Doug Mason

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Posts by Doug Mason

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  78

  What The Fossils Say

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

  if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

  the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.

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  Doug Mason

  Geologists find the record is highly uneven. Species appear very suddenly, then show little or no change during their existence in the record, then abruptly they disappear. The majority of fossils show stability over extensive lengths of time.

  Unique body plans with new features suddenly appear. More than half of all major divisions of animal life seem to have appeared in a relatively short period of time. Because many new and distinct life forms appear so suddenly in the fossil record, paleontologists refer to this period as “the Cambrian explosion.”

  The “Cambrian Explosion” refers to the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains. It may represent the most important evolutionary event in the history of life on Earth.
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  78

  What The Fossils Say

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

  if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

  the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.

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  2. 
  3. 
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  Doug Mason

  Hooberus,

  Of life's 4 billion years, the majority of it has not had complex life forms. The earliest fossils are of bacteria.

  Most life forms never formed fossil remains. Most of today's complex life forms do not have fossil records.

  Evolutionary science is based on a range of skills, not just the physical remains, many of which are calcified outlines, not the actual animal, fish, bird, etc.

  Which of the evolutionary sciences have you researched? Which books have you read related to evolution that are based on quantum mechanics and on punctuated equilibria?

  How many scientific books do you own which deal with evolution?

  What do you believe Tiktaalik tells us?

  If evolution is not true, do you want me to go to the outback of my country and accept the myths of the Australian Aboriginals? Were the ancient Egyptians correct? Or the Romans? Or the Indians? You open a veritable Pandora's Box if you wanted to accept supernatural mysticism. I live in a country that is proud of its scientific achievements.

  When I told a visitor this afternoon that there were some people in USA who accepted the two Creation myths in the Hebrew Scriptures, she was absolutely shocked.

  Doug
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  78

  What The Fossils Say

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

  if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

  the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  Doug Mason

  Hi,

  Is this of any interest?

  https://visual.ly/community/infographic/animals/deep-dive-mass-extinctions

  Doug
  
  
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  78

  What The Fossils Say

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

  if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

  the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Doug Mason

  Is this of any use to anyone?

  https://ia802706.us.archive.org/3/items/naturalhistory11409unse/naturalhistory11409unse.pdf

  Doug
  
  
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  78

  What The Fossils Say

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

  if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

  the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Doug Mason

  Sea Breeze,

  Evolution has built on the legacy left by Darwin. Wallace, Lamarck and so many others. Darwin's "gradualism" is giving way to punctuated equilibria and do not forget the influential quantum mechanics. Evolutionary action takes place at the subatomic level where conventional physics no longer applies. I had to teach semiconductor theory in the 1960s and 1970s, where quantum mechanics holds sway.

  I am absolutely astonished beyond belief that in a supposedly scientifically advanced country that USA claims to be, that some are mired in superstitious mysticism. It's interesting to see it from a distance, but it is so sad. How is it possible that those ancient peoples such as the Hebrews, Egyptians, Assyrians, etc., could know more than we do with the tools at our disposal?

  Doug
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  78

  What The Fossils Say

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

  if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

  the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Doug Mason

  I do not see evolution as "progressive" or "intelligent". When conditions changed, selection from the numerous random mutations enabled life forms to adapt to the changed conditions.

  There have been several mass extinctions, in which life could have been extinguished were it not for the selection made from the random mutations. About 99% of life forms that have existed have been exterminated.

  Life remained stable during the periods between the mass extinctions

  Evolution is not aimed at humans. We are the very recent latecomers, a twig on one of the many branches of the Tree of Life. This is a multi-branched bush of: bacteria, archaea, and eukarya. The Tree of life is not a ladder.

  Doug
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  14

  'Evolution' definition can include 'origin of life'

  by hooberus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the popular berkeley evolution site (while responding to the misconception that evolution is just "a theory about the origin of life" does state:.

  "evolutionary theory does encompass ideas and evidence regarding life's origins (e.g., whether or not it happened near a deep-sea vent, which organic molecules came first, etc.

  ), but this is not the central focus of evolutionary theory.

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  Doug Mason

  Quantum mechanics
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  2

  Greek Myth and the Bible

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  while the cost of the physical book, "greek myth and the bible" by bruce louden is beyond my means, the kindle version is tempting.. a preview is available at amazon and a critical review is available at:.

  http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2019/2019-08-03.html .

  doug.

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  Doug Mason

  While the cost of the physical book, "Greek Myth and the Bible" by Bruce Louden is beyond my means, the Kindle version is tempting.

  A preview is available at Amazon and a critical review is available at:

  http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2019/2019-08-03.html
  

  Doug
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  38

  No Need To Preach In Every Country Anymore

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  speaking to a pimo from my hometown yesterday.

  he told me that in the watchtower study (10 nov 2019) regarding “the great tribulation” the elder on the platform said that there’s no need for jws to preach in every country in order to fulfil the prophecy, and therefore the org has already fulfilled that prophecy.

  and that there’s nothing else left to wait for now but for “the great tribulation” to come.. gasps of delight came from the audience.. has anyone else heard this?

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  Doug Mason

  "To all the world"

  What did that mean to those people when those words were written?

  It related to their understanding of the expression in their own immediate environment. They were not thinking of Australian Aboriginals. They were considering only their own immediate environment.

  Read Romans 1:8 and also Romans 10:18.

  These people were not writing to us, nor for us, nor about us. Understand their writings in the context of their time.

  Doug
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  12

  JW's ransom sacrifice DOGMA

  by The Fall Guy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it-2 p. 735 ransom - “the real ransom (a) sacrifice.....would have to correspond (b) to the perfect adam......and enslavement into which their first father adam had sold them.

  only thereby could he satisfy god’s perfect justice (c) that requires like for like...(d)’”.

  a) can a ransom redeem something which wasn't lost – i.e.

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  Doug Mason

  Who received the "ransom" payment?

  Who was holding humankind hostage?

  Doug