Posts by JamesThomas

71

The original sin

by onacruse in

this is a question i've had for a long time.. according to the biblical account, adam and eve's sin was to eat fruit from the forbidden tree.. now, ordinarily, when we get caught doing something "wrong," we try to hide the "offending" member (the child tries to hide his hand that has the 'stolen' cookie; we hurriedly try to pull our pants back on when mom walks in unexpectedly while we're masturbating, etc.)..

so, if the "sin" of adam and eve was eating a forbidden fruit, then why wasn't their first impulse to hide their hands?

or to wipe off their mouths?

JamesThomas

All of natural world around me speaks to the reality of the awesomeness of the Author of the Bible. It is he (Jehovah God) I have real faith in. Everyone else is relative.

You answered your own question as to where else other than the Bible.

Seriously, does an infinite universe give witness to an anthropomorphic tribal-deity as being it's true Source? Certainly the ultimate significance from which all life, universe and existence arises, must be without beginning and without end. Why so easily accept a tiny deity, a fragment within the universe as our god? Why minimize and belittle our true Source, at all?

When we go out to dinner, we do not eat the menu, we eat the food. Why value words on paper, when you have the reality of all life and universe to teach you? Why reduce God to some fools mumblings on paper? Why shrink and separate the Divine from Reality itself? Why diminish the Divine to an object so tiny as to be absent from our own foundational being and that of all life and existence. Why cherish a lesser god which divides and separates us into the saved and the damned? Why not instead seek what unites us all?

In one of your past posts you said "Reality is the best place for us all". Heed your own advice. Words taken from a book are not reality, merely conceptual abstracts -- helpful in baking a cake, but worthless when in search for the foundational Reality of all existence.

j

71

The original sin

by onacruse in

this is a question i've had for a long time.. according to the biblical account, adam and eve's sin was to eat fruit from the forbidden tree.. now, ordinarily, when we get caught doing something "wrong," we try to hide the "offending" member (the child tries to hide his hand that has the 'stolen' cookie; we hurriedly try to pull our pants back on when mom walks in unexpectedly while we're masturbating, etc.)..

so, if the "sin" of adam and eve was eating a forbidden fruit, then why wasn't their first impulse to hide their hands?

or to wipe off their mouths?

JamesThomas

Q Bert:

Our creator is the God of truth. If we can't believe the Bible, what else is there that we can go on?

There is the endless actual reality of life and existence in and around you.

My belief in God's Word allows me to keep my bearings and make a more sensible life for myself. The more I believe it's true, the better my life gets. To me, it's about sanity.

Placing significance in a book, instead of life, does not equate to sanity.

j

5

How can we know if we have Gods holy spirit?

by Doug Mason in

* we can call jesus our lord (1 cor 12:3) .

* we can discern spiritual things (1 cor.2:13, 14. compare john 7:37-39) .

* we may know we belong to god (1 john 3:24) .

JamesThomas

How can we know if we have God’s holy spirit?

How could the true Source of an infinite universe be so small and limited that we could be without it?

j

28

IF GOD COULD DO JUST ONE THING..........

by Terry in

jw
friends

i asked myself this question recently.. "if god could do just one thing that would make it clear he actually exists in order to convince the world today---what would it be?".

.

how would you answer?.

JamesThomas

Any phenominal experience, anything seen or felt, no matter how "Godly", could be nothing but a mental hallucination; and so, not genuine proof at all.

Real proof, undeniable and unequivocal proof, must reach into the raw foundation of the silent and immediate, unmoving Consciousness which experiences and witnesses all phenomena.

In other words, what the word G-O-D points to, the pristine wholeness and perfection of being, must be seen as your own true Self; and not just locally as a limited experience would manifest, but rather seen as the reality of all existence; bar none.

The only unquestionable reality we possess is conscious-awareness (everything else may be a dream). God, to be undeniably and genuinely real, must be -- the conscious-awareness which reads this now.

j

25

Why do people believe in religion?

by sinis in

i still have a hard time wrapping my brain around this.

for example why do so many believe in the bible when ample proof exists that negats its validaty?

why not believe in zeus or jupitor, etc.

