Posts by Brokeback Watchtower

77

North Korea threatening to bomb Guam...

by mikeflood in

crazy kim again....could happen?

thoughts?.

Brokeback Watchtower

I think North Korea, is having a field day with US president Trump threats of unleashing a rain of fire and fury. His statements were very irresponsible . Saying that Korea has been misbehaving was probably the stupidest thing he said, and blaming past administration for allowing N Korea's bad misbehaviors.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/09/why-trumps-north-korea-warnings-were-unnecessary-scary-irresponsible/?utm_term=.e40f8d97d67f

And “irresponsible” because it sounds like Trump shooting his mouth off again. Maybe his national security team approved of that kind of language, but it sounds a lot like what Trump does on Twitter, which is shooting his mouth off and saying stuff and his national security people have to walk it back in the next couple of days.

3

A World Of Pure Experience William James

by Brokeback Watchtower in

william james a psychologist and philosopher:.

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

along with charles sanders peirce and john dewey, james is considered to be one of the major figures associated with the philosophical school known as pragmatism, and is also cited as one of the founders of functional psychology.

Brokeback Watchtower

Thanks for the comments. I'm just starting to look at James' stuff as well as some of the Greeks, fascinating!

21

Making Every Thought Captive To Christ(Washing the Brain Of Good Reasoning)

by Brokeback Watchtower in

not a very good idea to say the least.

when i read paul's words the more i see how delusional the guy was.

he was a genuine religious fanatic who contradicts jesus words on the sermon on the mount.. 2 corinthians 10:5 5we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of god, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to christ.. delusional and in need of some serious psychological help.

Brokeback Watchtower

Well I think you make the point that religious upbringing determine interpretation of these vision and Greek mythology is different from Jewish mythology. So that today many take more unbiased approach and look from a more natural based view point of such experience, as part of the human condition that is evolving all the time.

3

Old Man Fred Trump Our President's Good Ole Dad

by Brokeback Watchtower in

woody on fred trump:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=januvkeyezs&list=rdjanuvkeyezs.

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

Brokeback Watchtower

Woody on Fred Trump:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jANuVKeYezs&list=RDjANuVKeYezs

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

Career[edit]

Trump became a carpenter and took classes in reading blueprints.[7] Two years after his graduation, he finished his first house, and since he was still under age, his mother formed Elizabeth Trump & Son and officially headed it until he was 21. In 1926, he had already built 20 homes in Queens.[8] By the mid-1930s in the middle of the Great Depression, he helped pioneer the concept of supermarkets with the Trump Market in Woodhaven, which advertised "Serve Yourself and Save!", becoming an instant hit. After only a year Trump sold it to the King Kullen supermarket chain.[7]

During World War II, Trump built barracks and garden apartments for U.S. Navy personnel near major shipyards along the East Coast, including Chester, Pennsylvania, Newport News, Virginia, and Norfolk, Virginia. After the war he expanded into middle-income housing for the families of returning veterans, building Shore Haven in Bensonhurst in 1949, and Beach Haven near Coney Island in 1950 (a total of 2,700 apartments). In 1963–1964, he built Trump Village, an apartment complex in Coney Island, for $70 million.[7]

Although both of Trump's parents were born in Germany and he had been conceived there,[9] for decades after World War II Trump told friends and family that his family was of Swedish origin. According to his nephew John Walter, "He had a lot of Jewish tenants and it wasn't a good thing to be German in those days."[5]

Trump built and operated affordable rental housing via large apartment complexes in New York City, including more than 2,700 low-income multifamily apartments and row houses in the neighborhoods of Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, Flatbush, and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, and Flushing and Jamaica Estates in Queens.[citation needed]

Fred's son, Donald Trump, joined Trump Management Company in 1968, and rose to become company president in 1971. He renamed it The Trump Organization in 1980. Donald Trump was reported to have received a loan from his father in the mid-1970s of $1 million (variously reported as numerous loans exceeding $14 million).[10] The younger Trump described this as a "very small loan", which allowed him to enter the real estate business in Manhattan, while his father stuck to Brooklyn and Queens.[11] "It was good for me," Donald later commented. "You know, being the son of somebody, it could have been competition to me. This way, I got Manhattan all to myself."[5]

During the 1980s, Fred Trump became friends with future-Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations in Manhattan.[12]

Controversies[edit]

