....have you read Herodotus? Something to think about, yes?
Yes, and I've also read The Rape of Nanking, also something to think about.
If you were in fact drawing a moral comparison earlier then I am still curious as to its basis.
Posts by TD
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52Before I return to my previous 'topic'...
by AGuest inand at risk of further appalling and perhaps even traumatizing some here... i must say that i wonder.... do you think this is what hiroshima 'felt' like for those victimized by it?
oh, ummmm... sorry, that's right: "they"... "deserved" it.
forgive me.
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TD
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52
Before I return to my previous 'topic'...
by AGuest inand at risk of further appalling and perhaps even traumatizing some here... i must say that i wonder.... do you think this is what hiroshima 'felt' like for those victimized by it?
oh, ummmm... sorry, that's right: "they"... "deserved" it.
forgive me.
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TD
Forgive me Shelby. I got the distinct and perhaps mistaken impression from your initial post that you were drawing a moral comparison.
Of course life is life. Of course the loss of life, regardles of reason is a tragedy. The mother of a perpetrator undoubtedly loves and grieves for her son or daughter as much as the mother of a victim. If that was the true nature of your comparison then I understand now.
However if you are attempting to lump all loss of life together regardless of situation, motive, moral or historical context purely on the grounds that those ultimately responsible feel justified, then I will repeat your observation. You CAN'T be serious, can you dear one?
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52
Before I return to my previous 'topic'...
by AGuest inand at risk of further appalling and perhaps even traumatizing some here... i must say that i wonder.... do you think this is what hiroshima 'felt' like for those victimized by it?
oh, ummmm... sorry, that's right: "they"... "deserved" it.
forgive me.
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TD
Forgive my ignorance Shelby. I had grown up thinking that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not purely military targets by today's standards, but nevertheless were of considerable military importance --Nagasaki for the Mitsubishi Steel & Arms Works and the Mitsubishi-Urakami Ordnance Works. Hiroshima as the Imperial 2nd army headquarters. I had grown up thinking that the U.S. and Japan had by August of 1945 been at war for some time - a conflict that if I remember correctly America neither wanted nor started.
I had grown up thinking that this was fully four years before the final four conventions were adopted in Geneva. I had grown up thinking that at the time, there was nothing unusual about any of the countries involved singling out quasi-military targets. I had grown up thinking that despite this, many, many Americans regretted the bombings and that America spared no effort in helping Japan rebuild and recover after the war.
Please don't misunderstand -- I love the Japanese people, and am certainly not defending nor attempting to justify the deaths of 150,000 to 200,000 human beings, the majority of them civilians. It's just that because of the disparity in situation and motives, your comparison strikes me as an overly simplistic 'apple & oranges' generalization.
But then, what do I know?
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14
noahs ark and ostriches!
by h2o ini was speaking to a friend who is a j.w and asked her a couple of questions,the first one was that if god created everything perfect why did he give a bird wings when it is to heavy to fly ie:the ostrich,my second was that when the great flood receaded and all life was destroyed what did the lions,tigers and all the other meat eating animals do for food,the answer she gave me was that they ate plants and things?was she winding me up?im still waiting for the ostrich answer.
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TD
The meat eaters at London zoo all survived on vegetables only during the rationing of WWII.
Quite true, but unfortunately, there are no wild forms of vegetation that in any way approximate what these zoo cats were fed.
In order to gain access to the proteins within the cell, a vegetarian must rupture the cell walls of the plant material consumed. The cell wall of most protein rich plant tissue is a rigid structure reinforced by cellulose, a polymeric carbohydrate that is not directly digestable by any animal life on earth.
From the elephant to the termite, all vegetarian animal species have chewing mechanisms especially designed to perform the mechanical breakdown and either multi-chambered stomachs or enlarged hindguts where the bacteria necessary to perform the chemical breakdown and finish the process can flourish.
Big cats can be sustained on a vegetarian diet, but at least two things are required. First, the chemical and mechanical breakdown must be performed for them (e.g. the food must be ground and processed) and second, the amino acid taurine must be added as cats are unable to synthesize it from vegetable material.
