Posts by DJS

53

Spirituality

by Jonathan Drake in

if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

DJS

Brokeback W,

Your comments: "I think it is important to acknowledge man's spiritual side and not take a extreme materialistic approach to man's psychological condition."

Assuming I would agree that the spiritual side means having empathy, fellow feeling, deep emotions about family, relationships, nature, justice, etc., the problem I have with the above statement is that it isn't either/or. I don't consider myself spiritual in the least, but I consider myself a deeply caring, sensitive individual. I also don't take an extreme (or even a non-extreme) materialistic approach to anything. I am very much a minimalist and a planet sustainable person. Your comment suggests that without what you consider a belief in a deity one becomes a selfish, hedonistic monster. It isn't supported by empirical data, which suggests the opposite.

Mankind evolved to deal with the difficulties of being human; it wasn't pleasant for anyone (well maybe the kings and caesars) for 100,000 years and it isn't pleasant for billions now. Most didn't make it past childhood, and the average age of humans, for 100,000 years, is estimated to have been 34 years. Couple that with an evolved awareness of life, the world around them and a desire simply not to die, and it is easy to see why our ancestors were looking for reasons and answers and subsequently created creators, gods, near-gods, used-to-be-gods and wanna-be-gods. Something had to be better than the difficult lives they were living.

And Oubilette, all apologies regarding the spelling. Darned auto-correct.

53

Spirituality

by Jonathan Drake in

if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

DJS

Thanks Oublittle,

I've re-read your post and tried to understand what Mr. Harris is trying to say. His definition of spiritual is his definition of spiritual. You can also find it in various dictionaries, almost all of which use words such as non-material, supernatural, soul, having the nature of a spirit. My point, which I believe is relevant to the overall topic and OP, is that spirit/spiritual/spirituality are primarily associated with the unseen god-like forces common in religion.

If Harris or anyone else wishes to use the term(s) to relate to a lifestyle or a manner of thinking/feeling, for example, I'm ok with that. I sometimes use the word karma to describe those getting exactly what they deserve, but I don't mean that karma has any god qualities to it.

39

Doing away with Calculating How Close we are to THE END

by FusionTheism in

the watchtower study edition, august 2015, "keep in expectation!

" article:.

paragraph 3: "after looking forward to the end of this system for what may seem to be a long time, however, some may wonder, do we still have sound reasons to keep in expectation?

DJS

Magnum

It seems the Dark Lords are replacing imminence with eminence - their own.

53

Spirituality

by Jonathan Drake in

if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

DJS

LisaRose,

Yeah I know, I'm in the minority. Seriously, if evidence of said spirit or spirits is ever presented that can be verified I will believe. I'm not a religious atheist. Until then, my rational brain and the science I've read up to this point suggests it is nothing more than a self induced emotional state.

Stan,

As for my GF's ass, scientifically speaking she has the perfect waist to hip ratio (0.7). That is the ratio that evolutionary biologists say is the one that brings out the neanderthal in men, including me. It makes me wanna get my club and drag her into my cave or onto the hood of my BMW. It's not my fault; it's Grog's. I was just drawn that way.

Second, she has a very toned body with no extraneous body fat. And a thigh gap (gasp). Her skin is bronze, smooth and flawless (she ain't from around here). Her frequent work-outs include weight lighting - squats, etc., which keeps the toned very toned.

As for photos, Simon and my GF would kill me.

73

God's Spirit

by Hold Me-Thrill Me in

jw
friends

what is god's spirit?

.

i ask this of those who believe in god.

DJS

HoldMe,

I won't directly respond to your OP, but you can read my 2 responses on JD's Spiritual OP to see exactly what I think about your subject. But on to another issue. You have shown yourself to be a decent sort of fellow who feels deeply. However, I am already tired of your methods of operation whereby you post OPs about bible/jesus nonsense and then direct them at only those who believe in bible/jesus.

That is nothing but a control mechanism designed to allow you to preach and influence others without the mean ole rational educated intelligent atheists playing skeet with it. It is manipulative and disgusting. Be a man. Grow a pair. EIther be prepared to deal with the rationals or go someplace else to preach and influence.

