Jankyn

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Posts by Jankyn

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  42

  What advice would you give your 16 yr oil dself.

  by scotsman in

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  Jankyn

  Read more. Drink less.
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  66

  What do you know "without googling" about the reputed mechanisms for evolution?

  by gubberningbody in

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  i see people take positions all day long and i rather suspect both sides are woefully ignorant.. i read and hear people speak of the volumes of data pro or con and when i ask for specific examples of what each may be referring to, i am often met with silence.. .

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  Jankyn

  Without "googling," and without reading the other responses, which I'm sure have degenerated into the usual evolution-versus-creation/ID slugfest, here's what I know about evolution (my degrees are all in English...B.A., M.A., Ph.D.):

  Evolution is a series of theories (in the scientific sense, meaning principles which can and have been tested and are falsifiable) based on the concept of "change over time." One of its main components is the concept of "natural selection," meaning, simply enough, that individuals with characteristics that are beneficial will have more opportunity to pass on their genetic inheritance. Evolution happens to groups of organisms, not to individuals (individuals may have mutations, but evolution happens to the entire species).

  DNA tells us that all life on this planet came from the same source. Over time, groups of that initial organism evolved into new species with new characteristics in a process that continues to this day. Ultimately, we are all related, though; a chimp is cousin to a human, while a blade of grass is a thirty-second cousin twice removed (that's a metaphor...I told you, my degrees are in English). If it's got DNA, it's a relative.

  PLEASE NOTE: Evolution, a biological theory, does not say anything about the origin of life, nor does it addess the origin of the planet or of the cosmos. It explains the origin and development of species. For ideas, hypotheses and theories about how life originated, see chemistry, earth science, astronomy and cosmology.

  There are a lot of good reasons to be an atheist. Evolution is not necessarily one of them. However, it is helpful to remember that a bunch of nomadic shepherds living in tents in the desert several thousand years ago probably didn't know as much about biology as your average seventh-grader with a microscope, and, speaking strictly as an English major, metaphor has a lot of power.

  Edited to add: And, now that I've read the thread, I see that many with more understanding of the various ins and outs of evolutionary theory have done their work; this thread was in fact troll bait; and that I'm not doing bad with my understanding of how it works, for an English major.
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  27

  Do Jehovah's Witnesses even know their own teachings...

  by Tuesday in

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  i've had a rash of people commenting on my videos lately that seem to not even understand their own teachings.

  it leads me to question if jehovah's witnesses can even explain their own beliefs.

  for example if i ask a question about the 1914 doctrine specifically about the biblical backing behind 607 bce being the year for the destruction of jerusalem, 9 times out of 10 i'm going to get some sort of answer that involves the "prophecy" in matthew 24 and how it somehow has been fufilled since 1914.. apart from the fact i honestly don't think i can find a jehovah's witness who will actually understand the question at hand enough to answer the points therein, i'm to the point where i don't know if jehovah's witnesses even understand their own teachings.

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  Jankyn

  Donuthole said:

  You can look at the progress of the home bible study books from the "Truth" book down the "Bible Teach" book. As you go down the line less doctrine is focused on. In the "Knowledge" book little time is spent on subjects like Hellfire and Trinity than in the "Paradise" book. In the "Bible Teach" book much of this further taken out of the main chapters and relegated to an appendix, topics like "Michael the Archangel" and "1914". The teacher is told that there is no need to go over the appendices unless the student has specific questions.

  That's it in a nutshell. As a child raised on the Paradise book, I knew more doctrine than an adult in da Troof today. Part of the "dumbing-down" no doubt has to do with (as some have mentioned above) the general decline in literacy levels over the last 40 years; but it's also (as has been pointed out) a really big plus for the Society to have adherents who are unwilling/unable to engage in "deep" study. I know that any who do seem to inevitably reach a point of disgust with the Society's manipulations of Scripture (e.g., our own Blondie and Leolaia, who really know their way around both Bible and doctrine).

