The Attempted Watering Down of the Bible by Satanic Entertainment

[Brother Brother]

3 hours ago, carlos said:

"How to train your dragon" doesn't have anything to do with Satan.

 

As you can see I'm open minded either way...that's why I try and post it as a topic for discussion?

 

But below is an except from 'How to Train Your Dragon'...The above references and 'conspriracy theories' were waiting for us at a Study this week.

It turned out the study was Pentecostal and looking for truth. They are die hard Star Wars/Star Trek/Narnia/Frozen Nerds and were having a 'Road to Damascus' moment after we had discussed the Devil in the study last week.

 

The reason they say that it seems a bit Devilish was an awfully close couple of references as seen below.

 

[Before walking to the docks, Stoick staggers back, realizing the mistake he just made.]

Stoick: Set sail! We head for Helheim's Gate.
Stoick (cont.):  (to a chained Toothless) Lead us home, Devil.

He is frightened and hides behind a rock, slowly approaching the fallen dragon.]

 

 

3 hours ago, carlos said:

Star Wars is a fairytale set in space.

 

It's a great story...I have watched them. But again my zealous study hand wrote these points as creepy parallels to the bible...

 

The Force - Obvious reference to Holy Spirit.

Darth Sidious, says of Darth Plagueis, "could save others from death, he could not save himself."

Anakin Skywalker who has many things in common with Christ- one of which is his virgin birth.

Obi-Wan says, "You can't win. Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." 

Darth Vader is buried on Endor. Saul consulted the Wtich of Endor. Bewitched had Endora...

 

 

4 hours ago, carlos said:

On the other hand, those examples above sound more like conspiracy theories than anything else to me.

 

The Lion King is a retelling of Hamlet. In all those movies good defeats evil, and they all teach lessons about the value of friendship, family, loyalty, courage or self-sacrifice.

Of course, most stories feature extraordinary beasts or people with superhuman abilities.

 

If they told stories of normal people who don't do anything special nobody would care to watch or read them.

 

 

It sounds like you're very heavily invested in the movies and stories and have bought-in to the franchises.

I didn't mean for you to have to defend the Entertainment machine.

And no offence was meant.

You are my brother, and I don't want to trigger you in any way to feel your favourite stories are being besmirched.

 

And it is just what you want them to mean sometimes...Some would say that Hamlet is about ghosts, murder, adultery, suicide, homicidal jealousy and crippling mental illness...

Bu in your summation it's about-

 

4 hours ago, carlos said:

The Lion King is a retelling of Hamlet. In all those movies good defeats evil, and they all teach lessons about the value of friendship, family, loyalty, courage or self-sacrifice.

 

So hats off you you for finding the positives.

 

As I said, I approach this topic with an open mind and don't make any judgements.

I only include the above references as a basis for conversation, not because I am hating on your beloved franchises.

Christian regards and respect.

[Brother Brother]

4 hours ago, carlos said:

On the other hand, those examples above sound more like conspiracy theories than anything else to me.

My study had this image of the Oscar...as far as conspiracy theories are concerned...this is pretty close.

 

 

The Oscar is the middle one...

 

I am open minded on this one, but I would guess there wouldn't be many people who would deny a similarity?

And many of the Governing Bodies publications have included pictures of Artemis, and many other Gods. Also the origin of the Cross is widely documented in the publications...in picture form. Many churches are photographed for the artifact found in them.

So please don't reply about the use of the above image promoting false worship or being inappropriate. it's just an example of why maybe these aren't conspiracy theories?

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Brother Brother
Clarity

[Dane Rí Rua]

Since I was a child iv had a fascination with the spirit world both good and bad and even now I struggle to resist certain movies,games,music etc...for e.g the original series Brother Brother mentioned,when I first saw that advertised one part of me was horrified and the other part wanted to watch it(but I see in my body another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my body. Miserable man that I am! Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death?)

