Posts by John

39

Why the resurrection must be true

by slimboyfat in

okay i was thinking about it.

and it is a transhumanist argument and nothing new, i do realise that before anyone points it out.

but it struck me afresh today that the resurrection must happen.. firstly, to state the obvious, a rational materialist conception of reality seems to exclude resurrection.

John_Mann

If we are purely ordinary matter so it's possible to scan the spacetime through quantum entanglement and reconstruct anything from past or future, including human bodies and brains in an atomic level.

This could be done by a super artificial intelligence.

What we know today makes resurrection something not physically impossible.

It's a matter of technology not theoretical possibility (based on current physical models).

I don't think time travel is possible but spacetime scanning is. So that's why we don't see time travelers around.

50

If "the Truth" is the truth, why are witnesses so scared of research?

by stuckinarut2 in

it is an often asked question i know, but it perplexes me.. if witnesses are so convinced that they have "the truth", why is the act of researching information from external sources so taboo?

didn't the bible itself tell people to "use their powers of reason" and also praised ones like the boreans for researching things they were told??.

seriously, if there is no doubt about the organization being "god's channel" on earth, and it alone having the "truth", surely researching would only enhance such 'facts'?.

John_Mann

If you have the ultimate truth, why bother to research lies?

Of course fear is involved, but fear of Jehovah and not fear to read about lies from demons.

That's how I used to think when I was a JW.

JWism is a mental trap full of loops and dead-ends.

I'd found the TTATT through a research in Wikipedia about the biblical Babylon.

45

Are there any doctrines which all Christian religions follow.

by jwfacts in

i cannot think of a single doctrine that is so clearly laid out in the bible that every christian sect teaches the same point.

are there any doctrine where there is total consensus amongst all christian religions, including jehovah's witnesses?.

John_Mann

Baptism and crucifixion of Jesus is universal even in secular history.

35

How long did people like Methuselah really live?

by dubstepped in

i was working today and my brain was working in circles like it often does and i started wondering about what i was always told about people like methuselah in bible times, and their incredibly claims of longevity.

i've tried researching things but have a hard time getting through all of the bible thumpers to some real evidence, and figured that some here may be more informed or have done the research previously.

so, did people really live longer way back when?

John_Mann

It's called poetic license.

36

An interesting reasoning for the existence of God (from JW public talk)

by anointed1 in

i was on an official tour last week to another part of my country.

on my way to the hotel, i noticed sign-board of jw kingdom hall.

i thought i would attend sunday meeting as i knew no one would recognize me.. seeing “a new-comer” in the audience, public speaker adapted his material making it especially appealing to me.

John_Mann

That should be a subtle clue as to the evolutionary development of consciousness....

Can you trace our sense of own mortality in evolutionary terms?

Do you know any animal that wonders about its own natural death?

And what about our sense of justice? There's no justice in the jungle so why and how did we developed something not found in nature?

BTW the OP analogy sucks.

18

The "anointed generation" is wrong, not because it is dragging on too long, but because it is too short.

by prologos in

jesus taught a surviving generation, a group inhering everlasting life, an escape route to avoid a global disaster worse than the flood, a generation that "will not pass away--" an infinite generation.

wt teaches a generation that dies, ends, passes away, at the first sign of real trouble, the great tribulation.. what do you believe about this wt assertion?

(apart from that there is no talking snake, it is all irrelevant).

John_Mann

Jews believed God dwelled in the temple. And the temple was the center of the universe in a sense. Jesus was talking about the destruction of the temple. The destruction was the end of the world to Jewish people. They mourn in the temple even today.

JWs ignore any cultural context of the New Testament.

At best any symbolic meaning Jesus was talking about his own execution.

This is well settled in mainstream Christianity. Nothing about types and antitypes...

Any attack on Christianity having the strawman JW theology as base is pure nonsense.

54

Survey: Are you Agnostic or Atheist or Christian?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i am agnostic.

i will count how many agnostics, atheists and christians that are reading this forum regularly.

please answer my question.

