Posts by CPiolo

25

Apple Computers

by toddy in

jw
friends

does anybody have opinions on apple mac computers,im thinking of getting one of those imac g4's

I work on Macs daily and have for years. The problems I've have been minimal when compared to Windows users in the same offices. The new G5s are beautiful machines and no one I know who uses them has a complaint. Mac has also just released a new version of their operating sytem OSX (the X stands for the number 10). The system is Unix based and is by far the most stable operating platform I've used on a PC. All that being said, there are advantages and disadvantages to Mac.

Advantages:

Beautiful Industrial Design (this may not matter to a vast majority of people I admit)

Excellent Graphics

Dependable (in spite of what the previous poster said)

Fantastic and rock solid OS

Less susceptible to viruses (most viruses are written for Windows)

Standard models tend to be better equiped than Windows machines (although this seems to be quickly changing and you can configure a Windows machine equally with little hassle)

Comes with a lot of excellent free software -- iMovie (to edit video), iChat (multimedia chatting software), Mail (e-mail), iPhoto (photo editing and catologing), iDVD (for creating DVDs), iCal (calendar and scheduling), iTunes (MP3 and CD burning, now available for Windows), Safari (web browser), and often others. For example the machine I use at work came bundled with OmniGraffle (diagraming software), OmniOuliner, and QuickBooks (financial software).

Disadvantages:

Expensive

Did I say Expensive (Prices have dropped, but a similar Windows machine is still less expensive)

Less software (Much of this depends on what you will use the machine for. I've never lacked for software in my area - graphics.)

In the minority (Macs are less than 10% of PC users). This can be a problem if you work or share files with Windows users, depending again upon what you're working on.

In the end, it comes out to personal preference and what's important to you personally. There are unending debates at to which operating system is best (a lot like debating religion). I personally think the Mac OS is better and more intuitive, although the new OS is less intuitive than previously, but has been progressively narrowing the gap with each new iteration. The trade off has been more stability (i.e. dedicated memory that crashes only the program you're working and not the whole system) and more room for expansion. They had pushed the old OS as far as it could go.

My advice would be to carefully consider what you're going to use the machine for, what your budget is, and to thoroughly research all your options.

CPiolo

38

Halloween after leaving the JW's

by TresHappy in

when i was a kid, we did halloween every year.

no big deal, just costumes and trick or treating, but that was the 70's.

when i was 11 we stopped celebrating everything, and several years ago i left the jw's.

CPiolo

Halloween actually isn't occult, unless you mean anything not Christian is occult. My JW wife has the same impression -- it's all about witchcraft, sorcery, and the devil. But isn't that the whole world outside Dubville? See here for a good synopsis of the Halloween tradition and its roots. (http://www.secweb.org/asset.asp?AssetID=322) CPiolo

44

Why does God create abominations?

by CPiolo in

many religious folks, including fundamentalists, moderates and liberals, from a multitude of faiths, including jehovah?s witnesses, claim that homosexuals, bisexuals and trans-gendered individuals are abominations in the eyes of god.

they believe these people are sinners of the worst sort, that their behavior is a perversion, is evil, dangerous and a threat to society, the family and/or ?family values.?

these poor souls are going to be punished in some way by god for their choices and behavior ?

CPiolo

Eduardo:

I think your post is directed at me. So, let me respond to some of your comments.

My point about homosexual behavior occurring throughout the animal kingdom wasn't meant as a justification. What it shows is that it is not an aberration, but rather quite common and natural, occurring for distinct reasons in different species. I drop that line of reasoning, because I wanted to pursue another -- the genetic factor. I only mentioned it to illustrate that humans are not the only animal to demonstrate such behavior and that if God created everything, he created other beings besides humans who demonstrate homosexual behavior. We share many behaviors with other animals -- eating, drinking, sleeping, bathing, sexual reproduction, nursing our young, living in groups, etc.

Your examples of "unnatural" animal behavior show ignorance as to exactly what these behaviors are and why they occur. While not a biologist, let me address one -- eating one's vomit.

