Posts by Cold Steel

56

Why Do Intelligent People Believe in God?

by cantleave in

jw
friends

one of the most common thing thrown at atheists is - lots of intelligent people believe in god.

this darkmatter 2525's video is an excellent explanation as to why very logical people possess religious belief systems.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y201qzddzbg.

Cold Steel

EndOfMysteries: Having been a programmer, researching into AI, genetics, etc., I see intelligent design in all life. I am even considering learning programming again to try to create AI since faster computer processors, memory steadily rising in capacity but shrinking in physical size, cloud computing, camera, audio devices, and the new industrial revolution all have the right conditions to begin to develop this technology.

Any chance you can have it ready by the November elections in the U.S.?

Cofty: Does nobody ever feel the need to read a book anymore? There are facts and then there is stuff people make up with no foundation in reality.

Yes, it's well known that science books will lead men to all truth, at least for a few years. Then we have to throw them away and buy books with completely new information and conclusions. So trust whatever science tells you, you can believe it...at least until the information becomes updated. If had a nickel for every scientific textbook I've thrown away over the past four decades because it had information that had been discredited, and a dime for every newspaper or journal article that announced a new discovery that would rewrite everything we knew on a given topic, I'd have a whole bunch of mayonnaise jars full of coins! Our knowledge is ever growing, but while it's great to have knowledge, man's science will never lead to a knowledge of the truth.

12

The soldiers on guard at Jesus tomb didn't become believers, why in the hell not?

by James Mixon in

you are on guard at jesus sealed tomb.

all of a sudden a great earthquake occurs and an angel.

wearing a dazzling outfit descends from above like lightning and this angel single handedly rolls away.

Cold Steel

Unfortunately, people don't react that way in real life. Judas saw the miraculous healings Jesus did. So did the Jews. But they weren't converted. Also, it's very likely the soldiers took a dive before the angels and the light. Miracles, though, rarely convert. In the case of Paul, he was already religious (merely misdirected). Balaam was already a prophet, had seen an angel and yet fell. The soldiers most likely weren't Jews, and at the time Jesus was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Add all this together and the soldiers most likely never saw a thing. In fact, who knows? They might have been executed.

But...on the other hand, how do you know they didn't join the church?

"There was an earthquake, sir! Lots of light. We lost consciousness right after we saw the angels."

"The what?"

"Angels. Two of them. Dressed in white. Very bright."

"You mean you engaged them in conversation?"

"No, sir. They glowed white. We needed sunglasses."

"Needed what?"

"Never mind."

"So there was an earthquake, angels that glowed and you feel asleep."

"Er...lost consciousness, sir."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, we've decided to serve God from now on!"

"Really?"

"Yes, sir. We've seen the light."

"That's nice. Kill them!"

13

The Curious Case Of Brother B

by pale.emperor in

there was a case in my old congregation that is shrouded in mystery that i'd like to share and get your views.

this is something i've wanted to talk about for years but it's strongly shot down if you even try to talk about it in my old congregation.. it involves a certain brother b.. in my old congregation this brother was well liked.

as a kid, we all knew him for being fascinated with dinosaurs.

Cold Steel

All traces of him have been purged from the congregation. If you mention his name you get a stern look or warned not to ask about it.

This is amazing. Who in the congregation has the authority to give you a "stern look" or warn you not to ask about it? I've never heard of such a thing in any other church or synagogue I've ever visited. If you become an ordained minister of Jehovah when you're baptized, then who has charge over you? What would happen if you were to ask, "Hey, what's going on with Brother and Sister B?" I can't imagine anyone being so intimidating that they could stop you with a glance! Is the atmosphere in the congregation that stifling that a stern look could prevent a question about a well-liked brother?

Try putting on some old clothes and dropping by Brother B. Then tell him you're not dropping by in an official capacity, but that no one had heard from him. Also, ask grandma what she knows.

Now I'm interested!

56

Why Do Intelligent People Believe in God?

by cantleave in

jw
friends

one of the most common thing thrown at atheists is - lots of intelligent people believe in god.

this darkmatter 2525's video is an excellent explanation as to why very logical people possess religious belief systems.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y201qzddzbg.

Cold Steel

Why do people quote from Wikipedia? It's not accepted as a valid source. It is a great tool and at the very bottom are the actual references.

It's accepted on some things. I've seen things I didn't agree with that are in established sources that are just plain inaccurate. I'm a big Douglas MacArthur fan and have read and talked to many people, including his fiercest detractors, and yet some of the things published about MacArthur today (and taught in war colleges) are completely apocraphal. So care is needed everywhere.

56

Why Do Intelligent People Believe in God?

by cantleave in

jw
friends

one of the most common thing thrown at atheists is - lots of intelligent people believe in god.

this darkmatter 2525's video is an excellent explanation as to why very logical people possess religious belief systems.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y201qzddzbg.

Cold Steel

Cofty » That makes sense to you because you don't know the first thing about evolution.
You have confused logical with simplistic.

Another two-line response with no substance. Sigh!

20

How can Jesus be the head of the Jehovah's Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

.

Cold Steel

I don't know many people who think of jw's as "Christian", most people think of Christians as one who believes Christ came, died upon the cross and was resurrected (body and all). By His work upon the cross we are saved, not by our own works or our death.