John_Mann

Catholic Christian

I don't believe in the JW concept of God. I'm an atheist regarding Jehovah.

44

The Jewish perspective of the OT according to poster David_Jay

by deegee in

i note your comments in the following threads regarding the jewish perspective on certain old testament (ot) events:.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5700922233585664/when-you-stop-think-about-why-would-gods-chosen-people-old-testament-need-army?page=1&size=10 ,.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6065451475927040/why-didnt-god-also-reveal-himself-canaanites-just-he-did-moses-burning-bush.

John_Mann

Thank you! I'll take a look.

44

The Jewish perspective of the OT according to poster David_Jay

by deegee in

i note your comments in the following threads regarding the jewish perspective on certain old testament (ot) events:.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5700922233585664/when-you-stop-think-about-why-would-gods-chosen-people-old-testament-need-army?page=1&size=10 ,.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6065451475927040/why-didnt-god-also-reveal-himself-canaanites-just-he-did-moses-burning-bush.

John_Mann

Spiritual soul can be viewed as being responsible for giving Qualia to humans. Even hard atheists( like Dennett who advocates consciousness does not exists) say that they recognise something more than just materialistic processes in their minds. Dennett speaks about this characteristic as the Zombic Hunch.

By definition is impossible to humans create the spiritual soul (neshamah/psyche) that gives humans the capability to be conscious.

Catholicism has a very simple explanation of soul and defines only 3 (vegetative, animal and spiritual) and one "appendix" of the spiritual soul (psyche) called pneuma (translated as "spirit of man" and can be viewed as the "center of intentions" of psyche).

Spirit in Catholicism have two meanings: one is the concept of pneuma (spirit of man) and the other is regarding the substance which souls are made contrasting to material substance (like the vegetative and animal souls. Both mortal).

Catholicism says the two mortal souls came to existence by natural means (evolution) and in Homo Sapiens the animal soul reached a very high functional level able to receive the spiritual soul (psyche). Adam and Eve were the first couple to receive this spiritual soul (in a very recent point in history). God creates every single psyche in Adam's offspring. Being a direct creation of God every psyche is perfect and immortal and can't be annihilated. Psyche has no parts so it cannot be decomposed, therefore is immortal. Pneuma is just a salience in psyche like a handle of a mug and functions like an "antenna". Pneuma is responsible for the spiritual communication between other beings.

Psyche cannot be annihilated but can fall to perdition and it is like a living death (second death). The eternal destiny of soul (soteriology) is the main concern to Catholicism.

Tell me more about the concepts of soul in Judaism. I know Jews defines 5 souls in humans. David, do you think is possible to humans emulate or even create in artificial intelligence something like the naturalistic soul (nephesh habehamit or the human anima)?

44

The Jewish perspective of the OT according to poster David_Jay

by deegee in

i note your comments in the following threads regarding the jewish perspective on certain old testament (ot) events:.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5700922233585664/when-you-stop-think-about-why-would-gods-chosen-people-old-testament-need-army?page=1&size=10 ,.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6065451475927040/why-didnt-god-also-reveal-himself-canaanites-just-he-did-moses-burning-bush.

John_Mann

I thought the role of Ezra (not necessarily during the exile) was unanimous among Jews. I'm Catholic and the Jewish tradition we inherited says Ezra played a major role in the making of what we call OT.

The Catholic approach to OT is primarily historical. We are interested in the development of the strong concept of monotheism built by the Jews. No other people built such massive concept of monotheism.

We understand the OT is written in an exaggerated way. That's the Jewish way of teaching. Jesus used it.

The account of creation (of human souls) is very sophisticated too. Sadly pentecostal fundamentalism hijacked it.

And of course the concept of a Messiah.

It's good to have a well educated person in this forum who knows the ancient (and original) way to cope with Holy Scriptures.

You could talk about the Jewish view of the (second) destruction of the Temple and how it was seen as the end of the world itself. Non Catholic Christians have a hard time to understand the importance of the Temple to Jews.

John_Mann

Posts by John_Mann