Skimmer

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Posts by Skimmer

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  3

  Now The Royal Marines Are Going In..

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this, from todays the times: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/.

  4,000 british troops for afghanistan .

  by pa news .

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  Skimmer

  I thank the United Kingdom for their strength and resolve in the war against terrorism. May the Royal Marines have success and good fortune.
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  19

  automatic weapons and things

  by radar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a matter of interest, how easy or difficult is it to purchase weapons in america?.

  i see films like terminator, where it appears you can buy anything from rocket launchers to kalashnikov ak 74s.. can someone educate me on this?.

  radar

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  Skimmer

  Here's a link of interest from the NRA Institute for Legislative Action:

  -> http://www.nraila.org/Faqs.asp?FormMode=Call&LinkType=Section&Section=1

  It gives some hard facts and analysis, much of which the mostly liberal media would rather that you not know.

  There's a lot of material there, but if you're limited in your browsing time, at least try the link:

  -> http://www.nraila.org/Faqs.asp?FormMode=Call&LinkType=Section&Section=23

  which discusses the question "If we have licensing and registration for automobiles, why not for guns and gun owners?".

  Also, for some cautionary tales:

  England: http://www.nraila.org/factsheets.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=35

  Canada: http://www.nraila.org/articles.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=4
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  28

  Why atheism?

  by Skimmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on varieties of atheism:.

  can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

  absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

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  Skimmer

  Hello pseudoxristos:

  A fair enough question, although off topic.

  I answered this long ago in another post. My choice to become a Catholic was made after about twenty years of "weak" agnosticism interspersed with brief brushes of Deism. It was and continues to be a mostly Scholastic road to belief, a contrast to the possibly superior and certainly more common emotive route. Neither of my parents are Catholic, although my father's mother (passed long ago) was a Catholic as was by recently deceased mother's only brother. I myself was raised in a Methodist family before spending a brief period of my middle teenage years as a JW.

  I do not believe that the Roman Catholic Church has a monopoly on truth, nor is it free from a whole slew of historical mistakes. The Pope believes this as well, and his encyclicals and, more notably, public apologies of recent years show this to be the case.

  I cannot say that the RCC is the best path for everyone; certainly there are many hundreds of millions of people that have no knowledge of the RCC or even Christianity in general. Are they doomed? I rather doubt it, and I for one would hesitate to try and limit God's actions with selecting alternative methods of belief for others. Who knows? Perhaps for some, atheism is the best way for them to lead a life with Christian morality albeit without any Christian ritual. That is clearly better than having the ritual without the morality.
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  19

  automatic weapons and things

  by radar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a matter of interest, how easy or difficult is it to purchase weapons in america?.

  i see films like terminator, where it appears you can buy anything from rocket launchers to kalashnikov ak 74s.. can someone educate me on this?.

  radar

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  Skimmer

  Firearms laws exist at the Federal and state levels, and there are also county and city/town laws in some jurisdictions.

  A good synopsis: http://secondamendmentstuff.com/laws.htm

  "NRA Life Member"
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  28

  Why atheism?

  by Skimmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on varieties of atheism:.

  can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

  absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

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  Skimmer

  First, let me thank all of you for your thoughtful responses.

  Second, for any who might have taken umbrage at my comments as being patronizing, you are mistaken as to my intent. There is apparently some misinterpretation of my use of the word "choice"; maybe "decision" would have been better. But in this context I think it is a distinction without a difference.

  Third, as for diatribes against theism or Christianity, some of what was posted is pretty good -- perhaps almost as good as what I've once said myself. Ones by the likes of Voltaire, Nietzsche, and Ayn Rand are even better. Are they convincing? That is for each to decide.
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  28

  Why atheism?

  by Skimmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on varieties of atheism:.

  can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

  absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

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  Skimmer

  I restate my claim that atheism or agnosticism is a choice, or a personal decision. I think it is rare that it is forced upon someone and is instead a response occurring in adulthood. Sometimes the response is because of "weighing the mass of evidence" and I suppose that is a valid answer. But it is not a specific answer. The same answer phrase is also used by any number of persons who have chosen theism.

  I do not think the term "atheism" is one of denigration. It is only a label. The same is true of agnosticism.

