Posts by rocketman

23

The Fossil Record: vs God Allowing Pain & Suffering

by Shanagirl in

what a man does with the fossil record tells a lot about his worldview.

is it the result of a world-covering deluge?

or did this sorry chronicle of pain, suffering, and death precede humans (and the reign of death) by millions of years?

rocketman

If I had a dime for every misunderstanding of the word Theory as it applies to evolution and science in general...

127

OK..Seriously..Has GOD ever answered your prayers????

by DATA-DOG in

look...i am not an atheist.

even so, i have never had one prayer answered my entire life.

the only thing that would even come close was learning ttatt.

rocketman

I've never experienced an answered prayer. But I've never truly prayed in faith either. Even as a jw elder, I was never really sure that God answered prayers.

Part of the problem is that either way, God has an out, as it were, because we are told (and not just by the Watchtower) that God doesn't necessrily answer all prayers, even those directed to him in faith. He may wait, or deem it better for us that the prayer isn't answered.

Well, if the answer is no, why aren't we told that? Instead, we are asked to somehow presume that when nothing happens, that means God has either said No or that he wants us to wait. But we have no way of knowing.

A parent doesn't do that to his children. In Matthew, Jesus compared God's response to our requests to that of a parent "who knows how to give good gifts to his children". But if, as a parent, the answer is no, the parent will say No. The child is at least getting an answer.

Imagine asking a parent for something and not getting any answer back. Silence. Not even a "we'll wait and see".

That's part of my problem with the whole thing. We don't know where we really stand.

135

Shark Evolution

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://descrier.co.uk/science/fossil-discovery-shows-model-evolution-sharks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fossil-discovery-shows-model-evolution-sharks.

i used to consider sharks to be evidence for creation - and against evolution because it was stated that they are largely unchanged after millions of years ( hence, 'what evolution?')..

that's not the case, however.

rocketman

So let's summarize:

Cofty was called Coffy, but issued a correction. But perhaps this Coffy will convey an advantage and eventually appear elsewhere on this board in the future.

In fact, I put forth that in the future, Coffy will be called Coffe, and eventually, Coffee, with the obvious survival advantage of reminding us all of a aromatic beverage that many of us like to consume.

Evolution, explained!

I'm just playing around.

I find this thread very interesting, with many fine posts by Satanus, Ruby,OldHippie, Snare&Racket, and Coffy.

21

The Golden Rule, proof that a higher intelligence did NOT write the Bible

by jws in

jw
friends

the golden rule, matthew 7:12:.

so in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.. .

a whle back i had a management course.

rocketman

In the context of both NT quotes (Matt 7:12, Luke 6:31) Jesus is talking about giving to others, rather than witholding something unpleasant. As the Wikipedia article quoted above states, it's a positive form of the idea rather than the negative.

As far as treating others they way they would want to be treated, that's a worthwhile endeavor, but to me it doesn't really go beyond Jesus's words, simply because I think Jesus is stating something about giving in general. So in essence, the rule is a general one, and if a person wants to discern what others might want or how they want to be treated, that's all well and good, but I don't see how it makes the concept superior or the Golden Rule inferior.

28

The best explanation of Matthew 24 and 'This Generation', that I've read so far

by Island Man in

http://meletivivlon.com/2014/04/02/this-generation-a-new-premise/.

rocketman

There's liitle doubt that the first-century Christians thought the second coming would take place during their lifetime, their "generation".

If one applies Jesus' words only to the first-century, the generation is basically wrapped up quite neatly, spanning from 33 to 70 AD, a nice, neat 37 years.

But there's that nagging little problem - no return by Jesus in 70 AD or any time shortly thereafter. No rapture, no meeting Christ "in the air".

If we apply the "generation" to a later time than that, we're back to all the problems that the WTS has faced all these years - trying to figure out when it applies.

But as I stated earlier, I think the linked article from that Boreans site is the best guess in view of the fact that no other post- 70 AD applications have succeeded.

28

The best explanation of Matthew 24 and 'This Generation', that I've read so far

by Island Man in

http://meletivivlon.com/2014/04/02/this-generation-a-new-premise/.

rocketman

Actually, I tend to agree with the assessment in the article, namely, that Jesus was referring to only the last part of the prophecy and that's the generation he was talking about - the one that sees 'the sign of the Son of Man' appear in heaven as related in verses 29-31.

In fact, I think the Society should have (and possibly still will in the future) applied 'this generation' to the generation that witnesses and lives during the Great Tribulation.

28

When a Jehovah's Witness asks "When are you coming back to the Truth"

by Watchtower-Free in

apostate & ex-jehovalarious meme collection.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/jwmeme/.

rocketman

Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".

According to that, Jesus is the truth.

No mention of any human individual or organization in that verse.

43

Critique of Mar 2014 Awake on Creation by Alan Feuerbacher

by jwfacts in

alan feuerbacher has written a tremendous critique of the march 2014 awake!, which contains a grossly dishonest discussion on creation.

the pdf file can be downloaded from awake_march_2014_creation_critique.pdf.

it highlights watchtower use of poor and contradictory reasoning..

rocketman

Just finished the article, and it's an excellent critique of the March 2014 WT article.

43

Critique of Mar 2014 Awake on Creation by Alan Feuerbacher

by jwfacts in

alan feuerbacher has written a tremendous critique of the march 2014 awake!, which contains a grossly dishonest discussion on creation.

the pdf file can be downloaded from awake_march_2014_creation_critique.pdf.

it highlights watchtower use of poor and contradictory reasoning..

rocketman

Oubliette asked: "Who is Alan Feuerbacher? What are his credentials?"

As Blondie suggests, give him a Googling. But I will tell you also that his articles were instrumental in the early years of my exit from the Witness religion, and those articles, as well his posts to the board, were a big reason why I frequented JWN (then JWD) back in the early 2000s.

24

Do any ex JW' s/ God believer's, Agnostics or Atheists believe in Karma? And WHY?

by rip van winkle in

just reading a thread and the mention of karma popped up.

( it happens, lol).

a lot of people believe in karma: what goes around comes around.. some months ago, while on another exjw site, karma was mentioned and i thought it a little odd, as they are atheist.

rocketman

As an agnostic, I don't believe in Karma. That's not to say that there isn't some 'payback', some 'what-goes-around' and 'repaing what you sow'. But I think that while examples of it are related by people, there are many instances where it never happens.

We hear stories of it happening, of someone getting their just due, and yes, we think it's true. But I think it's random. It happens to some, but not to others. We just happen to hear about the cases in which it did happen.