On Memorial Day in 1927, the Ku Klux Klan marched in Queens to protest that "Native-born Protestant Americans" were being "assaulted by Roman Catholic police of New York City".[13] Fred Trump was one of seven men who were arrested that day "on a charge of refusing to disperse from a parade when ordered to do so."[13] In 2016, Vice magazine reported on their investigation of earlier newspaper clippings and found that Trump was the only person arrested who was not charged with any crime, leading them to conclude that he could have been a bystander; they also speculated that Trump may have been a member of the KKK, which had gone through a revival in urban areas after 1915.[14] All seven men arrested however were declared to be wearing Klan attire according to several sources cited in the Vice article. When asked about the issue in September 2015 by The New York Times, Donald Trump, then a candidate for presidency of the United States, denied that his father had been arrested, or that he had been in the KKK.[15]

In 1954, Trump was investigated by a U.S. Senate committee for profiteering from public contracts, including overstating his Beach Haven building charges by $3.7 million.[16] In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in 1954, William F. McKenna, appointed to investigate "scandals" within the FHA, cited Fred C. Trump and his partner William Tomasello as examples of how profits were made by builders using the FHA.[citation needed] McKenna said the two paid $34,200 for a piece of land which they rented to their corporation for over $60,000 per year in a 99-year lease, so that if the apartment they built on it ever defaulted, the FHA would owe $1.5 million on it. McKenna said that Trump and Tomasello obtained loans for $3.5 million more than the apartments cost.[citation needed] Trump testified before the Senate Banking Committee the following month as it investigated "windfall profits." He said that builders would not have built apartments under an expired post-war loan insurance program if regulations had set inflexible limits on loans issued by the FHA.[17][non-primary source needed][18][non-primary source needed] Folk icon Woody Guthrie, who from 1950 was a tenant in one of Trump's apartment complexes in Brooklyn, criticized Trump as a landlord. He wrote lyrics that accused his landlord of stirring up racial hate "in the bloodpot of human hearts".[19]

In 1973, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil rights suit against the Trump Organization (TO; Fred Trump, chair, 27-year-old Donald Trump, president) charging it with "violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968."[20] In response, Trump attorney Roy Cohn filed a counter-suit against the government for $100 million, "portray[ing] the Trumps as the victims," claiming the DOJ's "falsely accusing them of discrimination."[20]

The suits arose after complaints to the New York City Commission on Human Rights and to the Urban League led the League and other groups to send black and white "testers" to apply for apartments in Trump-owned complexes, which led them to conclude that whites got apartments in the buildings of their interest, while blacks generally did not; both advocacy organizations then raised the issue with the Justice Department.[20] As reported by Wayne Barrett and Jon Campbell for The Village Voice, citing court records, "four superintendents or rental agents confirmed that applications sent to the [TO] central office for acceptance or rejection were coded by race."[21] An early Village Voice article by Wayne Barrett in 1979 cited court records from the case and reported that a TO rental agent indicated he had been given instructions by Fred Trump "not to rent to blacks" and to "decrease the number of black tenants" by encouraging their relocation to other housing.[22][21] After approximately two years in court, a consent decree between the DOJ and the TO was signed (June 10, 1975), with both sides claiming victory[20]—the TO for its perceived ability to continue to deny rentals to welfare recipients,[22][20] and the head of DOJ’s housing division for the decree being "one of the most far-reaching ever negotiated,"[20][22] as it personally and corporately prohibited the Trumps and the TO from “discriminating against any person in the terms, conditions, or priveleges [sic.] of sale or rental of a dwelling,”[20] and "required Trump to advertise vacancies in minority papers and list vacancies... [preferentially, with a Center of] the Urban League," as well as to use the ads to inform potential minority applicants that they had equal opportunity to seek housing at TO properties.[20] Finally, it required the TO to "promote minorities to professional jobs,"[22] and it ordered the Trumps "to 'thoroughly acquaint themselves personally on a detailed basis' with the Fair Housing Act."[20] The Justice Department would subsequently further complain that continuing "racially discriminatory conduct by Trump agents has occurred with such frequency that it has created a substantial impediment to the full enjoyment of equal opportunity."[when?][21]

21

Making Every Thought Captive To Christ(Washing the Brain Of Good Reasoning)

by Brokeback Watchtower in

not a very good idea to say the least.

when i read paul's words the more i see how delusional the guy was.

he was a genuine religious fanatic who contradicts jesus words on the sermon on the mount.. 2 corinthians 10:5 5we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of god, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to christ.. delusional and in need of some serious psychological help.

