cofty

Joined

• started 464 topics
• posted 24,957 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by cofty

• 
  26

  Jephthah's Daughter

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have noticed that the foolishness of jephthah's vow to sacrifice his daughter gets bandied around a lot as somehow approved of by god.

  i never could understand how people could come to this conclusion.

  if i wrote about something terrible that my son had done, that doesn't mean that i am for that thing.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Source please - Sea Breeze

  If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering ... he did to her as he had vowed - Judges 11

  If Jephthah had thought better of his vow and spared the life of his child that would have been the point of the story. Instead the point of the story is Jephthah's willingness to keep his vow and his daughter's acquiescence. The OT is full of examples of Yahweh communicating his wishes to his prophets. On this occasion he remained silent and accepted child sacrifice.

  Everything else is hand waving by embarrassed theologians.

  God could end evil and suffering by tomorrow morning if he wanted. All he has to do is forcibly take away our free will - Sea Breeze

  Countless millions of humans have suffered and died as a result of 'natural evil' that has absolutely nothing to do with free will. Your god does not get to blame the victims. A tsunami proves beyond all doubt that the god of christian theism does not exist.
• 
  26

  Jephthah's Daughter

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have noticed that the foolishness of jephthah's vow to sacrifice his daughter gets bandied around a lot as somehow approved of by god.

  i never could understand how people could come to this conclusion.

  if i wrote about something terrible that my son had done, that doesn't mean that i am for that thing.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  God accepted the sacrifice of the girl. You can't quote later texts to prove god doesn't approve of human sacrifice. In Judges he approved of it.

  Nowhere does the bible present a consistent position on anything. It is a story of hundreds of years of human interactions with a deity. In many places - and this is a classic example - the god of the bible is a moral monster and unworthy of our respect.

  In the older parts of the OT Yahweh is the source of BOTH good and evil. Dualism - and the convenience of a nemesis to blame for bad things - does not appear until after the Babylonian exile. The Jews adopted the idea of a Satan from Persian Zoroastrianism.

  I see you have swapped Questions From Readers for Got Questions. Still letting others do your thinking for you.
• 
  6

  There Are Better Songs to Sing

  by cofty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the 1983 film educating rita, written by willy russell and starring michael caine and julie walters, is one of the finest stories ever told.

  julie's character is the eponymous working class hairdresser and michael caine plays professor frank bryant her open university tutor assigned, against his will, to teach her english literature.

  the dialogue is brilliant and funny but it is the dilemma of an awakening rita caught between two worlds that is deeply moving.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  The 1983 film Educating Rita, written by Willy Russell and starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters, is one of the finest stories ever told.

  Julie's character is the eponymous working class hairdresser and Michael Caine plays Professor Frank Bryant her Open University tutor assigned, against his will, to teach her English literature. The dialogue is brilliant and funny but it is the dilemma of an awakening Rita caught between two worlds that is deeply moving.

  The more Rita learns the more aware she becomes of the emptiness of her life. She is unsatisfied with the limited ambitions of her husband Denny and their extended families. At the same time she knows she does not belong in the middle class intellectual world she aspires to.

  There is a scene that affected me profoundly when I watched it during the period that I was 'awake' to the Watchtower but still socially a JW. Rita accepts an invitation to a drinks party at Bryant's house. She arrives late feeling uncomfortable with her dress and her choice of wine. She leaves and joins her family at the pub where they are singing along to the jukebox - 'I'm so happy that you're so happy that we're so happy...together..'

  Her sense of disconnection is palpable. She looks at her mum who is silently crying. Rita asks her mum what's wrong and she answers, 'There must be better songs to sing than this.' It's an incredibly profound scene.

  If you are caught between two worlds don't give up and retreat to the comfort of the familiar. It will be painful and bewildering but a world with bigger horizons is out there. There are better songs to sing.

  ...
• 
  46

  Dis/UNITED Kingdom?

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. current

  england, wales, scotland & n.i.

  are independently making or changing the covid 19 lockdown laws/rules to suit themselves... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52600708.

  garden centres are opening in wales on monday, in england on wednesday, but by the looks of things, are far too dangerous to open them anytime soon in scotland or n.i.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Hello Mikronboy, thanks for your kind comments.

  Boogy makes the common mistake of conflating robust disagreement with personal attack.

