To be more specific, they say that the creation story is given from an earthly perspective, and is given as someone on the planet seeing it being made around them. Therefore, when it agrees with science, it's because it was inspired, where it doesn't; because "different perspective."
Billyblobber
JoinedPosts by Billyblobber
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Photosynthesis and the problem with the creation story
by purrpurr ini just noticed in the bible that on day three, god created the plants and trees on the earth.... day four, god created the sun, moon and stars!
so that means that the vegetation that is by its very nature dependant upon light to grow and photosynthesise was created a day before the sun that it needs to live!???.
this gets even more strange when you factor in the jw exhuse that a day to god is like a thousand years.
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Getting ready to visit the San Diego area......Any suggestions?
by drewcoul inmy son is getting ready to move to hawaii.
we are driving from indianapolis to san diego next week so that they can ship his car from the west coast and save about a thousand dollars versus shipping it from here.
i am only going to be there for a few days, thursday through sunday and would like some suggestions of what to do while i'm there.
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Billyblobber
Whale watching. Also, spend time on Coronado and its beach; it's wonderful. -
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Kim Davis Kentucky clerk
by James Mixon inspeaking for the moral majority, really.
married 4 times and several kids.
out of wedlock.
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Billyblobber
She didn't really turn around according to the Bible she claims to follow. If she's currently having sex with her husband, then she's living in sin because she's living in adultery, and is therefore doing something no different than what she's supposedly fighting against. -
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SUPERMAN'S GLASSES, the perfect disguise for people who think like comic book characters: Jehovah's Witnesses
by Terry inwhat will happen when 8 million jw's look on the witness stand before the royal commission this friday?
will they see superman.
or only clark kent?___________in the comic books, when superman shows up, readers of the comic already know clark kent has made an excuse to disappear.
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Billyblobber
Superman's glasses work because nobody expects a godlike powered alien who shows his face at all times to have a "human" disguise. By acting different as Clark, ruffling his hair, and changing his posture, people just think of him as some dorky guy that kind of resembles Superman. And, anyway, the world knows he's Clark now in the comics.
Just as an aside.
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TV.JW.ORG (September 2015): Serving Single - Do not use JW dating sites!
by Designer Stubble inaround the 39:00 minute mark the focus shifts to a single sister who cannot find a mate.
at the 42:30 minute mark she states "i cannot believe it crossed my mind...to look on jw dating sites".
guess a new unwritten rule is added to the many oral traditions of these pharisees.
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Billyblobber
So wait. They lowered the spread of congregations in District conventions, so you only basically meet people in your circuit, and they are bleeding young(er) people at a fantastic rate. How the heck do they expect anyone to meet anyone else? -
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If she doesn't comply an orange jumpsuit is in her future
by DJS inscotus: kentucky clerk must issue same-sex marriage licenses.
by ariane de vogue, cnn supreme court reporter.
updated 8:02 pm et, mon august 31, 2015. let's hope this is the final screech from the haters who wrap themselves in the bible - or their egoist political philosophy i doubt it will be, but let's hope..
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Billyblobber
Here's the relevant link:
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/kim-davis-found-in-contempt-and-taken-into-federal-custody-by-us-marshals/
And live feed of the protesters outside of the court:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid3657417266001?bckey=AQ%7E%7E%2CAAADUxzzMgk%7E%2Cakjd2MCec1Jtk_UIfZLyGVtmhD1oVjx6&bctid=3851749531001 -
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If she doesn't comply an orange jumpsuit is in her future
by DJS inscotus: kentucky clerk must issue same-sex marriage licenses.
by ariane de vogue, cnn supreme court reporter.
updated 8:02 pm et, mon august 31, 2015. let's hope this is the final screech from the haters who wrap themselves in the bible - or their egoist political philosophy i doubt it will be, but let's hope..
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Billyblobber
She was divorced three times, and remarried. She issues licenses to divorced people that remarried (and when questioned, said, "it is their conscience." Even if there were a religious exemption, which there is definitely not, she is breaking her own logic in doing this, and it wouldn't stand. She has absolutely no leg to stand on. Even a lot of the extreme religious right is turning on her (basically saying that her history makes her a terrible martyr and defeats the purpose). -
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Debating evolution, intelligent design and cosmology with a JW
by Thestumbler83 inive been having an email exchange with a jw family member and the discussion seem to have become a bit heated and im not quite sure why.
i dont think ive said anything obviously offensive and ive been very careful with my wording.
but i think im sometimes a bit tone deaf with these things.
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Billyblobber
What it took a long time to come to grips with is that the vast minority of people don't trend toward logical thinking and nuance, but trend towards emotional thinking and easy answers. Even when people supposedly are "logical" in one area (ie. evolution), you can often see them abandon that in other areas that they personally hold close (things like social issues or relationship issues).
The only thing you can do is avoid directly "attacking" their beliefs, because people like that view beliefs as an extension of themselves and feel like you are attacking them, personally, but, instead, ask brief questions that might hopefully start a crack and create a chink in their armor.
For one personal example, my dad was a "weak" JW and questioned everything for quite some time. Then his mother died, and he went on full board and became completely illogical about everything he questioned before. After the point of his mother dying, questioning his faith meant questioning him ever seeing his mother again, and so any logic, etc. was immediately shut down.
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U.S. JWs: 36% White, 27% Black, 6% Asian, 32% Latino (PEW)
by Gayle inhttps://baptistnews.com/ministry/congregations/item/30426-racially-diverse-nation-isn-t-mirrored-in-most-religious-groups.
seventh-day adventists and muslims about the same.
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Billyblobber
I'm not really even sure that "black" would be growing. I'll use Detroit as an example.