But where I draw the line and I really don't try and sail too close to the wind although there was a time when I would try and sail as close as possible.Anyways where my conscience is specially alerted is when i see a grain of truth in a piece of entertainment,either spiritism being realistically showcased or promoted or the bible truth being bashed,mocked,torn down...Id say Good omens easily has both...for e.g.the name of the 2 characters straight away rings alarm bells....

Entertainment will always be a tricky one in this system,because its Satans system,if im watching something I think is harmless and a brother doesn't like it I turn it off,either hes right and my conscience will benefit or hes wrong,my conscience still benefits...

But I definitely feel Satan is working overtime at watering down entertainment...one thing iv noticed recently especially in games,is one time outside of horror genre it was rare to see or hear something or someone portrayed openly as a demon,you had fairies,orcs,goblins,ghouls etc but not demons,then I noticed creatures called daemons popping up a lot....now the pretence/disguise is well and truly gone ,there called demons,straight up...

Satan use to hide things alot before,I'm sure he still does but it seems hes putting alot more out in the open now...

[carlos]

8 hours ago, Brother Brother said:

t sounds like you're very heavily invested in the movies and stories and have bought-in to the franchises.

I didn't mean for you to have to defend the Entertainment machine.

And no offence was meant.

You are my brother, and I don't want to trigger you in any way to feel your favourite stories are being besmirched.

Oh, no offence at all. You asked for opinions, I was giving mine. I can be vehement sometimes.

 

The source of this kind of conspiracy theories is usually fundamentalist churches which find fault in everything. Remember the scandal they made saying that Lion King promoted a gay lifestyle? Actually nothing remotely of that kind was featured in the movie. The immorality was in the eye of the beholder, not in the movie. I dislike it very much when Christians buy those fanatical views.

 

I am not saying those movies above are all ok (and I wouldn't say most of them are my favorites ). Which entertainment is acceptable is a decision every Christian must make. For example, as you say, some Christians would object to Hamlet (or to the Lion King, it's the same story) because it features a scene with a spirit. Some Christians might avoid Star Wars due to the religious undertones, and so on. I'm perfectly ok with such reasonings. What I profoundly dislike is absurd reasoning such as The Lion King is Satanic because Satan is presented as a lion in the Bible. Or because Darth Vader is buried in Endor, that has to do with the witch of Endor. That's really splitting hairs. It's just a coincidence in names. Such ideas come across as fanatical. You will find many movies that have some similitude to Bible stories. There will be heroes that fight terrible beasts, there will be enslaved peoples who are freed by messianic characters, there will be the small and weak who defeats the wicked and powerful... sometimes there can be even some intentional allusions to the Bible, as in Matrix. But that doesn't mean they are mocking the Bible or misrepresenting it. It just means Bible stories have had a huge influence in our culture and some have become archetypical.

 

Sometimes things are just the only way they can be. Take the Oscar statue. It's not modelled after any Egyptian god (that's another conspiracy theory spread by fundamentalist websites). It's a crusader with both hands on his sword. If you want to sculpt a crusader with a sword in a solemn position, how many possibilities are there?

 

When a student begins learning the truth it's normal for them to have extreme reactions. Even though they are unbalanced, that's a good thing because it means they are taking seriously what they learn and are trying to please Jehovah. With time, as they progress spiritually and become more mature, their conscience will gradually adjust to a more balanced view. As Paul explains, in his day weak Christians avoided all meat while experienced Christians had a more balanced approach.

[carlos]

50 minutes ago, Dane Rí Rua said:

.Id say Good omens easily has both

Yes, Good Omens' author was an Atheist who used to mock the Bible and religious beliefs in general. This is one case where allusions to the Bible are not just cultural or dramatic, but have the intention to make fun of it.

 

50 minutes ago, Dane Rí Rua said:

one thing iv noticed recently especially in games,is one time outside of horror genre it was rare to see or hear something or someone portrayed openly as a demon,you had fairies,orcs,goblins,ghouls etc but not demons,then I noticed creatures called daemons popping up a lot....now the pretence/disguise is well and truly gone ,there called demons,straight up...

