Finkelstein: What about all the dinosaurs ?
fulltimestudent
JoinedPosts by fulltimestudent
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5
Yahweh's creation that wasn't good!
by fulltimestudent inin genesis 1, describing the creative works of yahweh, it tells us in verses 24-28 that on the sixth creative day yahweh made both domestic animals and wild beasts.
one of those two categories must have included dogs.
so yahweh may lay claim to having created dogs.
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fulltimestudent
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Pope Condemns Weapons Industry and Those Who Make Weapons
by fulltimestudent inthe (almost) pacificism of the jws was one of the things that attracted me to the witnesses when young.
i wondered today, when i read this headline:.
pope francis suggests those in weapons industry can't call themselves christianat rally of young people in turin, francis issues his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry, criticising investors as well as workerspeople who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves christian, pope francis said on sunday.link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/22/pope-francis-says-those-in-weapons-industry-cant-call-themselves-christian.
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fulltimestudent
The (almost) pacificism of the JWs was one of the things that attracted me to the witnesses when young. I wondered today, when I read this headline:
Pope Francis suggests those in weapons industry can't call themselves Christian
At rally of young people in Turin, Francis issues his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry, criticising investors as well as workers
People who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves Christian, Pope Francis said on Sunday.
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/22/pope-francis-says-those-in-weapons-industry-cant-call-themselves-christianif I should become a Catholic?
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5
Yahweh's creation that wasn't good!
by fulltimestudent inin genesis 1, describing the creative works of yahweh, it tells us in verses 24-28 that on the sixth creative day yahweh made both domestic animals and wild beasts.
one of those two categories must have included dogs.
so yahweh may lay claim to having created dogs.
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fulltimestudent
In Genesis 1, describing the creative works of Yahweh, it tells us in verses 24-28 that on the sixth creative day Yahweh made both domestic animals and wild beasts. One of those two categories must have included dogs. So Yahweh may lay claim to having created dogs.
Psalm 104, a hymn of praise to Yahweh (and, I guess also to Jesus - the logos - as co-creator in the Christian version of the Psalm's interpretation) that seems to review the Yahweh/Jesus co-creators program of creation, claims in verse 24:
How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.The psalmist surely must have included dogs in that claim of Yahweh's creative wisdom. But that must surely be the only (and, its an indirect reference, at that) good reference to dogs. From most of the scriptural references to dogs, we can only conclude that the Yahweh/Jesus combo God dislikes dogs, and dislikes them intensely.
In Isaiah 56:10 there is a tirade against someone and the 'someone' is/are insulted by being compared to dumb dogs. The witness guru, Freddy Franz, managed to turn that into a rant against Christendom's clergy.
In 2 Peter 2: 22, drawing on a rant against foolish people in Proverbs 26:11, people who apostasize from "true" (whatever that is) Christianity, are described in these terms:
'Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”'
And in Revelation 22:15 concluding a description of the joy and happiness of those who manage to survive into the NH & NE the author states categorically that outside the gates of the holy city, are wicked humans, and (surprise, surprise) DOGS.
So don't expect to have a pet Fido with you in Yahweh's vision of paradise.
Which is surprising isn't it, in view of the fact that humans,(made in Yahweh's image) mostly love dogs.
Its a very old bond, scientific research indicate the possibility that the bond between humans and dogs could be 27,000 years old.
See: " Dogs' special relationship to humans may go back 27,000 to 40,000 years." at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150521133626.htm
Dogs are included in many images of happy family life, because dogs have the ability to correctly interpret human feelings.
See: "Dogs know that Smile on Your face" at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212131647.htm
Look into a dog's eyes, and you may experience a surge of oxytocin in your body, something like the surge that comes when you look into the eyes of your beloved.
See: Our Love of puppydog eyes explained by science. at http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/8ccee31f362f16c772e515a2db122e87.htm and
So why doesn't Yahweh tell us why he made dos "not good?" I cant tell you that, because Yahweh never admits or explains his mistakes.
But maybe, just maybe its because he's a jealous god and the Egyptian god Anubis must have loved dogs. A huge tomb near the former capital of Memphis contains the mummies of some eight million dogs. Imagine so many dead dogs in the Jerusalem temple- Yahweh may have died from the shock.
See, Huge Dog Tomb Unearthed in Egypt. at http://www.newhistorian.com/huge-dog-tomb-unearthed-in-egypt/4113/
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How to do corruption in Australia - (According to the Canberra Times)
by fulltimestudent inso you live in malaysia or p-ng, (using those two places because they are specifically mentioned in the news report) and you've done some deal that's given you a lot of money that in some way is not legal.
you can't keep it in your home country, so what do you do with it?
well, it's easy, you surreptitiously get in touch with an easy/sleazy aussie lawyer and he'll fix it for you and bank it your own personal aussie bank account and no-one may ever know.. this is how the canberra times illustrates the process:.
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fulltimestudent
So you live in Malaysia or P-NG, (using those two places because they are specifically mentioned in the news report) and you've done some deal that's given you a lot of money that in some way is not legal. You can't keep it in your home country, so what do you do with it? Well, it's easy, you surreptitiously get in touch with an easy/sleazy Aussie lawyer and he'll fix it for you and bank it your own personal Aussie bank account and no-one may ever know.
