Posts by Nate Merit

8

For 'Carmel' Genesis 1 and John 1

by Nate Merit in

the beginning

1 in the beginning the flying spaghetti monster created the heavens and the earth.

4 the flying spaghetti monster saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Is the Bible really inerrant?

by greendawn in

do you think the bible is inerrant ie has absolutely no erroneous information or does it contain some errors?

if it does is its credibility destroyed?

i personally think that a great deal in the bible is false but still the basic ideas are correct.

Nate Merit

LOL. Yes, the Bible is inerrant. If you think it has mistakes, you're mistaken. Believe it all or leave it all. The Flying Spaghetti Monster told me so.

12

What do you think would happen if Russell,Rutherford,Knorr,Franz,Hensc met?

by booker-t in

i know this is kind of a joke but i was wondering what would happen if russell, rutherford, knorr, franz and milton henschel all met up for a meeting to discuss the watchtower bible and tract society/jw's and how to run it today?

russell would probably say " i am the faithful and discreet slave" rutherford would say to russell "no you are not that is "old light" i am the faithful and discreet slave class along with my associates" and then nathan knorr would tell them both that they are both wrong the governing body is the faithful and discreet slave class.

and also knorr would tell charles t russell he would be disfellowshipped for wearing his beard.

Nate Merit

Rutherford would open a can of whup-ass on all of 'em.

11

The Persecuted Has Become The Persecutor!

by ozziepost in

i was thinking about one of jesus' parables today; the one about "the unmerciful servant" in which jesus tells of a servant who implored his master, the king, for patience in settling a debt.

the master took pity and forgave the debt, whereupon the servant went to a fellow servant who owed him money.

as with the first servant, the other servant pleaded for time to pay, but instead of being merciful, as the king had been to him, he exacted the full penalty for a bad debt, having him thrown into prison.

Nate Merit

Hi Ozzie. Excellent point, well put.

47

If 'Intelligent Design" Is True, Why So Many Lies?

by Nate Merit in

if true why so many lies ?

the following is a snippet from a new york times article on the closing arguments in the intelligent design trial.

closing arguments made in trial on intelligent design .

Nate Merit

Hi Qcmbr

You wrote:

all I know [is] that I am unique

(Just as the billions of the rest of us are 'unique.' Or are your REALLY 'unique'?)

and that I'm conscious -

(Who called into question your consciousness? Science? Please explain what prompted this comment. Thank you)

no one with all the facts, figures, books, speeches, overhead projector slides or bookish rhetoric in the world will ever convince me that life, especially my own existence is anything less glorious and majestic than that promised in the bible.

(Exactly. You and every other Fundamentalist has your mind made up, don't confuse you with the facts. Your comment is entertaining. You openly acknowledge that your mind is closed to facts. You appear to revel in that, as if it is something to be proud of, rather than something to be ashamed of. Tell me, why cannot you be glorious and have evolved as the rest of us did? I feel really good about myself. Well, there really isn't a lot one can say to someone who revels in their closed-mindedness and ignorance, preferring a fable to facts)

You want to be slime fair enough.

(If you want to be dirt, fair enough. You are DIRT. My my, you certainly are touchy. I don't recall any scientific text or journal telling me I am slime. I must have missed that issue. Perhaps this is your verbal method of prejudicing your readers against evolution and revealing your own? Evolution does not tell us we are slime. However, the Bible DOES tell you YOU ARE DIRT. For myself, I really enjoy knowing that I am Starstuff!)

(I want to be a son of Bill Gates. Drat. I'm not his son. Your comment again puzzles me. All of my Christian and Jewish friends (none of whom are fundamentalists) are Theistic Evolutionists, and they know they are not slime, and they know they are Children of God. No one is stopping you from believing you are a Son of God. You have biblical-literalism mixed up in your mind as somehow the correct way to interpret it. I would direct you to the NT writers and the writings of the early church fathers to put that mistaken notion to bed. Qcmbr, you ARE a Son of God and no one can take that from you. It's who you are. It's who I am)

Even if you scour the universe and empty it of all its magic, pink unicorns and gods I'll live my dream

(You prefer a fantasy to reality. How sad. I mean it. That is sad. For an adult to feel that way is sad. Science will continue to march on, and continue to explain the magic, not make it go away. I would not be alive if it weren't for science...I was created in a lab by 12...kidding. I almost died of asthma in infancy and only an experimental drug saved my life. So I'm partial to science, thank you very much. Perhaps you should read more about the actual brutal conditions humans endured in 'the good old days' before science. How much ignorance and superstition is acceptable? How far back do we turn the clock before the ignorance and superstition become too great and the darkness too thick? By all means, live your 'dream' your illusion, your fantasy. Just don't try to pass it off as 'science' and try to force it to be taught in public schools, okay? Could you tell your militant creationist community that? Thanks.)

and if you want to call me stupid or idiot go ahead.