  Basically, if they still used seriously doctrinal material--even the Paradise book, let alone something like Bablyon the Great--they'd have a whole lot more apostates on their hands!
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  11

  "professes" to be annointed

  by stillin in

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  what's that all about??

  ?.

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  Jankyn

  I've heard that one used to describe the "new" annointed, if everybody in the congo doesn't think they really are. The "real" annointed are just called "annointed" (or my mom still slips up and says "one of the remnant"). The newbies that no one believes, she says "so-and-so professes to be annointed."

  Slam! There's rules about these things, ya know!
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  21

  Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 08-02-09 WT Study (THE CHRIST)

  by blondie in

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  review comments will be in red or headed by comments.

  why follow "the christ"?

  6:15; luke 2:11; john 1:1; matt.

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  Jankyn

  Here's what grabbed me:

  COMMENTSBased on the games the WTS played with "baptizer" and "baptist" where is this going?

  Jesus Christ = attention on Jesus as individual "clearly"?
  Christ Jesus = attention to position held by Jesus
  THE CHRIST = office of Messiah

  Obviously, where they're going is that "the Christ" is the annointed, and by further elimination, only the GB. How long, I wonder, before they slip that one in somewhere?

  Thanks, as always, Blondie, for your incredibly insightful deconstruction of this stuff. I don't know how you can stand it, but I really appreciate it.
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  5

  For NorCal folks: Was Jimboys' Tacos started by a JW?

  by Jankyn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi, folks.

  i just had someone mention casually that the jimboys' tacos chain was started by a jw.

  i was curious (we were talking about jimboys' dumping recent issues of the sacramento news & review because of a photo of two gay men on the cover... see story here: http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1040008).

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  Jankyn

  Hi, folks. I just had someone mention casually that the Jimboys' Tacos chain was started by a JW. I was curious (we were talking about Jimboys' dumping recent issues of the Sacramento News & Review because of a photo of two gay men on the cover... see story here: http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1040008). Anybody know anything about this?
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  45

  "He was really smart. Smart people leave all the time" <- Unwitting Witness Tells The Truth

  by gubberningbody in

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  how many of you have heard this one, or words to that effect?.

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  Jankyn

  I heard, all the time, that "No one was too dumb to get the Truth, but some people are too smart." Usually followed by a dirty look sent my way.
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  15

  End of the Line-Creepy Doomsday-Cult Horror Movie

  by Mastodon in

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  2. friends

  couldn't help thinking about the borg at certain moments in this film.. not for the faint of heart.

  but if you love horror movies, like i do, then this one is a keeper.. .

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwh1vlywypw.

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  Jankyn

  Here comes Reniaa again. OK, here's the deal: My understanding of JW doctrine is that they are not pacifists. They simply don't get involved in fights between "worldly" governments, and go to jail rather than fight in them. If Jah told them to be the conquering army, they would be.

  Now, Quakers---they're pacifists.
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  33

  Brenda Lee's new video

  by isaacaustin in

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  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh8t7xybl04.

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  Jankyn

  The opening was interesting, but then it kinda started to look like a Ministry School set-up (of course, this householder wasn't a patsy!).
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  6

  California Budget Agreement

  by sammielee24 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if california takes the revenue from counties and cities, what happens to the counties and cities and how are they supposed to pay for their needs?

  california's revenue has dropped dramatically and negates the ludicrous claim that unemployment is only at 10%..it most obviously is substantially higher and not moving in a good direction yet.

  sammieswife.. the state's ability to function by issuing ious to contractors was projected to last until early september without a balanced budget in place.

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  Jankyn

  As the wife of a state employee, I'm grateful the budget has passed. However, we still have to live with a 16% cut in total income (BTW, our taxes did NOT go down 16%).

  I'm getting really tired of Californians demanding services without being willing to pay for them. What a mess.