flamegrilled

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Posts by flamegrilled

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  26

  Is God Truly Omnipotent??

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while acknowledging god as the most powerful force in the universe, i wonder if he is omnipotent.

  this thought came to me as i watched an old star trek: tng, where everyone's favorite fictional omnipotent being, q, was featured.. .

  if he is omnipotent, why could he not remove the "bitter cup" of suffering from christ in the garden?

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  flamegrilled

  To me omnipotence means that there is no single act that he is not capable of doing.

  There are two significant factors in that definition:

  1) It simply says that there is nothing he is not capable of doing, but does not imply that he ought to do any particular act. So he has the unlimited potential to do anything, while at the same time remaining selective in terms of how he uses that potential.

  2) I define it as "a single act" because when we look at situations involving multiple variables there are conflicts and paradoxes that arise. Is God capable of both killing me eternally and keeping me alive eternally at the same time in a single universe? The fact that this is not possible for God does not in any way detract from his omnipotence. It's just that we are capable of phrasing paradoxical questions that are outside of the realm of reality.

  So could God have remove the cup from Jesus? Yes, as a single act he was obviously capable of doing so. But if he was going to do that then probably he could have avoided a lot of time wasting by wiping out Adam and Eve at the outset and starting again. Just because he was fully capable of doing something different does not mean that he will do so if it is not the best action. To assume that it was the best action is to work on the premise that there is nothing more important than for a loving Father to keep his Son from pain. Clearly from God's perspective this is not the case. There may have been nothing more painful than to watch his Son suffer and die, but that is a different matter from what he decided was most important and the price he was prepared to pay (John 3:16)
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  54

  LIST your 12 FAVORITES!

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  favorite:.

  1.book: godel,escher,bach: an eternal golden braid [douglas r. hofstadter] .

  2.movie: synechdoche, new york (written and directed by charlie kauffman) .

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  flamegrilled

  1.Book: Life of Pi [Yann Martel]

  2.Movie: Un Coeur En Hiver [Claude Sautet]

  3.Wine: Wolfball Black Label [2004]

  4.Artist: Mark Rothko [biggest impact anyway]

  5.Opera: Cosi Fan Tutti [Mozart]

  6.Song: Baba O'Riley [The Who]

  7.Classical composer: Frédéric Chopin [or Henryk Górecki as close 2nd]

  8.Music (contemporary): Of Monsters and Men [just now rather than all time]

  9. Painting: Black on Maroon [Rothko] [Vladimir Umanets is a c**t]

  10.Scientist: Einstein [hands down]

  11.Philosopher: Alan Turing [I understand he is not recognized as a philosopher strictly speaking, but in my view he is]

  12.Car: TR5 [Triumph]
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  339

  Patterson on the line: Watchtower claims that paying cash bond would cause “immediate irreparable harm and hardship”

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  a new article for those who are interested.... http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/patterson-on-the-line-watchtower-claims-that-paying-cash-bond-would-cause-immediate-irreparable-harm-and-hardship.

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  cedars.

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  flamegrilled

  For mere oppression may make a wise one act crazy ' - Eccl. 7:7.

  Hatred is what stirs up contentions, but love covers over even all transgressions .' - Proverbs 10:12
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  85

  Leolaia: Where is your story?

  by pirata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i looked through your posts but couldn't find your life story.

  have you written it?.

  i would love to read your progression from/through jw to avid scholar :).

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  flamegrilled

  I have to add my voice to this thread. This forum is often much deeper due to your contribution Leolaia. I really appreciate it.

  I don't always agree with you, but you often cause me to think again. I have great respect for the way you present things honestly and without any apparent bias.

  I have learned many new things through your posts.

  Thanks again,

  FG
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  26

  The Fear of Regret & Apostasy

  by Emery in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  first off a big thanks to everyone here, you have received me with much love and support.

  i appreciate all that have contributed their time and hardwork over the years here at jwn.. this post here is directed to those who are on the fence like i was.

  i hope this helps you in some way to understand both the doubts and indoctrination.. i am also currently an active jehovahs witness and have been for almost 20 years (26 years old).

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  flamegrilled

  Sulla: But I've had dealings with more than my share of JW apologists and know enough to say that they all have the same diseases

  That is generalization straight out of the WT. They would call all who were formerly associated who disagree with them "mentally diseased". To generalize in such a blanket way is to stoop to the level of someone who doesn't understand the issues or is trying to press a very specific agenda.

