ricky gervais tweeted this 11/14/12 and i totally agree with it:.
"there are good atheists and bad atheists.
there are good believers and bad believers.. no god has ever changed that.".
Sab - New thread please. Its a good theme but its off topic by miles.
It's totally on topic because it demonstrates that touchy subjects can be discussed in a civil manner (or not). It shows whether the truce is working or that it's broken. Just roll with it, Cofty, like an otter down a river.
-Sab
ricky gervais tweeted this 11/14/12 and i totally agree with it:.
"there are good atheists and bad atheists.
there are good believers and bad believers.. no god has ever changed that.".
Every man born of woman dies.
What is the difference between a suicide bomber and a Christian martyr? Both are compelled to death by religious ferver are they not? Can we demonize one and glorify the other?
-Sab
ricky gervais tweeted this 11/14/12 and i totally agree with it:.
"there are good atheists and bad atheists.
there are good believers and bad believers.. no god has ever changed that.".
So the people who followed in Jesus the Nazarene's footsteps, you know, the ones that got crucified? From an atheist's perspective, what did they die for? If you had to rate them as a positive or negative effect to society at large, where would they fall? How about dying for one's beliefs? When is that the best course of action?
-Sab
i like to share my picture with you and that you share yours with me.
but only if that does not represent any problem to you.
here is mine.
Sab, very nice, attractive picture. I think you're younger than I expected. How old a person are you?
Thanks FHN, I think my Native American genetics rendered me unable to grow facial hair. My little brother suffers from the same eternal babyface. It's nice because 1 razor can last me months where for some they don't even make it through a single shave. I am 28 years old.
Gladiator and Sabastious, thank for sharing with us. Sab, when I was in PR Iwas a German Shepherd breeder, German bloodlines. Here is a pic of the Sire, JANO, where I lived in PR.
Beautiful dog, wolfman. Max is my first dog and he's a pit bull mix, not sure exactly what as he's a rescue. Growing up I was never allowed, it's been such a great experience.
-Sab
day or the hour of the end?.
knowing the exact day or hour when the.
5. how may not knowing the day or the hour.
Just think how discouraging it could have been to expect the end and for it not to occur! - September 2012 Watchtower
I find it interesting that the Watchtower correlates the concept of keeping on the watch with an expectation of events. These are two separate concepts that the Society seems to conjoin in order to create a false sense of urgency. Consider the Greek word peri (per-ee) found in Mattthew 24:36.
Concerning (peri) that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. - NWT
peri: about, concerning, around (denotes place, cause or subject)Original Word: περ?
Part of Speech: Preposition
Transliteration: peri
Phonetic Spelling: (per-ee')
Short Definition: about, concerning, around
Definition: (a) gen: about, concerning, (b) acc: around.
So, what Matthew 24:36 is saying is that NO ONE should concern themselves with the exact time of the end because it's impossible to predict. Yet, in the above WT quote they said that there were "expecting" it in 1914, to the point of believing they were going to be raptured to heaven in that year. Notice the verbiage used in vs 50 of the same chapter:
50 - the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect ( prosdokaó) and in an hour that he does not know
This is what Strong's has to say on the Greek word used:
prosdokaó: to await, expect
Original Word: προσδοκ?ω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: prosdokaó
Phonetic Spelling: (pros-dok-ah'-o)
Short Definition: I expect, await
Definition: I expect, wait for, await, think, anticipate.
So, Russell and the Bible Students were directly going against the words of the Bible according to Matthew chapter 24. Because they were anticipating the end of the world when Matthew 24 explicitly stated not to do that. Yet, here we are many decades later being told a sob story about how "discouraging" it was expecting an end that did not come. As if to garner sympathy. Yes, of course it's discouraging, false prophecy is a b*tch. These artists of deception need no more support.
-Sab
i like to share my picture with you and that you share yours with me.
but only if that does not represent any problem to you.
here is mine.
My dog and I at the park
-Sab
in a discussion with some other dear ones, the question was asked as to what such ones put their faith in.
in response to one comment that"one can't function without faith," another disagreed, stating ones can, that "many do so every day... the ones who have trust" (in things like the sun rising in the east versus the west).
that trust extended to "faith" based "on nature and the natural order of things.
Perhaps he just realized his error, Palm. People edit their posts all the time.
Ever get the feeling like you are being watched if you make a mistake? Sheesh!
-Sab
in a discussion with some other dear ones, the question was asked as to what such ones put their faith in.
in response to one comment that"one can't function without faith," another disagreed, stating ones can, that "many do so every day... the ones who have trust" (in things like the sun rising in the east versus the west).
that trust extended to "faith" based "on nature and the natural order of things.
Oh, it's a fact.......? I didn't know that.
OOOooooo, too bad you didn't edit in time, Sab.
I wrote it the first way because it is a fact that she's hearing God, but that's only because that's what she says it is. Since I cannot refute then I am forced to accept her asertion about the phenomenon. The fact is that the phenomenon is real. The way it works is the experiencer tells US what it is, not the other way around. And, in this case, that person has a specific description. The edit was to make sure this concept was conveyed as accurate as possible. The first rendition was misleading.
-Sab
in a discussion with some other dear ones, the question was asked as to what such ones put their faith in.
in response to one comment that"one can't function without faith," another disagreed, stating ones can, that "many do so every day... the ones who have trust" (in things like the sun rising in the east versus the west).
that trust extended to "faith" based "on nature and the natural order of things.
Her personality is so EPIC that scientists are drawn to her? Just so they can try and figure her out? They marvel at the wonder that is Shelby and the power she has?
No not epicness, just the fact that she says she hears God. You know, how the Torah was revealed. Even now there is fighting over the land of the People of the Book.
-Sab
in a discussion with some other dear ones, the question was asked as to what such ones put their faith in.
in response to one comment that"one can't function without faith," another disagreed, stating ones can, that "many do so every day... the ones who have trust" (in things like the sun rising in the east versus the west).
that trust extended to "faith" based "on nature and the natural order of things.
When somebody can make the sort of absurd assertions that Shelby makes on a regular basis and there is not a single skeptical voice there is a problem.
What about taking the agnostic approach with a specic person? Do we have to grill every claim to the ground or could we just say that one person is going to make claims with the God tag every now and then? If Shelby told me Armageddon was coming tomorrow I'd ask her what she was smoking because I'd want in on that. I don't understand how society could work where people are required to back up claims with facts even on the level of discussions or else have their credibility lowered. How many facts have been given to us by someone claiming it was from a deity of any kind? Do we have the numbers on that? Do we just automatically assume that all of those people were delusional and were making an intellectual error in judgement? Or do we say that a small percentage of them were actually right. That God really does have communication with us, but yet it is drowned out by an onslaught of lies?
That's why when someone says that they speak for God, they should be marked down as someone who spoke in the name of God. Does that person draw a line in the sand? They do by assuming their role. But does being agnostic towards that role and the details of it make one in league with the line drawer? No, it doesn't. Shelby doesn't want disciples, she's just a sign that points in a certain direction. Her sign just so happens to have over 2 million words on it.
-Sab