JamesThomas

If the eye can not see reality, it sees fallacy.

j

48

Your opinion on my really important question, please.

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

does a jw upbringing simply confuse a child or is it really damaging?.

i have no doubt that a jw child is, at least, confused with life.

in my own case my wife brings up my 2 children (aged 5 & 2) as jw`s.

JamesThomas

There is no reality outside the present moment. All significance is cradled within the immediacy of now. The problem with much religion, especially the Witnesses, is it mentally detaches significance (reality) and places it in some other illusory thing, deity, place, or time. Religion often steals away life and reality, and upon doing so becomes the darkest of arts.

I suggest counter balancing its effects by teaching your children how to be silently open and present with life's significance in this moment of actuality. There is innate richness and wisdom present here now which can negate the harmful effects of religious beliefs and its tiny judgmental gods. Of course we need to know how to be genuinely present ourselves before we can show others.

When your dear children are truly rooted in reality, the sleep of religion will not fall upon them.

j

25

Qaulifying for life in the new world

by skeptic1914 in

attended co public talk today, "will you qualify for life in god's new world?.

the essence in this quote: "it is essential that we cooperate with the fds, that we conform to bible standards and that we ourselves share in preaching the good news of the kingdom.

" not once was faith in jesus christ mentioned.

JamesThomas

As a Christian, I need to be a sinner to qualify

Why shrink the Divine into something so small and narrow that there needs to be any qualifications at all? Why this need to make ourselves one of God's own, and others not?

Certainly an endlessly wondrous universe give witness to a Source infinitely greater still, and not less; always more and never less. Why choose less? Why shrivel, shrink and belittle? Because an old book tells us so? Because we have eyes and can not see? Why? I wonder. Why accept anything which diminishes the Divine in anyway? Who are we to do that?

What fools we all are.

j

31

Define your spiritual side

by JH in

although i don't go to meetings anymore, i'm inactive, never was disfellowshipped, i still have a "spiritual side to me", something that is deeply rooted in.

on one side, i see errors the watchtower makes, and on the other side i take what's good about them, and that's why i don't fit in with them.

i don't meet their standards, nor do they meet mine.

JamesThomas

"Spirituality" is word that the mind has created that can point to a reality other than the mind's making.

There is that which never changes, no matter life's circumstance, beliefs, health, or emotions. It is closer than all definable things. Find that.

j

152

Does Knowing the Truth Make you a Happier person?

by gumby in

many of us who were once jehovah's witnesses had a measure of happiness in our lives.

for me, i had a hope in the future, i had answers as to why we are all here, i believed in a loving god who looked after me and cared about me, i had answers to all of lifes big questions.. when i found out the truth about the witnesses, i was lost in a great big world and now had no answers other than the fact that what i once believed was "the truth" in actuality wasn't the truth.i now had to start all over in my search for truth.

for me, it wasn't long before i found what i thought was the truth since i always believed in the bible.

JamesThomas

I'd give ya all a free bag shinin if I hadn't sold all my wax.

Ah damn! I knew I shooda kept an eye on eBay.

alt

63

My mom was Kidnapped By the FBI Today She told Me F@#$ OFF!!

by Sparkplug in

so friday my brother and i found a nursing home for my mom to stay at.

it was a very hard thing to do.

he had me go hunting.

JamesThomas

Sparky,

What a nightmare.

It may be best for you to stay away from her for awhile.

I suggest -- if you can -- spending some quit time alone. Be still and just silently feel what it is to breath and be alive without giving attention to all the thoughts running through your head.

Throughout the day come into the moment and return to just feeling the air move through your nose and the feelings in the body as the chest expands and life moves slowly through it.

It's important to be aware of a deeper reality that is not lost in all the drama; a sanctuary that you carry with you, no matter how trying the times may be.

Good luck to you, dear.

j