Posts by JamesThomas

17

Questions for the forum...I need some help understanding

by truckerich in

jw
friends

i was just wondering just because the wts have made a mess of things and have done things that are questionable.

is jehovah still the name of god?

does he exist?

JamesThomas

Truck:

I guess my question is What part of the Bible should I believe? I am a fairly intelligent and smart woman, but a part of me still misses having God in my life

Why believe anything about God? Beliefs are only ideas and concepts. Is a belief about a tree, a real tree?

Perhaps God is not so tiny and insubstantial as to be "missing" from your life. This tiny idea of a god is often a remnant of ancient tribal and biblical thinking. Let go of it, and be present in this moment of existence. Embrace the actual vibrancy and reality of life and see what godliness you can find here. Perhaps God is not so diminutive as to be absent, and rather it is your temporary inability to see.

j

46

ARE YOU RELIGIOUS BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID OF DEATH?

by Dansk in

jw
friends

i've been thinking about the above question a lot lately!

i see so many so-called religious people being hypocritical to the religion they profess to have faith in.

they may say "hey, i'm only human", as if this excuses their behaviour.

JamesThomas

Ross:

In the first instance [religion] it's merely a hand pointing people to the Divine, without and within,

This may be the fundamental factor as to why many at first gravitate towards religion; as if there is an innate desire to rediscover what has been forgotten. Then is added dogmas and conceptual interpretations of deities and demons, punishments and rewards, heavens and hells, reincarnations and a personal existence beyond this one. The quest is no longer about what is already whole and divine, but rather how to fix what seems broken.

May I suggest that all of our religious and philosophical discussion is merely a shadow puppet show enacted by the hand in which we have become mesmerized and so forgotten that the hand is only pointing.

What is truly real, pure and divine?

Right here, right now, just beneath all beliefs of universe, self, and religion, what rests pure and silent at, and as, the core of our being? Perhaps if the foundational actuality is clearly seen, there will be no more need to imagine what or where I will be tomorrow.

j

103

The God Delusion

by Peppermint in

jw
friends

old dawkins is on the rampage again.

.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/5372458.stm.

JamesThomas

Reading that just makes me want to strap on a string of dynamite and kill a few people in the name of rational thought.

LOL. Point well taken.

j

29

What if we are really alone in the universe?

by zagor in

jw
friends

how would that make you feel if we were the only pleasant accident in inhospitable universe, if such 'miracle' newer happened elsewhere in our universe?

if there are no other alien civilizations that could rescue us or ?show us the way?

as some popular writers like to think.

JamesThomas

Here is a short little video which may put this question in some perspective:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw

The patches of sky they are referring to, are similar in size to a tennis ball at a hundred meters (328 feet). In scientific verbiage: itty bitty. What did they find in these two little patches of nothing?

j

12

Sunning Himself on a Silk Tree.

by JamesThomas in

jw
friends

i live and work on a small farm.

everyday there are many new adventures and things to see and discover.

today, i was happy to meet with this charming little fellow.

JamesThomas

Well, looks like a lizard with a forked tail is not as amazing as I thought it was. I'm too easy to impress I guess.

j

12

Sunning Himself on a Silk Tree.

by JamesThomas in

jw
friends

i live and work on a small farm.

everyday there are many new adventures and things to see and discover.

today, i was happy to meet with this charming little fellow.

JamesThomas

Yes, jgnat, you're probably correct.

We have three cats on the farm. One, TigerBear, especially likes to catch lizards. So many have surrendered their tails to her, I wouldn't be surprised if we evolved a new tailless species here; as they would likely be the ones most apt to survive as they have no convenient long handle to grab. But instead we have this new forked handled verity. Go figure.

j

12

Sunning Himself on a Silk Tree.

by JamesThomas in

jw
friends

i live and work on a small farm.

everyday there are many new adventures and things to see and discover.

today, i was happy to meet with this charming little fellow.

JamesThomas

He's a Blue-belly lizard. 1st I have seen like this.

12

Sunning Himself on a Silk Tree.

by JamesThomas in

jw
friends

i live and work on a small farm.

everyday there are many new adventures and things to see and discover.

today, i was happy to meet with this charming little fellow.

JamesThomas

I live and work on a small farm. Everyday there are many new adventures and things to see and discover. Today, I was happy to meet with this charming little fellow. Make note of his tail.

alt

j

60

Do you buy into conspiracy theories?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

i guess since leaving the witnesses, i have become willing to listen to more things.

mainly because i learned in life, that if the religion you were raised to live and die for is wrong, and deceptive, then couldn't that be said of government and science?

so with this in mind, of the ones i am going to list below.

JamesThomas

was kept secret for four years,
That's because most of the people who WORKED on it didn't even know what they were working on! Plus they lived completly isolated from society! How were they going to tell?

Good observations, mkr. What you say doesn't in any way discount that secrets can be kept; rather you shed light on how uncomplicated it all may be. As far as the Manhattan Project, there were up to 30 different locations used for production and research. Most of the 100,000+ people were, however, working in three major locations. As far as them all being "completely isolated", I would seriously doubt that with such large numbers of people and various locations and all, though I can not say for sure. Actually, isolation may have been generally unnecessary because of your other point: "most of the people who WORKED on it didn't even know what they were working on". It makes sense that it is this exact dynamics of compartmentalization that allows complex activities involving hundreds, or even thousands of people, to ultimately be clandestine operations, either in part, or in whole. Few would be required to actually be in on the big picture. As far as the moon landings, and lots of other things, I only know that I don't really know. j

60

Do you buy into conspiracy theories?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

i guess since leaving the witnesses, i have become willing to listen to more things.

mainly because i learned in life, that if the religion you were raised to live and die for is wrong, and deceptive, then couldn't that be said of government and science?

so with this in mind, of the ones i am going to list below.

JamesThomas

I have great faith (based on evidence) in human beings' inability to keep secrets.

The Manhattan Project (U.S. atomic bomb research) was kept secret for four years, even though billions of dollars were expended on it and tens of thousands of people employed by it. Then Vice President of the United States Harry S. Truman didn't even know about it. Within a few days of taking Presidential office he had to be briefed on the entire project. The first test being only 3 months away.

j