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I don't have a problem with people giving thanks, it is an honorable attitude.
He gave us life, freewill, self determination, the abundance of all things, and to possibility that we could be like Him.
Lots to be thankful for, don't you think?
godspeed,
freedom
I've received favors and love from other people. I remember them fondly. Whenever I receive something, either material or not, I thank the person that gave it to me, no one else.
For those who did me wrong I have no hard feelings (after time), but I don't blame their actions on evil forces.
At this point, i'm going to be grateful to my mom and dad, because when they decided to cuddle one night, i'm here.
But as always, you went on and on murmuring something about nothing and avoiding my question. How very speedy of you. So, would you answer my question, just for the sake of never ending scenery of your godly speed to avoid questions, may be you can actually stop and answer?
He who is thankful for ALL things, shall be made glorious.
In the proper perspective of belief, it is easy to see all of this as temporal, and educational. There is learning and discerning going on all the time. Even in bad events, there is something eternal going on.
God is not unaware of suffering, He also knows very well that it is temporary, and the paradise he has prepared for the innocent sufferings of man will be more than enough to make up for it.
I also believe that we all chose a mission before we were born, and for some it is to suffer, in order to provide a greater awareness to others, and give opportunity to understand love. It gets a little deep from here, so i'll leave it at that, it should be plenty for you to trod.
This is irrespective to the debate at hand, but it is wholly redundant to sign your empty, meaningless regards and your username ["godspeed, freedom"] at the end of every post. It is already clear, in huge, bold font, who you are within the posting frame. It is just a pointless sentiment that you have grown accustomed to. I think you would save a lot of time and afford you more consideration to your next repetitive and banal post.
It is almost comparable with your irrational and unnecessary god-belief... Time consuming and unproductive.
Pretty easy to spot someone associated with Jehovah's Witnesses, isn't it? Now that is unity!
Unity? Even the communists have unity of thought due to brainwashing. I imagine some are freethinkers, but they better think outside their group and perhaps not even around family members. Like the JWs communists are taught to turn in their family members or friends. So it has to do with the brainwashing that all JWs have to go through; it has to do with the fact that JWs can't have a thought of their own, can't even have an opinion separate from the Watchtower, and can't even question. Can't even tell their family and friends that they disagree with something that is taught or that they want to leave the organization, because if they leave they will be shunned by their friends and family. This is what you mean by unity. I think of it as a totalitarian government. When I left the JWs, I read a book on brainwashing and communism, and I was shocked to learn that the way that they brainwashed people was exactly the same way that the JWs did it.
No, because there's no idiots beating on my door trying to convince me of the existence of a boogie man, or interrupting my dinner with phone calls telling me there's a boogie man, or trying to get the boogie man into government laws, or telling me that the book the boogie man wrote is the only truth and that the boogie man will kill me if I don't believe in him.
Wrestling, cartoons, video games, fictional books...etc. Nope they are already in your home no need to knock on your door or answer the tele...already had great influence on your family.
Unity? Even the communists have unity of thought due to brainwashing. I imagine some are freethinkers, but they better think outside their group and perhaps not even around family members. Like the JWs communists are taught to turn in their family members or friends. So it has to do with the brainwashing that all JWs have to go through; it has to do with the fact that JWs can't have a thought of their own, can't even have an opinion separate from the Watchtower, and can't even question. Can't even tell their family and friends that they disagree with something that is taught or that they want to leave the organization, because if they leave they will be shunned by their friends and family. This is what you mean by unity. I think of it as a totalitarian government.
Mattie Jo...I have been associated (on and off) with JW's for close to 30 years. Your description above is NOT what I have experienced at all. If by "brainwashing" you mean they expect you to research/study the bible, come to an accurate knowledge and to apply bible principles to your daily life before becoming a JW, then I suppose they are guilty.
This isn't a thread about JW's though.
This is a thread about why God allows certain things to happen, and you gave your JW reason, and I responded to it. Obviously you have not read books on brainwashing. I know that JWs are like, and I may start a thread on them and brainwashing techniques.
Thus, an intervention or an answered prayer would seem to indicate to me that we most definitely do not live in a 'free will' universe because it would almost inherently produce a paradox of a 'pre-deterministic' universe.
I again see where you are coming from, but I continue to respectfully disagree!
An act in life that affects a chain of events, while it does create situations and circumstances that would not have otherwise existed, does not affect our free will. A chain of events that result from an action does not mean it was pre-determined.
Think of two people we'll call person A and person B.
Person A lives, laughs, loves, makes choices, is sad, happy, angry, etc.
Person B lives, laughs, loves, makes choices, is sad, happy, angry, etc.
But person A came about because a person (a human, natural person) saved his father from drowning when his father was a little boy.
Does person A not have free will? If not, how is he different from person B?
Maybe God was there, by putting someone there who could help her. But we all have free will, and that person chose to snap a picture and walk away.
But debates like this are somewhat pointless. Nothing you say will make me question God, and nothing I say will make you have faith.
Quote:
Originally Posted by braderjoe
There will be no pleasing you with any answers from a religious point. I'll leave. My point is, as a believer in God, trying to explain to you is like trying to describe the colours of the rainbow to a blind man. How can the blind man understand? Ciao
There could easily be a God, but not the God that is represented in the Old Testament. More close to how Christ taught, not what people added to his words. No one can really, really know what God really is, no matter how we try. My feeling is that the Old Testament God was just people trying to understand their universe and so projecting their emotions onto this God. Perhaps the God of the mystics is the closest we can come to understanding God. And this God may not be interested in answering prayers or punishing man. This God may not be able to do so. Perhaps everything was just put in motion by a creator. And the law of karma is truly what guides us, as Christ said, You reap what you sow." If not now in a future life. And so what you do now is be good to others and help them when you can. This man did what he did and couldn't live with the results. He may not have killed himself just because he had to leave a child that really had no hope for survival. It could be that he killed himself because of every thing he saw--the deaths and all were too much for his mind to handle. He was so sensitive to the pains of others that he couldn't stand to live. Judging him doesn't help. Judging him is like the Old Testament God.
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