Posts by leavingwt

I think this is good enough for most of us. Further, if you and I enter the wilderness unarmed, the animals hold a similar view of us. They view us as 'fair game' for food, etc.

64

Without God, Do Humans Have More Intrinsic Value Than Animals?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

.

if there is no god (however defined), do humans have more intrinsic value than animals?

feel free to offer brief or complex responses.

SBC: Interesting points. I'm confident that I will remain a carnivore. Yet, I struggle to justify my actions, if pressed. There are people working on producing meat without animals. That will be a game-changer, to some.

64

Without God, Do Humans Have More Intrinsic Value Than Animals?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

.

if there is no god (however defined), do humans have more intrinsic value than animals?

feel free to offer brief or complex responses.

leavingwt

james_woods: If I'm understanding you, you're basically saying that it's obvious that we're more valuable/important than animals. I think your opinion is most definitely the majority opinion. However, I'm interested in the reasoning behind the conclusion.

For some, it's as simple as: "We went to the f***ing moon!"

For others, it's a bit more complex.

Here's an example of one Christian viewpoint:

The Bible is clear that man is made in God's image and is granted dominion (control) over Earth and the animals. And because the Earth is God's, our control is limited to the role of good stewardship: managing, but not exploiting, another's property. Man is of a higher order than animals. Jesus said, "You are of more value than many sparrows "[Luke 12:7]. He demonstrated this when He expelled demons from the men they possessed and sent them into a herd of swine. Since the act caused the pigs to leap to their deaths, I wonder if PETA would have screamed for the murder of Jesus. Oh, wait--that already happened.

As Christians, we must make decisions regarding the care of Earth and its environment out of concern for God's property [1 Corinthians 10:26], but also with the understanding that Creation was given to us to meet our needs [Genesis 1:26—28]. Elevating animals to a degree above mankind is a satanic perversion of the truth: "They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God's creation instead of God." [Romans 1:25 (Contemporary English Version)]

64

Without God, Do Humans Have More Intrinsic Value Than Animals?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

.

if there is no god (however defined), do humans have more intrinsic value than animals?

feel free to offer brief or complex responses.

leavingwt

Did you really need to ask this, LeavingWT?

Please elaborate. Is the answer to the question simple?

Suppose you hold the opinion that humans are of more value than animals. Then, explain your reasons. I'm interested in hearing what people have to say on the matter.

When I was a JW, I never had to ponder the question. There was a book that told me that I am superior to the animals.

64

Without God, Do Humans Have More Intrinsic Value Than Animals?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

.

if there is no god (however defined), do humans have more intrinsic value than animals?

feel free to offer brief or complex responses.

leavingwt

If there is no God (however defined), do humans have more intrinsic value than animals?

64

Without God, Do Humans Have More Intrinsic Value Than Animals?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

.

if there is no god (however defined), do humans have more intrinsic value than animals?

feel free to offer brief or complex responses.

leavingwt

If there is no God (however defined), do humans have more intrinsic value than animals?

What do you think? Feel free to offer brief or complex responses.

268

Is Biblical Morality Situational, Based Upon the Arbitrary Whims of Yahweh?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

is biblical morality situational, based upon the arbitrary whims of yahweh?

murder is wrong... if god orders it however, then murder is right, and failing to murder is a sin.. .

exodus 20:13 versus 1 samuel 15:1, 7-11. .

leavingwt

"The standard of morality that is showed is determined to be moral simply because God say it is moral."

Divine Command Theory

"Roughly, Divine Command Theory is the view that morality is somehow dependent upon God, and that moral obligation consists in obedience to God’s commands. Divine Command Theory includes the claim that morality is ultimately based on the commands or character of God, and that the morally right action is the one that God commands or requires. The specific content of these divine commands varies according to the particular religion and the particular views of the individual divine command theorist, but all versions of the theory hold in common the claim that morality and moral obligations ultimately depend on God."

http://www.iep.utm.edu/divine-c/

70

If the WT dumped 1914 tommorow ...?

by faithfulslavedriver in

this is my first post here.

i've been a lurker for awhile but had no particular desire to join until the other day.. anyways, do you think that if wt decided to face the fact that 607-1914 is an indefensible pile of crap that has been artificially kept steaming for way too long, would it really kick off a mass exodus or anything?

in the short term the fds/gb might lose some authority, but they are hemorrhaging people anyways keeping it around (607 started me on the road to this place).. if wt stopped talking about 1914 for awhile then later killed it, blaming it on "further research" or something, and acknowledged some uncertainty in 607/587, i really doubt that very many of the r&f would think much about it.

leavingwt

1914: Alive and Well in 2012

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/221906/1/1914-Still-Important-to-Watchtower-in-2012

70

If the WT dumped 1914 tommorow ...?

by faithfulslavedriver in

this is my first post here.

i've been a lurker for awhile but had no particular desire to join until the other day.. anyways, do you think that if wt decided to face the fact that 607-1914 is an indefensible pile of crap that has been artificially kept steaming for way too long, would it really kick off a mass exodus or anything?

in the short term the fds/gb might lose some authority, but they are hemorrhaging people anyways keeping it around (607 started me on the road to this place).. if wt stopped talking about 1914 for awhile then later killed it, blaming it on "further research" or something, and acknowledged some uncertainty in 607/587, i really doubt that very many of the r&f would think much about it.

leavingwt

Welcome!

Have you read Steve Hassan's first book?

The problem is not one of doctrine. It's one of authority.

Even if they dumped the 1914 teaching, where else would the JWs go?

90% will follow the WT, no matter how the doctrines change.