Posts by MeanMrMustard

31

The Anonymous hacker group has announced that they will begin infiltrating the WTS to obtain their database of pedophiles.

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

the anonymous hacker group has proven themselves effective in the past.

lets wait and see if they pull it off again with the wts.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhyl4waps2o.

.

MeanMrMustard

Unless the WTB&TS' legal department is purely retarded, they keep stuff like that off network. If you want the pedo-DB, then plan a break-in or get a mole.

MMM

195

Theistic Evolution

by cofty in

thoughtful christians including scientists like francis collins and kenneth miller accept the evidence for evolution unconditionally.

the only thing that distinguishes their understanding of life from the views of dawkins is that they believe god planned and started the process intentionally.. just a word about the subtle but vital distinction between "theistic evolution" and "intelligent design".... over-simplifications alert - intelligent design is creationism in disguise.

it is a modern twist on the "paley's watch" argument.

MeanMrMustard

@cofty:

You wrote:

MMM - to play devil's advocate again, I think that is really just a problem for JW theology.
Christian doctrine about the "work of christ" sees Jesus' death as vicarous punishment rather than Adam-Jesus equivalence.
Article about JW Ransom Vs gospel written in a previous life...

I read through the article and I believe this paragraph sums up the main idea nicely:

" When we look carefully at this verse however, we find that it does not imply any shifting of blame. Paul says only that sin entered the world through Adam. He does not say that Adam was the source or originator of our predicament, but simply that sin gained entry to the human race through our first ancestor. He then makes a surprising statement that is easily overlooked. He says that death spread to all men "because they had all sinned." This clause is in the past tense, referring back to that first sin in the garden of Eden. In other words the whole human race, as yet unborn, was counted as having shared in the transgression of our representative Adam." (under the sub heading " Adam's Fault or Ours?")

I understand there is a difference between JW theology and traditional Christian theology when it comes to the doctrine of sin. But I don't see how it relieves the difficulity. Whether you buy into "Adamic sin" as the WT does, or whether you believe that each of us is responsible for our own sinful nature, and its the sarifice of Jesus that covers our individual sin (instead of equalizing Adam's), the fact remains that when you have a literal Adam playing a role in the entry of sin into the human race, evolution becomes a problem - because there was no literal Adam.

Note: I'm NOT talking about physical corruption or losing perfection in a paradise. It makes no difference if you view it as a physical fall or a spiritual separation.

Did Adam play a role? Any role? If so, there seems to be an issue.

MMM

195

Theistic Evolution

by cofty in

thoughtful christians including scientists like francis collins and kenneth miller accept the evidence for evolution unconditionally.

the only thing that distinguishes their understanding of life from the views of dawkins is that they believe god planned and started the process intentionally.. just a word about the subtle but vital distinction between "theistic evolution" and "intelligent design".... over-simplifications alert - intelligent design is creationism in disguise.

it is a modern twist on the "paley's watch" argument.

MeanMrMustard

I can see the possibility of reconciling some bare-boned thiesm with evolution. However, I find it difficult to imagine how to reconcile Christianity with evolution. If man was created through the process of evolution, then there was no original couple. Without the original couple, there is no original sin. Without sin, there is no need for a savior. Without need for a savior, it invalidates the main thrust of Christianity (needing Christ).

TE with Christianity seems problematic to me.

MMM

84

YOU have the power to eradicate evil in the world. How would you accomplish this?

by jam in

jw
friends

you alone have the power to eradicate the evil in the world.. where would you start?

you get rid of the lowest of scum in.

the world, mass murderers, child molesters, rapest, anyone that.

MeanMrMustard

I’d probably change something about time because it seems to me time and the lack of it causes fear which manifests itself in troublesome ways in other areas of life. The fear of time running out before you have what you need for your old age or before you have gotten to do what you want to do in your life, or have what you need, can cause people to become desperate.

Greed = I’m going to get all I can while I still have the chance. I’m not going to share what’s mine in case I’m not able to replace it before it’s too late. I don't care who I have to cheat, trample over or outsmart to do it.

Theft/ Murder / dishonesty= I’m going to take what I need because I don’t have time to wait until I can get it for myself and I don’t care what I have to do to get it.

Fear= What if I’m not able to get what I need to live before I’m too old to get it for myself? What if time runs out before I am able to do what it is I love in life? What if I’m not able to find someone to love before I’m too old? What if I don’t have a baby before it’s too late?

Power = I’m going to get control of everyone and everything so that I’m sure to have what I need and get what I want before I’m too old and weak or before someone more powerful takes what I have. I'm going to make it difficult for anyone else to have what they need so that what I have stays of value.

To eradicate evil in the world, I’d have to either grant people unlimited lifespans or cause them to somehow not understand the concept of time as it relates to their own limited lifetime much like the animal kingdom who are programmed to preserve their own lives but aren’t aware of their own mortality and are not concerned about the passage of time. They live from day to day or even moment to moment.

By taking away the time, or even the ability to feel/perceive time, in order to try to stem the evil things you list above, what goods - possibly overriding goods - are you eliminating? And is this not evil too? For example, simple charity given to help someone's current situation in hopes of a better future would be eliminated. After all, nobody would care about the future.

You are possibly doing more harm than good, and the evils you remove from the world could be replaced with greater evils.

I do not think you can eradicate evil from the world this way (or any way).

MMM

84

YOU have the power to eradicate evil in the world. How would you accomplish this?

by jam in

jw
friends

you alone have the power to eradicate the evil in the world.. where would you start?

you get rid of the lowest of scum in.

the world, mass murderers, child molesters, rapest, anyone that.

MeanMrMustard

@botch:

If free will is a good, even a little bit. Then taking away that free will would be an evil in itself, even if a little bit. In that case, your free will act of removing everyone's free will (even if it includes your free will from that time forward) would be an evil act with non-ending evil effects, even if a little bit. Therefore, you can't "eradicate" evil this way.

MMM

20

More legal trouble for the WT? jw.org

by blond-moment in

http://www.scribd.com/doc/99911315/lorterdan-properties-at-ramapo-i-llc-vs-watchtower-bible-and-tract-society-of-new-york-inc-case-11-cv-3656-cs.

anyone speak legal-ese?

sounds to me, (not fluent in legal-ese mind you or real estate-ese) like they are being sued for a bad real estate deal.

MeanMrMustard

Looks like they wanted out because the town kept denying them the tax except status...

23

Grammer Fer Idiots

by Farkel in

jw
friends

ending a sentence in a proposition can get a guy slapped a who bunch of times.. conjugating stuff should only be done in a proper marriage.. a split infinity leads to babies.. gerunds are little animals certain movie stars put in places where the sun don't shine.. transitive refers to people who live under bridges.. intransitive refers to people who live in houses.. double life imprisonment is a compound sentence for really bad guys.. a compound/complex sentence is almost the same thing, but the judge was on drugs and didn't have a clue when he issued it.. parsing a sentence should only be performed by people who don't have a clue what they are doing.. an example of a propositional phrase is "hey babe!

your place or mine?".

alliteration is what happens when a whole bunch of people toss garbage out of their car windows on the highway.. punctuation is what every 14 year old boy wants to do to every 14 year old girl and every other female on the planet for that matter.. using a semi-colon in a sentence is the same thing as using a period, except it isn't.. using a colon is something best done in private.. most people, use commas, way too much, and this, should be, avoided, however.. exclamation marks should be used sparingly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.