Posts by economy

5

The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards

by Slidin Fast in

someone raised this book/film to me recently as scientific argument for intelligent design.

i have neither read it or seen it as a film (i hesitate to classify it as a documentary).

having done a little research it seems to be at the least be viewed as controversial by the scientific community.

economy

Both are right.

It looks to me that God has confidence in His design (earth and humans …). He knows humans can easily solve their problems, IF THEY WANT TO. For example,

1) Humans can take the good points of all political systems and design a new one (the same can be done with religion, language …)

2) Humans can copy the habits of some exceptional humans who live a healthy life-style diseases-free till their death.

3) Humans can replace the present judicial system of punishment to the criminals with a system that makes the criminal do double compensation to the victim which will eradicate the crime itself (if the criminal is bankrupt, compensation should be taken from his relatives, community he lives in, religion he belongs to—all of whom are responsible for the building of individuals)

Since humans have the ability to solve all their problems and have ability to become even like God, God will not intervene in the affairs of mankind. This means:

1) God designed the earth for human habitation and left to humans to determine their destiny (which means theists are right)

2) God will not intervene when humans misuse their free-will (which will be interpreted as He does not exit—which means atheist are also right).

53

Some Questions About Jesus

by Coded Logic in

why didn't jesus ever write anything?

why are there no letters to jesus?

no painting of jesus from that time?

economy

Coded Logic

Bible itself answers for all the questions: “In the abundance of words transgression ceaseth not, And whoso is restraining his lips is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19)

If the Bible writers had restricted themselves and given us just the gist of what God wants us to do, there would not have been any inconsistencies. Problem lies with writers who complete with each other in painting their own version about truth and God's messenger.

5

What does God really convey through Jesus?

by economy in

bible shows that jesus was passionate about people receiving `life in all its fullness' in the here and now, he loved fiercely, challenged corruption and hypocrisy of religious authority, feasted with the marginalized, chastised the holier-than-thou types, healed the sick, fed the hungry, restored broken lives, taught through stories and offered a drastically new kingdom where the last would be first and those that served would be known as greatest..... so good a personality, and a supreme ideal indeed to be imitated..

yet what was his finality?

rejection by people (and even by his own disciples who witnessed all supernatural miraclesincluding his resurrecting the dead) and a cruel and torturous death..

economy

Crazyguy

Nice thought! Story about the graves and saints coming out resurrected at the time of Jesus's death is really the proof that some of the Bible writers were thoughtless!

5

What does God really convey through Jesus?

by economy in

bible shows that jesus was passionate about people receiving `life in all its fullness' in the here and now, he loved fiercely, challenged corruption and hypocrisy of religious authority, feasted with the marginalized, chastised the holier-than-thou types, healed the sick, fed the hungry, restored broken lives, taught through stories and offered a drastically new kingdom where the last would be first and those that served would be known as greatest..... so good a personality, and a supreme ideal indeed to be imitated..

yet what was his finality?

rejection by people (and even by his own disciples who witnessed all supernatural miraclesincluding his resurrecting the dead) and a cruel and torturous death..

economy

Cofty,

What you said is correct. There are some negative things too Jesus did (such as calling a Phoenician woman “dog,” validating slavery …… Mathew 15:26; 24:45) People can give explanations with Greet terminology, context, other Scriptures …., yet they are only excuses and deviations from the absolute truth Jesus himself declared in Mathew 5:44-48.

My point was this: Even if we take only the good Jesus did, still it lacks credibility as fact. Even fiction should follow some logic. You cannot make a fiction in which a person doing good only to receive the bad in the end. Why did his trained disciples who witnessed all his supernatural miracles run away at the time Jesus was being framed unjustly (whereas it is history that even criminals come forward to support their leaders when they are in trouble)?

10

Embarrassing relatives.

by Xanthippe in

my cousin phoned yesterday to tell me my jw sister sent her a sympathy card for her husband's death and tucked inside there was something else, she lowered her voice.

what was it i wondered?

a nice letter, pictures of her new grandchild (she lives many miles away)?

economy

When I went through the similar experience, I tried to console myself saying: "that is why they are called relatives (not absolutes) which also may mean unreliable

5

What does God really convey through Jesus?

by economy in

bible shows that jesus was passionate about people receiving `life in all its fullness' in the here and now, he loved fiercely, challenged corruption and hypocrisy of religious authority, feasted with the marginalized, chastised the holier-than-thou types, healed the sick, fed the hungry, restored broken lives, taught through stories and offered a drastically new kingdom where the last would be first and those that served would be known as greatest..... so good a personality, and a supreme ideal indeed to be imitated..

yet what was his finality?

rejection by people (and even by his own disciples who witnessed all supernatural miraclesincluding his resurrecting the dead) and a cruel and torturous death..

economy

Bible shows that Jesus was passionate about people receiving `life in all its fullness' in the here and now, he loved fiercely, challenged corruption and hypocrisy of religious authority, feasted with the marginalized, chastised the holier-than-thou types, healed the sick, fed the hungry, restored broken lives, taught through stories and offered a drastically new Kingdom where the last would be first and those that served would be known as greatest….. so good a personality, and a supreme ideal indeed to be imitated.

