hi all.. just letting know that i've published a new article on my website, titled "the tree of life and its meaning".. you're welcome to visit, read and discuss it.. eden.
Eden,
A couple of questions.
One, the last paragraph threw me off. Did you state that there will be a 'new' or 'healed' Earth too?
Also, you quote Eclesiastes 3:11, or at least the first part of it regarding 'time indefinite' in man's heart. The second part of this verse to me is more interesting. It refers to God placing time indefinte in man's heart so as to keeping God's motives or objectives hidden from man.
How does this entire verse fit in with your theory?
hi all.. just letting know that i've published a new article on my website, titled "the tree of life and its meaning".. you're welcome to visit, read and discuss it.. eden.
There is no such thing as perfection or utopia but it would be myopic not to ackowledge some exceptional progress. - cofty
As long as YOU are the one remaining alive and having the luxury of being myopic.
It's a 'perspective' thing I guess, but again, we have the luxury of offering our perspective.
hi all.. just letting know that i've published a new article on my website, titled "the tree of life and its meaning".. you're welcome to visit, read and discuss it.. eden.
cofty wrote -
"I think that's a very pessimistic assessment of humanity."
I would argue that it is a very REALISTIC assesment of humanity. Hence, it was and is so easy to bundle man into evolution theory.
Don't get me wrong cofty, I acknowledge the various statistics you've presented, all of which are true. The problem is, there is STILL too much violence and hatred emanating and originating from man. The threat of mass anhilition is very real and much more possible today than yesterday.
If even ONE murder has befallen on an innocent (or not) individual, is it really possible to say "This is progress"? From that individual's perspective it is catastrophic, so what makes that situation better for us? That it didn't happen to us?
I imagine the pain felt by an afflicted mother in Syria or the Congo, or hell, right here carries just as much weight as a thousand afflicted mothers.
If we don't see it this way then we are seeing only statistics in my opinion.
background:.
i've come to the conclusion that many doctrines of the wts are unscriptural after many years of privately disagreeing with some of them but feeling that the society was "mostly right" and still being used by jehovah.
this turning point has happened in the last year or so.
jgnat wrote - "Here's a zinger I gave my husband. That week there was talk of the apostacy that the Greek philosophers introduced to Christendom, so hubby was parroting it. It just so happened that I was working through Plato's Republic, and I got to the part that talked about heaven. I quoted it to him. I asked it if it sounded familar (Paul's transport to the second heaven). I then pointed out that Plato had written his account a couple hundred years before Paul. So who copied who?"
I've come to debate this type of question with myself.
In fact, if you get down to the nitty gritty of the teachings regarding the annointed (and this is from a purely Scripturally point, NOT so much JW interpretation) there are many similarities with it to 'standard' philosophy.
That all humans have the capacity to become or reach a higher 'state' of being or existence thru shedding the corporal shell of their physical bodies. To ultimately become god-like or God himself.
The teachings of Paul fall neatly into this 'philosphy'. Interestingly jgnat, Paul also referred to Christ as being the key to the 'real' philosphy, hidden from man for centuries, but revealed in Christ. In other words, to get a shot at REALLY reaching a god-like state (eternal and immortal) one must do it through that path of Christ, not Plato or Socrates etc. So Paul in many ways DOES refer to Plato for example, but only to rebute his teachings in favor of Christ's.
Paul's claims are one of many elements that are factoring (or hoping) into discovering an 'Absolute' truth that answers all my personal questions regarding the 'state' of man and its real raison d'etre so to speak.
read a very interesting opinion article on cnn last night.
"why i raise my kids without god".. .
the writer aluded to the fear of the possibility of one's life ending forever (along with our beloved children's).
robcrompton, No difference that I can honestly think of. Because even after becoming concsious of our existence in life, in death (supposedly) we can not be conscious.
read a very interesting opinion article on cnn last night.
"why i raise my kids without god".. .
the writer aluded to the fear of the possibility of one's life ending forever (along with our beloved children's).
Read a very interesting opinion article on CNN last night. "Why I raise my kids without God".
The writer aluded to the fear of the possibility of one's life ending forever (along with our beloved children's). Thus, necessitating God whom embodies the concept of life and eternity. Those of us who believe in God (real or not) can psychologically cope with death in other words.
That fear of absolute 'finality', is it really predominant? For those who are atheists, how have you come to accept non-existence?
hi all.. just letting know that i've published a new article on my website, titled "the tree of life and its meaning".. you're welcome to visit, read and discuss it.. eden.
cofty wrote - "But there is always a reason why people make bad moral choices. Its always rooted somewhere in nature or nurture.
You have simply evaded the question"
I too believe (stress 'believe' as I don't have the absolute answer, but it MUST exist somehow) that for every action there is a reaction. And that every 'occurrence' must have a spark/push/motive even, to catapult it, so to speak, into action.
Is is a fact that people that believe in God (as I do) also believe that God has absolute control and power over all things. In this case, the reasoning is that God removed himself from interfering with Satan so as to allow free will.
My problem with this reasoning though is this-
1)the consequences of this 'reality' are incredibly horrendous, BUT not for all of man. It is an absolute injustice that some must suffer terrible fear and death while others simply die a peacefull death in sleep in old age.
2) it seems pretty clear that man as a whole mimics too awfully close the 'law of the beast', as in, it's a dog eat dog world, survival of the fittest, etc. Wether this is a reflection on evolution is another matter, but facts are facts, and man destroys man for its own advancement/surviva. Thus, is man simply another element of creation, born to die? as any animal or plant or living thing?
Is that what it amounts to?
i visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
jgnat, thank your for the recommendation,
you are so kind! a pleasure interacting with you.
i visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
greetings rebel8
in regards to the religion, there are members that NEED to have a place of worship (kingdom hall), need prayer, need to relate with others of like mindedness through meetings, moved by their faith they can find themselves needing to preach to others regarding their beliefs.
i suppose they could go out and do this on their own but chose to do this within the structure of this faith. eventually some come to relate this structure, consitency and/or familiarity with their own comfort. This is typical of the human mind or it is human nature to associate similar elements with one's own ideals or preoccupations.
i imagine that in ANY religion its members derive a peace of mind of sorts in transferring worries like mine onto God and leaving them be. But as I've written, this has stopped working for me.
i visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
xianthippe, thanks for guiding me to this opportunity with AI, i will most definitely look into this.
OM, thanks for going out of your way in using 'tasteful' language! In regards to Flipper's advise (don't get me wrong, i appreciate the spirit of it) i feel that it is no longer something I can do. I've crossed a threshold that doesn't allow me to simply ignore 'reality'. Pretending as though my world is only as wide as a 30mile radius from my constant position sounds, frankly, unintelligent.
To me, it's the same as saying, 'just look the other way'. Granted, I realize that our limitations (physical) make it impossible to solve this 'state' of man. But I am beginning to believe deeply in the verse "Knowledge is power", and fully comprehending this mother of a WHY has to provide resolution. I believe my God owes us humans this much.
