Cagefighter

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Posts by Cagefighter

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  13

  Message of Anonymous about blood transfusions

  by TJ Curioso in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  see here:.

  http://youtu.be/ykbfbr_8e6s.

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  Cagefighter

  I like the coherent and articulate argument they make. Could do with out all the smug, self-important, dramatics.
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  29

  Update:Jonathan Holt

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.kgw.com/home/docs-holt-had-guns-child-porn-and-stolen-iphone-176052031.html.

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  Cagefighter

  It's OK Finkel, you get a pass.

  Different states handle the death penalty differently. In Texas he would definitely get the death penaly. Only two people have been executed in Oregon since 1978, so don't hold your breath.
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  23

  It's time I face the truth about my belief in God.

  by Cagefighter in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i don't beleive in him, at least not like most christians do.

  as some have described before the "sky daddy" version of god has not been able to be rationalized by cagefighter's brain for some time.. does this mean i don't believe in a divine power/entity?

  does this mean i do not consider my self a christian?

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  Cagefighter

  Wow, thanks for all the feedback. Sorry I don't have time to respond to all of it. I would like to say that my reason for posting is to express my rational reasons for remaining a Christian even thought I don't believe say 40% of what is in the bible.

  As a young JW I was very intrigued by the hindu and eventually buddhist religions. When I re-read the gospels as an adult with out the WT crap in my head it was pretty obvious to me that the "lost years of Jesus" were spent out east.

  My decision to remain a member of my church is cultural as well as it connects me to that divine energy/love, through the opportunities to serve, visit, and even the intellectual and honest discussions we have. I won't lie, it also provides me with social opporunities and friendships as well. Last, the tradition that is observed simply reminds me that I am not perfect and I am not the center of the universe. All religion serves this function and it is important to man. Honestly, I think these are the real purposes of the church.
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  29

  Update:Jonathan Holt

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.kgw.com/home/docs-holt-had-guns-child-porn-and-stolen-iphone-176052031.html.

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  Cagefighter

  Finkelstin, actually this is all going down in Oregon. They have the death penalty too as well.
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  29

  Update:Jonathan Holt

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.kgw.com/home/docs-holt-had-guns-child-porn-and-stolen-iphone-176052031.html.

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  Cagefighter

  Everyone has a porn problem at the KH, as in everyone watches it and everyone thinks it's a problem.
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  23

  It's time I face the truth about my belief in God.

  by Cagefighter in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i don't beleive in him, at least not like most christians do.

  as some have described before the "sky daddy" version of god has not been able to be rationalized by cagefighter's brain for some time.. does this mean i don't believe in a divine power/entity?

  does this mean i do not consider my self a christian?

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  Cagefighter

  I don't beleive in him, at least not like most Christians do. As some have described before the "sky daddy" version of God has not been able to be rationalized by cagefighter's brain for some time.

  Does this mean I don't believe in a Divine power/entity? No

  Does this mean I do not consider my self a Christian? No

  Does this mean I think the Bible is worthless? No

  Let me try and explain:

  1. I believe "God is Love", not because John 4:8 says so, but becuase my entire life experience and every cell in my body says so. When we can suppress our carnal nature in favor of acting in self sacrificing love, we tap into something that is divine and creative. It is the power that makes the universe go around. Otherwise we would still be wearing animal skins and raping and stealing from eachother in short chaotic lives like dogs or other wild animals. If you think about it, the fact that any kind of civilzation exists is a bit remarkable. The more brutish genes should have won out a long time ago and kept us dragging our knuckles around the more temperate zones of the planet.

  2. I believe the actual teachings of Christ are the only hope to save us from our selves as individuals and society. If we can treat both our neighbors like ourselves as we should be treated, while learning to forgive our own and other's faults, that is life and spirit changing. There is no two ways about it in my experience.

  3. I believe the Bible contains just as many truths as it does exaggerations, fables, and concoctions. It also our history and culture wrapped up into a neat little package, kind of like my late grandmother. There was a lot of wisdom in my grandmother and honest direction that I still use today. However, there was a lot about my grandmother that was very human. Here attitude towards blacks, gays, and even religion were all shaped by her own life and short comings. Does it make all the good and wise about her wrong, nope. It means she was human and a product of her generation and geography. Just like cagefighter has his own biases, yet he can still spout off something profound and wise from time to time. Again, this power comes from point # 1 . When we tap into the unselfish love we can do and express things we did not think we could.

