Shawn10538

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Posts by Shawn10538

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  31

  Definitions of Faith

  by Shawn10538 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just had an interesting conversation, though frustrating, with a student about the subject of faith.

  i have never heard a definition for faith that i could understand.

  every conversation i have had on the subject has only fallen short of establishing what it is.

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  Shawn10538

  So, faith is just another word for belief? I've offered that as a definition to many Christians and they never agree with me. Especially JWs who say that they believe based on evidence, not based on nothing. In fact Heb. says directly that faith IS evidence (KJ). So there seems to be a contradiction between the dictionary and the Bible.

  Heb. 11:1 says faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (KJ) Diagram this sentence - Faith is:substance and evidence. How does one reconcile Heb. 11:1 with the definition that faith is merely a type of belief? And if you use the NWT you get a whole different definition. Faith is: expectation and demonstration.

  So, faith seems to be a synonym for several words at the same time: substance, evidence, expectation, demonstration, loyalty, hope and belief.

  The more you try to really nail down what it is, it just branches off and becomes muddled. Does anyone else out there have a hard time defining faith?
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  31

  Definitions of Faith

  by Shawn10538 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just had an interesting conversation, though frustrating, with a student about the subject of faith.

  i have never heard a definition for faith that i could understand.

  every conversation i have had on the subject has only fallen short of establishing what it is.

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  Shawn10538

  I just had an interesting conversation, though frustrating, with a student about the subject of faith. I have never heard a definition for faith that I could understand. Every conversation I have had on the subject has only fallen short of establishing what it is. With every new xdefinition of it, I still end up asking, "yeah, but what IS it?" Confusing the isasue further is Heb. 11:1 which seems in some translations to say that faith is itself the "evidence". So, the evidence that the earth is a sphere is that you can encircle the globe in an airplane and end up where you started. So, in this case faith is the flight you made around the world? If faith is a synonym for "evidence" as Heb. seems to say, then why do we need the word faith? Why not just say "evidence" instead of faith?

  I'd love to see some definitions for faith that you all can come up with. My suspicion is that there is no such thing as faith and that it is a muddled concept at best, poorly defined and unknown to anyone.
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  5

  a tale of two cherry trees

  by inkling in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  note: this a copy of an e-mail i sent to my dad, (a non-doubting elder) on the subject of the nov. 2007 awake: "can you trust the bible".

  i think the fact that this email was actually quite well received says much about my dad's maturity, and the sort of relationship i have with him.

  :+:+:+: a tale of two cherry trees :+:+:+: first off, i agree that the style of the november awake!is somewhat "fresh" and updated.

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  Shawn10538

  A wonderful email. Thank you so much for posting it! Don't forget that
  the circle of the earth" scripture was also used to "prove" that the earth was FLAT. It was supposedly a FLAT circle, not a sphere. Then when we discovered that the earth was a sphere they said, this proves that it is a sphere!
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  26

  FAVORITE QUEEN SONG

  by tijkmo in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  well it's worth a try - even if it only annoys minimus.

  if ya fave is bohemian rhapsody then your no.

  2 song.

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  Shawn10538

  1. Spread your wings- News to the World
  2. It's Late- News to the World
  3. Sail away sweet sister - The Game
  4. Save me - The Game
  5. Love of my Life - Night at the Opera
  6. Keep yourself alive - Queen I
  7. Tie your mother down - Day at the Races... too many to mention!
  
  I was so turned off by the Flash Gordon fiasco that I never listened to anything that came after it. It surprised me how many albums they put out after that. Maybe I'll give a listen one of these days, but The Game was the last album I really loved by them.
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  26

  Okay! I Can't Take It Anymore........

  by journey-on in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we've let our guard down since terry's been gone.

  i'm ready to resurrect the infamous spelling post!.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/138846/1.ashx.

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  Shawn10538

  Since we're on the subject, I counted no less than 4 times in Don Cameron's book where he used the word "then" when he should have used "than." I have never seen this problem before. My high schoolers have no problem with it, they know the difference. Apparently Cameron spent so much money on his slick shiny cover that he skimped on having an editor, or at least a good editor scan his book. He did use "than" correctly once, but it appears that the man doesn't really know when to use one and when to use the other. So, this is for you Don:
  
  Bigger THAN, more THAN, I'd rather have this one THAN that one etc.
  
  Back THEN I was a teenager, well THEN, I'll just have to take my supper on the porch, I'll have the ham on rye THEN...
  
  I hope this helps Don. Check out the book Elements of Style for more suggestions.
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  8

  A Course In Miracles~Lesson 2

  by V1710 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences
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  Shawn10538

  A course in miracles is my favorite book! Thank you for posting about it. Are you actually taking the course with the Society for inner peace or are you just reading the book and self guiding?
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  111

  A Moment of Silence For Linda

  by BFD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  Shawn10538

  ...
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  4

  Sat. Nov. 3, Meetup in Long Beach

  by Shawn10538 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  12 noon at 55 alamitos av.

  coffee caliente coffee house.

  free drink if you come!!!

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  Shawn10538

  12 noon at 55 Alamitos Av. Coffee Caliente Coffee House. Free drink if you come!!! Call if you need more info. 562-225-5928. Shawn
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  12

  Any Van Morrison Fans?

  by Guest with Questions in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i couldn't find some on youtube but here some of my favourites that i could find.. someone like you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvpgim37rkw.

  into the mystic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycwe1nd6-is&mode=related&search=.

  have i told you lately: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rq0l8phg70.

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  Shawn10538

  Tupelo Honey, my fav
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  47

  Linguistic Scholar Chomsky: "Manufacturing Consent" (about news media)

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "manufacturing consent" explores the the propaganda model of the corporate owned news media:.

  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5631882395226827730&q=chomsky&total=2145&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=8 .

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  Shawn10538

  What newspaper is that article from? Chomsky would like you to cite your sources. It sounds like Weekly World News. In any case, Capitalist propaganda. That should be easy enough to see.