53

Spirituality

by Jonathan Drake in

if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

DJS

JD,

I will read it. Thank you. And thank you for the OP. There are several spirit or spiritual OPs running right now. Hold Me isn't Thrilled that us mean ole atheists aren't helping the 'spirituality' of those on the site. If us mean ole atheists are helping others understand that their spirituality isn't any thing other than self induced emotions that they begin to understand and control, then that is most excellent. Only by doing so can they truly escape the Dark Lords' control and hopefully one day escape the clutches of all religion. But whether they get to this point or not, living a rational, evidence based life will provide benefits.

Nothing is required to Believe other than to Feel. Unless we break that cycle humans will never evolve. The Dark Lords know this; other religious leaders know this. Why do you think religious leaders for thousands of years have kept their followers in the dark and either discouraged or outright prohibited knowledge. Emotionally driven people are much easier to control. The Dark Lords continue to discourage education and even scholarship, making the trapping of the rank and file so much easier.

So those of you who want to give me "Dislikes" for what I am saying have at it. I take it as confirmation. Continue to feel. Don't analyze or evaluate why you feel. Continue to act on those feelings because they are strong and therefore they have to be right. By all means to continue to do so. But if you think that by attaching words like spirit or spiritual to your base human emotions makes them superior or you more godly, you are nothing but an emotion addict. The pleasant feelings that result from your self induced emotional fix is the only thing that is actually occurring. It is no different that a heroine junkie, a cocaine addict or a nicotine fiend.

The rest of us are evolving ahead of you and one day you will be considered closer to our primate cousins than humans. You will call us Lord, Master or Boss, and we will think of you as our slow (not the fast moving kind in Brad Pitt's WWZ that also appeared to have cognitive function (what's up with that)) moving, zombie pets. Now hit the Dislike button.

53

Spirituality

by Jonathan Drake in

if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.

im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.

i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.

DJS

Unless someone can provide evidence suggesting otherwise, I don’t see ‘spirituality’ as anything other than a self induced emotional state based on one’s genetics, culture, environment, nurture, state of psychological or emotional need, desires and social condition.

There are many things that can evoke strong emotions in me: injustice, nature, my children, movies, books, plays, art. And my girlfriend’s ass.

I wouldn’t call any of those spiritual (except for my GF’s ass); they are nothing more than my emotional reaction to external and internal stimuli. And I’ve noticed over the years that, the more rational and evidence based I become, the clearer these emotional responses are to me. I know exactly why I feel strongly or my emotions are being evoked, and invisible creatures or the force haven’t anything to do with it (Please forgive me Mr. Lucas – I will make it up to you by watching the new Star Wars movie twice).

Someone who loves and appreciates art and artists may be very moved by an artistic creation, while those who care not for the subject fail to get it.

Someone who loves nature may be moved by the beauty of this planet while a 14 year old boy would rather be playing games on his cell phone because it’s boring to him.

Someone caught up in the cacophony of craziness at a sporting event or a tongue speaking, snake handling, or glory be to god moment at church may feel strongly that the lord is present, while those of us who view such as nonsense will find amusement. Or the exit.

Someone who hates injustice, loves living on the planet and doesn’t have or want to develop the skills needed to thrive in a competitive, less than perfect world would be intensely drawn to the message of the Dark Tower. Someone wanting to be in heaven with the lord would view living on the earth as low rent.

I’m with Viviane on this (well isn't that surprising) unless and until someone can provide evidence of spirit/spiritual I see it as nothing more than a self induced emotional response based on internal and external stimuli and one’s genetics, nurturing, experiences, culture, environment and mental, physical and emotional state.

That will be $50. You are welcome. I'm here all week.

14

The Kingdom of God -- Simplified Suggestion

by FusionTheism in

depending on the context, the phrase "kingdom of god" can have a few different simplified meanings:.

1: the authority of god manifesting itself through miracles, love, or judgment.. 2: the authority of god in people's lives.. 3: the lord jesus, the 12 apostles, and others who will sit on thrones and wear crowns in the new heavens and the new earth.. 4: the 1,000 year reign of christ on earth (if that is literal instead of symbolic).. 5: (in the old testament:) the nation of israel under godly kings such as david or josiah.. there are a few passages of scripture i can think of which could support the idea that the kingdom is made up of those who rule in heaven, as opposed to those who live on earth.

these are matthew 11:11-13, john 3:13, 31, acts 2:34. delving into those scriptures will be the subject of a future post.. as always, the immediate context of a passage, and the context of that particular book as a whole, helps determine the meaning of the phrase..

