Why put the onus on God? It's child's responsibility to be grateful to the Father for the providence he enjoys from Him and to speak for Him! It is a good sign that ice has started to melt in some parts of the world! A whole bunch of scientists from various disciplines in the US seem to have leaped headlong into the fray as if wanting to catch up with time lost chasing more empirical entities. Andrew Newberg, Director of Research at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, scans peoples brains while theyre having a spiritual experience and concludes that the neurobiology of mystical experience arose, at least in part, from the mechanism of the sexual response. Meanwhile, Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute is trying to link religion/spirituality to a specific gene called VMAT as a result of twin studies. Psychiatrist Rick Strassman traces spirituality to a single compound called DMT that he believes triggers mystical visions and suggests its produced in the pineal gland. Neuroscientist Todd Murphy markets the Shakti Headset machine so one can explore ones consciousness. And Vilayanur Ramachandran, another neuroscientist, has presented evidence of how the brain processes spiritual experience after noticing that people with temporal lobe epilepsy have stronger religious feelings. Of course, the research is all comfortably couched in organic functionality and molecular language. Thats inevitable. But the fact is, like consciousness studies which were once considered anathema in scientific circles but have now made a respectful comeback, the spiritual side of human beings is also being explored by science.
abiather
JoinedPosts by abiather
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Atheism Explained
by Dis-Member inthought some might find this interesting... .
where do you get your morality from?
don't assume that atheists don't have morals.
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Atheism Explained
by Dis-Member inthought some might find this interesting... .
where do you get your morality from?
don't assume that atheists don't have morals.
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abiather
For atheists, this life is all there is. Some may offer themselves whimsical comfort by saying that before this slice of life happened, there was an infinite period when we didn’t exist and after we die, there is going to be another infinity when we wont either. Nevertheless since there is no evidence to the contrary we may find ourselves continuing in some kind of post-mortem existence, with no overtones of paradise, retribution or any kind of divine paraphernalia. Of course, this is an area that only fringe researchers explore, yet even some prestigious scientists, notably the impeccably credentialed Ian Stevenson, who was director of the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia, have endorsed it. Among other things, he devoted the last 40 years of his life to the scientific documentation of past-life memories of children from all over the world. In the end, he had over 3, 000 cases on record in his files and many people, including sceptics and scholars, agree today that these offer the best evidence yet for life after death. But heres the twist: almost all non-spiritual atheists regard his work or the evidence he may have garnered over a lifetime as nonsense, while conveniently forgetting that Dr Stevenson was as much an atheist as any of them, if not more. Its just that some people believe in a far richer non-theistic experience than one that has only an arid landscape on the horizon with little other than chance and nothingness calling the shots.
For example, Karl Marx viewed religious belief as a reflection of humanity on itself and maintained that divinity was an idealised version of humans inkling of their potential. It was natural, therefore, for him to suggest that the correct way to propagate freedom was to present the truth to individuals and let them choose to accept or deny it. Contrary to popular belief, he never suggested prohibiting religion. Nevertheless, what he did say was, Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. Meaning, the abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is, in fact, the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up these illusions about their condition is to ask them to give up a condition requiring illusions.
The whole problem is that God is not well-presented by greedy religions that turned out to be human-rights violators.
Another problem is that there is no universally acceptable answer to the question: Why does not God stop human suffering? (which of course God did not start)
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Laughter is a good medicinehere are some!
by abiather inthere were 3 good arguments that jesus was black:.
1. he called everyone brother.
2. he liked gospel.
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abiather
There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone brother
2. He liked Gospel
3. He didn't get a fair trial
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Father's business
2. He lived at home until he was 33
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with His hands
2. He had wine with His meals
3.He used olive oil
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1. He never cut His hair
2. He walked around barefoot all the time
3. He started a new religion
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian:
1.He was at peace with nature
2.He ate a lot of fish
3.He talked about the Great Spirit
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1.He never got married..
2.He was always telling stories.
3.He loved green pastures.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was virtually no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do.
(Compare John 7:12; Mark 3:21)
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Who Made The Code?
by Perry ina few weeks ago, discoveries were made that show that there is another dna code language that rides on top of the already incredibly complex 4-letter code previously discovered.
this newly discovered code apparently regulates how genes work.
as i noted in a previous thread, the amount of data storage available in the dna storage system just the size of a pin-head would filll a stack of books stacked from your driveway to the moon .... 500 times!
