Posts by AlmostAtheist

17

Cartoon: WT Jenga

by Severus in

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AlmostAtheist

Considering it's the "child abuse" block that's being pulled out, this thread seems particularly timely!

bttt

Dave

60

The Evolution of Judas Iscariot

by Leolaia in

the story of judas iscariot in the gospels provides the reader with a fascinating picture of how the plot and details of the narratives were gleaned from the ot and embellished in different ways.

the evangelists and the tradents that preceded them looked to the ot (and other affiliated literature) for information on what happened to jesus, employing a haggadaic method of biblical interpretation similar to how rabbis and authors of pseudepigraphs in the second temple era expanded the brief stories of the patriarchs in genesis with reams of new detail and legendary episodes -- through the means of exegesis aimed to penetrate beyond a plain reading of the text to "fill in the blanks" of what must have happened.

the authors of the gospels also scoured through the ot to discover what was supposed to happen to jesus and wrote their stories accordingly.

AlmostAtheist

So the evening is winding down, Simpson's et al is not running due to Nascar, you're not smashed yet despite the 3-day weekend, and you're itchin' for something to sink your teeth into.

This thread is for you.

2,000 years of Judas mythology condensed into one post, with a couple thousand years of prefiguring tossed in for good measure.

If you've never read it, you owe it to yourself. Enjoy!

Dave

2

HAVE ANYONE HERE EVER READ THE ARK FILES?

by badboy in

jw
friends

any takers?

AlmostAtheist

Do you mean: The Ark Files, fun facts about animals?

If not, can you provide a link?

Dave

16

Open Marriages And Open RelationshipsDoes It Matter?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

open marriages and open relationshipsdoes it matter?looking back in retrospect to my days as a jehovahs witness i agreed with the societys.

mandate of one man for one woman or the biblical the two shall become one flesh per-.

spective.

AlmostAtheist

>>but the ONS may not agree and can take weeks or months to get rid of and that kind of hassle really isn't worth it.

Yeah, sorry about the misunderstanding on that one, Crumpy. But did you REALLY need to take out the restraining order? I mean damn... ;-)

Dave

41

How do you think God feels about atheists? Angry? Amused?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

hey guys, .

have you ever considered what god thinks about atheists?

assume for a moment that he/she/it is there: what's the reaction to non-believers?

AlmostAtheist

Hey Guys,

Have you ever considered what God thinks about atheists? Assume for a moment that he/she/it is there: what's the reaction to non-believers?

I can see him all upset -- A perfect, ordered universe and we assume it "just happened". WTF?

I can see him amused -- Isn't that cute? Just look at them down there.

I can see him complacent -- Eh, if I were in their shoes, I might think the same thing.

Your thoughts?

Dave

16

Open Marriages And Open RelationshipsDoes It Matter?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

open marriages and open relationshipsdoes it matter?looking back in retrospect to my days as a jehovahs witness i agreed with the societys.

mandate of one man for one woman or the biblical the two shall become one flesh per-.

spective.

AlmostAtheist

There seems to be something inherent in us, something very low-level and animal, that makes us feel more strongly connected to a person while and after having sex with them. To expect that you can happily screw everything that moves without emotional repercussions is naive, in my opinion. People may SAY they are just "bumping uglies" (tossed in because I loved that phrase!) but their heart is going to be pinging them with "fall in love" messages. You may personally be able to ignore those messages, but can all of your partners?

I'm not saying it's simply unworkable, but I do believe it would be a significant challenge to pull it off without emotional injury.

Dave

12

Sci-fi fans or not? Speak Klingon? Or are you a face hugger?

by Crumpet in

jw
friends

it occurred to me during my meanderings through london last night that invariably boyfriends describe me in the context of science fiction.

i like geeky guys a lot so that is to be expected.

but moving on to the dubious similarities - the first called me a a face hugger - nice, unless you have watched aliens in which case you will know what a face hugger is.

AlmostAtheist

The only sci-fi character I can recall being related to was Data from Star Trek:TNG. Not because he is smart, or strong, but because when he expresses emotions, they appear to be faked. I do find myself thinking, "Hmmm... this is probably one of those times when a person expects to be compassionately looked at. [look at them compassionately] Yes, that seems to have been well-received."

I also get an odd glance now and again when I refer to a person as "that human over there".

Personally, I think I'm more in the Scarecrow range, ala "if I only had a brain...." ;-)

Dave

19

New World Translation on Jeporady

by moomanchu in

is this true, e-mail i got from mom, sounds like bs to me.. recently on jeopardy on tv...one of the questions was.....what is.

>the most accurate translation of the holy scriptures??

no one got the>correct answer, so alex trebek said "new world translation of the holy>scriptures, printed by watchtower bible tract society.... ]>this following is worth reading!

AlmostAtheist

>>What is the most accurate translation of the Holy Scriptures?

The quick-killer on this one is the fact that Jeopardy doesn't ask questions, it gives answers. It would have been "This is the most accurate translation of the Holy Scriptures". Of course "Holy Scriptures" is a phrase I seriously doubt they would have used, since that could mean the Koran or the Book of Mormon, or whatever you consider holy.

I wrote to that Bible translator guy (DeBuhn? BeDuhn?) asking if the quote of his they used was accurate and in context. He replied that it was, but didn't comment further. Apparently they didn't misrepresent him.

Dave

3

Witnesses on federal and state assistance programs

by AZ in

jw
friends

has anyone ever noticed the amount of witnesses that receive assistance through state and federal programs, like welfare, food stamps, medicaid, wic...i'm sure it varied from area to area but does anyone feel they noticed people within the congregation were using it too much.... i was just thinking about it.

i guess cause the other day i had an appt with my financial advisor (i'm so glad i'm saving for my retirement!!

) and there's a restaraunt below the offices...my advisor was telling me that when they get there in the morning the cleaning man at the restaraunt always has his music turned up all the way...she said people at the office were complaining.

AlmostAtheist

An elder/pioneer in my old congregation told me he feels bad taking welfare, but if he took a job he couldn't pioneer. Even then -- at like 19 yrs old -- I KNEW something was wrong with that.

Dave

10

playing the part

by aoxo in

jw
friends

anyone ever give a demonstration at the assembly's?

like a life experiance or something.

i did a couple of times, something stupid like how i placed mags at school or something like that.

AlmostAtheist

A CO bragged to me and several others at dinner once, about this very thing. He had a pioneer sister giving her story; her car died, she couldn't afford another one, so she was going to stop pioneering. Then she decided to try to get rides from others in the congregation instead, and thus continue pioneering. "And you're still pioneering today, isn't that right?" "That's right, Brother Whatever." That's where the experience as delivered from the stage ended.

The REST of the story goes that shortly after she told him of her plan (which she never tried to actually implement) someone GAVE her a car. SHE wanted to tell the assembly about it, but HE told her that it was a better "more upbuilding" experience without the gift. So he had her leave it out.

Thus, every poor bastard sitting in the audience thinking, "My car died! At last, I have an excuse to quit pioneering!" had the rug yanked out from under him because sister twenty-something was able to pioneer (apparently) without a car.

I can still recall the smug look on his face as he recounted this lie. So very proud of himself.

Dave