  I think Emery made a perfectly reasonable post, and your response tries to undermine the strength of it. Many of us know the upside of the org. Denying it as if to say that someone is effectively "still in" by acknowledgeing any positive aspect does little to show a balanced view to those others who are on the fence.
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  101

  Help with Mathematical Concepts, Not Arithmetic

  by Band on the Run in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my math background is embarassing.

  my public education was very sad.

  although i received good grades in college track math courses, i never understood the underlying ideas or motivations.

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  flamegrilled

  I am among the people who love mathematics. It can be argued that pure mathematics is the only non-subjective form of knowledge.

  Most people who are not good at math just don't bother, or say that they dislike the subject. So I'd just like to give big respect to BotR for not having a good math education but having the desire to know more.

  Often the subject becomes more exciting when applied to something you enjoy or find interesting in iteself. For example I am fascinated by probability, and as a consequence I find the game of poker to be a great outlet for my brain to sort out these concepts. I am not a gambler per se. I don't buy lottery tickets (mostly because I do understand probability well enough), but I find poker helps to keep my mind quite engaged in continuing to assess probability from various angles. As a result I find that many of the concepts translate well into other decision making situations in life.

  My point is that the branches of mathementics are so numerous it's good to find something that peaks your interest. I like all math in principle, but some subjects are more interesting than others. Equations to me are interesting, but I can't see myself spending a lot of time on them. However a study of Alan Turing's work and how binary numbers can demonstrates the ultimate limits of AI and consciousness just helps me appreciate what an amazing world we live in.
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  56

  Add your favorite JW prayer cliche'

  by King Solomon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  you know what i'm talking about: the trite, often-repeated phrases that convey the person offering the prayer has drawn a mental blank, and utters these words while their brain desperately searches for the next cliche', so they can conclude the ritual with the required tag, "in jesus' name we pray".... (is that like the postage stamp?).

  ok, i'll kick this one off, and take the most obvious:.

  "forgive us where we fall short....".

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  flamegrilled

  Jake - that's funny I must've still been typing the same thought when you were posting yours.
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  56

  Add your favorite JW prayer cliche'

  by King Solomon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  you know what i'm talking about: the trite, often-repeated phrases that convey the person offering the prayer has drawn a mental blank, and utters these words while their brain desperately searches for the next cliche', so they can conclude the ritual with the required tag, "in jesus' name we pray".... (is that like the postage stamp?).

  ok, i'll kick this one off, and take the most obvious:.

  "forgive us where we fall short....".

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  flamegrilled

  Lately prayers have become a "how many times can I say Jehovah" during my prayer contest. I seems to just get thrown in like a word whisker like "um" would get used

  So true. As if we would do that talking to our father. I don't even call my dad by his first name - I know some do these days. I find it less personal. But even if I did use his real name, if I said to him "and Joe could you do me a favour Joe, and Joe please look after mum because Joe you know she needs supporting ... Joe" he'd think I'd completely gone la-la.
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  26

  Cemetery of Forgotten Books

  by compound complex in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i wound my way to a place both dark and light .

  whose aspect was deeply grave yet of cheerful .

  within the heightened stalls were untold rows.

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  flamegrilled

  'The Shadow of the Wind' is an awesome book.

  Nice post CC - beautifully written.
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  30

  Trinity Brochure

  by flamegrilled in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  has anybody heard an official reason that the trinity brochure is deceased?.

  the gb have been released basically new versions of old brochures with wild abandon, and yet the trinity brochure which has absolutely no equivalent is no longer in print.. why?.

  we all know there were dodgy references/quotations therein, but you would think by now the gb would have put some effort into a viable replacement if it were posssible.. nobody seems to be making too much of this as far as i can see.. the trinity brochure was very naughty.

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  flamegrilled

  You might be able to get it if your congregation still has a supply on hand (it was never a fast mover anyway), but I am 99% certain they are not in print anymore.

  The GB must have taken an active decision to discontinue it. I am wondering if it is an implicit acknowledgement that the content was wrong, or what other explanation is there? If the blood brochure was just no longer printed with no replacement what would you think?

  BlackSheep - good point - the contents appear online. I am wondering if it is a sanitized version or an exact replica of the print copy. I will try to find a hard copy to check.