slimboyfat

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Posts by slimboyfat

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  59

  Can you prove that our entire universe and existence is not a computer simulation?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. social
  2. current

  if you were a computer programmer and you were to create a simulated automated world, that would constantly evolve and self run after initial designs.

  first you would have to code the rules, laws, and core elements of this world.

  while this is being coded, the program is not run yet, so none of it exists.

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  slimboyfat

  If everything we know is "simulation" then what is the meaning of "real" in this context? What is the distinction?

  Zizek says physicists say quantum physics means that reality is not totally filled. It's like a computer game where the background is not defined unless you zoom in. Only when you zoom in does the program decide how to fill out the picture. Reality is said to exhibit a similar phenomenon where its subatomic constituents are not fully defined unless observed. I don't know how accurate that is, but again it makes you wonder about the usefulness of the distinction between reality and simulation.

  Perhaps the main implication of viewing the world in this way is that it seems to make the presence of some sort of God like programmer more natural.
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  92

  There is no such thing as Agnosticism. Agnostics do not exist!

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  many here seem to believe that the position of agnosticism is somehow more reasonable than theism or atheism.

  nonsense!

  it is a misconception to believe that belief or non-belief in the existence of god/s are the two extremes which glare at each other over the fence of agnosticism.

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  slimboyfat

  Why? The proposition is that existence and non-existence may be human categories that do not apply to God. We have no trouble realising that questions such as "what colour is God?" or "where does God live?" may reflect misunderstanding. How can we be sure that the question "does God exist?" doesn't reflect a similar confusion?

  "That sounds stupid to me", doesn't constitute an argument.

  We don't expect a dog to understand calculus. Is there any good reason to expect that humans should be able to grasp the divine? Or to put it another way, if human reason is unable to construct a satisfying conception of God, does that in itself prove that God is unviable? Or does it tell us about the limitations of human rationality?
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  92

  There is no such thing as Agnosticism. Agnostics do not exist!

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  many here seem to believe that the position of agnosticism is somehow more reasonable than theism or atheism.

  nonsense!

  it is a misconception to believe that belief or non-belief in the existence of god/s are the two extremes which glare at each other over the fence of agnosticism.

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  slimboyfat

  Argumentum ad lapidem, again.

  A humanistic rational approach cannot disprove apophatic conceptions of God, hence the resort to ridicule. Karen Armstrong is particularly good describing this approach to God.

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophatic_theology
  
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  92

  There is no such thing as Agnosticism. Agnostics do not exist!

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  many here seem to believe that the position of agnosticism is somehow more reasonable than theism or atheism.

  nonsense!

  it is a misconception to believe that belief or non-belief in the existence of god/s are the two extremes which glare at each other over the fence of agnosticism.

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  slimboyfat

  I think the article is saying the atheism of Dawkins for example is not very "interesting" in the sense that it lacks substance and does not engage with the most thoughtful expressions of theism. It doesn't mean to say it's boring in the sense that it would send you to sleep. Dawkins picks out, for example, the idea of God as a complex being to refute, ignoring thousands of years of theological reflection on the nature of God which either views him as a simple being or and being beyond being. His refutation therefore misses the mark and looks ill-informed about the subject. The idea that God does not exist and that he doesn't not exist. That human ontological categories cannot intelligibly be applied to God. We can appreciate that ascribing certain characteristics such as tallness to God might be mistaken. But what about the category of being itself? What if this is a misconceived way of formulating the question in relation to God?
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  57

  How do we know JWs are wrong and how do we convince others JWs are wrong: logic versus persuasion

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we like to think we are logical and have good reasons for for our beliefs.

  no more so than when it comes to our reasons for rejecting the truth claims of jws.

  we reject their version of history, such as the date of the fall of jerusalem, because it doesn't agree with the historical evidence.

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  slimboyfat

  LoveUni JWs answer those points by saying 1) JWs were never definite about those dates 2) they never claimed to speak as prophets 3 ) if they made mistakes it was because they are imperfect men 4) the important thing is JWs have the truth and the details are not so important 5) where are you getting your information anyway - have you been listening to apostates? 6) I don't think this discussion is helpful spiritually 7) pray to Jehovah and read the Bible if you have doubts 8) I have tried to help you there is nothing more I can say to you if you don't accept Jehovah's help.
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  92

  There is no such thing as Agnosticism. Agnostics do not exist!

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  many here seem to believe that the position of agnosticism is somehow more reasonable than theism or atheism.

  nonsense!

  it is a misconception to believe that belief or non-belief in the existence of god/s are the two extremes which glare at each other over the fence of agnosticism.

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  slimboyfat

  This idea of atheism only appears to deal with a certain kind of God about whom specific claims are made. The kind of God JWs have. I don't think this definition of atheism takes negative theology into account. That God can exist and not-exist, or neither, without being bound by definitions. When I think of God I think of God in these terms, or not in these terms, as the case may be.

  http://religiondispatches.org/way-beyond-atheism-god-does-not-not-exist/
  

  The atheisms of most committed, principled atheists are often not more than mirror images—inversions—of the theisms they negate. In On Interpretation, Aristotle wrote, “Affirmations and their corresponding negations are one in the same knowledge”; therefore, one can discern from many atheisms their corresponding affirmative theologies.

  Turner also writes that, very often, the theisms attacked by atheists are not very interesting; therefore, the atheisms of most committed, principled atheists are not very interesting. Why this is so is not clear; perhaps it is because in many cases theism was abandoned before it was allowed time to develop into something of substance.
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  12

  Sunday Tv - Jehovah's Witnesses Paedophilia in Australia

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  if only someone had listened back then!.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy8b22hs9me.

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  slimboyfat

  Yes I am further through it now. It was around the same time as Dateline in the US and Panorama in the UK.
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  108

  BIG NEWS! Leader of German Watchtower History Archives Resignes and Leaves Branch Office!

  by GermanXJW in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  johannes wrobel, the founder of the watchtower history archives in germany, responsible for the stand firm-video and the stand-firm-exhibitions resigned in november 2008 and left the german branch office.

  he was also the responsible person for many of the wt sponsored websites on jw in the 'third reich'!.

  there are no further details known yet but this could be big news!.

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  slimboyfat

  He says that Lloyd Barry encouraged the historical work at Selters in Germany. But when Barry died in 1999 their work was no longer supported. Jaracz in particular was very dismissive of the historical work and in 2008 he closed it down. That was two years before Jaracz died in 2010.
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  12

  Sunday Tv - Jehovah's Witnesses Paedophilia in Australia

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  if only someone had listened back then!.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy8b22hs9me.

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  slimboyfat

  The phrase "shining as illuminations" from clip is associated with 1992 and 2003 district conventions. Could it be as old as 1992?

  http://printcentralandsigns.com/jwtalks/DC/1992.HTM

  Perhaps 2003 more likely.

  http://printcentralandsigns.com/jwtalks/DC/2003PhillyPA.HTM
  
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  108

  BIG NEWS! Leader of German Watchtower History Archives Resignes and Leaves Branch Office!

  by GermanXJW in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  johannes wrobel, the founder of the watchtower history archives in germany, responsible for the stand firm-video and the stand-firm-exhibitions resigned in november 2008 and left the german branch office.

  he was also the responsible person for many of the wt sponsored websites on jw in the 'third reich'!.

  there are no further details known yet but this could be big news!.

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  slimboyfat

  Lots of interesting information here. A real insight from a prominent former insider.

  He says German JWs gathered information about their persecution and sent it to Brooklyn after the war. But Knorr ordered the archive be destroyed because they should not promote individuals, instead they should forget about the past and draw a line under it.