lindyhopper

God, in the Bible, is thought to be omnipresent. How omnipresent? Is He literally everywhere, in everything or just in the spaces inbetween? If He is literally this way you could say God is in everything or everything is God. If something is everything, it can also be said that it is nothing. If there is no distintion from one thing to another thing there is no way to seperate the one from the other. It is the same with everything and nothing. Now that goes against most of your theologies but which is it? Of course there are the differences of good vs. evil etc. or the Bible saying figuretively that one was leaving the presence of God etc. but how literal are those things? Is God really infinite in time and space or only where good is or only in the spaces inbetween?

BTW, Sky, ...all very good observations and insight.

I second John's statement that Sky, you sound as though you were in the "upper echelon". I have a small personal request. MC.Hammer, I remember this time very well. It was when my parents were first made "corps alumni" for not being able to make thier budget fit what Martinsmell thought was "need basis" and then M&A for the first time for not being fellowship coordinators (because they had just taken that away from them by making them alumns). I also know it well because my brother was just being released from residence to become one of the first full timers. Now I will be the first to point out that my family is seriously misguided, lost, and not the brightest when it comes to the fact that they are still in. But, what they are not lacking in is "goodness and sincerity" or "decency and self-respect". Though, they may be lacking in the self-esteem and self-worth. In spite of his involvement my brother is still one of the smartest people I know, and they are all still caring individuals. They have just been beaten and pressured and abused into submission and they lack the rebellion and "open mind" that I somehow have. So, I would appreciate it if you and anyone else can remember that this is a cult and it was a cult before LCM made this fateful decision and it was still a cult when you and everyone else were innies. I would probably be right in assuming that unlike my two brothers and I you were not born into or raised from a very young age in twi. They don't know anything else. Sorry to sound like I'm raging. I'm not, but I do think these are important things to remember when we start throwing stones at that cult that we all know and hate. I promise I won't start with "Your Momma so..." insults. ;)-->

Ah, the first album is probably still my fav. "Droppin' Some NYC" one of my favorites off of it. "But Anyway", as well.

ta-heak-a-haka whoops-a

Ah whoops!

I just saw your new sign off. They used to be one of my favorite bands, still are just haven't listened to them in a while. But your sig promped me to change mine as well. Ah, Whoops!

Fowl...with four legs...I'm thinking. Can't think of any. Can you? Oh, I think I got it. Gods talking about fairies. You know "the gays". lol. That's got to be it.

Does anyone have a copy of that letter pointing out all the other silly "abominaitons" of the old testament? It went a little like "Dear Rev. soandso, Thank you for point out how homosexuality is an abomination. I have also stopped letting my wife roam free during her time of menstration...etc, etc." Anyone know the one I'm talking about. It's approprioate for this thread.

But depending on who you talk to, Jesus wrote the manual. OK, I think I may have been the cause of this thread for asking GWB WWJD. I think I use it in the same way it is intended...to make you think. But maybe the way I do it stings a little more, because I am usually pointing out the hypocrisy. Or I'm just being a pain in the a$$. :D--> Is that what Jesus would do? Do I care? I think ya'll know the answer. I originally asked the question in a thread speaking of Bushes response to the tsunami disaster. As I said, I was pointing out hypocrisy, but what is the real answer. Again it depends on who you talk to. I don't think it is an easy answer. For one, who knows. The books we have that form most of the worlds opinion of JC were written hundreds of years (give or take) after his death. Jesus had already been idealised by that point. I know from my short existence my perception of people from my childhood differ to some extent from the perception of my brother or from my mothers or from the neighbors, etc. and I have only been around for a short period of time. Shoot, I have a different perception of myself than many people I have known thru my life. I'm sure there are some people here that think they know me pretty well just from the thousand or so posts I've made here. Most of them are probably wrong. Is the horse dead yet? So WWJD, well supposedly he helped his 12 fishing buddies out and maybe saved thier lives by calming the raging storm on the sea that famous night of lore...but apparently 150,000 people in Asia missed the boat the other day. I'm sure theres a powerful lesson in there somewhere. Yep, a hard question to answer.

While I wasn't married there were family members and very close (supposedly) friends that I wanted to talk to but knew that if I did it would all explode in my face. Eventually, I had an exit plan and talking to any of them would have made it much harder. At least that is what I thought at the time. I just couldn't stand the disdane, condemnation, hatred and disappointment that I knew they would look upon me with. After all, this was family and people I loved. I once dated a girl for a couple of years. Got her into the ministry, talked of marriage, we were very serious. After waiting a year or so for them to finally let her take the class at around the third session or so, she decided to leave without warning and without a reason. It was devastating. It was the closest thing I have had to having someone close die. I knew I would never see her again. And it just came out of the blue. She felt she couldn't talk to me. She was probably right. Then when it came time for me to leave, I realised why she did it that way and I did the same to family and loved ones. It was devastating again, but in a different way. I felt dejected and disowned and excommunicated but I also felt terrible because I was putting them through the same pain I had went thru when that girlfriend left. But I also felt empowered and free and happy for the first time in a long time and for the right reasons. It was a hard time. So I can understand where ya'll are comin' from. One thing I have realised is though experiences differ from one to the next, the human condition transcends them. It helps in realising that others really do feel your pain even though they haven't shared your exact experience. ramble ramble sorry. and happy new year.

While I won't get into what it has cost me (Because I like where I am today) I will say that "da verd" has cost people probably more than they think. Mostly because it is written in a way that makes it easy for groups like twi to exist. The controlling aspects we all learn to hate are just a fine line away from tha love in the Bible. Sometimes its on the same side of the line. Not sure yet if that is a bad thing or not. Can't always be good. But it is what it is.