Brokeback Watchtower

The Mystical Experience is what Paul was having where religious back round is used to interpret meaning, or previous held beliefs. In today's world it can be understood as literally coming from God, or a natural process of our highly developed evolved brains of homo sapiens . It is a purely subjective experience and may carry highly emotional charged themes as in the case of frontal lobe epilepsy were everything takes on a more significance as more real than everyday real.

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

A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, or mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework.[1] The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense against the growing rationalism of Western society.[2] William James popularised the concept.[2]

Many religious and mystical traditions see religious experiences (particularly that knowledge which comes with them) as revelations caused by divine agency rather than ordinary natural processes. They are considered real encounters with God or gods, or real contact with higher-order realities of which humans are not ordinarily aware.[3]

Skeptics may hold that religious experience is an evolved feature of the human brain amenable to normal scientific study.[note 1] The commonalities and differences between religious experiences across different cultures have enabled scholars to categorize them for academic study.[4

2

Think Outside The Box And Watchtower Limited Structure

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it is not lie that watchtower corporation limits your options to problem resolutions.

and so brain shrinkage is a natural result of restraints on information processing and so the less neuron firing the more the brain atrophies another word 2 + 2 = 4.. compartmentalization shortcuts to problem resolution leads to deterioration of brain cells.. think out side the box is a sign of mental health is my opinion..

Brokeback Watchtower

Because the Watchtower Corp. is doomed to thinking inside a corporation box they are ridged, predictable, and very very limited in solutions. dictated by a 19th century naïve view of biblical supreme being.

2

Think Outside The Box And Watchtower Limited Structure

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it is not lie that watchtower corporation limits your options to problem resolutions.

and so brain shrinkage is a natural result of restraints on information processing and so the less neuron firing the more the brain atrophies another word 2 + 2 = 4.. compartmentalization shortcuts to problem resolution leads to deterioration of brain cells.. think out side the box is a sign of mental health is my opinion..

Brokeback Watchtower

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

Thinking outside the box entails a thinking process, which comprehends the implementation of an unusual approach to the logical thinking structure. It's a procedure which aims to escape relational reasoning and thinking.[1]

Thinking outside the box (also thinking out of the box[2][3] or thinking beyond the box and, especially in Australia, thinking outside the square[4]) is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking. The term is thought to derive from management consultants in the 1970s and 1980s challenging their clients to solve the "nine dots" puzzle, whose solution requires some lateral thinking.[5] This phrase can also be found commonly in dance, as encouragement to move creatively, beyond simple, geometric box steps and their basic variations, to literally step outside the box into more complex patterns of expression.

The catchphrase, or cliché, has become widely used in business environments, especially by management consultants and executive coaches, and has been referenced in a number of advertising slogans. To think outside the box is to look further and to try not thinking of the obvious things, but to try thinking of the things beyond them.

Contents

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Analogy[edit]

A simplified definition for paradigm is a habit of reasoning or a conceptual framework.

A simplified analogy is "the box" in the commonly used phrase "thinking outside the box". What is encompassed by the words "inside the box" is analogous with the current, and often unnoticed, assumptions about a situation. Creative thinking acknowledges and rejects the accepted paradigm to come up with new ideas.

Nine dots puzzle[edit]

The notion of something outside a perceived "box" is related to a traditional topographical puzzle called the nine dots puzzle.[5]

The origins of the phrase "thinking outside the box" are obscure; but it was popularized in part because of a nine-dot puzzle, which John Adair claims to have introduced in 1969.[6] Management consultant Mike Vance has claimed that the use of the nine-dot puzzle in consultancy circles stems from the corporate culture of the Walt Disney Company, where the puzzle was used in-house.[7]

Christopher Columbus's Egg Puzzle as it appeared in Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of Puzzles.

The nine dots puzzle is much older than the slogan. It appears in Sam Loyd's 1914 Cyclopedia of Puzzles.[8] In the 1951 compilation The Puzzle-Mine: Puzzles Collected from the Works of the Late Henry Ernest Dudeney, the puzzle is attributed to Dudeney himself.[9] Sam Loyd's original formulation of the puzzle[10] entitled it as "Christopher Columbus's egg puzzle." This was an allusion to the story of Egg of Columbus.

One of many solutions to the puzzle at the beginning of this article.

The puzzle proposed an intellectual challenge—to connect the dots by drawing four straight, continuous lines that pass through each of the nine dots, and never lifting the pencil from the paper. The conundrum is easily resolved, but only by drawing the lines outside the confines of the square area defined by the nine dots themselves. The phrase "thinking outside the box" is a restatement of the solution strategy. The puzzle only seems difficult because people commonly imagine a boundary around the edge of the dot array.[11] The heart of the matter is the unspecified barrier that people typically perceive.

