inkling

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Posts by inkling

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  33

  Four years late. Just watched Passions of the Christ. I have a question

  by shopaholic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as you know this movie was banned for jws.

  any faithful witness would not watched a non-jw bible movie (even though they do it all the time but that's a different subject.

  ) i watched it this pass week over a couple of days.

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  inkling

  The Passion appeals to the dark and primitive emotions and not the intellect.

  Wow Liberty, stellar post. You expressed the instinctive feeling I got from what I have seen of the movie, but with saturated color and darker resonance.

  I want to make it clear that I understand and appreciate why some faithful sincerely enjoyed this movie as a spiritual experience, and I do not judge them for that. I would imagine that Jesus and his mother Mary did not have the luxury of experiencing the horror with sterile documentary realism, and I'm sure pain they felt was shot through a vivid bloodstained glass far more surreal than what Gibson showed on screen. If this film experience is meaningful to you, I do not wish to rob you of that, and It is likely that I will see the movie in it's entirety one day when I have sufficient detachment to stand for it. [inkling]
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  12

  The Pastafarians Strike Again -- Florida ID proponents back down!

  by parakeet in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the flying spaghetti monster forced the polk county school board members to run for cover when they attempted to introduce intelligent design into the science curriculum.

  here's the link (sorry, i can't create a direct link.

  maybe another poster can help.

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  inkling

  We all applauded her for her honesty.

  Yea!!! Yea for ignorance!! clap. clap. clap.

  [inkling]
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  53

  How do angels and demons influence mankind?

  by onacruse in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wts publications, and indeed virtually all religions on this planet, assert that angels and demons have regular influence on mankind, on individual human beings as well as on the general course of human events.. but i've never read anything specific about how they supposedly accomplish this.. do they tweak our neurons?

  do they fiddle with our hormones, thereby making us feel good or bad about a certain course of action?

  do they inject thoughts into our brains, perhaps in such a subtle way that we think those are our own thoughts?

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  inkling

  by pressing proper buttons that represent something he can influnce somebody to do something.

  Right. We are robots. Thanks for clearing that up.

  beep.

  bip.

  bleep

  ink.ling
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  33

  Four years late. Just watched Passions of the Christ. I have a question

  by shopaholic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as you know this movie was banned for jws.

  any faithful witness would not watched a non-jw bible movie (even though they do it all the time but that's a different subject.

  ) i watched it this pass week over a couple of days.

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  inkling

  I was. I thought the scene where he was being whipped/scourged was excessive. Considering the number of blows and the force behind them, I can't believe someone would have survived it long enough to be crucified afterward.

  Exactly. Yes, the death of Jesus as described by The Bible was awful. Yes, if he truly went through that pain for the good of human kind I am deeply thankful.

  But the fact remains that are worse ways to die, and longer ways to die, and more painful ways to die, and his death doesn't NEED to be the nastiest bloodiest ever to be profoundly meaningful to his followers. I don't like being lied too to hype up gore that never happened. What made his death interesting is WHY he died, his motivation, his hopes, and the hope he inspired in his friends, and with so much screen time spent lingering on amped-up gore, none of the context that makes the pain MATTER survives. [inkling] P.S. I have not actually seen the full movie. I have read much about it, but cannot bring myself to see it.
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  33

  Four years late. Just watched Passions of the Christ. I have a question

  by shopaholic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as you know this movie was banned for jws.

  any faithful witness would not watched a non-jw bible movie (even though they do it all the time but that's a different subject.

  ) i watched it this pass week over a couple of days.

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  inkling

  Wasn't anyone bothered by the fact that the movie is UNREALISTICALLY and gratuitously violent?

  Buckets of blood (far more than one man could lose without dying of blood loss) spewed on the ground. Throwing Jesus over a bridge hanging from a chain. A raven plucking out the eye of the thief. How are these saying anything meaningful besides saying something about Mel Gibson sadistic Catholic-guilt riddled bloodlust? I think the guy is far more interested in making people squrm in agony than actually, I dunno, telling a story? [inkling]
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  42

  Which church?

  by faundy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't feel comfortable living as an atheist.

  i believe the world is far to complex and humans are too incredible to have just occurred.

  therefore, if i was to attend a church, which one should i consider?

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  inkling

  The really refreshing part for me was that they explored a wide variety of belief structures withoutmaking me feel preached to.

  In the Unitarian church, who actually gives the sermons? Just one "pastor" or does it rotate, or does everyone take part?

  [inkling]
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  42

  Which church?

  by faundy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't feel comfortable living as an atheist.

  i believe the world is far to complex and humans are too incredible to have just occurred.

  therefore, if i was to attend a church, which one should i consider?

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  inkling

  My personal feeling that evolution is not a convincing enough argument for me. The world is far too complex. Humans are far too advanced. And even if evolution were true, it had to start with something. I'm not one for the big bang theory.

  I think I can understand your position, and part of me agrees with you. You must admit though that this is simply an "Argument from Personal Incredulity"... You can't think of a way, or are not sufficiently convinced by what evidence you have been presented with, and so you do not believe. This is perfectly understandable, and we all do it all the time, but obviously it is not a good argument for convincing someone ELSE of the validity of your position, especially if they have spent far more time than you doing research. (This is not me, by any means. My biological education is limited, and my beliefs are very conflicted) What about all the biologists who DO believe that evolution is capable of explaining the vast complexity of life? It just seems to me that the more people learn about biology, the more crystal clear evolution becomes as a reasonable and likely explanation, and that many people who reject evolution out of hand vastly misunderstand basic Darwinian theory. It seems the only time I see a scientist or biologist spend their life studying these things and see only more proof for god is when they have a deeply engrained belief in god preexisting their scientific studies. How often does an agnostic, open minded skeptic ACTUALLY find god over the course of their education? [inkling]
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  34

  The Al Gore Nobel Prize Urban Legend

  by 5go in

  1. social
  2. current

  this urban legend is being spread by morons on the right.

  first off there was no other man it was the un's .

  intergovernmental panel on climate changewhich is not a man it is a panel of people, and it has not refused the nobel peace prize.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/intergovernmental_panel_on_climate_change.

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  inkling

  I'm confused... what exactly is the Urban Legend then?
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  72

  Name a Book Title That Will NEVER Be Written...

  by owenfieldreams in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  "the truth--why the core beliefs and doctrines of the wtbts will never change" by the gb of jehovah's witnesses.

  also, on the lighter side..... " how i invented the internet, why i will not debate global warming, and other musings of an ex vice president" by albert gore, jr.. and, finally, for you young ones.... "teenage chastity for dummies" by jamie lynn spears .

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  inkling

  "Why we will never run out of oil"
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  42

  Which church?

  by faundy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't feel comfortable living as an atheist.

  i believe the world is far to complex and humans are too incredible to have just occurred.

  therefore, if i was to attend a church, which one should i consider?

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  inkling

  Instead of looking for a church, why don't you pick up your Bible and try to convince yourself of God.

  But you are looking for God in a building. Why not try looking in the mirror.

  Maybe becuase the mirror and the bible fail to provide basic fellowship with other persons of faith?

  Do you think that a person can believe in a mix of eveloution and God?

  I would recomend "Finding Darwin's God" by theist evolutionist Ken Miller.

  [inkling]