by NvrKssdNObutt 9 Replies latest jw friends
A good book to explain why we exist and that our creator does not require nor need our sacrifices to him or worship of him is ::
The Freedom of Choice
by Thomas J Chalko
I bought the e-version for only 5 scoots and it was a good read
ISBN 0 9577882 0 7 e-book edition
ISBN 0 9577882 1 5 paperback edition
james t
Is this it?
http://www.thefreedomofchoice.com/e-book.pdf (should open in new window)
Hey,
I am trying to get time to read it!!!
Good to see you!
How are ya?
Hey thanks for posting that link.
wp
This book is full of assertions and opinions of the author. Speaking about death, he says,
“Consciousness is gone” as many experts would say.
Gone WHERE? And where is it when we are alive anyway?
Surely NOT in any organ, or even not in any atom of our body
– because they all remain exactly the same at the point of
death. Organs and atoms are not “going” anywhere.They stay the same, and only later do they decay.
From this simple example, we have to conclude that
consciousness as well as intellect (which is a certain aspect of
consciousness), exist independently of the material reality that
is composed of atoms.
The above quote is from page 17 and is pretty much representative of the fallacious reasoning in the book. "Experts" would say that when a person dies, "consciousness is gone." He then twists that around as if to prove that human consciousness is a separate entity from the body. This would appeal to people who believe that a soul or spirit leaves the body at death, but it is contrary to what scientists have discovered. Even a lay person knows that brain damage can alter a person's mind and chemicals can cause hallucinations and other altered states of consciousness. When the brain is deprived of oxygen for several minutes, brain damage occurs. When the brain dies, "consciousness is gone" because the brain that supported it no longer functions. Consciousness ceases to exist. It doesn't go anywhere.
The author recommends meditation. I can agree with that. There are some good books on meditation out there. But wait, there's more!
Science and Technology
Science and technology on Earth is almost entirely controlled
by money and the monetary system. No money - no research.
“Knowledge” is considered a “property”. Scientists seem to
focus almost entirely on material reality and eventual material
gain or expenditure remain a key measure of their “success”
and pride.Scientists and engineers don’t even notice how much intellect
and intelligence it takes to undertake the study of even a single
atom. They have been smashing atoms for almost a century
now – and still no one really knows what is inside them and
how to make an atom. The universal need for intellect and
intelligence is right in front of their noses – and they still miss
it.Since the mediocre establishment of today totally ignores such
a need – technology is used primarily against development of
Individual Intellects and against Nature.
WTF? Let's hope he doesn't need any of that awful science and technology!
Scientists on Earth are not even aware of some very
elementary Laws of Physics.
LOL! Glad I didn't have to buy this text!
What about the theory of evolution?
Let me quote a question from a brilliant discussion at the
prestigious Russian Academy of Sciences.“If evolution is true – why is every girl still born a virgin?
There must be some weakness in your theory...”So WHY do we see evidence of evolution taking place among
many species on Earth?Simply because the evolution occurs in Intellect. Physical
and physiological changes occur only when someone
consciously LEARNS something. You have to admit, that
learning is a process of intellect rather than of the flesh.For example, bacteria can LEARN to live while harassed by
antibiotics. They don’t develop any other skill, or evolve to
something else other than bacteria – they develop a very
particular skill that they need to survive. They aim to develop
it. There are no coincidences.
This fellow knows not of what he speaks. Antibiotics kill bacteria. Some bacteria are resistant to certain chemicals, so they survive and multiply. Dead bacteria don't learn. How does he explain this?
It is interesting to note, that this learning occurs over many
generations. Countless generations of bacteria need to die
before bacteria can develop a new skill. For many decades we
thought that we could kill bacteria successfully. So, how can
bacteria today learn from generations of bacteria that have
long been DEAD?The fact of continuation of consciousness beyond one lifetime,
proven earlier in this book, is a very logical explanation.
No sir, you didn't prove anything about "continuation of consciousness," you simply made an unfounded assertion that you proceeded to accept as a fact. Well, that's all I can stomach from this book.
Dave
I am on page 25.
PrimateDave,
Did you skip the middle and go straight to the end?
I started in the beginning, which wasn't too promising. Then, I skimmed a lot. I never reached the end. I decided that it isn't worth my time any more than a Watchtower Publication. I wanted to find something useful, but since leaving the Witnesses, I have become very skeptical of anyone who claims to have "special" knowledge. Seriously, don't just accept at face value what this author, or any other person for that matter, says. Demand concrete proof. As soon as I start to find logical fallacies and hidden premises in an article or book, I have to question everything the writer has to say.
Dave
For example, he has this eye exercise where you look at two circles with horizontal and vertical lines. You cross your eyes and then you can combine the circles and form a cross. I've often done something similar to this to view 3-D images and photographs, so it was an easy exercise for me to try. Then he makes an unfounded assertion that performing this exercise is beneficial to the mind. His proof? He knows some programmers who do it. I'm sorry, that doesn't prove anything.
He also stated that he was the object of a psychic attack by 70,000 people. He stated that tribal people in Papua New Guinea knew how to kill with their minds. Really? He instructs readers how to defend themselves against such attacks. How can he prove any of this? I have to believe that he is making it up or is self deluded.
This is apparently quite commonplace. I once read a book on ceremonial magick. It had a similar topic on defending against psychic attack but with completely different methods. In either case, there is no proof that such things actually occur, much less that they can somehow be defended against.
Dave
I find this guy an inept nut-case, perhaps this is due to highly developed spiritual intelligence
I am the first to admit some of his thoughts and statements were off the wall.
Glean the good and dismiss the bad----that is what i do with any information i take in - there were some points that made very good sense.
His view of our "creator" and where he came from and what he requires of us makes more sense than most other thoughts on the matter.
the 70,000 attacking him i just passed over with a smile and a "yeah, right"
there are a million so called ways listed in print for us to meditate---i have found that a snippet here and a snippet there work for me.
so i took the snippets of this book that made sense to me and tucked them away in my mind and someday everything stored there is going to fit together and i will be so damned intelligent i will have to wear a sack on my head to keep from out shining the sun.
hey purps -- ya keeping your powder dry? still takin wooden nickels? kiss that cute grandkid fer me!
james t
