Posts by Anders Andersen

47

Is the Bible God's word? Help please.....

by Freeandclear in

jw
friends

so real quick, i know this comes up now and then and i've looked over some of the posts from the past but here's the thing.. when i was a jw i drank all the cool aid, i was 100% and so i have all my own arguments (from the jw's) for why the bible is inspired.

i no longer believe this but i'd really like to read something that is pretty much 100% academic on this subject.

i want to read what scholars have to say about the authenticity of the bible and it's claim at being the inspired word of god.

Anders Andersen

@codedlogic:

Excellent post. I already knew some of what you wrote, yet your clear presentation gives it a whole new (and important) meaning.

70

Did I open the gate to the realm of demons?

by redpilltwice in

this is what happened.

i had a sore tendon in my wrist.

i could work with it, but nevertheless the pain was there.

Anders Andersen

RedPill,

(Off topic: I am suddenly throw back to the intriguing life story of Red Adair I've read in Readers Digest some 20+ years ago)

Your account is intriguing indeed. I also wonder how this works. Just because there isn't a scientific researched explanation (yet) doesn't mean it's imagination or supernatural*.

Only a few (non-overlapping) generations ago nobody had any idea about germs and sterility. Yet they put (sterile) honey on wounds because that helped to heal.

Likewise it's very well possible that some people have (unknowingly) tapped into some technique we have yet to discover properly.

Btw glad you're without this pain now.

*) On the other hand the lack of scientific evidence or explanation doesn't mean something does actually work beyond placebo effect. There are a lot of healers and techniques out there that really are bullshit. The fact that the (quack)healers themselves believe in it doesn't make it true (like JW honestly believing they have 'the truth' doesn't make that reality either).

47

Is the Bible God's word? Help please.....

by Freeandclear in

jw
friends

so real quick, i know this comes up now and then and i've looked over some of the posts from the past but here's the thing.. when i was a jw i drank all the cool aid, i was 100% and so i have all my own arguments (from the jw's) for why the bible is inspired.

i no longer believe this but i'd really like to read something that is pretty much 100% academic on this subject.

i want to read what scholars have to say about the authenticity of the bible and it's claim at being the inspired word of god.

Anders Andersen

The Bible's own claim that it is God's word is an extraordinary claim. Such a claim should be backed up by extraordinary evidence, but it's not.

Just saying 'look, some of the history in the Bible is correct' and 'some of the writings are scientifically correct'....that's not nearly enough. Everyone and their dog can write books that have that.

Actual prophecies being fulfilled...that would be something. Unfortunately no Bible prophecy can be verified to be fullfilled from other sources than the Bible itself. And everyone and their dog can write a book than claims a future event in chapter 1, and then claim it's actually happened in chapter 10.

So there is no evidence in favor of divine origins. But is there any evidence against it? Yes.

Contradictions.

Despicable Bronze Age morals that improved over time...just like in the rest of society. But condoning rape, slavery and murder is not very godly.

And statements that are completely wrong scientifically speaking. Some examples of what is wrong:

Order of creation is wrong, no matter how you spin it.
Mankind is proven to be much older than roughly 6000 years*.
There is no evidence of a global flood...ever*.

*) only clashes with a literalist interpretation...but one could wonder why a God would write down easy stuff in a confusing way...couldn't he at least say it's just some allegorical story?

So, extraordinary claim (I am a Nigerian prince wanting to make you rich!), no evidence in favor, much evidence against the claim...my conclusion: the bible is just a much divinely inspired as the Quran, the book of Mormon, and the Lord of the Rings series.

58

O.K. Everyone..Here it is!! Grayson v.s. Insight Book!!!

by Lady Liberty in

here are the scanned copies i promised i would post.

thanks to my wonderful husband, he made it all possible, as he is a computer whiz!

these copies show the out and out deception on the part of the organization.

Anders Andersen

Thanks for bumping and the additional information :-D

3

Anniversary of the greatest invention in human history

by JeffT in

sliced bread sold for the first time, july 7, 1928.http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/qt/slicedbread.htm .

Anders Andersen

Nice find!

Slicest bread was the greatest invention since the invention of...errm....shit wait...<mind explodes>

70

Did I open the gate to the realm of demons?

by redpilltwice in

this is what happened.

i had a sore tendon in my wrist.

i could work with it, but nevertheless the pain was there.

Anders Andersen

If it's only a matter of self-deceit, then why can't we all "self-deceit" ourselves free of pain?

