Posts by TonusOH

56

Can God Change his Mind?

by peacefulpete in

is 31:yet he also is wise and will bring disaster and does not retract his words.. 1 sam 15: furthermore, the eternal one of israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.. numbers 23: god is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes his mind.

does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?.

when the god you worship pronounces judgement, is he, really just issuing a warning or has the matter been determined through all the godly powers of insight, foresight and perfect judgement?

TonusOH

Halcon: was it mere coincidence that instead of anything else as an explanation, time and time again it had to be God?

I don't know if god was always the explanation for the unknown. It may have been the most convenient explanation because it wasn't falsifiable. If there was a single being responsible, one would expect that every explanation would refer to this specific being. But, over the course of human history, entire pantheons were invented and catalogued and used to explain the unknown.

Once we developed a more reliable method for discovery and learning, we began to find testable explanations for the mysteries of nature and the universe. To date, we have not stumbled upon god as one of them. I think this is not a coincidence.

40

Was it Designed?

by Jeffro in

the jw website is currently featuring a piece: the shell of the diabolical ironclad beetle—was it designed?

it is part of their regular tedious 'was it designed?

' series that purports that very very specific animal species must have been specifically designed because of some seemingly amazing feature.. but they seem completely unaware that this directly contradicts their notion that only very broad 'kinds' were required on the mythical 'ark'.

TonusOH

Creationists 'accept' micro-evolution because they have no choice. It is so well-known and attested to that to deny it is to enter into flat-Earth territory. Speciation has also been observed, but that isn't drastic enough to convince people who think the 'crocoduck' is a legitimate objection.

15

Taylor Swift owes me a new shirt this morning

by Mickey mouse in

jw
friends

go listen to the opening verse of the smallest man who ever lived..

TonusOH

Maybe this is why they relaxed the dress code!

56

Can God Change his Mind?

by peacefulpete in

is 31:yet he also is wise and will bring disaster and does not retract his words.. 1 sam 15: furthermore, the eternal one of israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.. numbers 23: god is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes his mind.

does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?.

when the god you worship pronounces judgement, is he, really just issuing a warning or has the matter been determined through all the godly powers of insight, foresight and perfect judgement?

TonusOH

Halcon: Why would he undermine himself by claiming someone was greater than man?

To offload responsibility? To assign himself an authority that he didn't earn? To grift as efficiently as possible?

Granted, the more likely explanation is that it began as a way to explain the (then) inexplicable. The development of gods into powerful invisible friends would come gradually, and the abuse of the concept would follow soon after, is my guess. The art of the con has existed about as long as human societies have.

40

Was it Designed?

by Jeffro in

the jw website is currently featuring a piece: the shell of the diabolical ironclad beetle—was it designed?

it is part of their regular tedious 'was it designed?

' series that purports that very very specific animal species must have been specifically designed because of some seemingly amazing feature.. but they seem completely unaware that this directly contradicts their notion that only very broad 'kinds' were required on the mythical 'ark'.

TonusOH

Flood myths are easy to account for. Humans --like many living things-- need water to live and thrive, so they would stay near sources of freshwater even when they were nomadic groups. The development of farming allowed for the establishment of communities that stayed in one place-- and that would have been near sources of freshwater.

Thus, floods would have been a common experience, and massive, catastrophic floods would have occurred now and then. These would have become a part of their tales and legends, with the usual exaggeration that comes with time. Later generations would only know the basics of these tales and would build their own mythologies around them, with gods and heroes and extraordinary outcomes.

16

Do you recognize the Truth? Watchtower July, 2024

by Listener in

the stated focus of this study article is.

focustraining ourselves to discern the difference between the truth we have learned from jehovah and the falsehoods promoted by satan and our opposers.. of course, the article goes on to claim that the truth is not only in the bible, but also from the watchtower organization.

the first of two qualities needed to discern truth is -.

TonusOH

We can maintain our confidence in Jehovah’s organization.

"Even when we get things wrong!"

