xero

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LOUISVILLE, KY — The angels of Heaven rejoiced today at the addition of another member of God's kingdom, as a local unbeliever converted to Christianity after seeing Christians bickering with each other online.
The man, who had spent his entire life attempting to resist the call of the Holy Spirit, finally succumbed to the all-powerful drawing of God when he witnessed two professing believers viciously attacking each other on social media.
"This is what I want my life to be like," said Ethan Gregory after following the extended argument online. "The way they were insulting each other, the anger I could sense radiating from their comments…it's really a compelling case to be a Christian. I can't run away from God. I want to be just like these guys. Count me in!"
"I was blind, but now I see!" 
The Christians Gregory had seen online were mercilessly attacking each other over whether or not men should be allowed to wear hats in church. "Scripture is clear on this subject! You clearly have never read a Bible in your LIFE!" commented one man. "I have freedom in Christ! That discussion in the Bible was for specific people in a specific period! You're being super legalistic here, bro!" replied another man.
In all, the men posted 347 comments and replies to each other over the course of three hours, ignoring their other life responsibilities and sealing the deal for Ethan Gregory to surrender his heart to Jesus. "It was an awe-inspiring display," Gregory said, tearfully. "I've never seen the principles of Christ's teachings exemplified any better."

Why would anyone have a conversation or even respond to a lane-change request for someone like that?

Why would anyone have a conversation or even respond to a lane-change request for someone like that?

A 2016 study published in the journal "Personality and Individual Differences" found that people with multiple tattoos were more likely to have used drugs and alcohol in the past year. Maladaptive behaviors have their tells.

Your perspective is simply incorrect. In the past, this might not have been a topic of conversation, but times have changed. The way people perceive a respectable appearance has evolved from being an issue to being a norm. Is it fair to solely blame the worldview for this shift?
Your choice of the word, "tranny," to describe the agreement between fellow believers seems rather inappropriate. However, it is important to note that the Watchtower takes the matter of global trends and styles very seriously. When Jehovah's Witnesses present themselves to the public, they do so as representatives of God. I'm curious, are you suggesting that God is a tyrant?   The decision by the GB most likely stems from the need for a level playing field, as other countries do not have a problem with beards. It may have become an issue when witnesses noticed different cultures sporting beards at international assemblies. Now that the playing field is level, why should anyone care?

I apologize. You just sounded pompous at the time. (Sorry most of the time) Besides "the taking of offense it what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones." Ec. 7:9

Don't worry about me. Just take the hits and keep doing you. Everything you've posted has value from my perspective. Never mind how it looks like I've received it. I prefer to be in a room with people who disagree. I can't learn a thing if people don't take whatever I say and tear it up. I often disagree with something I've said five minutes after I've said it.

I was thinking how (I mean I don't know because I'm not privy to the GB's private thoughts, but I can imagine them being frustrated at) some who have the desire to worship the organization.
Reminds me of this scripture:
"...But when the apostles Barʹna·bas and Paul heard of it, they ripped their outer garments and leaped out into the crowd, crying out and saying: 'Men, why are you doing these things? We too are humans having the same infirmities as you have. " Acts 14:8-18

Don't worry about me. Just take the hits and keep doing you. Everything you've posted has value from my perspective. Never mind how it looks like I've received it. I prefer to be in a room with people who disagree. I can't learn a thing if people don't take whatever I say and tear it up. I often disagree with something I've said five minutes after I've said it.

Don't worry about me. Just take the hits and keep doing you. Everything you've posted has value from my perspective. Never mind how it looks like I've received it. I prefer to be in a room with people who disagree. I can't learn a thing if people don't take whatever I say and tear it up. I often disagree with something I've said five minutes after I've said it.

Don't worry about me. Just take the hits and keep doing you. Everything you've posted has value from my perspective. Never mind how it looks like I've received it. I prefer to be in a room with people who disagree. I can't learn a thing if people don't take whatever I say and tear it up. I often disagree with something I've said five minutes after I've said it.