This is how the Canberra Times illustrates the process:
Including a video.
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The Confederate Flag
by Simon inthe latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.
he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.
not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.
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fulltimestudent
Doctor Who: Just a little history...
The Confederate States of America went through three different flags during the Civil War, but the battle flag wasn’t one of them.Thnx Dr,Who - the background is appreciated.
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The Confederate Flag
by Simon inthe latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.
he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.
not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.
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fulltimestudent
Here's a David Goldman (aka, Spengler) essay on the topic:
The Confederate battle flag is what makes America stupid: Spengler
Link: http://atimes.com/2015/06/the-confederate-battle-flag-is-what-makes-america-stupid/
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in part, Goldman writes:
As the New York Times reports this morning, not a single Republican presidential candidate has the courage to tell South Carolina to stop flying the Confederate battle flag from its state capitol. It is a bit late for that, to be sure; public display of any kind of the symbol of the slaveholders’ rebellion should have been banned after the Union victory in 1865. Removing the Confederate flag from the grounds of South Carolina’s seat of government has become an African-American cause in the wake of last week’s Charleston church massacre. It may be incommensurate with the crime, but black Americans are entirely justified in their rancor against official sanction of a symbol of slavery.
On moral grounds I sympathize with the African-American view, but there is an even more urgent reason to rip down the Confederate flag. Our refusal to look squarely at the evil character of the American Confederacy turned us into idiots. It may be a bit late to remedy this national lapse in mental capacity, but one has to start somewhere.
America never recovered from its Civil War, which killed nearly a million combatants on both sides. The Union won on the battlefield but conceded a cultural victory of sorts to the defeated South, spinning a myth of Southern gallantry in a lost cause. This myth dominated the popular culture from D.W.Griffiths’ 1916 epic “Birth of a Nation” (which celebrates the rise of the Klu Klux Klan).----------------------
I'm not sure that the problem is the difference in views, but the idea that violence (force) toward opposing views is the way to reconcile the difference.
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Compensation after 30 years
by umbertoecho ini have waited for so long to see some sort of justice given to my daughters.
it is far too late for me.
i have the same story as so many do on this site, so i won't bore you.
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fulltimestudent
umbertoecho: A man who must have had experience in grooming. To be fair, my family did not know, but when I took him to court in the eighties, things were so different. It was not done to take such a dirty thing to court. To do so was to admit to being a rotten parent. I saw it differently. I wanted his name etched for all time in the records, as a paedophile.
There was no support for me or my children. No family member or close related friends wanted to be near such a disaster. I must say that the detectives and the magistrate were so fantastic though. They were the ones who stayed by us in this horrible experience. The magistrate slammed his hand down hard when the perps lawyer tried to cast doubt as to my mothering capacity. He really slammed hard on the desk and it was loud. He (the magistrate) gave no quarter to this slimy lawyer ( disbarred later on by the way).You must be a very strong person, or perhaps your righteous outrage gave you strength that you did not know you had.
I remember those days when no-one wanted to discuss this problem, and any media mention would be a brief paragraph or two. And no-one (seemingly) knew the full extent of the problem. And, at times, it seems that those in authority were protecting offenders, so you were indeed fortunate to have fair-minded police and magistrate in the case you mention.
The problem of "protection' of offenders goes back centuries. Recent research from Cambridge University academics suggest, that during the reign of Elizabeth the first, kidnappers of young boys for sexual service in the entertainment industry may have had the protection of the Queen.
Readers on this topic may be interested in the writings of a man who likely has a deep understanding of the problem of child abuse in the Catholic church. His name is Richard Sipe and this is a link to part of his web-site:
http://www.awrsipe.com/Comments.html
The page I've linked to has some articles that discuss the problem, mainly in the context of that church. And, there are some interesting points that he makes. For example, in this article: http://www.awrsipe.com/Comments/2006-01-30-Spot_an_Abuser.html
Sipe estimates that there are likely some 100,000 Catholic victims of child abuse whose tormentors were priests and bishops. Statistically, the number of JW victims must be less, but the pattern is the same - the abuse is often by those with authority. If you explore his site, you may find his explanations of why there are so many child sex offenders in Christianity.
For his trouble Sipe has been the victim of attacks by his fellow church members, which I point out to demonstrate that your experience is not unique. In fact its common.
Here's one such attack: http://www.themediareport.com/2013/08/07/richard-sipe-ex-priest/
Your experience must be comforting to those in similar situations.
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Walking along a Tokyo street, a man and his pet tortise
by fulltimestudent innot a sight you'd expect to see, anywhere - hisao mitani and his giant pet, an african tortoise, have become used to turning heads when they go on their walks in tokyo.
the 62-year-old funeral parlour owner says he has been taking his pet bon-chan on daily walks for several years now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nqnbfl279i.
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fulltimestudent
Not a sight you'd expect to see, anywhere - Hisao Mitani and his giant pet, an African tortoise, have become used to turning heads when they go on their walks in Tokyo. The 62-year-old funeral parlour owner says he has been taking his pet Bon-chan on daily walks for several years now.