Another thing I have noticed is that any idiot is called a god today. You see "gods" who are cheated or receive a beating from a human. I love that line in one of the Avengers movies, not sure which one, where Loki says "I'm a god!" and Captain America replies: "There is only one God and I doubt he dreses like that".  But this trend of calling any powerful creature a god may reflect a growing view among people to trivialize the idea of God.

Edited February 21, 2020 by carlos

[Barbllm]

12 hours ago, Brother Brother said:

But below is an except from 'How to Train Your Dragon'...The above references and 'conspriracy theories' were waiting for us at a Study this week.

It turned out the study was Pentecostal and looking for truth. They are die hard Star Wars/Star Trek/Narnia/Frozen Nerds and were having a 'Road to Damascus' moment after we had discussed the Devil in the study last week.

 

The reason they say that it seems a bit Devilish was an awfully close couple of references as seen below.

 

[Before walking to the docks, Stoick staggers back, realizing the mistake he just made.]

Stoick: Set sail! We head for Helheim's Gate.
Stoick (cont.):  (to a chained Toothless) Lead us home, Devil.

He is frightened and hides behind a rock, slowly approaching the fallen dragon.]

 

The Force - Obvious reference to Holy Spirit.

Darth Sidious, says of Darth Plagueis, "could save others from death, he could not save himself."

Anakin Skywalker who has many things in common with Christ- one of which is his virgin birth.

Obi-Wan says, "You can't win. Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." 

Darth Vader is buried on Endor. Saul consulted the Wtich of Endor. Bewitched had Endora...

Stoick might have thought Toothless a devil, because of how feared they were in the beginning of the film.  They were one of the last species of dragon to be tamed.  But that doesn't mean it has any parallels to Satan.  

 

The Force is not the same thing as the holy spirit.  Period.  Full stop.  There is no "obvious reference" there.  This is fiction, not fact.

"Saving" someone from death does not parallel Christ; I could save someone from death by performing CPR.  That doesn't make me a messiah.

The rest of these are overthinking way, way too much.

 

12 hours ago, Brother Brother said:

 

It sounds like you're very heavily invested in the movies and stories and have bought-in to the franchises.

I didn't mean for you to have to defend the Entertainment machine.

I've been a Star Wars fan for years, but I understand if people don't like it or science fiction in general.  I do have an issue with people who tell me that I'm a bad person for liking them, which unfortunately happened in my congregation years ago.  

 

12 hours ago, Brother Brother said:

As I said, I approach this topic with an open mind and don't make any judgements.

I only include the above references as a basis for conversation, not because I am hating on your beloved franchises.

Christian regards and respect.

As others have mentioned, there are a lot of fundamentalist Christians who find fault with anything and everything in the entertainment industry.  When they come into the truth, they might be surprised at what we watch or read.  Just as we wouldn't want to  impose our conscience on others, they must learn to do the same.  Everyone has different tastes.  

[Brother_Bliss]

So, to play devils advocate (gasp!).... just kidding....

 

Quote

I see things like the Matrix/Superman/Frozen may be copying the Messianic Covenant and the Saving of Mankind;

Imitation is the best form of flattery. 😉

 

Quote

Most superheroes seem to be transforming themselves into angels of light and battling demon/dragon/wild beasts that either appear or disappear into smoke/dust/sand; 

These things have been going on for millenia, ever since the Greek myths and beyond.

 

Quote

How to Train Your Dragon - The Great Dragon is hurled into an Abyss and feed by a lot of smaller dragons?;

This one is stretching way to far. There's probably thousands of stories where a good character or bad character is thrown into a pit, a dungeon, an abyss, etc, by the opposing character. Just because this one is a dragon is irrelevant.

 

Dragons aren't bad.

 

Quote

Even the Academy Award Statute (Oscar!) is very like the Ausur or Osiris, the Egyptian god;

Coincidence? I think so. Having never seen those statues, you could make a sculpture of Moses holding his staff and it could basically look the same. Doesn't mean the devil was in you when you were being creative and artistic.

