Posts by peacefulpete

1

The Moral World of the First Christians

by peacefulpete in

i've been slowly digesting another well researched book regarding christian origins.. the moral world of the first christians (library of early christianity): meeks, wayne a.: 9780664250140: amazon.com: books.

a wonderful review of the major streams of judaism and greek religion that contributed to the ethos of the first century.

strongly recommend it.

peacefulpete

I've been slowly digesting another well researched book regarding Christian origins.

The Moral World of the First Christians (Library of Early Christianity): Meeks, Wayne A.: 9780664250140: Amazon.com: Books

A wonderful review of the major streams of Judaism and Greek religion that contributed to the ethos of the first century. Strongly recommend it. As the author makes abundantly clear "Judaism" was a very diverse identification, groups with perhaps little more in common than the belief that they were uniquely chosen to be God's people. Meeks, the author, then gathers documentation revealing the finer points of identification and contention among early Christians.

15

J.W org and Noah's Flood

by Phizzy in

i remember when i was "in" the org.

had a ridiculous public talk outline defending the genesis flood myth.. do they have a current one doing that ?.

peacefulpete

I've shared this before but when I was at Bethel I found the very books the WT writers quoted for their particular pseudoscientific take on the flood stories. Velikovsky's World's in Collision and Wesley's The Bibical Flood and the Ice Epoch were underlined and marked up with the exact phrases and quotes in the WT literature. At the time I was confident that the works were credible and useful. I bought the books and used material for the Noah talk I gave a few times. However, it was clear even then that some of their ideas were unsupportable. Fast forward a few years and the reality hit me. I closeted my thoughts for a while until eventually it all came down in a crash.

There will always be a way to misuse science to convince people who wish to be convinced of supernaturalism.

37

If you were to design a new religion?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

what the jw sect has become and is slowly becoming is far more near what i thought could be a good religion based on the bible.. no more counting hours and no more blindly following direction now they admit they are not inspired.. i would like to design a new sect inside the jws.

it has to be kept secret because the elders would not like it.. this new sect involves giving a tick every month or so saying you are still kindof active talking about the bible.. going to meetings occasionally and attending on zoom sometimes.

very rarely go to ministry groups but don’t ever do first call, just say you are doing street work and have a nice walk somewhere maybe the shops or the park.

peacefulpete

ExBethelitePIMA...........Religion and belief systems are a human equivalent to exoskeletons. They are rigid and confining on one hand but seemingly offer safety and protection on the other. As an animal or person grows the exoskeleton must be shed. This is for both animals and people, a vulnerable time. Sometimes they fall victim to the spores of extremism or fall to self-harm. Sometimes the exoskeleton molt fails to completely occur, and the poor creature drags a shell of their former life around. Unable to grow, unable to eat, they must hide in the shadows. Such creatures die in nature but humans have the unfortunate fate of continuing in that state, complaining about what's happened but unable/unwilling to complete the transition to a new life.

2

Another Inspiring Story

by peacefulpete in

“i knew the repercussions of leaving” (chronicle.com).

she did not see any role models around her, and the organization’s requirements and expectations “steered me away from the things i wanted to do in my life.” at age 18, she decided to leave the religion, “even though it was hard, even though it was confusing, and scary … and painful,” to pursue her dreams and goals..

peacefulpete

Phizzy, I'm doing well, thanks for caring. Honestly, I find myself having church dreams after posting too much here. lol. Dreams where I'm on stage to give a talk but have no idea what about. I step away from the computer, and it all happily fades away again.

37

If you were to design a new religion?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

what the jw sect has become and is slowly becoming is far more near what i thought could be a good religion based on the bible.. no more counting hours and no more blindly following direction now they admit they are not inspired.. i would like to design a new sect inside the jws.

it has to be kept secret because the elders would not like it.. this new sect involves giving a tick every month or so saying you are still kindof active talking about the bible.. going to meetings occasionally and attending on zoom sometimes.

very rarely go to ministry groups but don’t ever do first call, just say you are doing street work and have a nice walk somewhere maybe the shops or the park.

peacefulpete

Cake - Building a religion - YouTube

37

If you were to design a new religion?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

what the jw sect has become and is slowly becoming is far more near what i thought could be a good religion based on the bible.. no more counting hours and no more blindly following direction now they admit they are not inspired.. i would like to design a new sect inside the jws.

it has to be kept secret because the elders would not like it.. this new sect involves giving a tick every month or so saying you are still kindof active talking about the bible.. going to meetings occasionally and attending on zoom sometimes.

very rarely go to ministry groups but don’t ever do first call, just say you are doing street work and have a nice walk somewhere maybe the shops or the park.

peacefulpete

Define "religion". Do you mean a collective of people who share the same values and beliefs? That is also called a "circle jerk".

Do you mean people who enjoy getting together for support and sharing of ideas? That is also called a "salon" group.

I've seen the ugly side of definition one, and the beauty of definition two. When I first left the church, I found a group of lovely people that enjoyed discourse and asking questions. We often had guest speakers on topics as diverse as attracting bluebirds to healthcare. The group lost a few key participants, and the host location was sold. I've often thought of trying to revive it, but it requires some dedicated individuals to keep it alive and interesting.

2

Another Inspiring Story

by peacefulpete in

“i knew the repercussions of leaving” (chronicle.com).

she did not see any role models around her, and the organization’s requirements and expectations “steered me away from the things i wanted to do in my life.” at age 18, she decided to leave the religion, “even though it was hard, even though it was confusing, and scary … and painful,” to pursue her dreams and goals..

peacefulpete

“I Knew the Repercussions of Leaving” (chronicle.com)

She did not see any role models around her, and the organization’s requirements and expectations “steered me away from the things I wanted to do in my life.” At age 18, she decided to leave the religion, “even though it was hard, even though it was confusing, and scary … and painful,” to pursue her dreams and goals.

3

How to talk to former Witnesses about their beliefs.

by Vanderhoven7 in

mark jones writes.

there have been only a handful of occasions where a jehovah’s witness has successfully engaged me in respectable conversation with mutual respect.

one such person started off like this and (unfortunately) has become an angry little man over the years.

peacefulpete

Ask the JW if they have doubts or difficulty with anything. If they say no, tell them you are available to talk if they ever want to be honest with themselves.

32

Do you play the LOTTERY?

by Fisherman in

jw view gambling as a sin and sadly people get addicted to gambling causing them financial and health problems.

but is playing a couple of bucks a week on some lottery tickets actually gambling?

what do you have to lose?

peacefulpete

Then maybe we should cast lots to decide what to do.

32

Do you play the LOTTERY?

by Fisherman in

jw view gambling as a sin and sadly people get addicted to gambling causing them financial and health problems.

but is playing a couple of bucks a week on some lottery tickets actually gambling?

what do you have to lose?

peacefulpete

Funny, my folks used to send in publisher's clearing house sweepstakes hoping of course to win the million dollars 💵. They said it wasn't gambling if it only cost a stamp and envelope.

What is gambling? Taking a risk? Is it greed? Is it investing on a longshot?

It's all semantics and splitting hairs. I have bought penny stocks. I have taken a chance and bought low priced cars sight unseen. I bought past dated milk half price. I bought tickets for Trout Unlimited dinners and won door prizes. I got out of bed.