Good point, redvip2000. Also, there have been many recent discoveries of planets orbiting stars within the habitable zone. So the Earth is really not that special in this regard.
Island Man
JoinedPosts by Island Man
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27
"If the Earth were just a little bit further from or closer to the Sun, we would all freeze or burn"
by Island Man ini'm sure we've all heard this argument by theists employing the fine-tuning argument.
are you aware, however, of exactly how much this "little bit" really is?
theists would have us think that the slightest change in the distance would have drastic implications for survivability.
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Did the flood happen?
by BlackWolf inso we were talking about noah for our family worship tonight and it ended with a little debate between me and my parents about how the flood was possible.
you know, where did the water come from, how did all the animals fit, etc.
of course it led nowhere and my parents came up with some strange theories like that there was "an expanse of water in the sky" and that's where all the water came from.
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Island Man
I saw a documentary once that spoke about a mega tsunami that devastated the Mediterranean region in late prehistoric times (about 10,000 BC). It is possible that this event led to the development of the global flood legend in later centuries.
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"If the Earth were just a little bit further from or closer to the Sun, we would all freeze or burn"
by Island Man ini'm sure we've all heard this argument by theists employing the fine-tuning argument.
are you aware, however, of exactly how much this "little bit" really is?
theists would have us think that the slightest change in the distance would have drastic implications for survivability.
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Island Man
I'm sure we've all heard this argument by theists employing the fine-tuning argument. Are you aware, however, of exactly how much this "little bit" really is? Theists would have us think that the slightest change in the distance would have drastic implications for survivability. But that is actually not the case.
We are probably all familiar with the factoid that the Earth is 93 million miles from the Sun. But this is not a fixed distance, but an average distance. The Earth's orbit around the Sun is not perfectly circular but elliptical. Earth's distance from the Sun varies depending on the time of the year. When the Earth is closest to the Sun in early January (at its Perihelion) it is 91.4 million miles away from it. When the Earth is furthest from the Sun in early July (at its Aphelion) it is 94.5 million miles away from it. So during the course of a year, the Earth's distance from the Sun varies by over 3 million miles!
To put that 3 million miles into perspective, the Moon is a little over 238,000 miles away. Now imagine travelling more than 12 times the distance to the Moon. That great distance is the extent to which Earth's distance from the Sun varies - with minimal affects to the temperature on Earth. Mile for mile, the Earth's tilt actually has greater effect on temperature variation than the planet's distance from the Sun. And we can even go into the very important role that Earth's rotation and atmosphere plays in maintaining habitable temperatures.
Of course, the Earth's distance from the Sun is important. My point is that the notion that this distance is perfectly fine tuned and the slightest change would have dire consequences, is simply not true. There would have to be significant change in distance to make life on Earth impossible. The 3 million mile variance does not even represent the full extent of Earth's habitable zone. I'm willing to bet that if the distance were varied by as much as 6 million miles, life on Earth would still be possible although the temperatures would be less comfortable.
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The Atheist Delusion
by looter inatheist delusion.
just want to know what the ex jw community thinks about this video and also offer my pov.
the video was actually an advertisement on here.
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Island Man
"You must be some type of narcissists to say the things you say and not have no regret whatsoever."
Says someone who worships a very narcissistic fictional character.
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Ideas to discreetly identify the awoken among us
by Truthexplorer inok. i know this has been brought up in the past, but i have often wondered who in our halls are awake (for those of us who attend).
there are some i would consider a 'maybe', but no way of ever really knowing.. so here is my idea.
i hope it doesn't sound too masonic,.
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Island Man
Also, you can adverse to awake ones during the meeting by giving comments that would lead to TTATTy thoughts in awake ones. That lets any awake ones in your hall know that you are a possible candidate worth exploring.
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Ideas to discreetly identify the awoken among us
by Truthexplorer inok. i know this has been brought up in the past, but i have often wondered who in our halls are awake (for those of us who attend).
there are some i would consider a 'maybe', but no way of ever really knowing.. so here is my idea.
i hope it doesn't sound too masonic,.
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Island Man
I started a thread about this several months ago. The major issue with this problem is that there is no secure way to communicate the "secret handshake" without preventing the enemy from also getting to know about it. So the enemy could easily get to know the secret handshake and use it to sniff out apostates.
I think the solution to this problem is to not use a specific, fixed, "secret handshake" that is shared publicly. Instead, you need to share publicly only a vague protocol, which, in turn is tailored by each individual to produce their own unique "secret handshake" that is never to be shared publicly on any forum. This way, the enemy does not have any specific "secret handshake" to look for. They would only know of the vague protocol. Of course this doesn't solve the problem. It is only the first step of the solution which makes it more difficult for the enemy.
