Coded Logic

Joined

• started 181 topics
• posted 1,465 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Coded Logic

• 
  162

  Do you still believe in God?

  by FormerlySandL in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i never thought i would admit it, but i don't.

  i might superstitiously have some kind of doubt but digging a bit deeper in my heart i really don't believe in god.

  as a human i could never just sit and watch people be tortured, live years of abuse, suffer from illness and disabilities and all the other awful things people have to endure day after day without doing something about it.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  I have two basic rules when engaging people online:

  1.) Don't take what they say personally

  2.) Don't make it personal - attack their arguments not their character

  
  But I have to say Acts5v29, you really are testing my patience on both fronts. Some of the things you have stated on this thread - and throughout this forum - are so disgusting and so vile and so morally bankrupt I can't help but worry about the horrible actions you could justify under such perverse reasoning.

  Simply put, sincerity is not enough. In order to put our good intentions to positive use we actually have to understand how our actions will manifest themselves. And if you're going to dismiss all the evil in the world as non-consequential simply because "God will fix it in the end" then I'm not sure you're in a position to say ANYTHING meaningful about ethics. You have divorced yourself from all moral responsibility and accountability.

  If I say I'm going to buy you a new car in ten years time does it mean I have the right to wreck the car you have right now? Would buying you a new car in ten years make up for all the time you were without a car? Or if you and your partner can have more kids in the future does it mean I can kill the kids you have right now?

  Of course not. Because restitution isn't a moral system.

  What if the child were determined to hate his father who sent him for chemo? Even a child could understand that, in the longer term, there was a good reason.

  If a child is going to receive chemo treatments then we let the child know in advance. We let the child know exactly WHAT to expect and we make sure they understand WHY it's happening - that it's done to save their life. We don't just start them on chemo without warning and provide no help with their symptoms and then when they ask, "Why is this happening?" remain silent. That would be unnecessarily cruel and harmful.

  But this is the exact position we find ourselves in with regards to natural disasters. We can't anticipate them. We don't know when or where they're going to happen. We don't know why they're happening (outside of causal events). And THEY DON'T SAVE LIVES!

  They cause death and destruction and imense pain and suffering. It's nothing like chemo. And it's deeply troubling that you would think that chemo and natural disasters are comparable. I'm afraid superstition has vandalized your mind and completely corrupted your compassion.

  Come back to humanity my friend.

  P.S. I'm still waiting for your response on why it was okay for God to intervene in human affairs in the past but can't do so now.
• 
  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  What does it mean if the universe is actually built in such a way as to result in a brain which can understand it?
  -SBF

  . . . Then it would mean that the universe was built in such a way that a brain could understand it. Starting with that assumption - that's the only conclusion we can reach.

  Perhaps a better question to ask might be, "Does a universe which can have complex systems that are capable of understanding itself (brains) suggest it was designed that way?"

  My short answer is - I dunno. Even if we gained knowledge that there was a Universe Creating Intelligence - we still couldn't conclude our universe was designed. Because we have no way of telling the difference between designed universes and non-designed universes. We have no metric via which we can look at our universe and say "look - it matches a designed universe" or "what-do-you-know, it matches a non-designed universe."

  We would have to know that MOST or ALL universes are created by a UCI to conclude that our universe was created by a UCI. At which point, the question of looking at intelligence inside a universe to infer if it's designed or not - becomes a moot point.

  Why is reality constructed in this way to result in these apparently predictable outcomes.

  Because subatomic particles behave in predictable ways. Because atoms behave in predictable ways. Because molecules behave in predictable ways. Because space/time behaves in a predictable way. Because reality behaves in predictable ways. Etc.

  As far as we know the laws of physics cannot be broken. I don't think it's necessarily "constructed" that way because I don't know if a universe can exist with a different set of physics or if a universe can exist without physics all together. But I would think that a universe without physics would tear itself apart pretty quickly.

  In regards to the larger questions your asking I think it's important to remember that the carbon atoms of which you and I are composed were first forged and manufactured in the heart of a dying star. We are quite literally the remnants of a stellar core. The children of a supernova. Because it's not just we who are inside the universe but it's also the universe that's inside of us. We ARE the universe . . . seeking to understand itself. And I feel the fewer assumptions we start with when asking questions about our existence the richer and more fulfilling our answers will be.
• 
  61

  The Watchtower Org will die.

  by Freeandclear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just reading through some posts and had a startling realization.. the comment that sparked this went something like this: why oh why when i started into this in 1989 did i not research the history of the wtbts?

  etc....... i too was studying and moving towards baptism around that same time.

  i got dunked in dec of 1990.. my thought.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  My thought is that within the next 10 years there will be very little growth in the WT bOrg.
  -FAC

  Already there. The growth rate for Jdubs is less than the population growth rate. And the Jdub growth rate has been falling every year for at least the past 15 years. I think within the next two to three years we'll actually start seeing negative numbers.

  And of course most of the "growth" will be in the form of witness children who are born in.