(Stupid and idiotic you are not, and I know it as well as you. You've made this clear it's not a matter of intelligence or even education. You have enough of both to see Reality. No, this is a matter of the Will, of a will to reject harsh truth for a comforting fantasy. I am at least somewhat in sympathy since I continue to accept the reality of a Transcendent First Cause, as well as accept the evidence for life after death. I am not certain of it, but I lean in that direction)

(I also have experienced, many times, the transcendent love of That which we tag the sound "God' to. It's just a word, a sound. It has no meaning apart from the limited meaning we give it. Don't circumscribe 'God" by words and concepts. As a mystic, I would advise you to revel in the experience, but not circumscribe it with words and limited concepts. As a modern educated rational being, I would advise you to let go of a literal Bible and wade out into The Deep. Compare the quaint little domed world of the Bible with the incomprehensibly gigantic and fascinating Cosmos we actually inhabit and know about because of science. Give me the glorious Reality over the quaint little story from ages ago. Your god is too small)

All the best to you Q.
Nate

8

For 'Carmel' Genesis 1 and John 1

by Nate Merit in

the beginning

1 in the beginning the flying spaghetti monster created the heavens and the earth.

4 the flying spaghetti monster saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Nate Merit

The Beginning

1 In the beginning the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was

formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was hovering over the waters.

3 And The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

4 The Flying Spaghetti Monster saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.

5 The Flying Spaghetti Monster called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."

7 So The Flying Spaghetti Monster made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.

8 The Flying Spaghetti Monster called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.

10 The Flying Spaghetti Monster called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And The Flying Spaghetti Monster saw that it was good.

11 Then The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.

12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And The Flying Spaghetti Monster saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,

15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.

16 The Flying Spaghetti Monster made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

17 The Flying Spaghetti Monster set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,

18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And The Flying Spaghetti Monster saw that it was good.

19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

21 So The Flying Spaghetti Monster created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And The Flying Spaghetti Monster saw that it was good.

22 The Flying Spaghetti Monster blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth."

23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.

25 The Flying Spaghetti Monster made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And The Flying Spaghetti Monster saw that it was good.

26 Then The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,

and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So The Flying Spaghetti Monster created man in his own image, in the image of The Flying Spaghetti Monster he created him; angel-hair and macaroni he created them.

28 The Flying Spaghetti Monster blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and satiate it. Satiate the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every living creature that moves on the ground."

29 Then The Flying Spaghetti Monster said, "I give you every spice on the face of the whole earth and every grocery store that has Spaghetti Sauce with oregano and garlic in it . They will be yours for food.

30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give you for food to them." And it was so.

31 The Flying Spaghetti Monster saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

John 1

The Flying Spaghetti Monster Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with The Flying Spaghetti Monster, and the Word was The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

2 He was with The Flying Spaghetti Monster in the beginning.

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

4 In him was Monsterness, and that Monsterness was the Monsterness of men.

5The Monsterness monsters in the darkness, but the darkness has not over-monstered

it.

6 There came a man who was sent from The Flying Spaghetti Monster; his name was John.

7 He came as a witness to testify concerning The Flying Spaghetti Monster, so that through him all men might believe.

8He himself was not The Flying Spaghetti Monster; he came only as a witness to the Monster

9The true Monster that gives Monsterness to every man was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of The Flying Spaghetti Monster—

13 children born not of natural descent,

nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the only-begotten Monster,

who came from the Monster, full of Monsterness.

15 John testifies concerning the Monster. He cries out, saying, "This is That of which I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' "

16 From the fullness of his Monsterness we have all received one Monster after another.

17 Monsters came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen The Flying Spaghetti Monster, but the only-begotten Monster ,

who is at The Flying Spaghetti Monster's side, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Flying Spaghetti Monster

19Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.

20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

"

21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Freddy Krueger?" He said, "I am not." "Are you George W. Bush?" He answered, "No."

22 Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the The Flying Spaghetti Monster' "

24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent qustioned him,

25 "Why then do you baptize with Spaghetti Sauce if you are not The Flying Spaghetti Monster, nor Freddy Krueger, nor the George W. Bush?"

26 "I baptize with

Spaghetti Sauce," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know.

27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose Monster-boots I am not worthy to untie."

28 This all happened at Tortellini on the other side of the Romano River, where John was baptizing with Spaghetti Sauce.

Jesus the Roasted Lamb of The Flying Spaghetti Monster

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Roasted Lamb of The Flying Spaghetti Monster, who takes away the sin of the world!

30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A Monster who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'

31I myself did not know The Flying Spaghetti Monster, but the reason I came baptizing with Spaghetti Sauce was that he might be revealed."

32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw The Flying Spaghetti Monster swoop down from The Sky and drop Spaghetti on him.

33 I would not have known him, except that the Flying Spaghetti Monster told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spaghetti come down and remain is he who will baptize with Extra Thick Spaghetti Sauce.'

34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of The Flying Spaghetti Monster."

Jesus' First Disciples

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.

36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Roasted Lamb of The Flying Spaghetti Monster!"

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Epicure" (which means Gormand), "Do you have any Spaghetti?"

