Posts by Island Man

20

A Sincere Question Regarding Macroevolution

by jacobm in

jw
friends

i have a sincere question related to macroevolution:.

microevolution happens on a small scale (within a single population), while macroevolution happens on a scale that transcends the boundaries of a single species.

despite their differences, evolution at both of these levels relies on the same, established mechanisms of evolutionary change:.

Island Man

Google "Ring Species".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvYpBi7HG9k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6Z6NVmLt8

"Have scientists ever been able to recreate or virtually witness a Macroevolution type jump that "transcends the boundaries of a single species"?"

There are no jumps from one species to another. The transition from one species to another is extremely gradual spanning multiple generations. The best way I can think of illustrating it is to imagine the brightness of the sky at midday and at midnight as being two different species. Now imagine each second of time from midday to midnight as being one generation of the species in the process of evolution. There is no single second of time that jumps from midday to midnight. Rather, there are multiple seconds of time between the two. Also each second of daylight leads to another second of daylight. No single second spans the transition from night to day. It's an extremely gradual transition whose dynamics cannot be perceived by the human eye viewing it in real time. Evolution is like that. Each generation of the transition is able to reproduce with the generation immediately before it - they are always of the same species. But "final" generation would not be able to reproduce with the original generation. They are as different as midnight from midday.

So when creationists say that they believe micro-evolution but not macro-evolution, it's as if they're saying: 'I believe one second of afternoon daylight leads to another second of very very very slightly less bright afternoon daylight. But I don't believe that the brightness of midday eventually turns to the darkness of midnight. The idea is utterly ridiculous!'

LOL.

28

UFO's might be real.and what does it mean if they are?

by atomant in

for some reason this subject has not received much attention over the years which surprises me.theres many conspiracy theories floating around on the internet and lve done my fair share of due diligence on the matter.the school is still out on this one.l find it very hard to believe humans are the only intelligent beings out there.has anyone on this forum ever seen a ufo or experienced a close encounter?

Island Man

I don't think E.T life will pose a huge problem for JWs. After all, there's tons of evidence proving evolution and still JWs continue by ignoring and denying the evidence.

E.T. life contradicts nothing in the bible. The bible is absolutely silent about it. If ET life were discovered, Watchtower can easily claim that it is part of Jehovah's creation created during the period mentioned at Genesis 1:1. They can say the bible is not an astrobiology text book but was written specifically to man addressing spiritual matters pertinent to man.

Alternatively, they can claim that it's all a grand deception by demons. They can say that aliens are demons in disguise here to mislead and distract us from God's kingdom, which is the only hope for mankind. They might even claim that Jehovah created aliens perfect on other worlds but those who are visiting us are rebels who joined with satan and the demons and are here to mislead us.

I don't see the discovery of ET life crushing the JW worldview. It would only force Watchtower to tweak it with "new light". If evolution hasn't crushed Watchtower I don't see ET life doing it.

33

2016-4-4-BOE!--Scanning and Sending Medical Records through Emails!

by Atlantis in

i was always under the impression that only "licensed" persons had the authority to do this.. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

2016-4-4-boe scanning and sending medical records through emails!.

.. this is the last paragraph of the main body of the boe without the top and bottom, which revealed the congregation and information which could expose our source.. .. "therefore, brothers, i appeal to you to make sure that a copy of the new add for every publisher is kept in alphabetical order, perhaps using an a-z filing system to expedite it's location and so that it can be kept neat, clean and legible for scanning and emailing for up to 4 years, after which a new copy should be completed.

Island Man

I don't know. The writing style in this paragraph does not seem characteristic of something that would come from Watchtower. I doubt Watchtower would write:

It is also essential that when the secretary is away from his congregation...

No, they would write something like:

If the secretary is away from the congregation or unable to carry out his duties...

The beginning of the paragraph says "I appeal to you" as if the letter is coming from an individual. Letters from Watchtower are always narrated with "we" or "the Governing Body" - never "I". But if it's a letter from a C.O. to a specific congregation he would not use the expression "away from his congregation" but speak of "the congregation" since a specific congregation is being spoken of and not multiple secretaries in multiple respective congregations.

I'm doubting the authenticity of this BOE paragraph. It doesn't read right. it lacks Watchcraft.

8

While JWs in the 80s and 90s were attributing magic to demons...

by Island Man in

... pen and teller were showing people how it's really done.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pucaido2x4i.

but jws are not superstitious, no, no.

lol..

Island Man

... Pen and Teller were showing people how it's really done...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUcAido2x4I

But JWs are not superstitious, no, no. LOL.

28

UFO's might be real.and what does it mean if they are?

by atomant in

for some reason this subject has not received much attention over the years which surprises me.theres many conspiracy theories floating around on the internet and lve done my fair share of due diligence on the matter.the school is still out on this one.l find it very hard to believe humans are the only intelligent beings out there.has anyone on this forum ever seen a ufo or experienced a close encounter?