  The former makes the forum an interesting place for those of us who welcome factual challenges to our assumptions. The latter makes it more like a school playground.
• 
  15

  People in England were easiy convinced to believe....

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. current

  ....that a mass killer was roaming their streets.

  .

  now theyre struggling to believe the grim reaper is not so grim and it's safe to go outside again.. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52669441.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  the weakest & most vulnerable were not protected, instead, the fit & healthy were put under house arrest. Absolute lunacy! - Boogy

  Yes the most vulnerable were protected. Thousands who were identified from medical records to be especially at risk received a letter from HM Gov telling them to remain totally isolated for 12 weeks pending further advice. Arrangements were made for their support.

  I heard today that two thirds of care homes in England have had zero infections.

  Everybody else was severely limited in order to slow down community transmission in order to protect the NHS AND to further protect the vulnerable. Now that R0 is below 1 - only just - and there is spare capacity in the NHS, restrictions are being gradually relaxed.

  Not lunacy at all.
• 
  15

  People in England were easiy convinced to believe....

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. current

  ....that a mass killer was roaming their streets.

  .

  now theyre struggling to believe the grim reaper is not so grim and it's safe to go outside again.. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52669441.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Excess deaths in UK last month was 50,000 That's quite grim by any standard.

  By the way England is not synonymous with the UK.
• 
  15

  A thesis: The Discursive Construction of Freedom in the Watchtower Society

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a thesis: the discursive construction of freedom in the watchtower society.

  https://ris.cdu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/24632569/thesis_cdu_24577264_chester_h.pdf .

  be aware, this thesis, although supremely stimulating, thought-provoking, fascinating, attention-grabbing, remarkable, noteworthy, and appealing, the author made use of out of the ordinary, worthy of note, and fascinating words and statements that, for the reader of average intelligence (like me), make for laborious reading.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Thanks Barbara. Downloading for later.
• 
  46

  Dis/UNITED Kingdom?

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. current

  england, wales, scotland & n.i.

  are independently making or changing the covid 19 lockdown laws/rules to suit themselves... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52600708.

  garden centres are opening in wales on monday, in england on wednesday, but by the looks of things, are far too dangerous to open them anytime soon in scotland or n.i.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Boogy - Please quote where I have made a personal attack against you or anyone else and I will apologise.
• 
  46

  Dis/UNITED Kingdom?

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. current

  england, wales, scotland & n.i.

  are independently making or changing the covid 19 lockdown laws/rules to suit themselves... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52600708.

  garden centres are opening in wales on monday, in england on wednesday, but by the looks of things, are far too dangerous to open them anytime soon in scotland or n.i.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  you don't belong here - Boogy

  24,000 posts over 10 years says otherwise.

  Hundreds of posts offering support and advice to new members in distress. Hundreds of threads offering detailed information on science and theology. Countless posts on controversial topics where I remained respectful while being attacked by others. I'm proud of my posting history here. How about you?

  I asked you to offer any support for your assertion that the effects of the virus were 'avoidable'. You made what I considered an unreasonable demand that would effectively have locked up over a million minimum wage workers for months on end. I don't think that's realistic. You demand to know what I would have done differently. I told you I don't think the tragedy was avoidable. So now you resort to ad hominem.

  And you have the cheek to say I'm breaking the forum guidelines. I hope we can start again. I wish you no ill will but you need to converse more and bluster less.

  You may have guessed I'm weary of lazy virtue-signalling on TV and social media by people who want to rant at anybody who is trying to sort this mess out but who have nothing useful to offer.
• 
  13

  Education vs JW?

  by galaxia_moon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am 15 years old and recently just doubting this whole religion that was introduced to me when i was very small from a very good family friend.

  doubt obviously comes with shame and guilt and i hate those feelings because it feels like i'm betraying this whole organization that i grew up in.... anyways, i've been doing research and found that jehovah's witnesses dislike/shun kids who attend colleges & universities that are more than 4 years long?

  have you heard of this?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Hi and welcome. It's always so encouraging when a young person finds the courage to question dogma while they still have all their life ahead of them. Your opportunities are endless.

  There is a forum member here who started training a lot older than you are and he is now a qualified emergency doctor saving lives every day. Look out for posts from 'Snare & Racket'.

  Follow your dreams. Start planning now. Aim high.

  If you have questions or concerns about doctrine or faith or dealing with pressure from family we have lots of experience to offer.