Poor Cofty, whenever he says he used to be a Christian someone seems to want to tell him he's wrong.
I understand that this is Calvinist theology, but it does come across disrespectful. (imo)
Posts by Laika
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310How I recently handled JWs at my door
by Christian guy inthe jws stopped by my house a couple weeks ago on a saturday morning.
i knew that with others most likely waiting for them out in the car they probably did not then have much time to engage in any serious conversation.
so i let them talk while i feigned interest in what they had to say.
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154
Why Eve sinned (WT 8/2013)
by EdenOne inadamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
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Laika
Eden,
It's good to see you wrestling with these ideas, don't let anyone put you down for growing at your own pace.
I think, however, it might help to read some modern bible scholarship on the origins and purpose of the Genesis story, which will help you to get an idea of what the writers were trying to convey when they wrote it (more a theological story than an historical or scientific one). Most of the pentateuch was likely completed in it's final form just after the exile from Babylon, as Israelites tried to understand and explain how the fall to Babylon should be understood in light of their belief that they were chosen as God's nation, it was probably not written by Moses.
Peter Enns is a very good scholar if you want a Christian perspective on all this.
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Pinker & Wieseltier on scientism
by bohm insteven pinker, one of my favorite current thinkers, has given his perspective on "scientism" (or the lack thereof) in what turned out to be a short debate with leon wieseltier.
the articles contain too many points to summarize here, but pinker point out some obvious issues with the word "scientism" as it is currently used, discuss what science is (and offer a positive definition of scientism) as well as what he percieve to be an unnecesary resistance towards science from *some* parts of humanities.
the articles are quite long but easily the most interesting thing i have read on these subjects this year; they also show what happends when one as wieseltier bring rethoric to a knife-fight with a first rate intellect.
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Laika
I wish Slim was still here, he would have loved this thread. :(
Nice post Comatose.
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Letting go of Highly Qualified Men
by James Jackson ini have been posting for a few months now and have read the life stories of tech49, confusedandalone, winston smith and other brothers who have held prominent positions in the organization who were dismissed not for any gross sins, but mainly for not keeping their child toeing the line.
they have been "cast aside", nit picked to death, and made to feel unworthy for their years of dedicated service.
even in my case, having my best friends treat me like the plague to jockey for position of recogntion.. is this what the organization is resorting to now?
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Laika
I know a few JW elders who have been given DC talks despite losing adult children, heck, our Convention chairman lost both his kids, one of them dfed. Still chairman.
If you have the right connections the rules w ill be ignored.
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Laika
Wow, some of you guys are preachy...
I like Derren Brown but I am a skeptic and I think it pretty obvious that his more elaborate 'tricks' tend to rely on actors:
http://sabotagetimes.com/reportage/dont-believe-in-derren-brown/
From what I remember of watching his conversion of the atheist for example, in the lead up there were several different camera shots/angles of the conversation, showing that there would have been several different cameramen/women in the church, along with likely producers et al, yet just before her experience and during it she never reacts to any of the other number of other people in the room, which is not a natural way to respond. Occams razor would say that she was being directed and was acting, rather than having been hypnotised into a religious experience.
I suppose he presents a good example of how we can all fall for obvious tricks if they support our worldview and we want to believe.
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Laika
lakia: awesome! where do you fellowship now?
Hi unstopableravens, mostly at an anglican church in London. All the best with whatever you decide to do with your JW family, if you decide to post your letter, I look forward to reading it. :)
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154
Why Eve sinned (WT 8/2013)
by EdenOne inadamah brought up in another thread an issue i wasn't aware of, and i thought it merged well with something i've been pondering about.
it revolves around the deeper reasons why satan was successful in persuading eve to eat from the forbidden fruit.
why was eve persuaded to disobey god?.
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Laika
Eden, the satan-in-nature hypothesis sounds like something you'd like:
http://gregboyd.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/argument-from-animal-suffering.html
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Laika
I got baptised last month, it was the best decision I've ever made. Mostly of course it was about faith in Jesus, but a small part of it felt representative of my break from the Society.
I didn't write a letter however, if the elders want to break apart my family they will have to take the initiative themselves.
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A Manual for Creating Atheists
by Hortensia injust received the book, sat down to start reading it.
first chapter has definitions:.
faith:.
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Laika
John 9: As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
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no birthday celebration after all
by losingit innew boyfriend is upset bc an old boyfriend when i was a teenager is on my fb friend list and wished me a happy birthday.
was supposed to go to turkish embassy for cultural celebration.
my first birthday in years, and total freaking meltdown.
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Laika
On my first birthday, earlier this year, I had to stop a fight between my brother-in-law and a homeless man. Crap happens, sleep it off and you'll feel better soon.