All symbols are like traffic lights--red, amber, green. They convey some specific messages. Sheep & goat, and wheat and weed are contrasted like the humble and the proud are contrasted. These are to be seen in their essence, not in details.
Posts by venus
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6Is it a GOOD thing to be a sheep, or to be wheat??
by stuckinarut2 inthe bible passage at luke 15 speaks about being a "sheep who is lost".
the shepherd looks for and brings the sheep back into the fold.. the passage at matthew 13 speaks about the righteous being like wheat - kept separate from the weeds.. but, there is an inherent problem with both passages!
for what reason are the sheep saved?
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15
Facing my own mortality!
by eyeuse2badub ini’m 71 years old now.
seven decades plus.
but, i put that in perspective owing to the fact that my older brother died in 1992 at the age of only 51. it was a very sobering time for me even though i was only 45 at the time.
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venus
eyeuse2badub,
Extremists made life look like very complicated with concepts such as heaven, heal, mortality etc. If we start thinking fresh, then life is very simple. We descend to play and return home. Thus descending and returning alternate eternally. Certain degree of order makes life enjoyable; and simultaneously certain degree of disorder such as diseases, natural calamities make us want to return home. We cannot go on drinking/eating something sweet without its sweetness being felt diminishing. But when we alternate with something not sweet [like we take a sip, then have something not sweet, again have a sip ...] we enjoy sweetness again, and again. Principle is shown also by day and night. How boring it would be if we have only night. In nature everything happens in cycles. Even history is a never-ending cycle of New World and Old World [or cycle of paradise earth becoming a hellish earth which would again be renewed to paradise earth]—something Jesus implied in Mathew 19:28. But this is very much seen in the Book of Nature. Nature has a rhythm and things happen in cycles—cycle of season, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle… etc. There are cycles happening within us too—our breathing is a cycle of inhaling and exhaling; cells in our bodies become old and are being replaced with new ones at regular intervals! Even when we sleep at night, we typically go through several sleep cycles. And each one of these cycles consists of 4 different stages of sleep—awake, light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep. Those cycles show A MUTUAL INTERDEPENDENCE and purpose. For example, each season emerges from the previous and gently turns into the next. Winter snows feed the ground for Spring’s blossoms. Summer’s heat ripens the plants for Fall’s harvest. While in day, we desire for night and vice versa. While in hot Summer we wish it was Fall. While in cold Winter we wish it was Spring. Hence you will continue to exist in some form, somewhere. It is like sun—when it sets here, it has already risen elsewhere. Likewise, death here is birth elsewhere. For life is eternal. In reality, there is no death.
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113
No Bible = No God?
by menrov insome doubt about the bible completely, some partially.
what if the bible turns out to be a product of humans, nothing divine.
would you still believe in a creator?.
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venus
Oager,
I read in between the lines, events and isms, and this is my conclusion:
Looking at events at an Olympic swimming pool, one cannot conclude swimmers are the emergent properties of the swimming pool.
Looking at things such as flowers, varied fruits and grains … that match our varied tastes I must conclude that they have been put in place for our enjoyment.
Looking at the history of nations (collective individuals) we find that their present is the result of past—good or bad. This must be true of every individual. Every seed/species reproduces its own kind, and everyone reaps what he sows: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38) God’s role is illustrated in what Jesus said in Mathew 19:28: ‘God is the one who renews/recreate the provisions made for man’s sustenance and enjoyment whenever they are depleted/destroyed.’ When the old world ends, all the souls return to heaven, as though children returning for home from play ground, and remain there till the new world is recreated/renewed on earth, and start coming down to play in certain order. And cycle repeats.
In other words, life is not complicated. We descend to play and return home. Thus descending and returning alternate eternally. Certain degree of order makes life enjoyable; and simultaneously certain degree of disorder such as diseases, natural calamities make us want to return home. We cannot go on drinking/eating something sweet without its sweetness being felt diminishing. But when we alternate with something not sweet--we take a sip then have something not sweet, again have a sip ..., we enjoy sweetness again, and again. Principle is shown also by day and night. How boring it would be if we have only night.
In other words, the best definition for God is He is the servant of humanity because His role is only once in a cycle—to renew/recreate whenever situation calls for it. Then He goes into silence which means He is not interested in our worship/gratitude.
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113
No Bible = No God?
by menrov insome doubt about the bible completely, some partially.
what if the bible turns out to be a product of humans, nothing divine.
would you still believe in a creator?.
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venus
Onager,
Whether we should address God using terms such as it, He, She or not matters not. What matters is the essence behind our reasoning because humans did not invent the eternal tree-seed mechanism that ensures food for humans in all varieties that take care of their varying tastes. If a person doesn’t see this life-support system as the proof of God’s existence, it is enough for God that he silently enjoys those provisions and be happy about. Some do not see this as the proof of God’s existence because they see it every day and make use of it several times a day—hence it is taken for granted. Let us assume one day God withdraws this provision (made for support and enjoyment of life) then would not all humanity cry for the immediate reinstatement of this proof of His existence?
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Rhetorical Question From a Non-JW
by Brian J inso i was asked if "jehovah's witnesses feel they are the only ones who will be saved.".
he said "i thought you would say that" and showed me our own website:.
https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/who-saved/ .
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venus
A great surprise waits for those who read Mathew 25:31-46 without any preconceived notion.
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113
No Bible = No God?
by menrov insome doubt about the bible completely, some partially.
what if the bible turns out to be a product of humans, nothing divine.
would you still believe in a creator?.
