Paths - Which Are You On?

[nPeace]

There are more than two paths, in fact there are many narrow and broad paths. Some of them lead to destruction, some don't.
I don't see why a loving God would kill anyone who didn't want to die considering the other options God presumably has, especially not an All-Merciful God (although you'll have to remind me if JWs believe in an All-Merciful God as I'm forgetful at times).
The destination I believe my path will lead me to is physical death followed by eternal life in the spirit realm.
In my opinion

I'll stick with Jesus on this one... In fact, on everthing he said... including Mark 12:1-11

 

[nPeace]

Is this a ham-fisted attempt at proselytizing?

Is this one of those "nothing useful to contribute to the thread" posts?

 

[nPeace]

Destruction. Hopefully.

Ciao

- viole

Viole, are you feeling okay today?
Why?

 

[nPeace]

I'm currently looking into Wicca, Spiritualism and Divination.



I want my new spiritual path will take me as far as away from Christianity as it is possible. I couldn't get away fast enough when I finally disavowed my Christian faith after thirty years of being hoodwinked by Christianity. As far as I'm concerned, Christianity is nothing more than a religion of fear, shame and guilt trips. It's fear of God, the fear of hell, and shame and guilt trips from allegedly sinning against God. Honestly, forsaking my Christian faith was the best decision that I've ever made for myself. It was definitely the best decision that I've ever made for my mental health. I'm much better off without it, and I'm finally feeling peace in my life.

I LOL when I started reading this.

According to the Bible, if you don't accept Jesus Christ as your savior, and you don't receive God's forgiveness for 'sinning' against him, then you will be cast into hell for all eternity. A lifetime of disobeying God earns you an eternity of immeasurable torture and suffering in hell. If the fear of going to hell isn't a self-defeating guilt trip, then I don't know what is. As an ex-Christian, I'm no longer afraid of being judged by God or sent to hell. I've finally let go of these fear tactics of Christianity. I'm no longer controlled by it.

That's not according to the Bible.
That according to lies taught by men in robes, calling themselves Christians.
Some people evidently believed the lies.

I'm glad that RayofLight hasn't fallen for your fearmongering proselytizing efforts. I'm also glad that other members are rejecting your proselytizing too. It seems like you're walking a thin line in your OP, and it's almost as if you're thumbing your nose at rule 8.

LOL What?
Is today All fools day? I seem to have missed something.
Oh. I get it. I must be 24 hours ahead.

 

[The Hammer]

Actually no. That's the mongoose's path. That's also the bear's path. Wanna fight about it?

No that's just @Wu Wei .

 

[nPeace]

My own path...cut by my own hand. I don't go it entirely alone. There are but only a few others with me.

Limited, potentially false, dichotomy and dualism do not always work for me.

Would you like to share where it's leading, and what's the final destination?

 

[nPeace]

The narrow one that follows Jesus' teachings, not the wide road that worships him. We need more of the former.

Glad to hear.

It really shouldn't be the narrow one.

I think it is much more difficult to navigate a narrow path, and that is evidently how Christian living is.

For example, it's easier to hate your disgusting neighbor, than to love him, and much easier to laugh when he falls off the ladder, than offer to help him... or easier to drive in a puddle of water, and splash him on the sidewalk, to get back at him for building a wall that blocks vehicular access to your garage.

 

[Psalm23]

Actually no. That's the mongoose's path. That's also the bear's path. Wanna fight about it?

That bear is a beauty. Looks like he/she was yawning or making a loud noise. Not sure which.

The look of the bear reminds me of this other bear in this video. That bear was minding his own business until this man came along.

 

[danieldemol]

I'll stick with Jesus on this one... In fact, on everthing he said... including Mark 12:1-11

I won't be.
And your strawman posting of Mark12:1-11 coupled with the empty threat it contains won't affect me in the slightest as I'm not afraid of your weak Jesus that was defeated even by the - relatively primitive by today's standards - military technology of the ancient Romans.

In my opinion.

 

[InChrist]

Good luck with that. I remember praying to God as a child, pleading with him to stop the abuse I was suffering at home, but all my prayers went unanswered. I suffered severe abuse for 13 1/2 years until I turned 18 and moved out. The abuse didn't stop until I finally found the strength within myself to confront my abusers (my adopted mother and my adopted older brother). The abuse I suffered at home all those years stopped when I confronted my abusive brother and threatened him with calling the police.

I saved myself. No one else in my life ever lifted a finger to help me; not my family, not the neighbors, not my teachers in school, and not even the Christian God who supposedly loves us all and sent his son to die for us. God obviously couldn't be bothered to save a little girl from being abused (physically, psychologically, sexually) at home and viciously bullied and harassed in school.

I'm glad to see that you're not falling for the lies that there's a God who loves us as Christians claim. I fell for it, but not anymore.

If there is a God, then he is a cruel, sadistic, psychopathic, bloodthirsty, genocidal monster. A malicious monster who deliberately turns a blind eye to countless children being abused, turns a blind eye to countless cold-blooded murders, turns a blind eye to countless people dying of deadly diseases and viruses, and turned a blind eye to the six million Jews who were gassed to death by the Nazis during the Holocaust. If the God of the Bible is real, then he deliberately turns a blind eye to all the violence and human suffering in the world. I don't know about anyone else, but that doesn't sound like a loving, merciful and compassionate God to me.

