Posts by venus

9

A challenge to believers

by Half banana in

nothing is ever fixed, laws change and religious myth evolves.

no doubt the habiru (hebrew) forebears of the jews when arriving in the levantine highlands cherished their stone age practices and sacred rituals.

child and human sacrifice was a grim stone age social mechanism to make for balance, loyalty and control within a tribe.there was no connection then with an almighty spirit, polytheism ruled the hebrew mentality.

venus

Hi punkofnice,

Those who seek happiness would not find it because a happy person does not have thoughts about being happy or unhappy—he is always in the now fully focused in what he does—which is the key to happiness.

Similarly, those who seek proof for God’s existence would not find it because they expect it to come from high-voltage theological/philosophical/scientific debates. But proof exists in what we see everyday which we make use of several times a day. For me, tree-seed mechanism that ensures food for us in all its varieties that take care of all our varying taste is the proof that God exists—because humans did not design it. In my garden there are some plants which would die if I don’t care for them which means not only a designer, but a tender caretaker is also needed for certain varieties of plants and trees. Suppose God withdraws this provision of tree-seed mechanism, we all would immediately cry for the reinstatement of this proof.

9

A challenge to believers

by Half banana in

nothing is ever fixed, laws change and religious myth evolves.

no doubt the habiru (hebrew) forebears of the jews when arriving in the levantine highlands cherished their stone age practices and sacred rituals.

child and human sacrifice was a grim stone age social mechanism to make for balance, loyalty and control within a tribe.there was no connection then with an almighty spirit, polytheism ruled the hebrew mentality.

venus

Situation is like Leo Tolstoy’s story of a man named, Pahom, who was obsessed by amassing more and more land, and in the process acquiring relentlessly more than enough only to fall to the ground, dead. His servant took a spade and dug a grave. He made it just long enough and just wide enough to match Pahom’s body and buried him. Here’s the title Tolstoy gave his story: “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” He ends this short story with this line: “Six feet from his head to his heels was all that man needed”.

People know the essence of this story, still they repeat what Pahom did. Similarly, even a cursory look is enough to know that Bible doesn’t match the lofty personality of God, hence could be the work of puny humans. Still people would cling on to it.

113

No Bible = No God?

by menrov in

some 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?.

venus

Onager,

If God were not performing the act of renewal (Mathew 19:28) at the regular interval, universe would have gone into a state of darkness long back in view of the eternity. If universe exists, earth remains with its life support system … all go to show that God is in action. And my conviction is strengthened by what I read in the Book of Nature. 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 day and night, 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. While in old, decadent world we wish for New World—and God does it in His time.

6

Is it a GOOD thing to be a sheep, or to be wheat??

by stuckinarut2 in

the 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?

venus

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.

15

Facing my own mortality!

by eyeuse2badub in

i’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.

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.

113

No Bible = No God?

by menrov in

some 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?.

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.

113

No Bible = No God?

by menrov in

some 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?.

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?

7

Rhetorical Question From a Non-JW

by Brian J in

so 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/ .

venus

A great surprise waits for those who read Mathew 25:31-46 without any preconceived notion.

113

No Bible = No God?

by menrov in

some 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?.

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?

113

No Bible = No God?

by menrov in

some 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?.

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.