JamesThomas

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Posts by JamesThomas

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  24

  I feel bad about being a part of this...

  by sibboleth in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  several years ago, approx 1995, i was a newbie elder - age 29 and was just doing the "yes man" duties around the hall.

  there was the overbearing po who was the "king" of the congo and whatever he said was gospel... if he didn't like you - you were history... needless to say - i kissed his butt and moved up the ladder quite easily.

  we had another newbie elder - in his late 40's - and he was a smart man.

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  JamesThomas

  Welcome, Sibboleth.

  it is obvious to me that this organization is not God's chosen people.

  I find this paradoxical, for certainly the god found within the pages of the Bible can be very unforgiving to the point of murder. This sets a precedence and pattern for those who admire and follow him, does it not? How can people who worship ruthlessness, not be adversely affected? In an early time this liberal elder could have been stoned to death, and so you for going against the other elders.

  Why is it you seem to have higher morals than the god you worship?

  j
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  7

  Law of gravity?

  by the sage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if jehovah's rule of law works like the law of gravity, which it apparently does until the millennial rule of christ, the past 6000 years of sin (error) inherited from adam has permitted mankind to exist even though imperfect.

  this has allows death and distruction.

  the historical scriptural record of death and distruction of those that go contrary to god's rule of law by failing to follow his direction and guidance (since not perfect impossible), as a people or nation it proved to be the case.

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  JamesThomas

  Hello, Gerald.

  Sorry, I do not understand how a tribal war deity can have anything to do with the laws of nature, gravity or otherwise.

  The fool!
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  31

  Religious Experience/Being Saved

  by choosing life in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have read on this board that several posters have had a religious experience or were saved.

  i am curious about such experiences.

  how did you know it was from god?.

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  JamesThomas

  I have not been saved, or been made wiser, or holier, or bettered, or added to in any way. Rather quite the opposite: it has been seen this individual self, does not even exist. There is simply the wholeness and allness of what IS. Trully, of myself -- I am nothing.

  Perhaps I should have remained religious and worshipped something, and so then been "saved", or got'n at least something out of the deal. Oh well. Shit happens.

  j
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  91

  If Jehovah isn't the true God then who is?

  by unbaptized in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  if jehovah isn't the true god then who is?

  if the jehovah's witnesses aren't god's people then who is?.

  please let me know and i need current information, not outdated information regarding the origin of the organization.

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  JamesThomas

  your christianity lays in your heart

  Actually, I agree that what the word C-h-r-i-s-t actually points to, is found within our own consciousness. Not as a person or thing, or any limited circumscribable object or entity, but rather as That which unites us all. It is the very same Conscious-awareness which looks out every eye, breathes through the leaves of every tree, shines brightly from every star, and spins in every atom.

  That I define self by some religion or greed, only separates and distills me, and seemingly fragments the wholeness which can in truth, never be broken.

  j
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  91

  If Jehovah isn't the true God then who is?

  by unbaptized in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  if jehovah isn't the true god then who is?

  if the jehovah's witnesses aren't god's people then who is?.

  please let me know and i need current information, not outdated information regarding the origin of the organization.

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  JamesThomas

  Perhaps you are simply asking: What is true?

  This is a far easier question to answer than many would expect; yet, it can not be genuinely answered in words. It must be lived.

  First be very present and acutely aware of the present moment of existence. Silently and nonjudgmentally watch the mind as it presents its thoughts and pictures. Notice that all this before you is interpretive and conceptual abstracts, and so clearly not the TRUTH you seek. Now notice what is seeing. Notice what is most immediate, intimate and REAL. Here is truth. You, are actuality, reality and truth. Not what your mind presents, but rather what the mind exists within: the conscious-presence of BEING.

  Look deeper here, into the depths of your own silent and pristine pool of being. Look for truth in what can be clearly seen as true already. Seek for truth in truth.

  You will discover the ultimate and most wondrous truth as your own being, or it won't be found at all.

  Don't need a Bible, or religion, or a some god, or anything other than your own conscious awarness to look deep into what is looking.

  j
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  24

  I'm struggling with God's existence -- and here is why.

  by Morocco in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in mark 13:30, matt.

  24:34, and matt.

  23:36 the bible makes the following statement: .

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  JamesThomas

  Morocco:

  I can't help but feel that maybe we make our own answers and, at the very least, the Christian God (or maybe all others) just simply don't exist

  You know there is a lot of wisdom in your post.

  Could it be you simply see a serious problem with attributing a gloriously infinite universe to a contrastingly small and limited deity? I mean certainly the real Source of such wonder and grandeur must be unimaginably more vast and beautiful than anything religion has to offer; especially to what's found within the pages of the Bible.

  I suggest you honor your innate wisdom, and let go of images of gods and deities gleemed from a page or playing upon the screen of imagination, and instead focus on what it is to be alive in the present moment. Dive into the reality of your most intimate sense of being and existing. Discover what is at your core. Accept only what is undeniably real.

  j
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  39

  ex JW atheists

  by Bobhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know we were sold a lie in believing god was only dealing with the wt and to obey them is to obey god.

  what puzzels me is that in rejecting the wt so many also reject their belief in god.

  surely they believed that god existed as witnesses.

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  JamesThomas

  james thomas - if you weren't already married I'd be proposin' right now!

  I'm not.

  j
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  16

  Do You Really Need to Know the Truth Again?

  by Clam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are we better people when were looking for the truth, rather than when weve found it?

  when i thought i knew the truth it didnt make me a better person, it didnt give me peace of mind or facilitate self discovery.

  if anything it released negative qualities such as arrogance and misanthropy.

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  JamesThomas

  Perhaps there is a problem in that generally we come to think up truth. Truth, becomes something conceptual and believed. Truth becomes an idea or image that is some how viewed as separate and apart from what we actually are.

  The truth is that nothing the mind thinks up is the authentic and genuine Truth we seek; it's only interpretive abstraction. Giving great credence and importance to the minds mirage, we lose sight of the reality, actuality and truth of our own being within the immediacy of the present moment.

  As long as we shrink and narrow truth down to a specific person or group of ideas, we are toying with realities antithesis.

  j
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  57

  Hi I am new - Lovelylilly's husband

  by ROC in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife has been keeping me up to date on what goes on in the forum.

  i finally decided to join myself.

  i am not as knowledgeable in the scriptures as my wife.

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  JamesThomas

  Welcome, ROC.

  Harboring no beliefs or fondness for gods, deities and demons, you would probably consider me one of your lowly "atheists". I have had a few interactions with your dear wife here, and she has always been kind and open minded to the fool.

  Glad you joined us.

  j
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  26

  guilt feelings sometimes

  by amara in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was raised as a jw from the age of 4, my father was an elder for 18 years, was a auxillary pioneer for years, been there done all that and decided to leave at age 30, i have chosen a pagan path and am very happy but sometimes i feel guilty for no reason, does anyone else ever have this problem?

  if you do, how do you handle it?

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  JamesThomas

  Oh, and WELCOME!