Posts by JamesThomas

95

First & Last, One-time post

by journey-on in

jw
friends

i have been lurking for quite some time now on jwd.

my story is pretty much just like everyone else's, "only the names have been changed".

in reading your posts, i have both laughed and cried till tears ran down my cheeks.

JamesThomas

James Thomas...
What the hell have you been drinking and smoking?
Your comments have shown you to be a complete ass as to what jo was putting across.
I think you are the one with relationship problems.
HappyDad

The reason journey is suffering from emotional pain, is because of the beliefs his sister harbors that her beliefs are better than his, and so she shuns him = she good, he bad. His letter, which I read very carefully, showed he felt his beliefs are better then hers and that god would see through her = he good, she bad. Journey, is still trapped in basically the same divisive beliefs that caused the problem in the first place. In attempts to actually do something constructive and significant that would end the suffering, I posted as I did and pointed to what is uniting rather than divisive. We can give the addict his heron and he will feel better; or we can take it away and he will hurt like hell, but genuine healing will ensue. I guess I'm the bad guy for refusing to supply him his drug. j

95

First & Last, One-time post

by journey-on in

jw
friends

i have been lurking for quite some time now on jwd.

my story is pretty much just like everyone else's, "only the names have been changed".

in reading your posts, i have both laughed and cried till tears ran down my cheeks.

JamesThomas

I'm sorry, MsMcDucket, that you felt a need to associate me with someone who hurt you.

It seemed clear to me that journey's letter revealed that he was still entrapped within the same type of divisive beliefs which caused the shunning problem in the first place. So, with the desire to see suffering end -- once and for all --I attempted to focus on the root of the problem.

j

95

First & Last, One-time post

by journey-on in

jw
friends

i have been lurking for quite some time now on jwd.

my story is pretty much just like everyone else's, "only the names have been changed".

in reading your posts, i have both laughed and cried till tears ran down my cheeks.

JamesThomas

I get the feeling that you are so angry, that you have ceased your spiritual quest and turned to agnosticism or worse, atheism in your bitterness.

I gave reference to: what has no beginning and no end, and to That which unites us one and all. Compared to the diminutive Christian concept of god, yes, it is understandable you would see me as atheist.

you don't like for your conscience to hurt, so you will justify your actions and inactions some way. But, believe me, Sis, someday, you will have to account for your lack of love...real honest-to-God love. Then you can stand before Him and say, "But didn't I give up my flesh and blood for you!" Don't think He won't see right through that.

Here, you blatantly condemn your sister. Telling her how your god will see through her. Which implies that you must believe yourself somehow more pure in your god's eyes. You, know how to "truly" love, were she does not. You are good, she is bad.

This is the same self-righteous and judgmental us-against-them beliefs that the Witnesses use to separate and divide people. You're still doing it. The Christian beliefs are based on such division.

I suggested finding instead what unites you and your dear sister, and all existence. But this you ignore....and perhaps even see such words as a terrible thing. This is why I am angry.

I am angry not at you or other people, but rather at religious-beliefs, any beliefs, which ignore what truly unites us one and all and instead reinforces and sustains ideas which divide us causing much suffering, animosity and war.

Sometimes there is a valid reason to be angry.

j

95

First & Last, One-time post

by journey-on in

jw
friends

i have been lurking for quite some time now on jwd.

my story is pretty much just like everyone else's, "only the names have been changed".

in reading your posts, i have both laughed and cried till tears ran down my cheeks.

JamesThomas

the path of healing

If we really want to heal from the wounds of past lies, we have to be radically honest.

You're angry at your sister for her self-righteous judgment and shunning of you. How is being like her -- with your letter full of self-righteous judgments -- healing the wounds? The Christians here will support you and applaud your anger; because too often, when we identify with tribal beliefs, it's not about healing for us, so much as reinforcing our beliefs that we are more righteous than JWs; just like JWs think they are more righteous and closer to God than us. No one is closer or farther away from what truly has no beginning and no end.

Healing begins when we honestly see that we are drowning in the same old story, and we see we are really no better than others. It is painful to examine ourselves with stark naked honesty. Yet, truth is discovered by self examination, and not by condemning and judging others. Again, I suggest seeking what unites us one and all, rather than what divides us; and I recommend looking deeper within yourself rather than in an old book.

