it was a place, where paradise already existed.... is it just me or are jw,s getting crazier?.
check out this site.
http://www.raphaelbick.de/bilder/temp/frankfurt2006/.
I have seen people happy, but not like these. I have seen people smile, but never like these.
Such all-consuming joy, such plentiful happiness, as they wait in eager anticipation for their tribal deity to slaughter thousands of millions of men, women and children so that they can covet the land.
It has been said, that the darkest of all evil is so blind, that it thinks it is love.
As beautiful as it looks, this is insanity!
j
if god has a name is that name jehovah?
having studied the bible for many years along with.
individuals on this discussion board, often times it.
Did anyone on this discussion board ever think about whether or not God exists?
God? Does it seem wise to consider a finite god of human emotions and actions found within the pages of the Bible to be responsible for an infinite universe? Why behold an unending expression of life and existence, and then accredit a small definable and nameable deity as it's Source?
Perhaps the first step towards an answer, is to thoroughly examine and investigate who/what is seeking God.
Know thyself.
j
it is understandable that individuals who read this thread will more.
than likely become offended and to those who feel as such i will .
apologize.
Welcome, wanderer.
If the planet Earth explodes, there will be no more hunger, war, or suffering---unfortunately there are more con's.
j
a friend of mine who is df'd is seriously considering trying to get reinstated in order to have his family back in his life.
this is not an easy decision because he's fully aware that this isn't "the truth", but the pain of being excluded from normal family relations is really tearing him.
he has two choices: either move away from his family and try and start a new life, or bite the bullet, try and get reinstated and then do the fade.
Mary, I'm very much with oldflame on this one -- but a bit more hardcore.
Your friend is a fool , who will not have a "normal" relationship with his family when he does this. He is abandoning self-integrity, making his life an untrustworthy sham, and he will eventually hate himself and his family for all the moral degradation.
Your friend needs to grow up, and learn some of the basic principles of a decent life. He needs to lean what it is not to be a coward, and learn how to stand up to truthfulness. Then he can create a new family of friends who live honestly and love him for the beauty of his genuineness and sincerity. Your friend and his family are major dysfunctional, and his supporting the insanity will only make matters worse.
If he were my foolish friend, I'd smack him upside the head; big time.
j
http://www.historychannel.com/global/listings/series_showcase.jsp?egrptype=series&id=17255036&netwcode=thc .
on at 8:00 central time.
the commericial says it gives scientific evidence of the 10 plagues and parting of the red sea.
I burn my CD's outside in a pile.
Seriously though, if you slam your computer against a wall, things often come out.
j
i don't usuallypost about personal issues; i am still fading; besides, i was raised in a family that would say we were doing well even if our house was burning down.. for the last month i have been stressing about seeing family from the west coast; my brother, out for many years but now back in and gung ho, is bringing his son and daughter out.
family reunion, of sorts.
i wanted to host, but then i realized that my disfellowshipped daughter would not be included.
Thanks JT; trying to.
Well, if you can't right now, you can't. Don't kick yourself for it.
This is why it is so important to practice the art of presence everyday. Then, when the shit hits the fan, we can rely on what has become a natural way of being.
When the tension and angst is most apparent, focus attention on your breathing and the physical sensations of air passing through your nose, and the expansion and contraction of the diaphragm, etc. This simple direction of attention will bring you into the moment and out of the mind. Do it a hundred time if you need to, without judging yourself. Be assured, you have all that you need within you, already.
j
i don't usuallypost about personal issues; i am still fading; besides, i was raised in a family that would say we were doing well even if our house was burning down.. for the last month i have been stressing about seeing family from the west coast; my brother, out for many years but now back in and gung ho, is bringing his son and daughter out.
family reunion, of sorts.
i wanted to host, but then i realized that my disfellowshipped daughter would not be included.
I don't know how to get through the memorial.
Take your own advice: Love now, embrace now...
Stay out of the mind and all it's judgments, memories, hopes, wishes, commentary, drama, etc.; and be in the reality of here and now. Be totally present with your family. Really feel and be attentive to what it is to exist. Allow your love to embrace and run free -- especially in regards your own sorrow. When you notice the tension of thoughts, stop, step back, be still and just feel what it is to breath. In other words: be in the moment, and not in your mind. Then spread this gentle way of being into the rest of your life.
j
.
isaiah 42:8. i am yahweh, that is my name; and my glory will i not give to another, neither my praise to engraved images..
I am Yahweh, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to engraved images.What is any named deity, other than an image engraved within the mind?j
i felt i would ask this question in the friends forum as it seems to get the most viewing.
my question is this.
leaving aside your research of what you have found out about the organisation and focusing more on your research of the "christian faith".
Evergreen:
At this time i have faith in Gods word. I know there are contradictions and things hard to understand and why God acted in certain ways throughout the old Testament, but i cant help being drawn to this book no matter what. It gives me personally, hope for the future; and without that hope, for me, there is nothing.
Ross:
IMHO religion and spiritual texts (of any flavour) are supposed to be tools to direct us to the Divine. By becoming preoccupied with the tools we miss the whole purpose of them. They are stepping stones, which might remain useful, but they become very slippery indeed if we continue to let them bear our whole [spiritual] weight......There comes a point where you come to the end of yourself, let go, and leap off into the void.
Evergreen, right now you are allowing Biblical text to "bear your whole spiritual weight", as Ross so clearly expressed can easily happen. You have allowed words written in a book to become your life, and so "without that hope...there is nothing". Actually, it's just the reverse. The conceptual hoped for future is nothing, an illusion of reality; and without it there is this moment of actual life and being in and around you. Perhaps it's time to "let go, and leap off" your stone which has become a coffin.
Read Ross' posts again. He explained the dynamics very well.
j
john 20:30-31
30 to be sure, jesus performed many other signs also before the disciples, which are not written down in this scroll.
31 but these have been written down that you may believe that jesus is the christ the son of god, and that, because of believing, you may have life by means of his name.
Thank you poppers and Ross for your kind comments. Eventually some words must fall into place, via accident.
The "disparage" comment wasn't directed at you, incidentally, it was just a general comment.
Ross, I understand friend. Not a problem. My words can and often do meet the criteria of being offensive and belittling of peoples beliefs. I just don't know how else to get the point across.
Perhaps if someone gets their beliefs trampled to death (in a kind way), and they also see that their being has not been touched -- something will click. I don't know.
j
