Check_Your_Premises

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Posts by Check_Your_Premises

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  93

  Do You Fear That Islamic Fundamentalists Will Start WWIII ???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a lot of people are worrying about these uprisings, riots and violence being done----it seems everywhere.

  i've read how some feel that europe does not have the ability as a union to fight against this.

  is this like it was in germany prior to ww!!

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  Check_Your_Premises

  Do I fear that Islamic Fundamentalists will start WWIII?

  First off, it would be WWIV. WWIII was the Cold War.

  Second, I am not so sure that in 20 or 30 years the general consensus won't be that this war started on 9-11. Or maybe even with the taking of the American embassy in Tehran. It may be said that only those in denial really thought we weren't at war.

  What Bush has tried to do is avoid at all costs a war against Islam. He has focused on the tyrannical regimes and tried to befriend the individual mohamedan. The hour may be to late for that. There is nothing more frightening to me than to imagine what it would mean for a country founded on the basis of religious freedom to make war on a religion.

  It is true that Islam has no army. They do howevere make up 1/4 of the worlds population. They also actually believe in, and are willing to die for their beliefs. The same can't be said necessarily of all in the west. The mohomedans have noticed this by the way. For there to be a clash of civilizations there must be two civilizations willing to fight. The mohomedans will fight. The west has dedicataed the last 50 years to not believing in anything, let alone anything worth fighting for.
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  13

  Can a cartoon trigger WW3?

  by truth_about_the_truth in

  1. social
  2. current

  can a cartoon trigger ww3?

  do not underestimate the latest furor over the 'hostile' mohammad cartoon published in european newspapers recently.. in case you've been out of contact, newspapers in denmark, norway, france and germany have published a cartoon of the prophet mohammad wearing a turban in the shape of a bomb with a burning fuse.

  the cartoon is offensive to muslims the world over since the prophet may not be displayed in public places, let alone caricaturized.

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  Check_Your_Premises

  From Ralph Peters http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/649qrsob.asp?pg=2

  The suicide bomber's willingness to discard civilization's cherished rules for warfare gives him enormous strength. In the Cain-and-Abel conflicts of the 21st century, ruthlessness trumps technology. We refuse to comprehend the suicide bomber's soul--even though today's wars are contests of souls, and belief is our enemy's ultimate order of battle. We write off the suicide bomber as a criminal, a wanton butcher, a terrorist. Yet, within his spiritual universe, he's more heroic than the American soldier who throws himself atop a grenade to spare his comrades: He isn't merely protecting other men, but defending his god. The suicide bomber can justify any level of carnage because he's doing his god's will. We agonize over a prisoner's slapped face, while our enemies are lauded as heroes for killing innocent masses (even of fellow believers). We continue to narrow our view of warfare's acceptable parameters even as our enemies amplify the concept of total war. ...

  The hallmark of our age is the failure of belief systems and a subsequent flight back to primitive fundamentalism--and the phenomenon isn't limited to the Middle East. Faith revived is running roughshod over science and civilization. Secular societies appear increasingly fragmented, if not fragile. The angry gods are back. And they will not be defeated with cruise missiles or computer codes.

  A paradox of our time is that the overwhelmingly secular global media--a collection of natural-born religion-haters--have become the crucial accomplices of the suicide bomber fueled by rabid faith. Mass murderers are lionized as freedom fighters, while our own troops are attacked by the press they protect for the least waywardness or error. One begins to wonder if the bomber's suicidal impulse isn't matched by a deep death wish affecting the West's cultural froth. (What if Darwin was right conceptually, but failed to grasp that homo sapiens' most powerful evolutionary strategy is faith?) Both the suicide bomber and the "world intellectual" with his reflexive hatred of America exist in emotional realms that our rational models of analysis cannot explain. The modern age's methods for interpreting humanity are played out.

  We live in a new age of superstition and bloodthirsty gods, of collective madness. Its icons are the suicide bomber, the veil, and the video camera. ...

  We are not (yet) at war with Islam, but the extreme believers within Islam are convinced that they are soldiers in a religious war against us. Despite their rhetoric, they are the crusaders. Even our conceptions of the struggle are asymmetrical. Despite the horrors we have witnessed, we have yet to take religious terrorists seriously on their own self-evident terms. We invaded a succession of their tormented countries, but haven't come close to penetrating their souls. The hermetic universe of the Islamist terrorist is immune to our reality (if not to our bullets), but our intellectuals appear equally incapable of accepting the religious extremist's reality.

  (emphasis mine)
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  23

  Warning to all DUBS!!! The Smurfs are coming back!!!

  by Check_Your_Premises in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/26/3326/summary.php

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  Check_Your_Premises

  http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/26/3326/summary.php
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  36

  My wife is a JW, I'm not.

  by Mrgij01 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my wife and i have been married 6 years now.

  she was a jw when we married as is her entire family.

  i was, and still am, very attracted to her because of the way she carries herself and her compassion.. i would like anyone who has had a similar experiance or was a jw to better help me understand what is going on in their heads when it comes to birthdays and such.

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  Check_Your_Premises

  Jgnat makes an excellent suggestion. Since you are a Christian you have a deep appreciation for the power of God's word.

  I can't tell you enough how fruitful Bible studies with a JW can be.

  A big key to this is the fact that you and your wife have a different, and due to JW toxicity, competing faiths. THe first thing you want to do is adopt an extremely humble attitude. Consistently be honest (accomodate new facts and ideas that contradict your paradigm) and honor truth wherever it is found. WHEREVER. Truth is truth. Find truth, you are looking at God.