  So this leaves me with a predictament, where do I go from here? Do I smuggly sit and sneer and ridicule those that believe in the sky daddy?

  Absolutley not. Let's think about the place of religion in the first place.

  Religion gives people a third venue outside of family and career to belong. Many "non-believers" suffer from cyncism, which is almost the opposite of that divine love I spoke of before. Personally, regardless of the accuracy of the bible or what others believe about God, I want as much of that divine love in my life as possible. I could join a buddahest monestary, or a Unitarian church, but where does that leave me?

  I think my (methodist) church is "liberal" enough for me to share this love and continue growing. Obviously if I was in a more fundamental church that took the bible more literally I could not do this. If/when I have kids, I think I would bring them up in the same church while reminding them it is ok to have doubts and discuss them. When they are old enough (teenagers) I would share my most personal beliefs (including this) and let them know my reasons for bringing them up in the church. Leadership opportunties, learning a firm foundation of our culture and history, making friends and learning about that divine love.

  Last but not least, let's be brutally honest about the "effective IQ" (the intellegence level) the world operates on as a whole. I estimate it is somewhere between 80-90. Do we really want 7 billion people waking up and living life on the "nothing matters but making me happy today" model? I think we go back to my original point and are wearing animal skins and raping/killing eachother in about a decade. Most of the world needs the guardrails that the Chrisitan religion provides, the rest must live under dreary dictatorships or Islam in order to function. There is no utopia on this planet. So my position on more fundamental Christians is, I don't knock them. I think they are where they need to be like children in Kindergarten. I know they are learning with fingerpaints, silly songs, and games. However, we can't start running a muck in public covered in glitter and mumbling wiggles songs if we are on a higher level, but neither should they be condemed for doing so as long as they aren't hurting others directly and we aren't giving them more power than they deserve.

  Just a few thoughts, I hope I managed to keep them coherent.
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  38

  Are Texas women cows?

  by kurtbethel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  likely not, but this one is acting like one, and it's a good thing.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2223665/mother-wins-guinness-world-record-breast-milk-donation-pumping-86-galllons-help-premature-babies.html.

  a mother in north texas has been awarded a guinness world record for donating breast milk.. alicia richman, 28, from granbury, pumped over 86 gallons between june 2011 and march 2012 for donation to the mothers milk bank of north texas, a nonprofit that supplies neonatal intensive care units.. the vast quantity equates to 11,000oz - to put it into context, a typical newborn's feed is around 3oz.. she told cbs dfw: 'i pumped at work, on vacations, in the car.

  and i never had to buy formula.'.

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  Cagefighter

  No, but thart won't stop me from acting like a bull and treating them like a heifer! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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  29

  Update:Jonathan Holt

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.kgw.com/home/docs-holt-had-guns-child-porn-and-stolen-iphone-176052031.html.

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  Cagefighter

  Like I said, there is always something weird about people that marry someone that looks enough like them in the face they could be a sibling.
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  60

  If you believe God exists, what are your thoughts on what pleases him most?

  by Fernando in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  our family has come to believe that god really wants each individual to personally and independently seek, find and walk with him - quite apart from what other humans say, think, believe or do.. we believe we were created as semi-autonomous beings.

  when our inner compass is recalibrated, and we then self-direct, the outcomes seem best.. when we are instead led by humans, their hierarchies, organisations and ideas, the outcomes on the whole seem unfavourable.

  legalism (rules), moralism (a moral code), ethnocentrism (doctrine), and gnosticism (knowledge) may seem meritorious.. yet these do not seem to lead to the deep inner transformation needed.

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  Cagefighter

  I don't think God can be "pleased". In my experience he is not very co-dependent.
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  14

  What if you could just walk away? No DF'ing or Shunning?

  by QuestioningEverything in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if i could tell my mom and other family jw's that i wasn't going back, didn't believe it and wanted to move on with my life without worrying about being df'd or shunned, i'd do it in a heartbeat.. but, that is not the case.

  wonder how many the wtbs would lose if they changed their policy on this?

  how many of you would have left sooner if there were 'no strings attached' to the wt?.

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  Cagefighter

  Why not do it anyway? Why give them all the power. People have a right to think what they will about us no matter how ignorant or hurtful.