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koine greek
by battman ini am looking for an online reference dictionary that.
would assist in translating koine greek words into.
english.
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TD
One "problem" with Koine teaching is that it tends to have a Trinitarian bias
You've hit that nail on the head, Stephanus. I remember getting exercises marked down by 1/2 for failing to capitalize "son."
Tom
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36
What do you think of Seeker (good or bad)?
by Seeker inreading farkel's thoughts about being called names, and remembering my own discouragement about the same thing, and thinking about all the posts recently decrying the fighting and bad language, i'm curious to know how my "seeker" persona is perceived here.
i know i have fought with some, made friends with others, so how i am perceived will be varied.
i want to know it all, the good, the bad, the ugly.
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TD
Seeker,
I think, looking back on many years as a JW that the one thing I have come to hate the most is dishonesty in all the many forms it manifests itself in JW literature and doctrine. That's why I eventually dropped the handle "Zack" on the old H2O and started using my real name.
I think both you, Farkel and several others here are truthful people who would tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in response to a direct question and that's about the highest compliment I can give.
Tom
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9
koine greek
by battman ini am looking for an online reference dictionary that.
would assist in translating koine greek words into.
english.
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TD
Battman,
However could there be different "types" of houses within
the class of houses. That is to say a simple residence "oikia..."
without any special purpose versus a holy house "oikou.. which
would still be a house but not a persons personal residence.If I have understood you correctly, I think you might be barking up the wrong tree. In Greek, the distinction between different types of houses in your example would be indicated by adjectives the same as in English, and not be the declination.
Briefly, a “declension” is a grouping of nouns according to their endings but has no effect on the translation. In other words, the manner in which a noun is declined in Greek determines its usage in a sentence, but not its basic meaning.
For example, if “house” were the subject in a sentence it would be declined in the nominitive case. (The “house” on the hill.) If “house” were the direct object in a sentence it would be declined in the accusitive case. (I see a “house.”) Note how the usage does not change the basic meaning of the word.
Similarly, if “house” were the indirect object in a sentence it would be declined in the dative case. (The men walked to the “house.”) If you wanted to show instrumentality you would use the instrumental case, which is the same in form as the dative. (The man made money with the house.) If you wanted to show location you would use the locative case, which is also the same in form as the dative. (Battman is eating in the “house.”)
If you wanted to show possession, you would use the genitive case. (They ate at Battman’s “house.”) If you wanted to show separation you would use the ablative case which is the same in form as the genitive. (The man left the “house.”)
Since Greek and especially Koine Greek, like many languages, was the result of a conglomeration of various related dialects you have several systems at work. Greek has more than just one system of noun declension and verb conjugation.
This said then which meaning of house would be the "intent" of
the inspired writer at Acts20:20. Further what about rendering
in English as "house to house" which is totally inconsistent with
the "house to house" found at Luke 10:7.“House to house” at Acts 20:20 is an acceptable, but in my opinion, ambiguous translation of kata oikous as it can easily convey the thought of “house to consecutive house.” Although this is not by any stretch of the imagination, a rendering peculiar to the NWT alone, it lends itself to the JW image of the first century Christians starting at one end of a street and going from “house to house” until they got to the other end.
I think (and this is again, just my vulgar opinion…) that “…in your homes” NJB, NAB JB, TEV etc. is a better translation.I hope this helps somewhat, but I think the best thing you could do if you are interested in the subject is buy or borrow an introductory book on Biblical Greek.
Tom
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Drama
by noidea inthe drama for 2001 was a retake of the drama of 1981,. in regards to speaking out against jehovah's mouthpiece.
those who mummered against moses vs those that mummer against the org.
i was wondering if the 1981 drama was because of the happenings of ray franz?
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TD
Hello noidea,
Does anyone remember the drama of 1981?
