Pole

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Posts by Pole

• 
  4

  Self-replicating / repairing robot proof-of-concept

  by seattleniceguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  fellow techno-geeks, prepare to be wowed.

  here's the article:.

  http://www.physorg.com/news4055.html.

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  Pole

  Very much "a proof-of-concept" at this stage. Where concept stands for a simplification of reality that pleases the aesthetics "module" of our cognition.

  Pole
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  45

  Anyone ever hear from....

  by IP_SEC in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ol' pole?

  aint seen him around these parts in like a month i think.

  you on a jwd sabbatical guy?

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  Pole

  Hi IP_SEC.
  
  Thanks for remembering me!!!
  
  I logon on the site in the lurk mode every now and then. I'm sure I'll be back and posting soon.
  
  Nice to see you've become a JWD Jedi.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Pole
• 
  16

  Bless you Papa

  by AuntieJane in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the pope is called papa in italy.

  he may be a shell of the man he was, but many in this world have experience peace because of the work he did in his lifetime.

  here is how he was instrumental in fighting communism.

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  Pole

  When I think of Catholics, all I see is the shameful wanton destruction done by Hitler that was supported by the same Pope you love so dearly when he was just a Priest at the time...

  But it is amazing how people can change...

  Melissa, think twice before you post shameful nonsense like that again. Karol Wojtyla supporting Hitler as a young priest? You didn't even bother to check that he was ordained a priest in 1946 after the war and after Hitler's death?

  Sigh...

  Pole
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  16

  Earthquakes - a sign of the End?

  by Pole in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  let?s assume earthquakes were to be part of ?the sign of the end?

  given by jesus.

  if we follow this logic, then what does it mean in real terms?

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  Pole

  peacefulpete,

  You have to step away from the Adventist spin and see Mark 13 in it's cultural context to understand what I mean.

  As an non-believer, I have no investment in the Adventist or any fundamentalist perspective, but I now agree that my JW past may have limited the range of possible interpretations I considered for this type of "prophecies". To put it more bluntly, I'm beginning to see what you meant now. Thank you again for providing me with this new perspective. Something profitable (at est for me) came out of my "unprofitable" questions.

  One more question: Would you say that the concept of "prophecies" (at least in the Adventist sense) is totally out of keeping with the historical context of the New Testament? Sorry if this question sounds lame. I refute prophecies at a different level (for me they're metaphysical nonsense), so I'd appreciate your historical perspective.

  Regards,

  Pole
• 
  16

  Earthquakes - a sign of the End?

  by Pole in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  let?s assume earthquakes were to be part of ?the sign of the end?

  given by jesus.

  if we follow this logic, then what does it mean in real terms?

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  Pole

  AlanF,

  Pole, you should know not to ask unprofitable questions.

  Oh yeah it's meant to be a non-profit question. I was hoping those who believe natural disasters are "a divine sign" would show up on this thread.

  pp ,

  First there is nothing said about an INCREASE in earthquakes. It simply says there was to be earthquakes in typical apocalypic style. Earthquakes and plagues etc. were a traditional prequel to a big event. It not a 'sign' as much as a statement of doom and despair. The entire sequence was written after 70 to make it appear that Jesus had 'fortold' the fall of the Temple. The author of Mark 13 never even pretended to fortell events 2000 years later.

  Well, you mean "there were to be earthquakes in typical apocaliyptic style", so there's nothing special about them? I still think for earthquakes to be a "sign of doom and despair" they have to occur in a special way just like plagues. The fact they are mentioned in apposition to the fulfillment of a prophecy does indicate some correlation, doesn't it? Otherwise it makes no sense to mention them. If that doesn't mean an increased frequency or a greater effect then what does it mean?

  Of course I fully agree this "prophecy" had nothing to do with any distant future. Thanks for your answer anyway.

  JH ,

  I don't know why Jesus gave that sign, it has nothing to do with man's spirituality.

  Thanks for an honest answer. I assume you are a believer (?).

  homme perdu ,

  Pole that is a question that should be asked to the majority of Christiandom and not just the JW's, excluding 1914.

  You mean most Christians believe there is some special meaning to natural disasters?

  gaiagirl ,

  Pole
• 
  16

  Earthquakes - a sign of the End?

  by Pole in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  let?s assume earthquakes were to be part of ?the sign of the end?

  given by jesus.

  if we follow this logic, then what does it mean in real terms?

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  Pole
• 
  16

  Earthquakes - a sign of the End?

  by Pole in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  let?s assume earthquakes were to be part of ?the sign of the end?

  given by jesus.

  if we follow this logic, then what does it mean in real terms?

