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.
Well... I know "scientific illuminism" has gotten a bad reputation. I mean, it's not really "science", but it's an attempt at hypothesizing and testing the intangible.
One can increase exponentially the efficacy of this approach beyond simply praying or reciting daily affirmations, though those are certainly part of it.
I'll let you keep the rather more mainstream tone you have here.
last night in gabbly i asked why celbrate xmas.
the answer i got was, "because it's fun.
" can it really be that simple?.
Because building a set of family traditions is important to create and maintain strong bonds. Xmas fits the bill nicely.
i feel very offended and distrurbed when i see people covered with tatoos.
some people have tatoos all over their bodies, even on their faces.
there are also tatoo programs on the tlc channel that children can watch without a forewarning before the show comes on.
Oh, but Triton, that skit is hilarious!!
it might have escaped your notice but sirona and i are totally in love and seem to have a mutual appreciation society thing going on; however this has not taken place without causing some online problems as some of you might be aware.. both dawn (sirona) and i are conscious that we have hijacked a number of threads given our perpetual state of being loved up.
given the untold frustration we might have caused to some posters we have decided to launch our very own jwd loved up thread.. this hopefully should allow threads to go on being productive without the frustration of people (us) whispering online sweet nothings and flirting and we therefore invite you all to use this thread if you are loved up, have similar mutual appreciation societies or simply wish to flirt with other online posters.
you can even use this thread to dedicate a post to someone who isnt online and who just lightens your life and makes you smile.. please join us and reassure us that we are not the only loved up people on jwd.. .
OFG
OMG, your pic had me laughing this morning!
i feel very offended and distrurbed when i see people covered with tatoos.
some people have tatoos all over their bodies, even on their faces.
there are also tatoo programs on the tlc channel that children can watch without a forewarning before the show comes on.
I think both smoking and tats are even more popular amongst exJW's than the population at large.
This has not been my observation. I'd be hard-pressed to find a woman between the ages of 20 and 40 without some tattoo somewhere on her body, if only a little one on her ankle or shoulder.
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.
Good thread LT. I have little to add that wouldn't cause to take it in a slightly different direction.
As an atheist in many respects, I still acknowledge, and use, the power of belief to cause change in conformance with my Will. I find the unconscious to be a very willing participant in the game.
....at least according to jehovahs witnesses.. if a sister at the kingdom hall suspect her hubby is playing naughty with another woman and she finds her hubbys car has been parked at anothers womans house all night, then she can write a letter stating she is sure that adultry has taken pace and divorce him, and he is then disfellowshipped, and she still remains in good standing..............but,.
if a child tells their parents and the brothers at the kingdom hall that they were molested sexually by a brother at the hall, and this accused brother denies this accusation and there is no other witnesses to this claim, then he is veiwed as not guilty and remains in good standing.. why do you suppose the accused adulterer is treated differently.....even if he denies that he commited adultry?.
gumby.
That is the problem with religion-a religious body that can have such control over a person that a parent in a situation like this would let it go and let the church decide.
LOL! Understatement.
i have been researching a particular subject lately and have been wondering how different religous groups feel about it.
the rh factor, of course this is a protein found in the blood of at least 85% of the population, the name coming from the discovery (the same factor found in rhesus monkey blood, 1940-landsteiner and wiener).
during pregnancy if a mother is negative (does not have the factor) and the father is positive, and the baby is positive, there is a possiblity that the mother's body will reject the baby.
There is no scientific answer as to why most of the population have the factor, so I have been looking for biblical answers. I am now doing research on Genesis and the Nephilliam.
That is probably one of the oddest things I've ever seen written. Why in hell would you possibly think the bible has answers to a scientific question if, you know, science doesn't?
I don't mean to sound demeaning by any means, but... would you consider looking in the Q'uran for such answers, or for that matter, any other "holy book"? Probably not.
"far from having made 'all objects sacred' christianity, in the wake of the bible, has emptied the world of every sacred dimension.
the biblical and christian idea of a divine transcendence manifested in the creative act of god, the very idea of god the creator, disenchants the whole world, and the world remains only an object created by the voluntary will of the lord.
from such a perspective, the world is only a 'sign' of a presence, the 'other.
Ok, LT, and as you admit that most Christians (and people generally) know very little about what they profess to believe, even moreso will they not get the subtleties. Thus the difference between the exoteric and the esoteric. However, the very strong implications of a seperation between the divine and the material will not be lost on them, at least on an unconscious level, because it's an assumption upon which all else rests.
God and heaven/perfection reside in one place... sin, pain, suffering, man and all things material reside here. It's simply, in my mind, an untenable duality, and one reason I deny Christianity for the most part. If the core values and assumptions are distorted, then all that is reliant upon them must be equally distorted.
Anyway, I feel a dead horse is beginning to be quite beaten at this point.
Narkissos, thank you for your input. Your actual, literal, knowledge of the subject is quite helpful to me.
Have a great weekend, both of you!
I've missed every ep so far, though I wanted to watch it. Like with Lost, I suppose I'll just have to play catch up later.