DJS

FT,

"Delving into those Scriptures will be the subject of a future post."

Why the fukk would we care about this or any other future posts from you? Why do so many x-tians think they have the right to come on this site or any other and start preaching to others. I'm not preaching Buddhism or Hinduism. Others aren't preaching Islam. You and those like you would be screaming, whining and complaining if we were.

Why do you think you have a right to preach to us? Why are there so many like you? Why don't you come on the site to learn rather than show us your awesomeness? Why do you arrogantly assume we want to hear about make believe gods and your particular brand of jesus theology?

Again, if you changed your arrogant tone and asked questions or began discussions in your OP rather than preach your awesomeness I wouldn't be typing into my keyboard when I should be asleep. I would leave you alone. Try discussing rather than preaching.

14

The Kingdom of God -- Simplified Suggestion

by FusionTheism in

depending on the context, the phrase "kingdom of god" can have a few different simplified meanings:.

1: the authority of god manifesting itself through miracles, love, or judgment.. 2: the authority of god in people's lives.. 3: the lord jesus, the 12 apostles, and others who will sit on thrones and wear crowns in the new heavens and the new earth.. 4: the 1,000 year reign of christ on earth (if that is literal instead of symbolic).. 5: (in the old testament:) the nation of israel under godly kings such as david or josiah.. there are a few passages of scripture i can think of which could support the idea that the kingdom is made up of those who rule in heaven, as opposed to those who live on earth.

these are matthew 11:11-13, john 3:13, 31, acts 2:34. delving into those scriptures will be the subject of a future post.. as always, the immediate context of a passage, and the context of that particular book as a whole, helps determine the meaning of the phrase..

DJS

FusionTheism,

You are the latest of an apparently never ending stream of people who come to this site to amaze us with your awesomeness and knowledge of all things scripture and show us your sage-ness. Just a few days and two dozen OPs started. And you seem to have a fan club, so others likely already know you. There can't be that many stupid people (well I guess there can, but I'm just not feeling the coincidence right now).

I typically stay out of theist OPs, but we have had so many bible and jesus loving newbies recently that want to show us all their amazingness that I am at least temporarily setting aside one of my prime directives.

What an arrogant piece of work you are. I don't know who you are but it is clear who you think you are - someone entitled to preach and chastise others who have more knowledge, more education, more wisdom and more humility than you.

So I just might join Viviane, Village Idiot, Cofty and the others until you leave or learn humility. They do not need my assistance.

88

Damned if they do, Damned if they don't

by FusionTheism in

jw
friends

i see an attitude among some people here which is not very helpful.

i can understand it, but still, it's not constructive or helpful.. if you condemn the society for not changing, but then you also condemn them when they do change in a positive way, what incentive or motive does that provide for the people at the society to ever want to change for the better?.

also, what does that attitude look like to current witnesses who are having doubts?.

DJS

Fusion,

Everything about your OP was wrongety wrong as Rebel8says. It clearly ranks as one of the worst I've seen on this site. You made broad brushed statements and accusations, none of which are supported by facts. And you wonder why we aren't friendly and tolerant? Learn to ask questions rather than make ridiculous assertions and accusations if you want friendly and tolerant.

The only thing that I find more pathetic than the premises of your OP is that there are at least 3 people on this site with less intelligence. I've really worked hard the past few months being a kinder and gentler DJS, but this OP deserves all of the ridicule it is receiving. The Dark Lords ended scholarship of ANY kind because it was biting them on the ass. They have made a history of blaming the rank and file for their own errors of prophecy. At best they hide contrition behind blame shifting weasel words rather than humbly admit they were wrong. And perhaps worst of all, they have systematically attempted to erase their mistakes by re-writing, deleting, editing and burning all of their mistakes.

Too bad for the Dark Lords the Internet will forever keep them alive. Had it not been for the "Net exposing their prophetic mishaps and blunders, they would have never even provided the half-assed 'admission'.

I suggest you stay on the site and learn before you continue posting such tripe.