3059

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

I would assume that, like most people, he divulges very little on a first date. It's where you try to put your best foot forward and impress the other person. You don't start to lift the mask until you're comfortable and think there might be some chemistry. I don't know how many dates he is getting through with any one woman before they decide to part ways, though his comedy routine would imply that it doesn't take long for that to happen.

What I'm trying to say is, his bad luck is probably based on poor first impressions. I would imagine a date with him was like that scene in the movie Beaches where the two women meet after years apart. The first women tells the other all about her life, then ends by saying "but enough about me! Let's talk about you! What do you think of me?"

5

Westmoreland County man charged in latest Jehovah's Witness sex abuse case

by Tahoe in

link to article .

a westmoreland man was recently charged with sexually assaulting and molesting a young girl by a statewide grand jury that has been investigating sex abuse among elders in jehovah’s witness congregations across pennsylvania for years.. ronald w. mangone, 69, who was a member of the jehovah’s witness congregation in new kensington, allegedly abused the girl beginning at the age of 6 from 1991 to 1994, according to a police complaint filed april 2.. a second girl also was allegedly sexually abused by the suspect in the late 1980s, but law enforcement agents say they were unable to charge him because the statute of limitations had expired.. mr. mangone now faces three felony charges and five misdemeanor charges for sexually assaulting and endangering a minor.

he is the latest suspect in a wide-ranging investigation that has so far led to the arrests of at least 14 others from jehovah’s witness congregations on similar charges since 2022.. “what's going on in pennsylvania has much much broader implications,” said mark o’donnell, a longtime advocate for sexual assault victims in the congregations and a witness who has appeared before the grand jury.. the sweeping investigation in pennsylvania, launched by the attorney general’s office in 2019, is the first to target jehovah’s witness groups in what has been described by some law enforcement agents as a longstanding problem within the religious organization... “it’s groundbreaking,” mr. o’donnell said.

TonusOH

Investigations like this are slow and difficult in the best of circumstances. But when the events occurred so long ago and victims have to consider going through the trauma of recalling them (often multiple times over the course of months or years), it has to be handled very carefully. There is frequently a lack of evidence and the only eyewitness will be the victim.

We can read about a case from the 1980s that could not be pursued because the statute of limitations has expired. But the jury will not be allowed to hear anything like this. And there are many other details and information that will not be allowed at trial. Sometimes a case can seem very strong when presented to the public (and to a grand jury) but once you are in court things are very different. Prosecutors are understandably hesitant to move quickly on cases like this, because it feels terrible to put victims through the trauma of a trial just to watch a defendant celebrate a victory.

37

Did you suffer from not saluting the flag in school as a kid?

by Sea Breeze in

what happened?.

TonusOH

I was fortunate that there was usually one or two other JW kids in my classes early on. So I wasn't the only child who sat at his desk as everyone else stood, or who was asked to wait outside in the hallway while the rest of the kids recited the pledge. It wasn't traumatic, at least it didn't seem so at the time. But I did become a quiet kid who mostly tried to stay in the background, invisible.

I don't remember if other kids asked about it. For the most part, they probably thought we were wierd but didn't care much. I am pretty sure we weren't bullied for it. This would have been the mid-70s, and it was a different America from the 40s, 50s, and early 60s.

56

Can God Change his Mind?

by peacefulpete in

is 31:yet he also is wise and will bring disaster and does not retract his words.. 1 sam 15: furthermore, the eternal one of israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.. numbers 23: god is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes his mind.

does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?.

when the god you worship pronounces judgement, is he, really just issuing a warning or has the matter been determined through all the godly powers of insight, foresight and perfect judgement?

TonusOH

I think there's a difference between changing one's mind and outright deception. God expressed regret at creating mankind before he unleashed a global flood. And didn't Moses get god to change his mind?

This is only an issue if you see god as so perfect that his every utterance is, itself, perfect and the optimal choice to make or action to take. But the god of the Bible sounds a lot like a regular human person- he expresses emotion and takes action much the same way we would. People change their minds all the time, or they revise plans and pronouncements all the time. Maybe the issue is that, over time, we have defined the Biblical god in ways that aren't consistent with his words and actions as described in the Bible.