Posts by JamesThomas

121

Does God REALLY exist? (An Attempt at an Online Bible Study)

by theMartian in

with the global village now teaching evolution as an absolute fact, and the 'creation museum' making a mockery of the bible, any bible study should begin with this question!

however, the biggest hinderence to learning truth is clinging to concepts we've accepted as 'truth' without being willing to take a closer look at other possibilities.. i ask that ridiculers have fun on other postings, so that it might be possible to enjoy comparing what we have learned, how we see things- and also share what we have found to be facts-truth!.

(and i will not "count the time", as promised; that's unimportant to me, anyhow!).

JamesThomas

timetochange:

Believe it or not some truly love God. Some here on this board love God.

I would agree that they believe they do. However, those who often boldly profess a "love for God", are the very same ones who worship a very diminutive and vindictive god-image. They unquestionably embrace a blood encrusted idol peddled from the dank and dusty pages of an archaic book; an anthropomorphic hand-me-down. Honestly, is it the unimaginable Source of all existence they love, or a simple minded story character created by tribal fears and nightmares? If their "love" is so great, why is it so easily fooled? Why do they bow to something so small as a deity?

Perhaps those who truly respect the Divine (whatever that word points to), cater to no known god or religion -- for to do so is to bastardize and belittle it. My sense is that many so called "atheists" are noble people who honor truth and life in a way beyond most religious people's grasp.

j

46

GOD: GOING.....GOING...Going...going....GONE!

by Terry in

think about this.. go way back...far far back in history.. go back before the internet.

go back farther.. go back before newspapers, tv and radio.. go waaaaay back before there was public education.. return to a time when there were no universities or libraries.. go even farther back in time and return to when it was thousands of years before any modern era.. people got their ideas from their families and neighbors period!.

everything was rumor.

JamesThomas

So if there is no God.....Humans have no one to blame but themselves for all the pain and suffering....Is that what we have evolved into and the question is what is worse....Atheist can now stop pointing fingers at God for their sorrows? Evolution is no better than God? Something went wrong in the brain process of evolution in humans?

Dear TopHat, If we have no god, no religious future to reach for, what do we have left? We have this moment of reality. We have an opportunity to be empowered and responsible. We have the opportunity to be kind, gentle and helpful to others, simply because that is what we would like done to us. We can step out of the moment of opportunity and get lost in religious fantasy; we can get lost in blaming for what should or should not be; we can drown in victimization; but we don't have to. We can be the person we wish others to be. Perhaps the Christ is a word which points to the actual peace and beauty which awaits within you this very moment. Perhaps the Christ is not something or someone that gives you something, but is rather what you give the world. Such giving is accomplished only by being present and attentive to those we meet in this moment of reality. The only reality there ever is. This clarity and freedom, is what can remain when we stop foolishly placing our ultimate significance in some other entity, place or time; what can remain when there is no religion or god. It's up to you. j

46

GOD: GOING.....GOING...Going...going....GONE!

by Terry in

think about this.. go way back...far far back in history.. go back before the internet.

go back farther.. go back before newspapers, tv and radio.. go waaaaay back before there was public education.. return to a time when there were no universities or libraries.. go even farther back in time and return to when it was thousands of years before any modern era.. people got their ideas from their families and neighbors period!.

everything was rumor.

JamesThomas

TopHat:

There will always be War! With or without God.

We can not say what there would be without beliefs in a god; we can, however, definitely say that belief in a god has not ended war, and in fact has been a motivating factor for much of war. A personal god is a machine of division and so strife and animosity.

Perhaps if we were not lost in fantastic promises our god is said to have made, we would be more attentive and present with each-other. Would this be a bad thing?

j

46

GOD: GOING.....GOING...Going...going....GONE!

by Terry in

think about this.. go way back...far far back in history.. go back before the internet.

go back farther.. go back before newspapers, tv and radio.. go waaaaay back before there was public education.. return to a time when there were no universities or libraries.. go even farther back in time and return to when it was thousands of years before any modern era.. people got their ideas from their families and neighbors period!.

everything was rumor.

JamesThomas

Excellent guidance there, friend. I liked the clear and vivid picture you painted.

However, now that you have taken our god away, what do you have to give us in return? Who am I, without my god?

j

13

Anyone here have experience in Native American culture/worship?

by Angry_Kangaroo in

since leaving behind jw beliefs, i have been interested in learning other belief systems.

i am really interested in native american beliefs as i have native blood in my background, and i feel more at peace and closer to god when i am in nature.

from what i have read, it is not a set religion with rules and such, but more a cultural/community based faith.

JamesThomas

Edge, thanks for posting John's words; they are very beautiful.

I don't know about today's Indians, but my sense is that those who came before had no need of a book about God, for they had an intimate marrage with the present moment of nature and life. Whereas the western mind would rather read about a tree than actually sit silent and respectful with one and open to its secrets.

j

121

Does God REALLY exist? (An Attempt at an Online Bible Study)

by theMartian in

with the global village now teaching evolution as an absolute fact, and the 'creation museum' making a mockery of the bible, any bible study should begin with this question!

however, the biggest hinderence to learning truth is clinging to concepts we've accepted as 'truth' without being willing to take a closer look at other possibilities.. i ask that ridiculers have fun on other postings, so that it might be possible to enjoy comparing what we have learned, how we see things- and also share what we have found to be facts-truth!.

(and i will not "count the time", as promised; that's unimportant to me, anyhow!).

JamesThomas

Does God really exist?

Perhaps a much easier question to answer is: Does the infinite and indescribable beauty and wonder of life and universe give witness to a definable deity or god as its fount?