I think I’ve said it before, but I am truly sorry for the abuse you suffered for so many years as a child. I have no doubt those who abused you will face terrible consequences reserved for those who harm a child (Matthew 18:6). I don’t begin to understand the reasons God allows child abuse or any of the abuses you listed to go on, except that allowing freedom is of utmost importance to His plan of creating human beings with volition. I also think while we focus on the difficulties of this temporal life, God sees things from the eternal perspective. I am not attempting to diminish your awful experience, but Paul wrote that the suffering of this life do not compare to the glory of eternity (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
A friend is always reminding me of this. She was molested by her father all during her childhood, Her mom was mean or indifferent. As a teenager she became involved with Wicca and practiced witchcraft for years. In her twenties she was raped by a guy on a date. A few years later she gave her life to Jesus and has never looked backed. That was over thirty years ago. Two weeks before her dad died she was with him when he repented if all his sin behavior and gave his life to Christ.
Another friend was also molested by her dad continuously as a child. Her mom seemed oblivious. This friend gave her life to Christ as a teenager, that was over forty years ago. Although, she never, ever let her kids be alone with their grandfather, she constantly shared Christ with him. Her dad repented and gave his life to Christ shortly before he died.
Another friend told me everyone in her family was cruel and abusive to her. She used to cry herself to sleep most nights. One night Jesus appeared in her room and told her He would always be with her. She told her family about this. She talked to Jesus and about Him so much that she said her family thought she was crazy and began leaving her alone. The abuse stopped.
So why did Jesus intervene into her situation and not the others, or not yours? I don’t know. All I know is that God has gotten me through some hard times, but at other times it seems I’m on my own. Either way, I trust Him completely and I know He sees the big picture in a way I can’t begin to understand...but will someday.
I know I’ve asked you before, but why do you blame God for the evil certain people committed against you? Also, you have said your husband is a very kind, loving person and a Christian. What does he think about the abuse you endured? Does he blame God for it or all the evil behavior committed by people against one another in this world?

 

[InChrist]

I won't be.
And your strawman posting of Mark12:1-11 coupled with the empty threat it contains won't affect me in the slightest as I'm not afraid of your weak Jesus that was defeated even by the - relatively primitive by today's standards - military technology of the ancient Romans.

In my opinion.

Actually, according to the biblical account Jesus was not defeated. His purpose in coming to the earth was specifically to die on the cross and pay the entire penalty for all the sins of the world- past, present and future. So He completely fulfilled His purpose, accomplished His mission, then resurrected in victory over death.

 

[danieldemol]

Actually, according to the biblical account Jesus was not defeated.

The Biblical accounts are unreliable.

In my opinion.

 

[The Hammer]

Would you like to share where it's leading, and what's the final destination?

My path leads to Freedom, and Moss.

 

[InChrist]

The Biblical accounts are unreliable.

In my opinion.

I respect your freedom to your own opinion, but I consider the biblical accounts completely reliable. So I guess our views differ somewhat.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I won't be.
And your strawman posting of Mark12:1-11 coupled with the empty threat it contains won't affect me in the slightest as I'm not afraid of your weak Jesus that was defeated even by the - relatively primitive by today's standards - military technology of the ancient Romans.

In my opinion.

danieldemol, if you're not a Christian, then I strongly advise you to not concern yourself with anything related to the Bible and any Christian teaching about the afterlife or otherwise, and I say this as an ex-Christian. Don't listen to the proselytizing, and don't let yourself be ensnared by Christianity. I disavowed my own Christian faith a little over a year, and my only regret is holding onto the false hope I had in the Christian God for so long. I finally have peace and joy in my life, and that's something I never felt in all the years I was a devout Christian. As I've shared before, I feel very foolish whenever I think of all the years I wasted holding onto my Christian faith because it caused me relentless anguish and disappointment in my life. Honestly, I'm the perfect example of how deeply a person can be hoodwinked by Christianity or by some other cult-like religion. It can be very difficult to break away from it.

And as I've said before, if I've learned anything from my personal exodus from Christianity, it's for me to be sympathetic and not be judgmental towards someone who's trapped in a religious cult, and they can't see the forest for the trees. To be honest, forsaking my Christian faith was the best decision that I've ever made for myself and my mental health. I don't regret my decision, but I wish I had done this years ago because I would have spared myself several years of unbearable anguish, heartache and depression.

 

[InChrist]

My path leads to Freedom, and Moss.

Are you positive your path leads to freedom? According to the biblical scriptures, God as Creator, created moss.

 

[The Hammer]

Are you positive your path leads to freedom? According to the biblical scriptures, God as Creator, created moss.

Of course. I've already found it. I wouldn't be free otherwise.

And Moss is a necessity.

 

[InChrist]

danieldemol, if you're not a Christian, then I strongly advise you to not concern yourself with anything related to the Bible and any Christian teaching about the afterlife or otherwise, and I say this as an ex-Christian. Don't listen to the proselytizing, and don't let yourself be ensnared by Christianity. I disavowed my own Christian faith a little over a year, and my only regret is holding onto the false hope I had in the Christian God for so long. I finally have peace and joy in my life, and that's something I never felt in all the years I was a devout Christian. As I've shared before, I feel very foolish whenever I think of all the years I wasted holding onto my Christian faith because it caused me relentless anguish and disappointment in my life. Honestly, I'm the perfect example of how deeply a person can be hoodwinked by Christianity or by some other cult-like religion. It can be very difficult to break away from it.

And as I've said before, if I've learned anything from my personal exodus from Christianity, it's for me to be sympathetic and not be judgmental towards someone who's trapped in a religious cult, and they can't see the forest for the trees. To be honest, forsaking my Christian faith was the best decision that I've ever made for myself and my mental health. I don't regret my decision, but I wish I had done this years ago because I would have spared myself several years of unbearable anguish, heartache and depression.

When you say devout, what do you mean?

 

[InChrist]

Of course. I've already found it. I wouldn't be free otherwise.

And Moss is a necessity.

What do you consider yourself free from?

 

[The Hammer]

What do you consider yourself free from?

I am not "free from", but "free to Be".