Spook

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Posts by Spook

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  55

  If Jesus could post here, what do you think he would say about the JW's?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  go ahead, i'm listening...

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  Spook

  I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY FELL FOR IT!
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  14

  Anyone recognise this 2005 Watchtower CD on Ebay?

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  here's the link, you may have to cut & paste it into your browser; http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayisapi.dll?viewitem&category=16710&item=5577875725&rd=1.

  an individual mag' on a cd?

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  Spook

  Yes. The magazines are now available on audio MP3 cd's.
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  27

  Dad (elder) called yesterday.

  by Es in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi all.... i have not spoken nor seen my dad for about 3months now after he would not allow me to borrow cds for my up and coming wedding to a "worldy guy" because borrowing his cds means he would be supporting my mariage.

  even tho the relationship between my mum and i is now strained as a result she still keeps in contact and suggested that we all meet at the shops one day for lunch so dad could see my son.

  i agreed as i felt it would be nice for my son to see his pop again...but also was a little upset as dad hasnt gone out of his way to see my son.

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  Spook

  I assert that love is complete acceptance without judgement. If you want that, you must give it. This has made a world of difference for me with my family and friends since I left. They know that I completely accept them and that they are safe in my hands. If you can give them that, then you will have your life.
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  63

  Evolution of Man

  by bavman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here's a question for all you who have been studying evoluition much longer than me.

  i have read in a few places that man has all but stopped evolving.

  is this what is really being taught by science and why?

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  Spook

  Mutations in human DNA are still occuring. Of the billions of DNA bases, only 1 in 1000 is active in expressing a unique trait. The mapping of the human genome is basically "complete." A massive five year project is now underway to analyze the flow and dispersion of genes in the population.
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  63

  Evolution of Man

  by bavman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here's a question for all you who have been studying evoluition much longer than me.

  i have read in a few places that man has all but stopped evolving.

  is this what is really being taught by science and why?

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  Spook

  Many who feel the evolution of man has stopped are referring to the natural selection i.e. survival of man. However, this is a bit misguided. The context of human evolution has drastically changed. This is a philosophical turning point in the discussion and has to do with the cybernetic theory in one approach to it. This is theoretical stuff here. It happens to be an interest of mine which I am proposing for my purpose statement on graduate school thesis applications. One area I'm leaving out for purposes of time is the concept of boundary conditions in open system ecologies.

  The relationship of an entity persisting through time can be accomodative, regulatory, or extraregulatory.

  Accomodative: The entity adjusts itself to the sum of all ecological factors. A rock persists as a rock in most environments. Its temperature changes to match the environment, for example, in most ranges of existance. In some conditions, it erodes or melts. Some cold blooded creatures adjust their activities to their surroundings. For instance, body temperature fluctuates with the surroundings.

  Regulatory: Following on the last example, a regulatory entity contains feedback processes by which the internal state adjusts to external pressure to persist through time. Humans have a metabolism which (within a range of values) will maintain body temperature with little fluctuation.

  Extraregulatory: Controlling the environment to persist through time. Examples of this are humans reshaping the environment, birds nesting, and creatures burrowing. These behaviours enable a limiting of the range of flux experienced in the natural world.

  The selection pressure (biological and otherwise) exists within the context of an entity as constant, variable, or unique. A unique experience for a human may be a tidal wave. This is not unique on the time scale of the planet. A uniqe experience for a fruitfly might be a storm. This is not unique on the level of a human life span. A constant pressure (such as predation or long term environmental condition) tends to produce uniformity of the best suited traits. A cyclical selection pressure tends to produce a somatic range of traits. Unique events tend to produce species level selection through extinction or massive changes in the population. The complex interaction of these factors gives an overall context for existance.

  Now, some feel that the extraregulatory capacity of humans has increased so much that there is little external selection pressure acting on individual organisms. Some systems theorists posit that the natural selection among humans has turned largely within the human population and is spreading through governments, economies, down to the level of "memes." Natural selection, as such, is analogous to the fundamental way by which any discreet entity persists through time. Biological evolution among the human population is currently undergoing little selection pressure, in that a large portion of the population lives to reproductive age. Those that don't live to reproduce are frequently dieing from unique events such as bombs falling. Most of the selection is sexual selection on the level of the organism, and also selection against disease. Epidemiology is a fine place for some further study.
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  53

  Did Jesus ever use the name Jehovah?

  by LMS-Chef in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  just wondering.

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  Spook

  And Jehovah is an inaccurate pronounciation of YHWH based on vowel insertion of Adonai from the MT text. YH(o)W(ai)H, later extrapolated to a germanic/european form. For that matter, YHWH and EL were inherited from former "pagan" traditions.
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  109

  Evidence for evolution, Installment 5: Lake Tanganyika, etc

  by seattleniceguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey gang!

  i apologize for my absence of a few weeks.

  i have been very busy with work lately, and i hate to write something that i haven't been able to research properly, so i haven't posted anything in this series for three weeks now.

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  Spook

  I wanted to add a bit about the problem with an idea of genetic "perfection" and complete robustness of a theoretical creation scenario. Single nucleotide polymorphisms, or "SNPs" ? buried within the 3 billion chemical bases of DNA - comprise the human genome. Not every SNP will necessarily cause a mutation or determine our eye or hair color ? but, on average, SNPs occur about once in every 1,000 DNA bases, adding up to 3 million potential individual differences across the human genome. The question then becomes how many DNA bases would an "ADAM" have had to posess?

  Also, as a good add on, what would have been the chromosome implication of Eve coming from Adam's "rib?"

  (As an aside...Was the rib transplant carried on without the transfer of any whole blood?)
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  21

  Reply re: "UN scandal" (personal letter quote)...

  by upside/down in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is a response from one of my best friends in the whole wide world who is way "in" in the org.. it's amazing how for such an intelligent, reasonable man that doesn't agree with many of the tenets of the wts party line, ultimately he still tows the party line for the most crucial jw doctrine.... the role of the fds as the sole "channel" for "god".

  i knew it was inevitable... he is the only dub that so far hasn't shunned me..... the following is an excerpt of his personal letter to me.... please read it and critique it.

  (highlight are mine).

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  Spook

  Comparison of UN to YMCA
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  2

  Life Not Easy for JW's & Messianic Jews in Israel

  by Kenneson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the jerusalem post carries an interesting article on jw's and messianic jews entitled "a matter of faith.

  "the jehovah's witnesses are about to hold a metting on rehov lincoln in tel aviv.

  yad l'achim, the anti-missionary haredi organization, is waiting for them..." .

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  Spook

  A little too far. Why not just use billboards that say "Jehovah's Witnesses are a snare and a racket!"
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  109

  Evidence for evolution, Installment 5: Lake Tanganyika, etc

  by seattleniceguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey gang!

  i apologize for my absence of a few weeks.

  i have been very busy with work lately, and i hate to write something that i haven't been able to research properly, so i haven't posted anything in this series for three weeks now.

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  Spook

  Nice entry. You could have included an anti ID argument about the species that eats the eyes of the other species in the lake.