Posts by JWoods

125

Adam and Eve and free will

by inbetween in

pondering over this dilemma:.

lets just say, for arguments sake, the report in genesis about the first humans is not an allegory, but a true event:.

watchtower teaches, that adam sinned, because he used his free will to disobey.. god grants free will to his human creation, because he wants them to serve him out of love.. ok, good, but i give an example: i meet a girl, tell her, she is free to love me, but if not, i kill her.. would you call this free will ?.

JWoods

Continuing with what Leolaia wrote: there is a pretty well-established philosophy that humanking were actually better off after Adam's sin, because he took the adult step of thinking for himself and acting upon it. Sort of a primeval "live free or die" code of behavior.

There is also a rather back-water gnostic system of belief that the Satan of Genesis was actually the same as the Jesus of the New Testament - that he gave mankind free will in this sense, (because the YHWH would not) and later "bought them back to everlasting life" to make it even out.

I don't claim to believe either one, but I found them both interesting.

BTW - the JW view of earthly paradise pretty much reduces all humans left on earth back to the robotic state of Adam and Eve had they not sinned - thus, to my viewpoint - pretty much without free will again.

243

Let's settle this for once and for all...... is atheism a belief, a non-belief or an anti-belief?

by Quillsky in

jw
friends

my opinion is that atheism is not a belief.

it is a belief in no belief..

JWoods

Well great - just when I thought something had been accomplished yesterday, I leave and am greeted with FIVE PAGES overnight -

which essentially boils down to the simple fact that there is absolutely no consensus after all on what the word ATHEISM means.

Especially on the part of the self-professed Atheists here themselves.

8

Brazen Conduct or Loose Conduct? Original Greek question....

by LostGeneration in

according to the details posted by ynot the brazen conduct wording is explained this way:.

you will note in chapter 5, paragraph 9, of the shepherding textbook that a change in terminology is being introduced.

a new term, "brazen conduct," will be used in addition to " loose conduct," or in some cases instead of "loose conduct.

JWoods

One thing that fits the pattern here is yet another new "theocratic term" to be used in Jehovah-speak.

Pretty soon, it will be a sign of spiritual weakness to slip and say "loose conduct".

Those who are strong in the truth say "brazen".

139

Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

by bohm in

jw
friends

there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

JWoods

JWoods: Thats exactly my definitions.

BD: science does not operate with faith, proofs or 100% certainty; nor do the vast majority of atheists. They operate with degrees of belief, see what i and jwoods wrote on page 1.

Bohm, congratulations. Your thread is the first one out of about 10 on this subject that has started to make any sense and come to a logical consensus.

139

Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

by bohm in

jw
friends

there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

JWoods

But I'd add that as "pure reason delivers agnosticism", therefore any degree of theism or atheism necessarily requires 'impure', flawed reason. The degree of error just increases as one moves from soft to hard atheism/theism.

The only time this isn't the case is when the professed 'atheist' isn't actually an atheist at all (which is common) but is an agnostic who either doesn't understand the definition of the label or who simply enjoys attacking theism - despite personally having no belief either way - and the Atheists seem like the 'gang' to join to do that.

Again, I agree 100% with BTS and the quote above by Essan. Especially the part I bolded out.

Note that I do not find fault with either Theists or Atheists - but this "self - redefinition" of the word atheist by some is very illogical to me. Especially when they claim they are not using a form of "faith" or "belief" to strongly proclaim unprovable or unknowable things to others.

55

My Lord Spoke And Told Me Not To Post

by minimus in

jw
friends

but i am disregarding him..

JWoods

He meant not to post on Sylvia's "do not post" thread...

139

Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

by bohm in

jw
friends

there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

JWoods

Pure Reason is overrated... Kant you see that?

No, but my friend Ghenghis Khan.

139

Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

by bohm in

jw
friends

there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

JWoods

I also agree 100% with BrotherDan and BurntheShips. Especially what Burntheships just said:

The only thing pure reason alone can deliver is agnosticism.

Hard atheism, like theism, requires an element of belief.

139

Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

by bohm in

jw
friends

there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

JWoods

To the atheists I ask this: Have you been or seen every part of the universe to see if God exists? So if you haven't, how can you be so certain that he doesn't exist? The best you can do is say, "I don't think he exists". Anything more than that cannot be proven.

Couldn't you ask the same thing (in inverted logic) of a theist?

139

Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

by bohm in

jw
friends

there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

JWoods

OK - let me redefine my view of Athiest:

This is a person who strongly believes there is no God. He may or may not claim to have proof.

SO - my definition of Theist:

This is a person who strongly believes there is a God. He may or may not claim to have proof.

AND - my definition of Agnostic:

This is a person who takes no position on the existence of God. He may belive that the existence or non-existence of God is unprovable, or he may only claim to simply personally not know.