JamesThomas

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Posts by JamesThomas

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  60

  Are You "Technically" Still A Jehovah's Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  even if you don't regard yourself as a practicing jw, some may view you simply as inactive, a lost sheep, etc.. if you were baptized but not disfellowshipped or disassociated, you may still be a jw---right?

  your thoughts please..

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  JamesThomas

  My sense is that there are lots of people who visit here on a regular basis who have clearly left the “Jehovah's Witness” religion, but still consider themselves – and perhaps even more so – a true Jehovah's Witness.

  To these folks I say: Better to be an atheist, than embrace your heart around the extremely foolish belief that some primitive tribal deity named Yahweh/Jehovah is responsible for all the breathtaking wonder of nature, life and universe!

  More sane that you worship a carved wooden doll -- at least there you have some remnant of an actual majestic tree.

  Certainly a child can see that the true Source of all existence must be infinity more than the asinine icon found in the pages of the Bible?

  Get your head out of your “Holy Scriptures” and take a month long hike in nature and touch bases with reality for a change.

  Just say'n.
  

  
  
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  8

  How do you tell when the Governing Body is lying?

  by Esse quam videri in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs
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  JamesThomas

  The JW-GB are no different than most of us.

  They are ignorant and numb to the unitive and vibrant reality of life and existence in and around them, and so create a make-believe “reality” out of abstract thoughts and beliefs far removed from what is real.

  I suggest we stop looking at others, and look at ourselves.

  
  
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  9

  another "real" god to deal with...

  by freemindfade in

  1. social
  2. humour

  _morpheus...our gods thor and zeus have competition it looks like.

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  JamesThomas

  Was that picture taken on Mars?
  
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  7

  Why God is an untenable concept

  by Half banana in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  around three thousand two hundred years ago a tiny tribe of desert pastoralists were called israelites for the first time.

  by assuming this name it acknowledged, as was the custom, the name of a god el..

  el was a chief sort of god and he had a fabled number of seventy sons including yahweh.

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  JamesThomas

  My point is this: how could it be that a local tribal cult idol becomes the almighty creator god of the universe?

  How can we have even the tiniest sense of the immense, mind-boggling complexity and beauty of life and universe, and yet unquestionably attribute it all to a diminutive and primitive tribal deity?

  The disconnect there is so great as to make one weep.
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  16

  Better Bible Translation?

  by Sofia Lose in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  which bible translation is the best, according to biblical scholars, anybody knows?

  please chime in.. i plan on getting it and doing comparison with the new world translation.

  sl.

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  JamesThomas

  No Bible translation, no words on a page, are better or can come near the exquisite lessons of reality and truth that moments silently alone in nature can teach and share. But use your short time here as you see fit.
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  130

  Atheist Miracles

  by Perry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i reworded a variation of a common critique of atheists to my own liking.

  no, i do not hate atheists, i love them!

  they keep me from getting bored.

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  JamesThomas

  That's for each one to answer. I think therefore I am. Am I a bag of liquid and solids- yes. But who I am is tied to those abstract thoughts.

  Originally you mentioned how Perry was constructing his identity around his rigid beliefs (abstract thoughts), and that you, on the other hand, are somehow too progressively open and adaptable to be fooled by such.

  Then you tell me: ... "I think therefore I am. Am I a bag of liquid and solids- yes. But who I am is tied to those abstract thoughts"

  So what is the fucking difference between you two???

  You both identify with thoughts, and seem to have no clue or awareness of anything more or other.

  Yet, there is that in you which must, and does, silently observe all thoughts, beliefs, emotions and occurrences; which is far closer and more intimate than all of them. Do you see???
  

  You see thoughts and feelings, just like a leaf in your hand or any other phenomena. Can you see that?
  

  I'm just asking: Can you see that you see? And if you can see all thoughts, feelings and other phenomena, then what are you? You are not the leaf or the thoughts or the emotions that you see; so what are you?

  You are not what the mind says or believes. You are nothing that can be observed. Who are you; really?
  

  I'm just asking.

  Note: I mean no personal offense. Just feel that the questions are super important and can be life changing.
  
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  146

  Why I remain one of Jehovah's Witnesses

  by Brother Jeramy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  allow me to begin with a clarification: when i say i am one of jehovah's witnesses, i don't mean that i am an advocate of the watchtower society or a devotee of some of its more controversial false teachings.

  i mean that i am a christian, a disciple of jesus christ dedicated to jehovah god, and who remains in union with my brothers and sisters who make up the family of faith that globally refers to itself as jehovah's witnesses.

  some totally understand the distinction between the family of brothers and sisters and the corporate organization known as the watchtower society (wts).

