by Band on the Run 52 Replies latest jw friends
bandontherun,
Despite your claimed academic credentials, your topic is stupd and pointless. It cannot be discussed rationally unless you wish everyone to indulge in their fantasies, and if that is the case, it is worse than stupid. It's a fairy tale topic.
Farkel
The answer to you question, good sir, is both.
Time, for humans, I would say is the measurement of existence. Time is relative and can be slowed or hastened depending on a variety of factors. However, the way we humans percieve time is only in relation to what causes time. If an omnipotent form of intellegence exists then it would indeed be the ultimate cause of time therefore would have a unique perspective of how it all works. This perspective (if you can even use human words to describe it) would actually transcend our existence.
Long story short, no need to worry about what the human mind cannot fathom. We should be concered with our version of time because we have a measure of control over it... considerbly more control compared to "God's Time".
-Sab
This may also be a stupid question, dear Daddy-O (and, as always, the greatest of love and peace to you!)... and if it is then please forgive me for asking... but isn't your response a bit of a "straw man"? I mean, even if one has no acceptable response to the first part of the question, isn't there a rational response to the second part... i.e., yes or no... and logical argument to support either position?
It's totally okay that some here don't believe in God and so may consider the first part, if not the entire question, moot... perhaps even stupid... on that basis. Given that we now live in the computer/laser technological age, however... and in order to understand the goings on in such, well, "realms" is the word that comes to my mind... we (humans) now measure time in such increments as "nanoseconds"... "microseconds"... "picoseconds"... "femtoseconds"... "attoseconds"... "shakes"... and the like (which is something I don't think our forefathers did - well, I think I can safely say none of MY ancestors measured time this way - )... couldn't the argument be made that time is in fact a human construct? And if it isn't, shouldn't the argument be made that it isn't... versus simply jumping to calling the poser "stupid" for even asking?
IMHO, we are, are all of us, stupid, dear one... in one sense or another. For me, it's because although an insulin diabetic I didn't look after my health as I should... and can - . There really was nothing stopping me... other than my desire to please others, including employers (for whom I worked 12-14 hour days for years) who really didn't give a hoot - ... and, admittedly, my own weaknesses, including a lazy will . Which, if one gets right down to it, allowing anything to mess with one's health is... stupid. At least, my body began to tell me so (and I decided to not be so stupid any longer and do something about it... which I now am - . And, thankfully, it's not "too late"!).
I guess what I'm saying is that I don't quite "get" where your response to dear BOTR (peace to you!) is coming from... especially considering that I know you know how to argue/debate a credible topic, which I think this is, as to both parts (although I concede that some may not think so as to the first part - whatever).
Now, perhaps I've missed some other interchange between you and dear BOTR and there is more here than meets the eye; if not, I am somewhat puzzled at your "argument"... well, actually, the lack thereof (or at least a valid argument as to why it's stupid... and what's wrong with people indulging their fantasies?? Not to say any of us are doing that, but good, Lordy, dear one... where's the harm?)... if you will allow me to say so. So, what's up, Daddy-O?
And, again, peace to you, my dear one!
Your servant, friend, and a slave of Christ,
SA
I thought about this more. Time based on the physical environment does exist, whatever arbitrary measuring system we assign. I thought of how our family dog knew time. My mom, her god, arrived home every afternoon at five. Rascal started her vigil at four by planting herself by the door and whimpering. 4:30- was time to progress to very loud crying and agitation which reached a peak at five. Plants know time, too. So creation is tied to planets and stars, etc.
I thought the Witness belief was that God was the creator and not subject to his creation. This discounts earlier JW views that he lived in outer space.
When I studied New Testament, we discussed Revelation. My heart was beating fast b/c the book terrorized me. The professor said that it was different genre than other NT writings. The Romans would kill you in many sundry and horrific ways if you openly denounced them. She went through most of the numerical references in Rev. Most were a code for current events surrounding the Emperor Domition's brutal persecution of the Christians. They would be recgonizable to any audience reading in that time period. Numerology was common.
JWs like to dabble in encyclopedias. They never grapple with the complexities of any subject. WTBTs does not read literature for education but only to proof and distort what they have already decided.
If I gave umbrage on a political post, I am sorry. When someone posts outrageous statements, it invites comments back. Sometimes people just get on a roar. If you post very slanted political commentary (which may be valid from your viewpoint. It is only someone's opinion, not a measurable fact), it is an open invitation for a response in kind. I will not be cowed by nastiness.
BOTR, may I suggest you read Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time"? I had to read it three times before fireworks started going off in my brain. It's brilliant and written in such a way that anyone with a reasonably good mind (including unnamed crotchety old miserable curmudgeons with bees up their asses) can understand.
Farkel... despite your presumed aclaimed popularity on this board....your ratings are going down with your many unjustified, insulting, negative & bullying comments.
You are a very rude man, whose style of writting is "Farkel , Farkel. Farkel."........I think a fairy tale topic is Farkels opinion of himself. Farkel will continue to post here so he can indulge in his own fantasis.
If my comments of Farkel are offensive to him or the mods.Why is Farkel allowed to call people by the F... word. insult and belittle people.
Acolytes
Of course God keeps time. Man keeps time so God must because man created God in his image.
I have thought about the concept of Time a lot. It started with a meditation on the scripture that says "a thousand years is as one day with God" (paraphrased). Once I got out of the JW interpretation of that scripture, I began to contemplate the possibilities of the deeper more esoteric meaning.
Time is the distance between cause and effect. On our physical plane in the domain that affects earth and man, we have constructed the means to measure this by use of the luminaries visible within that domain.
However, outside our measurable "universe", we as yet are not aware of the means by which Time is measured.
I stumbled across this article on Einstein's theory of relativity (which I looked up because of the 'a day is like a thousand years to God', which JO posted above) which I thought was interesting, simply because it states that time began with the beginning of the universe, but before that there was no 'time':
http://www.allaboutscience.org/theory-of-relativity.htm
Then I had to look up expanding universe, because the above article and its conclusions seem dependent on at least the expanding universe:
http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr1/en/astro/universe/universe.asp
Tammy
Have you read Hawking, Tammy?
