Nourishment for the Spirit (page 5)

Tina

((((((Java)))))))))
Excellent points. I too agree that many simply accept beliefs they grew up with. I know I did. I call it 'social heredity'. lol
Yes some journeys require more work. I guess its dependent on how far the individual wants to take it. To take the next step requires courage. To begin thinking 'out of the god box'...and yes some need that comfort zone. I think fear has a lot to do with it. The unknown,the never tried before(as in thoughts/ideas)can be quite scary and anxiety producing. To leave crutches aside and explore what is unknown...I realize not everyone can or wants to do this.I mean we're talking total personal responsibility,and ethical responsibility to others.
If god exists or not is no longer of any real importance for me. As far as Im concerned he doesn't. It's a burden of existential angst I no longer carry.

I realize it's not out of societys bounds to believe in a supernatural entity because of socialization,past and present.
I hope,in a future time,when scientific illiteracy is not at the level that it is today,that it can change. But until then,it's going to be around. Just some thoughts.
Earrings? I prefer hoops,melt that damned calf already lol. hugs,T

AuSet

I have read some great books, but nothing compares to forgetting everything that everyone has tried to tell you about the world...(this was the point where I realized the WT was false) Simply going outside and looking up at the sky, and seeing/experiencing nature in its entirety, how everything is cyclical, discovering true "natural law," made me realize that everything in the Bible, and Christianity (as well as any of the NEW religions for that matter) is sheer crap.
This experience in my opinion cannot be duplicated in a book.

CPiolo

Mulan:

Living Buddha, Living Christ is by Thich Nhat Hanh

CPiolo

Mulan

Yep. That's it!! I wasn't home when I wrote that post, so was going on memory, for all of them.

Another really good one is The Rise of Christianity, by Starr. This one opened my eyes to some of the customs at the time Christianity was starting, and made me see why some of the things in the Bible, are there. It just all fits.

And, The Danciing Wu Li Masters is good too. I forgot that one.

Combatting Cult Mind Control, Steven Hassan.

Marilyn (a.k.a. Mulan)

waiting

Thanks Maximus for this thread - how refreshing in view of the last couple of weeks.

Atlas Shrugged by Ann Rand (sp?) has been mentioned - read it about 20 years ago. All the talented and/or thinking people of the world disappear over a period of time. From all different backgrounds, from truckdrivers to doctors. Stretches the mind to the possibility.

Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalists also has been mentioned by several. A down-to-earth look at it.

The Red Tent, fiction. I'm reading it now - about Dinah primarily. What's interesting about it is the everydayness shown of tribal herdsmen and the life of women. Don't know how factual - but a realistic spin on life, I suspect. I knew from Bible reading that Rachel had taken the teraphim (false god) from her father's tent when Jacob took his family from Laban. It never occurred to me why. Jacob married within his family but not within his religion.

waiting

Eusebius Hieronymus

I was pointed to a head-slamming, instructive book on "Adam, Eve, and the Serpent," by Elaine Pagels, Princeton Theological. An introduction into how the message of Christian freedom got converted to a dour doctrine of sin, redemption, the Fall. How did that minority opinion get adopted and become a force that has shaped Western civilization for millennia? Details, careful reasoning, and a close look at St. Augustine who believed that sin was transmitted via semen and that we are all infected thereby.

She also wrote "The Origin of Satan" and "The Gnostic Gospels." The former sets out the scholarly view of the Hebrew mind, which encompassed no devilish entity. The Book of Job is of Persian roots, with its Good God vs. Bad God symbolism, and barely made it into the Bible canon.

Better get some exact titles, I'll add them later. I've gone through dozens recently, after a very long time of running on autopilot myself.

Jerry

JAVA

Hi Jerry,

and a close look at St. Augustine who believed that sin was transmitted via semen and that we are all infected thereby.

NPR news was on while reading your comments, and as luck would have it, the program had a small segment about St. Augustine. The program said St. Augustine enjoyed the company of numerous women (I wonder if this is genetic with politicians). Adding their thoughts to yours, I conclude that Augustine thought he was perfect and wanted to pass perfection on to as many as possible.

--JAVA

...counting time at the Coffee Shop

JAVA

Hello Tina,

To leave crutches aside and explore what is unknown...I realize not everyone can or wants to do this.I mean we're talking total personal responsibility,and ethical responsibility to others.

I work with many professionals with advanced degrees, many who are Christian. I don't believe most of them use faith as a crutch of the unknown or to excuse themselves from ethical responsibility. I think most of them believe because of social influences more than avoiding ethical responsibility. Of course we can't really get into the mind of another to determine beyond doubt why others do and believe what they do.

However, when I hear folks like Jerry Falwell, it tends to refute my above thoughts. BTW, I'm working on those earring; one or two hoops per earring?

--JAVA

...counting time at the Coffee Shop

Eusebius Hieronymus

May You always Feel loved,

May you find serenity and tranquility
in a world you may not always
understand.

May the pain you have known
and the conflict you have experienced
give you the strength to walk through life
facing each new situation
with optimism and courage.

Always know that there are those
whose love and understanding will always
be there, even when you feel most alone.

May you discover enough goodness in others
to believe in a world of peace.
May a kind word, a reassuring touch,
a warm smile be yours every day of your life,
and may you give these gifts as well as receive them.

Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending.
Teach love to those who know hate, and let that love
embrace you as you go into the world.

May the teaching of those you admire
become part of you, so that you may
call upon them.

Remember, those whose lives you have touched
and who have touched yours are always a part of you,
even if the encounters were less than
you would have wished.

May you not become too concerned
with material matters, but instead place
immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart.

Find time in each day to see the beauty
and love in the world around you.

Realize that each person has limitless abilities,
but each of us is
different in our own way.

What you may feel you lack in one regard
may be more than compensated for
in another.

What you feel you lack in the present
may become one of your strengths in
the future.

May you see your future
as one filled with promise and possibility.

Learn to view everything
as a worthwhile experience.

May you find enough inner strength
to determine your own worth by yourself,
and not be dependent on another's judgements
of your accomplishments.

May you always feel loved.

+++++++++++

waiting

Hey Jerry,

Did you find your book titles yet? Would be interested in knowing. I believe I have her book on the Gnostic Books of the Bible. Haven't read to far into it yet.

It's so odd that as jw's (or most any fundamentalist christian) that we dismissed any/all reading on the "outside". At least in our area, that was the way it was. We could read fiction and a lot of us did, but get into an area where we would have to question our rigid beliefs - most of us would magically be too bored to consider things which "offended our bible trained consciences."

I've bought so many different kinds of books in the last year. Haven't read them all, but just to have the freedom of curiosity is so cool.

Thanks for the poem. Is it yours?

waiting

Nourishment for the Spirit

--JAVA

--JAVA

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