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David Splane: The Catholic Church brought the Gospel into China!
by FusionTheism inquotes from the new david splane "1900 years" video:.
"the catholic church took the preaching work more seriously than the reformers... who brought the gospel into china?
... it was the catholic church.".
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fulltimestudent
FusionTheism: It definitely looks like "New Light" for the Governing Body to say that the Catholic Church was preaching the Gospel message and was obeying Jesus' Great Commission.
Before commenting, i should make this explanation. I started to study with the witnesses in the early 1950's. And I think the best description of the youthful me, is the word 'nerd.'
A Wikipedia entry describes a nerd as: " Nerd (adjective: nerdy) is a descriptive term, often used pejoratively, indicating that a person is overly intellectual, obsessive, or lacking social skills. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd
So everyone can picture me, (then), typically spending my saturday nights, reading books in the NSW Public Library. My behaviour altered only slightly when I became a witness - I learned to 'work' a room and speak to people, but still read a lot to understand how things (people) worked.
One thing I did try very hard to understand was how the JW version of Yahweh regarded people who believed in Jesus? the Bible etc, during the centuries before Yahweh made his controversial decision to appoint Joe Rutherford's re-organised Bible bashers, as his "F&DS" with responsibility to care for his (Yahweh's) interests on earth. Around me then were many long-time witnesses, like Wallace Baxter (treasurer of the WTS/IBSA at the Sydney bethel), who had become a witness around 1918/1919 and many others. (And had been branch overseer in the Lithuanian branch when WW2 broke out.)
And when I dispute that Splane's comment is 'new light' it is because my understanding from all those old time witnesses, was that prior to 1918/1919 was that any person who loved the, 'Yahweh/Jesus combo god' and tried to serve them with a whole heart, was acceptable to Yahweh/Jesus. So among all the millions of humans - Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants etc, there were many who must have been approved by Yahweh/Jesus.
Usually in the past, the witnesses I knew avoided giving these 'faithful' people a denominational label. And indeed, in the 1930s, Judge Joey specifically attacked the Catholic church, in response to attempts by the church to prevent the house-to-house work of the witnesses.
So while Splane got his history all arse-up, I think his comments are not 'new light' just a slight adjustment to 'old light' (grin).
Now I know that logically, that concept does some terrible things to the idea of a 144,000 elite class, but logic has never been either a witness or a Christian strong point. So don't blame me for the inconsistency in witness beliefs.
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Revelations only book with specific warning about change.
by umbertoecho inrevelations seem to be the only book out of the supposed 66 books in the bible that has a specific warning about taking or adding one word to " this prophecy".
i am curious as to what others make of this.
i have looked at a few bibles, the last chapter and verses 18-19, state this warning.
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fulltimestudent
umbertoecho: It seems obvious that an author of say.......Revelations, would be warning against any change made to this book in order to protect it's contents. This book of prophecy is very different in language to just about any other book in the bible.
So I believe it would be to maintain the integrity of this prophecy.But surely, any writer wants to maintain the integrity of what they write, particularly if they believe they are writing something important.
Revelation can be described as being three things, first a letter, then prophecy and thirdly it has typical characteristics of Jewish apocalyptic literature. And, I suggest you have to examine the book in the framework of these genres.
Some other examples of apocalyptic literature in the Judeao-Christian tradition are, The Ascension of Isaiah, The Apocalypse of Peter and The Shepherd of Hermas.
All were in circulation in the first century when there was no New Testament. When the time came that the church wanted to certify that some documents were more important than others, The Shepherd of Hermas was very nearly included as scripture, whereas there was argument over Revelation and it was (some argue) not certified finally as 'scripture' until 419 CE. Even then some Asian churches (who were then the most important churches) rejected it.
It is the only biblical book for which John Calvin did not write a commentary, and Luther commented that it was "neither apostolic nor prophetic." To this day,the Eastern Orthodox church does not include it in readings for their Divine Liturgy.
umbertoecho: What do you think fulltimestudent? I do realize that questions can be used as a form of teaching.........but at this stage I am interested in opinions
What do I think? I'm inclined to the view that it was written at a time of persecution of the young church to persuade believers that God was in control and would make everything OK in the end. Vivid imagery and fantastic events were part of the propaganda techniques of the time.
The other interesting thing to me, is the very accurate description of the huge East-West trade market (i.e. The Silk Road) in Ch. 18. Precisely why the author attacks the trade is unclear. Possibly he was hostile toward the Jews who were involved in that trade and were possibly living (by this time) in many cities across Asia (Acts 2:5-11). Most of them were probably descended from the Jews who had not returned to Jerusalem after Cyrus (God's Christ) had given them permission to do so. The Babylonian Jews (after 70 CE) were becoming more important also in Judaism.
Another interesting point is that the holy city (New Jerusalem) of Revelation 21 is described in terms that are so similar to the Amitahba Buddha's "western paradise". Was there an influence from Afghanistan, then part of the Greek colonial Empire, and strongly Buddhist at that point? One could call on the name of Amitahba and he would save you into his western paradise.
