Posts by Cadellin

hi, folks--i'm not sure if this vid has been posted before but its worth watching for a simple (and likely simplistic) hypothesis on the formation of life.

as many of you know, one of the (numerous) difficulties with the latest wt brochure the origin of life, five questions worth asking is the way it conflates evolution with abiogenesis, then quotes scientists like robert shapiro who say that, for instance, the rna world hypothesis won't work because of thus and such.

then, the wt (somewhat dishonestly) uses those words as "proof" that any kind of naturalistic origin is impossible (instead of revealing what shapiro, in this case, is really saying--that while the rna world hypothesis has problems, there are other hypotheses that overcome those problems).. at any rate, this is worth watching, both for the easy to understand explanation of one possible hypothesis from a harvard scientist and for the cool way the text is calibrated with the final movement of beethoven's 9th symphony.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojsflhx7ts.

Cadellin

Shepherd: Your video is also excellent; I've watched it a couple of times. Your voice is identical to that of my BIL--kind of freakin' me out! Thanks for posting it here. Both of these are a must-watch!

7

Origin of Life Brochure--Excellent Video re how life may have originated

by Cadellin in

hi, folks--i'm not sure if this vid has been posted before but its worth watching for a simple (and likely simplistic) hypothesis on the formation of life.

as many of you know, one of the (numerous) difficulties with the latest wt brochure the origin of life, five questions worth asking is the way it conflates evolution with abiogenesis, then quotes scientists like robert shapiro who say that, for instance, the rna world hypothesis won't work because of thus and such.

then, the wt (somewhat dishonestly) uses those words as "proof" that any kind of naturalistic origin is impossible (instead of revealing what shapiro, in this case, is really saying--that while the rna world hypothesis has problems, there are other hypotheses that overcome those problems).. at any rate, this is worth watching, both for the easy to understand explanation of one possible hypothesis from a harvard scientist and for the cool way the text is calibrated with the final movement of beethoven's 9th symphony.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojsflhx7ts.

Cadellin

Fascinating, Unshackled--thanks for the link!

23

Are Faith and Reason Compatible? Jan Awake

by DanaBug in

here's some quotes from that article:.

the bible says, for example, that if your worship is to be acceptable to god, it must be a sacred service with your power of reason.

in other words, you must worship god in a way that is worthy of thinking beings.

Cadellin

it is something you have thought through carefully—resulting in trust in God and his Word, which is firmly based on reason.

Reasoning on such information produces the conviction that even things that cannot be seen with the literal eye are, nonetheless, realities

The kind of faith built on what the Bible teaches is compatible with reason.

Danabug, thanks for posting this. Notice how even within this article supposedly encouraging rationality and independence of thought (or something akin to that), the WT is careful to tell the reader what his or her conclusion should be! There's no room allowed for someone who engages in these thought processes and comes to a different determination!

7

Origin of Life Brochure--Excellent Video re how life may have originated

by Cadellin in

hi, folks--i'm not sure if this vid has been posted before but its worth watching for a simple (and likely simplistic) hypothesis on the formation of life.

as many of you know, one of the (numerous) difficulties with the latest wt brochure the origin of life, five questions worth asking is the way it conflates evolution with abiogenesis, then quotes scientists like robert shapiro who say that, for instance, the rna world hypothesis won't work because of thus and such.

then, the wt (somewhat dishonestly) uses those words as "proof" that any kind of naturalistic origin is impossible (instead of revealing what shapiro, in this case, is really saying--that while the rna world hypothesis has problems, there are other hypotheses that overcome those problems).. at any rate, this is worth watching, both for the easy to understand explanation of one possible hypothesis from a harvard scientist and for the cool way the text is calibrated with the final movement of beethoven's 9th symphony.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojsflhx7ts.

Cadellin

Hi, folks--I'm not sure if this vid has been posted before but its worth watching for a simple (and likely simplistic) hypothesis on the formation of life. As many of you know, one of the (numerous) difficulties with the latest WT brochure The Origin of Life, Five Questions Worth Asking is the way it conflates evolution with abiogenesis, then quotes scientists like Robert Shapiro who say that, for instance, the RNA world hypothesis won't work because of thus and such. THEN, the WT (somewhat dishonestly) uses those words as "proof" that any kind of naturalistic origin is impossible (instead of revealing what Shapiro, in this case, is really saying--that while the RNA world hypothesis has problems, there are other hypotheses that overcome those problems).