That's precisely how we learn and grow.

Since you misunderstand everything, that’s probably a good thing.

Yeah, I think my vagus nerve when haywire for a time. Call it a nervous breakdown, of which the best way to describe it is to being stuck in that ‘fight or flight’ moment of unease for 4 straight years, during which there was not a night I slept more than 4 hours. During that time, my blog disappeared; you know I am ill if my blog disappears. I credit the truth for overcoming this breakdown—not the truth in itself or I would not have succumbed in the first place, but for providing the solid foundation upon which to recover. The disorder runs in the family, and my mother and grandmother both fared worse than me, having never recovered once struck.
Now why go public with this, which I have not done yet in anything more than hints?
[Almost] no man has ever had greater love than this: that he should bear his soul for his buddy @George88. Several times in the past, George has said things like:
“While I do not feel the need to disclose the specifics, as there may be individuals here who lack empathy and would make light of my experiences while showing sympathy towards others like a coward would, the impact of these experiences has nonetheless been truly traumatic.”
I suggest you come out with them. You do not lesson yourself when you do that. You gain the upper hand. Just like how Paul came to say that he would not lead off with his strengths; he would rather lead off with his weaknesses, because in serving through those the Lord was glorified. People may be more magnanimous than you suppose. If anyone makes light of your experiences, they reveal more about themselves than about you.
This is because, apart from Alphonse, who does seem to like you, you give nothing of yourself. Worse, there is usually a tone of ‘rebuke from superiority’ in your comments, which brings out the best in no one. Giving of oneself is necessary to establish the human connection so that ones may feel inclined to bond with you. You don’t do it. You should. It would aid you to get past this problem you perceive, like Rodney Dangerfield, of getting no respect.
So I am showing you the way. Got any specifics more debilitating than mine? Out with them. It may help smooth relations with your fellows online, and possibly everywhere else. Moreover, in so baring my previous woes, I am expressing the confidence that you will not try to use such against me. If I am wrong in that, then I will offer you another lesson in how to cope with ill talk. But I am confident the need for this will not arise. You may feel as privileged, George, as the woman at the well—excepting only that she learned for the first time that her companion was the Messiah, whereas you have learned for the first time that your companion is a fellow yo-yo with prior issues.
When you return from enormous personal trial, it is a little like being raised from the dead. You know a little of how Job felt. It only benefits you going forward.

Now, now—not so prickly, if you please. It is not so much an insult as it is a request for clarification. Have you ever befriended anybody online? Even fine Xero you appear to find fault with.

Emotional Regulation: The vagus nerve is a key component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate the body's "rest and digest" response. It counterbalances the sympathetic nervous system's "fight or flight" response, promoting relaxation and emotional regulation. When the vagus nerve's control over the heart and digestive system is altered, it can affect the body's ability to regulate emotions effectively.
Heart-Brain Connection: The vagus nerve is involved in the communication between the heart and the brain, including the transmission of signals related to emotional states. Disruption of this connection may influence the way emotional information is processed and experienced.
Stress Response: The vagus nerve contributes to the body's stress response, and it plays a role in modulating the body's reaction to stressors. Alterations in vagus nerve function may impact how the body responds to stress, potentially affecting emotional responses to stressful situations.
Gut-Brain Axis: The vagus nerve is also part of the gut-brain axis, connecting the digestive system to the brain. This axis plays a role in mood regulation and emotional well-being. Changes in vagal tone (the activity of the vagus nerve) can influence gut-brain communication and may have emotional consequences.
While heart transplantation does disrupt the vagus nerve's direct connections to the heart, the body often adapts over time, and other autonomic mechanisms and neural pathways can partially compensate for this disruption. Additionally, emotional responses involve complex interactions among multiple brain regions and neurotransmitters, so the impact of vagus nerve alterations on emotions can vary from person to person.

