Posts by stevenyc

90

The Science of Belief

by LittleToe in

time and again the refrain is heard that belief and science are mutually exclusive, that belief somehow corrupts good science, that belief is not empirical.

i'd like to throw another slant on that, if i may.. belief is an inherent part of the human psyche.

the desire to know more about our environment and how it all works is also an inherent part of our psyche.

From the posts already, uh, posted, I can see that we all pretty much agree on the terms and definitions being laid out. Belief, and also faith, play a part in our human existence, and most likely of our development not only in our civilizations but also our species. Maybe it's part of our ability to make assumed decisions, be it choosing the correct direction to locate water or whether to trust a neighboring village.

Your comments about prayer though may need to be thrashed out a bit. I would offer the suggestion that the feeling of comfort from conversing your worries to God is more in line with comforting the inner child's worry. Asking one's heavenly Father to recognise and sooth ones bruised knee, and stop the tears.

There is no doubt from me that this works for a large percentage of believers. But, then, so do placebo anesthetics. The body and mind are incredible things. Which makes sense considering what they went through to get us us here.

I spent some time in Thailand with a swami. He explained that the closest a human can get to bliss is in the deepest of sleep. At this point we are the closest to God. SO, it's interesting that you mention sleep.

I'm not sure if I agree with you regarding our atrophying of the search of the 'inner' world. If you are talking about people in general then I would say that that search is at the highest it's ever been. From yoga to chiropractic, Kabbalah to vegan, meditation to art, people are investigating rather than quoting the 'religion' on their birth certificate. - Then again, I may have misunderstood you comment.

steve

101

Strange picture In J W publication

by BluesBrother in

.this "new world scene " is from p 190 of the "bible teach " book dated 2005.. it is just a joke.

they have transformed their key belief into a cartoon type kiddies scene.

is there no thought of child safety?

stevenyc

I like the way they portray people from India enjoying a grass house in the new system, while us in the west will have lovely brick and timber homes.

steve

145

--- A Question for ALL Atheistic ex-Dubs----

by gordon d in

jw
friends

which child is wiser?

while starting a hunt for easter eggs one child runs to a big tree and finds nothing then that childs brother says, go look under that rock i promise youll find one there!

the child throws down their basket and says, i give up!

stevenyc

Gordon,

Not a very good illustration. The eggs referred to are 'tangible' and can be verified by the children who find them by use of all their senses. I am yet to meet a sane person who has either seen, heard, felt, smelt or tasted 'God' in a literal way. When God believers use these terms they are always metaphors to describe some sort of 'inner feeling' or 'inner knowing'.

A better story would have been a bunch of kids denying that the kids had found the eggs. That what they had actually found wasn't the 'real' eggs, because that would be to simple. If they were the real eggs, then the search would be off, and then they would have to ponder 'Is this all there is to playtime?"

steve

34

Discussion on beliefnet

by siegswife in

i'm hoping that someone can help me out a bit with a response to someone over at beliefnet.

they gyst of the thing is this person keeps insisting that, according to some elders and active jw's they know, the wts does not nor has ever claimed that a person has to be associated with the org to be approved by god.

this person claims the wts says that "christianity" is god's organization and that as long as a person conforms their life to the bible they don't have to be a jw to be approved by him.. they also say that the wts doesn't teach that all other religions are worshipping (giving honor) to satan.

stevenyc

Here you go:

http://www.watchtower.org/e/jt/article_08.htm

Do the Witnesses believe that their religion is the only right one?
Anyone who is serious about his religion should think that it is the right one. Otherwise, why would he or she be involved in it? Christians are admonished: "Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine." (1 Thessalonians 5:21) A person should make sure that his beliefs can be supported by the Scriptures, for there is only one true faith. Ephesians 4:5 confirms this, mentioning "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Jesus did not agree with the modern, relaxed view that there are many roads, many religions, all leading to salvation. Instead, he said: "Narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it." Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they have found it. Otherwise, they would look for another religion.—Matthew 7:14.

