May be Machiavelli was right afterall.......
Cheers
Borgia
Borgia
JoinedPosts by Borgia
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27
Bush fighting for the cause of Freedom?
by frankiespeakin ini have read some of bush's talks about fighting for freedom.
in essence i think the term freedom as used by the president has a very very narrow application namely: democracy verses dictatorship.. do you think that bush's use of the word freedom as his reasons for invading another country, a acurate term or just more government propaganda?.
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34
Are YOU Basically The Same Person Now As When You Were A Witness?
by minimus inthey say "the truth" changes people from nasty, wicked people to meek, honest hearted "ones".
now that you're out of "the truth", are you back to your old ways??
did "the truth" ever really change you??
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Borgia
Copy that Serendipity.
cheers
Borgia
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61
Bush's war on terrorism a failure?
by frankiespeakin ini think bush's method of fighting terrorism only creates more terrorism.
the us government has acted like a terrorist to the people in iraq, such actions canonly lead to more justification in the minds of would be terrorist.
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Borgia
As long as people allow themselves to be persuaded by concepts and ideas, whether political, religious or any other one for which no justifyable evidence can be put forward, people will put themselves in the position of committing atrocities like the ones we have seen over and over in history.
Therefore declaring war on terrorism is like declaring war on murder, rape or even war.....no-brainer.
cheers
Borgia
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44
This is so huge.
by La Capra inwhen i was four, i believed that my life could be painfully and tortuously taken from me, in a ball of flame, crashing down from the heavens, just while i sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning.. when i was nine, i believed that my life, as i then knew it, would be drastically altered, that i would be tortured for being a jw, and after suffering for who knows how long, i would die (because i still hadn't lived up to jehovah's expectations).. when i was 13, i wanted to be a nuclear physicist-because it sounded cool, but in the meantime i believed that i would die in armageddon because i wanted to go to college, get really educated, and have a great, "worldly" life.. when i was 15, i felt guilty that i hoped armageddon would never come, because i so desperately wanted to go to college.. when i was 17, i was offered an honors early admissions in a prestigious program in a highly regarded engineering program.
my mother flat out said, "no!".
when i was 18, i scuttled semi-secretly to the local university, part-time, trying to hide my daily activities without actually lying to anyone.. when i was 19 i quit pretending and disassociated.
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Borgia
Job well done.
Cheers
Borgia
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145
--- A Question for ALL Atheistic ex-Dubs----
by gordon d inwhich 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!
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Borgia
Gordon,
Taking a math EXAM means: 1) he has been training for that, 2) he has had help to gain confidence in solving such riddles.
Life is not in any way a math EXAM although you have to make the math so once in a while!
In the analogy, it is not about hating me as a father, but failing to see reasonable proof for my existence. Even if I would not have been present in his life, he knows he must have had a father, at least a bloke of some age who had his sperm hooked up with his mothers egg. (Although in todays day and age not necessarily has to be the case, but you´ll get the picture).
The simple fact of him existing, means he has a father. Period. Does that mean he knows his father, or can relate and even communicate with his father?He may miss not particularly a father type in his life but may miss the very person his biological father had been. This may even be furthered by family and friends around him who had known his father and telling him great stories. So, in a sense, he is able to know about him but never experience him.
The example I gave, was meant to clarify relation and communication. Not to go into hypothetical issues I may never experience and I cannot relate to now. I will cross that bridge when I have to.
So, we started out with real communication (touch, words, looks) that my son can understand. If I say something he is incapable of hearing or understanding I am not in communication with him. In order to become in communication with him I need to reach his level. New thoughts and vocabulary has to be explained by context, example, etc. Anything that I need to say that is not meant for him to hear is either said in his absence or in such a way he cannot make head nor tail of it (understanding)
In the coming years I will see my son gradually grow in understanding, reason, feeling and appreciation. So, he has his own responsibilities. But....if I want to maintain a relationship with him, I will need to work on knowing his world and I need to demonstrate that I am interested and that I am in the know. I am the more mature one, the more experienced one. So, it is reasonable that I take the lead in maintaining that relationship. I expect my role to change over time....from extra diaper to facilitator to counselor to just a man....But in all of these roles: What is the secret of success?
Let me put this in big: C O M M U N I C A T I O N O N H I S L E V E L
And that, amigo, is missing in the relationship with whatever entity is entitled to this word: God.
The silence, the difficulty of getting in touch, the lack of proof of his presence all contribute to the notion that he is unknown and remains an unknown to the vast majority of mankind. (of course I did not provide an exhaustive list)
Statesmen lay garlands at monuments to honor the unknown soldier. The soldier has a history, but unknown. He died somewhere along the line of history, his real face and personality, his deeds, thoughts, his passion and desires lost in time and space, vanished. Unable to communicate with the present living beings.
So, here´s to the gods.
Cheers
Borgia
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36
Coming to terms with.....
by PaulJ in.....being about to turn 30!
oh.my.god.i.feel.old..... january the 3rd if you're interested.
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Borgia
PaulJ,
Eh.....you basically have already past into your third decade, dude. About nine months ago.......But HB anyway. Welcome to your third decade.
cheers
Borgia
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145
--- A Question for ALL Atheistic ex-Dubs----
by gordon d inwhich 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!
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Borgia
Daniel -P,
LOL
Gordon,
Nice analogy. I have a son of 5 years old and he certainly shows this kind of behavior from time to time. However, when I try to invoke my help I have a few tools at my disposal:
1) I simply ask him if I can be of any assistance. 2) Depending on the necesity of getting the things fixed, I step in, talk to him and show him how to do it. Let him do it again and so he learns by getting a little help. 3) variant on 1 and 2: I show him step by step while discussing the issues he needs to look.