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  JamesThomas

  This is an obvious Troll.

  No member of Jehovah's Witnesses is ever, under any circumstance, given the personal freedom to address a group of ex-JW's or apostates.

  He knows that. He also knows the Watchtower is a corporation.

  This is all a farce.

  Jehovah is a farce.

  Yet many here embrace the idea.

  What to say that may gently entice them to see otherwise?

  That said, a troll can be seen as someone not to respond to -- or as an opportunity to say something to all the rest who are conscious enough to read and are open to change.
  
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  130

  Atheist Miracles

  by Perry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i reworded a variation of a common critique of atheists to my own liking.

  no, i do not hate atheists, i love them!

  they keep me from getting bored.

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  JamesThomas

  It is much easier for Perry to believe he understands who he is and that he has a purpose, to feel stable because his core belief system is stable. For liberals and progressives this is not really possible because our core beliefs are less rigid and more willing to adapt as new information and understanding presents itself. Which means that we are reshaping our understanding of who we are and how we relate to society, even if in small ways.

  The protective walls around Perry's core beliefs are tall and rigid. They are his identity. He believes that salvation is dependent upon being correct on issues of faith. When confronted on a particular belief, he is not only confronted on an idea held to rigidly but he is feeling an attack on the very core of who he understands himself to be. Our questioning him causes him to be jolted about his beliefs just as questioning a Jehovah's Witness does. (I know, I know- I had to go there. Because, Perry, you may have left the dangerous mind-control cult but your thinking process is the same as it ever was.)

  OTWO, this was well said IMHO.

  
  

  Would you not agree that like Perry, all of us are continuously weaving concepts and beliefs into our identity right this moment?

  
  

  Can we clearly see how we allow our minds to create a seemingly “real” identity out of abstract thoughts, concepts, beliefs and occurrences? And if so, what sees this? What must remain outside the story to see the story? What are we really?

  Just asking.
  
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  146

  Why I remain one of Jehovah's Witnesses

  by Brother Jeramy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  allow me to begin with a clarification: when i say i am one of jehovah's witnesses, i don't mean that i am an advocate of the watchtower society or a devotee of some of its more controversial false teachings.

  i mean that i am a christian, a disciple of jesus christ dedicated to jehovah god, and who remains in union with my brothers and sisters who make up the family of faith that globally refers to itself as jehovah's witnesses.

  some totally understand the distinction between the family of brothers and sisters and the corporate organization known as the watchtower society (wts).

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  JamesThomas

  Dear Jeramy,

  Welcome, and as you can see coming here is going to expose you to all kinds of thought provoking opinions and ideas. Hopefully some will motivate you to look ever deeper into your beliefs; or hopefully help take you outside of all beliefs and abstract concepts entirely.
  

  I applaud you for seeing through the JW sect and way of viewing “reality”. Yet, this is a superficial awakening -- as you still unquestionably champion the belief that a primitive anthropomorphic deity, introduced by ancient desert tribesmen is the mastermind and origin behind all the wondrous mind-boggling expression of life and universe. Can you not sense or imagine something infinitely greater? I'm certain most children can and do. There is a far deeper depth of being in the eyes of your family dog than anything you can ever read from your Bible....if you have eyes to see. If you have eyes to see...
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  41

  How Do You Feel About All The Time You Wasted Being. A Jehovah's Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  all that i can say is....what a shame!

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  JamesThomas

  I'm pretty much on board with freemindfade, on this one.

  If you live in the past, you're depressed. If you live in the future your anxious. If you live in the present you can be happy.

  In my world, most of our problems and angst can be traced to the mind habitually dwelling on the past (and extending it into the future which is just dwelling in more past), while at the same time being numb and blind to the present-moment that is generally void of problems. If you think about embracing someone while hugging your friend or lover, you miss all the wondrous real aliveness of the moment with your beloved. Same with all life.
  

  It really helps to realize that you can stand back and watch the mind and all its commentary and story telling, and see clearly that none of it is you, because you are silently watching it (clearly see this and know this and you have just stepped outside the box that most humanity suffers in).

  The mind can only express via learned past circumstance and knowledge gained. As far as the ever fresh and new reality of this moment it is speechless and pretty much useless -- unless you need to fall back on how to drive a car or bake a cake. 90+% of thought is needless and often painful (natures way of saying: "shut the fuck up -- be still")
  

  Silent-presence is vast and beautiful, an extension of ones being, but it has to be appreciated and soaked in -- to know that.