walked away from the trooth years ago(over 20) my older sister sends me an invite to the memorial via zoom.
i have no interest in jwism at all.
should i ignore or respond?.
I received the Zoom Memorial invite from my PIMI sister via a text message. I actually considered viewing it because it has been 15 years since I left that congregation, a congregation that turned its back on my family and I before we faded. I wanted them to see how happy I am now.
Then I re-read the text. I immediately realized that it was a canned scripted text. So, my own sister couldn't even personally invite me. Worse, it was an invite to me and me alone. Not my whole family.
The U.S. has plenty of "gun control laws." The U.S. has a whole federal law enforcement agency, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, that enforces firearms laws. The problem is that they are not enforced and by not enforced I mean not prosecuted.
There is a county that borders my county that allows convicted felons arrested for Felon in Possession of a Firearm to plead out to a misdemeanor Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon and do 90 days in jail, time served. What should be sending these criminals to prison for 10 years is allowing them to do 90 days in the county and walk. How will more laws help?
One of the big problem the U.S. justice system has is activist State's District/Prosecuting Attorney's Offices. The same District Attorney's Office I mentioned refuses to prosecute people arrested for Theft if the amount is under $750.00 and consist of necessities. You can literally walk into a grocery store, steal $200.00 of steaks, and be arrested only to be released from jail because the District Attorney refuses the charges.
I am tired of all the senseless killing in violence. Firearms are deeply engrained into American culture. Part of that is because Americans object to the government having a monopoly on firearms.
Personally I wouldn't mind going back to the way it was when the U.S. first because a nation. Everyone who wanted a firearm carried and was required to train competently to be able to be of service to their community. Those who did not want to do this could alternatively pay for training ammunition for those who did.
[9-15-95 wt- ‘the golden calf’ and the people said: “all that jehovah has spoken we are willing to do and be obedient.”—exodus 24:7. nevertheless, the israelites soon sinned against god.
they were still encamped at the foot of mount sinai.
moses had been on the mountain many days, receiving further instruction from god, and the people pressured moses’ brother, aaron, to make a god for them.
What most do not realize from this story is it's true purpose - to insult the former Israelite god El in favor of the new Israelite god, YHWY. El was represented as a bull. Making the idol of El a calf was done to insult El. Then YHWY in all his love opens the ground and kills the worshippers of El.
human life is infused with pain.. but animal life is “define by pain.. animals in the wild are subject to endless torment from all angles of their existence.
wild dogs disembowel their prey, venomous snakes cause slow internal bleeding and paralysis.
crocodiles drown large animals in their jaws.. and animals also suffer from rampant disease, dehydration, and starvation, and have to contend with forest fires and floods, harsh winters and blistering heat.
"The excuses made to defend God are just ridiculous"
I couldn't agree more. Lao Tzu wrote that justification never convinces. Apologetics are pointless.
I have watch several videos of this young man. I find him quite intelligent and applaud his choice to do the work that he does. However, I find him to be a meta-skeptic, which in turn is a form of nihilism an nihilism is pathological.
We must start of with a correct understanding and use the proper terminology as words are placeholder for ideas. Pain and suffering are two separate, but relate things. Pain is what happens. Suffering is how we respond to pain. Pain is inevitable. Suffering is a choice.
One of the most common forms of suffering humans endure is anxiety or fear of a future problem that may or may not befall us. Animals do not suffer. Animals do feel pain. Animals are not aware that they are going to die, but do have a natural defense instinct to avoid an early death. The anxiety of dying creates probably the single highest level of suffering in humans. That is followed by the fear of pain and the fear of not feeling pleasure.
Pain and pleasure are two sides of the same coin. People are constantly chasing after pleasure and constantly running away from pain. It is like watching people trying to lift themselves into the air by pulling up their shoelaces and running away from their shadows.
So Alex tells us that mankind's suffering is proof that an all powerful, all loving god does not exist. The problem with this is that, whether there is a god or not, one cannot experience pleasure without having to experience pain. Dual thinking creates this. Nonduality means accepting both pleasure and pain thus ceasing suffering.
Furthermore, should we ask and expect the universe to conform with our standards and doubt the existence of God in all things because He does not observe the ordinary standards of middle-class humanitarian morality? Humanity has envisioned God as this meek, kindly old gentleman or an infinitely powerful nebulous spirit of pure love.
I am not going to suggest that the Bible is a literal book and the god of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac is real. I will not suggest that there really was a Jesus and that he died and was resurrected 3 days later. What I will point out is that the Gospels has this Jesus character stating -
In short, the "Problem of Evil" is highly flawed. God could be both creator and destroyer. Making excuses for the latter as Christians do actually is an exercise in a lack of faith. Conversely, to use pain, old age, sickness, and death to either 1. deny God exists or 2. prove God is an asshole highly egotistical.
