Posts by Ravyn

18

HAVE PEOPLE ONLY BEEN ON EARTH FOR 5000 YRS LIKE JW'S SAY?

by FreeofGuilt in

jw
friends

i was always taught in the jw religion, that humans have really only been on earth for 5000 years or so... there is so much evidence of the neandertherdal people, with scientists finding many skulls, bones, & such, but scientists date these bones 100 thousand-millions of years old... the society used to always add that carbon dating is not accurate.

i also noticed that jws never talked about the dinosaurs much... what do you think??????

---- kristine

Ravyn

someone needs to tell these skulls that they are not that old........

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=68&e=5&u=/nyt/20030611/ts_nyt/skullsofferfirstglimpseofearlyhumanfaces

Ravyn

13

does or did anyone have this problem?

by free will in

jw
friends

i have the option of saying happy birthday or god bless you or even singing the happy birthday song.

example, my hubby (who was never a jw) is having a birthday today.

now, i have no problem celebrating with him.

Ravyn

it is like stage fright. do it once...make yourself and it gets easier each time. don't let it become a hangup.

Ravyn

83

Did Jesus Christ exist at all?

by Tyler in

some of my comments (and that of others) on other threads have highlighted a basic differance between those of us who belieave jesus christ did exist, and those of us who recon he did not.

i belieave jesus as described in the gospells did not exist.

so i decided to start a thread that adresses this issue face on.

Ravyn

does it really matter if Jesus existed or not? I mean if we can better ourselves and our world by believing in anything---does it have to be 'proven true'? I don't believe 'truth' exists. Not like that. Seems to me Christians get hung up on the whole 'I am better than you are coz I am the ONLY TRUE religion' thing. Who cares? We can learn from fairytales and nursery rhymes--so why does Jesus HAVE to be for real? Don't we all make our own realities anyway?

Ravyn

31

The Letter from my Mom to my new wife.

by CraigSA in

jw
friends

this is the letter my mother wrote to my wife.

who does she think she is?dear leanne,thank you once more for the photos; we are building up quite a collection!i was so sorry to hear that the children are ill- this is a bad time of the year for sicknesses.

you must be quite worried, especially if kevin has pneumonia, which can be very nasty.

Ravyn

Letter from new wife to mother:

Dear Mom,

thank you so much for your letter, I really appreciate seeing just exactly where you and all the other judgemental people let (insert name of husband) down. I certainly will try to gain wisdom and insight from your poor example of conditional love. I do not want to make the same mistakes you have made! How terrible for you to live with this weight on your heart. It took great courage to write it down for me so I will not also hurt the one I love most in the world like you did. I can't thank you enough for such a sacrifice of humility in your admission of failure. But please remember that no matter how far off from God's eternal love you get, you can always go home to Him. He has not failed any of us in His Parental duties! I want you to know that you are welcome anytime in our house despite your cruelty and blind adherence to a man-made cult.

Agape,

(insert name of new daughter-in-law)

Ravyn

16

South Georgia 1980-1987 anyone?

by SpiceItUp in

.

if the towns of eulogna, crescent, st simons island, brunswick are familiar to you then you may have known me.. please email me or respond here.

thanks.. spice

Ravyn

1977-1979- Forest Park congregation then down to Warner Robins 1979-1980--BUT I was looking for a husband(I was 15-18 yrs old)--so I basically made all the rounds and knew most of the State.

Anyone know the Laniers of Eatonton area? The Fosters in Warner Robins? I did not go by the name of Ravyn, I used my middle name nick of Cammy.

Ravyn

40

Will The Pope Just Die Already!

by xjw_b12 in

in the newspaper today there was an article on pope john paul's visit to crotia.

this is his 100th pilramage, in his 83rd year.

in 2 weeks he is scheduled to go to bosnia, where i doubt he'll get as warm as a reception as he did in croatia.

Ravyn

hey DJ!

I believe the implication about repeating meningless prayers was because in Jesus' opinion those prayers were...well....MEANINGLESS! LOL Anyway, you can repeat a mantra and it can have meaning.

He was teaching thoughtfulness in prayer, and if you do the rosary the correct way it is very thoughful and has much meaning. The protestant churches' interps of scripture were based on hatred of catholicism...so some of it is semantics and irrelevant today.

As far as the rosary--well certainly it takes greater discipline to stay focused than informal prayer...because you have to stay 'in the moment' when you are not actively thinking of conversation with God....but the mysteries are the part that keep you active.

For every ten Hail Marys(a decade--pronounced 'dekkid')you meditate on a 'mystery'. You do 5 Mysteries per day(it takes about 20-30 minutes), so in a week you do them all atleast once--nuns, priests and religious do them all once a day. The rosary beads are 5 sets of ten, but a nun or priests' rosary is all 20(it was 15 up till JP2 changed it this past Spring) sets of ten and can be used around the waist like a belt! These mysteries are:

Joyous: Announcing of Jesus birth to Mary by Gabriel, The Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, The Birth, The Presenting in the Temple, and The Finding of Jesus in the Temple when he was 12;

Luminous(the new ones): Jesus' Baptism, The Wedding at Cana, The Proclaiming of the Kingdom(and all the miracles), The Transfiguration, and The Last Supper;

Sorrowful: Agony in the Garden(contrition for sins), Scourging at the Pillar(mortification of senses), Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross, and Crucificxion;

Glorious: The Resurrection(our conversion), The Ascention, Coming of the Holy Spirit(our gifts), Assumption of Mary(our hope), and Mary's Coronation(eternal happiness).

all of these can be personalized to our own particular journies of faith or they can be dedicated to others, even social issues.

