RunningMan

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Posts by RunningMan

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  12

  Gays and Angels

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  what's the historical background of angels and angel wings in gay culture?.

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  RunningMan

  I thought everyone knew that angels are gay. I proved it conclusively: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/94016/1.ashx
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  35

  Mormons: Bedrock of a Faith Is Jolted

  by AMNESIAN in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  compare: "1914" and "no-blood" bedrock doctrines of the wbts:

  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mormon16feb16,0,5561316.story?coll=la-home-headlines

  from the time he was a child in peru, the mormon church instilled in jose a. loayza the conviction that he and millions of other native americans were descended from a lost tribe of israel that reached the new world more than 2,000 years ago.. .

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  RunningMan

  Pesky facts keep getting in the way of faith.
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  63

  Semi-Fluff - What is your favourite Science Fiction Book?

  by Clam in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  for those of you who like science fiction - what is your favourite science fiction book, or indeed film?

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  RunningMan

  The first Dune book, and Asimov's Foundation series. I also enjoyed Ender's Game, but the next five books in the series did not hold up as well.
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  15

  Why would god create magnificent angels and then create puny humans?

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so god wants to share the gift of life and creates his son and myriads of other powerful, angelic creations to to share eternity with.

  these are rational, intelligent self-aware individuals with awesome capabilities.

  they can travel the universe in moments and are blessed by the literal presence of almighty god.. then he makes us and sticks us on a rock.

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  RunningMan

  Well, from the religious point of view, it could be argued that the original human creation was pretty good - never breaks down, lasts forever. In fact, we physical beings have some advantages, in that we can enjoy physical things. Angels envied the human ability to boink each other, thus causing the flood. It was our own crapulence that lost all that.
  
  Now, the animals are another matter. They have not committed original sin, so they didn't cause their own decay. Why does Rover live for 15 years, then get mange and die? Why would God create beings with limited intelligence and awareness, then sentence them to a short life, subject to disease and predators?
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  31

  Awake = College Education, % of brain usage, where are these?

  by drew sagan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i've heard that this is somewhere in the magazines, but i have no clue where.

  also, does anybody know where (or even if) the watchtower ever fed off the idea that we only use a fraction of our brains, an idea that has proven to be false?

  i heard so many people talk about this in discussion, but have been unable to locate it in a publication.

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  RunningMan

  "It has been said that by reading the Watchtower and Awake magazines, along with other publications of Jehovah's Witnesses, a person will receive, over a period of years, a considerable and broad education." - Watchtower 06/15/83 p31
  
  It then launches into the remarkable experience of a person who passed a high school equivalency exam after only a grade 9 education.
  
  "Helpful as guides to daily living. That is what a woman from Toronto, Canada, called the publications of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. She added: 'I am a university graduate, and I must shockingly admit that I have learned much more through your publications than through all my years of study.'" - Watchtower 06/15/88 p32
  
  She's not the only one who's shocked by that admission.
  
  The same article was repeated, almost word for word, in the Watchtower of 02/15/91, p32. Even the picture was the same. So, now we know the memory capacity of a witness - 2 years, 8 months.
  
  I'm pretty sure the fraction of the brain argument is used in the Creation book, but I don't have it handy.
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  76

  Jesus = Ancient Pagan gods??

  by Lilycurly in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm reading a book and this morning i got to a part where it claimed that the life of jesus was very similar, if no downright copied on ancient pagan myths of different men-gods.

  (amongst them osiris, dionysos, attis, adonis, bacchus and mithra.).

  it said that in the different versions of the stories these elements could be found:.

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  RunningMan

  Actually, the first one of these that I ever noticed, came about completely by surprise. I was reading one of the books in the "Clan of Cave Bear" series, and it talked about a festival that the people of 20,000 BC held. All of the tribes (clans) would get together for an annual summer festival. The host clan would raise a member of their totem in captivity. In this case it was a cave bear. The festival would consist of feasts, contests, and other activities.
  
  The highlight was when the best warriors from each clan would fight the totem. Eventually, one of them would prevail and would be honored. The totem would then be butchered and eaten. It was believed that by eating the totems flesh and drinking its blood, you would take on its attributes (strengh, courage, etc).
  
  Well, now, that struck me very clearly. The primary ritual of Christianity is communion, where you symbolically drink the blood and eat the flesh of God. In fact, the only ritual recognized by JWs is their modified communion - the memorial.
  
  Imagine. All these years, I had been taught to avoid pagan rituals, when the #1 JW celebration is nothing more than a very thinly disguised pagan ritual.
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  76

  Jesus = Ancient Pagan gods??

  by Lilycurly in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm reading a book and this morning i got to a part where it claimed that the life of jesus was very similar, if no downright copied on ancient pagan myths of different men-gods.

  (amongst them osiris, dionysos, attis, adonis, bacchus and mithra.).

  it said that in the different versions of the stories these elements could be found:.

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  RunningMan

  I'm currently puttering with a chapter on this very subject for my Atheist's Book of Bible Stories. Unfortunately, it's just so damn long. Everything in the Bible seems to be copied from other myths - the flood, Moses, Samson, Esther, Jesus, Satan.
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  45

  Something significant changed in the WTS in 1984... but what was it???

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  looking at this chart i can't help but notice that pre-1984 the growth statistics were extremely erratic.

  then, all of the sudden in 1984 the growth statistics calmed down and have ever since fallowed a much more stable trend.

  it's almost a straight line after 1984.. so what happened?

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  RunningMan

  The small spike after 2001 was likely the implementation of the 15 minute rule. It would have increased the headcount by 1-2%, on a one-time basis.
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  19

  get a list of kh's sold to churches?

  by carla in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  could we get a list going of kh's sold to churches or religious affiliated?

  the thread (which i can't find at the moment) about painters not taking jobs painting churches got me thinking of this.

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  RunningMan

  There two in my city (Regina). The Lakeview congregation sold theirs to the Bahai, and the Coronation Park Hall is now a Sikh Temple.
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  70

  Revelation It's Grand Climax at Hand! - bookstudy

  by TheListener in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was reading e-watchman today and someone there is saying that after studying the what does the bible really teach book at bookstudies the next book will be the revelation book!!!.

  there isn't any real proof, but the poster claimed a letter from bethel stated this.

  perhaps some here can dig around and confirm or deny this new rumor.. we've studied it 3 times in the past and it's been awhile.

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  RunningMan

  That would be a real surprise, if true. The Revelation book is so outdated that there are more corrections in the margins than there is text in the paragraphs.