Canticle of the Sun
Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honour, and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.
Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendour!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather through which
You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you light the night and he is beautiful
and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains us and governs us and who produces
varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through those who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those who will
find Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord,
and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility
- St. Francis, 1224 AD
recently, some scientists modeled one of the simplest known cells - that of a bacteria.
it took an army of 128 computers running for 10 hours to process the data required in the 25 categories of molecules that are involved in this "simple cells'" life processes.
think about that for a moment - 128 computers running for 10 hours just to compute the data, not actually do it mind you; but just to model the known processes in one of the simplest known cells, which is many orders of magnitude simpler than a human cell.
Please remember that evolution and abiogenesis are two separate things. Evolution has been observed. There is also evidence of abiogenesis.
do humans have the right to live on this planet?
we have, in much less than a century, managed to fill the earth with so much plastic waste that tiny fragments of plastic have been found on the highest mountains and the deepest ocean depths.
not satisfied with doing that, we stupidly continue to do it.
In short - yes.
The problem comes from the Judeo-Christian/Western belief system that humans are separate from the universe. That humans are born into this world. That the universe is here for our benefit. That the universe is a resource for us to use and throw away on out journey to heaven. That the universe and nature are here for us to concur.
i have a question to the board.. if someone asks you the below question, how do you respond?
please reflect on why you think the question was asked.
(background... the spouse was talking to dubs about 6000 yrs and wanted to tell them that it was proved false).
“HAVE THEY PROVED THAT MAN HAS NOT BEEN HERE FOR 6000 YEARS?”
That is specific to Protestant/Reformation Christian sects. Persons belonging to such sects are obsessed with their chosen structured belief system's scientifically inaccurate narrative that modern humans have only walked the earth for 6,000 years because a literal (Sola Scriptura) reading of Genesis says so.
"What does it matter?" is a question. Not an answer. An example of a decent answer would be "The builders of Göbeklitepe would have the answer to your question."
from the *permanent mission of poland to united nations office at geneva* on twitter: .
https://twitter.com/plmissiongeneva/status/1372893830047993858?s=19.
"📢 how is #freedom of #religion or #belief interrelated to security-related concerns - this was discussed🗣️by un sr ahmed shaheed, kishan manocha (osce odihr) and marc hansen (jehovah’s witnesses) in 💻 side event held by 🇵🇱#poland in the margins of 🇺🇳#hrc46.
I have heard the Watchtower has cooled its jets in regards to the whole "the UN is the Wild Beast of Revelation." I have been out for about 15 years so I do not know for sure. What I do remember is the order of operations -
1. The UN turns on all false religion and shuts it down
2. The UN sees that JWs remain and then the UN tries to shut them down
3. Queue Armageddon
As long as the Pope is drinking cappuccinos on his golden throne at the Vatican anything government does to JWs is not according to their failed prophecy.
obviously at some point you stopped believing the witnesses had the truth or else you wouldn’t be here.
.
but for the most part, were you a true believer or were you typically a rebel or a doubter?
I was born in and raised a JW. My father professes to be of the Annointed and was an elder most of my childhood. My father is a highly intelligent man with a great understanding of the Bible. Looking back now it seemed like he was a charismatic cult leader.
Growing up with that I would hear my father from time to time point out things that were no "Christlike" in the organization, but he had no problem telling anyone right to their face that the Watchtower had "The Truth." So, I believed. Children usually believe their parents. After all, moms and dads, look out for their children.
Now, due to what I believe is a case of the Sunk Cost Theory in action, my father still won't budge on all the cognitive dissonance it takes to be a Witness. I remember back in the 1990s my father was floored when an elder told him that the organization changes and it was just that way in regards to the decline in spirituality with Jehovah's Witnesses. Now, my father is all gung ho about JW.org and the whole JW Lite version of the religion.
i can not find this ,does anyone know?
thanks.
.
This whole concept is an exercise in cognitive dissonance. First the Watchtower splits the baby under Rutherford. Rutherford realizes that the number of Witnesses world wide is exceeding Russell's 144,000. Rutherford realizes that a new carrot has to be fashioned. What do we get? The Great Crowd of Other Sheep!
However, now that the Watchtower is on the hook for the New Covenant only applying to 144,000 going to heaven. So Jesus sacrifice seems to be reduced in benefit. The waters get a little more murky.
This is a great example of how all Abrahamic religions (Judeo-Christian-Islamic) are not "truth" or at least eternal truth that is of value. Truth is this context is like an IP address. It comes in two formats - static and dynamic.
For Abrahamic religions truth is dynamic. The goal posts keep getting moved. What was good enough for salvation from God's wrath one day is no longer good the next and so on. When the goal posts get moved, those in charge double down on the change and decry "heretic!" to anyone who disagrees.