Do they believe that they are the only ones who will be saved?
No. Millions that have lived in centuries past and who were not Jehovah's Witnesses will come back in a resurrection and have an opportunity for life. Many now living may yet take a stand for truth and righteousness before the "great tribulation," and they will gain salvation. Moreover, Jesus said that we should not be judging one another. We look at the outward appearance; God looks at the heart. He sees accurately and judges mercifully. He has committed judgment into Jesus' hands, not ours.—Matthew 7:1-5; 24:21; 25:31.

steve

15

Can i get caught Voting?

by Smoky in

jw
friends

i am seriously contemplating voting in the november elections.. if a curious/nosy jw wants to find out if i participated in the election process, can he/she get this information?.

i would like to do this, but in secret, my conscience does not bother me and i think it will be kinda cool to do it for the 1st time.. smoky.

stevenyc

As it is illegal for government to disclose who voted for who, you can vote with absolute privacy. You can vote by mail, or by signed proxy (I think), but my advice is, Go down and vote, but, exclaim to the kingdom hall that you were moved to go to the voting booths to declare to the neighborhood that you are voting for Jehovah, Claim 10 hours, and spend the rest of November Saturdays watching TV.
steve

13

Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology Report on Pregnant JWs and Blood

by stevenyc in

i found this and thought it may be useful to some, also, check the responses, one is from a jw ex-gynecologist:.

http://www.greenjournal.org/cgi/content/full/104/3/541.

steve.

stevenyc

I found this and thought it may be useful to some, also, check the responses, one is from a JW ex-Gynecologist:

http://www.greenjournal.org/cgi/content/full/104/3/541

steve

43

Questions Surrounding Evolution

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

questions surrounding evolution regarding this subject, the thought in mind is to ask.

some pertinent questions regarding evolution in .

it must be strongly emphasized that there is no wish.

stevenyc

Qcmbr: I'm not going to bite your nutt or anything. You are obviously a bright person who enjoys dialog. We both can learn a thing you two from each other I'm sure.

I've got to make dinner now, but I will respond to your comments soon. In the mean time can you expand on point 3, as when I asked for clarification before I thought by information you were referring to genetic information not personal 'conscience' information.

steve

43

Questions Surrounding Evolution

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

questions surrounding evolution regarding this subject, the thought in mind is to ask.

some pertinent questions regarding evolution in .

it must be strongly emphasized that there is no wish.

stevenyc

Qcmbr, would I be correct in interpreting your statement:

:::If this wasn't designed then there has been a magnificent coincidence between opportunity (this single solitary planet with exactly these conditions that exactly regulate themselves) and organisation intelligence (life as a self-replicating and information increasing and preserving mechanism.)

As this: If this wasn't designed then there has been a magnificent coincidence between the environmental conditions for life on the planet and the progression of genetic complexity starting from some basic self replicating strand of amino acids in a protein.

steve

43

Questions Surrounding Evolution

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

questions surrounding evolution regarding this subject, the thought in mind is to ask.

some pertinent questions regarding evolution in .

it must be strongly emphasized that there is no wish.

stevenyc

Qcmbr: life as a self-replicating and information increasing and preserving mechanism

Could you expand on this? I'm not sure what you are referring too.

steve

6

Adam and language

by sinis in

here is an interesting excerpt from an article i am reading.

i never thought about this before but the writer is correct.

how did adam get his language?

stevenyc

Everyone was speaking the same language up to and beyond Noah. It wasn't until those pesky builders of the Baal tower, that God created all the languages we know today. As we can accurately date the flood to the year 2370 B.C.E, then we know that languages, as we know, have only been around some 4000 years.

If you don't believe that, then you're probably gonna burn in hell.

steve

PS, Oh, and just because you say the pyramids were build before the flood, and inscribed with a different language, that's no excuse. Satan is a great deceiver and MUST have put them their to deceive us. Or, maybe God put them there as a test of our faith.