by onacruse 90 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Even in the science of sub-atomic particles there are no longer any absolutes.
jst2....you don't have to be so hard on the size of onanism's mental capacity.. OK? I mean...if he has to call you to come up w/another post it isn't saying much, but then again I did start this post sassing about making fun of him...oh well..nevermind...*LOL* Tell your wife I send my terse regards.....grrrr...*LOL*...Missing you guys...
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
Jst2laws,
Yet what can be pointed to with absolute conviction that shows he HAS GOT IN TOUCH WITH YOU? Religiously and philosophically there are no absolutes, just beliefs and faiths.
Good point, but really it can also be said that if God truly did get in touch with Craig and he himself knew it, no one here would believe him because God has not apparently gotten in touch with any well known xJWs in a similar fashion and until that happens such phenomena will be ignored among us, as it is ignored among JWs.
IW
Respect for GOD and his will is more important than the answers to our personal questions. If GOD is satisfied with "YOU" than you will receive payment in full when GOD is ready, on HIS time, according to HIS desire and satisfaction.
The wonders of creation , a newborn baby, the love between two people, the kindness shown between people, our artistic and creative gifts (wish I had some!) - none of these things have been explained to my satisfaction unless a loving God created them . .........Why?
While my wife is the Certified Midwife I have participated in many home births, and there is something special and unexplainable about witnessing the wonder of the birth of a new HUMAN. This does not make me IMAGINE a Sky Daddy God to explain this phenomena, but it does impress me that a force smarter, mightier, and that cares about life, love and humanity is somehow involved in this process. We just have to get away from totem poles, temples, priests, religions and conventional god concepts invented by primitive mankind and approach the whole issue intellectually.
IslandWoman,
Good point, but really it can also be said that if God truly did get in touch with Craig and he himself knew it, no one here would believe him because God has not apparently gotten in touch with any well known xJWs in a similar fashion and until that happens such phenomena will be ignored among us, as it is ignored among JWs.
Ona is not addressing the concept of God addressing a person to convey a message to others as from God. As Ona said, those who claim to be speaking God's message do not impress us. The only difference in believing God spoke to Moses, Muhammad, Joseph Smith or the 'Faithful and Discreet Slave' is the BELIEF SYSTEM OF THE BELIEVER. They have all disappointed and all require blind faith. The disallusioned are simply asking what Craig asked.
Jst2laws
Jst2laws,
The disallusioned are simply asking what Craig asked.
Of course, I understand that. But Craig's original post did state an appeal to God to get in touch. My point is that if God should answer his prayer and did in some way get in touch, Craig would not be believed because God has not as of yet gotten in touch with more prominant xJWs in a visible fashion. Therefore his claim would remain suspect though true.
IW
Dede:
so much more is left up to us to figure out ....I think.
There ya go, that's it! No fear, no guilt. Just do it, in harmony with what your "inner voice" says, that's all we can do. God or not-God; we're on our own, and that's the value of our lives, and the dignity of our decisions. Ohhhhhh, how good it feels to get the guilt-trips out of my mind. I'm certainly no guru, but Dede, I'd say you're on the right path.
DoubleE:
I AM being a 'realist', since I can't deny a life of experiences that have led me to that conclusion.
Indeed, that's what this is all about. I've never had a clearly identifiable, undeniably conscious interaction with God. Even if I'd had one, personal experience is valid for one person, and one person only: the person that experienced it. Along the lines of what I said to Realist: by induction (e.g. so many other people feel they've had just such a personal experience) I consider the existence of God as a possibility. Also, by induction (e.g. so many other people feel they've never had such an experience) I consider the non-existence of God as a possibility.
When, and if, He speaks to me, in no uncertain terms, then I'll know. In the meantime, it's very much like BluesB says:
All beliefs really come down to an inner conviction that what we read must be true, and this is me, at the moment
blackout:
But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
Is reality just a dream? Here's one for ya: We all think we have reality in front of our eyes. Now most would say that the past is not real, because it's done and gone, we can't put our hands on it, can't see it; at best we can remember it, or read about it in a book. And the future? Well, that's not real either, because it hasn't even yet happened. So we say "the present is real, I can touch and feel it." But every second of our lives is split into the "one-half second that just went past," and the "one-half second that is about to happen (the immediate future)." And thence down to the millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond. The "real" passes by us so fast, transits from future to past so quickly, that we don't even see it happen; we exist only in this infinitesimally small slice of time as it passes us by. Perhaps it is all a dream. But here I'm hijacking my own thread! LOL
SYN: I do agree with you, and will continue my best effort to employ Occam's razor...with discretion.
asleif, I'll follow up a little later, in conjunction with what jst2 says down a bit.
Craig
My point is that if God should answer his prayer and did in some way get in touch, Craig would not be believed because God has not as of yet gotten in touch with more prominant xJWs in a visible fashion. Therefore his claim would remain suspect though true.
I've always felt that God gets "in touch" with us indirectly, whether we are 'listening' or not. However, I suspect that there are people living today who have a more direct relationship with Him... how many, I couldn't say, but it only makes sense that whether directly or indirectly His communication to individuals is just that ... individual. Having said that, I also believe that those 'special' people know it would be foolish to reveal their experience to even their closest of friends because their is nothing to be gained but suspicion and ridicule. An overpowering experience is only really meaningful (and believable) to the person experiencing it. So we're back to square one.
Is reality just a dream? Here's one for ya: We all think we have reality in front of our eyes. Now most would say that the past is not real, because it's done and gone, we can't put our hands on it, can't see it; at best we can remember it, or read about it in a book. And the future? Well, that's not real either, because it hasn't even yet happened. So we say "the present is real, I can touch and feel it." But every second of our lives is split into the "one-half second that just went past," and the "one-half second that is about to happen (the immediate future)." And thence down to the millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond. The "real" passes by us so fast, transits from future to past so quickly, that we don't even see it happen; we exist only in this infinitesimally small slice of time as it passes us by. Perhaps it is all a dream
*big, heavy sigh*
*icky face*
*hands Craig a tissue*
Bad man! Not in public!
LOL @ Six...I bet you thank "God" that you and I aren't married! LOLOL
Craig
........sort of like knocking on the door of a house when in your heart you know no one is there...no matter how long you stand there and knock, no one is going to answer that door...