At any rate, this is worth watching, both for the easy to understand explanation of one possible hypothesis from a Harvard scientist and for the cool way the text is calibrated with the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOJsFLHx7Ts

8

How many times have you studied a paraphrased version of Adam and Eve?

by sabastious in

it seems like at least once a month the watchtower is explaining original sin.. i believe that it is specifcially this story that is used to turn wt kids into eventual mindless drones.

they are constantly told that they are worth nothing because of eve's mistake.

i always felt so powerless because it happened so long ago and we are still feeling the effects.

Cadellin

Yet what's always puzzled me is how smoothly Eve is simply dropped out of the conversation when it comes to the corresponding sacrifice. In all the JW literature, it's Adam that brought on sin and imperfection to all humanity and that's why it takes a perfect man to redeem everyone. Jesus is supposed to correspond to the perfect Adam in buying back the imperfect human race but didn't it take TWO people to create the imperfect human race? So if Adam's mistake is redeemed by Jesus, that's only half of the story. Who redeems Eve's mistake?

I suspect a little digging would reveal that this idea is a reflection of the underlying belief in the woman being a mere incubator and life actually originating with the man... What's funny is that JWs use the idea of heredity to explain how sin and imperfection spread, conveniently overlooking the role of the female.

14

When jw's tell you how evil the world has become

by carla in

jw
friends

ask them if they are aware of stories like these?

good news does not make the news.

it doesn't sell.

Cadellin

The Society is very good at presenting incomplete histories as those that are complete. That is, they adapt the evidence to fit their dogma, not the other way around. "This is the worst time in history" is only true if you look at bits and pieces of evidence, and not at the picture in toto.

Sure, life was great a hundred or so years ago, as long as you were white, well-off, male and straight. Any aberration from that societal "standard" and things weren't so hot.

Visible minority? Ghettoized, few if any civil rights, victimized and subject to perptual verbal slurs.

Female? Second class citizen with limited civil rights and a 20% chance of dying in childbirth or from childbirth related causes.

Gay? Prison or worse.

And all this was considered "normal."

30

Fox News: 'Efforts to Replace Allegiance to God with Allegieance to Government'. Oh.. also, the reason the home book study were cancelled.

by whereami in

jw
friends

don't you just love the fear mongering.. reason for why the in home book study was cancelled on minute 1:24.. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgcrw993xck.

Cadellin

In response to Leo, the last SAD (fall 2010) had a demonstration where a family was discussing challenges the kids were facing to their integrity in school. The youngest, about 7, was worried because Valentine's Day was now Friendship Day and she needed to know how to explain why she wouldn't participate!! Too bad they didn't spend any time on explaining that one--the demo moved on to something else!! Friendship Day!! What evils are next???

19

What do you make of this - seems to be mixed message on higher education

by therevealer in

awake!

february 2011 page 21. something better than gold wayne qu worked as an environmental scientist for the academy of sciences in china.

to advance his career, he and his wife, sue, went to europe in the 1990's, where wayne pursued higher education.

Cadellin

I read the Witnesses' publication Life-How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? as well as a work by Charles Darwin on evolution. This reading, along with my own scientific research, convinced me that there is a Creator

Bah! There's no mixed message here. As has been noted already, this canard is meant to say that even people with graduate degrees in biology don't believe in evolution! And they learn the errancy of their thinking through such spiritual gems as Life, particularly when compared to such laughably amateurish works as--um, let's see, "a work by Charles Darwin on evolution? Would that be, by any chance, The Origin of Species, maybe? Which is only considered to be one of the most influential scientific works ever written! Which the society doesn't even want to name!

That they would even compare those two works--Life and The Origin--on the same plain is in itself a stunning abrogation of editorial authority. Darwin's Origin is erudite, thoughtful, based on long years of careful research and--oh, yeah--been proven correct after 150 years. Life is a carnival of quote mining and deceit and, having been proven utterly wrong and a thorough embarassment to any JW with half a brain, has now been discarded after 24 years (though it may still be in print, Witnesses are now encouraged to use the new brochures released earlier this year which, I have to add, are no improvement)

I have difficulty believing anyone who's made it through the rigors of grad school would fall for the poorly written, outdated, fallacious piece of nonsense that is Life. And he's done his own "scientific research"? Nope, I think this "experience" is either a composite or heavily, and I mean, HEAVILY embroidered.

JRK: Life does have a bibliography, the insertion of which was another stunner on the part of the editorial staff, since it allows readers with brains in full operating condition to actually check out the quotes--and discover them for what they are. That's what woke this mermaid up to the "truth."