i've been studying with the jw's for a few months and i've attended a few meetings but things are feeling somewhat strange...i don't quite get the jist of things but i feel that i'm learning more of what the watchtower teachers and less of what the bible actually says.. i never open my bible.. i'm always reading the watchtower pamphlets.
i really like the people i've met in the congregation and the guy thats been doing the studies with me has been an awesome friend.. .
but i'm just having some issues.. i mean.. they translated their own bible to suit their own doctrines it seems.
Hahahaha, good one, jgnat!
Last time I went to a kingdom hall for a family event, I was asked by a JW who knew me, ''what hall are you in now?''
I replied, "I don't go anymore.''
''ohhhh, that's a shame, I'm so sorry that you have lost the truth''....
me - ''Don't feel sorry for me, I am very happy with my life now''
and they have no idea what to say to that, they walk away with thisexpression on their face.
Michael, I hope you come back to this thread and let us know what happened....
the internet is a great tool for learning.
it's also a place where even idiots can get a hearing, attention which they often crave, and often, if their ideas are wacky enough but strongly and coherently presented, they often get followings.
take, david icke for example.. idiots, who wouldn't get as much as a sniff from those who know them, can get all the attention that they want on the net.
Who is David Icke?
Not that I really want to know.
How is he able to get an audience on the net?
I have never heard of him...
lest you forget.... .
this provides another chance to highlight the change.. .
Gopher, that was hilarious
i will not give multiple choice answers to choose from, since there is a wide variety of beliefs out there, .
so anyone who has an opinion and would like to share it, i welcome your thoughts.
Satanism is just a flipside of christianity
and just as wrong
This is a simplistic answer, don't you think? And who determines that it is wrong? What is it exactly that you find wrong with it? and then ask yourself why. Who told you it was wrong? Religion? Other Christians? why do they believe it is wrong? If you are going to say because the Bible says so, well, who wrote the Bible? It all boils down to men determining what or who we worship, based on where we live, and where we were born...some journey to find the religion that speaks out to them, and that's very honest and noble, but the point is, who made these religions? If there was no religion, you would already know right from wrong instinctually. You know that stealing is wrong. Raping is wrong. Non-defense murdering is wrong. Beating someone smaller and weaker than you is wrong. Hurting anyone innocent or an animal for pleasure is wrong. No one needs the bible or religion to tell them that. So if you want to say, Satanism is almost the oppsite of Christianity, that would be a true statement. But calling Satanism wrong, is stating an opinion, not stating a fact. respectfully, -e
i will not give multiple choice answers to choose from, since there is a wide variety of beliefs out there, .
so anyone who has an opinion and would like to share it, i welcome your thoughts.
We are a world of storytellers. If aliens really were studying our various cultures on this planet, they might be quite perplexed about our obsession with fiction. We read novels, we go to movies, we watch fictions on television, we’ve carved them on walls for centuries—even our history is filtered through dramatic storylines. Why? We use stories about our heroes, our gods, our demons, our successes, failures, dreams and nightmares in order to preserve what has happened, to communicate our common values, to work through our common fears, to ritualize, instruct and have fun.
Humans shine when events become unconventional. That’s the basis for all good tales.
What do you do when you’re the underdog, fighting for survival? What do you do when God is dead and there are no rules? What kind of character or honor or sense of justice do you really have when there’s no God to judge you, no threat of eternity in the fiery furnace?
That’s when things get interesting. Step beyond the boundaries and see what you might find within yourself. Satanists want to cut through the bullshit, challenge themselves and others, and enjoy life.
Read on; perhaps you’ll begin to see your own dark reflection through the words on your computer screen
- Magistra Blanche Barton
apologies if someone has covered this already, but i'm a third of the way through this marvellous book which i'm enjoying more than richard dawkin's the god delusion.
the full title of hitchens' book is god is not great - the case against religion.
it pulls no punches and is extremely well written.
I am going to be ordering Hitchens book, I cannot wait to read it....
i can easily live without my mobile telephone - never use it at the moment and i rarely do.. i couldn't live without my pc because of all the things i can do on it including (when i have internet) jwd .
I could live without tv, and chocolate, I barely watch it.
I couldn't live without being able to be outside everyday, good food, good wine/beer, (ok I could, but I wouldnt want to) I couldn't live without learning.
My mind was shut.
Cognitive dissonance.
It was like being submerged 3000 feet under water, where it is dark, and cold, with an intense pressure, I can't move very fast...
what I didn't realize was that all I had to do to relieve myself of this cold dark pressure was to swim up. I was told not to. I was told that unspeakable harm would come apon me if I didn't stay.
But I chose to listen to my instincts - and they were telling me something was WRONG.
So I started my ascent...towards the gradual light, the pressure started releasing it's hold on me...and the farther I swam up, the faster I could swim, the darkness was being replaced with more sunlight, I was feeling warm water, instead of cold, I was feeling FREE...
and then
I broke the surface to freedom!
and I saw the world for what it really was....
My eyes could see, my hears could hear, and my body could feel the warm air, the peaceful sky, and the gentle rocking of the waves....
they don't hold me anylonger, I swim freely now, as all people should.
i will not give multiple choice answers to choose from, since there is a wide variety of beliefs out there, .
so anyone who has an opinion and would like to share it, i welcome your thoughts.
That is a very interesting perspective. Thank you for sharing it, nvrgnbk.
i've been studying with the jw's for a few months and i've attended a few meetings but things are feeling somewhat strange...i don't quite get the jist of things but i feel that i'm learning more of what the watchtower teachers and less of what the bible actually says.. i never open my bible.. i'm always reading the watchtower pamphlets.
i really like the people i've met in the congregation and the guy thats been doing the studies with me has been an awesome friend.. .
but i'm just having some issues.. i mean.. they translated their own bible to suit their own doctrines it seems.
Yes, your a good guy and even though your boring, you have an open mind and like listening to things i have to say".
Michael, what a heartless thing to say to a friend!!! You are NOT boring!
And did you notice what he was saying?? he was equating you listening to the things HE has to say to having an open mind. meaning if you don't agree with everything he says, your mind is closed.
That's how they get followers, they tell them to have an open mind to the ''truth'', and then tell them to ''shut their minds'' to everything else! (how is that being open-minded?) and those minds become rusted steel traps, never letting anything in ever again...
A mind is a horrible thing to waste.