Emotional Regulation: The vagus nerve is a key component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate the body's "rest and digest" response. It counterbalances the sympathetic nervous system's "fight or flight" response, promoting relaxation and emotional regulation. When the vagus nerve's control over the heart and digestive system is altered, it can affect the body's ability to regulate emotions effectively.
Heart-Brain Connection: The vagus nerve is involved in the communication between the heart and the brain, including the transmission of signals related to emotional states. Disruption of this connection may influence the way emotional information is processed and experienced.
Stress Response: The vagus nerve contributes to the body's stress response, and it plays a role in modulating the body's reaction to stressors. Alterations in vagus nerve function may impact how the body responds to stress, potentially affecting emotional responses to stressful situations.
Gut-Brain Axis: The vagus nerve is also part of the gut-brain axis, connecting the digestive system to the brain. This axis plays a role in mood regulation and emotional well-being. Changes in vagal tone (the activity of the vagus nerve) can influence gut-brain communication and may have emotional consequences.
While heart transplantation does disrupt the vagus nerve's direct connections to the heart, the body often adapts over time, and other autonomic mechanisms and neural pathways can partially compensate for this disruption. Additionally, emotional responses involve complex interactions among multiple brain regions and neurotransmitters, so the impact of vagus nerve alterations on emotions can vary from person to person.

Emotional Regulation: The vagus nerve is a key component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate the body's "rest and digest" response. It counterbalances the sympathetic nervous system's "fight or flight" response, promoting relaxation and emotional regulation. When the vagus nerve's control over the heart and digestive system is altered, it can affect the body's ability to regulate emotions effectively.
Heart-Brain Connection: The vagus nerve is involved in the communication between the heart and the brain, including the transmission of signals related to emotional states. Disruption of this connection may influence the way emotional information is processed and experienced.
Stress Response: The vagus nerve contributes to the body's stress response, and it plays a role in modulating the body's reaction to stressors. Alterations in vagus nerve function may impact how the body responds to stress, potentially affecting emotional responses to stressful situations.
Gut-Brain Axis: The vagus nerve is also part of the gut-brain axis, connecting the digestive system to the brain. This axis plays a role in mood regulation and emotional well-being. Changes in vagal tone (the activity of the vagus nerve) can influence gut-brain communication and may have emotional consequences.
While heart transplantation does disrupt the vagus nerve's direct connections to the heart, the body often adapts over time, and other autonomic mechanisms and neural pathways can partially compensate for this disruption. Additionally, emotional responses involve complex interactions among multiple brain regions and neurotransmitters, so the impact of vagus nerve alterations on emotions can vary from person to person.

I’ve often thought that, too.
It is why I’ve in the past made my own little witticism, as though G .K Chesterton himself:
It is hard to direct a large group of people. One says, ‘Thanks for the new rule!’ whereas his neighbor says, ‘Huh? Did you say something?’

Also brings to mind Acts 21:20: "On hearing this, they began to glorify God, but they said to him: 'You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the Law.'"
In this verse, the believers in Jerusalem are acknowledging that many Jewish converts to Christianity are still devoted to observing the Jewish law (the Mosaic Law). The phrase is used to highlight the continued practice of Jewish customs and traditions among some Jewish Christians in the early Christian community.

Even then the customs were including a lot of things which weren't written in the Mosaic Law. Yet they kept doing them. This is why it doesn't surprise me that there are some who see changes in certain areas to be faith shaking because these have equated certain practices of the past to have been unequivocally scriptural, and if the GB ever suggested we should adopt pattern A, rather than pattern B, then that was as good as scripture to these.
 

