by Jeffro 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I was thinking about Luke 11:5-9, and how it really is bad, bad advice.
Instead of encouraging individuals to ask for something, and then have the faith that things will work out for the best - though not necessarily as they may want - the particularly poor advice of this passage not only condones a selfish attitude of pestering god/others until they get what they want, but when put into practice, it also encourages anxiety induced by expectations of unfulfilled hopes.
Personally that scripture encourages me. It is showing us that just as we are with our own kids ....Do anything for them even when we are "doing our own thing" so to speak
Or if a neighbour needs us ,even in the night while we are at rest.,That even though we are wicked ( No man without sin) OUR Heavenly Father who is not wicked will do for us....I know many will say "well I have asked for things in my life & NOT received them"
Yes me too! but dont our kids ask for things we CANT give them we KNOW by experience it wont do them any good....... May be MY veiw is only for me. But that is what my 2 cent says.
This reminds me of Martin Luther's alleged deathbed sentence: "Wir sind Bettler. Hoc est verum." -- "We are beggars. This is true."
mouthy:
Do anything for them even when we are "doing our own thing" so to speak
Or if a neighbour needs us ,even in the night while we are at rest
I'm glad that you find it encouraging, and yes, it is indeed admirable to want to help people. But we should want to help them out of love, and certainly not because they keep annoying us.
"but dont our kids ask for things we CANT give them we KNOW by experience it wont do them any good....."
And this is the level of intellectual maturity we should be striving for?! When I was a kid, I used to follow my mom around the store begging for toys, one after the other. Eventually I matured to the point where I realized I was not going to get everything I asked for and more importantly, I did'nt simply deserve things without putting in some effort.
Humans must learn the same lesson. The power is INSIDE the human mind, not outside. Ask yourself for the power and wisdom and "ye shall receive". Asking favours of non-existent sky-gods will simply lead to a lifetime of unfulfilled dreams and denied requests.
kid-a
The power is INSIDE the human mind, not outside. Ask yourself for the power and wisdom and "ye shall receive".
Exactly. The principle of "keep on asking" merely reinforces that one doesn't really believe that they will get what they are asking for.
Some feel that such 'answered' requests/prayers/hopes (or whatever you want to call them) are variously mere coincidence, power of the mind, the universe, God, or whatever. (Of course, those who believe it's complete coincidence needn't waste their time asking in the first place.) Those who keep askingthemself lack confidence in their own ability. And those who keep askingGod/higher power/the universe lack faith in the power they claim to believe will help them.
I say 'forget about "keep asking"'. Ask if you want, but then instead of continuing to just keep asking, do what is in your power to achieve it, and if you like, have the faith that whatever power you trust in - if indeed you do - will aide you in whatever way is best.
And sometimes, just accept that it might not happen.
then have the faith that things will work out for the best - though not necessarily as they may want -
In practice I know from experience that this doesn't work. This implies that God is in control of the outcome of the details of our life. He didn't stop the Holocaust, 6 million dead or the the Indonesian Tsnunami, 250,000 dead. There are three ways to get what you pray for- by luck, from other's work or by your own work. If this wasn't a Bible verse, it would fall under the category of "magical thinking". Just my opinion.
Does God like or respect persistance? or does it piss Him off? has He ever voiced His opinion on persistance as we know it?
moshe:
then have the faith that things will work out for the best - though not necessarily as they may want - In practice I know from experience that this doesn't work. This implies that God is in control of the outcome of the details of our life. He didn't stop the Holocaust, 6 million dead or the the Indonesian Tsnunami, 250,000 dead. There are three ways to get what you pray for- by luck, from other's work or by your own work. If this wasn't a Bible verse, it would fall under the category of "magical thinking". Just my opinion.
Indeed. The highlighted comment was made in the context of the premise of the belief system to which it referred. The cold hard reality of life is that at times, things just go badly. But that doesn't mean that people should not hope that things will work out well - even if what they get is not necessarily what they wanted.
It is comforting for some to believe that a higher power is looking out for them. For others, it gives them someone else to blame when things go wrong. In practice, good and bad things befall the believer and the atheist alike. But those with a positive outlook, represented by 'faith', 'hope', 'self-empowerment' or whatever they choose to call it, will usually fare better (or cope better) than those with a negative outlook.