Island Man

UFO = Unidentified Flying / Floating Object. Do people ever see objects flying in the sky that they can't identify? Yes. Therefore UFO's obviously do exist. What does it mean? It means that we are not always able to identify flying objects.

I think that credible investigations have revealed that the vast majority of UFO sightings are caused by errors of perception, where very innocuous objects are mistaken for alien spacecraft because of poor viewing conditions or other peculiar circumstances.

In some cases the UFOs are actually experimental military aircraft being test-flown. It may also be satellites. A distant aircraft can appear to accelerate unnaturally fast if it changes direction from moving toward the observer at a slight angle, to moving perpendicular to the observer's line of sight. A large number of claimed UFO footage are also hoaxes. A lot of the documentaries on UFOs are sensational in nature, designed to appeal to conspiracy-minded viewers rather than actually giving the objective truth.

There is a lot of fakery, half-truths, distortions, exaggerations and wild imaginations when it comes to UFO claims. There simply is no real evidence of extraterrestrial visitations, and I'm saying this as someone who thinks it very likely that there is life out there somewhere in our vast universe. But knowing the vast size of our universe and the tremendous distance between stars I think it very unlikely that alien life would be able to physically travel to us and back. The vastness of space is virtually an impenetrable barrier to interstellar commuting between planets that host intelligent life. I think the likelihood of there being life out there is greater than the likelihood of them being able to come to us or we go to them. The most we can hope for is picking up some form of extraterrestrial communication broadcast - assuming they're even technologically advanced enough to achieve such a feet. And that's another thing. We seem to always assume that alien life would be just as advanced or more advanced than we are. Maybe the majority are primitive superstitious beings with very little or no scientific or technological knowledge. The universe could be teeming with intelligent life, but we could be one of very few or perhaps the only ones who have advanced technologically to the point of being able to broadcast to outer space.

15

True God would not seek praise nor worship from us

by elbib in

when asked: “why there is so much of suffering here if god exists?” buddha responded with silence because he knew the following:.

1) even though living in heaven, anyone can live as though he lives in hell and vice versa which means how a person thinks is the key.

experience show that whatever a person does with 100% involvement (totality = beauty), it is like he lives in heaven.

Island Man

I believe the desire to be thanked and praised stems from pride and egotism. True love would not seek thanks and praise. Contrary to the bible's claims, the thoughts and the desires of the god of the bible are not higher than human thoughts. A truly superior and loving being would not exhibit the egotism that the god of the bible exhibits. The god of the bible exhibits the traits of a narcissistic psychopath.

29

The Effects Of Instant Information At Your Finger Tips How Will The Watchtower Ever Survive Very Long?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

it is hard to teach that the earth is flat these day do to a more informed society, and now that we have entered the information age i see a whole new ball game is before a rather ignorant bunch of old farts called the governing body.

these guys are totally ignorant by choice and are trying desperately to keep their captive's ignorant for as long as possible.

the gb's internet apperances are all laughable to any sane individual and a total embarasement.

Island Man

You know those programs for blocking out pornography, like Xstop? Well I wouldn't be surprised if Watchtower starts sending a special apostate-website-blocking program to all publishers to install on their computers and other internet-enabled devices. I believe that this is a very real possibility.

And to ensure compliance, they might make it so that when you install you must register your name and congregation and that information is sent to Watchtower VIA your internet connection. And if/when you uninstall a notification of this is also sent to Watchtower. That way the elders in each congregation can keep tabs on who in the congregation haven't installed the software so that they can provide them with "loving assistance" to make full use of this "loving provision" from Jehovah to safeguard their spirituality.

20

I hope Armageddon doesn't come before we find out who Negan killed

by Zoos in

that's all i have to say.

Island Man

"If only he were to kill Jesus, then no one else would have to die!"

So you're saying that Jesus died for Rick's sins?

I think it's Michonne. Michonne is a real badass and you'd remember that Negan reacted to some apparent bravery or strength exhibited by the victim after he gave the first blow or two. So I think it's either Michonne or Daryl.

26

More Ant-Evolution BS in this months JW Broadcast Program

by ttdtt in

so at around the 46 min mark - the are talking to this guy from ukraine who was a zoologist.. he talks about how he was a staunch evolutionist (who wasn't able to prove evolution to himself, by the way).

then when he studied nature through the lens of evolution - he found that nature contradicted evolution.. his big point came when he said - "imagine emptying a box of letter blocks on a table, and the encyclopedia britannica appears, or could a computer program come by chance.

so who could dna come by chance.".

Island Man

The very illustrations he's using reveal that he never truly understood evolution to begin with. I believe that those who find evolution hard to believe are those who do not truly understand it. The kinds of questions and reasoning they use show that they don't understand it.

2

Hulu’s ‘The Path’ portrays family life inside a cult

by freemindfade in

very interesting.

give this a read.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/slow-but-emotionally-creepy-hulus-the-path-portrays-family-life-inside-a-cult/2016/03/29/43840c46-f2c5-11e5-a61f-e9c95c06edca_story.html.

Island Man

I watched the first 2 episodes already. Looking forward to the next.