I was born in.
When I was a child I had to go and sit there was no choice.
Then I married a girl from the hall.
And I fell for the Armageddon bull crap.
Once 75 came and went,
I found any reason I could to not go to the meetings.
as an elder, i used to find a legitimate reason to wander.
I was born in.
When I was a child I had to go and sit there was no choice.
Then I married a girl from the hall.
And I fell for the Armageddon bull crap.
Once 75 came and went,
I found any reason I could to not go to the meetings.
as an elder, i used to find a legitimate reason to wander.
When I was a witness, I was going to school to be a court reporter, stenographer.
I would take my machine to the meetings and practice typing every word that was said.
I was able to kill two birds with one stone.
I had to practice until I could write two people talking at 225 words a minute.
It wasn't any more boring than typing jury charges and court testimonies.
i know that logging in has been a problem for some.
i hardly post any more.
i figured there would be more activity than this.
I was able to get on today without any problems.
First time ever on the new site.
That is an improvement.
i know that logging in has been a problem for some.
i hardly post any more.
i figured there would be more activity than this.
I have to really be determined to get on,
But so far as long as I am willing to persist, I get on.
There seems to be progress being made.
Originally the site would not respond to long running scripts,
That doesn't seem to be the case recently,
I just get a notice that the site is not responding, then I click on the bubble and it restarts the program.
I never had these problems on the old site.
I think its a problem of working out the bugs with the new technology.
It reminds me a lot of the problems of surfing off of Facebook advertisements, the long running scripts and pages not responding.
I spend 4 or 5 hours a day on the computer and this site is the most difficult to get on.
But once I decide to persist and get on it seems to be alright.
I don't know how many people have the internet experience and patience that I have,
If the volume of members is low they might just be going to places that are easier to get to.
Water and most people take the course of lease resistance.
identical twin studies show there is a strong inheritable component to religiosity.
thomas bouchard studied identical and fraternal twins raised apart and tested them on religious attitudes.. the correlation for the former turned out to be 62% compared to just 2% for the latter.
his colleague.
I can hear the eyeballs rolling as I type this.
This makes sense to me.
I start my world view with the bible and the bible supports this finding,
that people believing in God is genetic.
I have read the bible cover to cover 7 times since leaving the Watchtower and the predominant theme
I found in the bible is predestination.
I ask myself why do I believe? and why do others not believe?
If one believes in God and the bible they are destined to and if one believes in no God and that the bible is a crock of xxx that also is predestined.
Romans 9
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (held in [a]relative disregard in comparison with My feeling for Jacob).
14 What shall we conclude then? Is there injustice upon God’s part? Certainly not!
15 For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion (pity) on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then [God’s gift] is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God’s mercy. [It depends not on one’s own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race, but on God’s having mercy on him.]
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have raised you up for this very purpose of displaying My power in [dealing with] you, so that My name may be proclaimed the whole world over.
18 So then He has mercy on whomever He wills (chooses) and He hardens (makes stubborn and unyielding the heart of) whomever He wills.
19 You will say to me, Why then does He still find fault and blame us [for sinning]? For who can resist and withstand His will?
20 But who are you, a mere man, to criticize and contradict and answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus?
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same mass (lump) one vessel for beauty and distinction and honorable use, and another for menial or ignoble and dishonorable use?
22 What if God, although fully intending to show [the awfulness of] His wrath and to make known His power and authority, has tolerated with much patience the vessels (objects) of [His] anger which are ripe for destruction?
23 And [what if] He thus purposes to make known and show the wealth of His glory in [dealing with] the vessels (objects) of His mercy which He has prepared beforehand for glory,
24 Even including ourselves whom He has called, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles (heathen)?
25 Just as He says in Hosea, Those who were not My people I will call My people, and her who was not beloved [I will call] My beloved.
26 And it shall be that in the very place where it was said to them, You are not My people, they shall be called sons of the living God.
27 And Isaiah calls out (solemnly cries aloud) over Israel: Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant (a small part of them) will be saved [[b]from perdition, condemnation, judgment]!
28 For the Lord will execute His sentence upon the earth [He will conclude and close His account with men completely and without delay], rigorously cutting it short in His justice.
29 It is as Isaiah predicted, If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed [from which to propagate descendants], we [Israel] would have fared like Sodom and have been made like Gomorrah.
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not follow after righteousness [who did not seek salvation by right relationship to God] have attained it by faith [a righteousness imputed by God, based on and produced by faith],
31 Whereas Israel, though ever in pursuit of a law [for the securing] of righteousness (right standing with God), actually did not succeed in fulfilling the Law.
32 For what reason? Because [they pursued it] not through faith, relying [instead] on the merit of their works [they did not depend on faith but on what they could do]. They have stumbled over the Stumbling Stone.
33 As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations.
so according to the scriptures some can not help believing and some can not help unbelieving.
And now science and genetics is supporting this biblical view.
the movie american sniper is breaking box office records and of course there is some irony that a movie about a sniper is released on martin luther king day (who was shot by one).. but of course there is a world of difference between an assassin and a military sniper ... or is there?.
some are making a big stink about it and claiming that "snipers are cowards".
it seems unfair to me.
I read Chris Kyles book a year ago.
And then he died.
The book was alright.
I trained a sniper to be a jailer.
He couldn't do the job, or so he said.
He was nuts.
He said he had post traumatic stress.
He said he felt safer in Afghanistan than in the jail.
Having read Chris Kyle's book.
I have to say He liked to kill people.
Some people are like that.
Then they come back to the states and become cops,
And they like to kill people and especially they like to kill dogs.
well, the switchover happened - there were a couple of things i had to fix which meant the posting was disabled for longer than i planned but it's now enabled and some people have already posted.. if you have any questions about the new format or suggestions on how to improve it, please post them here.. if you are having trouble signing in or posting then you'll need to email me instead.. many thanks to everyone for their patience during the changeover !.
I have internet explorer 11
Is there anything newer?
well, the switchover happened - there were a couple of things i had to fix which meant the posting was disabled for longer than i planned but it's now enabled and some people have already posted.. if you have any questions about the new format or suggestions on how to improve it, please post them here.. if you are having trouble signing in or posting then you'll need to email me instead.. many thanks to everyone for their patience during the changeover !.
Every time I log in. The site freezes up.
Sometimes I will be told there is a long running script on the site and to stop it by checking the box.
Other times I just cant get in.
Logging in for me is like surfing on face book, Looking at 20 famous stars and how fat they got, or where is spanky and our gang today. The ads or long running scripts make navigation impossible.
If I persist opening multiple browsers then I will get a notice internet explorer stopped working looking for solutions, When it cant find a solution I get a prompt to close internet explorer. When I close internet explorer then it reopens again and I can get on to this site.
It takes a lot of work and determination.
do you get confused sometimes whether this site is a discussion forum or a debating forum ?.
just asking.
whats your thoughts.. smiddy.
Cofty, Intellectually, honestly, I have to label myself an atheist.
I am convinced that you or the atheist community in general can cast doubt on all organized forms of religion.
I agree faith can not tolerate scrutiny.
The atheist are batting 100% in discrediting all other religions and belief systems.
Maybe that is the domain of the atheist, and I should leave it at that.
The atheist do not believe in a known God, or creator.
And they can cast doubt on any known God or creator.
I can accept that.
In a way they are like Jehovah's witnesses on steroids, they tear everything down.
But offer nothing in its place standing over the ruins of faith.
do you get confused sometimes whether this site is a discussion forum or a debating forum ?.
just asking.
whats your thoughts.. smiddy.
One thing, I like about this new site is I can post in paragraphs.
But how do you edit your post once you submit it?
Can you?