Posts by Cold Steel

36

Like Father, Like Son

by cofty in

when faced with awkward questions about the morality of god many christians respond by distancing themselves from the old testament and focusing on "gentle jesus meek and mild" of the new testament.. for bible-believing christians this is intellectually dishonest.. according to christian dogma jesus was the god of abraham isaac and jacob.

the logos, the alpha and omega who is "the same yesterday, today, and forever.".

he claimed that "he that has seen me has seen the father" and that "i and the father are one".. in short, christians assert that jesus is almighty god from all eternity.. it therefore follows that jesus was the god who ordered the nation of israel to take slaves as inheritable possessions.

Cold Steel

2+2=5» You counter what you call ridiculous, with pure fantasy.

Fantasy has no hope of being reality. In every reality, fantasy is false. Religion and Christianity have not been shown to be false. Cofty has dismissed my and many other's comments with mostly insubstantial and, at best, unproven responses. My response, above, is no more fantasy than his, but I believe, as a Christian, that every knee shall bend and every tongue will confess Christ.

Cofty never, ever, says, "I believe..." but with, "This is the way it is..." He also resorts to name calling, which I'm not comfortable with. But to me, what he said in his post is just blather he's read on the Internet. I haven't seen him present one original thought. His arguments remind me of the flat earthers who spout some facts, but not ones that lead to correct conclusions.

But you're right as far as that my conclusions are not provable. But if they're ridiculous, they're no more or less so than his. But this board is all about opinions and experiences.

36

Like Father, Like Son

by cofty in

when faced with awkward questions about the morality of god many christians respond by distancing themselves from the old testament and focusing on "gentle jesus meek and mild" of the new testament.. for bible-believing christians this is intellectually dishonest.. according to christian dogma jesus was the god of abraham isaac and jacob.

the logos, the alpha and omega who is "the same yesterday, today, and forever.".

he claimed that "he that has seen me has seen the father" and that "i and the father are one".. in short, christians assert that jesus is almighty god from all eternity.. it therefore follows that jesus was the god who ordered the nation of israel to take slaves as inheritable possessions.

Cold Steel

Cofty» In short, Christians assert that Jesus is Almighty God from all eternity.

TRUE.

It therefore follows that Jesus was the God who ordered the nation of Israel to take slaves as inheritable possessions. Jesus instructed the armies of Joshua to commit genocide, to murder women and babies in cold blood and to kidnap virgins for sex-slaves.

FALSE. In no instance did God ever "order" the taking of slaves. He did, however, allow it as it was an ancient custom. And though they could be inherited, the Lord directed that on certain occasions and jubilees that the slaves be released with compensation. It was, I suppose, better than being subjected to death. And God never instructed people to murder, as murder was against the law. I don't ever recall the Lord using the term "murder" in that regard. The Canaanites were a perverted people who sacrificed their own infants in the fires of Molech. There's a difference between cleansing and murder. And Christians don't view death as the end of existence, but rather, a penalty. So if God is real and gave those commandments, then those who died simply went from one phase of existence to another. And if God doesn't exist, then there is no good or evil anyway.

Jesus of the gospels is like a Nazi leader with a new identity living like a harmless, friendly old man in South America.

RIDICULOUS. One day every knee will bend and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ. And when that day comes, I want you to remember this in all vividness -- that you thought you were good enough to judge Him.

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

How can someone have any conscious thought, feeling, or any sort of perception of their external surroundings without a functioning brain and central nervous system, not to mention the absence of the other sensory receptors of vision (eyes), sound (ears), smell (nose), and taste (mouth, tongue, and tastebuds)? I have yet to receive an answer.

The answer is actually quite simple. According to Christian beliefs, your soul consists of a physical body and a body of spirit. The spirit has all that you mention and simply detatches from the body. People who have near death experiences nearly always mention that they still have a body that appears to be very much like their physical bodies. They can see, hear, feel, think much like they did in the flesh, but without the limitations. One, for example, said that on Earth one could look at a toaster or an electronic organizer and not know much about it. But without the flesh, just seeing something opens up all sorts of knowledge. One not only knows what its for, but how it's made up and how it functions. I personally think we existed prior to taking on our physical bodies. It's said we are made in the image of God, which raises the question of why God has an image with all of our physical properties. But that's another topic.

The Hearse Song

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

Holy crap! Needs work.

Where'd you find him? I'm going to have nightmares!

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.