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abiather
Perry,
Very fine posting. Thank you for that.
Yet not surprising that many disagree with you!
" A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." (philosopher - poet Paul Frederic Simon)
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JWs do not share the mind of Jehovah!
by abiather injehovahs witnesses are a teaching and preaching organization.. however, history shows that teachings do not make people self-motivated to do good or to be spiritual.
(mathew 23:37, 38) hence god will not choose an organization to serve no purpose!
in fact, he simply denounces preachers, teachers and miracle-performers.
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abiather
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a teaching and preaching organization.
However, history shows that teachings do not make people self-motivated to do good or to be spiritual. (Mathew 23:37, 38) Hence God will not choose an organization to serve no purpose! In fact, He simply denounces preachers, teachers and miracle-performers. (Mathew 7:21-23)
Prima facie, the viable and wise option, the only thing that can make one self-motivated to do good or to be spiritual is “Sow and Reap” principle (Galatians 6:7) which God ensured to run as an unmistakable thread from the beginning till the end of the Bible. (Genesis 4:10-12; 9:6; Deuteronomy 24:16; 1 Kings 8:32; Job 34:11; Psalm 62:12; Isaiah 3:10-11; Jeremiah 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:20 ; Habakkuk 2:3, 4; Mathew 16:27; Romans 14:12; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 2:23; 20:12; 22:12-15)
In fact the so-called teachers often do disservice, interpolating things which will be pleasing to the ears of the listeners! (Acts 20:28-30; 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22; 2 Timothy 4:3) When the Bible Canon was fixed centuries later, scrolls that had already contained some of the weeds/unhealthy teachings of those early centuries were also included! Jesus graphically picturized this very situation through one of his illustrations! (Mathew 13:25, 26, 30) Hence you will find very healthy, solid, and self-explanatory teachings and their opposites in the Bible!
This is one sample:
Be imitators of God who does good to both “the evil and the good.” (Mathew 5:44-48; Compare Deuteronomy 1:17 and Romans 2:11) (Contrary to this very true, self-explanatory truth, this unhealthy teaching: “Shun those who are not of our sort; should not even greet them” was introduced later. (Compare 2 John 10)
This type of thoughtless interpolations gave rise to over 41,000 sects!
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Would the Jehovah's Witnesses be willing to celebrate their spiritual birthday every year?
by I_love_Jeff inone of their spiritual sisters said that since jesus attended weddings, that makes it okay to celebrate annual wedding anniversaries.
using this logic, since jesus approved of and attended his own baptism, that should, therefore, make it okay for jehovah's witnesses to celebrate their spiritual birthdays on that same day every year.
how exciting to have this new adjustment to our understanding of birthdays!
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abiather
In the Baptism talk of Assemblies and Convention, the speaker says: "this is the date you will never forget in your life, marked forever and so on." Hence it indirectly implies this is the only date one can celebrate (yet surprisingly, in wedding talk the speaker does not make such assertions on wedding dates)
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There Is No Apostate Without Fanatics!
by abiather inthe artificial distinction between true believers and false ones who are branded as apostates or infidels hinges on a particular set of beliefs and their lack, and the subsequent (literal or figurative) witch-hunts are the result of taking lesson from external sources such as edgar j hoovers fbi reign.
because spiritually great people recognized differences, yet chose to respond with compassion rather than violence.
for example, whoever has ears, let them hear, was christs style of action.
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abiather
The artificial distinction between true believers and false ones who are branded as apostates or infidels hinges on a particular set of beliefs and their lack, and the subsequent (literal or figurative) witch-hunts are the result of taking lesson from external sources such as Edgar J Hoover’s FBI reign. Because spiritually great people recognized differences, yet chose to respond with compassion rather than violence. For example, “Whoever has ears, let them hear,” was Christ’s style of action. (Mathew 11:15) “Thus wisdom, most profound of all secrets, has been declared to you by Me; pondering over it fully, do as you like,” was Krishna’s style of action. (Gita 18:63)
This is because they very well KNEW true worship or spirituality is all about realizing God as the Spirit-Father (John 4:22-24; Gita 9:17; 14:4) and hence no one can be excluded from universal fraternity. All fissiparous tendencies and group or clan philosophies which tend to create shackles of narrow-mindedness are connected with fanaticism, not with true worship or spirituality. Hence an apostate is so named when he refuses to support religious excesses, not true worship!