Yet what was his finality? Rejection by people (and even by his own disciples who witnessed all supernatural miracles—including his resurrecting the dead) and a cruel and torturous death.

It is true that Gospels report that God resurrected Jesus. However, the way each of them differ in reporting resurrection details does more harm than help to God and Jesus. If the resurrection was a fact, why can’t the reporting match the majesty of that truth leaving not even a slightest shadow of doubt?

When something is orchestrated by God, it should reflect the majesty of God. But here in the portrayal of Jesus it is not only that majesty is lacking, but it seems also to be counter-productive:

JESUS SOWED WHAT IS GOOD, AND REAPED WHAT IS BAD!

What kind of message is this? How can this plot inspire readers?

Fundamentalists may say “it was God’s will that Jesus should suffer and receive glory from God later.”

But REASON suggests that “it can’t be God’s will the Jesus (or anyone for that matter) should suffer for someone else’s sin to receive glory later!

6

Memorial Invitation campaign—A bitter experience

by economy in

last year when i went to distribute memorial invitation, i had a bad time talking to a house-holder who happened to be an ex-nun.

she said: you are wasting your time.

jesus had no idea that his death would have a sin-atoning value (which is of course a later invention by later theologians.

economy

Last year when I went to distribute Memorial Invitation, I had a bad time talking to a house-holder who happened to be an ex-nun. She said: “You are wasting your time. Jesus had no idea that his death would have a sin-atoning value (which is of course a later invention by later theologians. Jesus was very clear about his future role when he said: ‘“Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” (Mathew 16:27) “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) Anyone can prove whatever he wants from the Bible. Yet what Jesus declared did not come true even in his own life: “Whoever takes up the sword shall perish by the sword. And he did not take the sword, yet perished on the cross.”’

Though I had answer from the Bible, I knew that it was not going to work with her. Yet I was deeply affected by her statement:

“Anyone can prove whatever he wants from the Bible.”

11

If the Jehovah's Witnesses were really the Faithful & Discrete Slave active today, they wouldn't be full of Bullshit

by Finkelstein in

if the watchtower corporation and the jehovah's witnesses were really the faithful & discrete slave active today, they wouldn't be full of bullshit .. this is a logical statement given the history of this religious institute / publishing house.

i said it before and i'll say it again, that the majority of the doctrines created by the wts were intensionally focused toward enhancing the proliferation of the wts own publications.

this has been a constant underlining agenda for the wts all throughout the last century, the end of the 19th century and still to this day.

economy

Finkelstein

You are right.

If JWs were the appointed channel to give “food at the proper time,” they would not have appeared on the world scene so early (in 1870’s). Filling the earth with “good-news of the kingdom” is NOW just a matter of few days with the advance of modern means of communication. With its ever-changing teachings, it just failed miserably to represent the God of the Bible who “never changes.” (James 1:17)

8

Book of Job can help despite its absurdities!

by economy in

we are incapable of grasping stories that do not follow rational sequence of cause and effect.

one such typical example is book of job:.

1) it presents a god who tries to please his adversary at the cost of great suffering to his beloved ones..

economy

Phizzy

As usual, you have the final word--so adorable you are.

8

Book of Job can help despite its absurdities!

by economy in

we are incapable of grasping stories that do not follow rational sequence of cause and effect.

one such typical example is book of job:.

1) it presents a god who tries to please his adversary at the cost of great suffering to his beloved ones..

economy

We are incapable of grasping stories that do not follow rational sequence of cause and effect. One such typical example is book of Job:

1) It presents a God who tries to please His adversary at the cost of great suffering to His beloved ones.

2) God cannot have an adversary as no one can qualify to be an adversary of the Almighty.

3) Satan is obviously the creation of the faulty human imagination (of the time when humans believed the shape of earth was flat that prompted Satan to take Jesus to the top of the mountain so that “all the kingdoms of the world could be visible to him and Jesus.”)

4) God is supposedly asking: “Now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves” (Job 42:8)—something God Himself says He will never ask anyone to do (Isaiah 66:3).

Yet the only good we find in the book of Job is that Job knows how to deal with absurdities of life. He told his wife: ‘We do not seek explanation for the good things life gives to us. So should be the case when we receive the unpleasant.’ (Job 2:10)