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Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 1:11 pm
When I started my journey about a year ago to make my life consistent with truth and what I believed, I started asking questions about everything.
I questioned my psychiatrist and ended up in the hospital, I now have a new doctor and have never been better or more stable in my entire life. Including before I was diagnosed with a mental illness.
I questioned my religion. At first I was told it was healthy to engage god like this. As I continued asking further questions to answers that did not seem logical, I was told I was crossing a line that I should not. I was then mocked for my apparent lack of belief. The funny thing is though there was no lack of belief at that time, there where only questions. Religion could not handle logical questions appropriately, so they turned to fear and peer pressure.
I have started meditating and with some practice, the feeling I get after I have been able to control my thoughts, is exactly the same feeling as what I used to feel with prayer. The only difference is that when I continue my day I am not conflicted with the guilt of being a sinner.
My point to christians here is simple. After asking several questions in a couple of threads, your response leaves a lot to be questioned as I see it. Some people saw humor in the questions which I enjoyed reading. Some people brought logic to the table. Every christian, though, used the basic approach...an "argument". If it made sense, we would not need to argue. Don't let your beliefs that you have held (in anything) control you. Question EVERYTHING, you will be better off for it.
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 1:46 pm
Many of them are uncomfortable with questions. They prefer to pretend to know the answers.
Don't let them drag you back down. You don't need those assholes.
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 2:24 pm
(November 20, 2014 at 1:11 pm)polar bear Wrote: I questioned my religion. At first I was told it was healthy to engage god like this. As I continued asking further questions to answers that did not seem logical, I was told I was crossing a line that I should not. The JWs have this same attitude. On the one hand, the leadership pretends to encourage members to use the Bible to "test the truths" they are being given. But they word it in a manner that leaves no doubt as to what you are expected to do (ie, if you test this, you will see that we are right). If you approach it with the actual intent to question what you are being told, you will quickly find yourself on the fast track out of the organization as an apostate.
Which is to say, they are telling you to confirm what they want you to believe. But you'll only realize it if you aren't sufficiently indoctrinated to follow the script. I think that for many religions, there is a similar line where they "encourage" you to think for yourself, but only if you limit it to certain concepts and ideas, and not the core tenets of the religion. Any introspection that may lead you away from the religion is not allowed and will probably be punished severely.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 2:41 pm
Don't know how they know this, but JW has a high turnover rate in their congregations.
I wonder if they recruit from and contribute to the pool of general mush brains ??
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 2:52 pm
You know, Polar bear, some of us started off exactly as you did questioning everything and we ended up absolutely convinced the Gospel road is the right one.
It's OK, questions lead to answers.
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 3:03 pm
Still waiting for that demonstration of serpent handling . . .
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 6:03 pm
(November 20, 2014 at 2:52 pm)professor Wrote: You know, Polar bear, some of us started off exactly as you did questioning everything and we ended up absolutely convinced the Gospel road is the right one.
It's OK, questions lead to answers. My problem is that I dont want to use a document that has been compiled by humans as the ONLY source of information. A lot of christianity rely on the bible to prove their beliefs. I need more than one source.
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 7:34 pm
(November 20, 2014 at 1:11 pm)polar bear Wrote: When I started my journey about a year ago to make my life consistent with truth and what I believed, I started asking questions about everything.
I questioned my psychiatrist and ended up in the hospital, I now have a new doctor and have never been better or more stable in my entire life. Including before I was diagnosed with a mental illness.
I questioned my religion. At first I was told it was healthy to engage god like this. As I continued asking further questions to answers that did not seem logical, I was told I was crossing a line that I should not. I was then mocked for my apparent lack of belief. The funny thing is though there was no lack of belief at that time, there where only questions. Religion could not handle logical questions appropriately, so they turned to fear and peer pressure.
I have started meditating and with some practice, the feeling I get after I have been able to control my thoughts, is exactly the same feeling as what I used to feel with prayer. The only difference is that when I continue my day I am not conflicted with the guilt of being a sinner.
My point to christians here is simple. After asking several questions in a couple of threads, your response leaves a lot to be questioned as I see it. Some people saw humor in the questions which I enjoyed reading. Some people brought logic to the table. Every christian, though, used the basic approach...an "argument". If it made sense, we would not need to argue. Don't let your beliefs that you have held (in anything) control you. Question EVERYTHING, you will be better off for it.
Can you give an example of how you think a question and answer session should go.
Then I will go back and rephrase every answer given you so far.
Otherwise know to every question you asked I provided an answer.
As far as your comment about questioning things, 1thess 5:21 tells us to " Question all things and to hold on to what is good." There is no limit to what you can ask. Matter of fact not only are we to question the questionable, we are also to question the foundational. The only thing is we must hold on to what is 'good.' (Don't ask a question you are not ready to hear answered. Otherwise God will indeed hold you responsible for what you have been given.)
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 9:39 pm
(November 20, 2014 at 1:11 pm)polar bear Wrote: When I started my journey about a year ago to make my life consistent with truth and what I believed, I started asking questions about everything.
I questioned my psychiatrist and ended up in the hospital, I now have a new doctor and have never been better or more stable in my entire life. Including before I was diagnosed with a mental illness.
I questioned my religion. At first I was told it was healthy to engage god like this. As I continued asking further questions to answers that did not seem logical, I was told I was crossing a line that I should not. I was then mocked for my apparent lack of belief. The funny thing is though there was no lack of belief at that time, there where only questions. Religion could not handle logical questions appropriately, so they turned to fear and peer pressure.
I have started meditating and with some practice, the feeling I get after I have been able to control my thoughts, is exactly the same feeling as what I used to feel with prayer. The only difference is that when I continue my day I am not conflicted with the guilt of being a sinner.
My point to christians here is simple. After asking several questions in a couple of threads, your response leaves a lot to be questioned as I see it. Some people saw humor in the questions which I enjoyed reading. Some people brought logic to the table. Every christian, though, used the basic approach...an "argument". If it made sense, we would not need to argue. Don't let your beliefs that you have held (in anything) control you. Question EVERYTHING, you will be better off for it.
simple question
why are we here - god -> theism
why are we here - evolution -> someone in general who knows the truth.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization join today.
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RE: Questions are good but answers are bad
November 20, 2014 at 10:50 pm
(November 20, 2014 at 2:52 pm)professor Wrote: You know, Polar bear, some of us started off exactly as you did questioning everything and we ended up absolutely convinced the Gospel road is the right one.
Some delusions are more firmly entrenched than others.
Praise be to those who do pay attention to what's behind the curtain.
Thief and assassin for hire. Member in good standing of the Rogues Guild.
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