Posts by StrongHaiku

67

All Christians Should Accept EVOLUTION

by FusionTheism in

it is time for christians to accept evolution, in my opinion.. there are many reasons why i think it is long overdue for all christians to finally accept what science says about evolution.

below i will show these reasons.. .

the bible tells people to pay attention to nature to see the glory of god (psalm 19; romans 1:19-20).

StrongHaiku

FusionTheism - Atheists WANT the Bible to be interpreted literally so they can have something to attack.

I am an atheist, and it is not that I "WANT the Bible to be interpreted literally". It is that I am not arrogant enough to think I know what God (if he exists) may have meant or is thinking. Instead, I listen to a number of interpretations from theists. What I find is that the number of divergent interpretations (and denominations) leads me to believe that the Bible does not seem to have a clear objective mechanism that can be used to determine what is an allegory and what is not.

Historically, it seems to me that often an idea in the Bible is treated as literal up until the point that science, history, or modernity have left the claim no wiggle room, then "voila", it becomes an allegory. If the Bible is the vehicle for God to communicate with humans, it would seem to me that having it open to interpretation is a recipe for disaster.

So, that begs the question, other than personal interpretation, what exactly is the objective process to determine what should or should not be taken literally, or seriously, or relevant in the Bible?

25

An interesting theory on Stephen Lett

by joe134cd in

interesting theory i thought on stephen lett.

if anything i would of thought tomo3 would of caused them more grief with his comments.. http://insidethewatchtower.com/governing-body/stephen-lett-dumped-from-governing-body/.

StrongHaiku

Ah, Stephen Lett... The Ringo Starr of the GB...

61

God loves Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered People

by FusionTheism in

god's view of gays and lesbians.

why should anyone care what i have to say on this topic?

i am not a priest.

StrongHaiku

FusionTheism - I am a little confused as to how I can "offend" atheists by saying I support gay rights and gay marriage???

Just wanted to comment as this as still shows a bit of confusion of atheism as a world-view. It is possible to be atheist and be against LGBTQ rights. As it so happens, I am an atheist and I am for LGBTQ rights. Atheism is a response to one proposition regarding the belief in a God(s). That's it.

It is good that we no longer stone people for being gay or children for mouthing off or advocate slavery, etc. But that seems to be a product of working around and past the Bible (and other "holy books") and religions.

On a side note, it often amazes me that God could set down a large number of rules about everything including not eating shrimp or wearing mixed fabrics, but could not set down clearer and better guidelines about the treatment of children, women, LGBTQ, and about not owning another human being, etc.

182

The Case for Theism

by FusionTheism in

"theism" here means "belief in a god" or "the worldview that an intelligent designer created the universe and life.

" ("god" here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth)the most common claim that i see atheists making on twitter, is that "no evidence" exists in support of belief in a god.this post will remove any excuse atheists have for claiming "no evidence exists" in support of an initiator.

atheists can still reject this evidence as "weak," but they cannot truthfully say it does not exist.now, it is true that we do not have "observable, repeatable, falsifiable, empirical, scientific" evidence conclusively proving that an initiator exists, but we do have many lines of philisophical, experiential, and logical evidence.and... here... we... go:1:) many leading scientists, including stephen hawking, say that the space-time-matter universe had a beginning at the singularity/big bang.

StrongHaiku

I think one of the challenges I have had is explaining to people that atheism is the response to one issue and is not the totality of who I am, what I believe, stand for, fight for, etc. Atheism is not a world-view. I am an atheist. I am also a secular humanist. I am also a skeptic. I am also a critical thinker. I am also a feminist. I am also Latino. I am also a person of color...and on and on. I think at times many people attach a number of world-views to atheism incorrectly.

34

JW terminology

by punkofnice in

paradise earth after god kills all non jws.

StrongHaiku

The Truth - (a) The body of the most current beliefs held by JWs at any given time. (b) The state of being a JW in good standing.

34

JW terminology

by punkofnice in

paradise earth after god kills all non jws.

StrongHaiku

Loving Provision - A justification for actions equivalent to the illogical statement "This is going to hurt me more than is going to hurt you".

34

JW terminology

by punkofnice in

paradise earth after god kills all non jws.

StrongHaiku

punkofnice, I really like the "Devil's Dictionary" you are putting together.

Overlapping Generation - A "virtual" generation comprised of the generation that wouldn't die (and did) and the JWs that have not died, yet.

80

Parents under fire for failing to allow lifesaving blood transfusion to terminally ill son

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/06/11/19/06/parents-under-fire-for-failing-to-allow-lifesaving-blood-transfusion-to-terminally-ill-son.

there is a video that can be seen at the above link that is worth watching.. the andersons.

7:10pm june 11, 2015 parents under fire for failing to allow lifesaving blood transfusion to terminally ill son.

StrongHaiku

Thanks, OUTLAW. I really needed to laugh. Sometimes I have to laugh not to fall apart.

My sister died 5 years ago due to WT doctrine and policies. All the senseless deaths in the past. And, what is to come...

"I believe in monsters and things that go bump in the night... May they rot in Hell, along with their attorneys." Law and Order

23

Governing Body Mandating That Parents Shun DF'd Preteens Baptized Children Will Hurt Them Big Time In The Courts

by Brokeback Watchtower in

as the bad conduct of the governing body becomes widely known to both judge and jury i expect that will make lawsuits more profitable against them and easier wins against them and more plentiful.. i think probably one of the most damming videos out there on the net is the one where the parents show their loyalty to the wt corporation and shun their own flesh and blood in obedience to it cruel directives.

this video truely shows that the governing body don't give a shit about the children who symbolize their dedication to the corporation or their parents.. such a self serving corporation that uses it members for profits only and offer nothing in return no matter how much how much they claim otherwise.

they can't hide this it is plain as day so no matter how much they claim they are concerned about the youth in the organization their action thunder loudly and can not be hiden under a basket.

StrongHaiku

umertoecho - I don't think she believes herself deep inside; just used as a propaganda tactic by the society. I'm betting this woman will end up leaving and I can't justify why I feel this way.

I think you might be right and, like you, I don't know why. I have watched the video a number of times. It could be she is nervous being up there, but it doesn't feel right. I think she, like other JWs out there, may be desperately trying to keep cognitive dissonance from shattering her world into little pieces. She seems like she is barely holding it together. There may be a war going on inside her between her natural human instincts for her child and the need to unquestionably follow the Organization. Deep inside her there might be a bit of humanity left, but I don't hold out any hope. I feel for them because they have been indoctrinated to "just follow orders", but I doubt history will be as kind.

Also, I may be reading too much into it, but they don't seem particularly happy with each other. Trouble in paradise?

150

Disfellowshipping Image

by naazira in

jw
friends

this photo can be found in the april 15 , study edition article titled:.

why disfellowshipping is a loving provision.

just by looking at this image we can see how quickly the barrier between the congregation and former member is put up, after the announcement that this sister is no longer one of jehovah's witneses.

StrongHaiku

The dress shows her bare arms entirely... Shocking! Tsk, tsk...How immodest. Next time they'll have a picture with a disfellowshipped brother in a tight suit...