Ironically, telling people to "think outside the box" does not help them think outside the box, at least not with the 9-dot problem.[12] This is due to the distinction between procedural knowledge (implicit or tacit knowledge) and declarative knowledge (book knowledge). For example, a non-verbal cue such as drawing a square outside the 9 dots does allow people to solve the 9-dot problem better than average.[13]

The nine-dot problem is a well-defined problem. It has a clearly stated goal, and all necessary information to solve the problem is included (connect all of the dots using four straight lines). Furthermore, well-defined problems have a clear ending (you know when you have reached the solution). Although the solution is "outside the box" and not easy to see at first, once it has been found, it seems obvious. Other examples of well-defined problems are the Tower of Hanoi and the Rubik's Cube.

In contrast, characteristics of ill-defined problems are:

not clear what the question really is
not clear how to arrive at a solution
no idea what the solution looks like

An example of an ill-defined problem is "what is the essence of happiness?" The skills needed to solve this type of problem are the ability to reason and draw inferences, metacognition, and epistemic monitoring.

The single straight line solution[edit]

Another well-defined problem for the nine dots starting point is to connect the dots with a single straight line. The solution involves looking outside the sheet of paper on which the nine dots are drawn.[14]

If solving the four line solution is called lateral thinking, then solving the one line solution could well be called orthogonal thinking,[15] as it requires two distinct phases: drawing the line and assembling the line.

Metaphor[edit]

This flexible English phrase is a rhetorical trope with a range of variant applications.

The metaphorical "box" in the phrase "outside the box" may be married with something real and measurable — for example, perceived budgetary[16] or organizational[17] constraints in a Hollywood development project. Speculating beyond its restrictive confines the box can be both:

(a) positive— fostering creative leaps as in generating wild ideas (the conventional use of the term);[16] and
(b) negative— penetrating through to the "bottom of the box." James Bandrowski states that this could result in a frank and insightful re-appraisal of a situation, oneself, the organization, etc.

On the other hand, Bandrowski argues that the process of thinking "inside the box" need not be construed in a pejorative sense. It is crucial for accurately parsing and executing a variety of tasks — making decisions, analyzing data, and managing the progress of standard operating procedures, etc.

Hollywood screenwriter Ira Steven Behr appropriated this concept to inform plot and character in the context of a television series. Behr imagined a core character:

He is going to be "thinking outside the box," you know, and usually when we use that cliche, we think outside the box means a new thought. So we can situate ourselves back in the box, but in a somewhat better position.[17]

The phrase can be used as a shorthand way to describe speculation about what happens next in a multi-stage design thinking process.[17]

2

Think Outside The Box And Watchtower Limited Structure

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it is not lie that watchtower corporation limits your options to problem resolutions.

and so brain shrinkage is a natural result of restraints on information processing and so the less neuron firing the more the brain atrophies another word 2 + 2 = 4.. compartmentalization shortcuts to problem resolution leads to deterioration of brain cells.. think out side the box is a sign of mental health is my opinion..

Brokeback Watchtower

It is not lie that watchtower corporation limits your options to problem resolutions. And so brain shrinkage is a natural result of restraints on information processing and so the less neuron firing the more the brain atrophies another word 2 + 2 = 4.

Compartmentalization shortcuts to problem resolution leads to deterioration of brain cells.

Think out side the box is a sign of mental health is my opinion.

21

Making Every Thought Captive To Christ(Washing the Brain Of Good Reasoning)

by Brokeback Watchtower in

not a very good idea to say the least.

when i read paul's words the more i see how delusional the guy was.

he was a genuine religious fanatic who contradicts jesus words on the sermon on the mount.. 2 corinthians 10:5 5we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of god, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to christ.. delusional and in need of some serious psychological help.

Brokeback Watchtower

I know this might sound crazy but what if Paul was also the writer Luke(the beloved Healer)?

Luke book of Acts and introduce us to Paul and his on the road to

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

Acts of the Apostles[edit]

Acts of the Apostles discusses Paul's conversion experience at three different points in the text, in far more detail than in the accounts in Paul's letters. The Book of Acts says that Paul was on his way from Jerusalem to Syrian Damascus with a mandate issued by the High Priest to seek out and arrest followers of Jesus, with the intention of returning them to Jerusalem as prisoners for questioning and possible execution.[4] The journey is interrupted when Paul sees a blinding light, and communicates directly with a divine voice.

