A testimony or “witnessing” is known as a statement that is based on personal experience or personal knowledge. A statement is accepted on the basis of person’s testimony if his or her asserting it renders it acceptable, ie; conviction, eloquence, or sincerity. We can also, rationally accept a claim on the basis of another person’s testimony unless at least one of the following is found to be true:
1 The claim is implausible;
2 The person or the source in which the claim is quoted lacks credibility;
3 The claim goes beyond what the person could know from his or her own experience and competence (children)
When it comes to testimony, how trustworthy are you, the source, in separating what you want to believe vs what you’ve been taught to believe vs the inherent bias of culture, demographics, and perception? If you know your church is “the one” sanctioned by Jesus, how can others know theirs is “the one” True Church© too. Maybe they’re coat-tailing on a bad idea? It’s happened before.
If you fallen to religion, just be grateful it wasn’t Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Catholic, AOG, Money Church of Osteen™️, Copeland, Dollar 🤡, Comfort or Ham. Id hate for you to look silly. And for the loners out there, your close. Really close.
As far as children witnessing for any religion, who’s testimony do you suppose they are they sharing? But it’s so cute… Hmm?
I saw an apparition out of the corner of my eye. I looked again but it was gone.
It was Santa.
I was sure of it.
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They always disappear when you try to get a good look at them. The only real apparitions are on toast. Other than that your brain makes the adjustments and what wasn’t there to begin with miraculously fades away.
This from Michael Shermer is a gem
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The Christmas presents appear. The milk and cookies disappear. Never a miscommunication. You can’t explain that.
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I heard the sleigh on the roof.
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Common mind control technique. Reassurance in the face of opposition blocks out inconvenient info to the contrary of your beliefs.
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I want to join the money church? How does one do this?
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Go to the App Store and download the Joel Osteen or Ken Copeland ministry app, then find the donate now button. You’re in!
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Holy crap! This is really a ‘thing’! I thought you were joking… wowzers
Joel Osteen has a really nice app though… I cannot lie. Those Luddite Catholics need to get moving on this technology stuff…
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Osteens not as rich as Copeland though. He doesn’t need a great app. Last I checked he was in the $750 million range. Osteen is about 70. At that point though who’s counting widows mites?
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I am totally in the wrong business. I need to register Fundamental Joeyism as a religion and getting cracking on raking in those Benjamin’s. Although… deceiving people all day feels like a lot of work… and also a full time job… which is kinda against everything I want to do with my life. Osteen and Copeland probably don’t get a lot of time to mooch around and play PlayStation…
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They probably just pay people to have fun for them.
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Sucks to be them!
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You should watch a couple of broadcasts and see what all the money is about. You might learn the art of the con
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The GAG reflex is pretty hard to overcome, Jim.
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It’s amazing what belief can do. Say aahhh
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I forgot to mention, Osteen charges admission now to his shows. It’s quite a spectacle. $9 for the cheap seats and $145 for the good seats. What a deal!
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That’s insane. I mean I guess people are free to spend their money in any way they feel brings them the most utility in their lives. And if that’s the way they want to do it… why not. Supply and demand in action…
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Yes. Religion creates the demand and then sells the cure. I went to see Billy Graham in the Seattle Kingdome when if first opened in ‘76 and it was free. I went just to see the stadium (he wasn’t if my faith) but it was still free. Church admission just seems wrong but hey, is it immoral to take money from fools? I guess they figured no to that.
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Apple figured out how to get $1000 out of me for a phone with nary a complaint. So I guess we are all fools for something. I use the term ‘we’ quite loosely…
Billy Graham. Blast from the past!
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And hit that button over and over again! The more you hit the “Donate Now” button, the closer to god you become! What could be easier?
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It’s really a “support” button, but we know what that really means to support his “ministry” wink. Jet fuel is expensive and he’s important ya know
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Gotta spread that word!!
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As Mr Bacon put it:
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Aah, Francis. Bacon. “Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper”
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Wordsmithery at its very best
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He is like a father figure to me (no offense). Haha
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And ya cannot be simply wrong, mistaken, or brainwashed. If you don’t hold yer tongue just so, and que the ball with left English with both feet firmly on the floor, you’re evil and brainwashed. Perhaps corrupted?
One group promises happiness in eternal life while the other has 72 cooperative virgins (ladies get?) and says death will instantly cure your ED. Rigor mortis stiffens everything. If there is a god, I’m asking where he found 72, or did he have to create special ones for each.
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The big problem arises; what to do with 72 virgins after they’re no longer virgin? Maids a milking? Anyway, I like to get to know them before they are virgins..
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My favorite perk of religion: the 72 virgins! What, pray tell, did the virgins do to earn the “privilege” of servicing the good, god-fearing men of the world? Also, how long do they remain virgins? What do they have, regenerative hymens? How long do they have to remain in this service?
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I’m certain the virgins will have had enough after the one time use for male ego gratification to accept whatever fate is theirs.
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Read your contract carefully before you go boom!
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It’s not just virgins. They’re also be perpetual boy servants.
“There will circulate among them [servant] boys [especially] for them, as if they were pearls well-protected.” Quran 52:24
“There will circulate among them young boys made eternal” Quran 56:17
“There will circulate among them young boys made eternal. When you see them, you would think them [as beautiful as] scattered pearls.” <a href="Quran 76:19
Allah has all the bases covered.
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I didn’t know the Bacha Bazi was an eternal gift. That really makes a lot of sense to have a scripture that condones the practice you already slummed into.
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I think very often a young child’s witness is as much reflective of their parent’s faith.
It seems to me a huge problem in the church and definitely results in cognitive dissonance when a young person’s mind begins to mature, but their expression and understanding of Christian faith does not. Although, I suppose this could happen at any age.