I was thinking how (I mean I don't know because I'm not privy to the GB's private thoughts, but I can imagine them being frustrated at) some who have the desire to worship the organization.
Reminds me of this scripture:
"...But when the apostles Barʹna·bas and Paul heard of it, they ripped their outer garments and leaped out into the crowd, crying out and saying: 'Men, why are you doing these things? We too are humans having the same infirmities as you have. " Acts 14:8-18

Exodus 20:3 : "You must not have any other gods besides me."
Psalm 118:8 : "It is better to take refuge in Jehovah than to trust in humans."
Psalm 146:3 : "Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, who cannot bring salvation."
Isaiah 2:22 : "Stop trusting in mere man, whose life's breath is in his nostrils. Why should he be taken into account?"
Jeremiah 17:5 : "This is what Jehovah says: 'Cursed is the man who puts his trust in mere humans, who relies on human power and whose heart turns away from Jehovah.'"
1 Corinthians 3:4-7 : "For when one says, 'I belong to Paul,' but another says, 'I to A•polʹlos,' are you not acting like mere men? What, then, is A•polʹlos? Yes, what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord granted each one. I planted, A•polʹlos watered, but God kept making it grow."
Matthew 23:8-10 : "But you, do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your Teacher, and all of you are brothers. Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One. Neither be called leaders, for your Leader is one, the Christ."
Colossians 2:8: "Look out that no one takes you captive by means of the philosophy and empty deception according to human tradition, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ."
Galatians 1:10: "Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I would not be Christ’s slave.
 Acts, 12:22 - "But the crowd were calling out, 'A god’s voice and not a man’s!'"
In this context, the people were praising Herod Agrippa I to the extent that they attributed divine qualities to him.It underscores the danger of excessive praise and attributing divine qualities to human leaders, which can have negative consequences, as Herod Agrippa I faced divine judgment for accepting such adulation.
Nope. Go no further than scripture allows.
1 Samuel 8:6-9 : "But the thing was bad in the eyes of Samuel, because they said: 'Give us a king to judge us.' Then Samuel prayed to Jehovah. Jehovah said to Samuel: 'Listen to the voice of the people as regards all that they say to you, for it is not you whom they have rejected; they have rejected me from being their king. Like all the other nations, they have done to me the same that they have done to you.'"
        Prophets, yes? Kings? How very predictable and disappointing.

"And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers, with a view to the readjustment of the holy ones, for ministerial work, to build up the body of the Christ, until we all attain to the oneness of the faith and of the accurate knowledge of the Son of God, to being a full-grown man, attaining the measure of stature that belongs to the fullness of the Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Ephesians 4:11-13 does not suggest that ecclesiastical authority should hold a believer's conscience in thrall or control. Instead, these verses emphasize the role of certain spiritual gifts and positions within the Christian congregation for the purpose of equipping and building up believers.

Honestly it saddens me to see men following men. Just plain petty. Which version of "the organization" are folks supposed to follow? Folks treat men like God, who decides for them what is supposed to be good or bad. The GB shows over and over again it can flip its teachings upside down. What are honest people trying to live right supposed to do? Just prostrate themselves before mortals like themselves and say, "Please! Tell us how today what we should do today to worship our Creator, and tell us tomorrow if YOU want us to do the opposite and we will." Put that in your next work of fiction. Or, maybe its a reality in someone's mind? Go ahead. Write it. It should be that way.
Men who follow men are victims of a dominion never granted to mankind. Mankind was granted dominion over animals, vegetation and the earth. But not dominion of men. Men who dominate men do so to the injury of those whom are dominated by men.
Worship God by living decently. Treat your fellow man as you would want to be treated yourself. Be willing to give your life for those whom you love. Fear God. Do your best to learn yourself what He expects of you. If this is done sincerely it is enough. There is no more to give than your best. Anything beyond that and God will step in to help. And, why not. According to the biblical account, all God ever wanted from Adam was to live in harmony with the natural world provided, and to have enough respect to abide by a single prohibition beyond that.
But that doesn't seem to be enough for some folks. No. Some folks need us to worship "the organization".

Interesting what nonsense exists in the minds of fellow travelers.