Well done, PistolPete! This is a fascinating topic. I too have come to the same conclusion.
Modern Christianity is based on a religion that received its teachings from Paul and not Jesus.
truth_b_known
JoinedPosts by truth_b_known
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MY GOSPEL
by pistolpete inhas anyone ever read the new testament- critically- and not theologically?
by theologically i mean not reading the bible with the intention of understanding the nature of god and religious truth.
but instead, reading the bible by analyzing only the facts of what is written, in an unbiased frame of mind to pull out what is actually happening in the written stories.. first of all, if you were to read the nt in chronological order, paul’s 7 authentic letters would come before the gospels of matthew, mark, luke, and john.
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Would You Like To Be God?
by Ultimate Axiom inwe know there are a few on this forum who think they are, but consider this for a while.
if you are god, you are omniscient, therefore you have nothing to learn.
nothing to research, investigate or explore as there is nothing you don’t already know.
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truth_b_known
I like the Hindu answer to this.
In the Hindu cosmology the universe has no beginning or end, but does start over after a period known as an aeon.
The Hindu answer is something similar to this analogy -
Imagine you own a mega casino in Las Vegas. You own everything inside the casino. All the casino's money ("the house") is your money. Gambling would get rather boring rather quick.
So no imagine you are able to forget you own the casino. You think you are just a patron there to gamble. No the stakes seem real to you. The excitement of gambling returns.
In Hinduism, God is everything and everyone. Only everyone has forgotten that. The point is to try to remember. It is a game. It is a theatrical play.
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Roy Baty my Bethel Roommate and Pioneer Partner
by new boy inroy baty died three days ago.
i had a strange connection to roy.
i pioneered with him in kansas and he was one of my bethel roommates.
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truth_b_known
It is people who are like Roy who must answered this posed question?
Would your rather be -
Right or
Happy?
Pick one.
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3 years after... hello!
by ohnightdivine init's been 3 years since i last visited and posted here in this site.
i wonder if there is anyone here now whom i've had the chance to interact through my posts and comments from years ago.. i just wanted to share that:.
my bible study teacher tried to contact me all of a sudden 2 weeks ago.
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truth_b_known
Well done! Merry Christmas!
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Dating in the Org
by Rattigan350 inyou men, who were brothers in the congregation and you were dating sisters in the congregation, did you find that they cared more about how you made them look in the congregation than they cared about you?.
you women, who were sisters in the congregation and you were dating brothers in the congregation, were you more concerned about how he affected your status & how you were viewed in the congregation, than you cared about him?.
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truth_b_known
I was raised as a Witness. My teenage and young adult years were in California. I found sisters in the congregation, circuit, etc. cared not about a brother's status in the organization. They didn't even care about a brothers financial status. It was 100% about hormones and dopamine.
Any sister over the age of 22 that was not yet married was looked at as if there were something wrong with her.
Many Witness couples got married young, probably too young. Those couples often lived in one set of parents' basement. There started to be a lot of divorce and adultery.
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What Does Prayer Actually Do?
by punkofnice inif you think it works, what is your evidence outside of possible coincidence?.
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truth_b_known
TBK - Pontoon - I often felt that prayer was me talking to myself, trying to convince myself of something.
That's pretty much it, Punk. Prayer is the practice of setting an intention, usually to benefit the self and others through compassionate action.
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What Does Prayer Actually Do?
by punkofnice inif you think it works, what is your evidence outside of possible coincidence?.
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truth_b_known
This is what it does for me in my practice -
In Buddhism, prayer is primarily utilized for its internal purposes. It is practiced to awaken the practitioner’s inner bodhicitta, or Buddha nature. This concept can be defined as the fundamental compassionate vital energy; an energy that is as much present in the cosmos as it is within the individual. The process of prayer aids the practitioner in uniting himself with the cosmos by awakening this inner energy and consequently tapping into otherwise unused sources of wisdom, empathy and knowledge. The various types of meditative Buddhist prayer serve to calm the mind; bringing it to a state conducive to developing a strong and compassionate heart.
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Do Jehovah's really have true Bible studies?
by RULES & REGULATIONS infrequently asked questions.
if i accept a bible study, will i be pressured to become one of jehovah’s witnesses?.
jehovah’s witnesses love teaching people about the bible, but we never pressure anyone to join our religion.
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truth_b_known
I agree with LongHairGal. It's not even a study. It is an indoctrination into Watchtower belief and dogma. The Watchtower version of a Bible study is an exercise in Biblical eisegesis versus exegesis.
eisegesis noun
eis·ege·sis | \ ˌī-sə-ˈjē-səs , ˈī-sə-ˌjē- \
plural eisegeses\ ˌī-sə-ˈjē-ˌsēz , ˈī-sə-ˌjē- \
Definition of eisegesis
: the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one's own ideas
— compare EXEGESIS
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Do Jehovah's really have true Bible studies?
by RULES & REGULATIONS infrequently asked questions.
if i accept a bible study, will i be pressured to become one of jehovah’s witnesses?.
jehovah’s witnesses love teaching people about the bible, but we never pressure anyone to join our religion.
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truth_b_known
Should you tell your Bible study conductor on day 1 you will never become a Jehovah’s witnesses. That's the end of the Bible study.
Right after telling them this then show the article that says JWs love to study the Bible with people. Demand your Bible study or let them know they have proved the Watchtower a liar.
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29% of Americans are "Nones"
by IWant2Leave inaccording to a recent pew report, ones who are not affiliated with any religion are the fastest growing group.
if they were a religion they would be the largest.
's who are leaving religion, but cuts across a wide spectrum.
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truth_b_known
All religion is based on no empirical proof. Its all faith based. So there is not one bit of evidence for god.
Mickbobcat, I love you brother. Please be careful with words like "all" and "never". I like the recent interview between Lloyd Evans and Stephen Woodford aka Rationality Rules at the recent Faithless Forum in Austin, Texas. Woodford is a well read atheist and philosopher. I appreciate his open mindedness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvRV2jEA69o
Woodford agrees that a person can rationally and reasonably get to the conclusion that there could very well be something that fits the general description of a god, but there is no evidence that something is any god as described by the religions of the world. To say there is something that might be a god is feasible. To say it is the god of the Bible is not. To say a particular religion that subscribes to the Bible as its chief text is the on and only true religion has no proof or evidence.
Additionally, to say all religion has no empirical proof is not true. Psychologists, neuroscientists, and physicists who study quantum mechanics are acknowledging the teachings of Buddhism to be accurate. Keep in mind, Buddhism speaks nothing about a personal god, a creator of the universe, or how we got here. It simply addresses the true state of the universe and the human mind as means to end personal suffering.