Posts by return of parakeet

28

Elder lost position for a poor Elvis impersonation singalong!!

by Witness 007 in

afew years ago an elder at a witness gathering decided to dress sort of like elvis...i mean he had a white suit and big belt with sunglasses...called his wife pracilla etc.

big deal...he sang love me tender..etc.

all the witnesses clapped and cheered.

return of parakeet

Dub elders impersonating Elvis were only demoted? They should be horse-whipped, tarred and feathered, and forced to be Mormons.

So should ANY Elvis impersonators.

So should Elvis, wherever he is.

38

Has the feared and much anticipated,'Jehovah Witness Great Tribulation', now started in earnest during this year of 2013?

by Sol Reform in

the watchtower states that the great tribulation.... will start when the united nations attacks babylon the great.

it appears individual states of the usa are starting to get that ball rolling right now.. .

with the world wide child sexual abuse cover-ups across the globe getting special attention from the media.. legislators across the usa seem to have lost the fear of getting the nod of disapproval of 'clergy', especially from the younger members.. law professor marci a. hamilton writes, "across the country, the movement for justice for child-sex-abuse victims is finding that conversations that used to begin with a discussion of the catholic bishops' opposition (and then often ended abruptly) are now started by a member's saying, "they don't deserve deference on this issue.

return of parakeet

My dub mother is complaining about stinkbugs infesting her house.

That could be the start of the Great Trib.

Stinkbugs are truly evil bugs.

60

Are you a dabbler in Witchcraft?

by StopTheTears in

jw
friends

after leaving christianity it's common especially among the young to experiment with witchcraft.

some get drawn into it by getting involved with earth movements and back to nature groups.. .

witchcraft is an evil thing.

return of parakeet

Wicca, or if you must, "witchcraft," is based on revering the earth and the natural order of things.

I read extensively about it a while back, and although I agree with the notion of honoring the earth, the rituals seem childish to me.

40

What about the OUIJA board? anyone played it?

by Monsieur in

the ouija board is suppose to be a straight shot to interacting with 'demons'.. has anyone here played it?

what happened?

are the claims true regarding the floating pieces an such?.

return of parakeet

Sometimes my hands shake from a medication I must take. I wonder what the Ouija board would spell out for me then?

14

the mormons are advertising on here

by bigmac in

i appreciate it probably wont be on everyones screen,---but i had to laugh when an advert for recruits to the mormons appeared at the top..

return of parakeet

There's a Mormon trying to do some direct recruitment on this thread:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/251265/1/Enemies-Of-Reason-Richard-Dawkins

27

Would you pay $600 for a demonic experience

by NewYork44M in

at the very moment i signed oni saw the quote related to demonic experiences next to the $600 question about the stones.. given my desire to increase efficiency i thought it might be good to combine the topics.. i am very dissapointed that i have never had a demonic experience.

the fact that i don't believe in demons may have impacted my lack of experience.

however, i would never spend $600 to seen any group or person - even if they were naked.. so, how about you?.

return of parakeet

Sorry Jeffro, once burned, twice shy, as they say. One dougnut is as tasty as $600 worth of them. And my waistline really doesn't need more doughnuts.

62

Enemies Of Reason -Richard Dawkins

by frankiespeakin in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcs751gcp10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52j5stxkbkq.

return of parakeet

CS: I don’t think God hides from anyone, but the entire idea about being here is to learn to live through faith.
RP: Based on what?
CS: Based on what God has revealed and the way He revealed it. In short, the Lord’s mission statement is, simply,“For this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

Do you truly not see how inadequate this response is? It's a circular argument that goes nowhere and convinces no one but yourself. "We're here to live through faith. Why? Because God has revealed it. How do you know that? Because we're here to live through faith."

CS: Science has always been more blind than insightful. It only believes what it can see or detect.
RP: Yet here you are communicating with others through science and technology. Do believe your doctors are more blind than insightful? Do you pray instead of depending on medical science when you and your loved ones get sick?
CS: I believe you misunderstand. What I meant to say is that science will always have more questions than answers. The existence of “dark matter” and black holes, galaxies, anti-matter, quantum physics and the like have opened new and exciting areas of investigation. But are there are new questions and new discoveries which show man has only scratched the surface of what we think we know. Once one advances past the known universe, will there be untold billions more blinking back at us from incalculable distances. Will ours be surrounded by other, older and larger systems?

I take from your response that you think "new and exciting areas of [scientific] investigation" is in reality a hopeless quest that ultimately answers nothing. You prefer to stay mired in fixed ways of thinking. Intellectually, it's easier to believe in unproven absolutes than not having all the answers to your questions. That makes you an intellectual sloth.

CS: I understood it was a decisive victory...for the ancient scripture professor. The geologists showed up with their textbooks and the professor showed up with a Dutch science journal he’d been reading. There, in a peer-reviewed article, was the evidence.
RP: What article? what evidence? what debate? Details, please. A general summary is not very convincing.
CS: It had to do with earthquake faults, one of which ran under Salt Lake City’s Wasatch front. The point wasn’t that the professor of ancient scripture beat a professor of science; it’s that the changing nature of scientific knowledge is very rapid. Textbooks contain old information while journals contain the new. How can we trust something that’s changing that rapidly so much while rejecting the entire moral foundation of revealed religion as mere superstition?

The nature of scientific inquiry is questions. Science doesn't ask you to "trust" ("believe, have faith in," etc.) its findings. It does ask you to have an open, questing, and skeptical mind. The only thing you can trust is that change is inevitable. Clinging to a "fixed" moral foundation based on so-called revelation from God because you don't like change is the ultimate in head-in-the-sand thinking.

RP: What university is this? Wattsamatta U? Again, details would be nice.
CS: Brigham Young University

Wattsamatta U, indeed.

CS: The truth is that if God emblazoned incontrovertible evidence across the heavens, many would still reject Him.
RP: If the evidence were incontrovertible, why would anyone reject it? I wouldn’t. Speaking of which, why doesn’t God provide such evidence?
CS: God provides evidence, quite overwhelming for me, actually. It’s that he doesn’t provide proof positive and for the reason stated. In God’s eternal worlds, disobedience is answered immediately and justice is exercised without delay. Not so in our world, where we’re under a temporary quarantine. We’re placed in bodies that make our spirits enemies of God and justice is delayed to give us enough time to overcome and master them. And while you may accept something pertaining to God if presented with proof, you’d be the exception. If you’d care to see some evidence, drop me a PM, which would give me time to come up with some examples. But whether you would or wouldn’t, most men and women of science would not suddenly become spiritual and subject themselves to God. And by not accepting the evidence, the Lord would proffer them, they would bring about their own condemnation.

"Examples" of evidence is not evidence. It's hearsay, evidence that's not even acceptable for trying a case in a court of law. But it's supposed to be good enough to convince unbelievers.

And again, you're using a circular argument. "I need faith to believe in God - only then will he provide evidence. Why do I need evidence? So I can believe in God."

But if you do happen to have such convincing evidence, you can post it here for all to see. I'm not the only atheist and skeptic here. Many more would benefit from your "evidence." No "drop me a PM." Put it out here for everyone to see.

RP: If God is [deliberately] hiding from humanity, that puts the blame on him if people don’t believe in his existence. That’s one devious and vicious god you’re describing.
CS: Devious? Vicious? No, Jesus said He stands at the door and knocks. He who answers and invites Him inside are those who find. God represents himself through prophets and His Son. Jehovah, or Christ, is the great mediator between the Father and mankind.

The last time God came a-knockin' at our door, my mother answered and then proceeded to drag me and my siblings into the WTS cult. What a delightful spiritual experience that was! But my mother's answering the "knock" is as valid as yours. That's the trouble with "revealed truth." Just 'cause you say so doesn't make it so.

Again, you're arguing as though I've already accepted as truth the existence of God, Jesus, and prophets. I do not accept their existence as a point already conceded. If you want to convince, you must drop back 10 yards and punt.

CS: When our evangelical friends talk about Hell and burning I cringe. At our stage of development we’re not capable of bringing down that kind of judgment.

RP: If God has “revealed” the existence of hellfire to evangelicals, why are they wrong and you right? And who exactly are “we” when you talk about bringing down judgment on unbelievers?
CS: God has revealed no such thing to evangelicals, as a never-ending Hell would be counter to His very nature. By “we” I mean, of course, the human race. We’re in no position to be so harshly judged at our spiritual and intellectual immaturity. It would be like punishing an infant, which is what we are. To merit eternal punishment, our spiritual development would have to be at a much higher level.

How do you know for a fact that God has not revealed information to evangelicals? If God has revealed truth to you, he can reveal to others. All that appears necessary for such a claim to be true is the fact that you say it's true. Are you truly that arrogant?

BTW, you wrote earlier "How can we trust something [scientific inquiry] that’s changing that rapidly so much while rejecting the entire moral foundation of revealed religion as mere superstition?" If spiritual development is also in flux, then by your own words, it must also be "untrustworthy."

CS: It would be like killing an infant for having the colic!

RP: But your god would damn them all the same.
CS: Not at all. There's too much talk of damnation. Like I said, we need men of science. We need skeptics.

Another non-answer.

RP: You just said science is “more blind than insightful.” So why do “we” need it? And why do “we” need skeptics? If science is blind and skeptics are to be judged and damned, why are they necessary?
CS: Many think that religion is an open and shut book, and when the Millennium comes, we will find ourselves at the end of a very long and arduous road. But it will be just the opposite. Science has given us an intellectual edge among the nations, but spirituality has given us other needs. The two are not mutually exclusive, but work together for the benefit of man. We need science now to give us the edge in survival. As the Millennium progresses, we’ll learn more about science until we see that it and religion work in tandem.

So we need godless science and scientists to keep ahead of the Jones's in other nations. (These scientists who will, BTW, be damned, or condemned or punished or whatever word suits your sensitive conscience). Meanwhile, you sit on top of the heap believing you enjoy God's exclusive favor and on tope of that, you have the gall to condemn the rest of humanity for not answering God's "knock."

You're one piece of work, my Mormon friend.

62

Enemies Of Reason -Richard Dawkins

by frankiespeakin in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcs751gcp10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52j5stxkbkq.

return of parakeet

Seraphim: " if it wasnt like a faith you wouldnt feel the need to ask me that question as it wouldnt bother you what I thought. "

That sentence makes absolutely no sense. Please elucidate.

62

Enemies Of Reason -Richard Dawkins

by frankiespeakin in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcs751gcp10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52j5stxkbkq.

return of parakeet

Cold Steel: " I don't think God hides from anyone ... the Lord has hidden both His existence and right to rule from unbelievers. "

Would you care to explain this contradiction?

27

Would you pay $600 for a demonic experience

by NewYork44M in

at the very moment i signed oni saw the quote related to demonic experiences next to the $600 question about the stones.. given my desire to increase efficiency i thought it might be good to combine the topics.. i am very dissapointed that i have never had a demonic experience.

the fact that i don't believe in demons may have impacted my lack of experience.

however, i would never spend $600 to seen any group or person - even if they were naked.. so, how about you?.

return of parakeet

Two months ago, I invited demons to my home and bought coffee and doughnuts for them out of my own pocket.

Not a one showed up. I had to eat those doughnuts all by myself.

If doughnuts didn't tempt them to show up, $600 won't tempt them either. Nothing will. And I think I know the reason why.