Posts by LeeT

the society (and others) love to quote job 26:7 where it says that "[god] suspends the earth over nothing" and isaiah 40:22, where it speaks of "the circle of the earth".

they use these scriptures to boast about the incredible scientific accuracy of the bible, proving god had a direct hand in everything written in it.. the trouble is that elsewhere in the scriptures, opposing views are put forth explaining then-unexplainable physics and geographical notions.

one is job 26:11: "the pillars of heaven tremble.

LeeT

Wow, thankyou Lime.

Pure genius that last post.

That must have taken quite some effort, and certainly had me laughing. Well, I think you've conclusively proved what we all knew. This passage can not be intended to be taken literally and the Bible still be accurate. It was also not meant to refer just to the known countries. If it was more 'as in a deam', why do the mountaineering in the first place?

My prefered explanation is the flat Earth one. I'm pretty happy with the idea that the Jews and just about everybody else believed in a flat earth as given in my Encyclopedia Judaica.

This is one of the subjects where I've never heard the fundamentalist rationalisation of though.

62

What's Your Favorite Christmas Song?

by sacolton in

jw
friends

mine is "silent night".

never get tired of listening to that one..

LeeT

Bobby Darin - Poor Little Jesus

I quite like the Odetta version too.

45

Enough with the favorite songs

by JeffT in

jw
friends

what are the ones that sound like fingernails on the blackboard, the ones that make you want to pull the gun out from under the seat and shoot the radio in your car?.

a few of mine:.

spirit in the sky.

LeeT

Oh, I nearly forgot. Widely thought to be the worst album ever.

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (it's all equally as bad as the rest, except the very end).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr0KkzbbqPI

I'll suss out embedding You Tubes some day.

22

Susan Boyle's new CD

by littlerockguy in

did any of you guys buy it?

i downloaded it from amazon since i didn't see it in any of the stores when i have been out.

it is quite good and well worth $10 and i find myself listening to it more than i thought i would.

LeeT

I'm aware of no witness connection.

I'll happily conceed that she's better than just about anything else I've heard that has been spawned by reality TV star maker shows in recent years. I also think a frumpy lady of a certain age is a good thing to have in a business where appearance and image counts more than talent.

My main criticism lies in the Cowell star factory aspect. All these songs about overcoming adversity seem like too thumping a metaphor.

I'm not having a go at 'granny' music, I'm nearly old enough myself, though I'm the wrong sex. This is where a lot of her market lies though. A gay friend tells me she has quite a gay following too.

Violia, I think you have it when you say that 'Life has more than leveled the playing field for Susan'. She is certainly deserving of a measure of success, but not as much as it seems she may receive. I'm just in favour of a level playing field. Knowing this thread will produce glowing praise I'm just trying to restore balance rather than be controversial. There's a goodly number of people with talent that remain virtually unknown.

Gregor, my tastes are amazingly varied so long as you exclude opera, throat music, free jazz, music concrete and most post 80's forms of dance music. I've just done a quick check and I have 56,339 tracks on my PC. I'm sure we could find some points of common appreciation.

126

Is the Bible Really Scientifically Accurate?

by FreeAtLast1914 in

jw
friends

the society (and others) love to quote job 26:7 where it says that "[god] suspends the earth over nothing" and isaiah 40:22, where it speaks of "the circle of the earth".

they use these scriptures to boast about the incredible scientific accuracy of the bible, proving god had a direct hand in everything written in it.. the trouble is that elsewhere in the scriptures, opposing views are put forth explaining then-unexplainable physics and geographical notions.

one is job 26:11: "the pillars of heaven tremble.

LeeT

Going back to somewhere near the start of the thread in discussing the shape of the Earth, the point was made that in Matthew's account of the temptation the Devil took Jesus up tp the top of a mountain where every nation of the earth could be seen.

I'd be interested to see both Perry's and the JW answer to this one. Is this to be taken figuratively in some way? Was it more like a vision of all the nations brought on by a lack of oxygen at high altitude and all the strain of being in the wilderness or something?

22

Susan Boyle's new CD

by littlerockguy in

did any of you guys buy it?

i downloaded it from amazon since i didn't see it in any of the stores when i have been out.

it is quite good and well worth $10 and i find myself listening to it more than i thought i would.

LeeT

OK. I'm going to get flamed for this but....

This CD is sure to sell bucketloads. Every loved non Witness granny in the UK is going to find one of these under the tree this Christmas. As an exercise in creating product focus grouped to within an inch of it's life it's surely a triumph.

Personally I can't help feeling a little nauseous. Far too many songs which reflect her 'underdog frump overcomes adversity to triumph in reality TV hell' status for my liking. These include the obvious 'I Dreamed A Dream' as well as 'You'll See', 'Daydream Believer', 'Up To The Mountain', 'Who I Was Born To Be' and 'Proud'......Yes, yes we get the message Susan.

We also get the thoroughly miserable 'End Of The World'......the JW's should love that one.

As a closer we have the Christmassy 'Silent Night'.......less of a JW favourite.

Yes, she's got a good voice. The orchestration seems a little flaccd and sacharine coated for me. There's a couple of gospel favourites in there and the interesting choice of the Rolling Stones 'Wild Horses' given a very delicate treatment.

If you prefer not to be challenged, can't be bothered to put the work into finding good artists you like or don't like music much and get teary when your favourite soap star dies, you'll love this.

89

Do Atheists Celebrate Christmas?

by believingxjw in

jw
friends

do atheists celebrate christmas, the celebration of christ's birth?.

if so, why?.

LeeT

I don't bother with Christmas myself. I have sent and expect to receive no presents and have no decorations up. I simply see no need to bother, it's too much hassle. That is merely a personal preference and I'm happy to let others do what they will. I will watch a little TV for a change and go hunt down some bargain food when the shops reopen on 27th December. Honestly, turkeys are so cheap just after Christmas.

I think most atheists see Christmas as a good excuse to take time off work, get drunk, stuff themselves with food, and take pleasure in the giving and receipt of presents. They don't really engage with the religious side of it. They enjoy it, it harms nobody..everybody is happy.

I did pause to reflect a little for a few minutes on events during the last 6 months/1 year on the afternoon of the winter solstice (17.47hrs here in UK this year). It's a nice thought that the days will be getting longer as we head towards summer. By this time of year I'm looking forward to more daylight.