Posts by VoidEater

The universality of belief in even the most primitive...constitutes further evidence for the existance of God...demonstrates that belief in God is axiomatic and can be rational and justified even without arguments or evidence for the existence of God.

I think it might be more accurate to say that there are some primal experiences that people have tended to put beliefs around; the beliefs are culturally dependent for nuance and meaning; and that historically these experiences have often led to the development of a "God/s" concept.

This "God/s" concept has, at various times, been equated to creator roles, advisor roles, teacher roles, leader roles, stewardship roles; a cause of good (fertility, harvest, joy) and a cause of tribulation (war, pestilence, loss, sorrow).

Beliefs and concepts shift and change, with Christianity being but the youngest formulation of a "God/s" concept, with many older roots that moderns would not adhere to.

It's useful to note, though, that even non-theists have access to these primal experiences and can formulate very different concepts and beliefs and meanings from them. I wouldn't conclude that God must exist simply because historical man has grappled with trying to develop meaning from existence; even within theistic thought, the fact that many cultures come up with pantheistic beliefs based on the same evidence suggests there may not be a singular universal "truth" behind our experience and our struggling with the unknown.

In the end the only "rationality" behind a belief in God may be whether the belief supports you in your life in a positive way.

203

Opinion peice on Athiests

by SickofLies in

jw
friends

there seems to be a lot of hostility on the board toward atheists still and a lot of comments floating around like atheists are to preachy.

well i want to take a quick minute and deal with some of these issues.

to begin with, to make any statement regarding atheists in general would be false for several reasons.

VoidEater

I like the way you language that, blue. I'm not sure how I would categorize that experience for myself today, though it is in my awareness nearly all the time these days. I like what it does for me, how it informs my desires and actions, but it's becoming more important to me to describe it more...accurately? Free of superstition? If I say "God" or "Divine", how much gets read into that by someone who has different meanings to those words than I have? Are "ground of consciousness", "higher self", "source", better or worse?

35

and so it goes...

by metaspy in

this morning i started this topic: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/147355/1.ashx.

now i shall post the follow-up.. as i predicted, my mom would come with elders in tow to have a conversation.. actually, she threw me for a loop at first.

no elders with her.. she had them wait a half an hour then she let them in.. thus i couldn't reject the whole lot of them at the door, she was their way in.. secondly, she brought the elders from the nearby hall, not the ones who know me.. the whole time i thought she would go for someone who she knows can dominate my thinking, but instead she went with the unknown.. .

VoidEater

If the child molestation stuff is all lies, then the WBTS would sue for libel - and they would refute on their Website and press releases.

26

e-mail from active JW/my letters are working

by dawg in

jw
friends

i just recived an e-mail from an active jw friend of mine, he was replying to the utube e-mail i sent him on the molestation cover ups.

he knows the jw are shite, but he's conflicted becasue all his family is still in.

it made me sad, he's young and knows its shite but doen't know what to do.

VoidEater

Dawg is awesome

23

Well I did it, sort of.

by momzcrazy in

as many know, my mom doesn't know that i have left.

in her mind i was the last hold out and her ally.

well, i am sending xmas cards to my grandparents, her dad included.

VoidEater

It's scary, I know. But you will know a life of open honesty and authenticity that will be a great reward - and a great strength to you and your mom as you go through this.

13

Noah, Jerusalem, and Divine Judgment. How would you answer this?

by neverendingjourney in

jesus compared the last days with the days of noah 1 .

the wtbts says that noah preached for 40 years 2 before the flood came so that he could give his contemporaries a chance to repent and be saved.

when jehovahs time came, he closed the doors of the ark and brought a global deluge that killed everyone but noah and his family.

VoidEater

I wouldn't be able to respond. I would disappear in a rapidly expanding cloud of logic tinged with embarrasement.

35

Do You Realize That Satan Is Supposed To Be Almost As Powerful As Jehovah?

by minimus in

jw
friends

my mom was telling me that we have to be especially on guard during these last days because satan the devil is setting his sights upon anyone he thinks he can get.

i mentioned to my mother that jws give too much credit to the devil.

i explained satan is supposed to be a single angel gone bad.

VoidEater

Hey Gopher: And at the end of the chess match? What could God posisbly care whether there are a few dozen more or less on "paradise Earth"? I never understood this whole cosmic game of redemption and salvation (I get the overwhelming personal experience these point to, but in a cosmic sense?). Am I just a poker chip?

35

Do You Realize That Satan Is Supposed To Be Almost As Powerful As Jehovah?

by minimus in

jw
friends

my mom was telling me that we have to be especially on guard during these last days because satan the devil is setting his sights upon anyone he thinks he can get.

i mentioned to my mother that jws give too much credit to the devil.

i explained satan is supposed to be a single angel gone bad.

VoidEater

Or is it just that the demons/devil are more powerful and more motivated?

Motivated, of course. The angels are all "waiting on Jehovah".

Growing up in that strange world, i never understood why we were supposed to be always on the watch against demonic activity but that angels never figured into our lives. It was as if we deserved to be set upon by demons and not worthy of being helped by angels.

What else from a religion that exists only to proclaim the end of the world?

16

Sept 15th 2003 Watchtower Page 26-30

by stillajwexelder in

just read this article about martin luther -- the wtbts state -- luther recognized that god's favor cannot be earned.

rather , it is granted to those exercising faith romans 1:16; 3:23,24,28 .

these days i do not go to meetings very often so i do not know what is new light and old -- and have read in r. franz coc similar material with ed dunlap and commentary on letter of james.. this implies salvation can not be earned (i.e.

VoidEater

I was given the blood of Christ, but I can't find where to return the unused portion...