Posts by jp1692

43

Anyone watching the handmaids tail?

by blownaway in

i thought this was all about the 18th century.

but its current or just post current times.

.

jp1692

It is of course correct that The Handmaid's Tale (THT) was published in 1985 and therefore could not possibly be about Trump. I did not say that or even mean to imply it. In my previous post I was not specifically referring to any particular administration, but rather an ideological worldview that actually goes back decades. Sorry that I wasn't more clear.

Margaret Atwood, the author of THT, has spoken and written at length about her motivations for much of her writing, THT included. Interestingly, she was living in West Berlin when she began writing the book in 1983. This was when it was still encircled by the Berlin Wall.

In The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood writes in the well-established tradition of using her art form, fictional literature, to advance her ideals of social awareness and change. She used a variety of historical scenarios --- from the Puritans of New England to the religious theocracies of Afghanistan -- to provide the backdrop, possible means and motivations for her story.

For example, she has stated that, all of “the scenarios offered in The Handmaid's Tale have actually occurred in real life,” adding that “I didn't put in anything that we [humans] haven't already done, we're not already doing, we're seriously trying to do, coupled with trends that are already in progress... So all of those things are real, and therefore the amount of pure invention is close to nil" (Gruss, 2004).

Expanding on this notion, Atwood stated in a recent essay that "One of my rules was that I would not put any events into the book that had not already happened in what James Joyce called the 'nightmare' of history, nor any technology not already available."

Atwood has explained that The Handmaid's Tale is a response to those who claim the oppressive, totalitarian, and religious governments that have taken hold in other countries throughout the years "can't happen here"—but in this work, she has tried to show how such a takeover might play out (Rothstein, 1986).

Atwood has speculated that a coup such as the one depicted in THT would misuse religion in order to achieve its own ends, positing the question, “if you wanted to seize power in the US, abolish liberal democracy and set up a dictatorship, how would you go about it?” (Atwood, 2012). Handmaid's Tale is her literary answer to that question.

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Works Cited:

Atwood, Margaret (20 January 2012). "Haunted by the Handmaid's Tale". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2016.

Gruss, Susanne (2004). ""People confuse interpersonal relations with legal structures." An Interview with Margaret Atwood". Gender Forum. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

Rothstein, Mervyn (17 February 1986). "No Balm in Gilead for Margaret Atwood". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

43

Anyone watching the handmaids tail?

by blownaway in

i thought this was all about the 18th century.

but its current or just post current times.

.

jp1692

The Handmaid’s Tale is about what could happen if a theocracy took over modern America, kind of a slightly extreme version of MAGA’s goals.

Great cautionary tale by a Canadian author, Margaret Atwood. It’s all based on actual history projected onto the modern world.

58

Download Raymond Franz PDF Books Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom

by Tenacious in

for those who've never read these incredible books by our friend ray franz.. here are links for both.

.

happy reading!.

jp1692

Here they are on Amazon:

Prepare for sticker shock!

53

Bible comes alive if we look for meaning behind the symbols it uses

by Ireneus in

bible contains too much human thinking presented as though from god, thus much of its information brings dishonor to god.. yet it contains great beneficial truths behind the symbols it uses.

let us take the only two cases of miracles jesus performed without any request from anybody which would show the very purpose of his ministry:.

1) jesus healed a woman who “was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” (luke 13:11-13).

jp1692

Ireneus,

Since you quoted an internet source about carbon and it’s allotropes, I’ve a question for you: which form of carbon is more stable, diamond or graphite? Explain your answer discussing Gibbs free energy and the concept of spontaneous and non-spontaneous reactions.

No fair looking it up. If you don’t presently know and can’t explain why one form is more stable than the other then you need to stop talking about things you don’t understand as if you do. That’s what cult members do.

53

Bible comes alive if we look for meaning behind the symbols it uses

by Ireneus in

bible contains too much human thinking presented as though from god, thus much of its information brings dishonor to god.. yet it contains great beneficial truths behind the symbols it uses.

let us take the only two cases of miracles jesus performed without any request from anybody which would show the very purpose of his ministry:.

1) jesus healed a woman who “was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” (luke 13:11-13).

jp1692

Ireneus, so it’s clear you don’t really understand chemistry as a science. I asked you several very specific questions and you ignored every single one. Every one.

Nice attempt at a diversion with the allotropes of carbon but the fact is the periodic table of the elements does nothing to explain that. Why aren’t there silicon based lifeforms, or tin-based? You won’t find an answer in the PTE.

Can you explain the difference between alkanes, alkenes and alkynes? Why does the boiling point of long chain hydrocarbons change as the length of the parent chain increases?

You also made a lame attempt at pointing to the orderliness of protons—1, 2, 3 ... 79, 80. But why stop at 80, there’s so much more. And you never even attempted to explain how or what you think this proves. Tell me, why is every element electrically neutral but the number of neutrons don’t always correspond to the number of protons. Hydrogen doesn’t even have a neutron. Why not? And alpha particles consist of a proton and a neutron without any electrons at all. How does that work?

