...and I’m 101% sure they are not some psychological trauma/stress phenomenon, but real entities...
How can you be so sure?
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
Posts by rem
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67Spirits/Entities - A question for all.
by Nemesis ini would like to ask a question if i might: how do ones here view spirits?
(not the alcoholic kind) i have left the org.
now for at least 5 years, although i did go to the memorial last year, but not where i used to go to the hall; i was not df or da.. .
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rem
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Irony in Mark
by JosephAlward intaking care of the son of god.
mark creates a story in which mary thinks that jesus is out of his mind, and must be taken charge of (mark 3:14-21, 31).
next to god himself, the last person one would expect to reject jesus' divinity would be his mother.
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rem
1. This person is identified as the author by the early church fathers including Polycarp, Hermas, Papias, Irenaeus ( who wrote - And after their(Peter and Paul's) deathMark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, himself also handed down to us in writing the things preached by Peter), Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Terullian, Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, Eusebius, Jerome, and Augustine.
Still no real evidence, unless you accept 2nd and 3rd hand accounts as proof. Unfortunately any primary evidence has not survived to our day, and the second hand evidence seems to be steeped in tradition rather than facts. If you care to research the topic, you will find out how credulous ancient historians and the early church fathers really were when it came these traditions. Verifiable facts were not as highly regarded as by modern historians.
2. He is identified within the Bible itself: He was a Jewish Christian whhose mother, Mary, owned a home in Jerusalem where the earlt church met ( Acts 12:12); He was the cousin of Barnabas ( Col. 4:10);When 1 Peter was written, Mark was with Peter in Rome and regarded as Peter's spiritual son ( 1Peter 5:13)
And exactly how is this is evidence that he wrote the Gospel of Mark?3. There is evidence within Mark itself to connect this author with Peter such as the inclusion of the unique words "and Peter" ( 16:7) and the close similarity between the broad outline of this Gospel and Peter's sermon detailed in Acts 10.
I see speculation, yet no evidence. I don't yet see any factual backing for your specific claim that Mark is indeed the writer of the Gospel of Mark. None of the speculation you have provided is based on primary sources - only 2nd and 3rd hand accounts handed down and accepted by tradition by later Church leaders and credulous historians.I'm not so much taking issue with the possibility that a man named Mark did author the work, but rather with your seemingly dogmatic assertion that Mark was in fact the author with no question.
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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80
A sickening example of religious vampirism
by expatbrit inthe link below leads to a webpage for a play entitled it's not too late: a christian drama/musical inspired by the columbine tragedy.. here is the synopsis of the play:.
the story takes place during one day at a high school.. .
mr. brooks is the custodian of the high school.
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rem
This story is sick! I resent the false dichotomy presented - The good Christian vs. the Bad Atheist - as if there are only two paths. Ignorance is a sad thing.
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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125
Ya'll dont believe in God?
by flower ini have to ask this although i have a feeling i dont really want to read the responses but anyway.
i talked to several people here today who dont believe there is a god at all.
this is disturbing!
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rem
Flower,
I too was raised a 3rd generation JW. Finally coming to the realization that I was an atheist was probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. But after I finally accepted the fact that I no longer believe in a personal god and that I have no evidence for the existence of any god, I found great peace. I did not plan on being an atheist – I was afraid of atheists, but over time I just became one myself through doing a lot of research and keeping an open mind.
Atheists are not evil, demonic people. In fact, one could argue that most atheists are extremely loving and compassionate people. An atheist may lack faith, but he does possess intellectual honesty. To me the latter is far more important and desirable than the former. I prefer realizing that there are questions without answers right now to believing made up answers that are not based on evidence.
Keep an open mind and research, research, research. Research logic and learn to recognize logical fallacies. This is extremely important! Always demand evidence for assertions – do not simply accept things because people say so. Don’t be afraid to question anything. Apply Proverbs 18:17 in your life and look at both sides of any issue before coming to a conclusion. This includes Evolution, atheism, belief in demons, Christianity, etc.
Some great books that might be eye-openers to you:
Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer
Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard DawkinsIf you really want to understand where atheists are coming from, then I also suggest the following:
Atheism, the Case Against God by George H. Smith
What is Atheism? A Short Introduction by Douglas KruegerI wish you well on your journey!
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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18
Irony in Mark
by JosephAlward intaking care of the son of god.
mark creates a story in which mary thinks that jesus is out of his mind, and must be taken charge of (mark 3:14-21, 31).
next to god himself, the last person one would expect to reject jesus' divinity would be his mother.
