Posts by JamesThomas

11

Is belief in God just "wishful thinking"?

by TheCoolerKing in

when i was a jw i didn't question the existence of god.

there was no doubt that jehovah or god was real.

occasionally though, i did have doubts.

JamesThomas

Dear King,

Belief in a loving "God" -- amongst a tragic world, does seem counter intuitive and gives witness to a "God" with less morals than our own (we who would fix and heal this mess if we had the power to).

What are beliefs other than abstract constructs of thought and emotion? Shall we now put together a new group of beliefs called: "not believing". Perhaps there is another way. Perhaps there is an outside to the box we have lived in.

When all beliefs of "self" and "other" are absent, what remains? When all mental interpretation of existence and judgments of good and bad are silent, what actually exists?

I suggest forgetting about believing one way or the other about "God" or the ultimate significance and Source of life, and instead be deeply present with Life....and see what wisdom and treasures can be found right here, right now. Who/what is this person who wants to know "God"? What if we stop looking outside ourselves for meaning, and instead thoroughly investigate into the most intimate sense of being and existing? What are you, really?

j

75

I'm going to be disfellowshipped on Wednesday

by Thinking of Leaving in

the elders cames to my home on saturday and i didn't answer the door, so they told my sister to relay the message.

the message was "you know what it's about, we're going to make the announcement next meeting".

i knew it was coming...but it feels so weird.

JamesThomas

Dear Thinking,

Though it may not seem so, it's a time for celebration. One way of celebrating is to be kind, gentle and aware of the internal dynamics such a situation can bring on.

Silently and gently meet with the inner sorrow of losing what the Witness gave you. It is a kind of death. Know that they are not "demons", but simply people lost in a story; a story which says that disfellowshipping you is the right thing to do. No need to make enemies here, for this will only cause you pain and suffering.

I suggest clearly seeing that the mind will want to weave a grand drama around this situation; one easily lost in. You'll know you are lost in the story when the body is tight and the emotions full of angst. Respect these signs, heed them, and step out of the minds drama and into the cool-warm reality of the moment of life in and around you void of a story.

There is a freedom which comes with disfellowshipment. Freedom can be a little scary. Be aware, and do not allow yourself to step out of one jail cell and into another religious belief system.

Don't allow others, or some book to define life's ultimate significance. Take this time to learn what it is to be silently alive and one with the entire flow of existence in and around you. You carry within you all that wisdom you will ever need.

Congratulations!

j

24

BUT I HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED IT......................

by Dansk in

jw
friends

you can go on and on but the fact is you can't prove it!

i only have your word for it that you had your experience.. and the books you cite don't help, either, because i've only got the author's word that he's telling the truth.

how can i believe him if i haven't experienced it myself?.

JamesThomas

Every word ever spoken, every thought perceived,, every experience ever known, may be an illusion and only as real as the "reality" we give it. But who/what is this "we", this "me" that all "reality" seems to revolve around? What is the one undeniable actuality and truth upon which all other things hinge?

Take away all objectifiable experience of "self" and "other", and what remains? What is it that we all share? What unites us one and all? What has no beginning and no end?

j

52

IT IS TIME FOR A___CONFESSION!

by Terry in

there is an old-fashioned definition of the word "confession" which is the public expression of one's deepest faith and belief.. take a deep breath and give a one or two paragraph summary of your deepest belief.. i'll go first.. from the time i was a small child i had a deep and abiding reverence for god as a father.

(my own father i never even met until i searched and found him when i was 25 years old.

) my grandmother had been raised in a catholic convent.

JamesThomas

Terry:

I'm still in love with the "idea" of God but can find not even the smallest morsel to sustain that vestige of childhood's longing.

