PrimateDave

Joined

• started 24 topics
• posted 1,633 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by PrimateDave

• 
  7

  Did God intend Adam and Eve to wear clothes?

  by cultswatter in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at first adam and eve were content being naked.

  adam had a lot of time on his hands so he designed a living room suite complete with couch, coffee table and reclina.

  the trouble is that adam would every so often forget to wash after taking a big dump and eve would curse the hell out of him for leaving a big brown streak on the white couch.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  Scientist estimates humans began wearing clothing 72,000 years ago. (Give or take 40,000 years.)
  
  Dave
• 
  61

  How to stump someone that believes the noah's flood happened.

  by 5go in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  one of the key peices of evidence that people sight to try to prove the flood happen is the fact the most cultures have a flood myth or story as they put it.. i was just watching a program that also points out the most, if not all cultures believe in dragons.

  even cultures that evolve in isolation have beliefs in dragons and they are all simular though not the same.

  just like the flood myth.. so if they believe the flood happened because so many cultures have flood stories.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  I learned that the Flood account in the book of Genesis is an edited version of two previous stories that differ from each other in significant ways. See the book Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Friedman for a scholarly discussion of the Documentary Hypothesis. In a previous Flood topic I separated the texts using the information from Friedman's book.
  
  I used to accept the things I was told as a child at face value because I trusted the adults around me to know what they were talking about. I have since come to realize that this is the basis for the perpetuation of cultural and religious myths. Fortunately, we live in a time when we can look up the information for ourselves and make up our own minds, free from preconceived ideas if we so choose. It is not surprising that we may have developed emotional attachments to the stories we learned in childhood and thus have difficulty seeing the world around us through any other perspective.
  
  So, It is not up to me to try to stump someone who believes in the Flood. We are adults now. We can do the research and make up our own minds, right? For my part, I will just go so far as to suggest that there are a wide range of perspectives "out there" that go beyond the literal, inerrantist, and fundamentalist religious mindset. Take your pick. ;)
  
  Dave
• 
  43

  Do you still love the Bible?

  by senoj53 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as a jw i was brought up to believe the bible was the word of god, didn't contradict itself and could answer all our questions.

  i loved the bible and took the words of proverbs 2 literally, where it says if you call out for undestanding and search for it you will find the very knowledge of god.

  i studied the bible as jw's recomend, but found that it left me with more questions than answers and this eventually led me out of the "truth," as i discovered many contradictions in both the hebrew and the greek scriptures and instances where the apostle paul even contradicts jesus words.. in the most important event of bible history, (the death of jesus) the gospel writers can't even agree on the sequence of events and who he appeared to first after his resurrection.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  Evolution proved to essentially be an "inconclusive" argument that went no where. Evolutionists don't want to have to explain where it all begin and just want to explain how it evolved after it all began quite mysteriously. That's usually where I get off. But if you pursue this further, it no longer becomes about the process of "evolution" but about the contradiction of the Bible's timeline as to when things started and what the scientists are saying, a few thousand years versus millions, and that argument continues, so nothing is resolved there.
  
  JCanon

  
  
  Textbooks on the Theory of Evolution that I have read don't mention the Bible or Creationism. They are about Science which is based on observation and experimentation. They present the accumulated body of scientific knowledge which is open to examination and change. They don't pretend to have all the answers but provide a basis for further inquiry. That said, many Christians accept the Bible on faith while acknowledging the sound science behind the Theory of Evolution.
  
  It seems to me you have yet to go beyond the popular literature written by Biblical apologists and the "Evolutionists" who argue with them. I am not trying to be disrespectful in any way, but I think you have been looking for easy answers to ponderously deep questions. There is no reason to denigrate the scientific studies on the origins of life and the universe just because they cannot provide you with pleasing, easily digested answers like those found in Biblical mythology.
  
  To the original poster I will say that once I took in accurate knowledge about the Bible (see Terry's post), I now have no use for it beyond its obvious place in the literature of our culture.
  
  Dave
• 
  26

  Discovery Channel Show about History of Noah on Right Now

  by erynw in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  looks interesting.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  I don't have cable TV. For what it is worth, most people don't realize that the story of Noah found in the Bible is an edited version made from two older stories. This is well known among Biblical scholars. By examining the text they are able to gain many clues about who wrote what parts of the Bible and when. Using information found in the book Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Friedman, I separated the two stories from each other back in this thread: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/134240/2390025/post.ashx#2390025
  
  Dave
• 
  3

  letting go of god

  by dogon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  julia sweeney's new tape letting go of god is one of the best monologs i have heard in quite a while.. it is hard to find but you can view a seventeen min.

  sample on youtube.

  i final found it on audible.com and for 11.95 no tax you can down load a copy to your computer and burn one copy to cd.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  Interesting. I think I've already let go of god, but I'll give it a listen. I may have found a copy on emule. Never know till it downloads if it is good or not.
  