It's not only a matter of self deceit. I can see at least 3 causes of pain exist:

Nerves somewhere in the body are stimulated (for instance because they're damaged) and send (pain) signals to the brain. The brain interpretes this as pain. This is what happens when you have a wound.
Nerves go missing and stop sending any signals at all. The brain makes up for this and starts inventing pain. This is the phantom pain I mentioned. It's probably similar to the ring we 'hear' when some of the hairs in your inner ear are damaged: your brain makes up the ringing sound because it doesn't yet know how to interpret the missing signals.
Our feelings/emotions (which are just brain chemistry) influence our brain to aggravate or even invent pain.

Of course 1 can be a result of stress caused by 3, and vice versa. There are probably more causes as well.

But for me, the most important thing is that neither of the 3 causes makes the pain less real.

The treatment may be different, but there should be no labeling like 'this guy's pain is brain-only, so he should just shut up about it'. Just because the brain interprets pain without nerves actually firing pain signals doesn't mean it's just imagined pain.

That looking in a mirror can take away real pain is intriguing. That being gently touched for a second can take away real pain is intriguing as well.

Anyway, like you I think it's very interesting stuff. Given that our bodies are most likely hacked together by adapting existing functions to new environments over many millions of years, I wouldn't be surprised if some functionality we officially don't possess is still available to some.

Such as the possibility to sense (even very weak) electrical fields, as some other animals can do.

And our bodies may be much more internally connected and less function-separated than we assume. Already studies are suggesting that our gut is a 'second brain'....sending many signals to our brains, and likely being a main source of emotions. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/#

Jup. Interesting stuff.

6

New identity

by thereishope in

i was able to sign out thanks.

not that knowledgeable about computers can you tell?

i have used a username that i'm nervous my husband might recognize if he were to find this site.

Anders Andersen

There is a sign out button in the top menu? Haven't tried it but I guess it works?

15

Do witness children have to be obediant to their disfellowshipped parent if the parents are separated.

by agnosticnow in

hi.i am disfellowshipped and separated from my jehovahs witness wife and i am having custody problems with my 13 year old daughter.she has been advised by her mother that she does not have to listen to me and so she dictates to me when she comes to stay.it seems i have lost any fatherly authority and my ex wife has given my daughter the ability to go against my wishes in regards to custody arrangements.having grown up a witness i understand that even though a parent is disfellowshipped the child must still obey the biblical command to be obedient to there parents.it also teaches that the wife must support her ex husband in regards to parenting.i am trying to find any watchtower/awake articles that support this.in any case i would appreciate any links ,information or advice.. regards pat..

Anders Andersen

I'm with AnneB on this.

This is not a religious issue. This is a legal issue, and a family issue.

A parent has absolutely no right to turn their child against their other parent. Both the child and the parent have a right to a normal relationship with each other, without the other parent interfering. Contact your lawyer on how to proceed; mediation would probably be better than going to court right away.

And what Millie said: try to make your daughter love every minute she spends with you. In the long run, there are not much children in the world who choose field service and meetings over having real friends and fun.

Focus on the long term while building yhe relation with your daughter. It's better to suffer a bit now, and have a good relationship with your her in years to come, than the other way around.

Btw I'm curious...is your daughter willing to listen to her mother and ignore you because your daughter is really into the cult? Or just because she's a teenager eager to not listen to her parents (now with permission)? Or because you already have a bit of a strained relation with her (regardless of the cult)?

6

New identity

by thereishope in

i was able to sign out thanks.

not that knowledgeable about computers can you tell?

i have used a username that i'm nervous my husband might recognize if he were to find this site.

Anders Andersen

Most internet browsers have a private mode, to make sure your browsing history is not visible.

To activate this mode

in Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, use CTRL-SHIFT-P
in Chrome, use CTRL-SHIFT-N

70

Did I open the gate to the realm of demons?

by redpilltwice in

this is what happened.

i had a sore tendon in my wrist.

i could work with it, but nevertheless the pain was there.

Anders Andersen

Simon's post suddenly reminds me of phantom pain: pain that one can feel in amputated limbs. So your left foot hurts, while you don't even have a left leg at all. Talking about the brain making stuff up.

This phantom pain in amputated limbs can be treated: using a mirror, so the eyes see the reflection of the remaining healthy limb at the location of the amputated limb.

When the healthy limb moves, so does the reflection...and the brain starts to assume both limbs are present and healthy.....reducing the phantom pain.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=88097