Posts by Jeffro

62

Does faith excuse serious problems with the bible?

by iCeltic in

i constantly read that having faith is the answer to knowing that god (or in most cases, jesus) exists.

but to me it's quite clear there are serious difficulties in believing the bible.. adam and eve.

talking snake.

Jeffro

tec:

The bible is not a perfect source. It is not inerrant, nor inspired in entirety. Christ is the One God gave us to know Him by. The LIVING Word of God. If your faith is built upon Christ, who is alive, then your faith is built upon a firm foundation: the Truth.

That's ridiculous. You can't claim to know special magical 'truth' either about or from 'Jesus' independent from the only available source of information. All the stories about Jesus (most of them contradictory) originate from the Bible (including stories that were arbitrarily rejected when the Bible was 'canonised' nearly 1700 years ago that were previously regarded as 'scripture'). It's not a "firm" foundation at all. It's no foundation. It's just your imagination. That's why your view of Jesus happens to accord so well with your own personal opinions.

But you are right about the Bible not being inerrant or 'inspired' (whatever that means).

62

Does faith excuse serious problems with the bible?

by iCeltic in

i constantly read that having faith is the answer to knowing that god (or in most cases, jesus) exists.

but to me it's quite clear there are serious difficulties in believing the bible.. adam and eve.

talking snake.

Jeffro

jgnat:

The story of Adam and Eve is an allegory.

Indeed, religious people who understand that the story of Adam and Eve isn't real are a lot less stupid than those who insist it literally happened.

62

Does faith excuse serious problems with the bible?

by iCeltic in

i constantly read that having faith is the answer to knowing that god (or in most cases, jesus) exists.

but to me it's quite clear there are serious difficulties in believing the bible.. adam and eve.

talking snake.

Jeffro

5go:

That and if a soldier raped a woman in battle he could marry her to make it right.

A Roman soldier having sex with some Jewish girl (but without the battle or marriage) sure makes more sense than 'the holy spirit overshadowed Mary'.

92

Ouija Board!!!

by XPeterX in

to those who don't believe in this shyt:you'd better not post here .

ok...so you ever used it?what experiences do you have?were you able to summon a demon?what did he tell you?what did you see?i'm really curious and i wanna try it!.

Jeffro

Finkelstien:

All this hearsay is once again typical nonsense which sensationalizes this children's toy/game, for who and what is moving the planchette are the people who have their fingers on.

Since the ideomotor effect is a completely explained phenomenon, this is why such stories (usually as retold by 'a friend') are often embellished with additional dramatic fanciful details about 'the board flying off the table' or 'a person being thrown from their chair' and so forth.

92

Ouija Board!!!

by XPeterX in

to those who don't believe in this shyt:you'd better not post here .

ok...so you ever used it?what experiences do you have?were you able to summon a demon?what did he tell you?what did you see?i'm really curious and i wanna try it!.

Jeffro

BackseatDevil:

People being 'all good' or 'all bad' probably wasn't the best way to put that, but for those that section life off into "good" and "bad" categories it was an easy reference to make.

Being immoral, insane, retaliatory, etc. are all reasons why a person would be considered "bad", adjectives to the motivation. BUT you are completely right, they way I presented it made it seem like an askew oversimplification of something that doesn't actually exist. For ones who believe in angels and demons I thought it was a digestible construct for the point I was trying to make. Sorry for that. But you are correct in calling me out on the oversimplification. Apologies,

I see. No need to apologise.

59

Blue Jeans BANNED by Jehovahs Witnesses Governing body

by Watchtower-Free in

for anybody attending a international convention .. 5 body of elders letters just leaked .

"applicant instructions".. ********************.

applicants must be exemplary in every respect, including dress and grooming.

Jeffro

If someone applies to go to an 'International Convention', they must be an 'examplary publisher'™; they "are expected to comply" with specific dress standards, and "are required to use only those hotels on the approved list", which "may be much higher than at district convention cities in your home country". They have to pay for their own flights, accommodation, meals and transport, with the exception that there may be a bus available only on the days of the convention, but "The delegate will be expected to help defray the bus expenses by putting something extra in a contribution box at the convention".

But since JW conventions are open to the public, any JW can go to any convention, wear whatever they like, and probably save money on a cheaper hotel organised by a proper travel agent or hotel website.

The 'arrangements' for 'applicants' serve two purposes. 1) A sense of 'elitism' for those who spend more time pushing Watch Tower Society literature; 2) kickbacks from 'approved hotels'.

Morons.

92

Ouija Board!!!

by XPeterX in

to those who don't believe in this shyt:you'd better not post here .

ok...so you ever used it?what experiences do you have?were you able to summon a demon?what did he tell you?what did you see?i'm really curious and i wanna try it!.

Jeffro

BackseatDevil:

You have to ask yourself what kind of spirit (or "entity") would be lounging about, stagnate, not doing anything until someone comes along with a Ouija board?

Indeed. There's nothing at all 'mystical' or 'enchanted' about Ouija™ boards. If it were remotely possible for 'spirits' to communicate through such a toy, it would be just as likely to happen without the toy.

I think there is a gradient scale of energies just like there are gradient scales of human personalities and behavior.

More accurately, there are gradient scales of human personalities, and those personalities respond in certain ways to certain environments. The 'energy' of any particular place (in this sense of a 'vibe') is nothing more than the way people feel about it. In the case of Ouija™ board 'experiences', this may be influenced by stories that have been told about the place, and by preconceived superstitions about the Ouija™ board itself.

Some people are all good. Some people are all bad.

People may be immoral, or amoral, or insane, but there isn't any objective reason for saying anyone is "all good" or "all bad". People are 'bad' only for the sake of some advantage that is perceived as good in some context.

165

Board of bitterness

by 1009 in

i always was a critical jw, now df and agnost.

but still this religion fascinates me.

in my eyes most jw are very sincere, but dumb sheep.. this board is filled with ex-jw.

Jeffro

jwfacts:

I don't understand why 1009 is getting such a hard time.

Because he started off by criticising others for feeling 'bitter' about treatment they've received from JWs.

85

I'm thinking about going back

by Corboy101 in

jw
friends

i have been out for 22 years.i was raised as a jehovahs witness.

i was baptized in 1986 but soon after left the religion.

theres a whole lot to the reasons why i left, but i left.

Jeffro

Corboy101:

Most of you (not all) just want to argue and be angry to anyone who "disagrees" with them.

In JW land, it's important that everyone believes the same lies. Because there, unity is more important than truth.

Back in reality, people are allowed to have different opinions.

19

Can you take someone with you in Judicial Committee?

by zound in

i've heard of a couple of cases of a person being present (maybe wife, or friend) for support at judicial committees - is this commonly accepted by the elder committee or is it just a rarity?.

Jeffro

St George of England:

If I was ever called to a JC I would write to the elders and tell them to schedule it to start after 9:00 a.m. and finish before 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, as I would be bringing my solicitor.

Shepherd the Flock of God, page 84 (bold theirs):

If the Accused Threatens legal Action
17. If the accused threatens legal action against the elders, the elders should suspend proceedings and promptly telephone the branch office.