Posts by galaxie

609

What is spirit, exactly?

by Viviane in

i've always wondered that.

recently i asked that question on another thread and didn't really get ananswer.

cofty made an excellent point that we often hear what it isn't, but that really isn't useful.. so, what is it?

Viv.., as you say the ancients had many things they would refer to as spirit, I am talking specifically about one aspect of what they identified as spirit they obviously were ignorant of the scientific make up of the air we breathe , any other ancient idea of what they thought spirit was is just speculation or interpreted by some eg bible writers as supernatural.

Likewise ancient people , although having in their appropriate language a word for water they did not know it as hydrogen and oxygen, therefore you cannot conclude that H2o is a metaphor for water. They are the same thing.

Best wishes

609

What is spirit, exactly?

by Viviane in

i've always wondered that.

recently i asked that question on another thread and didn't really get ananswer.

cofty made an excellent point that we often hear what it isn't, but that really isn't useful.. so, what is it?

galaxie

Viv;...All made possible by the air we breathe, is a statement, it is NOT trying to identify the type of spirit as in gods, demons etc, but rather identfies the ancient concept of the physical air which without we would not be able to communicate as we are now doing, with great spirit I might add.

Nothing mystical about it and certainly not a metaphor.spirit and air we breathe in the context as I have described are the SAME thing, we just don't use it in modern times in our conversation, as in times past when the air we breathe was also known as spirit being the physical force which was seen(rightly) to sustain our life.

Am I right in believing the spirit you are trying to identify is of the supernatural kind? As I have said previously I don't believe there is such a thing.

Best wishes.

144

Escaping Indoctrination - Faith Isn't a Virtue.

by cofty in

the unknown writer of the gospel of john put the following words in jesus' mouth, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.".

persuading countless generations that it is a virtue to believe incredible things on insufficient evidence, is one of religion's cleverest tricks.. the more incredible the claim; the more flimsy the evidence; the stronger the belief; the greater the virtue.. this is the exact opposite of how we operate in every other aspect of our lives.. rational people must demand objective evidence for everything they are asked to believe.

"extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence".. leaving the dogmatic claims of the watchtower is only a first step.

galaxie

Two types of faith in my book;.. founded faith and unfounded faith eg, I have faith my son will return safe from the oil rig he works on.thus;.. because there are many many safety checks and procedures from the outset on every part of his job my faith in these is founded because they can be tested and improved and ultimately exist for his safety.

If something occured which caused him harm then the expression, 'my faith was shattered ' comes into play.

Unfounded faith on the other hand is faith with no backup evidence ie, god, angels devils, demons, heaven, hell, paradise, living forever supernatural influence etc etc.

Which type as a rational thinking educated human being do you think fits the bill?

Best wishes to all

176

JW refuses to provide wedding stationery to Gay couple

by KateWild in

i was outraged at this and had to post it.. http://jehovahswitnessreport.com/blog/jw-refuses-to-provide-wedding-stationery-to-gay-couple.

i think she is a hypocrite and i bet she sells her invites to fornicators, or does she ask them if they are having sex before marrige, before she takes their money?.

i was never like this when i was a jw, it's even more disturbing that she is going to ask her elders what to do.

galaxie

Kate;.... I absolutely agree, JWs provide many services to people they have no knowledge of , but they will know a lot of folks will be part of babylon the great (as they see it) governmental organisations, fornicators, adulterers, criminals etc. They will take their money without a second thought. I know this from personal experience and one in particular by coincidence is a printer whose family of JWs are notorious for scandal in my area.

Absolute hypocrites.

Best wishes

609

What is spirit, exactly?

by Viviane in

i've always wondered that.

recently i asked that question on another thread and didn't really get ananswer.

cofty made an excellent point that we often hear what it isn't, but that really isn't useful.. so, what is it?

galaxie

As spirit can be descriptive so also emotion,

These words are part of our vocabulary defined and described from ancient times to allow us to understand in a spoken or written form physical reactions influencing and eminating from us.eg certain body language would denote fear or joy .the ancients through evolutionary language have brought us to the words like spirit or emotion and I'm sure many other words which share the same origins.

All made possible by the air we breath.

Photosynthesis is the culprit for better or worse. I'm sure most of us are grateful to that evolutionary process (tongue in cheek)!!!!

28

My First "Publication Free" Study...

by HeyThere in

was not so publication free.

do witnesses not know how to talk about the bible without a wt pub to guide them?.

fist, she tried to get me to start once again in the bible teach book as if i had never said i didnt want to study from the pubs, so i reminded her.

galaxie

Hey there;....you are VERY courageous , hang in there I hope you have a positive outcome especially with regards to your husband.

Best wishes.

78

I was "totally" stopped in my tracks by an "atheist" comment.

by booker-t in

i must admit i can at times be a little "egotistical" when it comes to knowledge and the bible.

i have studied the bible for so long and have always had a passion for the bible as a jw and as an ex-jw.

i guess that is all i have left when it comes to religion and as humans we do tend to stroke our egos.

galaxie

Its a story with a moral;...be good bow the knee to the big boss or else shark bait!!

Wonderful advice why did only 8 people heed the advice out of the whole world?

Because the moral had to be punched home with emphasis!!

Buy into this as anything even close to true , and you really are deluded!!

36

Verde Valley Elders- Is this Ethical???

by Newly Enlightened in

http://youtu.be/xkxb3wswhvo.

galaxie

Lets face it the culprits in this saga are human warts and all. All very WORDLY don't you think!!?.

This kind of ' cookin' the books ' is common.

They just hope they can remain under the radar.

Maybe they forgot the big eye in the sky is watching them..oh oh look out !!! Lol.

23

I dont think we should past judgement on people who post here for the first time

by smiddy in

jw
friends

just saying , my 2 cents worth .

if they have an agenda it will be revealed in a short time , let them play it out .. however , some genuine first posters can be put off by somebody jumping the gun and attacking them .. please give the first posters time to get to know this site.. smiddy.

galaxie

"All we are saying,....Is give peace a chance " amen to that

31

I hope this is the right place for this...

by moSIS in

please don't attack me if this is the wrong place!

i know that i definitely shouldn't be on this website, but i am to embarassed to ask anyone at my hall!

everyone would be so nice, but i just feel like i should know the answers already.

galaxie

Hi mosis (could that be inspired by Moses?) Best thing you could do is, whatever you are being taught at the meetings do not hesitate to discuss here on this forum.

You will be able then to have different viewpoints as to the subject matters credibility.

Consequently you will be able to make up your OWN mind as to it's truthfulness.

Best wishes and welcome.