PrimateDave

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Posts by PrimateDave

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  10

  Did Evolution Save Human Race From AIDS?

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i must admit, i hate the word and concept of evolution.

  however, to give the 'devil his due', there.

  has been an interesting development in the fight against aids.

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  PrimateDave

  Reductionist Neo-Darwinism is not the only game in town. Evolutionary Biologist Lynn Margulis has studied the processes of evolution at the cellular level and has promoted Symbiogenesis. From the Wikipedia:
  
  

  She later formulated a theory to explain how symbiotic relationships that are taking place in modern day humans and animals are the driving force of evolution. Genetic variation is proposed to mainly occur as a result of transfer of nuclear information between bacterial cells or viruses and eukaryotic cells. While her organelle genesis ideas are widely accepted, symbiotic relationships as a current method of introducing genetic variation is somewhat of a fringe idea. However, examination of the results from the Human Genome Project lends credence toward an endosymbiotic theory of evolution—or at the very least Margulis's endosymbiotic theory is the catalyst for current ideas about the composition of the human genome. Significant portions of the human genome are either bacterial or viral in origin—some clearly ancient insertions, while others are more recent in origin. This strongly supports the idea of symbiotic—and more likely parasitic—relationships being a driving force for genetic change in humans, and likely all organisms. It should be noted that while the endosymbiotic theory has historically been juxtaposed with Neo-Darwinism, the two theories are not incompatible and the truth is likelier to be that natural selection works on many levels (genetic up to the ecosystem) and variation is introduced both at the genetic and the cellular level.

  
  
  So, anthropocentrism aside, HIV is likely to be a factor in human evolution, much as viral code is today a component of the human genome.
  
  Dave
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  30

  Does China Disprove Bible Prophecy?

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  china is rapidly emerging as second only to the us.

  it's growth rates may allow it to pass the us.

  yet, interpretations of daniel and revelation say nothing about this, at least.

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  PrimateDave

  All this talk of "old light" and "new light". I prefer to read prophecy by strobe light! It's lots more fun that way.

  I remember reading an explanation of Daniel in a 1925 Golden Age. They were convinced that it proved that the time of the end began in 1799 in fulfillment of prophecy. The last book study I went to was studying the Daniel Prophecy book. I finally realized that the explanation of the King of the North vs. King of the South was so convoluted as to be nonsense. I know of at least one prophecy in Isaiah that was changed due to its failure. I know of another that was made up by the writer of the Deuteronomistic History (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) that was intended to glorify King Josiah. I know of "prophecies" that were misapplied to Jesus by the NT writers. These are just a few that I remember. There are others. The evidence from its own pages refutes that the Bible is a book of real prophecy.

  Dave
  
  
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  Mr Deity website!

  by tim hooper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm sure this is familiar to a lot here, but i've only just seen the light!.

  so join your favourite creator as he ponders some some of the problems of forming the universes greatest corporation;.

  http://mrdeity.com/.

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  PrimateDave

  Funny stuff. If only my connection wasn't so slow.
  
  Dave
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  19

  Sharing a bed

  by sass_my_frass in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is ot (like half of the topics in 'friends'), and a bit personal, but i don't actually have that many friends that i can talk about this with, so here goes.... mr frass and i believe we're very happily married, and we're very affectionate.

  trouble is, around midnight many nights, i'm finding that i can't get comfortable and sleep.

  i need to turn around a lot, cuddle a spare pillow in *just* the right way etc.

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  PrimateDave

  Maybe you could have two beds in the same room? Then just move over to the vacant one when you get insomnia. Hop back in bed with hubby in the morning when it's almost time to get up.
  
  Dave
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  45

  Why do people hide on this site?

  by Adolfius in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  something i've noticed when reading the various threads on this site, is that so many people seem to be afraid.

  their scared of being disfellowshipped, scared of being shunned, scared of not being accepted by the congregation, scared that people may find out they don't believe anymore, scared if anyone was to find out they use this site.

  there is advice for people on how to avoid being disfellowshipped, if they may have "said too much" about their thoughts, or how to fade without being noticed.. i don't understand this.

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  PrimateDave

  Way to go, dawg, I mean Charles! Uh, you should probably clean your ass. It might get infected or something...
  
  So far I'm lucky enough that my parents still stay in contact. I made up my mind last year to leave in no uncertain terms. I told the PO and emailed my family. I miss some of the friends I had in the local congregation, but I have made other friends "in the world".
  
  Dave
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  12

  Sci-fi fans or not? Speak Klingon? Or are you a face hugger?

  by Crumpet in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it occurred to me during my meanderings through london last night that invariably boyfriends describe me in the context of science fiction.

  i like geeky guys a lot so that is to be expected.

  but moving on to the dubious similarities - the first called me a a face hugger - nice, unless you have watched aliens in which case you will know what a face hugger is.