Yes. Actually the '81 drama was a remake of a much longer 1974 drama. In all three presentations, the overall message was exactly the same -- an attempt by the organization to cloak itself with a level of authority comparable to that of Moses while minimizing the fact that Moses was given credentials commensurate with the claim.
In my opinion, the 2001 attempt was by far the most egregious in this respect.
Tom
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GB Admits It Has No Answers, Blood
by Maximus in"in contrast with humans, who have a limited life span, jehovah never feels pressured by time to reveal his secrets prematurely.
this fact should prevent us from becoming impatient when certain bible questions cannot presently be explained to our satisfaction.
"modesty on the part of the faithful and discreet slave class, commissioned to provide the christian household with food at the proper time, prevents it from presumptuously running ahead and wildly speculating about things that are still unclear.
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TD
The quote is from The Watchtower. The emphasis and a few brief comments are mine:
“It is significant that the blood system of a pregnant woman is separate from that of the fetus in her womb; their blood types are often different. The mother does not pass her blood into the fetus. Formed elements (cells) from the mother’s blood do not cross the placental barrier into the fetus’ blood, (1) nor does the plasma as such. In fact, if by some injury the mother’s and the fetus’ blood mingle, health problems can later develop (Rh or ABO incompatibility). However, some substances from the plasma cross into the fetus’ circulation. Do plasma proteins, such as immune globulin and albumin? Yes, some do.
A pregnant woman has an active mechanism by which some immune globulin moves from the mother’s blood to the fetus’. Because this natural movement of antibodies into the fetus occurs in all pregnancies, babies are born with a degree of normal protective immunity to certain infections.
It is similar with albumin, (2) which doctors may prescribe as a treatment for shock or certain other conditions. Researchers have proved that albumin from the plasma is also transported, though less efficiently, (3) across the placenta from a mother into her fetus.
That some protein fractions from the plasma do move naturally into the blood system of another individual (the fetus) may be another consideration when a Christian is deciding whether he will accept immune globulin, albumin, or similar injections of plasma fractions. One person may feel that he in good conscience can; another may conclude that he cannot. (4) Each must resolve the matter personally before God." (The Watchtower, June 1, 1990, p.31)
(1) Bianchi and others have proven this to be incorrect. A woman can have fetal cells in her blood stream more than thirty years after her last pregnancy.
(2) It is not similar with albumin as there is no active transport mechanism involved and any transference is only incidental
(3) A misleading statement in view of #2 above. There is no objective to apply the adverb “efficiently” to.
(4) Absolute rubbish. The acceptance of blood fractions is not something that “some” Jehovah’s Witnesses do, as it is virtually unavoidable in modern society. Albumin for example can be found even in the MMR and Poliomyelitis (IPV) vaccines that children in most industrialized nations must have before they can attend school. -
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GB Admits It Has No Answers, Blood
by Maximus in"in contrast with humans, who have a limited life span, jehovah never feels pressured by time to reveal his secrets prematurely.
this fact should prevent us from becoming impatient when certain bible questions cannot presently be explained to our satisfaction.
"modesty on the part of the faithful and discreet slave class, commissioned to provide the christian household with food at the proper time, prevents it from presumptuously running ahead and wildly speculating about things that are still unclear.
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TD
Farkel,
Chorion - The outermost membrane of the embryo. Tiny finger-like projections from the chorion grow into the uterus. These tissues of the chorion and the adjacent part of the uterine tissue make up the placenta.
Monochorioic - An oxymoron unless we are talking about identical twins, triplets, etc., in which case it means that the embryo split has occured after the formation of the chorion. Generally, identical twins will be monochorionic if the split occurs more than four days after conception. When this happens, the two babies will share a common placenta.
Amnion - The innermost membrane that grows around the embryo itself. The cavity withinn the amnion fills with a fluid which keeps the embryo moist and protects it from injury.
Monoamniotic - Another term that doesn't have any profound meaning unless we are talking about identical twins, in which case it means that they share the same amnion. This occurs if the split occurs more than eight days after conception.
Diamniotic - Pretty much self explanatory. The twins have separate amnions