Posts by Auchmull

25

An Invitation To ThirdWitness & Scholar - strengthen their faith.

by hillary_step in

jw
friends

third witness & scholar,.

i am sure that given your sneering remarks in recent months you know that many, though not all, who post to this board are agnostic / atheists or have 'lost their faith' in the bible.

i am inviting you to present a defence of the bible in order to strengthen the resolve of the many jw's who read this board anonomously.

Auchmull

I personally am here specifically to see legitimate arguments for both sides (all sides) so I can make informed decisions.

24

Why does the trinity matter... or not?

by drew sagan in

jw
friends

here's what i'm putting out there.

every jw has a list of teachings that they know 'prove' they are the only true religion.

while they turn to many things in order to prove their points, i have noticed a special tendancy to turn to just a few things in the end.

Auchmull

I said that I can prove the trinity from the scriptures

Can you share those scriptures? I can't search the board and I feel pretty convinced about the Non-trinity from my bible studies.

thanks.

60

Would You Stop Going To Mel Gibson Movies???

by minimus in

jw
friends

i wouldn't.

i don't care too much for spike lee but i like some of his movies.....i just think mel needs some help.

Auchmull

These people don't believe in christ so where do they get off forcing people to change the story ?

suck my bippy.

19

Candid Interview with Kevin Smith on Prince

by daniel-p in

jw
friends

this is a 4-part series of video of kevin smith (director of dogma, chasing amy, jay and silent bob, etc) talking about his experience filming a documentary for prince.

this is a must-see, even if you don't care for celebrity gossip.

it's absolutely hilarious.

Auchmull

Actually, the bra *does* fit.

Black musicians have been exploited from the beginning, making millions for their producers and never seeing a dime.

47

Why does god allow suffering?

by GBSJG in

i always had trouble with answering that question.

if there is a god why is there so much suffering?

so i looked up the offical explanation of the wts in the bible teach book chapter 11 paragraph 12 says: let us consider an illustration.

This bothers me, too. The argument my bible study person made, as I understand it, is that by allowing us to go through all this crap, God is proving once and for all to everyone, that he's right and Satan is wrong, ergo, no one will ever rebel in the future. I'm pretty sure there's a flaw in the argument, but I can't put a name on it.

16

I'm confused

by Auchmull in

i've been studying with a jw for a short time.

i started searching the internet for more information because much of what she was saying and what i was reading made sense, but i didn't trust my own judgment.

i haven't seen the ugliness that i read about here and as an outsider, it looks comforting.

Auchmull

We may just be an uncaused phenomenon, not created by anything intelligent, but not necessarily "not created" at all in any sense.

This is what I've always tended to believe -- and it has caused me no end of existential anguish.

16

I'm confused

by Auchmull in

i've been studying with a jw for a short time.

i started searching the internet for more information because much of what she was saying and what i was reading made sense, but i didn't trust my own judgment.

i haven't seen the ugliness that i read about here and as an outsider, it looks comforting.

Auchmull

Thank you to everyone who responded -- I'm on a lunch break, but I wanted to respond to some of you.

I will certainly investigate the 607 issue -- it hasn't been introduced in full to me, so I'm not even sure where to start.

The person I study with has not accused me of being under Satan's influence, and she's been very open about answering my questions.There are quite a few that we've "put off" until I get more of a foundation. (I'm not ready for Revelation yet, for example!)

As for evolution, different dog breeds are the same [sub]species -- canis lupis familiaris-- and there seems to be debate as to whether the finches are separate species, as they seem to be able to interbreed:

If we believe that two species share a common ancestor, then as one traces the species back in time, they should become closer and closer in form. At the branch point, the species should become ambiguous. That is precisely the point at which we find the Darwin's finches. They are in the process of separating, but they haven't completely done so at this point in time. The definition of the term "species" includes the presence of a fertility barrier between individuals of different species. In the case of Darwin's finches, those barriers are not completely formed yet, and there is a certain amount of documented hybridization between species. This also contributes to the ambiguity of the birds. --http://www.rit.edu/~rhrsbi/GalapagosPages/DarwinFinch2.html

I wanted to say more, but I'll be late. Thanks for letting me work through this stuff.

18

My Part in Apostate History

by noni1974 in

i went to my local library to find in search of christan freedom by ray franz.they didn't have it.so i asked if they could try to get it from another library for me.they took my name and address and phone number and told me i would get something in the mail when they got it.. .

i got a letter for them last week telling me it was in.i went yeasterday to pick it up.i was happly supprized to find out they had bought it from amazon .com.now it will be in the library system for others to read.i'm planning on doing the same for c of c.if they don't buy that one i'm going to donate my copy to them.this is my little part to help others who have questions and want to read up on jw's.. .

i know it's a small part and all i did was ask.boy am i proud.

Auchmull

They can claim they returned it (and for the most part, we take their word for it, at the least the first time they make the claim) -- it could be taken off the shelves without being checked out -- it could be defaced in some not immediately noticeable way, so that it isn't possible to verify who damaged it.

Libraries with security systems have been robbed by throwing books out a window (you have to walk through the doors to set off an alarm) and any number of other ways.

16

I'm confused

by Auchmull in

i've been studying with a jw for a short time.

i started searching the internet for more information because much of what she was saying and what i was reading made sense, but i didn't trust my own judgment.

i haven't seen the ugliness that i read about here and as an outsider, it looks comforting.

Auchmull

I've been studying with a JW for a short time. I started searching the internet for more information because much of what she was saying and what I was reading made sense, but I didn't trust my own judgment. I haven't seen the ugliness that I read about here and as an outsider, it looks comforting. I don't have any formed religious beliefs, so she's really working with a blank canvas.

I'm not at a place where I can honestly believe that the bible is *inspired* so it's all very hypothetical: IF the bible is truly the word of God, is what they're telling me accurate? I tried to read the 607/539 (538?) thread, but frankly found it hard to follow. I read about Isaiah prophesying the fall of Babylon, then found arguments that the latter part of Isaiah was written AFTER the fall... but the arguments were not well formed, so I'm left more confused. The arguments against evolution seem flawed because their definition of evolution is so limited - they don't seem to deny adaptation and natural selection as legitimate mechanisms. But hell -- I haven't seen evidence of a change from one species to another. Darwin's finches are still finches, those peppered moths are different, but still moths. What are the explanations for homo habilis, erectus, etc? Other species (not related to humans) that died off?

I'm still coming here to see the Devil's Advocates, as it were -- to discover the questions that I want to ask, that I haven't been able to form. I don't have anyone to talk to about this - I've felt tremendously conflicted for the last several weeks.

18

My Part in Apostate History

by noni1974 in

i went to my local library to find in search of christan freedom by ray franz.they didn't have it.so i asked if they could try to get it from another library for me.they took my name and address and phone number and told me i would get something in the mail when they got it.. .

i got a letter for them last week telling me it was in.i went yeasterday to pick it up.i was happly supprized to find out they had bought it from amazon .com.now it will be in the library system for others to read.i'm planning on doing the same for c of c.if they don't buy that one i'm going to donate my copy to them.this is my little part to help others who have questions and want to read up on jw's.. .

i know it's a small part and all i did was ask.boy am i proud.

Auchmull

As a librarian, I can tell you that books disappear with frightening frequency -- it's an easy, anonymous form of censorship in many cases.