Certainly the true Source of such majesty must be unimaginably greater still. All gods and deities ever known are painfully and grossly less...especially he who is described within the pages of the Bible.

j

13

Anyone here have experience in Native American culture/worship?

by Angry_Kangaroo in

since leaving behind jw beliefs, i have been interested in learning other belief systems.

i am really interested in native american beliefs as i have native blood in my background, and i feel more at peace and closer to god when i am in nature.

from what i have read, it is not a set religion with rules and such, but more a cultural/community based faith.

JamesThomas

My grandmother was Blackfoot Indian, and for the last four years I have been residing in a tipi. What I know of Indian beliefs is little, though generally their understanding of the Divine (our ultimate significance) is far, far greater than Christianity. However, all beliefs are abstract concepts weaved by the mind and are not the reality of foundational being at which they may be aimed. So, I suggest getting to the point and leaving all beliefs behind, Indian and otherwise, and discovering what is here when the mind is silent.

Nothing the mind offers is the reality of truth we seek. Our genuine actuality is too close, too immediate, too vast and boundless for the mind to comprehend. However, it can be lived as your own Authentic-being and that of all existence; because that is what it is. It just needs to be seen. You, ultimately, are the truth you seek. All the religious beliefs in the universe can not give you what you truly already are.

alt

j

40

she left me today......

by theinfamousone in

jw
friends

i went out to see my sister and my mom... when i got back she said she was leaving... when i asked why, she said she was weirded out by my lack of trust.... i couldnt trust her,, so i hid things... its not her fault, its not like i was lying or anything, but i mean some shit, i just didnt tell her... i am so used to being called names, lectured and torn apart for being 100% honest, that now, i still am scared to let anyone completely in... now the best thing that ever happened to me is gone... she left and im not sure shes ever coming back... and iom not sure who to blame.. i mean its obviously my fault, but did the borg put a fear of trusting into my heart and soul?

i guess i cant blame anyone but myself... but at this point, im so torn and hurt that im not sure what to do... all i know is that what was finally having the semblance of family to me is now gone... the first time i was able to live with someone and love someone, albeiut with an ingrained sense of distrust, has disappeared, probably never to return..... .

this has broken me, i don't know what i will be doing with myself for the next couple of days... i feel almost dead inside... the infamous one.

JamesThomas

Dear One,

I wish you were here so I could give you a big old hug and some fatherly advise. Can not get my arms around you from here, but I can offer you some counseling.

First, be assured that this too, will pass. Second, you are young and to be honest probably don't have a clue as to who you really are. Not knowing who we are, we misplace a great deal of personal-identity upon the person we are most intimate with; and this is often too heavy a load to bear for our beloved. The relationship is doomed.

I suggest you take this new opportunity of freedom to spend more time alone discovering your inner most senses of life and existence (spending time in nature and meditation is conducive to this). Open and come to genuinely know your being and your relationship with Life and universe, and then, and only then, will you have true integrity and love to offer others. For as long as we do not really know our inner authenticity, we live a lie, and all we have to offer others is counterfeit.

Peace be with you, friend.

j

103

Jehovah's Witnesses turned Christian....Post Here

by R.F. in

i would like those of you former jws turned christian to post here.

specific denominations can be mentioned.

i'd just like to get an idea of how many of you there are.

JamesThomas

In my opinion, this thread supports the existence of the harmful divisive nature of today's Christianity.

As a Christian we generally chisel in our mind an image of "God" which is a definable person or thing distinguishable from all the rest of the universe. The consequence of this being very fixed boundaries as to how to correctly appease my little god, and so then be privy to his tiny circle of "true" friends and worshippers. For me to believe myself "saved" and deserving in the eyes of my deity, there must be those who are undeserving and so damned. This delusional and alienating mindset creates a huge bloody rift between us special chosen ones, and all those lesser ones who deserve some form of punishment or even death.

It is strongly held beliefs like these which -- in our minds -- isolate and separate "me" from all others and the rest of the universe. This blinds us to our true relationship with all existence and opens the way for all suffering and inhumanity towards others and the planet. Generally speaking, Christianity -- as it is practised today -- supports and reinforces this destructive sense of division and detachment. Christianity is not at all about what unites us all, but rather about a very selfish personal salvation which separates me from you. This is perhaps the very opposite of what Jesus attempted to teach.

I could be wrong, but I walk away from reading threads like this one with the feeling that if it were not for the evolved zeitgeist of this time period, many Christians would be gathering into warring tribes; and the blood would be flowing freely.

j

44

hypnosys experience?

by Hermano in

hello everyone, long time lurker, first post.

can you share your experiences with hypnosis?

beyond the yes it worked for me or no it did not work for me, what i am looking for especifically is whether or not it opened you up for demon attacks or demonic activity.

JamesThomas

Thank you for your prayers, Hermano. While you're at it ask them to send a little nooky my way.

I'm not sure I understood you. Are saying that maybe God is both the good and evil?

What I am saying is that perhaps the only limits or boundaries to the Divine is in our heads. Why reduce our Source (call it God, if you like) down to an entity which is living, when it could just as easily be Life itself? Why shrink the Divine (our ultimate significance) down to a fragment or piece of existence, when it could just as easily -- and more importantly -- be the entirety of Existence itself?

Why unquestionably accept an old book (the Bible) that diminishes the Divine to some other time, place or thing? Why not open to the placement of God in the only reality there is: here and now...and the vibrant and intimate consciousness which beholds it all?

I understand this is a major paradigm shift, but why not open to such a shift? Why not step out of archaic tribal beliefs that present our ultimate significance as something absent? Why not bring the Divine into the present? The old way is not working. Perhaps it is time to awaken to what is really here when constricted and limited beliefs in "self" and universe are absent.

j