"We aren't qualified to think for ourselves...." (page 3)

AllTimeJeff

But thinking for ourselves really isn't limited to the empirical world, as many believe: it is necessary as to the spirit world, as well. HAS to be. "Directing one's steps", however, has nothing to do with thinking for oneself. The Most Holy One of Israel doesn't want robots - indeed, He WANTS us to think... and make choices. Which is why we have free will. The caveat is that we are RESPONSIBLE for our choices. Not Him... and not anyone else. True, others may have some responsibility for misleading us... but BEING misled, after a certain point in one's life... is really on such one and no one else.

I agree Shelby. I can't say I can do more then respectfully tolerate other points of view religiously. My tolerance isn't meant to be condescending, but respectful of you.

AGuest

No, I didn't take you as being condescending, dear one (again, peace to you!), not at all. I just wanted to contribute to the discussion... because I know that RELIGION does want robots... "blind" believers... those with "blind" faith. True faith is NOT blind, however... but is based on a demonstration of the reality (as has been such for me)... and so that is where and why I must part way with some "believers."

Unfortunately, these FAR outnumber the rest of us... and religion knows this... and so what you see is the results of that. Historically, they tend to look for ways to silence the rest of us... those who believe... but don't follow THEM... one way or another.

Again, peace to you!

YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,

SA

sabastious

Back when I was a Witness my family and I used to talk about how the spirit "directing" worked based on our observations. I guess we just assumed that it should able to be logically deconstructed and put back together. In any event, it was the Truth, right? I remember feeling that people who had their spiritual sh*t together had access to more spirit "direction." This was the way it was presented to me. The elders had a LOT of it I was told and if they screwed up royally that eventually Jehovah would take care of it. It was always brought up that it could take many years at times and of course might never be dealt with (new order).

That's where the discouragement of independent thinking was placed in like a spice in a pasta recipe. We were not to question the amount of "time" it took for a scandal we knew about before it was actually "exposed" for all to see. Most people will feel a since of injustice when a man gets to lord their spiritual position over another, esspecially if people's lives are effected negatively, sometimes for long stretches of time. Here my family and I are watching normal human behaviour taking place, but having to constantly find ways to tell ourselves that they/we are not the same, but better; superiour actually.

I don't know about my family, but I felt like a hypocrite for the most part. That's what onsets the psychosis: Constantly being wrong and lying to yourself that you're not.

It's not really that we were wrong about anything religious it's that we had such a harsh way of keeping the "unity." Why is our unity that imporant anyway? Exellence in unity is something we as a group should strive for, but should we demand it from ourselves? Should we design punishment for stepping out of that unity?

No one wants to stand in front of an audience and be exposed as normal when they said they were better for so long. It would be just TOO much pain for some. So not only did we deny our own normality we went as far as to make rules that prevented it from being exposed to the general public.

I came into existence on top a mountain of lies. It's hard to swallow sometimes.

-Sab

WTWizard

Isn't that what separates people from mere animals? Nothing dehumanizes someone better than to deny people the right to do your own thinking. A dog might not be qualified to think for itself--instincts rule, and human masters are responsible for that dog. Same thing for a cat, or any other animal. But, once you cross into humans, you run into the ability to think for yourself--take that away, you take away what makes people any better than mere animales.

Ding

"Take the bus, and leave the driving to us." -- Greyhound Van Lines

No need to fuss. Leave the thinking to us. -- GB

"Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible."

WT, 10/1/1967, p. 587

DesirousOfChange

Yes, I tell the people at work that the largest political party today is DON'T CONFUSE ME WITH THE FACTS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm1KOBMg1Y8

Sorry, don't know how to imbed it.

nancy drew

If a man/woman does not keep pace with their companions

perhaps it is because they hear a different drummer

let them step to the beat they hear however measured or far away.

Thoreau (sort of)

"We aren't qualified to think for ourselves...."