39 "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw his Spaghetti, and spent the day eating Spaghetti with him. It was about the tenth hour.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Monster!" (that is, the Son of The Flying Spaghetti Monster).

42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called ‘Macaroni’ " (which, when translated, is Pasta

).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Spaghettiville. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Linguini.

45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the Roasted Lamb of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, written about in the Holy Cook-Book and about whom the Italians also wrote—Jesus of Lasagna , the son of The Flying Spaghetti Monster."

46"Lasagna! Can anything good come from it?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip.

47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Gormand, in whom there is nothing but Spaghetti."

48"How do you know?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you over at Mama Mia’s Intalian Restaurant, eating Spaghetti, before Phillip called you."

49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of The Flying Spaghetti Monster; you are the King of Pasta."

50 Jesus said, "You believe

because I told you I saw you eating Spaghetti? You shall see greater things than that!"

51 He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see The Sky open, and the angels of The Flying Spaghetti Monster ascending and descending on the Son of The Flying Spaghetti Monster."

32

The GB actually communicate with the Annointed from the Heavens

by gumby in

ya think i'm kiddin ye bastards?.

i wonder if the governing body actually hear the voices of the resurrected annointed ones.

does the heavenly bride of christ whisper, or talk normal, or do they do it by "silent suggestion" in which they move them to a conclusion or answer so they'll all agree.. what about when they have to vote on things cuz they can't agree?.

Nate Merit

So, we know that the Elders communicate with the GB because the GB says so. We know that the GB tells the truth because the Elders communicate with them. We know that the Elders speak the Truth because the GB says so. We know that the Elders communicate with the GB because the GB says so.

47

If 'Intelligent Design" Is True, Why So Many Lies?

by Nate Merit in

if true why so many lies ?

the following is a snippet from a new york times article on the closing arguments in the intelligent design trial.

closing arguments made in trial on intelligent design .

Nate Merit

Hello Qcmbr

You wrote:

"There are some extraordinary things in the recent history of mankind that are hard to explain by simple brute force (the pyramids, alignments of ancient mega cities, Nazca lines etc..) all designed by intelligence but hard to understand how they were made (the available technology doesn't seem to match) - there is so much we don't know that to dismiss any intelligence other than our own is something I would hope scientists don't do - verbally closing doors on possibilities is not scientific. Sometimes its OK to say - 'I don't know but if I ever find out I'll tell you.' Currently we seem to have a lot of unscientific rhetoric and bluster ending in personal attacks on 'fundy's', 'idiots', 'the unenlightened', 'fools' etc.."

Are you thoroughly trained in a scientific discipline Qcmbr? If so, you know how impossible it is to convincingly and adequately explain your disciple to those ignorant of it. Unless they are willing to sit still for hours on end and LEARN, the task is impossible. So too when scientists of various disciplines related to origins are put on the spot by those uninformed. Our culture has been dumbed down to the point it is nearly impossible to get anyone to actually do any CRITICAL THINKING and LEARNING. Americans, especially, want sound-bytes.

Fundies are able to quote biblical verses that give simple-minded answers to the questions of origins. Laypeople expect the same simplistic answers from the scientific community. It isn't going to happen because it isn't possible. Scientists do not have Professor Peabodies Big Book of Scientific Proof and Social Etiquette. There is no Book, Chapeter, Verse to cite, but that is what John and Jane Q Fundy expect.

The sad truth is that Americans are not very well educated, and that is why 60% of Americans believe the Genesis allegory/story is literal science and history. Americans loathe critical thinking and subjects that are difficult. Keeping people ignorant and superstitious plays right into the hands of TPTB, because it makes Americans easy to lead into stupid wars and anything else TPTB (The Powers That Be) wishes to lead superstitious ill-thinking Americans into.

Higher education does not crank out good little mindless patriots, generally speaking. Higher education tends to cure one of such childish ways. So, it's "good" from the Gummints perspective to keep the citizens as credulous and believing and trusting as possible.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!
Nate

47

If 'Intelligent Design" Is True, Why So Many Lies?

by Nate Merit in

if true why so many lies ?

the following is a snippet from a new york times article on the closing arguments in the intelligent design trial.

closing arguments made in trial on intelligent design .

Nate Merit

Hi VM44

Yea and verily, the Men of Mystery are the GB of the WTBTS!

Jeez, can you believe that at one time we actually let those old fools do our thinking for us???

I have an excuse. Hormones got me involved.

Nate

47

If 'Intelligent Design" Is True, Why So Many Lies?

by Nate Merit in

if true why so many lies ?

the following is a snippet from a new york times article on the closing arguments in the intelligent design trial.

closing arguments made in trial on intelligent design .

Nate Merit

Hi Jula17

I don't think that particular response was to you.

When it comes to origins I am merely a well-informed layman. However, from the materials I've read, I fail to see any deception emanating from the scientific community on the subject of origins.

I do occasionally find a magazine article here and there written by a biologist for laypeople who goes too far and states things that cannot be absolutely proven, but it's pretty rare. In materials written by scientists for scientists I have never found anything of this nature.

Nate