 

Quote

The National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences' anagram seems to spell 'Satan' backwards;

This just reeks of conspiracy theory. There is a funnier one that goes like this... "The same letters that spell Santa can be rearranged to spell Satan. And you never see them in the same place at the same time. Hmmmmmmmm!!"

 

Quote

Star Wars/Narnia/Lion King may be seen as the story of Universal Sovereignty corrupted;

Emphasis on "may". More like just plain sovereignty at best. There was no universal sovereign in Star Wars. Each planet had it own form of government and rulership until the wicked empire arose and tried to subjugate them all. It's more like each planet was it's own nation, and the interplanetary senate was the "United Nations".

 

Narnia was just one land of many. Nothing universal here. Same with the lion king. Beyond his kingdom there were lands and animals that were not under his authority. 

 

Quote

I stare at an apple with a bite taken out of it all day...It's on the front of my computer...

So?

 

Quote

Paranoia? Conspiracy theory?  

Both.

 

 

Personally, I draw the line for me and my family when it comes to 1) sexual themes, especially disgusting homosexual depictions and shows that praise trans people and ones who "come out". It angers me when I see great stories from my childhood get remade and then they fill it with that garbage, especially stories that take place in times where such things were non-existent or not-tolerated being depicted as if was "cool" even then. And 2) Blatant occultism and spiritism. Shows like supernatural or that feature witches, etc. Good Omens would fall in this category. Also disguised occultism, which is when traditionally demonic characters are turned into the adored heroes of the show. All this "in your face" stuff is clearly Satanic and deliberately designed to shape the thinking of pop culture.

 

There was one time I took my daughter and an elder's daughter to go see Disney Princesses on Ice: Snow White. We had a good time and took pictures and video. At one point, a team of ice skaters came out operating a big dragon that breathed fire. It was actually a cool setup. A few days later, I was showing the pictures to a group of friends after the meeting and one older sister peeks over my shoulder and says "is that a dragon?" and starts telling me how awful I am for taking an *elders* kid to such a thing. I learned then that you have to be selective on who you tell this or that to.

 

[Brother Brother]

On 2/23/2020 at 3:14 AM, Dismal_Bliss said:

So, to play devils advocate (gasp!).... just kidding....

 

Imitation is the best form of flattery. 😉

 

These things have been going on for millenia, ever since the Greek myths and beyond.

 

This one is stretching way to far. There's probably thousands of stories where a good character or bad character is thrown into a pit, a dungeon, an abyss, etc, by the opposing character. Just because this one is a dragon is irrelevant.

 

Dragons aren't bad.

 

Coincidence? I think so. Having never seen those statues, you could make a sculpture of Moses holding his staff and it could basically look the same. Doesn't mean the devil was in you when you were being creative and artistic.

 

This just reeks of conspiracy theory. There is a funnier one that goes like this... "The same letters that spell Santa can be rearranged to spell Satan. And you never see them in the same place at the same time. Hmmmmmmmm!!"

 

Emphasis on "may". More like just plain sovereignty at best. There was no universal sovereign in Star Wars. Each planet had it own form of government and rulership until the wicked empire arose and tried to subjugate them all. It's more like each planet was it's own nation, and the interplanetary senate was the "United Nations".

 

 

 

I'm not judging or condemning. Just discussing.

 

I watch science fiction. I read books. I am not crusading against anything mentioned.

 

I've watched the oscars. 

 

But, while I am disinterested in the topic... (disinterested means impartial)...I still think it's a valuable discussion.

 

I think it's funny that if you read many of the comments above, and frame a conversation and state the same facts with a child of the New System, it completely changes the frame of reference.

 

If you told a child of the second millenium of the New World, the richest corporation in the last days had as their symbol an apple with a bite out of it...

 

I think there would be at the very least mild curiosity as to why?

 

As i said, I have apple computers, I use Apple tablets at the meetings, etc. I really don't want all the proofs that Apple says that its not forbidden fruit etc. 

 

And I understand that so much of this stuff is dearly beloved by the people defending it. 

 

I merely discuss it, because I imagine that if I took my Apple sticker into the New System, there would be some chin rubbing and mild consternation that we just accepted as part of the package of living in the last days...