Good luck to you.

j

19

Isn't it amazing ... how many Christians chose to ignore the OT...?

by needproof in

i read this funny article about the god of the old testament, and i thought how amazing it was that some christians seemingly chose to ignore this brutal god of war, yahweh, as though in the nt, he suddenly had a change of heart.

the deity is clearly a maniac with a bloodthirst.

here is the article: .

JamesThomas

No, it's not at all amazing.

If we derive our identity and understanding of "reality" out of a book, it makes sense to affirm the pretty parts and ignore the icky ones.

j

95

First & Last, One-time post

by journey-on in

jw
friends

i have been lurking for quite some time now on jwd.

my story is pretty much just like everyone else's, "only the names have been changed".

in reading your posts, i have both laughed and cried till tears ran down my cheeks.

JamesThomas

Like most every Christian I know, you have merely changed the pictures on your prison cell walls, and think that you are free.

Your letter is pregnant with self righteous gilt tripping. You think you somehow now know the "truth" of God, which gives you the right to ream others a new one.

I suggest you get your mind out of the harmful and divisive ego-inflating nature of the Bible and Christianity, and attempt to see what truly unites you with your sister and all mankind.

Welcome to the forum.

j

21

Deep thoughts: Is Jehovah omnipotent?

by Paralipomenon in

jehovah is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.

he is the god of gods and all powerful.

this is a fairly accepted teaching and one that no active witness would argue with.

JamesThomas

But is he omnipresent? Is God everywhere, or is he a person with a specific dwelling place?

Certainly if we get our little god out of a book -- it is nothing but a tiny shard of existence that dwells between our ears. "God", is only a word that the mind uses to define, limit and circumscribe the divine to some tiny thing that it can be owned and embraced like a toy doll.

What has no beginning and no end is not a god. It is Reality. That, which everything exists within. Let go of all gods and Divinity has no boundary or edge.

j

21

Deep thoughts: Is Jehovah omnipotent?

by Paralipomenon in

jehovah is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.

he is the god of gods and all powerful.

this is a fairly accepted teaching and one that no active witness would argue with.

JamesThomas

Is he REALLY all powerful or is he limited. I don't think we will get an answer to that.

The answer stares us in the face.

Seriously, does the infinite and wondrous expression of life and universe give witness to the limited and erratic tribal-deity found within the pages of the Bible as being it's Source!?

j

34

Mental condition of Jehovah's Witnesses, healthy or not ?

by Handsome Dan in

i thought i'd open a discussion on the mental health condition of most practicing jws.

and get viewpoints on what kinds of mental health effects the wts.

may have for most of the people that are practicing witnesses.

JamesThomas

abr:

Why stop here, why don't we put bold warning stickers on our posts?
Respectfully
abr

I understand how when we come to identify with our beliefs we are easily offended when they are not supported by others; however, it's not respectful or necessary to jump to the conclusions you stated.

Funny thing is, is that I probably view you much higher than you view yourself. Be at peace, abr. I'm not attacking you; but rather revealing what I honestly feel are harmful beliefs. You, are not your beliefs.

j

34

Mental condition of Jehovah's Witnesses, healthy or not ?

by Handsome Dan in

i thought i'd open a discussion on the mental health condition of most practicing jws.

and get viewpoints on what kinds of mental health effects the wts.

may have for most of the people that are practicing witnesses.

JamesThomas

Who are we to judge?

Whenever we substitute the actual presence of reality with conceptual words and thoughts from a book or belief system, we have become delusional. This is certainly not just a JW problem, as they are just a branch on the tree of Christian make-believe.

Fantasy can be healthy and fun when we see and know it for what it is; however, generally, most of us, and especially the most religious of us, have eyes but can not see or differentiate between what is real and what is myth.

It's kind of a catch-22. The more blind we are to the silent, bottomless depths of the real and present moment of reality, the more we rely upon and give credence to the confines of fantasy: in this case tribal stories and deities. We die, never knowing what it is to be alive and truly present with what IS.

We put bold warning stickers on cigarettes, we should do the same with every Bible.

j