  Dave
• 
  6

  An answer to Intelligent Design?

  by PrimateDave in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm about to purchase the book the tinkerer's accomplice: how design emerges from life itself by j. scott turner.. .

  the description says that the author takes on the challenge of explaining how design in living organisms occurs in nature without resorting to the unfalsifiable concept of "god.

  " i thought it might be a good read and an answer, as it were, to the august 15 watchtower feature article "what does design in nature reveal?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  Thanks! Just like to have a little feedback, that's all.
  
  Does life show evidence of design? Yes. Random mutation and natural selection seem to be insufficient to explain many intricate biological processes.
  
  Do lifeforms evolve? Without a doubt. The evidence for Evolutionary Theory is abundant. For instance, we know for a fact that humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestry.
  
  Is Jehovah the "Grand Creator"? No. A Canaanite/Hebrew tribal deity that enjoyed the smell of burnt flesh has nothing to offer modern science.
  
  Dave
• 
  6

  An answer to Intelligent Design?

  by PrimateDave in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm about to purchase the book the tinkerer's accomplice: how design emerges from life itself by j. scott turner.. .

  the description says that the author takes on the challenge of explaining how design in living organisms occurs in nature without resorting to the unfalsifiable concept of "god.

  " i thought it might be a good read and an answer, as it were, to the august 15 watchtower feature article "what does design in nature reveal?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  Do I have really bad body odor?
  
  Dave
• 
  6

  An answer to Intelligent Design?

  by PrimateDave in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm about to purchase the book the tinkerer's accomplice: how design emerges from life itself by j. scott turner.. .

  the description says that the author takes on the challenge of explaining how design in living organisms occurs in nature without resorting to the unfalsifiable concept of "god.

  " i thought it might be a good read and an answer, as it were, to the august 15 watchtower feature article "what does design in nature reveal?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  I'm about to purchase the book The Tinkerer's Accomplice: How Design Emerges from Life Itself by J. Scott Turner.
  
  The description says that the author takes on the challenge of explaining how design in living organisms occurs in nature without resorting to the unfalsifiable concept of "GOD." I thought it might be a good read and an answer, as it were, to the August 15 Watchtower feature article "What Does Design in Nature Reveal?" As always, the Society manages to make the inexplicable mental jump from the concept of intelligent design straight to the God of the Bible, as if the Bible somehow has a monopoly on religious faith among sentient primates on this planet. Their argument: Living organisms show evidence of design. The Bible says that God made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. Therefore, the God of the Bible designed living organisms. They say that the God of the Bible is no "God-of-the-gaps," but from what I've read of the Bible, Jehovah is the God of the Credibility Gap.
  
  So, I digress. Has anyone read The Tinkerer's Accomplice?
  
  Dave
• 
  78

  We are free to love

  by purplesofa in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what i have noticed since pulling away from group thinking, mindsets, rules and superstitions, that i am open to a broader range of loving people.. i am not sure i can blame all this on the jw expericance.

  as children we are taught from our tribe, (family and enviroment, church, school, extended family, neighborhood..........who to love and who not to love.

  i used to believe as the witnesses taught, you have to "beat" the evil out of children.. have you ever watched a group of small children unattended?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  Hi purps,
  
  Just wanted to say that you wrote a beautiful post that well expresses feelings that I have had. It is very hard to go beyond the artificial divisions created by money, religion, and politics to learn to see our fellow earthlings deserve the same love that we desire for ourselves.
  
  Like the DWB, all we have to do is act, do something, and not stand aside. We have that freedom as long as we can let go of the fear we may have: our own fear of failure and fear of reprisals from others. I can guess that it must be in the interests of governments and religions to nurture that fear so that we feel dependent on them somehow.
  
  Thankfully, I believe more people are thinking outside the box, overcoming their fear and hate, and learning what it means to love.
  
  Dave
• 
  68

  Were YOU Raised In "The Truth" or Did You Convert???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was raised a witness.

  (so i have some excuse).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  PrimateDave

  Raised. Used to think I was lucky. In the back of my mind I think I never would have converted.
  
  Dave