the apostle paul told the christians in the ancient city of philippi: "this is what i continue praying, that your love may abound yet more and more with accurate knowledge and full discernment.
philippians 1:9
similarly, accurate knowledge is needed for you to be motivated to believe in god.
It seems your heart is in the right place; but why would I want to have faith in, and so attribute an infinitely beautiful and wondrous universe to some moronic sheep-herders god found terrorizing and stumbling about within the pages of the Bible? Certainly the true Source of all this must be unendingly more than that.
j
matthew 18:19-21 (king james version)
19again i say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father which is in heaven.
20for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am i in the midst of them.. .
Sometimes?
matthew 18:19-21 (king james version)
19again i say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father which is in heaven.
20for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am i in the midst of them.. .
Remember God told Noah to warn everyone, but they did not listen and go into the ark. They laughed and ridiculed Noah instead. They did not believe. It was their own fault so they practically killed themselves. God did not kill them. This is a lesson to learn.
There is nothing more vile and evil than the mass murder of men women and children. Yet, many an otherwise kind person, a Christian, or Muslim will worship the rotting stink of evil in the name of "love". If BlessedStar's above post does not show you the total moral corruption and insanity that religion can bring upon people, then nothing will.
Little wonder there is so much war and ugliness in the world.
Religion sucks!
j
I feel a John Lennon song coming on...
one of my best friends in the world pam who is a non-judgmental born-again christians told me that she thinks that we are only "pawns" in a chess game played by jehovah and satan.
at first i thought pam was joking with me but she told me she was serious as a heart attack.
she then started to explain her position.
We are pawns of our own mind if we believe in it's deities and demons.
j
i'm usually the first one to stir this particular pot but it get's so frustrating to keep coming up against the same old arguments.
the phrase "banging your head against a brick wall" springs to mind.
how many times have believers argued for a designer but refused to answer the obvious question of the designer's origin?.
Oroborus21:
As for myself, I have both a "Believing paradigm" and a "Non-believing Paradigm."
That's pretty much what this thread is about, two mentally created coffins, two sides of the same coin, which isolate us from the reality which is here when there are no beliefs or paradigms one way or the other.
Generally, Christianity (and other religions) drastically shrink the highest significance to some person or thing; a separate localized entity unimaginably too tiny and separate to incorporate within itself all existence. When we allow the mind to reduce and diminish the fount of truth and reality to some thing out there and so small as to not be present, to not be our foundational truth and actuality, then we cut our own throats and live as if life and truth is somehow outside of what we are.....and so we often frantically sculpt mental imagery and beliefs of gods and deities to fill our barrenness.
I liken it to an insanity, the disease of religion...and even atheism can be a religion.
j
i'm usually the first one to stir this particular pot but it get's so frustrating to keep coming up against the same old arguments.
the phrase "banging your head against a brick wall" springs to mind.
how many times have believers argued for a designer but refused to answer the obvious question of the designer's origin?.
It's evolutionary. Starting with a basic anthropomorphic figure the mind adds the details which it finds attractive to form it's own little idol.
j
i'm usually the first one to stir this particular pot but it get's so frustrating to keep coming up against the same old arguments.
the phrase "banging your head against a brick wall" springs to mind.
how many times have believers argued for a designer but refused to answer the obvious question of the designer's origin?.
It seems to me that the mind in awe of existence, comes up with confused ideas it calls God, to "resolve" origin and causation. It then vivaciously argues whether or not it's cherished and foolish little imaginings really exist and rule us.
It all seems weirdly understandable and insane, and can be one of the most vigorous and highly lubricated forms of mental masturbation. In the mean time the reality and vibrancy of life passes us by as we heatedly rub and stroke away.
j
recently, while i attended some technical meetings, i ate in a crowded restaurant.
as few seats were available, a complete stranger.
asked if the seat next to me was taken.
Why separate or subtract the Source of the universe from anything? The special somethings or the nothings?
Perhaps it is only our mind's imagination which gives more divine significance to one moment more than another.
j
apparently, a large percentage of xjw's who post on this site have embraced some other form of god/jesus belief to replace the wt doctrine.
most of them fall into the "i accept the lord jesus christ as my personal savior" class.
they are still extremely attached to the old "forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of jc" line.
Can I ask why people believing in the grace of God by accepting Jesus gets you so upset? Curious.
gold_morning, I'm not answering for Gregor, just curious. If you had the power of grace, would you bestow it only on those who accepted and honored you, or would you give it equally and freely to all, no matter?
j
apparently, a large percentage of xjw's who post on this site have embraced some other form of god/jesus belief to replace the wt doctrine.
most of them fall into the "i accept the lord jesus christ as my personal savior" class.
they are still extremely attached to the old "forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of jc" line.
I am no longer a deity worshipper, but when I was my chosen god became a cornerstone of my personal identity. Thoughts of losing my beloved Jesus, were like thoughts of death.
It didn't matter whether or not my beliefs made sense or that they squared with reality. What mattered was I had a hole in my soul, a cavity which beliefs in a deity filled...for a time; until I realized the hole in my soul was creation of my mind and so the little god that filled it.
j
Seems to be alot of leeway allowed in what defines a "christian"