Posts by seattleniceguy

i realise this is probably quite a dull subject for all my friends here, but this frog can't help but to share her happy moment, cause she's just bursting at the seams with self-congratulatory praise!.

i just logged on to the uni website to get my long awaited semester one results.

i knew i had done well with my essays, pop quizzes etc throughout the semester, but i attributed that to the fact that i had weeks to fine tune my writing and research.

seattleniceguy

Nice work, Frog! Congrats from Seattle!

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12

A Dear Randy letter

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

dear randall,.

i am 21 years old, and 6 months ago i was.

disfellowshipped by my congregation, after being.

seattleniceguy

Randy, thanks for posting this.

They are getting out, one by one. It's at once heartwarming to see people taking control of their situations and heart-rending to see how much pain they must go through because of the WT. Here's to all the courageous souls who have gotten out so far, and hopes for many more to follow!

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62

Bad examples of intelligent design?

by gringojj in

.

i am trying to think about examples of animals that would be bad for the intelligent design theory.

i like to use the ostrich because it has wings but doesnt fly.

seattleniceguy

georgefoster,

I can't fathom a simple structure becoming more complex by accident.

Natural selection is very different from "accident." Natural selection is very similar to artificial selection, in which a human breeder chooses traits he likes, except that in natural selection the breeder is the environment. A good example of a simple structure becoming more complex (if you like) via natural selection is the panda's "thumb," which has evolved from a tiny wrist bone into a pseudo-appendage that the panda uses to grasp and eat bamboo shoots.

Here's an article I wrote on it: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/91134/1.ashx

I have a hard time imagining all the small steps that were taking place while male and female genitalia were evolving independently and somehow fit together.

Male and female genitalia clearly did not evolve independantly and then just happen to fit together. Think about it for a bit.

I find the evolutionists answer to the inexplicable is always that "longer period of time" - trillions of years.

I find that this is what creationist organizations such as the Watchtower say that evolutionists say. In reality, scientists have proposed very plausible explanations for even very complex organs. For example, Richard Dawkins gives a set of very smooth, very small steps along a very plausible path to mammal-style camera eyes in Climbing Mount Improbable, which is a pretty good read, although I would recommend a more introductory book on evolution first. With regard to eye evolution, however, I hope to sum up the above chapter in Dawkin's book and write an article for this board in the near future.

Hope that helps.

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25

Which Fits the Facts... Evolution or Creation?

by dorayakii in

i recently dug up my old copy of the "creation" book, which i haven't looked at for almost 7 years.

as i was flicking through, i caught a glimpse of the table on page 112 and remembered how at the time it thoroughly convinced me that evolution was not factual...

time and experience has passed, and i now agree more with the evolutionary side of the arguement... so i was thinking of various ways to refute what seemed to me at the time to be water-tight reasoning.

seattleniceguy

dorayakii,

Interesting thread. Although I'd love to respond to the points in the chart you mention (I can visualize it), I can't see the chart you posted. To post an image, you need to first host it somewhere on the internet, and then link to that URL. I can host it for you if you email me. PM me for my email address.

With regard to your point about languages, I thought your analysis was interesting, but I disagree with your etymology a bit. I don't mean to hijack the thread, but as a quick side point, you say:

For example in Japanese, (a modern language which often demonstrates ancient forms due to its isolation), it is normal to say: "shi-na-kereba nari-masen" (transliterated as "eat-not-if become-not", and literally meaning "if i do not eat, [it] will not become"). This is translated in English as the seemingly relatively simple "I should eat".

I think it would be a mistake to consider this naranai as "it will not become," even though that may seem to be the obvious meaning at the surface. It would be better to consider this usage as a special case meaning specifically, "it is not allowable." You can see this by considering the synonymous constructions:

tabe-nakereba...

naranai
ikenai
dame da

These three suffixes are really and truly synonymous and vary mainly in formality. So perhaps a more accurate "literal" translation might be something like, "If I don't eat, it won't be acceptable," or "I can't not eat." => "I must eat."

Just my thoughts.

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5

Non-threatening anti-dub websites - help

by TheListener in

jw
friends

i am familiar with most apostate sites but i need some help finding websites that will help a dub think.

i would rather not discuss how i plan to use them or with who (for obviousl reasons) but a simple list would be beneficial.. for example, quotes is a good site but may put off a dub as apostate feeling.

i know i know it's their own literature but it definitely shows the foolishness of the society.. i need website that are pretty neutral but may show research on something that would affect a dub.

seattleniceguy

Well, the first site I ever read was http://www.beyondjw.com. I know the title will be an obvious turn-off to a Witness, but believe it or not, the articles there are very well-written and very non-confrontational. If a JW is ready to think, this site is hugely helpful.

In terms of sites that offer information that is not directly related to JWs but which would challenge their worldview, I recommend science all the way! How about http://www.talkorigins.org?

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15

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 6-26-05 WT Study (Exercise Restraint)

by blondie in

all, keeping himself restrained under evil.

''-2 timothy 2:24.

elders yell at each other, at the ms, at their wife and children, at the rank and file, and at the co at times.

seattleniceguy

Thanks, Blondie.

Man, is that stuff nuts! You can practically see the brains being washed. Ugh!

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16

Name a few posters that you would recognize if you saw them in person.

by JH in

jw
friends

many post their picture as avatar and many posted their picture in picture threads.

name a few posters that you would recognize if you saw them in person because of their avatar or because they posted their picture on a picture thread.

don't name those that you already saw in person...

seattleniceguy

Eh hem.

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14

Who is Ray Franz???

by susu812 in

jw
friends

ok i have no idea who ray franz is and i have seen many threads that talk baout him but my only access to a comp.

is here at work and i can't really search for info too much--can someone help explain who he is and what he has done?

sorry i'm a newbie here :)

seattleniceguy

so is he exposing some secrets of the society?

Ask yourself what you know about the Governing Body. All Witnesses have some idea of what the GB is like, what happens at their meetings, how they make decisions, and so on. But on what do they base their ideas? The Society itself publishes absolutely nothing about the way things are actually carried out on the top. There is a reason for this.

Ray's book describes calmly and with superb documentation exactly what happens behind those closed doors. It relates some of the key decisions the GB made during Ray's time on it, and the far-reaching effects those decisions had on the rank-and-file Witnesses that recieved them.

If nothing else, it should permanently and thoroughly shatter any illusions you might have about the way the GB operates. It is an incredibly moving book. I personally find it difficult to conceive of a person who would not be affected seriously by it.

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