Posts by defender of truth

9

the GOOD NEWS thread..

jw
friends

since the spin we get from the wt and from the platform is very one sided, always banging on about how terrible the world is and how it's never been worse and mankind is going to hades in a handcart, how's about a good news thread?

i don't know about you guys but i try to share the good stuff as much as possible, because i feel it un-demonises 'worldly' people, helps witnesses see its not cut and dry, black and white, us and them.

there are millions of decent hardworking charitable people out there trying to make a difference for the community at large.

defender of truth

Ok, I'll stop after this.
....
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/2013/11/25/off-duty-rpd-officer-and-unsung-hero-save-4-babies-from-burning-car/3712609/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267440/Good-Samaritan-mystery-man-saves-toddler-burning-car.html

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

defender of truth

James Brown said: "Defender.
If you read my post.
I said, I know this is not an award winning answer. I only give it 5.1 on a scale of 10."

I did read your post, James. You give your answer 5.1?
It wasn't really an answer at all, because 'Everyone owes God one death.
Life can decide to go into the darkness or the light after the one death.' doesn't even address the question of this topic: Why does God allow animals to suffer, right now and for countless years in the past?

....
James Brown also said: "it is the best I can do.
Animal suffering sucks.
I am not aware of a better answer."

Thanks for your honesty. It does indeed suck, and I can't see how anyone can reconcile the idea of a God that allows animals to suffer, and yet is loving and merciful at the same time.

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

defender of truth

James Brown, why do animals 'owe God one death'? Animals have nothing to prove, they have no sin to pay for, they are incapable of it. Your reply doesn't address the topic: Why is God allowing animals to suffer needlessly?...
Please ask the ministers how they explain animal suffering being allowed by a loving God.

9

the GOOD NEWS thread..

by disposable hero of hypocrisy in

jw
friends

since the spin we get from the wt and from the platform is very one sided, always banging on about how terrible the world is and how it's never been worse and mankind is going to hades in a handcart, how's about a good news thread?

i don't know about you guys but i try to share the good stuff as much as possible, because i feel it un-demonises 'worldly' people, helps witnesses see its not cut and dry, black and white, us and them.

there are millions of decent hardworking charitable people out there trying to make a difference for the community at large.

defender of truth

Incredible Story of a Homeless Man Who Risked His Life For a Stranger

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4967491

....
http://justsomething.co/man-saves-bear/
....

"Anyone caught helping Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland risked being summarily shot, along with family members - a fate Sendler only barely escaped herself after the 1943 raid by the Gestapo. The Nazis took her to the Pawiak prison, which few left alive. She was tortured and was left with permanent scarring on her body - but she refused to betray her team. ''I kept silent. I preferred to die than to reveal our activity,' she was quoted as saying "

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-565969/Dead-98-Heroic-Irena-Sendler-helped-save-2-500-Jewish-children-Nazis.html

....

"Private Doss was accompanying troops in the battle for a 400-foot-high ridge on Okinawa, the Maeda Escarpment, on Saturday, May 5 — his Sabbath — when the Japanese counterattacked. Many of the Americans were driven off the ridge, but wounded soldiers were stranded atop it.
Private Doss remained with the wounded, and, according to his Medal of Honor citation, he refused to seek cover, carrying them, one by one, in the face of enemy fire. He lowered each man on a rope-supported litter he had devised, using double bowline knots he had learned as a youngster and tying the makeshift litter to a tree stump serving as an anchor. Every wounded man was lowered to a safe spot 35 feet below the ridgetop, and then Private Doss came down the ridge unscathed.
After engaging in additional rescue efforts under fire over the next two weeks, Private Doss was wounded by a grenade that riddled him with shrapnel. He cared for his injuries alone for five hours, rather than have another medic emerge from cover to help him. While he was finally being carried off on a litter, he spotted a soldier who seemed worse off. He leaped off the litter, directing his aid men to help the other soldier.
Soon after that, Japanese fire hit him, and he suffered a compound arm fracture. He bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint, evidently the closest he ever came to handling a weapon, and crawled 300 yards to an aid station.
President Harry S. Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor on Oct. 12, 1945, for his actions on Okinawa. The citation credited him with saving 75 soldiers on that ridge, but he later said that the number was probably closer to 50."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/25/national/25doss.html?_r=1&
....

http://m.today.com/news/honest-burglars-who-paid-we-thought-it-was-trick-8C11022212
....

