I just think timming is everything.
Dismembered
"Don't you go dyin' on me now"
Blessings and Curses? Do they exist?
by ljwtiamb 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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ljwtiamb
tetrapod: no. nature is neither kind or evil. just indifferent.
Thanks for the comments. It makes me think of a local tragedy not too long ago.
Several people in our town lost their lives during very terrible weather. An entire JW family was also killed. At the time, I was completely surprised by the comments of our bookstudy conductor (an otherwise, rational, very intelligent, educated fellow):
"It is obvious that jehovah has blessed us because only ONE jw family was lost out of the hundreds who died." Just imagine trying to explain that bible based logic to the bereaved family!
It helped me appreciate the mental tricks that we play on ourselves to somehow justify our position. Thanks for the socalled religious freedom.
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Black Sheep
When something good happens it is Joe's blessing.
When something bad happens it is a test of our faith/ Satan did it/you were weak in the faith/etc.
Chris
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Terry
Blessings and Curses.....................................
In my opinion, Blessings and Curses are the oldest Con Game in the world.
Once you invest another person or entity with the imagined POWER to change your status from good to bad you are enslaved to keeping them happy with you.
It is a ritual of master and slave.
It is an addiction.
Why?
It plugs in to our survival mechanism. We want to avoid damage and procure a measure of advantage.
It also feeds in to our greedy side. By securing a blessing from a supernatural source we don't really earn it. We just press a magic "blessing" button and get a payoff like a Las Vegas slot machine.
Gypsy fortune tellers run a scam that provides a lot of cash for them.
1.You go to the fortune teller with a problem. She tells you there is a curse on you. Once the curse is lifted you will prosper.
2.You turn over your confidence to this remedy and ask how you can comply.
3.The Gypsy then makes up a silly (meaningless) ritual for you to perform. It can be anything as long as it doesn't make sense. Also, you have to EXACTLY perform the ritual down to the smallest detail.
4.Usually you have to bury money somewhere (where it will be dug up later by the Gypsy!).
5.After you comply, the fortune teller will pronounce you blessed ...until next time!
Religious blessings are no different.
1.You have a problem and you seek out a religious advisor. The priest, shaman, rabbi or elder informs you that you are under the curse of Adam and God is pissed at you. You can only lift the curse by following instructions.
2.You place your complete trust in the directions you are given.
3.Part of your remedy is performing meaningless rituals that are very important (prayer, meeting attendance, etc.) and must be carried out to the smallest detail.
4. You have to bury your assets (time, money, service, labor, etc) in the religious graveyard to be plundered at will by the religion.
5.Your life is pronounced "blessed" until the next daily problem brings you round again to rinse and repeat.
It is a con game used to empower on person over another; there are no blessings and there are no curses.
Terry
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Sunnygal41
Good question, ljwtiamb! For me, personally, I just look to nature's cyclical framework. The natural world is always changing.........spring, summer, winter, fall. The moon goes thru it's cycles, and we have night and day..............for an archetypal explanation, I look to the tarot deck and the Wheel of Fortune and the World cards...........in my native american deck these are the Big and Small Medicine Wheels............they teach us that life is always moving and changing and evolving. When we cling or get "attached" to a certain outcome, we cause unnecessary pain to ourselves. If we let go, and remain open, we can always find positive things in new situations that will help us grow. This does not depend upon a "god force" to punish or reward us, but shows us it is just a natural part of the material world.
Terri