All species have natural affinity. No one can “do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” (2 Corinthians 13:8) Even atheists and evolutionists ultimately support the truth that we are all related to each other. School text books teach that about 14 billion years ago there was a “Big Bang” when an infinitesimally small and infinitely dense and hot point exploded, and this brought everything into existence. They also teach Darwinian evolution that says every form of life that exists can trace its lineage back to one ancestral living organism 3.5 billion years ago. And religions teach fatherhood of God. It’s like people talking about money in its varied forms, yet in essence they are all talking about the freedom that money is able to provide for them. Similarly, all explanations about origin of universe and life highlight one unmistakable truth: we are all related to each other.
“A cat always falls on its four legs.”
[This I thought of posting as a write-up, rather than as a comment on smiddy’s article—“You are an apostate whether you are an ex-JW or just a member of a Christian church” a day ago. I think, once in a while, I should post]
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Goodbye to all
by abiather ini say goodbye to all of you because of the tremendous pressure from my family members who are jws.. anyhow, i enjoyed my association with you for a short period!
it is part of life, as the bible says: we are all temporary residents here (hebrews 11:13).
this is my favorite scripture that has helped me to remain always balanced and equi-poised, helping me not to be greedy towards things or people expecting from them too much!.
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abiather
Very nice goodbye to me from you all! Thank you very much!
I will continue to read everything that appears in this site--I am addicted to this site for the last 7 years.
Posting and commenting will cost me very dearly!
Hence, take care!
Wish you all the very best to you
Continue your fight against the JW fanatics--Blind Guides!
You have my 200% moral support!
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Proof For The Existence Of God!
by abiather inend results can determine worth of anything!
(mathew 11:19) by this simple criterion, scientists and religions are not very reliable.
it contains both gods word and mans word.
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abiather
What you said is correct 50%. Psychology or Law of Attraction can explain this to some extent. But the tremendous difference in the intensity of the quality (not proportionate to that which is typical of fellow-humans) that is being added to us from being linked to God cannot be explained by anyone.
It works like this:
1) Take this general experience most of us may have experienced—when we were thinking of somebody, we get a call from that somebody, saying the same thing—I was thinking of you! This is called linking by telepathy.
2) Now take some specific cases. My neighbor had a mild heart attack at 10 PM, and was taken to the hospital, and he died an hour later. His eldest daughter who is a nun, working in Italy, made a call to our house at 10.30 PM, saying her house phone was only ringing, and asked why no one responds—and she said she felt somewhat uneasy about her father whom she loves very much, is he ok? We did not tell her about the hospitalization. We told her to call next morning.
3) In my office, everyone is scared of one officer who has tremendous influence on all of us. But only one person has no problem with him. When asked why, he said he does not belong to any religion, but believes in the Law of Attraction. If one has REAL good-wishes towards all his contact (which is positive in nature, hence a stronger force) angry/shouting people (which is negative in nature, hence weaker force) cannot prevail over the positive.
Hearing this, I wanted to try this with very difficult people in my lives. And it worked! When we REALLY think about others with good-wishes for them in our heart, how that immaterial vibration reach them is a mystery—yet it happens!
If it happens between two souls, it can happen between souls and Supreme Soul, who is our beloved Father!
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Goodbye to all
by abiather ini say goodbye to all of you because of the tremendous pressure from my family members who are jws.. anyhow, i enjoyed my association with you for a short period!
it is part of life, as the bible says: we are all temporary residents here (hebrews 11:13).
this is my favorite scripture that has helped me to remain always balanced and equi-poised, helping me not to be greedy towards things or people expecting from them too much!.
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abiather
I say goodbye to all of you because of the tremendous pressure from my family members who are JWs.
Anyhow, I enjoyed my association with you for a short period! It is part of life, as the Bible says: We are all “temporary residents” here (Hebrews 11:13). This is my favorite scripture that has helped me to remain always balanced and equi-poised, helping me not to be greedy towards things or people expecting from them too much!
Whether we believe it or not, we will all meet in our permanent residence. (Philippians 3:20) That time we will remember all the fun we had in this site!
Wishing a very very very happy NEW YEAR to you all.