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I would recommend field testing the promises given to believers. Command a few things in the name of Jesus. Go out into the world and give it a whirl.
All of our modern life is served on a plate. Religion is no different. We have belief that everything is as is, but when you go into checking it out, it is never as it seems.
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Jim, I don’t come from this kind of place spiritually, but I have definitely seen alot of pain and hurt come to people through this “name it and claim it in Jesus,” type of teaching. I think it especially heartbreaking when people blame themselves for a lack of faith or something like that if prayer is not apparently answered in a certain way. So instead of hurting people being supported, they can become isolated and condemned, a terrible abuse.
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I agree, there are a lot of people confused and hurting, struggling and don’t know where to turn. Part of me embraces this part of religion, even your statement leans toward “it doesn’t only matter if it’s true” but it seems to be helping. I would venture a little further and encourage anyone struggling that they hold the power within. Religion condones suffering as a penalty of part of the doctrine. Fallen, disabled people that need a savior. It isn’t true. People are awesome in more ways than I can state here.
There is a core setback when allegiance and obedience to god comes before ethical behavior. Even the first five commandments shelve human interest for god. It allows for suffering placed on the wisdom of its leaders, while loving god is a neat idea in the surface, we spend a lot of time and energy praying and waiting when we hold all the power ourselves.
There are simply better ways of viewing the world than the deprecated sinner. But, few are ready to embrace self empowerment. We’ve waited a long time for belief to do us a favor, while the answers are right under our noses.
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@ Becky
And there is half the problem right there – with believers such as you who actively promote prayer when you have absolutely no evidence whatsoever that any prayer has ever been answered.
Seriously , what on earth could you tell an individual whose prayers are (obviously)not answered and never will be ?
Prayer is just another piece of the drivel that Christianity (you) promotes.
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Ark, sorry , I didn’t see your comment. For some reason, I just don’t get my e-mail notifications. If anyone has a notion how to fix this, let me know. I’m very technologically challenged. 🙂
Ark, my view of prayer is more nuanced. I realize that it’s possible for people to get into the “dualing of the Bible verses,” but hopefully we don’t go that route. So here it goes, my opinion.
How can we put God in a box?
When I pray and meditate, for me it’s as much about opening myself to God to become more like Christ, to sense His presence and love in my life. I find that meditation relaxes me, and sharpens my mind to perhaps come up with solutions to a thorny concern or problem. It is centering. I think this is God, but it’s also me.
I don’t look at this as just having a list of requests that I’m submitting and then suppose God is constrained to respond in a certain way. And, then, well if He doesn’t my prayer wasn’t answered and this proves there is no God
or that He doesn’t care.
To look at this objectively, for instance, if every prayer for healing, was answered in that the person was miraculously healed, there would be no death., would there? Does this make sense? No.
I’ve seen the love of God in Christ, through the incarnation, so I trust that He is in my life through everything, and that ultimately He is working for my long term good. Prayer and meditation is just part of the fabric of that.
Now I’m sure not all Christians will agree with my view, Ark. I’m only speaking for myself, here.
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There is a world of difference between meditation and paying to a god.
As there is no evidence that prayer of any sort works, why do you do it?
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I agree, Ark, about the differences between the two. But for believers, by the very fact they are believers, they attribute all things to their god. Except of course when things go horribly wrong, then it’s that nasty entity (which doesn’t exist any more than their “God”) that interfered and messed things up.
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Nan, always remember: When things go your way, God has a plan for you. When they don’t, He works in mysterious ways. This seems to resolve all questions christians may have about why certain prayers aren’t answered or things don’t as they hoped.
Easy-peasy.
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I had to laugh. The other day I had two young Mormon boys come to my door to Witness to me. I was really busy with dinner at the crucial point on the stove. I thanked them for coming and told them I’m not interested, I’m atheist. One of the little boys started to tell me he was atheist for 3 years before he found religion. I just laughed and told him I’ve been atheist longer than he’s been alive and said I had to get back to dinner.
Having youngsters with little to no life experience knocking on doors to witness is a setup for failure. I hate having anyone knock on my door unexpected to begin with, but coming to tell me about your religion is really high on my irritability scale.
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Only in religion does the teacher seek the student. Mormonism uses the “sell it by zealot” strategy. Send them out before they’ve had a chance to unwrap the canned answers or field test the words. I had missionaries out my way a couple weeks ago. It really can be irritating.
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Children, especially those looking for validation from the adults around them, will say what they have been brainwashed to say. I know, I was that child.
But I grew up. No religious person would find me trustworthy today. And I am proud of that. I hold my integrity within myself, I need no one to validate me but me.
And I am not alone. There are more like me. It is only a matter of, do we have the time?
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We have all the time there is… But I agree, do we have the time? Since we’re still heading the wrong direction it would take something epic to halt the train.
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Well, I’m a committed Christian, but I believe people should be judged on the basis of their character not in simply their religious affiliation, rawgod. You are obviously secure within yourself which I think is a good thing.
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Hi Becky. Thank you for understanding. Too many people separate themselves from others based solely on the religious, or non-religious, affiliations and/or political affiliations (not to mention race, colour, nationality etc etc etc). All this does is blind them to those who could be good friends/acquaintances were they to look at their personal characters. Of course, that might separate them from a lot of their present friends/associates, but I prefer to bring people together, not separate them even more. I respect you for taking the time to comment.
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Thank you. I feel the same way. We need to build bridges toward one another and look for unity and common ground. It’s about healing and reconciliation.
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Don’t forget Scientology!
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I didn’t forget. That’s why you’re here 😁. Really though, what a scam and money pit.
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LOL yep, you got that right!
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