marmot

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Posts by marmot

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  26

  Great Canadian music

  by Guest with Questions in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  what is your favourite?

  heres just a few of mine.

  because im in a mellow mood tonight i will play more of that kind of music.. neil young: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywlmewen1l8.

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  marmot

  Kid Koala, a simply amazing turntablist and a Montrealer to boot! Gives great live shows.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR-i0qRHLpM&feature=related
  
  (you old Bryan Adams and Anne Murray-loving types probably wouldn't like this type of music)
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  6

  Explain it like I'm three...what's the big deal about being an ex-dub?

  by wanderlustguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  its just not that big of a deal.

  i hear people respond to stories of ex-witnesses and it reminds me how the organization is viewed by those who have not been in it.

  since witnesses are not allowed to participate in any public activities that involve association with worldy people (my program just put a red line under worldly, but the way) these people never get to know a jehovahs witness.

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  marmot

  I think it's a very serious situation where a group claims to be the only true path to salvation and makes you strictly adhere to that code or risk complete ostracization. Not to mention that interpretations of scripture literally put their members' lives on the line when it comes to certain medical procedures.
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  77

  What's the big deal with Jesus' "sacrifice"?

  by bluesapphire in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what was the big deal with that dam tree to begin with!

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  marmot

  "Evil Jewish celebrations? Evil Jewish laws? Doctrine of demons?"
  
  Cripes man, I don't even believe in the bible as a holy book but even I know that's way outta line. The god of the OT set out those celebrations in mind-numbingly intricate detail (ever bother reading Leviticus?), and Jesus himself celebrated them.
  
  You've got some widening of the mind to do.
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  17

  Tower of Babel - /another thing/ God didn't have to do.

  by Awakened07 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we all know the story of the tower of babel, and there are lots of things one can discuss around the topic, like for instance how god actually didn't allow mankind to 'experiment' with governing themselves, but chose to intervene whenever they seemed to get close to being united.. however - that is not the topic of this thread (and has been covered in other threads already).. .

  so - what do i mean when i say "another thing god didn't have to do"?.

  the first of the things i'm referring to, is the diversity of life itself, as it happens through evolution by cumulative steps of naturally selected, inherited traits over the generations of a population (i'm not going to go into detail here).. so - over to the other thing that god didn't have to do:.

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  marmot

  I don't have the cognitive dissonance safety net to fall back on anymore when I hear the theory that the god of the bible did all this "because he loves us". Does not compute, regardless of how many tortuous theological arguments you can dredge up.
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  19

  What Religion Do you Follow Now?

  by luna14 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am new to the site.

  i wish i had known about it earlier, it would have avoided a lot of the guilty feelings i felt when i was df in 1998. it's so cool to see so many members.

  anyway i wanted to ask what religion do you follow now that you are no longer a jw?

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  marmot

  I'm a Pastafarian.
  
  All hail FSM!
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  17

  Tower of Babel - /another thing/ God didn't have to do.

  by Awakened07 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we all know the story of the tower of babel, and there are lots of things one can discuss around the topic, like for instance how god actually didn't allow mankind to 'experiment' with governing themselves, but chose to intervene whenever they seemed to get close to being united.. however - that is not the topic of this thread (and has been covered in other threads already).. .

  so - what do i mean when i say "another thing god didn't have to do"?.

  the first of the things i'm referring to, is the diversity of life itself, as it happens through evolution by cumulative steps of naturally selected, inherited traits over the generations of a population (i'm not going to go into detail here).. so - over to the other thing that god didn't have to do:.

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  marmot

  My take on this is that it was a myth created to explain the variety of languages present in the world to the writers of Genesis. Linguistic shift is a fascinating subject and it occurs entirely naturally from birth onwards, it doesn't need some miracle to confuse the languages and - no - humanity did not all speak Hebrew at one point.
  
  That's why I also shake my head at people who lament over all the "dying" languages in the world today. There's this unwholesome fear that if these languages are lost then everyone is going to speak English and all individuality and culture will be lost.
  
  We couldn't MAKE that happen if we wanted to. Just look at the Roman empire where the majority spoke Latin as the lingua franca and consider how many languages and unique cultures evolved from that.
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  7

  Has anyone read THE CHRIST CONSPIRACY ??

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this looks like a highly controversial book, but loaded with facts.. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0932813747/qid=1011422472/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_3_1/103-3310739-4927820.

  i haven't ordered it yet, and wanted some opinions if there are any here.

  the following are comments and excerpts:.

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  marmot

  Looks interesting, but I have a question. I'm no Bible apologist (I believe it's a fascinating piece of very significant literature, nothing more) but how would these late gospel writers have gotten the genealogies correct after all the chronologies had been lost during the destruction of Jerusalem?
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  8

  has anyone ever been DF'd for voting?

  by inkling in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  like the topic says: have you ever heard of someone.

  being disfellowshipped or reproved for voting?.

  [ink].

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  marmot

  My cousin's husband was essentially disfellowshipped for supporting the Liberal Party. He owns a fairly large company and once you get that big it's inevitable that you have to start currying favors to get ahead.
  
  Thing is, he wasn't really disfellowshipped but was considered "disassociated by his actions" to avoid the legal loophole.
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  8

  New Canadian here...What is Boxing Day all about?

  by Saoirse in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can someone please explain to me what you are supposed to do on boxing day?

  i keep hearing different things.

  one person told me that i'm supposed to give baked goods to the neighbors, another told me to re-gift and another told me that i'm supposed to give presents to the mailman.

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  marmot

  It's all the crass commercialism of Christmas but without the veneer of festive legitimacy.
  
  Basically all the stores have big discount sales and it's a mad shopping spree everywhere. Some stores are even extending the sales all the way to New Year's day and calling it "boxing week." You have to hunt around, but there are definitely some good bargains to be had.
  
  I'm surprised the U.S. hasn't picked up on it yet.
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  77

  What's the big deal with Jesus' "sacrifice"?

  by bluesapphire in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what was the big deal with that dam tree to begin with!

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  marmot

  I'm sure Hungary's tourism industry is doing quite well but I doubt billions are going every year.
  
  ;)