Posts by Curtains

56

Evolution in a Theological context

by PSacramento in

in human evolution in theological context, physicist, theologian, and minister george murphy offers a theological look at human evolution and the implications it has for christianity.. .

http://biologos.org/uploads/projects/murphy_scholarly_essay.pdf.

Curtains

psac, what an extraordinary article. Thanks for posting a link. I marked several points for more thought and will come back later. But I would like to hear your thoughts on the following

The Augustine Iraeneus opposition. Which side of the debate are you on if the debate is framed as Murphy describes it.

What Murphy says about the human capacity for misunderstanding scripture and for actually being wrong about our interpretations (for example he very clearly says Paul is wrong in his conclusion about sin). Do you agree?

My own position on scripture is that we look into a mirror when we read the bible. We then see aspects of creation and creating (I mean creation in the sense of something made/crafted rather than fixed and fully formed and as coming out of nothing all at once, somewhat in the sense that Murphy uses the term - an evolutionary participation between God/all). Regarding my mirror analogy, I quite like Pauls description of the mirror - that it is hazy and is like looking into a glass darkly (1cor13:12).

edit: I hope I sound coherent. typing in a hurry as I have to hand my computer over for a short while.

56

What Foods & Goodies Do You Want To Eat During The Holidays?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i'm hungry!.

i'd love to eat a greek salad with plenty of feta and a blt (with the bacon crispy!

)..

Curtains

steak pie and gravy.

106

If Genesis isn't taken literally, who's sin did Jesus die for?

by unshackled in

this is an interesting blog post by the author cj werleman - write of the books god hates you, hate him back and jesus lied - he was only human.

he writes with a good dose of humor which usually helps get his point across.. the blog post dissects the latest gallup poll results regarding 40% of americans believe in biblical creationism.

but the point i found interesting in it was that if you don't believe the genesis account is literal....then jesus atoned for the sin of a fictitious character, adam.. here is a quote from the blog...but please give the whole thing a read, makes more sense that way:.

Curtains

cantleave

Why spend so much time analysing mythology?

mythology is a great medium for making and breaking with traditional ways of seeing and believing. The myths themselves are unstable and have the power to disturb our thinking. If the Genises account of Adam is taken like this and in a non literal way then we can ask ourselves what assumptions are at work, what events from real life are being inferred and are there some themes and experiences that remain the same through time. Themes of male and female, purity and impurity, human and animal interaction, a hard life v an edenic one.

edit: however there comes a time when one must leave the armchair and do something active - and that is what I'm going to do now - bye bye.

88

Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments

by Nickolas in

there's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.

there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.

that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.

Curtains

nickolas, I am finally understanding you

I think the direct assault strategy is off the board. Thanks, designs, but I imagine you probably see it too. It might end up more like a kamikaze attack, and I'm not into self sacrifice, at least not to that degree. Guerilla warfare against the larger target, love, patience and understanding otherwise.

Regarding Guerilla warfare, on the science front I can't fault your understanding and reasoning and your ability to achieve some success with your wife. Other branches of knowledge that you may like to try are philosophy and literature. The goal (through philosophy in particular) is to enable your wife to start thinking outside the box, and moreover, to think in ways that will supply her many different concepts and ideas that she can resonate with, and that gradually work to extend and differencify her perceptions of life - her own potential for multplicities will do the rest. Believe me she has this power within her and the outside world constantly makes calls for her to diversify. At the moment the only perception of life she is allowed is the JW one and her own potential is highly circumscribed.

Certain types of literature will help her to see the effects of life on people and things. These will stir dormant transformative drives and affects by which she may come to desire change herself. You will need to visit your library and decide what affects you the most and what in your opinion your wife would find most interesting. Even better would be to take your wife with you to the library.

42

I am a bit poetic and sentimental tonight and could use some support

by recovering in

jw
friends

only earth wind and sky last forever they say.

the grim reaper has a debt he wishes me to pay.

i fear not death, for he is not a proud entity.

Curtains

you are a wonderful father recovering - wise and loving. Your wisdom will also endure forever

30

Elder knocks on my door... couldn't see who it was and I opened it...

by Soldier77 in

jw
friends

so an elder came to my door the other day in field circus.

i looked through the peephole to see who it was, but the way the door is situated against the sky in the background i couldn't see anything but a silhouette.

not to mention he was standing off to the side so to make it hard for anyone to see who was knocking.. so i open the door thinking it was my friend since he is the only jw that knows where i live.

Curtains

good for you soldier77. You were direct, clear and adamant in your response to the elder. This reminds me of a recent message left on our ansaphone. A brother who'd been disfellowshipped some years ago had had visit from 2 elders seeking to encourage him back. He'd also had a recent death in his family. In his message he calmly reminded us of his request to be left alone and not have to put up with elders calling on him. He said he thought it was very insensitive of the elders to call especially as a sign on his door indicated that he'd had a death in the family recently. He used the word insensitive three times in his message to emphasize his points and remained calm and dignified throughout.

29

Do You Tend To Believe New Posters When They Tell Us What Bethel's Up To?

by minimus in

jw
friends

circuit overseers were supposed to be a thing of the past.

"presiding overseers" were supposed to take over.. there seem to be certain people "in the know" that reveal information and it may sound very convincing-- but is it??.

do you tend to believe what new posters say if they tell us about "new light" from the organization?.

Curtains

I tend to believe rather than disbelieve what new posters haver to say about Bethel and I most cerrtainly do not think they are desseminating false info as I rather think the society toys with different ideas, some of which it decides put into practice immediately whilst others it defers to a later time.

22

WTBTS Downplays Marital Problems Among JWs

by JW GoneBad in

jw
friends

the jan 15, 2011 watchtower study edition has a study article that will be studied on march 7-13, 2011 (respect marriage as a gift from god).

in it the wtbts tries to minimize and distort the high rate of divorce among jw's.

in paragraph 4 it says in part: .

Curtains

In the past year I have seen 2 marriages break up. Two brothers split from their wives and left the witnesses. Rather than framing these as marriage failures they were framed as that the brothers left Jehovah. But the organisatoin is aware that marital problems were a huge reason for the break ups.

60

Ok. Let's have some comments on this pic from march 15 wt

by therevealer in

.

Curtains

this is an ad for the Bethel boutique - bring and buy - all are now welcome

57

December 15th WT gives example of sister who quit her job so she could go to an convention.

by life is to short in

i was beyond mad when i heard this.

it is on page 30 of the wt.. it says "a pioneer named roxana is one who has seen how jehovah provides for his people.

when she asked her employer for permission to take some days off to attend one of our conventions, he angrily retorted that if she went, he would fire her.

Curtains

The greatest blessing, however, was that she was able to share the good news with several of her fellow workers. Five of them, including the manager, accepted the truth and were baptized."

if this is true I can imagine how it happened. Roxanna probably never tired of telling her manager and workmates that they were divine instruments of Jehovah who used their humble workplace to ensure that she got a job. When they visited the meetings they probably would have felt like celebrities.