Well I've always found conspiracy theories entertaining (some even intriguing). The book was alright, but knowing many of the historical errors it contained, kept me from thoroughly immersing myself in the storyline. Still haven't seen the movie though, and am curious to see whether the character of Silas in the movie will be less sympathetic to me than he was in the book.
Midget-Sasquatch
JoinedPosts by Midget-Sasquatch
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27
Da Vinci Code, what did you think?
by gaiagirl ini had recently read the book, "the da vinci code", and just saw the movie this weekend.
essentially, the plot revolves around a 2000 year old "cover-up", in which it is claimed that jesus was married to mary magdelene and had children.
this knowledge was suppressed by the early church, but kept alive by a secret society of which leonardo da vinci was a member.
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How much do you pay for your internet service?
by JH in.
i had high speed cable internet for $53 a month with videotron and i just dropped it to their lowest cable speed for $29 a month.. now i can buy an extra case of beer a month .
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Midget-Sasquatch
I guess I'm one of the minority on this board who still uses regular dialup. The fastest connection I've ever been able to have with it was around 45 Kbps. I paid $95 CAD (taxes included) for 6 months.
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A True Scholar In Our Midst, Leolaia
by Skoshi inher posts for a very long time were overflowing with an obvious scholarship.
i have avidly read her posts and have tucked away as much as my much smaller brain could be forced to take in.
i'm sure others have openly expressed their admiration and appreciation for her, but i would like to do so here.
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Midget-Sasquatch
Proplog2
If my arguments aren't sound and I can't defend them I can change them. Criticism helps a person grow.
Since your interested in growing, try positively critiquing others, by debating Leolaia or someone of like caliber, on the points and arguments being made in one of their posts. Enjoy that experience. I think they'd really enjoy it too.
Even if we all had access to the same construction materials and tools, there'd be some of us who could build better designed structures than others. Thats the reality. If mine (i.e. argument, train of though) didn't have very tight seams, wasn't sound, or was somehow lacking, I'd be a fool to diss those I could learn from. We have several incredibly well versed and thoughtful posters on JWD. Unlike other pseudo-scholars, she's intellectually honest.
If you're happy with your present contructs, then good for you. I want to fix my leaky roof and don't see the point of whining about others wanting to express their appreciation for fellow posters. Its not just an elite few who are made to feel appreciated. Others are mentioned for their empathy, insightful remarks, or wit. I'm glad I can have contact with all of them.
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Midget-Sasquatch
If the incident in the Temple with the money changers was essentially historical, then Jesus would have gotten the attention of the establishment (both Roman and Jewish). That disturbance alone would be enough to brand him as a troublemaker to be subdued. The Romans were the ones who had the ultimate power to execute him. They'd quickly use that option if someone/something threatened their control. I think that the possible way Jesus' actions could have roused some other Jewish dissidents may have been a good enough reason.
I agree with Mary that the gospels are shifting the blame and the main reasons she listed for it.
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Midget-Sasquatch
24% Evil & "the most dangerous kind"...ooh yeah.
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Kingdom News 37 sneek preview
by Midget-Sasquatch inwell i setup an account at reexaminer.org eager to make a contribution but find that uploading was disabled (for now anyway).. so here's this year's supposedly hard-hitting expose on "false religion" aka kingdumb news 37. i hope these links work for all of you.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5070/kn37p1wf7.jpg.
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4599/kn37p2rn0.jpg.
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Midget-Sasquatch
Well I setup an account at reexaminer.org eager to make a contribution but find that uploading was disabled (for now anyway).
So here's this year's supposedly hard-hitting expose on "False Religion" AKA Kingdumb News 37. I hope these links work for all of you.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5070/kn37p1wf7.jpg
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4599/kn37p2rn0.jpg
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Agnostic or Atheist?
by done4good infor all of you non-religionists out there: do you consider yourself an agnostic or atheist, and why?
it seems many ex-jws that "loose the faith" have a tendency to go straight for atheism.
i myself, would consider myself more of an agnostic, as i believe we have no real way of knowing if there is a god one way or the other, and it tends to seem just as extreme to me, to insist that there is not one.
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Midget-Sasquatch
I'm suspended between the two. Call me a fence sitter, but here's my current take: I see no objective, reliable evidence for gods and the supernatural. Virtually all of my views are materialistic, so I'm in practice an atheist. But given the limitation and subjectiveness of how we perceive our reality, its possible that some aspects of it (possibly even the kind people believe as the divine) still lie (and may very well always lie) beyond our perception. We can't really discount them as impossible. I find the notion of a divine aspect to reality intriguing. The agnostic stance allows me to entertain this concept with some rationale, despite the lack of evidence. There's no reason to even believe that this unknown is anything like the "heaven" "spirit realm" "nirvana" of the believers though. Am I an arm chair agnostic?
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Spiritual Resurrection?
by Morocco inhey everybody, i'm still pretty new here but have been lurking about the boards for sometime.
i just had a thought and was wondering what you guys think about it.
it was actually inspired by another thread, but it has to do with the resurrection.
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Midget-Sasquatch
I've learned that there are several themes/concepts in some of Jesus' dialogue in G.John that have remarkable similarities to those of non-christian mystics. Like being the "Bread from Heaven" and especially about being One with God.
Mystics assert that all of us share in the divine. We only need to break through the illusion of separateness or ignorance of our "true selves". Perhaps along a similar vein, once people learn how to commune with the Father, they can now to some extent experience eternity even before physical death. The rest of us ignorant smucks would be missing out on the "true life".
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Ever tempted to reveal yourself?
by 5thGeneration in.
being from canada and still "active", i always wonder whether i know other canadians on this board.
trust me, some of you would know my family.. however, still being "active", i guess i'll have to wait to see some day.. anyone else same deal?.
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Midget-Sasquatch
I've been tempted many many times. But I don't see it happening until I've moved very far away from family.
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JW doctrine aside, where has your research of Christianity taken you to....
by evergreen ini felt i would ask this question in the friends forum as it seems to get the most viewing.
my question is this.
leaving aside your research of what you have found out about the organisation and focusing more on your research of the "christian faith".
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Midget-Sasquatch
Where do you feel your research has brought you to at this point today?
As far as available evidence goes, there's no way to know for sure whats "true" christianity. No way of knowing what the historical Jesus said about himself or did, or whether there even was a historical Jesus at all. Like people have been saying all along....alot of it can only be taken on faith.
Do you feel that you are much more closer to God today than when you were a Jdub?
I never felt close to God while growing up as a JW (nor did I believe most of what I was learning at catholic school). Exploring the concepts of God, divinity, and the nature of Jesus, on my own is very interesting. I can get enthused about it, and have always found the persona of Jesus in the Gospels appealing. So in that respect, I'm much closer. I've also only had subjective moments which I can only guess are akin to spiritual ones, when I was firmly out of the JW mindset.
Do you feel that you are closer to finding the correct path or at least a path that you sense feels to be the right one? Why?
I don't think there's any way of knowing for sure. Many religions have similar basic ethics though which I feel can work equally well in bringing us all closer to a kinder, more just society for all.
finally do you have a strong faith in the Bible or have you lost your faith in the Bible? and again why?
No. I never really had it either. I realized early on that I was naturally unbelieving about alot of things. Then learning more about how the Bible was all brought together, worked over for different agendas, etc. only gave me confirmation of my feelings. I'm only talking about the Bible here, as the Word of God. Some basic take home messages in it are certainly of value, but then so are alot of other religious writings. My folks should have named me Thomas. (My given name is sort of ironic considering what it means in Italian).
