waysider

"Please, sir, I want some more."

It's impossible for a layman to gauge someone's level of severity. It's been shown that the voices can vary dependent on the culture the person is in. In other words, people in some cultures hear friendly voices rather than scary ones. Suppose you're sitting in the waiting room at the dentist. Somewhere down the hall, you can hear a muted conversation through the closed doors, and perhaps the sound of a chair being moved . There's no screaming, sounds of violence or any such thing. As far as you know, it's just business as usual. It seems real enough. You don't give it much thought. Except, there's no one in that room. Would you tell anyone you hear someone in that room? No one else in the waiting room has any clue as to what you're hearing. This is why I say that a layman sitting in that waiting room with you has no idea you even have this condition or how severe it might be. edit: interesting link.

Hmmmm. Maybe it's Brown 25.

Gonna save you the click. "...and they all lived abundantly ever after."

I wouldn't say he took it from A.W. Tozzer, but Tozzer said something that speaks to the essence of it. “All nature has come to expect from God a sense of orderliness. Whatever God does carries with it His fingerprint. And in the world around us His fingerprint of orderliness is evident to anybody who is honest with the facts. If you look at nature, you will discover a mathematical exactness. Without this precision, the entire world would be in utter confusion. One plus one always equals two no matter what part of the universe you happen to be in. And the laws of nature operate in beautiful harmony, a harmony that is ordered by God Himself.” ― A.W. Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John Of course, in reality, one plus one does not always equal two and the laws of nature are chaotic, at best.

I think the real point of the story is that, if you're stuck in the desert for 40 days with no food, you'll still be ok if you have angels to minister to you. That's important to remember the next time you get stuck in the desert for 40 days with no food. But, hey, stuff happens, ya know?

Well, there ya go. I mean who could possibly know more about it than a guy born in India 2000 years later?

"Not one of them got tricked into thinking that dead people can really talk. They loved the teaching of principles in a fantasy setting." And you know this because........how?

Uh huh. And, I hope, for your own sake, that you learn to be less ambiguous in real life.

Am I the only one, or did anyone else get the impression Mike's friend had already been diagnosed? I feel now like the opening post was a bit misleading. Was that done intentionally for some reason?

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), charitable aims are stated in the following: "The exempt purposes set forth in Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. The term charitable is used in its generally accepted legal sense and includes relief of the poor, the distressed, or the underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erection or maintenance of public buildings, monuments, or works; lessening the burdens of government; lessening neighborhood tensions; eliminating prejudice and discrimination; defending human and civil rights secured by law; and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency." Sooooo... advancement of religion.

"He was a mean man."

I'm baffled as to why you so kindly portray him.

I don't recall it being scheduled to coincide with Passover. At the last twig I was involved with, we held a communion service in lieu of the weekly fellowship. There was no weekly "teaching", just a somber atmosphere and a highly ritualized ceremony, after which we quietly went home..

Yeah, me neither. But, ya know, you can inflict a lot of physical pain by hitting someone over the head with an actual bible. (Those big, heavy family bibles work best.)

I had a close childhood friend who was diagnosed in his teens. He was in and out of treatment facilities and prescribed several medications. This was over 50 years ago. A lot has changed. Long story short, he became suicidal and ended his life just shy of his 21st birthday, just as it seemed like he was making progress with treatment.. I had the misfortune of being the one to discover his body. He was a great guy. You couldn't ask for a better friend. It's not at all like you see in movies and it's not always scary or dangerous. They can sometimes see things, hear things, smell things that aren't really there or remember having a conversation that never took place. But, that's not always the case. Sometimes they just have a delusional perception of situations. I'll give you an example. They may look out the window every morning to look at the cute little kitten that visits every day. They might even hear it meowing. There's nothing inherently dangerous about that. Except, the kitten doesn't actually exist. There's no shadow, reflection, shrub or whatever to be misinterpreted. It's just not there. They may not even question or mention their observation because, in their mind, it's just a kitten outside the window. It's not like a dream. They believe it's really there. They have trouble discerning what is real and what is not. This is simply an anecdotal observation of my own experience. Beyond that, I really know very little about the subject. Be as understanding and supportive as you can and try to gently steer them away from dangerous behaviors. Don't be insistent that you're right and they're wrong. That only frustrates the situation. edit: This is not to be confused with pareidolia (seeing clouds that look like faces, etc.), which is a perfectly normal occurrence.

Yeah, that's my desire, as well.

René Girard has entered the chat. "Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others in order to make up his mind. We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires.

When I was in FellowLaborers, I worked in a factory that made that. Be concerned. Be very concerned... lol.

freeze dried and vacuum packed.

It was part of Oral Roberts' "Fourth Man" sermon. If you want to skip to it, it's found at 37:36

Why would I need to ask anyone? I'm a big boy now and expected to form my own opinions.

It seems to me, it's you who has dodged the challenge to look beyond to see more clearly. Does the positive stuff, as scant as it was, negate the negative stuff? Nevermind, I'm pretty sure in your mind it does.

There's a bitterness torch? Why hasn't someone told me?