AlmostAtheist

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Posts by AlmostAtheist

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  6

  WT 606/607 BC DATE COMES ROM A BAPTIST MINNISTER!

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  joh dowling wrote a critique of william miller's predictions in 1840.. ironically his may be source of wt ideas concerning 606/607 bc.

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  AlmostAtheist

  A good discussion of 1914/607 can be found here, including a reference to John Dowling: http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/1914.htm

  Dave
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  20

  ADVANCE MEDICAL DIRECTIVE sheet on Blood----Check it Out

  by Mary in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i'm not sure if this has been posted before, but i acquired this 'points to consider' about what a dub is willing to accept or not accept when it comes to blood.

  as per usual, it appears that they've purposely made this very confusing and they're speaking out both sides of their mouth.

  on page 1, it seems one of the options is using your own blood: "...during the course of a surgical operation, i accept all medical procedures involving the use of my own blood except...".

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  AlmostAtheist

  >>purposely confusing so that most will just say "no blood". That way if they die, the Society can gleefully point out that they "had a choice" to take blood fractions and they refused so it's their own fault.

  I doubt not a bit that you're right, Mary. This has CYA all over it.

  Dave
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  17

  A small, still voice -- ringing out!

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you're unfortunate enough to have never read any of poppers or jamesthomas's posts, you're really and truly missing out.

  it's not that they say anything all that astounding, it's more that they point out how very little has to be said.

  it's not what they add, as much as what they allow you to drop.

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  AlmostAtheist

  Examples... hmmm... well, see, it's not that easy. The best advice I can give is to go read 20 random posts from JamesThomas (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/member/7427/default.ashx). Do the same for poppers (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/member/12671/default.ashx). Then get the book The Power of Now and read it thru, slowly.

  It's not something I can point to and say "there it is!". Here's one small example, from a recent post by JT:

  I don't know about today's Indians, but my sense is that those who came before had no need of a book about God, for they had an intimate marrage with the present moment of nature and life. Whereas the western mind would rather read about a tree than actually sit silent and respectful with one and open to its secrets.

  It almost sounds hokey when you read any one post, like "In order to defeat your enemies, you must first defeat yourself" -- that sort of thing. But after you consider it, and apply it (and even that's not the right word), it starts to make sense.

  The general idea is that YOU are not YOUR THOUGHTS. Your thoughts are products of your mind, which is also not you. You are the present, living organism that uses the mind and body to accomplish necessary tasks. When you stop your thoughts, silence the nearly-constantly running background noise of your mind, and let yourself simply exist in the present moment... well, it's a wonderful feeling. It's worth pursuing. (Which again, isn't the right word.) ;-)

  It's not about "the soul", and it may all be a metaphor in the end. But it's a powerful, useful metaphor.

  I don't mean to evangelize here, this thread isn't about that. I've only noticed what appeared to be a trend and wanted to see if anyone else had noticed it, and indeed if it was a trend at all. (After all, you only see thing in the clouds that are already on your mind)

  Dave
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  17

  A small, still voice -- ringing out!

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you're unfortunate enough to have never read any of poppers or jamesthomas's posts, you're really and truly missing out.

  it's not that they say anything all that astounding, it's more that they point out how very little has to be said.

  it's not what they add, as much as what they allow you to drop.

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  AlmostAtheist

  If you're unfortunate enough to have never read any of poppers or JamesThomas's posts, you're really and truly missing out. It's not that they say anything all that astounding, it's more that they point out how very little has to be said. It's not what they add, as much as what they allow you to drop.

  At first I only noticed JamesThomas's posts to this effect. Then I saw poppers. Now eclipse seems to be speaking that same language, and I've also seen others hinting at it.

  Is there a small ripple running through our community? A trend toward this view of the Now, ala The Power of Now?

  Or am I imagining things again? Gotta cut back on my bleach consumption...

  Dave
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  46

  GOD: GOING.....GOING...Going...going....GONE!

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  think about this.. go way back...far far back in history.. go back before the internet.

  go back farther.. go back before newspapers, tv and radio.. go waaaaay back before there was public education.. return to a time when there were no universities or libraries.. go even farther back in time and return to when it was thousands of years before any modern era.. people got their ideas from their families and neighbors period!.

  everything was rumor.

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  AlmostAtheist

  This is the sort of thing that also makes me believe strongly that there is no sort of god at all.

  Men saw the Sun. They didn't know what it was, but it was generally good to them. They called it a god.

  Men saw lightning. They didn't know what it was and couldn't reproduce it. They said it came from God.

  Plants grew because of god. Children were born by god's blessing, or withheld on his curse.

  As our knowledge grew, we learned about the sun, and lightning, and growth. There may be a god, but he isn't the sun, he doesn't make lightning, and he doesn't bless/curse us into becoming parents.

  One of the few things left is 'how did life originate'? It would seem like quite a stroke of luck for humans to have been wrong about god on all these other things, but happen to have this one right. Possible, but unlikely.

  I wonder what Terry's great-great-[thousand years worth of great's]-grandson's post will look like?

  Dave
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  5

  Students invent Powdered Alcohol

  by kwr in

  1. social
  2. current

  just add water - students invent alcohol powder wed jun 6, 2007 10:13am edt

  amsterdam (reuters) - dutch students have developed powdered alcohol which they say can be sold legally to minors.

  the latest innovation in inebriation, called booz2go, is available in 20-gramme packets that cost 1-1.5 euros ($1.35-$2).

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  AlmostAtheist

  Sounds like a great way to bring back pixie stix!

  Dave
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  25

  JUST FOR FUN: Pranks you've played (computer or other)

  by SnakesInTheTower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so the post from firenbandits http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/134960/1.ashx and the subsequent story reply had me thinking this would be a fun thread.. to start, i've copied a couple of the replies that were on that thread that had me dying laughing....and then one of my own.

  what's the greatest prank you pulled or you seen pulled on someone (or pulled on you?)...

  hope this brings smiles and lots of replies..... snakesinthetower (of the prankster sheep .

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  AlmostAtheist

  I worked for a tech support company. We had a bank of modems and a ton of phone lines. It was a unix-based, terminal-driven environment; we used the modems to dial into customers' computers to diagnose and fix problems. We also had an intercom system. Pick up the phone, hit #74 (or something like that) and you were on the intercom.

  So I would occasionally set up a script to pick up a modem, dial #74, then play Mary-had-a-little-lamb in key tones over the intercom. To my knowledge, no one ever traced it back to me. :)

  Dave
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  6

  New Street Witnessing Tactic revealed @ DC

  by Mr Hyde in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  AlmostAtheist

  Here's a guy being creative, trying to get his pioneer hours in, and you just KNOW some elder's gonna ride him about the beard...

  Dave
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  21

  I am back online!!!!!!!

  by purplesofa in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thanks to littlerockguy.

  hey to everyone!!!!.

  sure have missed having a computer at home.. i am so happy ........missed everyone from here.. purps.

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  AlmostAtheist

  Welcome back, Purps! And thanks LRG!

  Dave
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  38

  If someone told you they would give you $10 M,,,,,, if you,,,,,,

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just closed your eyes, threw a dart at the world map, and would have to take the 10 million, get on a plane within the hour, move to that location, and never look back, contact your friends or relatives again.

  no rule changes.

  you can take your mate and/or minor children, but can tell no one else.

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  AlmostAtheist

  No way! We've never had that beer, so you've never seen my dart throwing prowess. I'd randomly smack it in the middle of WeHateAtheistStan!

  Now if we were talking a map of the U.S., or even North America, then we could talk and for far less than $10m.

  Dave