Ah and to you too, Dante. May you have a Divine, Comic, and warm holiday season! ;)-->

~~~~~shakin' my bacon~~~~~~ Sorry, God, I have a mortgage now. JT, You mean you wern't around for the patent Berryswill "how to own a home without ownin' no one nuttin' nohow"? Oh it was genius, as was he (LOL). You see instead of buying a house and paying a mortgage of $1200.00, you rent a POS apartment for 600 (where? in the hood) and then pay yourself 600. Put that in a 3% savings account and watch the money multiply!!!! Now as your income and living expenses increase, you increase your savings contribution. All the while you eat PB&J and never buy new clothes or a desent car again! YEA! Before you know it you're 80 years old and you got yerself a house, FREE AND CLEAR, YEEE HA!!!! Of course he never really gave too many details like the projected increase in housing costs or the fact that in 80 years the only house you will be able to afford is an 80 year old shack with a dirt floor. Or, of course, all the money you would have lost by renting instead of buying a house now. Well, its a spuritual thang, I wouldn't understand. Oh then there is the homesteading idea which is still in a family member of mine's mind. (mine's mind? what tha?) ANyway. You see you save up and buy a little plot not too far from the city or fellerships but not so close that you can't afford it. Then you take everything fyou can from the land (and you'll need to) to build a little meager home out of logs or hay or dirt or trash from the landfill your plot is on. Now that would be fun but not very realistic. Plus you wouldn't have time to run a "home based Bible fellowship" or a branch or area or limb for that matter, because you'd be to busy patching your roof with whatever twigs, branches, and limbs that blew on to your now barren property. (lol what a metaphor for what TWI is doing right now) But hey, it's a cool idea for those that don't have anything else to do with their life. As far as the ACS, I would be pisted if I had to go to another one of those yawns. Of course, seeing friends might make it feel like it was worth it. Then again if I was allowed to have close friends back home in the first place I wouldn't need to pay to see diaspera friends. Ah freedom, what a nice feeling!

I think I am just fine with them never existing again. OK, well, not just fine, but OK knowing they are/ will be dead....forever as will I be some day. I think the whole idea of heaven and hell at some point came out of this very topic. Justice. You just really hope that those that don't live long enough to get punished for the terrible things they did will some day get all the a$$whupping they deserve. We also hope in the same way for all of us living mediocre lives being generally good, but never getting any recognition for our deeds, will someday in HEAVEN. **cue angelic singing here** But I can't say with any certainty that any of that will ever happen. I do think Werwille derserved to be put out of his (well, our) misery before his time, as should LCM but he probobly won't and VPW didn't. So I guess that's a fry for me. I have no problem judging, after all, that's what we do.

Finally the gap between Mike and most Gspoters has been filled....and that plug is Biblefandave. I feel a song coming on.... "Standing in the gap between Mike and the fodder. Standing in the gap...." ah, the good ol' days.... Well, I don't know about good. I feel a new administration coming on, excuse me, I need to go relieve myself. Sorry

Actually, Believing =recieving, (stated simply for time)is one of those perfect conspiracy theories (like the one true God Vs. The Debbil) that is totally unprovable and totally logical, but only in a totally unprovable illogical way.

back on page one... WOW!!! Just believe and YOU TOO can stop or even reverse entorpy in the universe!!! Oh wait, that's one of those simple scientific things, isn't it. Something soooo simple that anyone can crasp it. Those silly MD's, Physisists, etc etc., going thru all that schooling and paying all that money just to realise how simple everything is. --> Those retards! Anyhoo, back to mastering Piffle for me. Which BTW, is also so incredibly simple. I don't see how all you idiots couldn't figure it out back in the way-day. Sheesh! ya'll realy must be numb-sculls. ;)-->

It's not how many that matters, Steve!. It's that all of God's finest were present. HuRL! excuse me. from the other thread,I posted... JT replied, LOL apparently this was like everyone having read the book hundreds of times, seen the movie, in theaters and on TV far too many times, and then watching the high school play, only to go out after wards and dicuss all the "new" stuff they threw in. HA! The 4 R's: Receive, Retain, and Run to the Restoom!

The real key is to bring along a pal that will skip the classes with you and will be your study partner, or whatever they called them. That really was the only reason to attend the teachings the last time I was there... just so I could have something to say at the "release session". I don't remember what it was called, but something like that.

I have a friend in Atlanta who had fulfilled his time in the service and his time as a reservist. He received a letter telling him they reinstated him into the reserves. He now has to go back to doing the weekend warrior stuff. He is basically being put into boot camp. Getting him ready for when they need him. Thankfully since his original tour he has gotten his doctorate and now has been accepted into the medical corps. So now when he is called to duty his tour will be shorter and safer. Another example of the "back-door draft"? Well his wife thinks so and he isn't exactly happy about it.

Did I mention how I hate that my family is in TWI still. oh sorry, there I go again.

Well, Oak, I am the master of minds, you know. --> Which is why right now I am making What The Hay repeatedly smack himself in the head and kick himself in the A$$. "I have the POWER!!!"-Masters of the Universe

Oh, congrats to Insurgent andf family on being demoted. LOL I think of you every time I watch CNN. I hope your causing just as much trouble for the axis of evil. ;)--> Have a great Thanksgiving.

Thanks for the sentiments from all. Oak, actually, I think it would be pretty easy. Just three easy payments to...your truly. :D--> I have been able to see half of the family a little more lately, but seeing as they only live twenty minutes away, without thier wafer calender it would be much more than once every month or two. Plus the rest of the family would have the freedom to live in the same city or same general area, which is what I think we all would like. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. The in-laws are here and we are all having a great time. Peace and Turkey Grease!