So it is a little difficult to meaninglessly repeat a Hail Mary if you are at the same time meditating on a mystery. It is kinda like trying to do more than one thing at once, and it truly has a feeling of 'giving up' (to God) in that you become absorbed and nothing is done for yourself in this exercise. The rhythm takes you almost out of yourself. That is the best I can describe it. It is considered that each Hail Mary will give Mary a rose in heaven and we are putting together a bouquet for Jesus' mother (and our mother.) So it is very mindful(mind-full)--the opposite of what Jesus warned about when he said not to repeat prayers!

Ravyn

40

Will The Pope Just Die Already!

by xjw_b12 in

in the newspaper today there was an article on pope john paul's visit to crotia.

this is his 100th pilramage, in his 83rd year.

in 2 weeks he is scheduled to go to bosnia, where i doubt he'll get as warm as a reception as he did in croatia.

Ravyn

:: waving at Robyn! ::

oh yeah I forgot....Yeru also said it was hard to get excommunicated and easy to get back if you are...that kinda goes with the idea that the people who these Catholic friends of yours pray to are assumed to be in heaven even if they were not the best examples of saints while they were still on earth....well the Catholic Church believes God gives everyone every chance even after death. That is purgatory. To go to Hell would take quite a bit of willful absolute sinning to get to. So even if a person is not doing their best while on earth, they still have a chance to change that in purgatory. And contrary to what some people think, Catholics do not believe that innocent children who die go to Hell. But that IS one of the reasons Catholics believe in infant baptism--not so much to cleanse a baby from their sins(since they don't have any of their own yet...) but to put a 'dibs' on their soul in case they die early.

Ravyn

PS--I did not say I believe everything the Church teaches.....dont get me wrong. But I was told that if I held the Creed, that was all I needed and the rest of the Church is 'icing on the cake' so to speak.

40

Will The Pope Just Die Already!

by xjw_b12 in

in the newspaper today there was an article on pope john paul's visit to crotia.

this is his 100th pilramage, in his 83rd year.

in 2 weeks he is scheduled to go to bosnia, where i doubt he'll get as warm as a reception as he did in croatia.

Ravyn

link for the beatification and canonization process from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm

notice the issue of papal infallibility involved which proves just exactly what papal infallibility is, and isn't. worth following those hyperlinks to understand what it really means.(rather than what JWs and other Protestants assume it means...)

Ravyn

40

Will The Pope Just Die Already!

by xjw_b12 in

in the newspaper today there was an article on pope john paul's visit to crotia.

this is his 100th pilramage, in his 83rd year.

in 2 weeks he is scheduled to go to bosnia, where i doubt he'll get as warm as a reception as he did in croatia.

Ravyn

Dear DJ,

the Church allows for private revelation. But it must remain private if it is not sanctioned by the Church for public worship. If they pray to their relatives, it is most likely a personal thing. It can get out of hand. But the Church allows a person to have the freedom to do that. They have to accept personal responsibility if they misuse it. If misused it could actually be considered a sin. I think it is more likely to find prayer to relatives who have passed in some cultures over other cultures. In countries of latino heritage it is very common, not so much in other cultures.

As far as the 'saints' who are canonized, that is the Church's 'official' recognition of them and usually involves setting up a feast day for that person--still it is up to individuals and parishes whether they observe the feast days or not. Only a few feast days are affairs for the entire Church and obligatory to observe. The Church recognizes that we are all saints, but some have proved to be beneficial to the bringing of other souls closer to God. These are the ones who are canonized. It is a long long drawn out, complicated process, sometimes taking hundreds of years. The first step is 'beatification'. This Pope has beatified and canonized more saints than any other Pope in history.

He also recently did something that has never been done since its inception---that is he added a whole set of 'mysteries' to the rosary prayer! This is a BIG DEAL. I love the rosary. It is a way of meditation and prayer that is so soothing and calming and profound. It involves all the senses--touch(counting and holding the beads), hearing(saying the prayers out loud), seeing(alot of times I look at pictures of the 'mysteries'), smelling(I always use a rose scented oil or incense and many have reported smelling roses not coming from anything they have done themselves...) and tasting....hmmm welll maybe not ALL the senses...LOL! Unless you take it figuratively and say that you 'taste that God is good'! The rosary engages both sides of the brain too. While you are repeating the Hail Mary's and Our Fathers like a mantra you are meditating on the mystery for that particular decade(set of ten) and now there are 4 sets of 5 mysteries each depicting Jesus entire life. You can dedicate a decade to a particular concern or for someone else. For me it is a complete prayer. It does not replace informal prayer---but I have to say -informal prayer does not replace the rosary either.

ok the infomercial for the rosary being done, I will stop for now before I get accused of proselytizing! LOL But I do enjoy Catholicism which is a new experience for me in the realms of christianity.

Ravyn

40

Will The Pope Just Die Already!

by xjw_b12 in

in the newspaper today there was an article on pope john paul's visit to crotia.

this is his 100th pilramage, in his 83rd year.

in 2 weeks he is scheduled to go to bosnia, where i doubt he'll get as warm as a reception as he did in croatia.

Ravyn

every Wednesday the Pope has a televised 'audience' from the Vatican where he conducts a blessing to a crowd. You can watch it on EWTN if you have Dish and some cable lineups(www.ewtn.com). Before you judge his abilities, listen to him. He may have parkinsons, but then again so does Michael J. Fox---shall we just euthanize both of them? (I am not upset---I just hate to see people dismiss something without giving it a chance.)

Ravyn