Some weeks ago, he was looking for me but I was outside doing some gardening. He ran around inside and outside looking for me. It went from calling to shouting and panicking, because I did not hear him and I was not aware he was looking for me quite some time. Of course, if I had heard him, I would have answered him. Any father would do that, no?
I would communicate in such a way that he can understand me! by speaking loud enough to be heard, by using words he is capable of comprehending, by example and directing his eyes so he sees what he needs to see. And I would do that every day.
When I am gone on business travel, I use an array of devices like webcam, email, telephone, etc, in order to communicate with him daily. His first steps on the road in using these devices were of course guide by me. I taught him the principles, he is clever enough to expand on that.
In contrast..that entity you are relating to now, is a peculiar fellow. Not able to communicate with you untill you are ready, yet he created it all.....artisan for sure.
Cheers
Borgia
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7
WAS ABRAHAM'S UR IN SE TURKEY?
by badboy init has been suggested that urfa/urrhai in se turkey was the ur that abraham came from.. what do you think?.
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Borgia
ref?
Cheers
Borgia
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145
--- A Question for ALL Atheistic ex-Dubs----
by gordon d inwhich 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!
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Borgia
Just to get it straight. My inquiry was about....1)the hope, 2) the reasons for such a hope.
So, considering your post it would be fair to say that in a sense your hope is bible based. What I did not find in your post is the reason for your hope. What is the connection between the bible and an afterlife given the fact that you have already dismissed the NT? So, what exactly is your hope?
What I also have appreciated from your post is that you were searching....and that suddenly it happened. ....some kind of experience that is beyond words ......and beyond third party comprehension. The experience has had a tremendous emotional impact on you. Based upon that I appreciate that you started to gain hope. Would this be a fair assessment? Is that your egg?
Although I am glad for you that you have come to a certain state of peace, I am quite amazed about the huge difference.......
Sudden emotions versus contemplation of/on current/past affairs. Unexplainable experience versus qualified key issue(s) that influence peoples lives.
I was talking to a guy once, a preacher in a Christian Fellowship. I asked him, how his conversion happened. He told me that after declining a few invitations to come to some meeting of theirs, he finally decided to go and at that meeting, he was unable to keep his hands together, he had to spread them and praise Jesus. He tried to resist at first, but his hands, arms, his whole body were shaking. So, he finally gave in. Now, he´s he happy camper. Yes, Gordon, I think this guy could relate to your experience very well.
What were you doing in the period before your “epiphany”?What were the circumstance that lead you to be open to this experience?
This preacher I had talked to, even told me that he was given the gift of a tongue and he spoke some kind of Russian dialect/language of sorts. I could not resist to ask him kindly what he, as only being able to speak English, thought he was doing after spending 4 years in a Castillian speaking environment? Was he not acting counter the spirit? Should he not go east instead? Up until now he has failed to give a fitting answer.
The point is......does your egg contain any substance or is it just nicely painted?
cheers
Borgia
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145
--- A Question for ALL Atheistic ex-Dubs----
by gordon d inwhich 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!
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Borgia
Intruiging analogy, Gordon-P. Hope and eggs. What exaclty is your hope and what were the persuasive argumements that convinced you?
I do accept, and even admire, the fact that you have found hope. Maybe you reflect on your life previous to finding it as: hope-less. I can buy that. Letting go of hope is like exstinguishing light. Gaining hope is like the sun - rise and a fresh breeze, no?
What exaclty is hope? I go to the bank, agree on a mortgage, contract a builder and voila, I have a hope to live in a new house in a while. You do agree that the items that support that hope are all rooted in.....contracts and agreements entrusted to...paper with a signature. If one of the contracted does not live up to the agreed service level, I have the enforcement (law) to get my rightfull share. ( I do agree that the real meaning of "rightfull share" may differ from country to country)and sometimes....I am fooled and robbed of a couple of 100K because the builder may go broke.
People who live in a torn and devastated country may hope to find refuge in another country. I think we all agree that this hope may be shacky given the situation for example in Dafour. The institution that is entrusted with enforcing that hope...is a paper tiger.....
Even applying for asylum in other coutries is not a pleasure in itself. It oftentimes is more than a desparate try than a founded hope for better. They tell each other stories about the riches in for example Europe, of how much money can be earned and how they will be able to support their family at home. And basically, compared to their situation...anything is better. People cross the ocean in tiny open boats in search for a better life. They paid dearly for trying to live up to that hope. Many loosing their health or life along the way. Just to find themselves caught in order to be sent back from where they came from.
If I plough the soil, spread some BS, sew the seeds, and water the plants, I may have hope to harvest. Again, apart from external disturbances like political riot, war, drought, flooding, tsunamies, etc, I may have a reasonable hope to harvest. On what is my hope based? Do you see the roots? Hope is based on fysicle, noticable and measurable qualities.
So, it is possible to aquire a hope totally different from yours. That aquired hope is rooted firmly in current circumstances, existing cycles and even makes allowance for disaster.
The sole fact that a child may hope to find an egg in the garden is not proof of the existence of the easter bunny. Nor does the actual finding of the egg proof the existence of the easter bunny. It proofs what it proofs...an egg is an egg. And...dependant on the type of egg, what kind of chicken it was who laid it. A child may not regard that as such, but reality is.....an egg is an egg is an egg.
Cheers
Borgia