)
3) God Himself says His name is "I AM" (Ex 3:13, 14)
4) JWs say His name is "He causes to become"
5) Jesus simply says He has a name (He prayed: "let your name be sanctified"), yet did not say what the name is.
we have been taught that the name jehovah means “he causes to become.” it is interpreted that he causes himself to become whatever needed to accomplish his will—as happened in the case israelites to whom he “caused himself to become” a savior leading them from slavery in egypt.. but there is a problem with this definition.
nobody would use the phrase “cause to become” with regard to himself.
one may say: “i helped him,” (but he won’t say: “i caused myself to become a helper to him.”) “causing myself to become a helper to another person” obviously implies helping nature comes with effort as though it is not in my nature.
cold steel,
Your explanation is good; yet the problem remains because question is why should God choose a name the meaning of which no one is sure? Name should be self-explanatory, or else it is not a name.
well new to me anyway, i'm sure someone smarter than me has thought of this before.
the next time i get asked the perennial (and tired old) question: “but you do believe that the gb are god’s channel of communication, the organisation he is using, don’t you?” or some variation thereof, i am going to reply with two verses and reason as follows:.
the matter to be established: have the gb of jehovah’s witnesses received divine appointment to act as god’s representatives and channel of communication on earth?.
GB’s claim actually does not make them unique; in fact this is what rest of the religions do. The one thing they have in common is a super-naturalistic appeal—here in this case direct appointment from Master. When they find something appealing in Science, they will pick up that also, means very often scientific ideas are stolen from their contexts and built into supernatural ideas, claiming the latter as scientific fact (from quantum mysticism… to magnetic therapy, homeopathy, phrenology and so on--all ideas that borrow their credibility from the legitimacy of scientific language). They have been very successful at appealing to popular memes in society, usurping them in order to gain a presence.
well new to me anyway, i'm sure someone smarter than me has thought of this before.
the next time i get asked the perennial (and tired old) question: “but you do believe that the gb are god’s channel of communication, the organisation he is using, don’t you?” or some variation thereof, i am going to reply with two verses and reason as follows:.
the matter to be established: have the gb of jehovah’s witnesses received divine appointment to act as god’s representatives and channel of communication on earth?.
doubtfull1799, I never thought two witness clause could be applied to GB claim. Very good!