Posts by Apognophos

43

Jesus sacrifice and animal sacrifice contradiction

by trackregister99 in

romans 3:25 says that jesus sacrifice was applied to the past for sins forgives.. then why god request animals sacrifice like "shadow of the good things to come" (hebrews 10:1) if the jesus sacrifice forgive sins to the past.. the animal blood not have none value, because jesus sacrifice was applied to the past.. why sacrificies for forgive of sins was requested by god if romans 3:25 says that jesus forgive the sins to the past?..

.

Apognophos

You'd need to cite a specific scripture, but try untangling it for yourself, making sure your interpretation doesn't stem from "cherry-picking" the words out of it's context they play within the story, making sure you understand who is talking to whom, and where the passage appears in the story.

:-/ Were you ever a Witness? I'm referring to the famous passage in Job 14:13-15. Witnesses consider it a clear indication of the resurrection hope. Personally, I think he may have been speaking hypothetically, but nevertheless it seems to be a clear suggestion that man can be brought back to life.

81

What are you NOT allowed to say as a Jehovahs Witness?

by The Quiet One in

"one of the bible study was listening and singing the song by jason mraz titled lucky with the chorus going like this;.

quote.

'i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend.. lucky to have been where i have been.. lucky to be coming home again.. lucky we're in love in every way.. lucky to have stayed where we have stayed.. lucky to be coming home someday..'.

Apognophos

It's not the "new system" anymore, is it? Aren't they supposed to say "new world" now? (Which I think they said in the past too.)

And it's no longer "the Society", it's "the organization".

63

If you want to show a JW some of the older publications from a non-apostate and 'safe' website..

by The Quiet One in

"it is appreciated that these documents do not reflect the current understanding of the bible enjoyed by jehovah's witnesses, and for up-to-date information the reader is encouraged to visit the official site of the watchtower bible and tract society.".

http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/.

Apognophos

The forehead is symbolic of wisdom. A man of high forehead, as was Pastor Russell, is of a high type of intellect.

lolphrenology

38

Let me introduce myself - slimboyfat

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

i was simultaneously compelled and repelled by narkissoss suggestion that it may be healthy to present a story of how we became witnesses that we can now own as former or disillusioned witnesses.

if we can now own it wouldnt it necessarily be a betrayal?

whose story is it, mine or a former self or just wishful thinking?

Apognophos

@cofty: Hmm, that was my thought too as to why he said goodbye so suddenly. Besides his giving the personal info you mentioned, he also made that thread that he asked to be deleted later (probably best not to talk about it, though it may not matter now). This might be an object lesson in revealing too much on these forums. That being said, I think he might have been a victim of his own indecisiveness more than anything.

11

"They listened and obeyed"

by zound in

jw
friends

new childrens activity on jw.org - "they listened and obeyed".

am i too skeptical or is there an implication that those who are disobedient are likened to lepers?.

http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/family-worship-projects/they-listened-obeyed/.

Apognophos

Until I hear the first reliable report of elders approaching someone with printouts of their Internet activity and IP addresses, I'm going to say not to worry about that at all. But certainly it's not a bad precaution to making an account on jw.org for any reason if you are not being a good Witness (and if you are, why are you reading this?).

188

A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

by cofty in

a manual for creating atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith--but for talking them out of it.

peter boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

- amazon.... "boghossian has provided an indispensible chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating america today.

Apognophos

Well, I can't contest your personal experience, though it's not been my experience. I think it depends on whether we're talking about making an adversarial challenge to someone's faith versus putting the information out there for others to approach on their own terms. I just think that people don't change their beliefs unless they are ready to. "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." I would rather see science advocacy threads like the one that talks about ERVs and other genetic evidence for evolution (I can't find it now...). It's a pro-evolution argument rather than an attack on faith. That way the information is there for those who are curious and open-minded enough to read it.

23

How many JWs are genuinely in "good standing"?

by slimboyfat in

an interesting question arose from my earlier thread:.

we all know that many jws do stuff that would get them disfellowshipped, but never get caught.

but how many jws do you think there really are who have never kept any disfellowshipping "offense" secret?

Apognophos

I remember my shock as a teen since I had a somewhat sheltered life and I thought all JW's were 'behaved', 'good', etc, according to JW standards. [...] Those who were probably genuinely in good standing were those who never left their house unless it was for field service aka no social life at all.

I suppose this describes me. I still find it difficult to believe that JW youths (or adults) are doing the stuff mentioned on this forum because I just never saw it. Then again, I didn't go to a lot of parties or have a lot of Witness friends.

I think this question is impossible to answer because what would bother some people's consciences doesn't bother others. As a believing Witness in good standing, I sometimes watched stuff that might be troublingly violent for some other Witnesses. Some elders might have had some strong words for me if they knew. But in fact I shared practically all that material with an elder who I was friends with, and he had no complaints. We just understood that our consciences were "stronger" and thus we didn't bring it up with anyone that we weren't sure about. So was I "genuinely in good standing"? As long as a stricter elder didn't know about my viewing habits, sure.

16

John Lennon: Imagine.....

by confusedandalone in

there's no heaven...... it's easy if you try.... i am not a huge fan of the beatles, not a fan of john lennon really either.

however, this song is one that i think most people tend to like for its airy feel and sentiment.

the funniest thing to me is how the opening 9 words of this song really really really make one think about belief.. honestly for one second trying to imagine there is no heaven, it is easy if you try.

Apognophos

Thanks for that quote dropoffyourkeylee, that is funny!

188

A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

by cofty in

a manual for creating atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith--but for talking them out of it.

peter boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

- amazon.... "boghossian has provided an indispensible chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating america today.

Apognophos

I just don't understand why cofty thinks believers should be, and can be, heckled out of their beliefs if they contradict science. That shows a moderate lack of respect for the person and a massive lack of understanding of human psychology.

28

Confusedandalone is in need of a name change

by confusedandalone in

hey everyone, i want to apologize for not rtesponding to a number of messages i recieved over the last month or so.

i took a break as suggested by someone else to try and sort things out and clear my head.

my wife has been reading alot on here and kept me updated on all the fun that has been going on!.

Apognophos

Glad to hear you're doing well. Please don't pick "cantrelate", it's ungrammatical