Do you believe most JWs will go to Hell for an eternity? And do you believe Jesus still has a physical body of flesh and bones? If so, then is God no longer a spirit? I'm not trying to trick you on this last one...just curious.

62

What Happens To You When You Die?

by minimus in

jw
friends

are our dead loved ones watching over us at all or are they really just gone now?

Cold Steel

And that which is dismissed by fools often can be asserted with evidence.

And if you don't want to refute with wisdom...shut up!

P.S. -- Decades you say? You mean you're older than two? You haven't acquired much wisdom, have you?

62

What Happens To You When You Die?

by minimus in

jw
friends

are our dead loved ones watching over us at all or are they really just gone now?

Cold Steel

Talking to a Mormon is like playing tennis without a net or lines. You just make shit up as you go along and pretend you are presenting evidence for something.

Every time I discuss anything with you, Cofty, I come away wondering how old you are. The way you substitute labeling and name calling for thought and discussion should be shameful to you, but it doesn't appear to be the case. A critic of William Jennings Bryan once remarked that one could sail a schooner through his arguments and never once brush up against a fact. This applies to you, sir, in spades. You seem incapable of discussion, yet you inexplicably bore people to tears 😢 about the theory of evolution. Why you feel compelled to use facts to defend it, and yet dismiss everything else with only one or two lines of insults, is fascinating.

Perhaps next year in school they'll teach you about research and footnotes.

62

What Happens To You When You Die?

by minimus in

jw
friends

are our dead loved ones watching over us at all or are they really just gone now?

Cold Steel

Evidence suggests that when you die you cease to exist...just like before you were born.

I know of no evidence to support the notion that when one dies he or she ceases to exist, nor is there any evidence, as yet, that we did or didn't exist before our births. With most people it's an article of faith -- a belief. One can state their beliefs one way or the other.

The paranormal shows on TV are Total Bullshit.

And how does one know this?

In the Bible Belt there's a bumper sticker that goes: "The Bible Says It, I Believe It, And that Settles It!"

To say one believes these shows to be total bullshit is different from saying they are total bullshit. Where Christians stick in that part about the Bible, if one simply snips that out and says, "I believe it and that settles it" how is that any different than a diehard JW saying that evolution is total bullshit?

The next logical question is, "How do you know??"

Cofty, you're like the atheist version of what you hate so much in Bible thumpers. Put a label on something, call it a name and hit the "Post Reply" button! For one thing, I doubt you really want to know whether these depictions are true or not. And if you found out that such things are true, I also doubt you'd be intellectually honest enough to admit it.

How does a disembodied "spirit" [grab someone]? How can a spirit pass through solid objects and catch solid objects? If it interacts with material objects then it could be detected and measured. Except it can't.

You assume that a spirit is completely ethereal and cannot touch or be touched. Also, you assume that a spirit is not matter. Actually, there are numerous reports of people feeling hands touching them in spiritual encounters. Some believe that spirit is matter, just more refined. In many near death experiences, people say that the spirit world is not at all ethereal, but is every bit as real as our own. Our perceptions are heightened, but there are colors; people and animals have the same 3D appearance we do here. Sounds are every bit as real and when people touch, it feels much the same as it does here. A number expressed surprise that things were as substantial there as here, and that there are buildings, roads (though different than here). There are no conveyances as we know them here nor is there a central source of light, as all things exude their own light. No one can approve these accounts are true, but they're very consistent.

13

Jehovah or Jesus: Who Is To Come?

by Cold Steel in

one thing i've never understood about jw eschatology is how it views armageddon and the end times.

the leaders and writers have evolved in their understanding of what's supposed to happen in the timeline.

below are bible scriptures relating to biblical armageddon.

Cold Steel

Mephis» ...even within Christianity, certainly within the Anglican communion, there's a lot of questions over some of the assumptions present in just that short sentence. I doubt it would even occur to you to question them. That's fundamentally going to be the gulf between your interpretation of scripture and JWs' too. It would be the same sort of response as if you tried to explain Yahweh being Jesus to a Gnostic. They'd think you were slightly dotty and terribly deluded.

I'm not sure I'm reading you. There are numerous interpretations to many scriptures. Gnostics were considered some of the worst heretics of their time and one of the things that give away Islam is Islam's borrowing of Gnostic claims, such as Jesus not being crucified or resurrected. It got to the point that anything later Christian scholars didn't like were considered Gnostic. That said, there were numerous forces in and out of the church that were robbing the early church of true doctrine and replacing it with the "doctrines of devils."

Jesus' comments and declarations associating himself with YHWH are seen by the JWs as being simply divine investiture of authority. IOWs, it doesn't matter who says it, both are ONE, either a trinitarian ONE or a corporate ONE. But John states, "For the Father judgeth no man, but has committed all judgement to the Son." (John 5:22)

Here seems to be a clear distinction between the Father and the Son that would not occur if John believed in the Trinity. Some might also wonder who was acting as God while Jesus was undergoing mortality? If MAN needs a mediator between him and God, who was that mediator during those 33 years? Does God delegate work to those who have lived on the earth? Who knows? I just can't buy into the Trinitarian notion that one being can manifest itself as multiple beings.