Well done, Thomas Paine!
Says it all! :)
Chariklo
JoinedPosts by Chariklo
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191
If god exists...
by dazed but not confused in[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> </w:worddocument> </xml><![endif].
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if god exists, wouldnt it make more sense for him to show himself today - now that we are a more enlightened people?
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191
If god exists...
by dazed but not confused in[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> </w:worddocument> </xml><![endif].
[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* style definitions */ table.msonormaltable {mso-style-name:"table normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"times new roman";} </style> <![endif].
if god exists, wouldnt it make more sense for him to show himself today - now that we are a more enlightened people?
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Chariklo
"We will continued to be enlightened. I see good things for our future. Unfortunately, this god is not growing with the enlightenment. He still has unenlightened standards that reflect the standards of the people that created him. That's the point. For this god to be real, surely he would be progressive and find ways to make a more enlightened people aware of his existence. That goes for all the gods, who amazingly resemble the cultures that worship them."
Of course, this would make sense if the missing words were included. This, "this god is not growing with enlightenment" should read "some people's ideas of this god are not growing with enlightenment".
Strctured as the original sentence is, it is nonsense. What is a god...whether you believe in one or not? Surely, to be a god, the divine being would necessarily be something other than human? So, even for one who does not believe in a god, the hypothetical being under discussion must actually be a god, real or not, and so could scarcely "grow" with the enlightenment of ordinary people.
So, what you really mean here, is that, (in your opinion) people's concept of their god has not grown.
That would be a sentence that made sense, and an idea that could be discussed. As it stands, though, the sentence is utterly nonsensical, and can't provide any basis for discussion. The same applies to the rest of that post.
Designs, yes, the advance of astronomy has certainly increased our understanding massively. At the forefront of astronomical observation and research has been the Vatican Observatory, thus demonstrating that there is no conflict between science and religion, even though some ex-Jehovah's Witnesses find it very hard to shake off the mental shackles by which the Watchtower kept them in thrall, and can't get their heads around the happy interaction between those two disciplines.
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191
If god exists...
by dazed but not confused in[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> </w:worddocument> </xml><![endif].
[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* style definitions */ table.msonormaltable {mso-style-name:"table normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"times new roman";} </style> <![endif].
if god exists, wouldnt it make more sense for him to show himself today - now that we are a more enlightened people?
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Chariklo
You say now that we are more enlightened. By whose standards?
i don't mean that we're not. I mean that from a universal perspective, what seems like enlightenment here and now may not seem so from another perspective.
If God exists, then such a being could hardly be expected to conform to human standards, surely?
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RIP Sir Patrick Moore
by Chariklo invery, very sad to learn of the death of sir patrick moore.
i've been following his programme the sky at night ever since the first one.
he started my lifelong interest in astronomy, and is partly responsible for my sons' careers.. wonderful enthusiasm!.
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Chariklo
Very, very sad to learn of the death of Sir Patrick Moore.
I've been following his programme The Sky At Night ever since the first one. He started my lifelong interest in astronomy, and is partly responsible for my sons' careers.
Wonderful enthusiasm!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9732777/Sir-Patrick-Moore-dies-aged-89.html
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star trek
by Hortensia init pisses me off that they are advertising the new star trek movie so far ahead of release.
i thought it would be released soon, turns out it won't be shown until may 2013. and no sherlock until the fall of 2013 maybe.
(i like benedict cumberbatch, .
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Chariklo
Oh Cedars, you and I part company there.
I saw the very first episode, with William Hartnell, and I've been a huge fan ever since!
Hortensia, I think publishing trailers a long time ahead of the film release is normal, isn't it? I'm sure I saw trailers for the Hobbit many, many months ago.
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Full transcript of the Prank Call on the Nurse looking after Kate Middleton
by Broken Promises inhttp://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/411704/20121205/duchess-cambridge-kate-middleton-hoax-call-mel.htm.
michael christian: we've been handed a phone number and we have been told that this phone number is the hospital where kate middleton is currently staying.
we thought we'd give it a call.
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Chariklo
Yes, I heard that broadcast when the news first broke, not sure which station. They very quickly stopped broadcasting it though.
