skeptic2

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Posts by skeptic2

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  25

  When the sun finally dies.......

  by Gill in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when the sun finally burns its last burn and becomes a dying star, what will happen to all the jehovah's witnesses who are expecting to live forever on the earth?

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  skeptic2

  Hmm I guess God will have to stop the Earth being vaporized as the sun expands in its old age.
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  3

  Liberalism and muslims

  by JeffT in

  1. social
  2. current

  i found this editorial very interesting.

  every one on this board has personal experience with religious fanaticism.

  we should be thinking about that when we are talking about the current state of the world.

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  skeptic2

  I think this guy is just trying to get away from being labelled as a liberal himself, due to the content of his books.
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  3

  Liberalism and muslims

  by JeffT in

  1. social
  2. current

  i found this editorial very interesting.

  every one on this board has personal experience with religious fanaticism.

  we should be thinking about that when we are talking about the current state of the world.

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  skeptic2

  Sam Harris argues against being automatically tolerant of religions.

  He seems to think that a liberal minded person would want to be automatically tolerant of other religions.

  But that just isn't true. It seems like a straw-man argument. Something smells here.
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  23

  Liberal World-view leads to a Corrupted Soul

  by Shining One in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  disabled newborns is acceptable .

  princeton, n.j. (bp)--princeton university's peter singer, widely known .

  for his founding of the great ape project to grant apes the same rights .

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  skeptic2

  I think it's this logic that allows for the marriage between Classic Liberals and Social Democrats:

  Liberalism supports social insurance programs, because it believes that they encourage savings (thus being less dependent on the State), shares the risk of unemployment, injury and retirement amongst all those at risk. Liberalism believes in full employment as a social program, so that people support themselves and can be less dependent on the State.

  The heart of (classic) Liberalism is the idea that:

  • everyone should have as much freedom as possible, insofar as this does not incur on other people's freedoms.
  • the government should facilitate this situation with as little interferance as possible.

  I dont think social welfare/justice should be cast into a light of have it/dont have it. I'm sure it can be a useful tool, in the right form, in helping to enabling that everyone has an opportunity to make something of themselves. I don't think a one-size-fits-all program across a whole country is the best way to do things, it should be up to local people to come with ideas and plans to help those around them.

  I dont think Liberals and Conservatives are as far apart as people make out.
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  23

  Liberal World-view leads to a Corrupted Soul

  by Shining One in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  disabled newborns is acceptable .

  princeton, n.j. (bp)--princeton university's peter singer, widely known .

  for his founding of the great ape project to grant apes the same rights .

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  skeptic2

  LIBERAL world view means somebody has to make a sacrifice of their talent, intelligence, hard work and earnings so that somebody else can benefit who has inferior talent, intelligence and no intention of working or earning.

  Liberal:

  • broad: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's opinions"
  • having political or social views favoring reform and progress
  • tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
  • a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties
  • a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets

  Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. It typically favors the right to dissent from orthodox tenets or established authorities in political or religious matters. In this respect, it is sometimes held in contrast to conservatism. ...

  Political viewpoint with origins in Western Europe during the 19th century; stressed limited state interference in individual life, representation of propertied people in government; urged importance of constitutional rule and parliaments.

  To be liberal politically, is to emphasize political and economic freedom .

  But this definition agrees with yours, from 'cyberlearning-world.com':

  Political view that supports gradual change and government spending to assist lower classes in society.

  I think there is a problem here of confusing Liberal with Social Democrat, which two ideas might well contribute towards the policies of the US Democrats.
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  37

  Hi!

  by sarahbear76 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i just registered and i thought i should say something about myself instead of just lurking about.

  i'm 21 years old and i left the the jw's when i was 18. i was born into the religion so it's been really hard getting use to things.

  my story is pretty complicated and for some safety reasons i can't say to much.

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  skeptic2

  W el come !
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  23

  Liberal World-view leads to a Corrupted Soul

  by Shining One in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  disabled newborns is acceptable .

  princeton, n.j. (bp)--princeton university's peter singer, widely known .

  for his founding of the great ape project to grant apes the same rights .

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  skeptic2

  Who came up with the thread title 'Liberal World-view leads to a Corrupted Soul', how does it relate to this article, what is a 'soul' anyway, and how does a corrupted 'soul' manifestly differ from an uncorrupted one? It seems like the inventer of the thread title is extrapolating from one man's views to an entire group he/she has labelled 'liberal'.
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  36

  Buddhism bigger than JWs in US - Why? Does It Appeal to YOU!

  by Seeker4 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there is an article on yahoo news today that says buddhists now-number over 1.5 million in the us, compared to about 1 million jws, and that they grew 170% in the 1990s.

  here are a couple of points they make in the article:.

  "what is drawing people (after that fascination with zen buddhism in the '50s and '60s)?

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  skeptic2

  It can, however, provide a way to experience truth.

  
  I disagree, I'd say it provides a way to experience something, which you can then label as 'truth'. But to me it's just mind-games, it's no truer or less truer than any other experience you have. And the whole Samsara thing is just as woo as paradise after armageddon. It's more of man's ego-centric constructions built on reality. I've seen some research to suggest meditation can have beneficial effects to the practicer, but nothing overly conclusive.
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  36

  Buddhism bigger than JWs in US - Why? Does It Appeal to YOU!

  by Seeker4 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there is an article on yahoo news today that says buddhists now-number over 1.5 million in the us, compared to about 1 million jws, and that they grew 170% in the 1990s.

  here are a couple of points they make in the article:.

  "what is drawing people (after that fascination with zen buddhism in the '50s and '60s)?

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  skeptic2

  After reading through the core ideas of all the big religions when I was 13, I realized that Buddhism was the one I liked the most and maybe I'd be a Buddhist. But then I realized what I was doing, that it's a bit stupid to make judgements about the world based on what you want to believe... since then I have been a freethinker/atheist/agnostic/whatever-you-want-to-call it.
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  71

  Is the Muslim religion actively looking for a war or fight?

  by free2beme in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  muslims daily, in the arab world, call for the death to christians and the americans.

  even looking at some muslim websites, you will see jesus shown to be evil and the christian faith to be a terrible group of people.

  so with this, why does minor comments on them and cartoons about their founder make them so extreme?

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  skeptic2

  One thing you can guarantee, you are being manipulated by propaganda just as 'they' are. Don't you get tired of being manipulated. To say 1/5th of the world population is looking to start a war is nonsensical.

  Any one who makes claims like "What the Muslim world is presently doing" is ignoring the simple fact the Muslim world is not a single entity. A billion Muslims, a fraction of violent ones. A quater of a billion Arabs in that billion, and a fraction of them are violent ones. Seems the 'Muslim world' is by and large peaceful.

  When a fraction of US soldiers abuse prisoners, you can bet it's all people in Muslim countries see, and they hate Americans for it.

  When a fraction of Muslims firebomb churches or hide their local political conflicts behind the banner of Islam, you can bet it's all people in the western countries see, and they hate Muslims for it.

  It's ridiculous how every trots along to the same rhythm, they say 'jump', you say 'how high?'.