Detroit was one of the main cities in which racial practices created a large black inner city low income population. Essentially, the businesses left the city to the suburbs, black people weren't allowed to move to the suburbs to follow them, and instead were forced to rent in the city or buy shrinking property value properties in the city. Due to a mix of outside and inside issues, including the decline of the auto market, the city gradually shrank over time and became more poor, while the suburbs flourished.
In the 70s, there was huge growth in Detroit among black Witnesses to coincide with this. Incomes were dropping, things were getting worse, and a message of a "paradise earth" were appealing to them. It peaked in the 80s. However, the suburban restrictions began lifting in the 80s, and city congregations started shrinking in the late 80s as black Witnesses with income were finally able to move to the suburbs, and the city itself further shrank.
Fast forward to now. Detroit bombed out completely right around the housing/auto crisis, and is now experiencing minor growth and a bit of a cultural upsurge. As businesses move back, people are moving back downtown (mostly white), while the outer edge neighborhoods that started suffering in the 60s on, and that were probably most hurt by the economic downturn are emptying even more. That means Detroit congregations are shrinking at an astronomical rate, as they are losing members from the neighborhoods, no one young is joining, and none of the new young influx of upper/middle class people are joining.
From what I hear, other majorly black cities that followed similar patterns are suffering basically the same fate. And I don't see where the growth would be coming from in Atlanta. Therefore, I cant' figure out where they would be "gaining black people" from; unless there have been smaller community pushes somewhere.
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VA shooting suspect was raised a JW! He mentions it on his Twitter account
by WingCommander inanyone in the usa following this morning's shooting "on-air" live tv will know what i'm talking about.
bryce williams (not real name, but on-air name) shot and killed 2 people on live television this morning in roanoke, va. he was wearing a go-pro camera, and uploaded his first-person video onto his social media accounts.
i've seen his twitter feed (before it was taken down), and not very far down he mentions being raised a jw.
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Billyblobber
LoveHateUni, you wrote:Then if you have been that close to someone bipolar - yes, I was. I love my mum more than anyone else in the world.
you should be familiar with the symptoms and the constant rambling subject changes and paranoia - I have some familiarity, yes. I lived with my mum for the first 18 years of my life. She refused to take lithium three times, and subsequently went 'high' and was hospitalised, on three occasions. At no time was she violent, said 'violent things', or gave any other indication towards violence. The worst thing she ever did was cheat on my dad one time with another inpatient.
wouldn't be asking those types of questions - f**k off! I will not be lectured over the internet by arrogant pr1cks. I can ask any damn question I like. Geddit?!
What concerns me is that it's only one step from blaming crimes on mental illness to blaming 'the authorities' or 'the white power structure', or similar, and regarding the perpetrator as the victim.
Here's my qualifications: although I have no formal qualifications on mental illness, I have lived with someone afflicted with bipolar disorder (my mum) for the first 18 years of my life.
From 2009 to 2011 - I received a National Diploma in Animal Management at [redacted] College, grade: distinction; merit; merit.
From 2012 to 2015 - I received a BSc (Hons) in Animal Biology at [redacted] University, grade: First Class.
Now who the f**k are you?!
You seem to be looking at things strictly through an either/or lens and missing all of the nuance that some of us are referring to, and thus arguing against something that no one is really saying.You're reading what people are saying as conflating bipolar people as a default with violence. Thus your defense of "my mom was bipolar, but she was never violent." That's not what's being said.
What is being said that if someone leans violent for whatever reason, having mental issues like bipolar mood swings or bipolar or schizophrenic paranoia or delusions can magnify it greatly. Combine that with an easy access to guns, and you have a recipe for disaster.
It's no different than the guns + curable severe depression combination. Not everyone that is severely depressed will commit suicide, but if they have easy gun access, then it's dangerous because they're more likely to be able to go through with the act.So the point I was alluding to with the statements about the symptoms was that if you understand the paranoia and hallucinations that go along with those issues, and combine it with someone who has a lot of inner anger and access to a weapon, and you have potential problems. Dylan Root is another example; he had documented mental issues, was constantly fed a ton of anti-black rhetoric including race-hating sites he participated in, which gave him a target for an outlet for his issue, and then he had access to guns and was unfortunately able to act on this combination. This guy had the crazy JW background, lived through some actual hate due to his race/sexuality mix, probably had a mental problem, from everyone that knew him's statements, had a lot of inner anger, and had access to weapons. Horrible combination of things.
As for my background, since you asked:
- I lived with a paranoid schizophrenic JW mother until my 20's. I spent a lot of time visiting her in mental hospitals and saw other brands of mental illness there, and I also saw the gradual collapse of mental institutions and all of those people released out on the street or to their families to basically fend for themselves through the 80s/90s. My mother was rarely violent, although there were times where she would go on JW inspired rants about being possessed by demons or God talking to her or Satan talking to her where she had to be restrained when off-medication. Fortunately, we had nothing more than kitchen knives in the house at those times.
- I've had 2 years of collegiate psych and social science classes.
- I dated (and am now close friends with) a professor of social work at one of the colleges in this state. I have also done a lot of side by side work with social workers dealing directly with the mentally ill and have seen the entire spectrum, from the incarcerated violent, to the non-violent - and a range of "out on the street" to "being cared for and doing well." As such, I've seen the utter lack of infrastructure and support for these people, as well as many cases of the downhill turn many make when losing familial support.
So that's the background we asked for. It seems like we relate in a few areas, especially growing up with the close parent with mental illness. The difference here is that you seem focused on assigning "blame" to the individual that commits horrible acts, where I attempt to focus on improving the social conditions that contribute to creating these situations, to help minimize these situations as a whole in the future.