In that magical collection of musings known as the Bible, anything including 70 years can be symbolic. It can also be literal, unilateral, spiritual, metaphysical, inspired, uninspired, fact, fiction, God’s word, man’s word or just a good story to frighten or delight depending on your beliefs or lack of. It can be moulded, shaped, reshaped, twisted, embellished, accepted, or rejected. They just don’t make books like that anymore!
THE GLADIATOR
JoinedPosts by THE GLADIATOR
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Can 70 years be symbolic in the Bible?
by Pterist inin isaiah 23:.......tyre will be forgotten for seventy years....the span of a kings life !
in my morning bible reading i came across the above verse were 70 years is equated to the span of a kings life !
the wbts along will many seem to take a very rigid approach with dates and numbers and apply it to date setting end times etc, ...when it may be just a generalization.
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How did the JW come up with the idea that human has no soul or spirit??
by FingersCrossed inreally appreaciate it if someone can tell me :).
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THE GLADIATOR
They looked around one of their windowless, soulless Kingdom halls at the lost sheep of spiritual Israel ; peered inside their own literature and concluded that the rank and file did not have souls. It’s a well known fact that only the Governing Body have souls.
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Not meaning to sound sexist : In general are women more emotional/feel good about religion,and men more proof/doctrinal in their acceptance ?
by smiddy ini`m just speaking from my own experience here ,and it has occured to me that over the 33 years i was a witness and in the six congrgations i was a part of , except for a few exceptions, the majority of sisters in the congregations did not have a grasp of the so called deeper things of god,according to wt theology, sure they could run off " bible topics for discussion" sermons but very few could take a discussion any further than that.whereas i was aware that males seemed more likely to delve deeper into, not only the scriptures,but also the wt interpretations as a whole.
don`t get me wrong a few women left me for dead in their comprehension of topics ,but i`m just saying overall i found this to be the case ... my experience... smiddy.
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THE GLADIATOR
Tater-T Very true. in the thread title : has replaced the word 'but.'
It has been said that you should dismiss whatever is said before the word 'but.'
In any case, it would seem that i n general women are more emotional/feel good about religion,and men more proof/doctrinal in their acceptance.
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I've Come To Realize That "Facts" Don't Mean Much If A Person Refuses To Accept Them
by minimus in...and that applies to religion as well as politics.. if someone simply believes such and such is true, it doesn't really matter whether you "prove" it or not.
people will believe what they want to believe..
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THE GLADIATOR
Demosthenes... yes, as a matter of fact I knew him well. He was a friend of mine.
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What are the things you dislike most about JW's?
by Chariklo intop of my list has to be hypocrisy.
it runs right through, from elders downwards.
the literature and the gb are bad enough, but the bit that touches ordinary people, householders, students and ordinary rank and file is the false goodness that they put on like a raincoat.
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THE GLADIATOR
Their cheap suits - shocking!
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I've Come To Realize That "Facts" Don't Mean Much If A Person Refuses To Accept Them
by minimus in...and that applies to religion as well as politics.. if someone simply believes such and such is true, it doesn't really matter whether you "prove" it or not.
people will believe what they want to believe..
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THE GLADIATOR
minimus Which page is the party on - I wanna join in!
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160
I've Come To Realize That "Facts" Don't Mean Much If A Person Refuses To Accept Them
by minimus in...and that applies to religion as well as politics.. if someone simply believes such and such is true, it doesn't really matter whether you "prove" it or not.
people will believe what they want to believe..
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THE GLADIATOR
Apognophos (4) "We should respect the fact that other people will not accept what we consider to be facts no matter how hard we try."
This is also true. Respecting other peoples right to illusion is a noble thing. I deliberately allow certain illusions to exist in my life because it is in my interest to do so. However I know they are illusions and do not seek to convince others that they are facts. I would do that only if thought sharing would help others and if I could prove my assertions. Otherwise I keep my illusions to myself.
