Posts by DJS

199

Millions die in Natural disasters - God is doing nothing. Do I adopt Anthropomorphism to him?

by KateWild in

i do not think god is a'morphic.

god is not human, so hence he does not possess human characteristics, to know god better and to understand him better i study science.

there has been a new discovery of strange signals picked up from black holes and distant supernovae suggest there's more to space-time than einstein believed.

DJS

Kate,

What color do you want for the border on your official atheist certificate?

153

Jesus' Teachings - Helpful or Harmful?

by jgnat in

spinning off from another thread, have jesus' teachings been less than universally helpful to mankind?

how do we measure if a particular philosophy is helpful or harmful?.

i am going to use the "universal morals" listed here.

Cofty, I see you the Reverend Tammy are still at it. You are a better man than I. She doesn't deserve it, but at least this is a topic down her alley. As I see Jesus' teachings, everything he said or taught that could be considered 'good' was said or written years or centuries earlier by others. But he said and taught a lot of things that have caused misery, death, wars, genocide and the destruction of families.

So I would have to say that he has caused far far more harm than good.

85

My Letter to Brooklyn about the Parousia that got me disfellowshipped

by cofty in

this is the letter i wrote back in '96 about the parousia.

following the '95 watchtower that disconnected the "generation" from 1914 i began to look carefully at end-time prophecy and soon discovered what i knew were basic errors in what i had been taught.. i was a loyal jw at the time and was still serving as an elder.

i used only watchtower publications in my research.

DJS

Cofty,

You went the extra mile for sure. Based on experience the GB probably knew you were short for the WT, which explains why they likely didn't respond to you. I had a different experience at about the same time. I allowed my teen son to listen to rap music as long as it wasn't cop killing and/or ho' beating lyrics. The WT, as many of you probably remember, railed against rap (and rock and anything else that wasn't polka). One WT study article made a big deal about rap, making the defniitive statement that we shouldn't listen to any of it.

Since I had already told my son that he could, and since it wasn't any of the GB's effing business what I allowed my son to listen to, I wrote them a long, very direct letter telling them, in as kind manner as possible, that it was MY business and none of theirs. I was an elder at the time. Believe it or not they responded telling me of course I was 'right,' but since I was taking the lead (i hadn't told them in the letter I was an elder) more was expected of me. Blah blah blah.

Anyway, to make a short story long, the letter didn't carry much weight with the BOE. Most knew the GB had overstepped its authority (what effing else is knew) about rap but that we should mindlessly follow. BS to that. I was in the exiting stage mentally anway, and within a few months I had managed to crash and burn my way out of the Borg.

I try not to hate anyone. But if I was going to hate someone, it was be those controlling bastards in the GB.

43

Is there anything you could do forever that wouln't get boring?

by mynameislame in

not sure when i came to this conclusion but i can't imagine living forever.

after a while i think i would be completly bored with everything.. not saying i wouln't like to live for a few hundred years or maybe even a few thousand if i could travel through space and discover other universes star trek style.

but the thought of living forever sounds like it would eventually become a complete drag.. maybe i'm wrong, maybe after a thousand years or so you would foregt all the stuff that happend at the beginning and just start over in an infinite loop..

DJS

Yes, but since this is a pg kinda site, I will keep it to myself.

46

Head of the House?

by cofty in

i often see comments by ex-jws that would suggest some men still view themselves as "head of the house".

sometimes comments from women appear to support the idea as well.. how many still see things this way or have you completely got over it?.

DJS

Ditto to FlyingHighNow,

I seek a partnership in all things, financial, sexual, domestic, etc. I've had a bit of the opposite problem - too many women who want it both ways, a tradional male who pays for most things (his money is 'our' money; her money is 'my' money, for example).