Acts 9 tells the story as a third-person narrative:

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
— Acts 9:3–9, NIV

Ananias Restoring the Sight of St. Paul (c.1631) by Pietro da Cortona.

The account continues with a description of Ananias of Damascus receiving a divine revelation instructing him to visit Saul at the house of Judas on the Street Called Straight and there lay hands on him to restore his sight (the house of Judas is traditionally believed to have been near the west end of the street).[5] Ananias is initially reluctant, having heard about Saul's persecution, but obeys the divine command:

"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
— Acts 9:13–19, NIV

Paul on trial before Agrippa (Acts 26), as pictured by Nikolai Bodarevsky, 1875.

Acts' second telling of Paul's conversion occurs in a speech Paul gives when he is arrested in Jerusalem.[Acts 22:6-21] Paul addresses the crowd and tells them of his conversion, with a description essentially the same as that in Acts 9, but with slight differences. For example, Acts 9:7 notes that Paul's companions did not see who he was speaking to, while Acts 22:9 indicates that they did share in seeing the light (see also Differences between the accounts, below). This speech was most likely originally in Aramaic [6] (see also Aramaic of Jesus), with the passage here being a Greek translation and summary. The speech is clearly tailored for its Jewish audience, with stress being placed in Acts 22:12 on Ananias's good reputation among Jews in Damascus, rather than on his Christianity.[6]

Acts' third discussion of Paul's conversion occurs when Paul addresses King Agrippa, defending himself against the accusations of antinomianism that have been made against him.[Acts 26:12-18] This account is more brief than the others. The speech here is again tailored for its audience, emphasizing what a Roman ruler would understand: the need to obey a heavenly vision,[Acts 26:19] and reassuring Agrippa that Christians were not a secret society.[7][Acts 26:26]

Differences between the accounts[edit]

An apparent contradiction in the details of the account of Paul's revelatory vision given in Acts has been the subject of much debate.[8] Specifically, the experience of Paul's traveling companions as told in Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 has raised questions about the historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles, and generated debate about the best translations of the relevant passages. The two passages each describe the experience of Paul's traveling companions during the revelation, with Acts 9:7 (the author's description of the event) stating that Paul's traveling companions heard the voice that spoke to him; and Acts 22:9 (the author's quotation of Paul's own words) traditionally stating they did not.

Biblical translations of Acts 9:7 generally state that Paul's companions did, indeed, hear the voice (or sound) that spoke to him:

And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
— Acts 9:7, King James Version (KJV)

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could see no one.
— Acts 9:7, New American Bible (NAB)

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
— Acts 9:7, New International Version (NIV)

By contrast, Catholic translations and older Protestant translations preserve the apparent contradiction in Acts 22:9, while many modern Protestant translations such as the New International Version (NIV) do not:

And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
— Acts 22:9, King James Version (KJV)

My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.
— Acts 22:9, New American Bible (NAB)

My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
— Acts 22:9, New International Version (NIV)

"Hear" or "Understand"?[edit]

Critics of the NIV, New Living Translation, and similar versions contend that the translation used for Acts 22:9 is inaccurate.[9] The verb used here — akouō (ἀκούω) — can be translated both "hear" and "understand"[10] (both the KJV and NIV translate akouō as "understand" in 1 Cor. 14:2, for example). It often takes a noun in the genitive case for a person is being heard, with a noun in the accusative for the thing being heard.[11][12] More classically, the use of the accusative indicates hearing with understanding.[13] There is indeed a case difference here, with Acts 9:7 using the genitive tēs phōnēs (τῆς φωνῆς), and Acts 22:9 using the accusative tēn phōnēn (τὴν φωνὴν). However, there has been debate about which rule Luke was following here.[8][13][14] On the second interpretation, Paul's companions may indeed have heard the voice (as is unambiguously stated in Acts 9:7), yet not understood it,[13] although New Testament scholar Daniel B. Wallace finds this argument based on case inconclusive.[15]

"Voice" or "Sound"?[edit]

A similar debate arises with the NIV's use of the word "sound" instead of "voice" in Acts 9:7. The noun used here — phōnē (φωνῆ) — can mean either.[16] By translating 9:7 as "they heard the sound" instead of "they heard the voice," the NIV allows for Paul's companions to have heard an audible sound in Acts 9:7 without contradicting the statement in Acts 22:9 that they did not hear a comprehensible voice.[citation needed]