 

I am discussing it without judgement, bias or prejudice.

 

But when the pressures off, and we start to shed the scales of these last days, i think we will be amazed at what we tolerated in the times of the end.

 

written on my IMac- He he.

 

 

 

[Tortuga]

18 minutes ago, Brother Brother said:

 

If you told a child of the second millenium of the New World, the richest corporation in the last days had as their symbol an apple with a bite out of it...

[New World Explorer]

22 minutes ago, Brother Brother said:

If you told a child of the second millenium of the New World, the richest corporation in the last days had as their symbol an apple with a bite out of it...

And the populace went bananas over their products! LOL 

[Brother Brother]

Just now, Bro Richard said:

 

20 minutes ago, Brother Brother said:

As i said, I have apple computers, I use Apple tablets at the meetings, etc. I really don't want all the proofs that Apple says that its not forbidden fruit etc. 

 

Ha ha. Most of what we believe has the proponents, and the detractors.

 

It still got a bite taken out of it between your attachment and today, and an apple with a bite out of it is not any part of the Newtonian fable.

 

history.com/news/did-an-apple-really-fall-on-isaac-newtons-head

 

 

[Brother Brother]

1 minute ago, New World Explorer said:

And the populace went bananas over their products! LOL 

I love them. And because I make an observation, doesn't make me anti-anything....not even bananas?

 

HaHAha, BaNAna...

 

🍌🍌🍌🍌

[Brother Brother]

On 2/21/2020 at 10:10 PM, carlos said:

I can be vehement sometimes.

 

The source of this kind of conspiracy theories is usually fundamentalist churches...

Fundamentally, we are fundamentalists.

 

In the true sense of the word... 😁

 

fundamentalist

noun

a person who believes in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture in a religion.

"religious fundamentalists"

 

Sometimes, the strictness is elastic it's true.

 

Really, the Bible is fundamental.

 

Sometimes, I think we try to be liberal as Jehovah's people in our views to prove we're not fundamentalists...

 

So as not to be confused with those that add a sense of arrogance, unreasonableness or violence to their beliefs.

 

But like saying 'We are not trying to brainwash people"- And in one sense we aren't.

 

But putting on the mind of Christ, we might be happy to be brainwashed?

 

I want a clean brain.

 

😂

 

 

 

[New World Explorer]

3 minutes ago, Brother Brother said:

Fundamentally, we are fundamentalists.

 

In the true sense of the word... 😁

 

fundamentalist

noun

a person who believes in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture in a religion.

"religious fundamentalists"

 

Sometimes, the strictness is elastic it's true.

There are parts of the Bible, were we could rightly says that are Fundamental (blood, pornea, etc etc....)

But in general we are not  fundamentalists in a sense the world understands.

We are mostly guided by Bible Principles and application of such principles vary from person to person (Can I watch that movie? , Can I wear that dress?) 

Also heavenly chariot often "changes direction" 

[EccentricM]

On 2/21/2020 at 1:38 AM, Brother Brother said:

It's a great story...I have watched them. But again my zealous study hand wrote these points as creepy parallels to the bible...

 

The Force - Obvious reference to Holy Spirit.

Darth Sidious, says of Darth Plagueis, "could save others from death, he could not save himself."

Anakin Skywalker who has many things in common with Christ- one of which is his virgin birth.

Obi-Wan says, "You can't win. Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." 

Darth Vader is buried on Endor. Saul consulted the Wtich of Endor. Bewitched had Endora...

 

What's wrong with Biblical parallels? I see that as a "good" thing. We have many movies in the organisation based upon the Bible, does that make those creepy or evil? Especially names, (like Endor), "intent" is something to be considered. Is Endor in SW a promotion of witchcraft or the witch Saul visited? No, you wouldn't even make that connection if nobody had ever told you, it's just a name. The only time something becomes fishy is if the context and intent is directly promoting or paying respects to that thing or person on purpose and making other people follow it, but it's just a planet covered in forest, naming it Endor does not cause people watching ROTJ to start suddenly worshippng the Devil, or to be subconsciously doing witchcraft without knowing it (which seems to be the mindset here when people make these weird connections).

