Posts by A Paduan

12

Faith in God

by A Paduan in

is "faith in god" a level of suspicion about existence ?

i postulate that it is not.. it was put forward in a thread above that jws must have had some 'faith in an unseen deity', but i reflected that they must have simply had a notion regarding the existence of another power, and that faith in someone reflects a belief in the quality of another, not just a suspicion of quantity.. jws normally do not have faith in the deity described in scripture and hence, in a confused fear, work in the attempt to appease and be accepted, not only misunderstanding love in general but misrepresenting the same to others.

the mandate for performance of works is a faith in the value of their own effort (and that there is likely a deity who is like a boss-man).. .

A Paduan

The Biblical notion of faith is never a mere belief in God's existence.

Even "belief in God's existence" is more than a notion - a notion is a belief of postulation - a possibility.

A belief is something held up as essentially true - like I believe my hands are attached because I'm using them - whereas if I considered it a likely that the Broncos will win on the weekend, my belief is that they might - my belief is in a possibility, rather than a concurrence of my reality. As with faith, "belief in" is more than a notion of possibility - belief in a possibility is what a belief in a possibility is.

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Words to convey are used in such a fleeting fashion - the term "faith in God" would best be written "a notion about the existence of God" if it were the intended meaning, and likewise - "belief in God" would better be written "belief in the possibility of a God" if that indeed was the intended meaning.

These phrases describe something much more tangible than an accepted notion or a postulated philosphy.

12

Faith in God

by A Paduan in

is "faith in god" a level of suspicion about existence ?

i postulate that it is not.. it was put forward in a thread above that jws must have had some 'faith in an unseen deity', but i reflected that they must have simply had a notion regarding the existence of another power, and that faith in someone reflects a belief in the quality of another, not just a suspicion of quantity.. jws normally do not have faith in the deity described in scripture and hence, in a confused fear, work in the attempt to appease and be accepted, not only misunderstanding love in general but misrepresenting the same to others.

the mandate for performance of works is a faith in the value of their own effort (and that there is likely a deity who is like a boss-man).. .

A Paduan

Is "faith in God" a level of suspicion about existence ? I postulate that it is not.

It was put forward in a thread above that jws must have had some 'faith in an unseen deity', but I reflected that they must have simply had a notion regarding the existence of another power, and that faith in someone reflects a belief in the quality of another, not just a suspicion of quantity.

Jws normally do not have faith in the deity described in scripture and hence, in a confused fear, work in the attempt to appease and be accepted, not only misunderstanding love in general but misrepresenting the same to others. The mandate for performance of works is a faith in the value of their own effort (and that there is likely a deity who is like a boss-man).

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I'll give an example of two men and their wives

One man tries to appease his demanding wife by giving and buying her things, doing the things that pleases her in fear that she may not approve of him - now and then she threatens to leave but it's hard to tell what's on her mind.

The other man greets his wife when she gets home, is not suspicious of where she has been, chats about what she's been up to, asks how she's doing, helps out with whatever's appropriate, repects her individuality, goes and does his own things, and sits down to eat together and have a conversation later.

Both believe their wife exists, but which one has faith in his wife ?

85

Is Faith Dangerous? A Question for Believers...

by AllTimeJeff in

i hope this will be as respectful a debate as possible.

here is the premise: many of us (most) seem to be ex jw's on this board.

that means, whatever your motivation, for a time you bought into the theology of jw to one degree or another.

A Paduan

I dispute the opening comment

Doubtless, we all had to have some faith in an unseen god, believing that he has revealed himself through the bible....

To be a jehovahs witness one suspects the existence of an unseen god, but the faith one has is in themselves, and rather and opposite, an 'informed' jw does NOT have faith in a deity, but requires work for appeasement.

10

Why do they do that?

by nonamegiven in

my "best friend" who will no longer talk to me because i'm df'd is serving temporary service ay brooklyn bethel.

he and his wife were to be there for a month or two a year or so ago.

when they were just a few days from the end of thier stay, they got a letter asking them if they could extend it for another month or so.

