i was almost 50 years old before i really knew anything factual about how the bible came into existence!.
it is astounding.. i was reading it since i was a child never with a doubt in my head.
i was told by people i trusted (who had no reason to lie) that i could be confident the bible was the word of god almighty.. and, it was as simple as that!.
But who would I be without my tribal deity? Who would I be without his offspring -- my beloved Jesus?
Certainly you can not pull the rug of my entire reality and identity out from under me, offering me nothing in return, and expect me to applaud you.
j
i got an interesting email that i wanted to share that deals with beliefs.
in this case it deals with financial success but it also applies to doctrinal beliefs.
example: witnesses are positive thinkers but not positive knowers (is that a word?
WAC:
I got an interesting email that I wanted to share that deals with beliefs. In this case it deals with financial success but it also applies to doctrinal beliefs.
Beliefs run deep. V e r y d e e p.
Sit, and silently run through your mind everything believed about your self and all the beliefs regarding your relationship to the rest of the universe (it's unlikely one could seriously do this, unless you are a monk in a cave; but for now do the best time allows).
Does any of the noted beliefs, in any way, describe the silent conscious presence which sees all the beliefs (that which is most close and intimately you)? Can it be seen that everything ever thought and believed about "self", is not self?
So then, if you are not what has been believed for all these years, what are you -- really? and isn't it important to know since our relationship to everyone and everything is based on what we perceive our-self as being?
j
is the jw teaching on hell correct or is there a real hell fire?
has anyone done some research on this.
this is one bible topic i just can't get my head around.
Hell, is a word which points to a sense of reality so isolated and cut-off from life that death seems warm and beautiful. I've been there.
On the other hand: When we can walk out under a night sky and wordlessly sense the infinite wonder and awe of the expression of life and existence in and around us, it's crystal clear that there is no real hell, and never can be.
j
nu 31:17-18 moses, following the lord's command, orders the israelites to kill all the midianite male children and "... every woman who has known man ...." (note: how would it be determined which women had known men?
one can only speculate.
dt 21:10-13 with the lord's approval, the israelites are allowed to take "beautiful women" from the enemy camp to be their captive wives.
So, you come here attempting to steal away our beloved murderous tribal god; what do you have to replace it that our meager lives may retain some meaning?.....other than Tetra's riddle, which I am still working on.
j
history has demonstrated:.
religion is following orders by implicitly trusting someone or something.. science asks questions.. religion purports to answer questions.. science seeks to disprove its own conclusions.. religion seeks to reinforce its own dogma.. science is error-correction toward adjusting for realities as they unfold.. religion internalizes against reality by mocking up a substitute.. science is the most recent development of the human mind.
technology proves science to be successful in advancing human progress.. religion disdains human progress and waits for the end.
Terry, your "I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I stood proud and tall..." post was an exquisite classic, fit for framing and placing on a wall.....hopefully in every Kingdom Hall. May I live to see the day.
Narkissos, there are many, many champions of the religious, logical, scientific and philosophical ways of thinking here. It is not that I "hate thinking", rather I down-play it in attempts at pointing to what comes before it. That, which thinking happens within. That, which unites us even when thinking seemingly divides us. It is not necessary to switch thinking off in order to realize what thinking unfolds within; it is just that a quiet mind can be more conducive to such observation. Thinking is a wondrous and helpful thing; it's just that there is much suffering and division when we come to believe it is the beginning and end of our identity.
I suggest that the null point, or pause, is actually always here as the most immediate reality of what we truly are. It may indeed be most noticeable in the pause -- like the space between these words -- but actually the space is a little glimpse of the open expanse we would call a page, or the foundation which the words rely upon for their existence.
This is what I have continually attempted to point to: the vast foundational conscious-beingness upon which all phenomena owes sustenance and existence. It's here now, closer than thought. It is the silent, boundless, unifying purity that unites us one and all. It is what we truly and naturally are, and so can be consciously realized if there is a sincere willingness to look and investigate, and an openness to letting go of everything the mind defines "self" as being.
j
i've written on here several times about how the witnesses have a really shallow spirituality.
remember how there were spiritual activities, "sacred service" as it was often called - bible study, prayer, meetings and field service - and everything else was considered not a spiritual activity, not sacred service?
they toyed with expanding the 'sacred service' definition for a short time.
Seeker:
Perhaps it might be better expressed as being connected with life, the world you live in, being in the here-and-now, awareness based on compassion for what is around you. I'm not exactly sure how to express it, but I see it as learning to live with as much awareness and respect and connectedness as possible.
Yes, how to express what words can not capture: the reality and actuality which the mind exists within, but can not circumscribe. For me words like God, Divinity, etc, only point to what is actual and real, right here, right now. Not as some thing objective and separate, but rather so close, so connected, intimate and real as to be ones true and boundless identity.
You explained as well has I have ever seen it explained, Seeker4.
j
i've written on here several times about how the witnesses have a really shallow spirituality.
remember how there were spiritual activities, "sacred service" as it was often called - bible study, prayer, meetings and field service - and everything else was considered not a spiritual activity, not sacred service?
they toyed with expanding the 'sacred service' definition for a short time.
I agree. The smaller our concept of god (the divine and sacred), the larger the sphere of evil. Having no god, there is no definable edge to what can be viewed as sacred and divine.
j
i thank you for your support for my sadness over my divorce, and not taking in the faith of the witnesses no more.
i tried the search engine for some articles and it said it was being updated.. i am still believing in the word of god, i dont believe anymore in greedy people.
how many here believe that christ will still return?.
Dear Magdalenefan,
Sounds like you are going through some stressful times. It's understandable you would want to reach out to a deity for some hope of salvation. However, I suggest going to the root of the problem, and quietly sitting and watching the mind. See how the mind creates a confusing grand-drama out of patchwork remnants of past-down beliefs and current emotional pain.
When we uncover the dynamics of the mind and the agony that can result from blindly allowing the mind to dictate our "reality", we then have the freedom of choice to not go there. But we have to clearly see what's going on, first.
There is a very peaceful witness to the minds activity; and it can be recognized as our foundational reality and identity. Then, life seems to not be so harsh around the edges. We have found a divinity far more real than any deity we seek outside the reality of here and now.
Good luck.
j
almost every night, i would get a phone call from my book study overseer, asking how i was, where i was.
whereas witnesses, when they experience hard times, stop going to meetings?
of course, my wife and i want to leave the witnesses, and i don't want to offend anyone in the process.
My wife and I have decided that it would be best for us to just stop altogether. I think that, for us, it'll be much more painful if we dragged this out too much longer. Wish us luck!
You are both wise. Follow your innate wisdom, and never forget the blessing of having each-other.
Good luck!
j
there seem to be quite a number of atheists who comment here.
when they argue how bad religion has been for society they point to actions done in the name of religion that are indeed horrific, such as the inqusitions.
there are also examples of course of non believers who have done great damage to society.
There are those who out of respect for a wondrous universe have created a god and worship it.
There are those who out of respect for a wondrous universe can not accredit a measly god for it.
So what? We're all here together.
j
