Always Forgive, Never Forget

[RussD]

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Amen.

 

[killdeer43]

Imagine, indeed.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Default]

If you don't forget your injuries, you can't forgive those who injured you.

 

[Scratch]

Today I imagine the world without murderous radical Islamic fundamentalists; a local family enjoying a sunny Sunday with their mother (brutally killed in the Pentagon attack), and a united country. All just a dream as lennon imagined...

 

[Scratch]

Somehow double-posted, so I'll use this second to better express my opinion...

Can I forgive? Yes; as a Christian, I'm expected to. It's not easy and I work at it. I wish all religions believed in love and forgiveness, but again, I can only imagine that. In that respect, I can forgive, and never forget.

I place the KKK and other similar radical groups who hide behind the Christian banner on equal par with Islam Fundamentalist Radicals. My way or the highway mentalities beget violence. They're evil...

I've always loved the tune 'Imagine' and consider it one of JL's best works; but it's just a dream and nothing more... Eutopia on earth suggests all people hold the same values and all people think the same. Nice to imagine that everyone could get along, but since that won't happen here, it is necessary to defend against crazed organized mobs large and evil enough to pose a threat to civil societies.

 

[West R Lee]

I've always loved the melody of the song, I could listen to Tommy Emmanuel play it all day long. Much of the song is a pleasant thought, but some of the lyrics are not so pleasant to me. As I'm preparing to attend church this morning, I can't imagine a world without my religion. Christianity is truly a religion of peace, certainly the source of the only true peace I've ever known.

I will be praying for peace in our world today.

West

 

[Dr. Spivey]

Christianity is truly a religion of peace, certianly the source of the only true peace I've ever known.
West

Ever heard of The Crusades or the Ku Klux Klan? Just good Christians spreading the word. You miss the point of the song.

 

[chazmo]

Doc, guys,

Can we please not dive into religion here...? I fully understand how our membership feels as we struggle with the remembrance of 10 years ago, but we should try not to offend each other in any way we can as we all express our grief, shock, and personal feelings.

9/11 changed our world here in the US. I honestly believe we still haven't got a grip on our collective emotions and goals as a country since then.

Best wishes.

 

[West R Lee]

[quote="West R Lee":a0k04fgx] Christianity is truly a religion of peace, certianly the source of the only true peace I've ever known.
West

Ever heard of The Crusades or the Ku Klux Klan? Just good Christians spreading the word. You miss the point of the song.[/quote:a0k04fgx]

No, I don't miss the point of the song at all Spivey. I can't imagine no countries either. I happen to love mine.

OK Chazmo. Lock the thread....or delete it. It's making me sick too!

West

 

[chazmo]

I'm not deleting anything. Express your feelings/grief. Go ahead; I think it's cathartic and important for LTGers to speak their minds. Just let's try not to offend each other.

 

[killdeer43]

A brotherhood of man...
Sharing all the world.

That's the singular and simple point of this beautiful song. :|

Joe

 

[West R Lee]

I'm not deleting anything. Express your feelings/grief. Go ahead; I think it's cathartic and important for LTGers to speak their minds. Just let's try not to offend each other.

Well thank you sir.....it's good to know that we can do that.

Back to origional post, as I was saying, I think the melody of the song is beautiful. I think the underlying thought of the song is very admirable too. No killing, nothing to die for......all great thoughts in what might be considered by some a perfect world.

But what would we have to give up in order to achieve that end......in the words of the song. No country? Nope, that's one that worth dying for in my opinion. No religion? I'd die for my beliefs faster than I would my country. That was the only point that I was attempting to make. Is it a wonderful thought that no one would have to die for anything?.....absolutely.

And in our church service this morning, the sermon was about 9/11. The pastor talked at length about what Russ mentions in his thread title....forgiveness. He also mentioned that it would be very hard for many to forgive. At the same time, the pastor mentioned vigilance in not allowing 9/11 to happen again. How you reconcile those two points is a one that I personally struggle with. I listened closely and never heard him speak a word about joining a crusade or the KKK for that matter.

I watched the rerun of the planes hitting the towers again last night. As I watched, I couldn't get out of my head that 9/11 was truly a military attack. Accomplished with civilian aircraft, by people that weren't soldiers in our sense of the word, but there was no difference between what they did to New York and Washington with aircraft and the launching of 3 missiles against our country.....none. Obviously, we have an obligation to protect ourselves.

At that point, what do you do? Some might call the attack on Afghanistan revenge, I would call it self-defense. How the Bible would handle that situation is open to interpretation. Jesus said "Turn the other cheek", but Jesus also discussed at length what happens to those who do evil. Do I expect to catch flack over my beliefs ....absolutely......I'm not doing my job if I don't. I've been told for decades to expect it.

Again, "Imagine".....a beautiful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwU_biPIZ2g

Thank you Charlie......I'm done.

West

 

[Christopher Cozad]

...Imagine no possessions...

If that includes Guild guitars, somebody needs a neck reset.

 

[killdeer43]

Once again, and without pontificating, the key word in this acknowledged beautiful song is....IMAGINE.
That's all. :wink:

Joe

 

[davismanLV]

...Imagine no possessions...

If that includes Guild guitars, somebody needs a neck reset.

HAAAAAA HAAAAAA!! :lol: Agreed, Christopher. That's MY Guild!!!

 

[southernGuild]

...Imagine no possessions...

If that includes Guild guitars, somebody needs a neck reset.

HAAAAAA HAAAAAA!! :lol: Agreed, Christopher. That's MY Guild!!!

:lol: Heck, thats 'Me'. My D-25 had a neck reset, so Yea, Done that. Now,Its ME that needs the neck reset. :lol: Doctors here are at least 'talking' about it again.
Good one guys. :wink:

 

[taabru45]

Hey John maybe you should get a body alignment before that neck reset....I had my wheels aligned one time and it took the wobble out of it gait...might work for you too....See you in Conn........Steffan

 

[southernGuild]

:lol: Sounds good Steffan, I'll put that one past the good Doctor. Any improvement is a welcome one. :wink:
I will see you in Conn., and soon too! ( still hard to believe! ) I'll be a bit wobbley, but I'll be there.

 

[mellowgerman]

At that point, what do you do? Some might call the attack on Afghanistan revenge, I would call it self-defense.

Whether it's an attempt at revenge or self-defense, either one is futile. There will always be extremists and terrorists who hate Americans.
American forces may invade the middle east and kill the leaders of those groups but the next one will always be eagerly awaiting his turn to step up. These people welcome death if it's in the name of their cause... attacking them with our military is not going to acheive anything except for casualties, both in terms of American soldiers and innocent Afghani civilians.
It's a frustrating situation, but the best move in this case would have been to "turn the other cheek" rather than trying to put out a wildfire with a zippo.

 

[mellowgerman]

...Imagine no possessions...

If that includes Guild guitars, somebody needs a neck reset.

:lol: