Reasonfirst

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Posts by Reasonfirst

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  27

  Pornography in the Marriage

  by LostintheFog1999 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the magazine that they are studying in the congregation this month has an article at the back about how pornography in a marriage could damage the relationship.. there's one piece of advice that sounds rather scary, the wt suggests that the couple should "consider asking an elder with whom you are both comfortable to sit in and guide your discussions for a time.".

  how many of you would want an elder present in your home while you and your partner discussed your personal sexual cravings and the type of porn videos being watched?.

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  Reasonfirst

  Well;! ..... They do have a lot of experience with the effect of a penis in their brains
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  26

  Is the USA gradually moving to a majority of citizens being non-religious

  by Reasonfirst in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a topic discussed in a current article in the hongkong based asia times*.

  find it at: https://asiatimes.com/2023/09/nones-still-no-match-for-us-christian-nationalism/.

  the claim is made in the article, that near 30% of americans are non-believers, and that this number is increasing.

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  Reasonfirst

  no-zombie, quote:

  "...Jordan Peterson, who made very logical argument to say that even the most strongly avowed atheist still operates with Judao-Christian principles."

  An interesting viewpoint, except that from a global viewpoint, populations with a Judeo-Christian background number a little over one billion, which leaves some seven billion with a different ethical belief and background.

  Breaking that down a little more ( but still generalising) there's near 1.5 billion in India with a belief system based in Hinduism (which doesn't seem to have come from one man's teachings) and which is likely older than Judeo-Christian teachings.

  Only 13% of Indians, according to some research, have given up their religious beliefs.

  And not far away, another 1.4 billion in China, have a very interesting religious background, based for many on Buddhism, a belief system older than Christianity, but still very active in China. Visit any Buddhist temple and you will likely find crowds of people. And informatively, Buddhism, of course, originated in India, but spread throughout Asia.

  More interesting (to my mind) is the influence of Daoism and Confucianism in China.

  Daoism, (the word 'Dao' means the way, a word also used in Confucianism) also pre-dates Christianity and has a strong ethical background, but also supported what we could call 'proto-science.'

  Both Daoism and Confucianism allow freedom of ideas (unlike orthodox Christianity)

  Confucianism, in my opinion, is tolerant of 'new' ideas and to some commentators is more a system of philosophy than a religion.

  Which may help to understand, that according to the Pew Research Centre,

  Quote: "Roughly half (49%) say they are not a religious person, while 16% say they are a religious person."30 Aug 2023

  Of course, to be a CCP party member (which numbers near to 100 million) you must be an atheist.

  All the above, of course, is not an argument against no-zombie's conclusion. Quote:

  "So while it may be true that less people go to church or claim a particular faith, it doesn't mean that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. It just means people do not conscientiously see value in these social structures."

  Conclusion:

  If Christian religions vanished from the earth, nothing would change very much
  

  The lives of near 3 billion people (discussed above) are not very different in an ethical sense, to the lives of those who live in nations with a Judeo-Christian ethical background.
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  26

  Is the USA gradually moving to a majority of citizens being non-religious

  by Reasonfirst in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a topic discussed in a current article in the hongkong based asia times*.

  find it at: https://asiatimes.com/2023/09/nones-still-no-match-for-us-christian-nationalism/.

  the claim is made in the article, that near 30% of americans are non-believers, and that this number is increasing.

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  Reasonfirst

  Balaamass2, quote:

  "They have added some Hippie- Hindu practices (Kundalini tantric sex), "Prosperity gospel", NAR beliefs and rock music to their religion and seem to be growing. Combined with speaking in tongues, faith healing, and far-right political bent they are very different. They believe god will protect them from illness, yet have a militia."

  Sounds like theatrical entertainment !!
  
  
• 
  26

  Is the USA gradually moving to a majority of citizens being non-religious

  by Reasonfirst in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a topic discussed in a current article in the hongkong based asia times*.

  find it at: https://asiatimes.com/2023/09/nones-still-no-match-for-us-christian-nationalism/.

  the claim is made in the article, that near 30% of americans are non-believers, and that this number is increasing.

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  Reasonfirst

  And a report in the Economist points out (for what it's worth) that many denominations are closing churches:

  '' What is a shepherd without a flock? Many of America’s pastors may soon have to answer.

  Quote: "In 2014, 3,700 Protestant churches closed, by 2019 that figure was 4,500, according to Lifeway Research, a non-profit organisation that provides resources for ministry. Many parishes simply do not have enough congregants to pay the bills. In 1972, 90% of Americans called themselves Christians; now just 64% do. The waning of religiosity in America is not new, of course. But newly released data shed light on where religious adherence has dropped most, and among which Christian denominations."

  Are the stats reliable? Well, they come from a source, that could be described as 'friendly'

  Quote: "Every ten years the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (asarb) attempts a tally of membership for every church in the country. It is a monumental feat of data-gathering, covering hundreds of religions and thousands of congregations. Figures for the 2020 census are now finally available. They issue a stark warning to the country’s “mainline” Christian denominations: membership of these old churches, such as the Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, is shrinking at an alarming rate. Whereas the ranks of all religious Americans rose by 10.6m believers (7%) from 2010 to 2020 (when the overall population grew by 7.5%), the number of Episcopalians and Methodists dropped by 19% each, and the Lutherans plunged by 25%. Presbyterians, a Protestant group characterised by disdain for flashy ceremony, lost nearly 1m (40%) of their members

  
  

  Source: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/04/20/american-religion-is-becoming-less-exceptional

  
  
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  55

  Trinity Statements in the Dead Sea Scrolls

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  dr. ken johnson has identified several statements in the dead sea scrolls that predict that god would visit the earth as a man... as the messiah.

  .

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljrfvytjhve&ab_channel=kenjohnson%28biblefacts%29 .

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  Reasonfirst

  ..... And another quick search:

  "Texas Christian University is the biggest religious university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is open to students of any faith."

  So I'm not sure about Johnson's "expertness." Maybe he's just another "quack" christian.
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  55

  Trinity Statements in the Dead Sea Scrolls

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  dr. ken johnson has identified several statements in the dead sea scrolls that predict that god would visit the earth as a man... as the messiah.

  .

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljrfvytjhve&ab_channel=kenjohnson%28biblefacts%29 .

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  Reasonfirst

  I wondered just who this Ken Johnson may be?

  A quick search of the web, produced this:

  Ken Johnson is an author and lecturer who speaks about a variety of issues related to Bible prophecy, ancient history, and the apostasy that will form in the church in the last days. He received a doctorate in theology from the Christian College of Texas, Texarkana, TX, in 1989. He has authored 33 books as of 2021. He attends Calvary Chapel Johnson County in Olathe, Kansas with his wife, Dr. Donita Johnson.

  
  
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  26

  Is the USA gradually moving to a majority of citizens being non-religious

  by Reasonfirst in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a topic discussed in a current article in the hongkong based asia times*.

  find it at: https://asiatimes.com/2023/09/nones-still-no-match-for-us-christian-nationalism/.

  the claim is made in the article, that near 30% of americans are non-believers, and that this number is increasing.

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  Reasonfirst

  This is a topic discussed in a current article in the Hongkong based Asia Times*

  Find it at: https://asiatimes.com/2023/09/nones-still-no-match-for-us-christian-nationalism/

  The claim is made in the article, that near 30% of Americans are non-believers, and that this number is increasing

  For American's on this site, what do you think of these claims? And, would a majority that did not believe in a god, change the USA?

  ----------------------------

  if you've never heard of the Asia Time, here's what I know about it:

  The Asia Times, has been around for a long time, the last owner was a wealthy Thai, who on-sold it to a consortium that may have been led by David P. Goldman, a former N.Y financier, who often wrote under the pseudonym of 'Spengler.' I understand that he is still and American citizen. He claims that in Trump's first run for the presidency he voted for Trump.

  And here's how they see themselves:

  Asia Times’ fast, accurate news, commentary and analysis is now read by millions in over 30 different countries worldwide. Find out why by signing up for our Daily Report for all your must-reads from across Asia.

  Founded in 1995 as a printed broadsheet newspaper, Asia Times relaunched in 2016 and has since developed into one of the region’s largest English-language pan-Asia digital news platforms.

  Asia Times currently has more than 100 commentators, reporters, editors, contributors and multimedia producers working across the globe. Their editorial work is published at www.asiatimes.com, the main website, and at social media sites on Facebook and Twitter.

  Asia Times is owned by Asia Times Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong company holding multimedia and public relations assets.
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  11

  Nobody ever said JUH hovah or Jee sus until the 16th Century

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na22kkydprshttps://www.dictionary.com/e/j/".

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  Reasonfirst

  English is not the only language in the world.

  Here's how Chinese Christians would talk about 耶稣

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPywKY_QLBQ
  
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  26

  Jeffrey Jackson: Too much excitement got in the way for the ''false dates''

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  annual meeting 2019—talks and 2020 year textthe governing body members are nothing but a bunch of weasels.

  here is a talk by jeffrey jackson on how the governing body ''the slave class'' has remained spiritually awake over 100 years and alerted its members.. he looks back on the ''faithful and discreet slaves'' false dates over the 100 years: '' but at times, we look back over 100 years, and there were times they got excited about a certain year or time, and the end didn't come at that time.''.

  he makes the comparison between the ''slave class ( who disappointed others when the end didn't come ) to a barking watchdog ( who in his enthusiasm barks at nothing in the middle of the night and wakes up the owner).

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  Reasonfirst

  It's not just the JWs, this page on Wikipedia goes over 50 failed past predictions and yet to fail future expectations. Only a few are from the Jws.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions_and_claims_for_the_Second_Coming

  Yet mentally screwed christians, continue to get excited and wet them selves over a fairy story.
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  17

  Getting Fed at Assemblies and Camping Around the Stadium

  by mikronboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this was the 1963 assembly at twickenham.

  i recall the wt deciding no more camping after this due to "immorality" having taken place.. https://youtu.be/lhcl-13dyne.

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  Reasonfirst

  Besides convention food service, there was the problem of getting rid of human waste. All this talk about the (not so) joyfulness of assembling together, brought this long forgotten memory to mind.

  It was, I think, a National or international assembly in Melbourne. VIC._ There had been problems in procuring a site, (for some forgotten reason) - so a decision was made to use a greenfield site, and build our own facilities.

  Seating etc was easy, and so was the cafeteria, but what about the dunnies? And, here we see the JW genius for shit at work.

  Instead of individual toilets, with all the attendant problems of changing full pans (which would fill fast at big assemblies), some genius came up with the idea of big pits, which could be screened with perimeter screening.

  Then the most brilliant part of this pre-assembly planning. Instead of individual seats with holes for your bum, there would be long poles so you sit on the pole with your bum hole over the open pit, and have a brotherly chat with your your neighbour, about the wonders of the assembly program.

  What a great idea, cheap, labour-saving etc. Gotta say, I made sure I went at home, before I left home, so I only used these pit toilets to pee.

  The climax of this assembly experience, is that the inevitable happened. An elderly sister fell backwards into the open pit, and the sisters facility had to be shut down while some brothers were called in to wade through the divine shit and help her out.

  If you think I'm making this up, I assure you it's god's truth.