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  PrimateDave

  I love Sci-Fi.

  I don't speak Klingon. Just English, Spanish and a few words in Japanese.

  Alien movies are way cool!
  
  Unfavorable comparisons to sci-fi characters doesn't get one second dates to be sure.

  This past week I watched Serenity, Pitch Black, and The Chronicles of Riddick.

  Dave
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  17

  I had an argument with a JW today!

  by cultswatter in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this conversation happened at work today.

  i already know that this guy was a jw but i wanted to know where his headspace was.

  the conversation went something like this.

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  PrimateDave

  You said you had a "document from the internet that proves"...
  
  In his mind: "document" + "internet" = Oh, no! Apostate material! Must not listen!
  
  Dave
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  31

  is atheism better than believing in a god who doesnt care?

  by theinfamousone in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so here's a sincere question... and instead of pressing my frustrations and blaming god and bla bla bla... i decided that instead of writing letters to an inactive god, i would ask your opinion!!!!!.

  here's the question, looking at the world around you, seeing all the pain and frustration, the death and disease, the war and hypocricy, the starvation and disgust; generally seeing that our world is falling apart... if someone were able to irrevocably prove that there was a god, an intelligent creator is you will, would you want to worship him?

  if he was there and created all of this just to watch it all implode, would you be able to respect that?

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  PrimateDave

  Hi Warlock. You said:

  If I may take your comment a little further. I highlighted above, because everything we know about God is communicated by other humans, whether by written word, or spoken word. What if those who do claim the be his "earthly representitives" have it completely wrong? They heard it wrong, they wrote it wrong, etc. What if the context of our questions about God,( i.e., Does He really care? Does He exist?) is wrong, because those who claim to speak for him have misled us, most without knowing it?
  
  Warlock

  So, that would seem to make those who claim to speak for god either Frauds or Fools, wouldn't it? What do you think?

  Dave
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  13

  If not God, who or what is ultimately in control?

  by Guest with Questions in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i believe that we are all subject to either god or man but man is very limited.

  as a christian i believe that god is in control.

  he did give us free choice to an extent but he is control overall.

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  PrimateDave

  Your question presupposes that someone or something must be in control. Of what? Humans? Life on Earth? The Universe?

  Despite government propaganda, humans are mostly anarchic in their day to day lives. In fact, outside of Western "democracies" (aka "police states"), government interference in people's lives is minimal. Even those who believe in god(s) pretty much do as they please, and the god(s) don't seem to mind. The individual human tends to resist centralized control, but cooperation with others is often necessary for survival.

  Life on Earth pretty much follows a simple pattern. All living things maintain boundaries and export entropy. Living things reproduce. Even single-cell life forms possess the ability to choose and are "intelligent" in their own way, capable of movement and even cooperation with other life. Your body is composed of trillions of singularly "intelligent" cells cooperating with each other to export entropy and reproduce. There is no centralized control, but cooperation is imperative for survival.

  Our science tells us that the Universe is composed of matter and energy visible in the form of dust, planets, stars, and galaxies. There are four known forces that control the Universe: gravity, electromagnetic interaction, strong nuclear interaction, weak nuclear interaction.
  
  Now, the secret to understanding the above is to eliminate anthropocentric thoughts. Not an easy thing to do considering all the cultural baggage that most people have.

  Dave
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  31

  is atheism better than believing in a god who doesnt care?

  by theinfamousone in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so here's a sincere question... and instead of pressing my frustrations and blaming god and bla bla bla... i decided that instead of writing letters to an inactive god, i would ask your opinion!!!!!.

  here's the question, looking at the world around you, seeing all the pain and frustration, the death and disease, the war and hypocricy, the starvation and disgust; generally seeing that our world is falling apart... if someone were able to irrevocably prove that there was a god, an intelligent creator is you will, would you want to worship him?

  if he was there and created all of this just to watch it all implode, would you be able to respect that?

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  PrimateDave

  Like Dave said above, atheism isn't better than anything, it's just the conclusion I'm left with, a default condition based upon practical considerations. I don't question whether god cares, I question its very nature.
  
  The Biblical god evolved from a patriarchal-tribal nature deity into an idealized abstract entity, yet somehow still intent on extracting time and wealth from its followers for its earthly representatives. These representatives invented a disease called "sin" in order to sell their prescription of "sacrifice".
  
  This formula has endured in various forms and flavors to this day. Jehovah's Witnesses demand lots of time (and money) for their god. I'm a lazy person, so I couldn't put up with any more demands on my time from their god, or anyone else's deity. Show me a god who "cares" and I'll show you an organization with its hand out asking for something.
  
  I guess there's no real harm in just believing in a god who doesn't demand anything, just as there's no harm in believing in a god who doesn't do anything.
  
  Dave (99.4% chimpanzee)