 

It's no secret Lucas based a lot of points of SW on the Bible, he said so. As well as various mythologies around the world, as he personally believes all religions are correct just that they have a different perspective on the same thing. (We know the problems with this thinking of course).

 

But yeah, the Jedi were directly inspired in the OT from "Christian" Crusaders and Samurai, but put into a context stripped of any real world ties. In the Prequels, even more elements were thrown in, including the virgin birth etc (which a lot of fans think is really silly and overly convolutes Star Wars, and causes many continuity problems, a lot of people just ignore it, lol), and then of course the Jedi became more monk and Buddhist like, forgoing attachments and supressing natural emotions (though this is also painted in a bad light, and as one of the fundamental flaws of the Jedi Order in that time period, which Luke corrects by showing love and attachment is not all evil, but can also save people, and that it's about being balanced).

 

The newer films seem to take more of a Daoist take on the Force, that it should be balanced between Dark and Light, as it respresents life and death, and the cycle of life, etc. But this was not really Lucas' original view, it was just meant to be an energy in the universe that some people could train to use if they had the potential within them, and the Darkside was the quick path to power through negative emotions and using that power to destructive means (causing corruption), but of course there is an element to it that can be liked to the holy spirit, how God's energy affects things through out the universe and acomplishes many amazing feats. But there is also hints of "Chi" or "Qi", in Asian belief, an energy often refered to in martial arts, and some tradtional medicines that the practioner can harness through meditation and breathing exercises.

 

This was intentional, Lucas said he wanted to have a theme of "fantasy and spirituality" that was "universal enough" to reach all kinds of people no matter their background, and so they could connect and view the movies and the fantasy of the Force in their own personal way that was meaningful "to them".  So he saught out the "themes" which he percieved to be somewhat "akin" or shared in multiple faiths and beliefs.

 

So it's this big mashup of things, beliefs, practices, but put into a completely fantastical concept seperate from the actual real world things. The only time it becomes bad is if people try to start actually promoting real false religion, Satanic views, putting the Bible in bad light, and so on.  But when you look past the "inspirations" or paralles, and call a spade a spade (looking at it for what it "is) and view it in the context, it's what you make of it, conscience, etc. It's why I am personally ok with it, because it's seperated enough from the real world, no matter the parallels, to not be those things at all, but its own entitiy.

Edited February 24, 2020 by EccentricM

[Brother Brother]

44 minutes ago, New World Explorer said:

There are parts of the Bible, were we could rightly says that are Fundamental (blood, pornea, etc etc....)

But in general we are not  fundamentalists in a sense the world understands.

We are mostly guided by Bible Principles and application of such principles vary from person to person (Can I watch that movie? , Can I wear that dress?) 

Also heavenly chariot often "changes direction" 

That's what I was trying to say mate...😁

 

Just because something is typed on a forum, doesn't make it law, belief or true. I'm just interested in discussion. I'm against very little, when it comes to choices, because, um, well, um,they'ree choices?? (upward Aussie Hairdresser Inflection)

[Brother Brother]

23 minutes ago, EccentricM said:

What's wrong with Biblical parallels? I see that as a "good" thing. We have many movies in the organisation based upon the Bible, does that make those creepy or evil? Especially names, (like Endor), "intent" is something to be considered. Is Endor in SW a promotion of witchcraft or the witch Saul visited? No, you wouldn't even make that connection if nobody had ever told you, it's just a name. The only time something becomes fishy is if the context and intent is directly promoting or paying respects to that thing or person on purpose and making other people follow it, but it's just a planet covered in forest, naming it Endor does not cause people watching ROTJ to start suddenly worshippng the Devil, or to be subconsciously doing witchcraft without knowing it (which seems to be the mindset here when people make these weird connections).