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venus
ttdtt,
Ocean doesn’t have to provide fishes proofs that convince them of its existence. Similarly, God doesn’t have to provide humans proofs that convince us of His existence because humans did not come here and invent the eternal tree-seed mechanism that ensures food for humans in all varieties that take care of their varying tastes. If a person doesn’t see this life-support system as the proof of God’s existence, it is enough for God that he silently enjoys those provisions and be happy about. Further, God doesn’t need to provide proof for His existence because He is not interested in our worship/gratitude—a fact that can be discerned from His not taking any action to straighten out the conflicted religions. If He wanted worship, He would have ensured a small book with absolute clarity with subject-wise division and index and almightily safeguarded it from getting corrupted.
Problem with people who ask for proof for God’s existence is that they have formulated their own concepts of God from books like Bible. But Bible is written by humans with poor imagination. They were simply inventing details thoughtlessly. For example, Abraham said his wife is his sister in two places, and Isaac in one place. The narratives occur in Genesis 12, 20 [Abram and Pharaoh & Abimelech] and 26 [Isaac and Abimelech]. Writer’s intellect is so petrified that he supplied the same incidents happening to each character. NT writers are also not different. Reporting so great as a news such as Jesus’ resurrection in the first written Gospel Mark, is finished with too little details: “He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:6, 7) John even supplies verses Jesus could have never spoken—saying Jesus did ascend into heaven at the very start of his ministry. (John 3:13) If one verse is invented, why not other verses, other incidents, everything else Bible says?
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113
No Bible = No God?
by menrov insome doubt about the bible completely, some partially.
what if the bible turns out to be a product of humans, nothing divine.
would you still believe in a creator?.
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venus
ttdtt,
Before asking for proof, think about this. A seed can feel it is finished as it has been buried—it doesn’t know it has only been planted to continue living! There is no need to show the proof that there is life after its seeming burial. Even if God is willing to provide proof, are we able to see Him, hear Him, feel Him … Our physical eyes are able to see only those objects that lie within the visible range. It means there are several objects that our eyes cannot perceive, though such objects tangibly exist, merely because their frequency lies beyond the visible range. The light we see with human eyes consists of photons with energies in the range 2 to 3 electron volts. What if God’s is more than that (as in the case of the gamma-rays which the Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope detects which are of billions of times more energetic, from 20 million to more than 300 billion electron volts, powerful bullets of energy, from cosmic phenomena such as supermassive black holes and hypernova explosions0.
I know my mind and other minds exist. Other minds would include lesser minds, superior mind and even a Supreme Mind. If minds that are very much here cannot be subjected to scientific equipments, the same applies to the Supreme Mind. If we say God doesn’t exist just because He doesn’t come subjected to tools humans have invented it would be like me saying nothing exists beyond what I can understand.
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113
No Bible = No God?
by menrov insome doubt about the bible completely, some partially.
what if the bible turns out to be a product of humans, nothing divine.
would you still believe in a creator?.
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venus
Perry,
If Jesus really lived, then problems are more because it would mean the subject of what is called redemption by the death of the Son of God originated from God. Without any conditioning, anyone would revolt at the recollection of what he reads in the Bible that it was making God Almighty act like a passionate man who killed his son when he could not revenge himself in any other way. I am sure a man who did such a thing would be hanged.
God is too good to do such an action, and also too almighty to be under any necessity of doing it. Any system of religion that has anything in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be a true system. But the Biblical concept of God the Father putting his son to death, or employing/permitting people to do it, cannot be told by a parent to a child with conviction; and to tell him that it was done to make mankind better is making the story still worse—as if something greater would be achieved through the murder of the innocent [a logic today’s terrorists resort to]; and to tell our children that all this is a mystery is only making an excuse for the incredibility of it.
Account of Adam and Eve is contradictory to the original creation account given in Genesis 1 where we find God creating mankind, not just a couple. Even if first couple sinned their sin would not be passed on to their children: "Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24:16)
Hence if at all Jesus did come, that might not have been to perform miracles or to perform sacrifice "to take away the sins of the world." He might have lived like a great prophet, preached very elevated teaching such as Mathew 5:44-48 and disappeared only to appear as a mighty teacher again somewhere on earth as prophet Elijah reappeared as John the Baptist. (Mathew 11:14)
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113
No Bible = No God?
by menrov insome doubt about the bible completely, some partially.
what if the bible turns out to be a product of humans, nothing divine.
would you still believe in a creator?.
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venus
Perry,
Any advertisement serves its purpose when it is published just before the arrival of the product, not centuries in advance. If it was God’s plan to advertise Kingdom through the preaching and miracles using Jesus He would have done it in our time when everything Jesus speaks and does could be live-telecast to the whole world. This would have spared all confusions, doubts and debates of over 2000 years, and all people of the earth would have accepted Jesus as the Messiah.
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10
Inconsistency involving Lot and Abraham
by Ireneus inwhen god informed of his intention of destroying the wicked inhabitants of sodom and gomorrah abraham made extensive questioning, cross-questioning and bargaining with god till he gets satisfied.
(genesis 18:16-33) however, when god informed of his intention of murdering abraham’s own only-begotten, innocent son, he simply obeys without any questionings [which he should naturally have done more intensely than he did in the case of unrelated wicked people].. god too acted strangely!
no introduction of the subject with sufficient reasons.
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venus
Sacrifices are dictates of the priests who are the only beneficiary. Jesus knew sacrifices has no value at all (Luke 6:38). God who knew very well everything belong to Him would never ask anything to be sacrificed to Him. In the case of Abraham, it is self-ridiculing on the part of God to ask Issac to be sacrificed to Him because it is God who miraculously provided Issac. If God had miraculously given Issac, Abraham would feel no pain in sacrificing Issac because He knew God's promise of great nation through him, hence God would have some arrangement to keep His own word.