Posts by Knowsnothing

124

Does your Theology Align with Reality?

by cofty in

thesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.

however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.

sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.

Knowsnothing

and foreclose possible useful alternative conceptions of the world in the everyday.

There's the key, Slimboy. I would argue fundamentalism isn't a 'useful alternative conception of the world', which includes belief in a 6000 year old humanity.

It is important that realist or positivist conceptions of knowledge and language are opposed because they lead to tyranny in extremis

I would say your style of relativism also leads to tyranny in extremis, as nothing is allowed to be established and built upon. Can we take a sort of middle ground here? Can we agree that while language is poor, it is useful, and that while reality is currently ungraspable in its totality, that we can make some useful assumptions about it?

124

Does your Theology Align with Reality?

by cofty in

thesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.

however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.

sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.

Knowsnothing

Slimboy, Descartes couldn't even state he was alive definitively (solipsism). He has some nice thought experiments, but his philosophy fails miserably with what we have observed. Of course, you could deny any and everything, but when it comes down to it, you wouldn't stop eating, breathing and going to work to gain sustenance just to prove one of these thought experiments, would you?

371

Design or Non-Design, finally we know, Darwin's Doubt

by QC in

jw
friends

if you want to read the definitive explanation on fossils and how life arrived its covered in darwins doubt, by s.c. meyer.

this is a game changer.

the bomb!.

Knowsnothing

FYI, parasites also afflict humans, with nefarious consequences. Then again, parasites do help keep populations under control, so God's plan is at work when millions are infected with malaria, culling human overpopulation? QC, that design does not compute, comprende?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parasites_of_humans

124

Does your Theology Align with Reality?

by cofty in

thesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.

however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.

sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.

Knowsnothing

EdenOne, I agree with what you say. There are limits we can draw, however, to define that which could not have occurred. As an example, I cannot claim Columbus lived the same time as Aristotle, because that is patently false. Columbus spoke Italian, a language that evolved from Latin, itself a language that took time to develop, and that coexisted with Greek (though not the older Greek of Aristotles) in the Roman Empire.

54

my first post and some questions

by wallievase in

this is my first post after deciding to finally open an account here after months of 'lurking'.. a couple of issues i want to address-.

i have issues with people who go from being a witness to losing all faith in god or the bible which seems to be the case with some members of this site.

i just don't think you can let any religion change how you view god or the bible.. second-i don't feel the gb are bad people, i think most witnesses including them are misguided by something that has been drilled into their heads since they were little and are actually sincere people.

Knowsnothing

Hi wallievase! Welcome to the board!

You say:

I have issues with people who go from being a witness to losing all faith in god or the bible which seems to be the case with some members of this site. I

just don't think you can let any religion change how you view god or the bible.

Well, suffering and the general randomness of life, along with many illogical statements I would hear both from the pulpit and from brothers is what knocked me on my butt. I started questioning everything, and either the bible would hold under scrutiny, or it wouldn't. IMO, it doesn't.

Please reply, let me know what you think and what my next course of action should be as I think I'm too afraid to leave because of the effects on my wife,

family friends, etc.

Well, for some, leaving really isn't the best option. You might really shoot yourself in the foot there and end up loosing your family. You have to ask yourself what you value most in life.

124

Does your Theology Align with Reality?

by cofty in

thesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.

however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.

sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.

Knowsnothing

Let's define reality first though, because that seems to be the trickiest part; getting all parties to agree to what reality is.

124

Does your Theology Align with Reality?

by cofty in

thesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.

however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.

sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.

Knowsnothing

How can you prove there was no Adam and Eve?

Well, only as far as humanity existing for only 6,000 years. So yes, the purported Adam and Eve created by God directly, made 'from the ground', certainly did not exist.

And how can you prove there is no, as yet undiscovered, stage of evolution requiring intervention of some sort?

Evolution destroys any literal view of the Bible, and the Bible is quite specific about creation 'according to kind'. Besides the Bible, what other 'account' does the Creator give to humanity about what's what? Why even use evolution, such a wasteful process, to produce us?

Insisting that a given age for the earth in billions of years to two decimal places is an incontrovertible fact is a fine example of scientistic hubris. There is no

gerneral agreement on the age of the Fortingale Yew never mind the planet itself.

You can place the earth at minimum age given certain constants, such as radioactive isotopes with billions of years of half-life. Living beings are a bit harder to date.

371

Design or Non-Design, finally we know, Darwin's Doubt

by QC in

jw
friends

if you want to read the definitive explanation on fossils and how life arrived its covered in darwins doubt, by s.c. meyer.

this is a game changer.

the bomb!.

Knowsnothing

QC, an example from nature then. You tell me what God's grand purpose for this is.

This is the larva of the ichneumonidae. It has been 'designed' to eat the host caterpillar alive. You can read more about it here.

This is but one of many examples of parasitism in the natural world. Tell me, why did God design parasitism? If I can wrap my head around that one, maybe you can persuade me to at least become a deist.

165

Board of bitterness

by 1009 in

i always was a critical jw, now df and agnost.

but still this religion fascinates me.

in my eyes most jw are very sincere, but dumb sheep.. this board is filled with ex-jw.

Knowsnothing

Side question: Is it wrong if a country sends its youngster into war for the cause of oil to defend the population? Why is that commonly considered honorable? And where does that differ from Jihad? They too believe that they are fighting for a higher cause. Here in Colombia we have an annual 'cleaning' where drug addicts and pedophiles are murdered. It's unlawfull, but tolerated. Is that wrong? - 1009

Point taken 1009. It's all relative and this world really is a case of 'might makes right'. There is nothing wrong with the world, everything is as should be, and you should simply accept it. We really have nothing much to discuss when we make it to this point.

371

Design or Non-Design, finally we know, Darwin's Doubt

by QC in

jw
friends

if you want to read the definitive explanation on fossils and how life arrived its covered in darwins doubt, by s.c. meyer.

this is a game changer.

the bomb!.

Knowsnothing

QC, I don't quite understand you. If you accept all we see around us is designed, why is the design so bad? I like those pictures too, but that's only a part of reality. Cantleave's pics show the other ugly side as well.