Due to my busy schedule I was going to wait until things settled down a bit before tackling a debate with Alan and others in this topic. However, I was drawn to "sneaking a peek" at this topic because I had a very unusual dream last night.
I guess the dream last night was triggered from this topic -- because it seemed illustrative of the whole mindset I feel up against in defending my faith in God and his written word. Although I'm surprised the dream would therefore include Alan when it included somebody entirely unexpected that everyone reading this topic will recognize!!
Because I type fast and think others who believe in JW reformation might totally relate to it, I'll hammer it out, and try to keep it short and sweet. Then I'll address whatever points raised since my last point when I can.
- Keep in mind, this dream occurred just a few hours ago! Also, I'm very serious and promise that I'm not just making this up as a metaphor. It was a very vivid dream that I can only figure was triggered by my reading the replies in this topic, perhaps triggering a flood of memories from the H2O days? I honestly don't know, maybe someone who understands psychology can take a stab at why I would suddenly have this dream.
The dream starts where I'm walking in an expansive stone paved old English schoolyard that reminds me of a boarding school. It is surrounded by fencing and English countryside. I don't know why England and this old turn of the century boarding school is the setting.
Next to me is a group of people from this forum, including Alan, Simon and Jan. We are having this heated argument and I feel this sense of being outnumbered, but I cannot remember specifically what we are discussing. I am vaguely aware we are being watched by these cameras mounted high above the schoolyard on the roofs that are recording everything occurring below.
Everyone gets tired of arguing with me, and shaking their heads, they disperse one by one. The only one left walking next to me is Jan.
It is now Jan and myself walking alone in this schoolyard. Jan starts to run ahead and insists I follow. He's laughing and very relaxed, like maybe he wants to start jogging. I then call out to Jan, who is now a distance away, and say, "want to see something really cool that I can do?"
I then run toward him and start to levitate into the air, rising higher and higher until I'm looking down at him. He just stands there, looking up and me. I finally go back down to the ground, and he loudly says something like, "Alan, Simon, anyone?" but nobody is around. Jan appears very distressed. I follow him as he makes a beeline into the building, down long corridors and into an office with lots of television screens and equipment. As he is fiddling with a device that reminds me of my Tivo hard-drive television recorder, into the room walks Alan, Simon and few others that seem familiar but I can't remember their names for the life of me at this moment.
"Did you see that??" Jan asks them.
To which they give him and puzzled look and Alan asks, "see what? What are you talking about?"
Jan rolls his eyes and says, "I'll show you!" I can see on the television screen Jan and myself moving in reverse very quickly as he is rewinding. We are going backwards down the long hallway, exit the building backwards into the schoolyard, and then walk backwards to the point directly after my landing on my feet on the ground after this little "stunt." Then the recording ends abruptly, as if it wasn't recording anything before that moment after I did what Jan now wanted to prove to the others.
Jan yells some expletives followed by "I don't believe this! Show them what you just did, they're never going to believe me."
"Show us what? Believe what?" questions Alan with a strange look on his face, like he's disturbed at Jan's sudden anxiety and angry excitement as he keeps working the controls on the recording device as if he is trying to get it to rewind further. For some reason I find this funny, and start laughing, which annoys Jan all the more.
"Jan thinks I can fly," I say to the others, laughing.
"Are you serious?" says Simon. Alan starts snickering. Jan has this shocked expression on his face. The apparent realization that I'm going to refuse to repeat this stunt really pisses Jan off. There's this priceless expression with a mixture of every human emotion -- fear, anger, outrage, betrayal, shock, a kaleidoscope.
As the dream abruptly ends, I'm standing there thinking that he seems more concerned with what others think than just to witness some bizaar event. The dream abruptly ends.
Right at this moment I'm thinking that deep down, I must believe that my subconscious is expressing something about my reaction to Alan's and Jan's refusal to believe in anything beyond the ordinary, let alone in God's ability to create "impossible" events.
In recent years I rarely experience such vivid dreams. And no, I didn't have chile the previous night! ;)
So what does anyone think? Be kind! I know on the surface this dream might seem silly! Believe me, this is the last kind of dream I would expect to have!
Incidently, the setting and country where the dream takes place was odd, and for the life of me, I don't know why Simon appeared in the dream with the group. ;)