cofty

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Posts by cofty

• 
  405

  Origin of Life

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  cofty

  neshamah= breath not spirit. so no ethereal force in the way you mean is called for in JW doctrine regarding life - Ruby

  " 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." - Bible Teach Book
  

  So just to review, you assert the WT do not teach that the spirit is a force.

  The latest Watchtower publication on the topic says IT IS AN IMPERSONAL FORCE.

  JWs have always taught that god infused Adam's body with an impersonal "life-force" called "spirit". This force is exactly analogous with electricity. It comes exclusively from god the life-giver. Since the animation of Adam the principle has been life begets life.
  

  For this exact reason JWs would never accept that scientists could perform a resurrection. The hurdle is not just technical but theological. Likewise new life emerging from rocks without the spirit of life being given by the life-giver is a theological impossibility for WT dogma.

  These facts are among the most basic of all JW doctrines.

  you'd be better off focusing on...

  You would be better off focusing on facts.
  
  
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  10

  Self Delusion

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  once upon a time there was a "kiai master" who trained his students how to knock people over - no touch - with purely the power of his chi.

  how he came to think he actually had telekinetic powers - or how his students became accomplices in his self delusion - i have no idea.

  but he was so convinced he could actually do these things he issued a challenge and put up $5,000 for any martial artist who could beat him.

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  cofty

  The first few minutes of the video reminded me of the psychological trick that TELevangelists use called "slaying in the spirit".

  I remember one man who just stood and looked at the preacher and despite numerous attempts he refused to play along and fall down. Priceless!

  I believe stage hypnotism works in a similar way.
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  46

  Call for Judicial Hearing by signed letter

  by sp74bb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm quite surprised about the new approach of some local congregation brothers respect about my fade.... funny, ilegal and very dangerous in view of the different laws regarding personal data and minorities in spain and in the eu.... i already organized a press meeting with main newspapers in spain.

  many has shown interest in this situation.

  the fact of that a parallel judicial system do exist is amazing them.

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  cofty

  SAHS - There is no judicial unless there is a confession or two witnesses.

  They have made the mystery sister open to a legal charge if libel if the adultery did not happen.
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  18

  Mouthy's Funeral (video)

  by mouthys_other_granddaughter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those interested, this is the video of mouthy's (grace) funeral from september 8, 2016. https://youtu.be/yvmiwo0ycds.

  thanks again everybody for the kind words about her - she will be sorely missed by our family as i know she will be by many of you too!

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  cofty

  Thank you very much for sharing this.

  Love and best wishes to all your family. x
• 
  405

  Origin of Life

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  cofty

  Jws literally believe that god made Adams body out of clay and then infused it with an ethereal force called spirit. What could possibly be more irrational or anti scientific?
• 
  405

  Origin of Life

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  cofty

  jws emphasize rationalism in their ideas about spirit and soul

  You literally could not be more wrong.

  You live in a world unfettered by facts.

  
  
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  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  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

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  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

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  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.

  
  
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  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.