The second step of the solution is to use have a full proof backup plan to extricate yourself from incrimination if you've being baited by the enemy. You have to design your "secret handshake" with this in mind.
One possible solution I came up with is a protocol where you ask the JW an edgy question that has a TTATT meaning along with a plausible innocent meaning. It would be a good idea to have multiple such questions in mind; and never share them publicly online. If the JW is awake he responds by answering with an edgy answer that has a TTATT meaning and a plausible innocent meaning. This way you make it known to each other that you are awake (by the TTATT meaning) while simultaneously giving yourself a way to extricate yourself from incrimination (by claiming the innocent meaning) if you've been baited by the enemy.
You use multiple such questions and answers to establish trust and certainty that the other person is awake.
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Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom of Worship and Belief (or non-belief)
by EdenOne ini was just wondering about this:.
the laws of the different western countries offer robust protection to religious practice.
but what is the best term to describe it and why?
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Island Man
"Freedom of religion" should not be absolute. Freedom of religion should end where religious practice encourages physical and psychological harm or discrimination against, others. Muslims should not have the right to murder apostates on religious grounds. Nor should JWs have the right to instruct or encourage the shunning of former members on religious grounds.
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I need help, I'm falling in love with a JW girl
by nebula-- inso i met her at my last job that i worked & we started off as friends.
i didn't know her faith at the time & i honestly couldn't have cared less, seeing as i'm agnostic.
after about a year, i began developing emotions for her & sure enough, we ended up dating for a little while.
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Island Man
Realize this: you will not be marrying a normal woman. You will be marrying a cult personality who will always be looking for opportunities to promote the cult to you. By marrying her, you will, in a sense, enter the cult - whether or not you are an official member. The cult will dictate what she is like in bed. The cult will dictate what entertainment she can enjoy (be prepared to enjoy lots of entertainment alone (without her)). The cult will dictate how much free time she spends with you (not much). You will be continually harassed and nagged by the cult. The cult will be a wedge between you and her. You will never know true intimacy with her.
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Do you have any shocking experiences of JW prejudice against non-JWs? I have one report to share.
by Island Man ina non-jw friend of mine told me of her experience at a just concluded regional convention that she went to.
she said that during some announcements after a song, there was an announcement advising the audience to be mindful of the need to safeguard their belongings because not all persons present at the convention are delegates.
she said she was shocked to hear this rather prejudiced announcement that clearly insinuated all non-delegates are untrustworthy and only delegates are honest.
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Island Man
sir82: I dunno, I wouldn't necessarily find such an announcement "shocking".
I've attended conventions in urban areas where there were lots of idlers hanging about outside. Once they figure out that the arena is completely open, has air conditioning, and there are people who tend to leave stuff on their seats unattended for hours at a time....seems like word would spread amongst themselves that there is a lot of "potential" there.I don't think she had an issue with advising the audience to secure their belongings because of the possibility of theft. I think the problem was the blanket insinuation that persons who are not delegates are automatically untrustworthy while the delegates were all above suspicion. That's an unfair and offensive prejudice. Most people are not thieves. A minority of JWs are thieves and a minority of non-JWs are thieves. Maybe the percentage of non-JWs who are thieves is higher than the percentage of JWs that are. But in both cases I'm willing to bet that it's a small percentage - a small minority - who are thieves. So it's highly improper to negatively label an entire group of people because of the bad actions of a few individuals among them.
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Do you have any shocking experiences of JW prejudice against non-JWs? I have one report to share.
by Island Man ina non-jw friend of mine told me of her experience at a just concluded regional convention that she went to.
she said that during some announcements after a song, there was an announcement advising the audience to be mindful of the need to safeguard their belongings because not all persons present at the convention are delegates.
she said she was shocked to hear this rather prejudiced announcement that clearly insinuated all non-delegates are untrustworthy and only delegates are honest.
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Island Man
freddo: Everyone there with an intent to listen to the program is a "delegate" aren't they?
No. Here's the Google provided definition of the word:
a person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.
synonyms: representative, envoy, emissary, commissioner, agent, deputy, commissary; It is clear from the definition of the word that it must refer to baptized JWs in good standing. The delegates are those in attendance who wear the ID badges stating their name and congregation. The term definitely does not refer to non-JW visitors at the congregation.
So a statement warning persons to secure their belongings because non-delegates are present is very prejudicial and offensive. Imagine you were a black man and you visited a function where the majority present were white and at some point in the function there is an announcement telling people to secure their belongings because non-whites are present. How would you feel?