  Only one in three JW children stick with the religion past their 20s. I think for the generation growing up in the religion right now the attrition rate will be even higher.

  Eventually this scam will die and to my mind the sooner the better.

  Agreed! It may take a while to die out but it will die out. It's top heavy in its number of older individuals. And those who are younger - the Millennials and their kids - may attend but really aren't into it. I think within the next fifteen years it will have half its current membership - around 4 million publishers.
• 
  10

  lf evolution is true then doesnt it make sense that other life forms exist on far away planets.?

  by atomant in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just thought ld throw it out there for discussion.lf we evolved from nothing doesnt it stand to reason that other life forms also evolved from nothing?l mean lets face it time is infinite.

  so given enough time its possible for anything to happen isnt it?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  We won't know until we get out there and look!

  But I would say there is a fair chance we could find life in the next couple of years (if it's to be found). Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus both have liquid oceans under their icy surfaces. And both of them have ice volcanoes that eject some of the material from their oceans into outer space. In the near future we plan to fly a probe through the plumes and analyze the samples for microbial life.

  Another exciting bit of science is the James Webb Telescope which is going to be launched next year. It is a hundred times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope and will be able to analyze the atmosphere of exo-planets. If we find a planet with high oxygen rates then we will know that it harbors at least basic life - perhaps something similar to cyanobacteria - because high rates of oxygen in an atmosphere can only be maintained by life. Without a constant renewal oxygen will bond with hydrogen - the most common element in the universe - and turn back into water.
• 
  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  Reason and meaning are aspects we assign to things. It's not an intrinsic quality that things posses. And inevitability is not the same thing as intention.
• 
  162

  Do you still believe in God?

  by FormerlySandL in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i never thought i would admit it, but i don't.

  i might superstitiously have some kind of doubt but digging a bit deeper in my heart i really don't believe in god.

  as a human i could never just sit and watch people be tortured, live years of abuse, suffer from illness and disabilities and all the other awful things people have to endure day after day without doing something about it.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  Acts5v29,

  You stated "I can show you why God does not - and cannot - intervene in badness." As you're still posting on this thread I would like you to address my questions I posed to you on the very first page of the OP.

  God could have simply wiped the early ones out and started again - but that would not have proved His contention, which was goaded by the adversary. So Man became independent, and that issue has to prove itself - God's intervention would only violate the terms. God cannot intervene until Mankind learns that it cannot survive on its own
  -Acts5v29

  • What about when God drowned almost everyone on the planet in the flood, wasn't that intervention?
  • What about the tower of Babel when God confused all the languages and spread everyone apart, wasn't that intervention?
  • What about when God helped Judah kill 500,000 men, wasn't that intervention (2 Chronicles 13:15)?
  • What about when he killed all the firstborn (including babies) in Egypt, wasn't that intervention?
  • What about when God ordered the genocide of the Midianites, Amalekites, the people of Heshbon, and the people of Bashan - wasn't that intervention (1 Samuel 15:1-9, Numbers 31:7-18, Deuteronomy 3:3-7, Deuteronomy 2:32-35)?
  • What about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, wasn't that intervention?
  • What about God sending two bears to maul children to death for calling Elisha bald, wasn't that intervention (2 Kings 2:23)?
  • What about God giving Jeptha victory over the Ammonites on the condition that he sacrifice his daughter, wasn't that intervention (Judges 11:30-39)?
  • What about God giving Samson strength so he can kill 30 men for their clothes, wasn't that intervention (Judges 14:11-19)?
  • etc.

  .

  Clearly God can intervene to cause destruction and death. And it's not just humans that experience suffering. It's also animals that suffer and die too. What about them?
• 
  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  While it might be true that believing in (mythological) unicorns or in anything that has not been measured or tested does not establish that they are real does not invalidate the existence of Jehovah by comparing belief in the existence of Gods to belief in the existence of unicorns.
  - Fisherman

  The Hadith hasn't been "invalidated" am I therefore justified in believing Mohammad actually flew to heaven on a horse? Can you "establish" that he didn't?

  Harry Potter hasn't been "invalidated" does that mean I'm justified in believing that witches and warlocks actually fly around on brooms and that Hogwarts is a real academy? Can you prove otherwise?

  Positive claims require positive evidence. Because things which don't exist and things for which there is no evidence are epistemologically identical.
• 
  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  Dubstepped,

  Thinking about different things certainly has different effects on the brain. Of course, a person thinking about the concept of unicorns doesn't mean that unicorns exist in the real world. The same is true of Gods.
• 
  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  How do you scientifically demonstrate and measure love?

  There are multiple ways to measure love including the use of electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and computer aided tomography - just to name a few.

  http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00071/full

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/love-on-the-brain-2096672.html
  
  
• 
  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Coded Logic

  I do believe in something greater than us, a God, much like I believe in love. Neither is something that you can see but to both can be attributed many actions used as evidence of both.
  -DS

  Love is an emotion that all of us have experienced first hand - and love is also scientifically demonstrable with measurable accuracy. God(s) however, are not.