Boy Author Raises $750K For Sick Friend

http://abcnews.go.com/m/blogEntry?id=22707927&sid=26&cid=26

66

Will the JW.Org Site make a difference ?

by Phizzy in

it will obviously make a difference to how jw's obtain their literatrash, they will have to download and print it all themselves before long.. it will make a small difference to the dtod work, they will now refer even genuine questions and interest etc to the site, not taking the opportunity to "witness" on the initial call at all.

this has been happening already to a degree.. the difference i am mainly interested in is the capture of new suckers in to the borg.. we will be able to see when we get 2014's figures, sometime next year, what the rate of increase was over the last ten years.. phizzy the prophet predicts that the rate of increase over the next ten years will not be significantly up.

probably down, but certainly, i feel, not so different from the last ten.. should i be around in ten years to do so, i will wish to ask jw's:.

defender of truth

Nonjwspouse-

"Over one million unique visitors go to jw.org each day."

http://www.jw.org/en/news/releases/by-region/world/campaign-to-advertise-website/

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

defender of truth

"We can plainly see that the objection is not valid - just because I myself do not believe a certain thing exists *does not mean I can't point out that it is inconsistent with something else*. In the same way, even if I did not believe morality was objective, I would still be able to make the argument that the immense amount of animal suffering in the world is objectively inconsistent with a God with the properties of omnipotence and omni-benevolence.
I am NOT trying to hold God to my own standards of right and wrong. Rather, I am showing how certain properties of the world are inconsistent with God's attributes. I have no need to appeal to any kind of objective morality to do that."

.....
"The argument is that God, with his given attributes, would choose to minimise animal suffering to the best of his capabilities. It is clear from the terrible amount of animal suffering in the world that this is not the case, so it counts as strong evidence against Christianity."
http://www.debate.org/debates/The-Problem-of-Animal-Suffering./1/

32

Samuel Herd said we should preach wherever we are told to, even if there are bullets flying everywhere and dead bodies found in the territory.

by defender of truth in

this man's views are dangerous.

go to the link at the bottom of this post.

download fear of giants(ok).mp3.

defender of truth

LoisLane looking for Superman posted~ 5 hours ago (8/6/2014)
Post 2735 of 2736
Joined 8/19/2012
"I listened from the 15 minute mark to the 22 minute mark.
Mostly through those 7 minutes he kept mentioning that Jehovah is with you. He was with Noah and Noah wasn't afraid.
Pure BRAINWASHING!!!
He said in areas of unrest in Chicago from gang warfare, 2 sisters walked around a dead, headless body and called the proper authorities, and still continued out!!! He suggested (?) to go with a group of 8, made up of 4 men and 4 women. As 2 talk, the other 6 stand around for protection. (I think that was his word).
He said the gangs are watching us.
BUT "Jehovah", (the warrior god of the Israelites) "will stand by us, when we need him the most".
My words... THAT IS A BLATANT LIE!!! "
...
This excellent point is worth repeating for anyone just joining us.

32

Samuel Herd said we should preach wherever we are told to, even if there are bullets flying everywhere and dead bodies found in the territory.

by defender of truth in

this man's views are dangerous.

go to the link at the bottom of this post.

download fear of giants(ok).mp3.

defender of truth

"Samuel F. Herd (1935-)
Samuel Herd was elder in a small congregation of Arkansas, U.S.A., and started as pioneer in 1958.
From 1965 to 1997 was circuit and district overseer.
Shortly after, he and his wife, Gloria, entered Brooklyn Bethel, where he worked in the Service Department and in the Service Committee.
On October 2, 1999, Samuel Herd was appointed to the Governing Body. He is the only Afro-American in the Governing Body.
Source: w2000 1/1 29. "

http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/notes-on-governing-body-of-jehovahs.html
....
"Samuel Herd is the only black member of the Governing Body, and entered full-time service as a pioneer for Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1958. He served as a traveling overseer from 1965 to 1997 when he and his wife, Gloria, were invited to join the United States Bethel family."

http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/the-governing-body-of-jehovahs-witnesses-explained

....
"He's married, his wife being very supportive and warm toward him."
http://www.freeminds.org/african/samherd.htm

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

defender of truth

If anyone is still interested in this topic, (which I doubt), please read the following article.
Here are a couple of quotes:

" Modern theistic philosophers like Michael Murray still argue that animals cannot feel pain at the same level humans do because they lack self-awareness (a highly controversial philosophy).
Professor Bernard Rollin disagrees with them, facetiously recommending that anyone who denies that animals can feel pain should test their hypothesis by using a pair of vice grips to squeeze the balls of a large doberman. "

....
"For example, Christianity teaches us 'It’s our own fault we suffer, it is a consequence of sin and the fall of man, and we are all sinners like Adam.' But animals did not sin against God, and therefore should not be punished as equals. They seem to suffer only as collateral damage in a conflict between man and God."
http://500questions.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/42-why-does-god-allow-animals-to-suffer/

32

Samuel Herd said we should preach wherever we are told to, even if there are bullets flying everywhere and dead bodies found in the territory.

by defender of truth in

this man's views are dangerous.

go to the link at the bottom of this post.

download fear of giants(ok).mp3.

defender of truth

Has anyone listened to that portion of the talk? (15: to 18: )