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  Pole

  Let?s assume earthquakes were to be part of ?the sign of the end? given by Jesus. If we follow this logic, then what does it mean in real terms? It means that within one year between 1913 and 1914, which is when Jesus sat on his heavenly throne, an unprecedented geological revolution must have taken place. Earthquakes had been a rare occurrence up until 1914 (yeah right), but in that particular year they began striking on a scale which had never been observed before.
  
  The question now is: who or what caused this sudden increase in seismological activity?
  
  1) Was it Jehovah?s Spirit? If so, then is Jehovah responsible for the deaths of millions, including his faithful witlesses?
  2) Was it Satan? Then how does it relate to the claim that Satan cannot kill Jehovah?s servants directly?
  3) Was it some mysterious deterministic force whose effects were so easy for Jehovah to predict? If so, then are we all subject to predestination?
  
  Any other suggestions? How would a JW handle this question?
  
  Regards,
  
  Pole
• 
  37

  A Poem for Jehovah's Witnesses and Apostates

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in broken images he is quick, thinking in clear images; .

  i am slow, thinking in broken images.

  i become sharp, mistrusting my broken images, .

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  Pole

  slim,

  Pole - there is a difference between apathy and a belief that someone else is wrong. Most people don't care/have not even heard about Jehovah's Witnesses.

  That's right. I should have said 99% of people who have heard about the witnesses and their basic beliefs. Still a very wide application of the concept of "apostate" in the first version you've provided.

  2. Apostates who believe that Jehovah's Witnesses do not have the truth

  3. Ordinary people who fail to believe that Jehovah's Witnesses have the truth

  Very confusing. Lots of loaded language here. "Fail to believe" means what? They are too stupid to understand Jehovah will kill them and their children?

  As for your whole categorisation - I don't think you can judge people like that and mark out a separate category for yourself only and perhaps for a select few. Again - it all seems to be part of an attention-seeking game, but maybe I'm mistaken - (See? I can only judge you by what you post here). Anyway, you are making a huge, fundamental (and IMO erroneous) assumption. You impose an arbitrary "worldview" in the following concept:

  The Truth

  Please tell me exactly what you mean by "the Truth"? The truth about what? What is so true about JWs that is not true about any other religious group? The truth about WT leaders changing the world when they get transformed into heavenly kings? You see, if you keep avoiding being specific - we are not getting anywhere. I won't pretend I understand what you mean when you say "the truth", because I don't.

  I could say the JWs have "the truth" about pets because there was a nice Awake article on them recently. And thus I could reason that not all their beliefs are false. Which means they "might have the "Truth""?

  So please give me a very short list of those JW truths. This will make me content.

  Pole
• 
  37

  A Poem for Jehovah's Witnesses and Apostates

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in broken images he is quick, thinking in clear images; .

  i am slow, thinking in broken images.

  i become sharp, mistrusting my broken images, .

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  Pole

  1. Apostates are people who believe that Jehovah's Witnesses do not have the truth.

  
  
  That would mean 99% of world population are "apostate". I think you're overusing the term.
  
  

  2. See above. Such a single belief may not be so important to be called a "core set of views" were it not for the amount of time and energy apostates expend on such a belief (just as Jehovah's Witnesses do on the converse - that Jehovah's Witnesses do have the truth).

  
  
  You used the term "worldview" on the other thread, so I thought you meant something more encompassing. In fact my view on Jehovah's Witnesses is only a very small part of my worldview now.
  
  But if you mean ex-witnesses who spent years in the religion and oftentimes lost entire families to the phoney doctrines and are now spending their time trying to prevent others from making the same mistake... What's wrong with that? I'd agree there are some who replace one set of doctrines with another set of doctrines, but this doesn't apply to most posters I know (be it only from their posts) here. Besides you shouldn't assume just because you "know" someone from his/her posts here, the person spends their entire life reliving the JW experience.
  
  

  3. See number 1.

  
  
  So there is no common set of views other than the view that JWs are wrong? Is that it? Of course they're 90% wrong, like most religious fundamentalists. Can you give me a few examples of their core doctrines which they got right?
  
  Pole
• 
  37

  A Poem for Jehovah's Witnesses and Apostates

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in broken images he is quick, thinking in clear images; .

  i am slow, thinking in broken images.

  i become sharp, mistrusting my broken images, .

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  Pole

  Once again, sbf, you have absolutely nothing specific to say. Prove me wrong:
  
  1) Who are apostates?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  common for all apostates are so biased and unsubstantiated?
  
  
  
  
  
  Pole