Posts by cofty

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

cofty

Harris' point is that there is often more than one good answer to ethical questions - peaks of equivalent or similar altitude in the Moral Landscape.

Keep off the rock and respect the wishes of the owners, is one answer that really does little harm to anybody and a lot of good for the dignity of native Australians. It might be as good an answer as any.

Leaving fallen climbers to die on the rock in order to respect the supposed sacredness of the rock would probably not be a equivalent peak.

If you didn't get that much then you didn't actually read the book.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

very jw child who has had his/her education in science would realize there is nothing mysterious or ethereal being described here.

Then every JW child would be wrong about that.

In these verses, then, “spirit” refers to that which gives life to a body. Without spirit, the body is dead. ... “Spirit” thus refers to an invisible force (the spark of life) that animates all living creatures. ... the life-force returns to where it came from—God.

Only by God’s power can the spirit, or life-force, be given back

This absolutely excludes the possibility of life arising spontaneously from rocks in the lab.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

I am not talking about what muddle-headed JWs personally believe. I am talking about one of their most fundamental doctrines about the nature of life.

The soul and the spirit are not the same. The body needs the spirit in much the same way as a radio needs electricity—in order to function. To illustrate this further, think of a portable radio. When you put batteries in a portable radio and turn it on, the electricity stored in the batteries brings the radio to life, so to speak. Without batteries, however, the radio is dead. So is another kind of radio when it is unplugged from an electric outlet. Similarly, the spirit is the force that brings our body to life. Also, like electricity, the spirit has no feeling and cannot think. It is an impersonal force. But without that spirit, or life-force, our bodies “die and return to the dust” as the psalmist stated.

A portable radio without any electrical or battery power source

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

cofty

It's just incredible that somebody can write that sort of stuff in the 21st century in all seriousness, and somebody else can call it "interesting".

Utter bollocks is what it is. Believe any sort of fantasy you like but please stop calling it scientific or even logical.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

So that only proves that JWs no longer understand their own basic doctrines.

Life from rocks in a lab is not "life from life". Life from a sperm or egg or cloning a living cell is "life from life".

They - like you - are confusing the argument from complexity with the theological one.

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

cofty

In other words he is attempting to use "science" as a basis for saying that his own ethical judgements should be preferred even when they run counter to the common sense view or the current consensus. This cuts out the pesky business of having to discuss, reason, and take others' views into account!

Possibly the most ill-informed review in the history of book reviews.

Anybody who claims that Sam Harris doesn't actively seek opposition to his views doesn't know anything about Sam Harris. Unlike Noam Chomsky who refused to dialogue with him.

31

Big news from Kim and Mikey, they state in thier latest video proof the WT invested in the Nazi war machine!!

by Crazyguy in

this is big!

according to what they say if i'm correct an investigation was done back in 1998 in concerning what american companies invested money in to germany.

mike and kim state that a document they have attained shows a list of american firms that had invested into germany as late as 1943. on this list is non other then watchtower !!

cofty

something that I personally believe the Watchtower are very capable of doing

The only question that matters is whether or not they did do it. It would appear to be a false accusation. Unfounded, exaggerated and sensationalist stories are counterproductive.

14

Latest Ancient Coin - 660 Year Old Fourpence

by cofty in

after a very quiet couple of hours detecting this afternoon i was chuffed to find this silver coin.. it is a groat of edward iii of england.

for a long time the only coin available was the silver penny.

if you wanted to spend half a penny or a quarter you literally cut it up.

cofty

There was an estate here since at least the 12th century. It was owned by two knightly families and then became crown property for a while after the reformation. I have put together quite a detailed history of the estate by researching national and county archives.

From the 17th century another family lived here for 4 generations. They were on the wrong side of the English Civil War. They were a Catholic family and maintained a priest here. They also fought on the losing side of the first Jacobite Rebellion and then the '45. One of the brothers was hanged at York for his efforts.

The coins I find mostly span the years from around 1180 to the 19th century. I suppose if one person drops one coin once a decade over 500 years that adds up to a lot of coins to be found.

Of course most of them are under a foot of earth. The only accessible finds are those that have been turned over by the plough.

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

cofty

I don't think Cofty and Viviane are logical positivists because the philosophy of soul is presented with logical consistency and both deny the logical conclusion of the soul. - JM

There is no such thing as "the philosophy of soul". There is nothing logical about belief in a soul.

Making stuff up doesn't qualify as philosophy or logic.

32

What Happens to Adam and Eve?

by Cold Steel in

in jw theology, what happens to adam and eve?

are they resurrected and become heirs to paradise on earth?

or will they become two of the heavenly class?

cofty

"One redeemer was quite sufficient in the plan which God adopted, because only one had sinned, and only one had been condemned. Others shared his condemnation…One unforfeited life could redeem one forfeited life and no more. The one perfect man, “the man Christ Jesus,” who redeems the fallen Adam (and our losses through him) could not have been a ransom for all under any other circumstances than those of the plan which God chose." – The Divine Plan of the Ages (1886) p.132

The statement that god knew/intended Adam would sin before he even created him is also in Divine Plan.

I might still have a copy, I will have a look.