JamesThomas

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Posts by JamesThomas

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  8

  Is It Love? Or is it Selfishness?

  by JamesThomas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as jehovah's witnesses, we are programmed to believe that what we do is out of love.

  love for god, our family and neighbors.

  this sounds good and it feels good.

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  JamesThomas

  "For a human too act out of pure love requires surrender of the ego. I have sympathies with the Buddhist approach to this subject."

  Yes, I totally agree. Yet, perhaps before we awaken to the purity of real Love which always dwells within, there can be an ache, a desire to be selflessly caring and loving --though we may not even know what that really means. And though we may not know what it means we may have a strong sense of what it is not; and one thing that can become very clear that love is not is: unquestionably worshipping a deity who will clear the way for our materialistic dreams by killing billions of men women and children...and us along with them if we don't agree and call the whole insane mess the deepest expression of love.
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  8

  Is It Love? Or is it Selfishness?

  by JamesThomas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as jehovah's witnesses, we are programmed to believe that what we do is out of love.

  love for god, our family and neighbors.

  this sounds good and it feels good.

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  2. 
  3. 
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  JamesThomas

  As Jehovah's Witnesses, we are programmed to believe that what we do is out of love. Love for God, our family and neighbors. This sounds good and it feels good. So we generally didn't question it. However, being free of the Organization and looking back, quite a different story can be seen.
  
  First, it's likely impossible to genuinely love that which threatens to kill you and your babies if you don't -- as Jehovah threatens to. Second, we were filled with a selfish materialistic greed for the perfect body, living in a perfect house, on a perfect hill with a perfect view, etc, etc. Greed is not conducive to real love. But it does make it possible to shun your family and friends if need be in hopes of gaining your precious dreams and desires.
  
  It takes courage to see through it all. Perhaps it even takes the desire to be truly caring and loving.
  
  Congratulations.
  
  j
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  3

  Is the Governing Body's view of ex-members any different that this?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  the watchtower's governing body, since the late 70's, has fomented outright fear, hatred, antipathy and scorn toward former members who are whistleblowers about the destructive, lying policies inside the organization.. the gb instructs members to not even pray for these so called "enemies" whom they label apostate.. .

  is the governing body's anti-ex jw bias and rhetoric any different than this?.

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  JamesThomas

  The names may have changed, but the story remains the same.
  
  Both instances seem to reflect the black and white world of extreme tribalism that hungers for and actively seeks out a group to hate so that "we" may feel more righteous. It's always us against them. It's the foundation of all wars including the beliefs in Armageddon. It sucks. It really sucks. I feel sorry for people who can not escape this archaic web of the mind. It's sad.
  
  I hate you for bringing it up ;)
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  141

  Short video: "I Was A Deluded 9/11 Truther"

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuluqfeqfuu&feature=feedu.

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  JamesThomas

  "...i prefer listening to the evidence myself over arguments from popular oppinion in a matter such as this...there is no convincing evidence for any controlled demolition scenario which stand up to scrutiny."

  Bohm, if you were to actually "listen to the evidence yourself" of the many highly educated explanations on the site I gave you -- which includes demolition experts -- you may likely change your mind.

  Understandably, it can be painfully difficult to read the info and watch the videos on the site as the implications can be very unpleasant.
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  141

  Short video: "I Was A Deluded 9/11 Truther"

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuluqfeqfuu&feature=feedu.

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  JamesThomas

  The founder of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Richard Gage, is an old friend of mine. They now have more than 1,500 licensed architects and engineers who are demanding a new investigation into 9/11.

  http://ae911truth.org/
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  38

  What's This Thing Called Consciousness?

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/consciousness.

  vedanta.

  according to vedanta, awareness is not a product of physical processes and can be considered under four aspects.

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  JamesThomas

  There are countless beliefs surrounding this question. But beliefs are just that...beliefs or conceptual ideas that leave us void of a real satisfying conclusion.

  Perhaps the genuine answer can be found only when we look deeply and silently at our own sense of consciousness until the question dissolves.
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  7

  Do you think that the JW religion will die out?

  by i_drank_the_wine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while the number of jw's reported every year is still growing, it doesn't seem to really be growing as fast as they once did.. do you think that they will eventually level off and then decline?

  some of this was based on the stats on this page i was reading: http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/statistics.php granted, statistics can be presented in whatever light the author is trying to represent (look at the way the jw's massage their statistics to always be favorable).. of particular interest was their deductive math to find the number of people leaving yearly, which is pretty considerable.. a popular pew research study that lots of you probably heard about a couple years ago stated that jw's have the lowest family retention rate of any other mainstream religion.. combine the aging jw populace, the number of people leaving every year, the slowing growth rate numbers, the mindset held by many to "not have children in this system", the children that are had are only staying jw's roughly 1/3rd of the time according to statistics, the end never coming... add 20, 30 years?

  could the jw's actually, for all intents and purposes, die out?.

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  JamesThomas

  I feel that dozy laid it out extremely well. It may be slowing, but there is a huge amount of momentum behind the JW juggernaut.
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  78

  God exists? God doesn't? God is a different concept? Convince me!

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am in a spiritual void at the moment after a year out of the borg and 50 years in.. i'd like to hear 'brief' evidence for the existance or non existance of god/s without an argument between members here.. i'd like to get fresh view points as mine is now so critical it's telling me to be an agnostic or atheist.

  why?

  i am in want of evidence, not just words from a copy/paste troll & no links.. i just want to open up to new possibilities but with evidence to support it not just 'faith'..

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  JamesThomas

  Seeking for "God", or truth outside ourselves generally drops us in an endless and confusing whirl-pool of concepts and belief systems. May I suggest that it may be more fruitful in regards genuine discovery to turn our gaze from out-there to within.

  If it is truth we seek after all, then what is the truth of our own being when washed clean of all that we imagine or believe our self to be? Perhaps this will answer questions that before we mistakenly directed outside of us.
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  13

  Double dog dare you not to agree

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this guy is known for his youtube rants about this and that.. he is strictly "street".

  he uses what use to be called "common sense" in very "keepin' it real" language.. .

  listen to his rant on the budget crisis, debt, borrowing and obamba and see if you don't cheer at the end.. .

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  JamesThomas

  Thanks Terry. That was way cool.....I mean hot....oh fuck, never mind.
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  2

  Zen Living Part 19 (summarized): Managing Stress on the Job

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  separating your job from your ego is difficult but crucial for stress management.. letting go of your expectations can put stress into perspective, even when you are the victim of other people's expectations (which you can't control).. learning to go with the flow rather than resist what you have to do can help you be more productive and enjoy your work more.. take care of yourself and pay attention to your own needs for less stress and better job performance.. you don't have to choose between your job and your life.

  both will be more enjoyable and productive if they are balanced..

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  JamesThomas

  "Too often people let their Job define who they are..". Perhaps it doesn't stop there. Identity is generally a patchwork of thousands of phenomenal things including thoughts and emotions. Is this what we truly are? What so intimately sees and feels all this? Is this which witnesses what we call "our life and being", is it these countless things? Or is there an unspeakable purity of being that remains untouched that is always whole and pure? Perhaps we can look and see. Perhaps we can awaken to a deeper and far more genuine reality of self than all we have ever believed ourself to be.