That delusion exists only until it is removed. No, not the God delusion, the no-God delusion. :)
believingxjw
JoinedPosts by believingxjw
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26
From Richard Dawkins' Preface to "The God Delusion"
by AK - Jeff inhttp://www.infoamerica.org/documentos_pdf/dawkins10.pdf.
the word delusion in my title has disquieted some psychiatrists who regard it as a technical term, not to be bandied about.
three of them wrote to me to propose a special technical term for religious delusion: relusion.. .
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believingxjw
Yes. I converted to non-Christianity after the JWs and then years later renewed my baptism.
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92
If We Were to Take the Flood Account Literally..
by Yan Bibiyan inthen i cant help but come to the conclusion that everyone who died (like 99.999% of humanity at the time) was doomed from the start.. if god directed noah to build a flotation device with very specific parameters, god must have known exactly how many people, animal species, plant etc, would be in it.. what if people actually listened to noah and thousands upon thousands turned up waiting to enter the ark?
god must have known that only so many people will listen and obey instructions.. no to mention that noahs message didnt really reach that many people.
at that time how many people could have heard it?
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believingxjw
Yan Bibiyan,
:)
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214
Soldiers of Jah
by cofty ini would like to propose an ethical dilemma for those who believe in the divine inspiration of the bible.. in the following scenarios i am not asking you what you would have done but rather, what you hope you would have had the courage to do.. scenario 1. you are camped on the east side of the jordan waiting for orders to cross into the promised land.
moses is nearing the end of his life but he has some unfinished business to take care of before he hands over to joshua.
he announces that he has had an instruction from god to take revenge on the midianites before he dies.
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believingxjw
Notverylikely,
If you don't believe Christians are idiots, and thanks for that, do you have a one word description for Christians that I could take with me then?
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Soldiers of Jah
by cofty ini would like to propose an ethical dilemma for those who believe in the divine inspiration of the bible.. in the following scenarios i am not asking you what you would have done but rather, what you hope you would have had the courage to do.. scenario 1. you are camped on the east side of the jordan waiting for orders to cross into the promised land.
moses is nearing the end of his life but he has some unfinished business to take care of before he hands over to joshua.
he announces that he has had an instruction from god to take revenge on the midianites before he dies.
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believingxjw
"Can't win for losin'.
That should tell you something about position you are trying to defend, XBJW"
Uhh...okay. I don't think you understood but as an idiot Christian it's likely I'm wrong on this. :)
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92
If We Were to Take the Flood Account Literally..
by Yan Bibiyan inthen i cant help but come to the conclusion that everyone who died (like 99.999% of humanity at the time) was doomed from the start.. if god directed noah to build a flotation device with very specific parameters, god must have known exactly how many people, animal species, plant etc, would be in it.. what if people actually listened to noah and thousands upon thousands turned up waiting to enter the ark?
god must have known that only so many people will listen and obey instructions.. no to mention that noahs message didnt really reach that many people.
at that time how many people could have heard it?
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believingxjw
Billy,
"Then, after they disembarked after the flood, God told everyone to abstain from blood. The mosquitoes all responded, "Suckers!" Mosquitoes have been happily, and unrepentantly drinking blood ever since."
Ahh, but you have it wrong, kind Ex-Bethelite. Technically, the mosquitos are not taking a life!
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214
Soldiers of Jah
by cofty ini would like to propose an ethical dilemma for those who believe in the divine inspiration of the bible.. in the following scenarios i am not asking you what you would have done but rather, what you hope you would have had the courage to do.. scenario 1. you are camped on the east side of the jordan waiting for orders to cross into the promised land.
moses is nearing the end of his life but he has some unfinished business to take care of before he hands over to joshua.
he announces that he has had an instruction from god to take revenge on the midianites before he dies.
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believingxjw
Cofty,
"You assume that the bible contains authentic words of Jesus on what basis?"
I'll give you one for your next post on this thread, ready for it?
I believe the Bible contains the words of Jesus because I choose to believe.
Some believe Ronald Reagan was God's gift to mankind I choose to believe Jesus was. :)
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214
Soldiers of Jah
by cofty ini would like to propose an ethical dilemma for those who believe in the divine inspiration of the bible.. in the following scenarios i am not asking you what you would have done but rather, what you hope you would have had the courage to do.. scenario 1. you are camped on the east side of the jordan waiting for orders to cross into the promised land.
moses is nearing the end of his life but he has some unfinished business to take care of before he hands over to joshua.
he announces that he has had an instruction from god to take revenge on the midianites before he dies.
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believingxjw
PSacramento,
"That is why Jesus could say to love your enemies and not slaughter their women and children."