Are you familiar with leptons, quarks, neutrinos and bosons? I’m thinking you’re really out of your depth and should just stop talking about things you don’t know about.

You can’t possibly know what things MEAN if you do not even understand what they ARE.

Go back and reread my last post and respond to each and every question, then respond to every question in this post. If you can’t, then admit you don’t know and quit pretending to know about things you don’t.

32

Blade Runner mentioned in the Watchtower

by ThomasCovenant in

jw
friends

can anyone remember or point me to a quote in either the watchtower or awake where they spoke adversely about some of the violent scenes in the original blade runner film.

.

thanks.

jp1692

After all, E.T. is make-believe. Christ is reality.

Um, they’re both make-believe. Christians just don’t known it.

11

They are out!

by zeb in

jw
friends

all the thai boys and their coach are free from the cave!.

jp1692

Pretty amazing! Apparently all the parents are grateful the coach kept their boys together and alive!

A different mindset, but no doubt a happier one.

32

Blade Runner mentioned in the Watchtower

by ThomasCovenant in

jw
friends

can anyone remember or point me to a quote in either the watchtower or awake where they spoke adversely about some of the violent scenes in the original blade runner film.

.

thanks.

jp1692

As I recall, there was one of those famous (or infamous) WT-esque drawings that anyone that had seen the movie would recognize, but no direct reference.

As always, there’s no good way to admit you recognize the reference without giving away that you’d seen it—unless you joined the religion like the previous week!

53

Bible comes alive if we look for meaning behind the symbols it uses

by Ireneus in

bible contains too much human thinking presented as though from god, thus much of its information brings dishonor to god.. yet it contains great beneficial truths behind the symbols it uses.

let us take the only two cases of miracles jesus performed without any request from anybody which would show the very purpose of his ministry:.

1) jesus healed a woman who “was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” (luke 13:11-13).

jp1692

Here's a butter version of the pareidolian prayer to the Extra-Virgin (VOO) Mary, Mother of Cheezus:

Hail Mary, full of cheese,
the Butter is with toast.
Blessed art thou amongst sous chefs,
and blessed is the fruit of thy grill, Cheezus.
Holy Mary, Mother of Toast,
pray for us grillers,
now and at the end of our fast. Amen.

53

Bible comes alive if we look for meaning behind the symbols it uses

by Ireneus in

bible contains too much human thinking presented as though from god, thus much of its information brings dishonor to god.. yet it contains great beneficial truths behind the symbols it uses.

let us take the only two cases of miracles jesus performed without any request from anybody which would show the very purpose of his ministry:.

1) jesus healed a woman who “was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” (luke 13:11-13).

jp1692

Ireneus: Look at the Periodic Table which is the perfect symbol of order, and it is typical of the universe.

Hmmm, not sure what you mean by that statement.

I'm guessing you mean the Periodic Table of the Elements (PTE). I'm wondering how familiar you are with it, its history and usefulness.

In what way is the PTE a "symbol"? And how is it "perfect"? In what sense do you mean?

Hopefully you understand that the PTE is a human invention attempting to help us to understand physical reality such as it is. It is a model that many scientists have contributed to in order to makes sense of things. As a tool, it is particularly useful, not just for its explanatory efficacy but also for its predictive power. But again, it is a human invention, not a product of nature. It was not discovered wrought whole, but was put together piece-by-piece and bit-by-bit over several centuries.

There is no question that we humans have come to understand much of nature's secrets and mysteries. And yet much remains ... no doubt more than we can imagine.

Even with all that we know, there are things that yet defy explanation as to why. For example, despite the clear overall patterns that underlie the organization of the PTE, there are many things that are exceptions. Why? Who knows. They just are. For a relatively easy example, can you explain why both chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) have only one valence electron when all others in the d-block of the 4th period have two?

I would say THAT is "typical of the universe" -- just when we think we see a discernible pattern, there's an exception. Better get used to it.

Let's take up another example from math and music: the Pythagorean Comma. It is rumored that this was a thorn in Pythagoras' side because it didn't fit his simplistic worldview. Did you know that it was one of the secrets of his little cult and that to reveal it could result in the death of the betrayer of said secrets? Legend has it that Pythagoras personally drowned Hippasus because he developed a proof that showed that the square root of two was an irrational, never-ending number. Pythagoras had taught that all numbers could be expressed as ratios of integers, and Hippasus had proven his divine teacher wrong.

Cult leaders don't like to be proved wrong.

We humans strive to understand things. But often we try to make the world and the universe fit OUR views, beliefs and understandings rather than simply letting things be as they are and then adjusting our knowledge and understanding accordingly.

Most humans do not do well with ambiguity or cognitive dissonance.

Learn to embrace it ... or continue seeking meaning in the myths and legends of the Bible or the pareidolian manifestations of "god" such as "the face of the Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich." — New Scientist, 24 December, 2011

Image result for face of the Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich

Hail Mary, full of cheese,
the Lord is with toast.
Blessed art thou amongst sous-chefs,
and blessed is the fruit of thy grill, Cheese-us.
Holy Mary, Mother of Toast,
pray for us grillers,
now and at the end of our fast. Amen.