  I am not particularly upset if some decide for atheism or agnosticism. But I am interested in their reasoning. Aside from the problem of evil, what are their arguments?
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  28

  Why atheism?

  by Skimmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on varieties of atheism:.

  can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

  absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

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  Skimmer

  On varieties of atheism:

  Can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists? Absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of God (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation. The question of why people choose atheism is interesting to me from both a psychological and theological standpoint.

  One thing that is interesting about atheism is that it usually is a choice and not something that is commonly incurred from one's parents. I think that there are several probable motivational factors and more than one may exist for any particular person.

  Perhaps the most common reason for choosing atheism is not a personal conviction that God doesn't exist, but rather a negative reaction against religious practices one observed (or was forced into) as a youth. I am not surprised at all that many exJWs became atheists. I wonder if many of these people are really atheists, but rather "areligionists" and are more closer to agnosticism than atheism.

  Another cause for a choice of atheism is the Problem of Evil. Also known as the Problem of Pain (C. S. Lewis) and the Problem of Disorder. The existence of evil is, as described in the _Handbook of Christian Apologetics_, "the only apparent proof of atheism". And while I know the theist answer to this (I am a Roman Catholic), I have yet to come across a simple, easily phrased answer.

  Another reason for choice of atheism is the fear that theism may be true, complete with a promise or threat of judgment in the afterlife. Likewise, a fear of no survival of death could lead to theism. But is either fear a justification of belief or disbelief?

  Maybe more than a few people, perhaps those who could not be accused of having a low opinion of their personal intellectual talents, are atheists because, in their view, many or most theists are stupid, low-class, and gullible.

  I wonder how many "strong" atheists are out there. By this I mean those that have examined the evidence and arguments and are convinced beyond all doubt that God does not exist or cannot exist. I know the the late Isaac Asimov was one of these and he was an intelligent, well-read author, but I think he was wrong.

  Likewise, how many "strong" agnostics are out there? Here, a strong agnostic is one who claims that we cannot decide the question. I think that the late Carl Sagan was one of these. It is arguable that Albert Einstein was close to this position when he suggested that "the Good Lord" was "infinitely subtle".

  Are you an atheist? If so, could you share your reasoning with the readership?
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  8

  GOOD STANDING-what does it really mean

  by Tina in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i asked this question in hillarys thread.since it may get lost and was a whole nother topic,thought id ask here.. i've been wondering about this label for some time now.. in my old cong.

  'good standing' meant someone attending mtgs,fs etc.

  i had never heard it applied to walkaways.

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  Skimmer

  "good standing"; noun, usually as the object of the preposition "in" as with the context of the WTBTS organization.

  Definitions:

  1. Toadie (the really brainwashed)

  2. Ass-kisser (the insecure)

  3. Really good actor/actress (on their way out)
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  5

  In Defense of the NWT

  by Scorpion in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  another jw apologist site.

  > http://users.eggconnect.net/noddy3/nwtmain.htm

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  Skimmer

  Check out the guestbook at the site:

  -> http://apps3.vantagenet.com/zgbs/listing.asp?id=2112132133

  Quoting a comment from the site editor:

  "Any comments from ex-Jehovah's Witnesses will be removed. There are scriptural grounds for so doing so."

  Somehow, I have missed the place where the bible prohibits comments in guestbooks.
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  34

  Overweight JWs -- on the increase?

  by Seeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, i know, the title is a pun.

  it was deliberate.. i can recall in the 1970s seeing very few overweight jws.

  in fact, i used to think (in my arrogant jw manner) that this was a sign of how jws were better at self-control than worldly people.

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  Skimmer

  Yes, I think we are seeing an increase in the girth of those representing "God's Only True Channel".

  Maybe the WTBTS will use this in a new column in their annual statistics report. Instead of listing "Average Publishers", they could report "Publisher Tonnage" by country. The WTBTS could glowingly report, "We now have over five hundred thousand metric tons of publishers in the door-banging ministry, an increase of seventeen percent from last year."

  Perhaps there will be a new contribution box in each Kingdom Hall: "Donations To Replace Our Crummy Plastic Chairs That Can Only Support 120 Kilograms".