2

Satanists unveil 7-foot monument they want to erect at Oklahoma Statehouse

by Dis-Member in

the new york-based satanic temple religious group has officially unveiled the design of the statue of satan it wants to place near the ten commandments monument at the oklahoma state capitol building.. .

as the sketch of the proposed seven-foot monument shows, the temple hopes to depict satan as the goat-headed, baphoment figure, complete with a long beard, horns, wings, and pentagram design placed overhead.

on both sides of satan are smiling children.. the monument has been designed to reflect the views of satanists in oklahoma city and beyond.

DJS

I saw this news item as well, and I'm surprised you haven't gotten more responses. I am happy to be the first. The Satanists have as much of a right to display their religious symbols for make believe deities as do the Christians for their make believe deities. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

45

Does anyone here believe that things are worse than they were in the past?

by Trismegistus in

jw
friends

i still hear this crop up every once in a while, so i figured that i'd open it up to a wide audience.. things are looking pretty good to me..

DJS

Crime is lower. The air we breathe and the water we drink is cleaner (certainly we need to continue to improve and effects of climate change need to be addressed). Life is better for gays, blacks, other minorities, women, there is an improved social welfare system (yeah I know it needs to be reeled back in to some degree), wages are better (yeah I know they have shrank for the middle class the past few years and the minimum wage needs raised). The roads are better, the buildings and infrastructure and much better, housing is better. And medical care is MUCH better.

I could go on.

199

Millions die in Natural disasters - God is doing nothing. Do I adopt Anthropomorphism to him?

by KateWild in

i do not think god is a'morphic.

god is not human, so hence he does not possess human characteristics, to know god better and to understand him better i study science.

there has been a new discovery of strange signals picked up from black holes and distant supernovae suggest there's more to space-time than einstein believed.

DJS

Kate,

You seem to be well on your way to becoming an atheist. I've observed your posts; you are trying to hang onto your theism, but seeking reasons not to. I've been there. Good luck on your journey. I give you a year at most. Welcome a bit prematurely to the club.

199

Millions die in Natural disasters - God is doing nothing. Do I adopt Anthropomorphism to him?

by KateWild in

i do not think god is a'morphic.

god is not human, so hence he does not possess human characteristics, to know god better and to understand him better i study science.

there has been a new discovery of strange signals picked up from black holes and distant supernovae suggest there's more to space-time than einstein believed.

DJS

As you define god, I am assuming you mean a god that had the power, wisdom and capability to create the universe and all that is in it, in the manner we were taught. If that is what you mean, then such a god would have created my brain, my conscience, my consciousness, my feelings of empathy sense of justice, etc. If that is how you are defining god, then such a god would have died long ago in a galaxy far far away. Becasue the MFer hasn't been around since humans began to crawl around on the planet and try to eek out an existence, figuring it all out on their own. As I have mentioined previously, the average age of human life expectancy for 100,000 years was 34. Thirty freaking four. Includiing at the start of the 19 century. Just a little effing help, assistance, guidance, suggestions from such a god would have helped a helluva lot more than the spin/crap we created to define such a god.

And other than the 'spin' all of the various religions place on such a god, I see nothing in the present, the past or the future that would make me rationally think such a god existed. I see LOTs that make me think such a god does not and never has existed.

If such a god made the universe and then let everything evolve, then he/she/it/they are wreckless and uncaring.If that is anthropomorphism, then such a god would have also created that tendecy in me/us.

Now, how about that beer? (We are separated by an ocean but I travel!).

199

Millions die in Natural disasters - God is doing nothing. Do I adopt Anthropomorphism to him?

by KateWild in

i do not think god is a'morphic.

god is not human, so hence he does not possess human characteristics, to know god better and to understand him better i study science.

there has been a new discovery of strange signals picked up from black holes and distant supernovae suggest there's more to space-time than einstein believed.

DJS

KateWild,

You DO post some interesting topics. I can't say I quite get your points all of the time, but I have voted you the girl I would want to have a beere with. Or two (beers, not girls - or girls, up to you ;=))