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I Still Can't Celebrate Xmas. Can You? Christians vs Atheists
by Malsonilla inwhile in the organization we learned one bit of truth regarding christmas; that it was originally a pagan observance, the summer solstice, adopted by christians much later in church history, and has nothing to do with jesus christ whatsoever.
no biggy for most true believers who left the organization who have slipped into (or fell back into) the grind of commercialized christmas with all the trappings and traditions of ritual binge spending that takes them even farther away from jesus than christmas' pagan roots ever could.
these true believers might say something like, "i know xmas has its roots in paganism, but we celebrate anyway because of x y z", perhaps echoing or paroting the frustrating responses we use to hear from "worldly" goats/folks when we would explain to them how christmas is not a christian observance whatsoever.
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Chariklo
I've only just discovered this interesting thread.
Someone suggested that Jesus doesn't get much of a look-in here in the UK at Christmas!
Nonsense! Even people who don't go to church still consider themselves nominally Christian...75% at the time of the last census. Schools have nativity plays and carol services, and Nambo, yes, there are a good number of Moslems and Hindus, and inter-faith groups that join with each other's festivals. Divali, for instance, is celebrated along the same streets locally that host Christian processions, and many of the same people take part in both.
There were some uncomfortable undertones in places in this thread, a thread I had missed until someone pointed it out to me privately. I would hope that everyone on JWN would extend sensitivity to the fact that every day new folk find This site as they emerge, probably shell-shocked, as so many of us were, after leaving the Borg.
Whether we celebrate Yule, or the birth of the Christ child, surely we can make room for Father Christmas alongside St Nicholas, nativity scenes and holly, Christmas carols and the manger alongside the mince pies and whatever midwinter celebratory festivities our joyfully mixed cultures and changing populations can offer?
Yesterday, in company with family, I visited some reindeer and some people of the Sami, from the far north, whose culture has them following the reindeer across northernmost Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway. We all sat in a circular structure that I would call a yurt as in Mongolian, except that these were Sami and their circular, portable dwelling has another name that I have forgotten. We heard tales of their midwinter celebrations and observances, which mixed their very ancient and so-called pagan traditions with Christianity. And we sipped birch tea. nice! if you get the chance, try it! I have a wonderful photo of the interior of that non-yurt, and if I can only work out how to get it from iPhone to computer I'll post it!
The way I see it is this. The WT tries very hard to keep its control by depriving its followers of anything joyful, and inventing constrictive rule after constrictive rule. The best way to shake off thoroughly all traces of their influence is to bear with other people's beliefs or non-beliefs and extend tolerance towards everyone. Let's enjoy all the traditions, and what better time to make sure everyone is happy?
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Believers and dinosaurs
by Christ Alone ini was curious to hear what other believers understand about dinosaurs.
i know we have a few young earth creationists here.
i wondered what you understand about dinosaurs and when they existed, as well as hear from those that believe dinosaurs lived millions of years ago and how it fits into the bible..
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Chariklo
Men like Kent Hovind and Ken Ham have made a career out of lying to christian children about these sort of issues.
I've never heard of either of them. Outside my experience. Sounds like I haven't missed much, maybe?
As to dinosaurs living at the same time as man...well...there are stories in various parts of the world, including Loch Ness, and Nigeria, and of course England has its fair share.
How many of you have heard of the Lambton Worm? (Cofty will have, I'm sure.)
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Believers and dinosaurs
by Christ Alone ini was curious to hear what other believers understand about dinosaurs.
i know we have a few young earth creationists here.
i wondered what you understand about dinosaurs and when they existed, as well as hear from those that believe dinosaurs lived millions of years ago and how it fits into the bible..
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Chariklo
I am a believer, in God, in Jesus Christ, in the Trinity and in science!
Dinosaurs are no problem!
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Should pranksters be held responsible for results of their pranks?
by Satanus intwo djs, posing as the queen and prince, prank a nurse into divulging info on kate.
nurse is later found dead, apparently suicide.. -----------.
'jacintha saldanha, the receptionist who was duped by two australian djs who were pretending to be queen elizabeth and prince charles in order to get information on the duchess of cambridge's pregnancy, has been found dead.. the woman's body was found at an address close to king edward vii hospital in london, where the duchess was being treated, according to the u.k.'s daily mail.
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Chariklo
I caught a news item where the hospital said she was a highly valued but very sensitive nurse. She had young children too. She had described herself elsewhere as a "very nervous person".
It's no good saying she shouldn't have done it. The call should not have been made. That's not journalism. That's intrusion, unnecessary invasion of privacy.