Who or what, is looking to find? I suggest shifting the revealing light of acute investigation -- one hundred and eighty.

j

34

Difficult to build faith up at church after leaving WTS

by White Dove in

jw
friends

how many of you who decided to remain christian and started to go to church had a hard time building your faith back up again after leaving the wts?

i'm having a hard time.

it's been 4 months since i began attending the penticostal assembly of god church in my town, and i love it.

JamesThomas

Dove:

I just don't have any faith, yet.

Perhaps it is time to stop having faith in some-thing or some-one absent or yet to be, and meet with reality.

As everything ever written about trees is not a tree, so is the ultimate truth we seek -- not found upon pages.

j

69

Final Thought About Atheism

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

final thought about atheismafter having reviewed the last thread about atheism, i have decided there.

exists a common theme among the postings.

the themes surrounding the .

JamesThomas

Individuals...claim that such exists.

Perhaps the answer lies in what all existence subsists within, rather than in questioning what may or may not be.

j

22

Lexapro

by cruzanheart in

jw
friends

does anybody take this stuff?

i took my first pill today and have decided i'd rather be depressed.

what a horrible day!

JamesThomas

For all who deal with depression, I suggest keeping an eye on TMS Therapy.

It's not available just yet, but should be very soon.

j

22

What does it mean to be saved?

by tan in

is it biblical?

i was told that salvation was believing in christ, but shouldn't there be something else to do?

thank you.

JamesThomas

Shaz:

James... but faith is trsut, not work. Read Heb 11 (first verse, and all the chapter) to understand about what faith it is spoken in bible. It is like you are saying that prerequisity for life is - you need to be alive. To believe is not work, to put trust in one doing the work, is not work, it is trust.

Not work for you perhaps, dear Shazard. For me it would be an impossible effort to give honest faith and trust in a desert deity and his offspring as my Source and salvation. I could not subtract Divine significance from the entire universe and distill it down to creatural characters. I can not give credit to a shard of existence for what all existence resides within. My sense of the Divine is light-years beyond any "God" found within the pages of the Bible. I know what can not be diminished or limited, so to honestly and sincerely embrace lesser finite characters would, for me, be impossible. I can not go back; nor do I want to. No offence meant to you Shazard. This is just how I see things. j

22

What does it mean to be saved?

by tan in

is it biblical?

i was told that salvation was believing in christ, but shouldn't there be something else to do?

thank you.

JamesThomas

lv4fer:

No prerequisites. Just faith in his son.

?

There is an act required before one is saved: faith in Jesus. So, the prerequisite is: faith in Jesus. Sounds sweet and easy on the surface. Just don't look too deep.

Christian "salvation", is not free, a price of genuine trust and faith must be paid. Faith in Jesus is extorted by intimidation and threats of physical and psychological harm (whatever the opposite of being "saved" is). Such behaviour is called blackmail, and it's illegal because society deems it immoral and gruel.

This creates a problem. How do we honestly accept and have genuine faith in someone who stoops to immoral and criminal levels? Do we just close our eyes and pretend it's all good? Do we question that perhaps the Biblical concepts of the Divine are corrupt?

No offence meant to you, dear lv4fer; nor am I nailing you to the wall and expecting answers. It's popular beliefs that I question. We are not our beliefs.

j

81

If you had to, what religion would you choose to be?

by Crumpet in

you can answer this as seriously (lt) or as inanely (buttlight) as you like!

i was reflecting having read someone's thread about blowing off non jw family that actually it would have been so much better if i had a larger family, preferably not completely jw saturated and this random train of thought led me to thinking that if i could choose i would be catholic, because then i would have a huge family, go to really nice gothic churches with lots of candles and tortured saints and be able to go to confession (instead of lt's mobile).

also the colours of the whore of babylon always were a lot more enticing to me than the mild blues and undistracting beiges of the khs.. i think we all have religions which would suit our personalities so much better.

JamesThomas

Religion, like Christianity, has simply become another word for: diminishing and shrinking what is endless, into something small.

If I had to choose, I would not choose. I'd happily pay the price of not choosing.

j