 

It's no secret Lucas based a lot of points of SW on the Bible, he said so. As well as various mythologies around the world, as he personally believes all religions are correct just that they have a different perspective on the same thing. (We know the problems with this thinking of course).

 

But yeah, the Jedi were directly inspired in the OT from "Christian" Crusaders and Samurai, but put into a context stripped of any real world ties. In the Prequels, even more elements were thrown in, including the virgin birth etc (which a lot of fans think is really silly and overly convolutes Star Wars, and causes many continuity problems, a lot of people just ignore it, lol), and then of course the Jedi became more monk and Buddhist like, forgoing attachments and supressing natural emotions (though this is also painted in a bad light, and as one of the fundamental flaws of the Jedi Order in that time period, which Luke corrects by showing love and attachment is not all evil, but can also save people, and that it's about being balanced).

 

The newer films seem to take more of a Daoist take on the Force, that it should be balanced between Dark and Light, as it respresents life and death, and the cycle of life, etc. But this was not really Lucas' original view, it was just meant to be an energy in the universe that some people could train to use if they had the potential within them, and the Darkside was the quick path to power through negative emotions and using that power to destructive means (causing corruption), but of course there is an element to it that can be liked to the holy spirit, how God's energy affects things through out the universe and acomplishes many amazing feats. But there is also hints of "Chi" or "Qi", in Asian belief, an energy often refered to in martial arts, and some tradtional medicines that the practioner can harness through meditation and breathing exercises.

 

This was intentional, Lucas said he wanted to have a theme of "fantasy and spirituality" that was "universal enough" to reach all kinds of people no matter their background, and so they could connect and view the movies and the fantasy of the Force in their own personal way that was meaningful "to them".  So he saught out the "themes" which he percieved to be somewhat "akin" or shared in multiple faiths and beliefs.

 

So it's this big mashup of things, beliefs, practices, but put into a completely fantastical concept seperate from the actual real world things. The only time it becomes bad is if people try to start actually promoting real false religion, Satanic views, putting the Bible in bad light, and so on.  But when you look past the "inspirations" or paralles, and call a spade a spade (looking at it for what it "is) and view it in the context, it's what you make of it, conscience, etc. It's why I am personally ok with it, because it's seperated enough from the real world, no matter the parallels, to not be those things at all, but its own entitiy.

 

 

 

Bwah. ha. ha. You will love the following video... HE he he.

"I'm not obsessed you know...I'm just a fan and I care..."

"I'm a fan but here's what I don't do..."

"You can't bring your hobbies into work, ok?"

 

Funny

 

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Brother Brother

[Brother Brother]

On 2/21/2020 at 10:10 PM, carlos said:

Sometimes things are just the only way they can be. Take the Oscar statue. It's not modelled after any Egyptian god (that's another conspiracy theory spread by fundamentalist websites). It's a crusader with both hands on his sword. If you want to sculpt a crusader with a sword in a solemn position, how many possibilities are there?

So...what has a crusader (which possibly is a person who engages in Crusades?) got to do with the mutual self-congratulations of the film industry?

 

A Crusade is each of a series of medieval military expeditions made by Europeans to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries.

 

So what's the connection?

 

Ha ha banana?

 

🍌😂😁🍌

[Barbllm]

14 hours ago, Brother Brother said:

Fundamentally, we are fundamentalists.

 

In the true sense of the word... 😁

 

fundamentalist

noun

a person who believes in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture in a religion.

"religious fundamentalists"

 

Sometimes, the strictness is elastic it's true.

 

Really, the Bible is fundamental.

 

 

 

Except for the fact that there is an article that appeared in the Watchtower explaining that Jehovah's Witnesses are not fundamentalists.  We do not take the Bible literally, word for word, as some Christians do: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1974764#h=4:0-8:778

 

We do not believe that everything in the Bible is to be interpreted literally.  Hence, we are not fundamentalists.

 

 

[Brother Brother]

5 hours ago, Barbllm said:

Except for the fact that there is an article that appeared in the Watchtower explaining that Jehovah's Witnesses are not fundamentalists.  We do not take the Bible literally, word for word, as some Christians do: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1974764#h=4:0-8:778

 

We do not believe that everything in the Bible is to be interpreted literally.  Hence, we are not fundamentalists.

