the question has an inbuilt fatal flaw.
it forces only one answer nowhere.. this question is also based on a false premise that we can be right with god if we find and follow the correct rules, doctrines, moral code and knowledge.
this is in direct opposition to what paul teaches over and over on imputed righteousness (justification, being counted as righteous, as a free gift that cannot be earned, deserved or paid for).
Fernando, besides the prophetic blunders, incredible (and I mean it in the original sense of the word, not believeable) miracles, and Apocalyptic message that Jesus preached, I can jive with texts like Matthew 7:12.
But, to say the Bible and the Gospels are 100% factual, is demonstrably false. To believe in the Bible as the Word of God presents serious problems for a rationalist, fact-finder.
wachtower dec 1 2011 p.10 "french village faces influx of apocalypse believers...they believe the world will end 21 december 2012 when the end of....ancient maya calander...despite predictions by calamity-howling religious leaders, pseudoscientists, and any other prognosticators, earth will be in existence for a long time...when will this occur?
no human knows.
jehovah's witnesses do not try to predict when god will destroy the wicked...{really?
The end can't come when anybody is expecting it. So as long as anybody is expecting it, it cannot come.
I would childishly play this game, albeit far too real for me, that by thinking Armageddon was coming today, that it could then not come. Anyone else ever do that?
do they both lead people away from god?.
Militant religionism is pretty quickly purged here - but militant atheism has not been.
Hmm... I wonder why....
finally, i will look at biblical and patristic evidence bearing on the crucifixion of jesus in particular.
we need to examine the earliest known descriptions of the kind of crucifixion adopted by the romans and the specific terms they used to refer to it.
apparently the society believes that crux still meant "stake" in the second century a.d., when tacitus composed his annals.
I wonder if TheFrench has read this...
my ex (jw) told my two youngest 9 and 11, your dad.
wanted more kids, meaning them.
we had two older.. how would a child feel after their mother tell them, i really.
How about "you're dead to me"?
Even though my mom apologized, it still hurts. It shows where priorities lie with JWs.
Knowsnothing. What an appropriate subject. Dissect away.
i have been on this site daily, almost from its beginning, since i left the jws in 2001, but i have been more of a reader than a poster, as you can see from my post count.
i know few here know me, although i know many of you through reading your posts.
maybe it is not right to ask for support, when i generally stay quietly in the background of this forum, but i want only to speak a human misery of the deepest kind.
I'm sorry to hear your loss. I hope you will find peace and solace in the memories of your beloved son.
michael shermer says 'no': .
"of course, no one is agnostic behaviorally.
when we act in the world, we act as if there is a god or as if there is no god, so by default we must make a choice, if not intellectually then at least behaviorally.
LeavingWT, the only reason I pointed out the 2nd question was framed wrong was in light of it being part of a series of questions.
You are forcing a conclusion, based on those 2 questions. The second question is very specific and doesn't allow for the range of possibilities agnostics may believe in. It's not broad enough to allow other similar beliefs, like a Universal Consciousness, for example.
As you yourself have admitted, it is possible to be agnostic behaviorally. Questions that tend to bifurcate complicated issues should be rethought.
michael shermer says 'no': .
"of course, no one is agnostic behaviorally.
when we act in the world, we act as if there is a god or as if there is no god, so by default we must make a choice, if not intellectually then at least behaviorally.
The Agnostic must necessarily be affected like me in behaviour, why pray to the unknowable, for instance ?
And yet, if one allows for a possibility of a deity, praying to the unknowable would be like talking a chance. Like sending a message in a bottle, in the hopes someone would receive it, whosoever it may be.
michael shermer says 'no': .
"of course, no one is agnostic behaviorally.
when we act in the world, we act as if there is a god or as if there is no god, so by default we must make a choice, if not intellectually then at least behaviorally.
If one does not hold any belief in any gods, he or she is an atheist, by (dictionary) definition.
Life is too big to be limited by a strict definition.
Agnostic is not limited to "Agnostic Atheist". Since there are a whole range of beliefs out there, I will again simply repeat what I told you. The second question is framed wrong.
You can ask
Do you believe in spirits?
Do you believe in gods?
Etc, etc.
