schnell

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Posts by schnell

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  39

  Trinity...cross...Does it matter?

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been thinking about this for a while.. did jesus diee on a cross?

  does it really matter?

  it doesn't change anything that i can see.. is god a trinity?

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  schnell

  I agree to some extent. Even the new agers seem to agree that we are a trinity: body, soul & spirit. It seems to me that, "Why not God" could just as easily be asked in place of "Why God" when dealing with the trinity issue.

  Yep. A special pioneer once espoused to me that Christendom "wants a schizophrenic god". Because how can one person also be three? Oh, hmm... Except that the WTBTS also explains that any anthropomorphic portrayal of God is simply a portrayal for our own understanding and that He is a spirit... So why not a Trinity then?

  Seriously, at that point, you're in fairyland anyway. Newtonian physics and conventional logic do not apply. Ain't no rule book about how this works.

  ... I'm surprising myself here because I know St. Augustine made a similar argument on the Trinity, that we can't just compare physical things to spiritual things. While in the cult, I often decried St. Augustine's writing on the Trinity.
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  39

  Trinity...cross...Does it matter?

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been thinking about this for a while.. did jesus diee on a cross?

  does it really matter?

  it doesn't change anything that i can see.. is god a trinity?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  schnell

  When people enjoy such mythical beliefs, details like what cave, what shroud, what commands, what wooden post, yadda yadda all become very important. But for those that don't believe in Santa Claus, we don't need to know if Rudolf will be needed this year.
  

  As a skeptical person who enjoys myth as myth, of course that is true. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't take initiative to pursue it.

  Personally, what amuses me is the politics of religion. There are always reasons why a cult believes X and not Y, however duplicitous or hypocritical they may be in doing so.
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  39

  Trinity...cross...Does it matter?

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been thinking about this for a while.. did jesus diee on a cross?

  does it really matter?

  it doesn't change anything that i can see.. is god a trinity?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  schnell

  The narrative is that he died on a cross, with a nail in each wrist.

  Oh, the cross is a symbol that clearly had meaning long before the first century AD? Cool. That is part of the narrative too, then.

  To me, the whole thing about no graven images or magic reeks of revisionist politics on the part of perhaps the Deuteronomical class more than anything. You can take out the high places all you want. The Tabernacle was still designed after Egyptian temples.
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  13

  Don't Feel Like I Have Much In Common With Anyone I Know

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  went out with my family and all they talked about was how terrible trump is and how he'll surely bring the great tribulation.

  then they started going on about people supporting trump showing that america is becoming racist.

  i don't consider myself a trump supporter but i disagreed that that was the reason why he won.

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  schnell

  I'm a left-leaning centrist and registered Democrat and I agree with you.

  They obviously would like to see that happen. And when you're outside looking in, that is kind of messed up.
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  43

  2520-607 = 1913

  by schnell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i love math, i love calendars, and somehow, this always gets me.. 2520 - 607 = 1913. not 1914.. 2520 - 606 = 1914. from what i understand, russell realized this.

  he had previously used 606 bc, of course, but then he switched it to 607 bc.

  i know there was something about no zero year, so it actually should be less one, correct?.

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  schnell

  "Since the year zero does not exist", but the number 0 does. It is a legitimate number on the line, as much so as any integer.

  So without the year zero/origin, you have to subtract one, not add one.

  If you have to add one, please explain how.

  Yes, you lost a year so the 2520 years goes farther.
  

  Okay! Now I get it. I'll accept that, and admit that I have been conflating the length of 2520 years with the timeline itself.

  Now I understand.
• 
  43

  2520-607 = 1913

  by schnell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i love math, i love calendars, and somehow, this always gets me.. 2520 - 607 = 1913. not 1914.. 2520 - 606 = 1914. from what i understand, russell realized this.

  he had previously used 606 bc, of course, but then he switched it to 607 bc.

  i know there was something about no zero year, so it actually should be less one, correct?.

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  schnell

  Seems to me that since the year 0 does not exist in the timing, you must add an additional year on to the total at the end of your calculation. That would bring us to 1914.
  

  You lost a year, you didn't gain one.

  As I said,

  -3 + 5 = 2 (including origin)

  -607 + 2520 = 1913 (including zero year)

  Subtract the zero year/origin, and it's one less not more.
• 
  43

  2520-607 = 1913

  by schnell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i love math, i love calendars, and somehow, this always gets me.. 2520 - 607 = 1913. not 1914.. 2520 - 606 = 1914. from what i understand, russell realized this.

  he had previously used 606 bc, of course, but then he switched it to 607 bc.

  i know there was something about no zero year, so it actually should be less one, correct?.

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  schnell

  CORRECTION: Apologies, but 1 cubit is about 18 inches, not 3 feet which would be 1 yard or about 2 cubits.
• 
  43

  2520-607 = 1913

  by schnell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i love math, i love calendars, and somehow, this always gets me.. 2520 - 607 = 1913. not 1914.. 2520 - 606 = 1914. from what i understand, russell realized this.

  he had previously used 606 bc, of course, but then he switched it to 607 bc.

  i know there was something about no zero year, so it actually should be less one, correct?.

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  2. 
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• 

  schnell

  @Ding, they probably noticed it because 1 inch is 1/12th of a foot, which is about 1/3rd of a "cubit".

  From there, you get into all the astrological measurements and yada yada yada.

  It makes their doctrine duplicitous in its support of pagan beliefs.

  Remember, too, you're talking about some guys who either were involved or had interest in Freemasonry.
• 
  43

  2520-607 = 1913

  by schnell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i love math, i love calendars, and somehow, this always gets me.. 2520 - 607 = 1913. not 1914.. 2520 - 606 = 1914. from what i understand, russell realized this.

  he had previously used 606 bc, of course, but then he switched it to 607 bc.

  i know there was something about no zero year, so it actually should be less one, correct?.

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  schnell

  607 -2520 plus 1 equals 1914
  

  Why are you adding 1? The zero year is subtracted, not added.

  Here, consider this:

  o o o | o o

  Here I have six total points in space, represented as o and the origin as |

  So the point on the far left is -3, and the far right is +2. What is the distance between -3 and +2? It's 5 from one to the other, and 4 in between, including the origin. (This is told by -3 + 5 = 2. Note that I am not adding 1 and the origin is included.)

  However, in our case, there is no zero year, so there is no origin... So you subtract 1.

  Why are we adding 1 instead?
• 
  40

  The popularity fad of home-schooling!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i know this has been discussed over the years on this forum, but i just had to post this again!.

  it seems that the popular fad amongst the "spiritual" ones in the local circuits is to home school their children instead of sending them to school.. now to clarify, we are in a very nice area of semi rural australia .

  one with very community minded, and strong family values.

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  schnell

  Home-schooling, by zealous JW parents, is about the most absolute-sure-fire way to produce kids, and later adults, who are intellectually, emotionally, & ethically messed up to a degree that would shock the most jaded psychiatrist.

  Almost inevitably, if you run into a total wack-job wing-nut JW who has been "raised in the truth", you will find he / she was also home-schooled.

  Can be. I will say that home school allowed me to fill the time with whatever interested me, and I dug into a lot of topics that I might not have otherwise.

  However, I stayed in the cult for years and didn't leave as a teenager. And only when I took a few college classes did I learn about evolution, which I may well not have done had I not gone to college.