The New American Standard Bible,[17] New Century Version,[18] and English Standard Version [19] maintain the "hear"/"understand" distinction while using "voice" in both passages. On the other hand, the Holman Christian Standard Bible has "sound"/"voice" with "hear" in both passages,[20] and The Message adopts a similar translation, but with "sound"/"conversation."[21] The French La Bible du Semeur distinguishes between entendaient ("heard") and compris ("understood").[22]

Although it is possible that there is a contradiction in these two passages unnoticed by their author, Richard Longenecker suggests that first-century readers probably understood the two passages to mean that everybody heard the sound of the voice, but "only Paul understood the articulated words."[23] Similar comments have been made by other scholars.[24]

Theological implications[edit]

The Conversion of Saint Paul, a 1600 painting by the Italian artist Caravaggio.

The conversion of Paul, in spite of his attempts to completely eradicate Christianity, is seen as evidence of the power of Divine Grace, with "no fall so deep that grace cannot descend to it"[25] and "no height so lofty that grace cannot lift the sinner to it."[25] It also demonstrates "God's power to use everything, even the hostile persecutor, to achieve the divine purpose."[26]

The transforming effect of Paul's conversion influenced the clear antithesis he saw "between righteousness based on the law,"[27] which he had sought in his former life; and "righteousness based on the death of Christ,"[27] which he describes, for example, in the Epistle to the Galatians.[27]

Alternative explanations[edit]

The Bible says that Paul's conversion experience was an encounter with the resurrected Christ. Alternative explanations have been proposed, including sun stroke and seizure. In 1987, D. Landsborough published an article in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry,[28] in which he stated that Paul's conversion experience, with the bright light, loss of normal bodily posture, a message of strong religious content, and his subsequent blindness, suggested "an attack of [temporal lobe epilepsy], perhaps ending in a convulsion ... The blindness which followed may have been post-ictal."[28]

This conclusion was challenged in the same journal by James R. Brorson and Kathleen Brewer,[29] who stated that this hypothesis failed to explain why Paul's companions heard a voice (Acts 9:7), saw a light,[Acts 22:9] or fell to the ground.[Acts 26:14] Furthermore, no lack of awareness of blindness (a characteristic of cortical blindness) was reported in Acts, nor is there any indication of memory loss. Additionally, Paul's blindness remitted in sudden fashion, rather than the gradual resolution typical of post-ictal states, and no mention is made of epileptic convulsions; indeed such convulsions may, in Paul's time, have been interpreted as a sign of demonic influence, unlikely in someone accepted as a religious leader.[29]

A 2012 paper in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences suggested that Paul’s conversion experience might be understood as involving psychogenic events. This occurring in the overall context of Paul’s other auditory and visual experiences that the authors propose may have been caused by mood disorder associated psychotic spectrum symptoms.[30]

A completely different theory has been put forward in 2015 by astronomer W. K. Hartmann[31][32] who argues that the three accounts in the book of Acts describe exactly the sequence of events that occur when a fireball, like the Chelyabinsk meteor of 2013, passes through the sky. This includes people being knocked off their feet, the physical effects on Saul's eyesight, etc.

3

A World Of Pure Experience William James

by Brokeback Watchtower in

william james a psychologist and philosopher:.

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

along with charles sanders peirce and john dewey, james is considered to be one of the major figures associated with the philosophical school known as pragmatism, and is also cited as one of the founders of functional psychology.

Brokeback Watchtower

William James a psychologist and philosopher:

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

Along with Charles Sanders Peirce and John Dewey, James is considered to be one of the major figures associated with the philosophical school known as pragmatism, and is also cited as one of the founders of functional psychology. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked James as the 14th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.[7] He also developed the philosophical perspective known as radical empiricism. James' work has influenced intellectuals such as Émile Durkheim, W. E. B. Du Bois, Edmund Husserl, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Hilary Putnam, and Richard Rorty,[8] and has even influenced Presidents, such as Jimmy Carter.

Born into a wealthy family, James was the son of the Swedenborgian theologian Henry James Sr. and the brother of both the prominent novelist Henry James, and the diarist Alice James. James wrote widely on many topics, including epistemology, education, metaphysics, psychology, religion, and mysticism. Among his most influential books are The Principles of Psychology, which was a groundbreaking text in the field of psychology, Essays in Radical Empiricism, an important text in philosophy, and The Varieties of Religious Experience, which investigated different forms of religious experience, which also included the then theories on mind-cure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjEQ7J2TJAs