A Paduan

It's normal practice - say anything that comes to mind just to rule someone else, then give them the "new light" as you need to suit your own whims - after all, you ARE jeboobah, and therefore the only really important one.

41

I have to aux pioneer?

by thebiggestlie in

ok so apparently the gb has instutuited some kind of quota for aux pioneers for the month of april for the memorial or something.

so the pos wife came up to me yesterday and told me "every congregation needs at least 16 aux pioneers for the month of april.

you should can i count on you?

A Paduan

I noticed that you're 17 and a half years of age - things may different in your country, but I wouldn't need anything - particularly a bunch of evil baggage.

10

"I Have Regained My Health, My Dignity And My Mind."

by scout575 in

jw
friends

"i am ashamed of my hateful beliefs...i never missed an opportunity to try to spread the word; in fact, it had become my sole mission in life.

unlike most christians nowadays, i didn't pick and choose what parts of the bible i was going to follow.

i truly took all those hateful verses in the bible to heart and applied them in my life...".

A Paduan

Scout's agenda is to kerb exiting jws away from "christendom", by presenting alternative but fundamentalist examples. Scout believes that people would be better off staying jw - in some cases I suppose that might be right - when the focus and thinking of literalism persists, what difference does it make which imaginary beasty thing is served.

The spirituality of things simply hasn't been conceived.

78

Watchtower 2007 3/15 -- Is 1914 dropped?

by observer in

watchtower 2007 3/15 is very unusual.

it is titled (when freely translated) "how coming of the christ affects you?".

in the first article there is not speaking about 1914 or invisible presence.

A Paduan

Maybe that "beating themselves" thing explans how you really can be simply somewhere else when you come.

1

How do jws circumvent the law in relation to being so unethical ?

by A Paduan in

so how do they ?

.

authorites don't touch religious messes for fear of "religious persecution" ?the charges typically involve civil action ?the 'witnesses' are all closed lipped ?they have documentation that, although not practiced, is a ready written defence ?the wtbts insists that people have "free choice" even though phobias and fear of family loss remain as threats ?are they such practiced a$$&oles that they can continually carry on such unethical behaviours in modern thinking societies, under the guise of religious freedom ?.

A Paduan

So how do they ?

Is it because

authorites don't touch religious messes for fear of "religious persecution" ?
the charges typically involve civil action ?
the 'witnesses' are all closed lipped ?
they have documentation that, although not practiced, is a ready written defence ?
the wtbts insists that people have "free choice" even though phobias and fear of family loss remain as threats ?

Are they such practiced a$$&oles that they can continually carry on such unethical behaviours in modern thinking societies, under the guise of religious freedom ?

5

Ancient idols?

by thebiggestlie in

something that has always puzzled me was the descriptions of solomon's temple as well as the golden snake in moses day.

with giant angel statues in the holy of holies and the golden bulls and the countless other "graven" images in the temple that were supposedly god approved.

how was this not blatent idolatry.

A Paduan

A graven image is an idea for god that you've carved out yourself - like the Russell / Rutherford god - particularly one based on an observed reality, such as an elderley man who is like a tribe leader, or dictator, who also has qualities of a beast. Making up a god and making others bow to it is a 'grave' matter.

23

Is it possible that worshiping "Jehovah" is worshiping a false god?

by A-Team in

for christians only:.

i was watching a special on cnn saturday about muslims and them worshiping "allah".

i said to my self "they are worshiping a false god.

A Paduan

Besides the name invention, the jw conception of "god" is like an old man dictator, indeed like a dominant male animal requiring subjection or lashing out, insisting on control, and no one else seeding the flock - any other impregnating threat is sought out and quickly dispensed with, separated.

This imaginary god (image) is like a man who is like a beast, given life by the followers who also trade (buy and sell) 'love' while concerning themselves about appeasing the imaginary beast - it's a regular study in revelation - but nothing new.