 

 

I get your point.

 

My comment was more about how the word has been corrupted...and has nothing to do with the word fundamental. 

 

The article says "But they are not “fundamentalists,” as that term is generally understood"...

 

But that was in 1974.

 

An article 25 years later, the Watchtower stepped away from the definition and said:

 

Religious fundamentalism is usually an attempt to preserve what is believed to be the original traditions or religious beliefs of a culture and to oppose what is perceived as the secular spirit of the world. That is not to say that fundamentalists oppose all that is modern. Some use modern communication very effectively to promote their point of view. But they fight against the secularization of society.*

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1997161?q=fundamentalist&p=par

 

It is much more diplomatic, and dare I say, softer definition.

 

 

 

[Barbllm]

17 hours ago, Brother Brother said:

An article 25 years later, the Watchtower stepped away from the definition and said:

 

Religious fundamentalism is usually an attempt to preserve what is believed to be the original traditions or religious beliefs of a culture and to oppose what is perceived as the secular spirit of the world. That is not to say that fundamentalists oppose all that is modern. Some use modern communication very effectively to promote their point of view. But they fight against the secularization of society.*

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1997161?q=fundamentalist&p=par

 

It is much more diplomatic, and dare I say, softer definition.

 

 

 

It is a softer definition but in their description of fundamentalists " not opposing all that is modern," it almost sounds like they're describing Amish or Mennonite people.  Here in the Bible Belt, there are a lot of fundamentalists who have no problem living in a modern society; as the article citations below note, they simply believe in a strictly literal interpretation of the Bible.  

 

In 2010, this was written: “Fundamentalism is a broad movement within Protestantism in the United States,” says The World Book Encyclopedia. Some Fundamentalist organizations “have adopted social and political positions based on a literal use of Biblical texts.” That definition does not fit Jehovah’s Witnesses. As mentioned, they abstain from politics and do not impose their views on others by political or any other means. Rather, they converse with people, usually one-on-one, using reason and convincing evidence, in imitation of the early Christians.—Acts 19:8.  [https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102010295#h=6:0-6:542]

 

There's also a good article on fundamentalism in the 1989 Awake! "Fundamentalism, while claiming to defend the Bible, has also actually undermined its authority. One way it has done so is by a literal interpretation of texts that are clearly not meant to be taken literally. An example of this is the claim that, according to the Genesis account, the earth was created in 6 literal 24-hour days. Obviously, these were symbolic days of much longer duration. (Compare Genesis 2:3, 4; 2 Peter 3:8.) Other ways Fundamentalism undermines the Bible is by teaching unscriptural doctrines, such as eternal torment in hellfire, and at times by promoting standards of conduct other than those required by Scripture, such as forbidding the consumption of alcoholic beverages or the use of makeup by women. In these ways Fundamentalism has caused people to reject the Bible’s message as naive, unreasonable, and unscientific." [https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/101989765#h=17:0-19:486]

 

 

[carlos]

On 2/24/2020 at 4:29 AM, Brother Brother said:

So...what has a crusader (which possibly is a person who engages in Crusades?) got to do with the mutual self-congratulations of the film industry?

I have no idea of what a crusader knight has to do with the film industry, but the information is taken from their officialwebsite:

 

Quote

 

Agreeing to institute an annual award, the group turned its attention to creating a suitably majestic trophy. MGM art director Cedric Gibbons designed a statuette of a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader’s sword. The Academy tapped Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to realize the design in three dimensions – and the world-renowned statuette was born.

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/statuette

 

If you think about it, does an Egyptian god make any more sense than a knight? I mean, talking about movies.

Edited February 25, 2020 by carlos

[GodlyDevotion]

There is a stark contrast between organization's entertainment and the world's entertainment. One builds us up, refreshes us, and brings us closer to Jehovah. The latter tears us out, gives us pleasure, and brings us closer to Satan.

The choice lies in our hands