Did Jesus correct or condemn Moses for the "slaughter of women and children" or did he say it was wrong for God to destroy Sodom or that God did not destroy Sodom? Did Jesus say the flood of Noah's day did not cause the deaths of many? I try to let Jesus speak for himself. :)
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214
Soldiers of Jah
by cofty ini would like to propose an ethical dilemma for those who believe in the divine inspiration of the bible.. in the following scenarios i am not asking you what you would have done but rather, what you hope you would have had the courage to do.. scenario 1. you are camped on the east side of the jordan waiting for orders to cross into the promised land.
moses is nearing the end of his life but he has some unfinished business to take care of before he hands over to joshua.
he announces that he has had an instruction from god to take revenge on the midianites before he dies.
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believingxjw
PSacramento,
"There will never be a "common ground" on this issue between belivers and non-believer, heck there isn't ene a common ground between ALL beleivers on this issue.
This is how ancient Man viewed warfare:
A goes to war against B because *insert reason here*.
A and B ntoh pray to their chosen Deity and offer sacrfices.
A and B go to war.
A wins and slaughters B and depending on the heat of battle and animosity, the slaughter can progress beyond the battlefield and many times does.
A thanks their Deity and knows their sacrfice was good and their Deity is plased, they Won after all and it is their Deities will thei devotion to It that brought their victory.
B thinks/knows that their sacrfice was not acceptable to thyeir Deity and as such It punished them for their desobdienc and onworthy worship, their Deity punished them by allowing them to be defeated and their women raped, children killed and their soccer field mowed the wrong way.
Victor writes/passes on their victory in the annalls ( or anals depending on your view) of history."
And there's a problem with this?
We are free to believe as we believe. As free Christians no longer bound by a religion that forced its interpretations on us we can use our own consciences and minds and not that of others. If a Christian says "I believe everything in the Bible is literal," they are ridiculed. If a Christian says, "I believe there are parts of the Bible that are allegory," they are accused of trying to find an excuse for those parts of the Bible they can't defend. LOL Can't win for losin'.
The fact is that it does not matter what others think about our beliefs. Do I believe the flood was literal? What does that have to do with others? Do I believe it an allegory, so what! Was Jesus the Son of God? Did Adam and Eve actually exist? Is the Bible inspired of God or is it guided by God? All of these beliefs belong to the individual Christian and have nothing to do with what others may believe or not believe. We are not responsible for the Watchtower's misuse of the Bible as well as others who have done so. We are not punching bags who must stand up and take it in order to prove our beliefs to others. No, we are simply people who believe in something beautiful, Christ and his love for us and everyone. Sometimes, it seems, we are invited to participate on a thread mostly to provide some entertainment for the viewers, how this kind of behavior makes someone more intelligent or more sophiscated than us is hard to understand but they believe it does. I enjoy the discussions but do not enjoy providing entertainment like a clown in a circus. Jesus' death means too much to me for that.
Well, off my soapbox...your post of course was accurate but as I said at the outset...and there's a problem with this?
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214
Soldiers of Jah
by cofty ini would like to propose an ethical dilemma for those who believe in the divine inspiration of the bible.. in the following scenarios i am not asking you what you would have done but rather, what you hope you would have had the courage to do.. scenario 1. you are camped on the east side of the jordan waiting for orders to cross into the promised land.
moses is nearing the end of his life but he has some unfinished business to take care of before he hands over to joshua.
he announces that he has had an instruction from god to take revenge on the midianites before he dies.
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believingxjw
Cofty,
"I actually feel repulsed by the idea that modern day xtians can even consider being apologists for the war crimes of Israel."
You set up a question then turn around and become repulsed when we answer? And you are the logical one here?
"BXJW are you really saying that there was some kind of justice in despatching thousands of women and children in cold blood because thee is an after-life?"
No, that's not what I'm saying but since you brought it up, mankind has killed many more millions in cold blood without being able to restore them. You tell me, which concept is more reprehensible!
"You have fallen into the all too familiar world-view of "us and them".
I could say the same about you but I refrain.
"Its the same way of thinking that made it possible for American troops to abuse and torture prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its the same mentality that allowed Israeli troops to engineer the slaughter of thousands of Palestinians in the Sabla and Shatila refugee camps in September 1982. If you have the stomach for it do a google image search with "safe search" turned off. Its the same perverse attitude that has led to uncountable massacres and genocides throughout history. First you convince yourself that god is on your side, then label your enemy as wicked or evil, after that anything is possible."
My goodness, I take back the "refrain" above. Let me repeat and I will keep repeating as long as it takes: We cannot use our present day views of war, marriage, morals, customs etc to judge peoples in the extreme past. You, it seems, want to continue to believe that we can that's fine but in point of fact it does not work. In the time of Moses war was war. Also, in today's just wars, many innocents are killed and their deaths are not considered war crimes. Lastly, the Bible has nothing to do with what various armies today have done or are doing including Israel. You are convincing yourself as well it seems. Labels work both ways.