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rem
RWC,
You provided me no evidence. All I am looking for is evidence. So far in my research I have found none. I'm not interested in what is popular, only in what is based on fact.
My research has included many sources including protestant (Zondervan/NIV) study bibles, Catholic study bibles, many websites with arguments on both sides, even JW literature and more. I've gone through a lot of material, but so far I've not found any evidence, only traditions.
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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28
what does the watchtower teach that is right.
by jerome inso you dont have to say it.
could you please bear with me for a second here.. this organisation cant be all bad even though overall it is.. .
most of you may reluctantly hold the opinion that every thing the watchtower currently teaches isnt all bad so could you please give your honest opinions as to what you think is good about the org.. so what is there that can be said about it and its teachings that is good.. especially about prophecy.
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rem
They teach bible morals
Some Bible morals are not so good.
They teach that the bible is God's inspired word
Not sure if I would call this a "right" teaching. There is no evidence for this traditional assertion.They teach that Jesus is the son of God
Another questionable teaching lacking in evidence.Of course many other religions have similar irrational beliefs and teachings as well.
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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16
Strong Anthropic Principal or. . .
by ninjaturtle inexplain that away, mr. scientist!.
it has been widely noticed that various physical constants and parameters are just exactly those needed to permit life.
some of these include the strength of gravity, the strength of the strong nuclear force, the density of the universe, etc.. [see, for instance, http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~js/21st_century_science/lectures/lec25.html].
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rem
So what? Consider this: If the number were only a mite smaller— .006 instead of .007— a proton could not bond to a neutron, and the universe would consist only of hydrogen. No chemistry, no life. And if it were slightly larger, just .008, fusion would be so ready and rapid that no hydrogen would have survived from the Big Bang
So I propose that this shows incontrovertible proof that the universe was created by an intelligent being to hold rocks, and life was an accidental by product of creating a universe full of rocks.
This argument is just ridiculous. The same amount of 'tweaking' is necessary for non-living meteors or dust particles to exist. Life is such a small part of the universe - complex, but almost inconsequential in the big picture. Life is just a thin film of chemistry on a relatively small rock orbiting a mediocre star in an average galaxy in an incomprehensibly large universe. Even if life exists elsewhere (probable), it is still such a small part of the universe - who's to say it's not just a waste product of a universe ‘intelligently’ designed to hold rocks?
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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28
what does the watchtower teach that is right.
by jerome inso you dont have to say it.
could you please bear with me for a second here.. this organisation cant be all bad even though overall it is.. .
most of you may reluctantly hold the opinion that every thing the watchtower currently teaches isnt all bad so could you please give your honest opinions as to what you think is good about the org.. so what is there that can be said about it and its teachings that is good.. especially about prophecy.
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rem
The organization provides a safe haven for nut jobs and wackos who would be dangerous to both themselves and society in the real world. :)
Seriously though, as far as their teachings, many of their teachings are good on the surface (love your neighbor, don't lie, cheat, steal, etc.) but when it comes down to it, do they really practice what they preach? I suppose it is similar to many other religions. The big difference, though is that many of their teachings are actually quite harmful (shunning, blood, etc.)
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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59
NEW LIGHT! Earthquakes-3-22-02 Awake!
by messenger inwell we now have another ray of new light that has flashed forth.
it is a new teaching regarding earthquakes.
for close to eighty-five years now the core believe of jehovahs witnesses has been the last days teaching that earthquakes have increased in intensity and frequency since 1914. no longer, now it seems it has gone the way of the generation that would not die who were alive in 1914. now we have the great new discovery that there were not more or stronger earthquakes since 1914, almost 40 years after experts and many good men were disfellowshipped for saying otherwise.
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rem
Dark Angel is not real life??!!! :O
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain
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59
NEW LIGHT! Earthquakes-3-22-02 Awake!
by messenger inwell we now have another ray of new light that has flashed forth.
it is a new teaching regarding earthquakes.
for close to eighty-five years now the core believe of jehovahs witnesses has been the last days teaching that earthquakes have increased in intensity and frequency since 1914. no longer, now it seems it has gone the way of the generation that would not die who were alive in 1914. now we have the great new discovery that there were not more or stronger earthquakes since 1914, almost 40 years after experts and many good men were disfellowshipped for saying otherwise.
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rem
Oh, I forget, you love Jessica Alba
No, I love Dark Angel!
rem
"We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking." - Mark Twain