Posts by MeanMrMustard

62

So what happens next...

by Farmer Jim1 in

jw
friends

with what is arguably the biggest change to jw life in recent decades (the scrapping of publishers counting hours) what does this lead to?.

in my mind these are the results;.

1) a massive decrease in 'preaching hours'.

MeanMrMustard

It'll collapse the same way someone goes bankrupt - a little at first and then all at once.

129

Is there “new light” on 1914?

by wallsofjericho in

i’m hearing paraphrasing like “we just don’t know” .

is this regarding 1914?

or micheal the arch angel?.

MeanMrMustard

It'll soon be the goto phrase for everything.

That which cannot be sustained, won't.

40

A Modest proposal to solve the 1914 problem

by r51785 in

throughout watchtower history dates have been a problem.

the usual solution for failed prophetic dates has been to kick the can down the road.

this needs to be done with 1914. the generation that will never pass away is now 110 years old and therefore is past its useful life span.

MeanMrMustard

The fact of the matter is that not one of these lines of evidence is based on the Bible..

Right, right. The old fall-back. Which is why I've gotten right to the Biblican topics with you in the past. The Bible does not require the 70 years to desolation. In fact, you can't get to 70 years of desolation without disregarding grammar while reading the scriptures in question.

40

A Modest proposal to solve the 1914 problem

by r51785 in

throughout watchtower history dates have been a problem.

the usual solution for failed prophetic dates has been to kick the can down the road.

this needs to be done with 1914. the generation that will never pass away is now 110 years old and therefore is past its useful life span.

MeanMrMustard

In a recently published work and previous editions by Carl Olaf Jonsson who made it his life's work to refute 607 BCE and 1914 CE, attempts to refute such claims using seventeen lines of evidence. However, if 607 BCE is demonstrably wrong then only ONE line of evidence is needed. So, my challenge to all critics of the date 607 BCE is to provide one single line of evidence that disproves 607 BCE?

LOL. That's a new one. 17 lines of evidence is too many. You can't show 607 to be incorrect with 17 different lines of evidence.. noooo, it should just be one. COJ was *too* convincing,

73

Did God know adam and eve would sin?

by gavindlt in

to all those on this forum, i would love to know what your take on this vital question is..

MeanMrMustard

@Leathercrop:

So God creates someone, knowing ALL their possible potentials of being beforehand, but it's the actual someone that decides which potential will be fulfilled.

The idea is that God also knows all the possibilities of all possible universes - Christian apologists call it "middle knowledge". It's part of Him knowing "all things". If you were given a choice between a slice of chocolate cake or carrot cake, He knows what you will pick, but also what you might pick in different circumstances. But you are still the one cchoosing.The knowledge of what you will choose doesn't mean the choice is removed from you.

I'm not sure how this maps onto quantum physics. I wouldn't go so far as to say God knows the position in momentum of all particles. I don't see a concept like superposition having any effect on God's knowledge. That is, if particles (or larger objects) can be in a superposition state, then that's just the way the universe works. In this case God would know and understand the superpositional state, as well as know when and how it would fall out of that state. Again, I don't know if this has any bearing on this topic though.

22

The Meaning of ETC

by titch in

folks: i don't mean to be a "forum grammar policeman", but there is something that i've noticed a few times.

i've noticed that a few---not all---but some, members of the forum who use the abbreviation "ect" when they want to use the abbreviation of "etc.

" for your education today, the term "etc" is the abbreviation for the latin term "et cetera.

MeanMrMustard

73

Did God know adam and eve would sin?

by gavindlt in

to all those on this forum, i would love to know what your take on this vital question is..

MeanMrMustard

So are you saying that God is like an author who already knows what happens to each character of the story?

More than that. I'm saying God knows everything that is and everything that could have been. Not just character archs in a story, but every piece of possible information, completely. He literally knows the ending from the beginning.

If yes, where does the concept of free will come in?

Knowledge of your choice, before you make the choice, doesn't mean you didn't have a choice.

22

General Amnesty For Disfellowshipped

by NotFormer in

future gb: "please come back!

all is forgiven!".

would it work?

MeanMrMustard

Imagine the sheer hubris of the GB thinking it's us that's needs the forgiveness.

73

Did God know adam and eve would sin?

by gavindlt in

to all those on this forum, i would love to know what your take on this vital question is..

MeanMrMustard

A god making a world without confidence it was safe makes that god equally responsible.

I think traditionally this is answered by saying that 1) God knows all things, including all "middle knowledge" - or all the permutations of all possible universes. And 2) the set of universes with free will and no sin is the empty set. Further, 3) this universe, with all its suffering, is the best feasible creation with free will. All the rest, in some way shape turn out more evil.

73

Did God know adam and eve would sin?

by gavindlt in

to all those on this forum, i would love to know what your take on this vital question is..

MeanMrMustard

I think its more about the ability to know. Like having the key to someone's hotel room, but choosing not to use it to see whats happening inside the room.

I'm not sure that's a good analogy. Putting aside that God created the hotel, all the rooms, and the content of each room, if He found Himself on the outside of this "room", how does He know its the right room to look into, or even pass by? Who or what is labeling the rooms for God?

Its more or less concluded from Paul's passages in Romans Chapter 5, where he states how sin entered the world through Adam's disobedience and death through it, and how Jesus' act of justification can mean everlasting life for all. This alludes to the point that there was a time when there was no sin, (means perfection - relative, not absolute) and hence no death.

Whatever state that was, why is it "perfect" and not just "very good"?