Vomiting is a sign of illness or disease. Animals do not usually eat vomit. They do often regurgitate (expel undigested food) and eat that -- entirely different.

Regurgitation can occur for several reasons such as eating too quickly or as a natural part of the digestive process (chewing cud). Some animals also regurgitate to feed their young, which helps young with immature digestive tracts or where it would be impossible to bring a whole carcass to the nest or den.

Eating what one has regurgitated makes sense when considering the effort most animals expend in obtaining food. It requires far less energy to eat the regurgitated food than to look for and/or hunt for a new source of food, thus helping in the survival of the individual.

You also ignore the immense variety of human behaviors. There are things we do in Western society that are viewed as weird, aberrant, vile and disgusting by other cultures. Other cultures do things we don't understand, find just as weird, aberrant, vile and disgusting as they find our behavior. Even some Biblical customs, if practiced today, would be found abhorrent -- stoning to death disobedient children and non-virtuous women by their husbands. Or in the case of JWs, allowing oneself to die rather than accept life-saving blood transfusions(suicide), or letting the same fate befall one's child (murder) is found an abomination by most of what you call "civilized" society.

The point is that our disgust is learned. You could, of course, point out that we just need to learn the correct (in this case Biblical) behavior. But then we have the never ending conflict of who's the proper authority and whose interpretation of ancient scripture is correct.

Secondly, I wasn't speaking only to JWs, nor necessarily only to Christians. As well, I am not a JW, just an interested one. But here you begin to address my original question, from a JW perspective at least. That's what I was looking for.

Your response leads me to some more questions.

In JW theology, is Jehovah omnipresent, omniscient, and all powerful?

Is He not responsible for the created universe?

If so, isn't He responsible for everything in it, including whatever defects there may be, including allowing Adam and Eve to fall and condemn all of mankind to imperfection?

Can you support Biblically the notion that Adam and Eve are defective genetically? It would seem difficult, since the existence of genes is comparatively a recent discovery, certainly not something ancient Hebrews would have been aware of nor have been able to comprehend.

The Bible of course talks about disease and death as punishment for their indiscretion. Where does the Bible mention God altering genes?

How did a perfect human couple make an imperfect choice leading to the condemnation of all future generations?

Is there a specific imperfection gene or is it a combination of genes that leads to our imperfection?

The evidence that homosexuality is genetic keeps getting stronger. God/Jehovah being responsible for the created universe would then have to be responsible. He would also be responsible for Down's syndrome, cleft palates, poor vision, sickle cell anemia, etc., etc., etc.

Even if all of this can be blamed on good old Adam and Eve, why so much condemnation of homosexuals and no condemnation of those who suffer from Down's syndrome (we could always condemn them for their lack of intelligence) and other genetic defects caused by the Fall? Are these individuals abominations as well? If not, why? Why so much focus on sexual "defects"?

Could it be because this is one of strongest and most base drives and one of the most difficult to control, like hunger?

Why is God testing these individuals in such a cruel manner?

By not being natural, I assume you speaking in religious/moral terms, not in scientific terms. In the scientific sense, all that occurs is natural, including everything resulting from the Fall.

There are and have been many societies throughout time that accept and have accepted homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgendered people as just some of the many aspects of natural occurring human existence. But then maybe they're just, through their tolerance and acceptance, demonstrating more imperfection.

CPiolo

34

NEW 2003 Worldwide Service Report

by Joker10 in

jw
friends

back in 1972 the wtb&ts published a new translation of the bible, "the bible in living english", otherwise known as byington's translation.. who was byington?.

the publisher's note tells us that steven t byington was born in 1868 and studied languages at a university and a theological seminary.

he was a member of the congregational church in massachusetts, usa and the translation was almost his lifetime's work.

CPiolo

I've seen the name Jehovah used often in the 19th and early 20th centuries by both the religious and non-religious (Robert Ingersoll comes to mind). It seems to have been fashionable. The American Standard Version of the Bible also uses Jehovah. Wasn't this Bible also used by JWs before they had their own translation? How does the Society now view the ASV or versions that use Yahweh? I don't know where all this is leading, just food for thought I guess. CPiolo