  Going along with the above advice is your overall method. The best way to teach is to ask questions. Then the person owns their thoughts. I would spend some time breaking the book to be studied into sections if 4 verses and no bigger then 8. Sometimes a topic will cover much more then that. Break it up over several studies. Spend some time before each study reading orthodox commentary. If you are not familiar with jw orthodoxy, you can read their take from... is it All Scriptures Inspired? I think so.

  Next, as you study the Bible with a JW, there is a running theme you will want to keep an eye out for. The JW as you noticed ignore Jesus. They want to be the mediator between men and Jehovah. Furthermore, they relegate him to the secondary status of a created angel. As you read through John, ask questions about why Jesus is referred to in this way or that. Continue to point out the glory and honor bestowed on him. Such reverence is only appropriate for a Diety. Even if you wouldn't go that far, the jw has to realize that Jesus is more then their religion makes out.

  Feel free to post questions here to "know how a dub will answer".

  Have these studies as often as you can. You are a tether, a link to the outside of her insular world. The jw will want to focus on the "what" of faith rather than the "how". You can keep the peace by emphasizing the how. Humility, honesty, sound reasoning, openess to new ideas. All these things are more important than particular facts. Because if how you go about discovering your faith is sound, then ultimately your faith will be the most factually correct as well.

  CYP
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  36

  My wife is a JW, I'm not.

  by Mrgij01 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my wife and i have been married 6 years now.

  she was a jw when we married as is her entire family.

  i was, and still am, very attracted to her because of the way she carries herself and her compassion.. i would like anyone who has had a similar experiance or was a jw to better help me understand what is going on in their heads when it comes to birthdays and such.

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  Check_Your_Premises

  Welcome!!! You will find many friends here.

  Being with a JW can be a very lonely, and difficult thing. Everyone who is a jw has a need to see the org in the best possible light. Therefore, any concerns or difficulties you have will be dismissed outright. Anybody who is not a jw will just not understand what the hell you are talking about. So when you try to explain your problems with having a jw spouse, they will just not "get it".

  Before anybody here can help you, it might be good for you to tell us more about yourself. What are you hoping to accomplish here? What is your attitude toward the jw? Do you have children with your wife? That is probably the most important question I could ask you. If you don't have children I would highly recommend NOT having them unless you are completely comfortable with them being a jw or if you become a jw yourself or if you plan on trying to talk your wife out of being a jw.

  I can't spend to much time on the boards today, but I will try to answer any questions you have. Most importantly I hope that you can get some control over your situation.

  CYP
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  23

  Did I miss something? The WTS now allows Autologous Blood Transfusions?

  by M.J. in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  from poppyr's thread on the new blood cards: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/16/104206/1.ashx.

  section 4, "regarding autologous blood procedures" has an option "(b) i am prepared to accept any such procedure.".

  new light????.

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  Check_Your_Premises

  I don't think this means they can pre-store their blood. It means they can use cell collectors, machines that circulate their blood outside their own body and pumps it back into them (the route of circulation isn't broken), or if they need to have some of their own blood used to create some medicine.

  I am not aware of ANY change that allows them to prestore their own blood. It is supposed to be poored out!!!

  CYP
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  80

  WHAT IS QUINTESSENTIALLY ENGLISH?

  by Dansk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is actually something that fascinates me and i'd like your own opinions on the subject.

  i list here things i feel are quintessentially english (with apologies to the scots, welsh and irish as they have their own uniqueness).. first of all, it's got to be a cup of tea (yes, i know it wasn't originally made here, but it has become an integral part of 'englishness').. cup of tea.

  cricket.

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  Check_Your_Premises

  Supreme executive power deriving not from a mandate from the masses, rather from some farcical, aquatic cermony.
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  20

  Holidays: How do you refute the Exodus 32:4-10 argument

  by Check_Your_Premises in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the reasoning book says that in exodus 32:4-10 that the israelites were punished for renaming an egyptian religious practice "the festival of jehovah".. they apply this to their list of arguments against christmas.

  is this a very good argument?

  are there any good arguments that refute it?.

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  Check_Your_Premises

  Thanks all... I didn't have time to run this one down. I appreciate all your input!

  CYP
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  20

  Holidays: How do you refute the Exodus 32:4-10 argument

  by Check_Your_Premises in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the reasoning book says that in exodus 32:4-10 that the israelites were punished for renaming an egyptian religious practice "the festival of jehovah".. they apply this to their list of arguments against christmas.

  is this a very good argument?

  are there any good arguments that refute it?.

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  Check_Your_Premises

  The reasoning book says that in Exodus 32:4-10 that the Israelites were punished for renaming an egyptian religious practice "the Festival of Jehovah".

  They apply this to their list of arguments against Christmas. Is this a very good argument? Are there any good arguments that refute it?

  Thanks in advance.

  CYP
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  16

  Attention Elders: Could we get the list of talks, and maybe even some....

  by Check_Your_Premises in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  of the outlines for said talks.

  posting here probably wouldn't be the best thing, but it would be nice if we could get them up at reexamine.org.

  for those who never joined, or don't go to the hall regularly, yet have loved ones who do, it would be nice to know what the guy is going to say.. cyp

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  Check_Your_Premises

  of the outlines for said talks.

  Posting here probably wouldn't be the best thing, but it would be nice if we could get them up at reexamine.org

  For those who never joined, or don't go to the hall regularly, yet have loved ones who do, it would be nice to know what the guy is going to say.

  CYP