by sabastious 83 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Nc, I find you too dumb to even begin to explain the meaning of pure to you, sorry.
LOL, I love irony. But seriously, I don't think you can explain it, or the explanation is so offensive you don't want to answer for it. But I do find your assessment of my intelligence humorous, and it is very telling.
Why is it an accomplishment?
What did it accomplish? How did that benefit anyone?
It certainly isn't worthy of merit. It is pointless. Maybe it makes the adherants feel superior in some way. But it's all in their head.
It is an accomplishment because it's a difficult feat of personal strength. It takes strong faith to forsake your own body for the purposes of helping others. Relationships complicate life and take up a large chuck of time. If someone wants to fully dedicate themselves to any cause total chastity will provide a life free from distraction as to allow the person to fully focus on a certain pursuit. Chastity may be misused for the purposes of superiority, but that is not what it was established to accomplish. It was not created with egotism in mind. Nuns and monks have offered immeasurable assistence to humanity and their contributions should not be written off in any way. But to apply this precedent upon an entire religious population comes with unnecessary adverse effects. To call pursing a life of chastity a "pointless" endeavor is just a bias opinion from someone who doesn't really understand the subject at all.
In a new HBO show called "Game of Thrones" there is a character who is a eunuch. In one seen the character goes to a whore house to speek with a prostitute. When she tries to arrouse him she discovers his true nature and she becomes noticeably afraid. This is a good example of the power of sexual neutrality.
I am not sure how you can state this...how do you know what god finds morally acceptable?
Morality is subject to time and culture, but the reason for morality is practical as in the values are supposed to alleviate pain and suffering from the society they exist within. In the past having sex could cost you your life and the only way to control it was through abstinence. Technology and an enlightened society allows us to control the act of sex giving us more options besides simple chastity. What is morally acceptable to God is what works well and you don't have to be totally chaste in order to be a productive member of society therefore total chastity before legal marriage is not required in order to be considered godly.
-Sab
Sab:
Morality is subject to time and culture, but the reason for morality is practical as in the values are supposed to alleviate pain and suffering from the society they exist within. In
mP -> Sab:
Isnt this an admissiont hat Gods will and standards are set by man. hardly the actions of someone with intelligence, but rather an admission that God is an invention that only exists in our minds.
Apostate:
The OT has two standards for men and women, Jesus treated both equally.
mP -> Apostate:
Thats simply not true, if he did treat them as equals he would have had a few female apostles but all 12 were men. Its not hard to find more examples if you want.
What is morally acceptable to God is what works well and you don't have to be totally chaste in order to be a productive member of society therefore total chastity before legal marriage is not required in order to be considered godly...sab
Who says? This all sounds very authorititive....but who decides what is godly and what isn't. God? or us? And how do you KNOW this? Did he tell you?
Isnt this an admissiont hat Gods will and standards are set by man. hardly the actions of someone with intelligence, but rather an admission that God is an invention that only exists in our minds.
For some this seems the reasonable conclusion, but not I. As finite creatures we are always going to strive for the infinite and morality is mankinds means of reaching towards God. To me morality is not coincidence or merely a product of natural selection, but a purpose that mankind was always pointing towards.
-Sab
Who says? This all sounds very authorititive....but who decides what is godly and what isn't. God? or us? And how do you KNOW this? Did he tell you?
We decide what is godly by observing our environment which includes a lot of what our ancestors wrote down. Godliness is far from arbitrary. As we continue to grow towards God (the infinite) we logically will "see", "hear" and "understand" more of the big picture (God). It's like a puzzle that we have partially completed. We know there is a picture and we can even identify elements in it. This is how God "speaks."
-Sab
Chastity may be misused for the purposes of superiority, but that is not what it was established to accomplish.
Chastity can never make one superior. Eunichs are not chaste, simply because the option does not exist for them. Chastity would indicate behavior, and if one is incapable of certain behavior, they simply can't be chaste---or not chaste. I suppose one could argue that they CAN be chaste, simply by their thoughts and attitudes, but without a way to test it, it's pretty flimsy. But chasteness cannot make one superior. That would suggest that not being chaste can make one inferior. That simply is not true.
((((((Myelaine))))))
NC I never said eunuchs were chaste. I said that they serve as a good example of the power of sexual neutrality which is what chastity strives for. I can't keep up with your army of strawmen.
-Sab
But chasteness cannot make one superior.
Chasteness certainly can make someone superior within a certain context although being chaste doesn't make you generally a better person. Take a Christian Priest for example. With a romantic relationship and a family the priest will not have as much time to devote to his church without neglecting the family. But as a single person the priest has vastly more time to devote to his cause and doesn't have to feel guilty about neglect which creates a special kind of focus. In this circumstance chastity creates a priest that serves his church better simply because he has more time to devote and is more focused on the needs of the group. To some people saving damned souls is more fulfilling then raising a family. However, the priest is saving the souls so that they can have a family and a happy life so it's a self sacrificing thing.
Back to the vegan analogy. Being a vegan doesn't automatically make you superior as a person, but it certainly will provide the means of accomplishing great health and prolonged life. There are benefits to the lifestyle, but if enforced upon a population adverse affects, likely psychological, would arise. It has to be a real choice.
-Sab