I have some sympathy with your explanation of individuals right to interpret life according to their own needs and wishes. I can see that you are keen to keep things friendly on the forum and probably in real life. (It tend to be that way myself, though I do have a cut off point if pushed too far)
What I have tried to offer is the value of separating fact from fiction. There is some benefit to our subjective inner world, and to personal interpretation of facts, though out there in our fast moving and dangerous world, objective facts are an essential survival tool and need to be kept in a separate tool box.
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I've Come To Realize That "Facts" Don't Mean Much If A Person Refuses To Accept Them
by minimus in...and that applies to religion as well as politics.. if someone simply believes such and such is true, it doesn't really matter whether you "prove" it or not.
people will believe what they want to believe..
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THE GLADIATOR
"(1) We can't be 100% sure of anything. Did evolution happen? Almost certainly. But nothing's 100%. To dispute the uncertainty of our knowledge is ridiculous. Are you even 100% sure that the sun will rise tomorrow? Then you are arrogant or ignorant."
This is an accurate statement because the sun will not rise tomorrow. That is just a subjective way of stating how our position on earth appears in relation to the sun from our point of view. It is acceptable for everyday speech, but if we are to use this as an example of the unreliability of fact, it is important to accurately describe what we are saying.
The fact is the sun does not rise. The earth, which we now know to be spherical, will continue to turn until the bit we live on faces the sun again. I am 99.9999999999 certain that the earth will complete its rotation every 24 hour for many years to come.
I realize that being so pedantic makes me sound like a smart-ass but it illustrates the need to be precise in matters of science. The USA was able to land Neil Armstrong on the moon because they accurately understood the precise mathematics of the task they attempted. On occasion they have got their sums wrong, with tragic consequences. Science and engineering nowadays is a very precise business. Guesswork is not acceptable.
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Horse Meat found In hamburgers in UK and Ireland
by Pterist inlondon (cnn) -- uk food safety officials have ordered the testing of all beef products following the discovery of horsemeat in beef lasagna sold by uk firm findus, only weeks after many meat lovers were dismayed to learn horse and pig dna had been found in burgers.. http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/world/europe/uk-horsemeat-probe/index.html.
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THE GLADIATOR
Many in the UK object to eating horse meet because they claim to be 'horse lovers - being a town boy I am not sure what that entails. The objection is not so much that horse meat is used but that people should be correctly informed which meat they are buying. Of course some vegetarians see all meat eating as gross.
I have eaten horse in France, as is the custom.The thing is that horses get injured of put down as they have no useful life left. Years ago they went to the ‘knackers yard’ to be slaughtered and turned into glue. Why waste horse meat or give it to dogs and cats? In Hong Kong they eat all those creatures. As I kid all I got was 'spiritual food, served up cold by the Watchtower Society. Horse meat or 'steak de cheval' is a vast improvement.
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I've Come To Realize That "Facts" Don't Mean Much If A Person Refuses To Accept Them
by minimus in...and that applies to religion as well as politics.. if someone simply believes such and such is true, it doesn't really matter whether you "prove" it or not.
people will believe what they want to believe..
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THE GLADIATOR
Re: I've Come To Realize That "Facts" Don't Mean Much If A Person Refuses To Accept Them.
Sometimes there is benefit in delusion. My father spent most of his life believing he would never grow old and die. Because I refused to accept his belief he stopped speaking to me many years ago.
A few years ago, he was 80. While dying in hospital it was reported to me that he was still talking about what he would do as soon as he was well again. While heavily medicated he died in his sleep. He died still believing that he would never grow old and die.
I envy him his delusion because although he had to die like any other living creature, his faith enabled him to believe that he never would. I don’t miss him. I spent many years trying to delude myself but my rational brain refused to buy it.
Even becoming a gladiator or adopting some of the 3,000 gods on offer, will not help me escape death. Joining one of the many religions on offer will not change reality but just provide comfort for those able believe that the script they write will alter reality.
Memento mori
( Remember your mortality - Remember you must die)
