Eyes Open

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Posts by Eyes Open

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  106

  MOUTHY'S 81st Birthday

  by BenV in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  mouthy, is today your 81st birthday?

  i saw on a post you wrote -- and it said birthday!

  (don't know how these things work?).

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  Eyes Open

  Happy Birthday!
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  193

  One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

  by snowbird in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while this may be construed as a rebuttal to nvr's thread re: why i post about atheism, that is not my intent.. it is my intent, however, to show how i developed a belief in and love for the god of the bible.. my paternal grandfather, who died before i was born, was a baptist preacher, so you could say i cut my teeth on the bible.

  i loved having it read to me, and once i learned how, reading it for myself.

  i'm convinced that spirituality runs deep in my blood.. i've always had such a strong sense of right and wrong that injustices make me literally sick.

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  Eyes Open

  I'm not arguing for or against anything. I'm simply bringing my opinion - unpopular though it may be - to the table as the rest of you have no problem doing.

  And when you do that to a table which is a public forum, be prepared for your opinion to be evaluated and commented on. Personally I would want to have logic behind opinions that I post.

  Eyes Open, the decree that the earth was cursed on account of Adam's sin was eventually repealed during the days of Noah.

  I didn't know that, and I suppose I will have to admit my point was flawed if that is the case. Could you let me know where the bible says it please?

  And, we all work hard for our living, physically or mentally.

  Some are born into rich families. Some have a business which takes off which they sell for enormous amounts of money.
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  193

  One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

  by snowbird in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while this may be construed as a rebuttal to nvr's thread re: why i post about atheism, that is not my intent.. it is my intent, however, to show how i developed a belief in and love for the god of the bible.. my paternal grandfather, who died before i was born, was a baptist preacher, so you could say i cut my teeth on the bible.

  i loved having it read to me, and once i learned how, reading it for myself.

  i'm convinced that spirituality runs deep in my blood.. i've always had such a strong sense of right and wrong that injustices make me literally sick.

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  Eyes Open

  I was thinking about the fact that death has been happening for eons and yet we haven't gotten used to it, that even though we may try to avoid even thinking about it, death is inevitable for all of us.

  Of course "we" haven't gotten used to it because "we" only die once after, hopefully, living 80 years or so. I don't try to avoid thinking about it. I know it's going to happen; that doesn't mean I need to spend what life I do have left fearing it.

  I thought I made it clear from the outset, my premise is that if God wasn't able to enforce His decree that ALL would die, some (especially the rich, wily, crafty) would be able to wiggle out of death's clutches.

  17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
  "Cursed is the ground because of you;
  through painful toil you will eat of it
  all the days of your life.

  18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
  and you will eat the plants of the field.

  19 By the sweat of your brow
  you will eat your food
  until you return to the ground,
  since from it you were taken;
  for dust you are
  and to dust you will return."

  As well as telling Adam that he would die, he also told him he would have to work very hard for his food. Some (especially the rich, wily, crafty) have wiggled out of this decree. Does this, by your method of reasoning, mean that God was unable to enforce this statement?

  That is ONE of the reasons why I'm so impressed with the God of the Bible. He states what is going to happen - and it happens.

  Do you have any examples of specific, non-ambiguous things that God has said will happen and that have happened that are not explainable by the writers of the literature involved already having common knowledge that would allow for the statements to be explained as common sense?

  WE ALL DIE. I see no circular reasoning, a priori, confirmation bias, or anything else in that statement.

  you're misrepresenting the subject under consideration. We're not discussing whether we all die or not; we're discussing whether people writing down what God supposedly said about it and it happening, and any potential reasons for belief thereof.

  Are you suggesting that the fact that we all die, and that the God of the bible said this would happen, is a reason for faith in the said book and God?

  I am stating that this is one of my reasons for such.

  This is the formal fallacy known as affirming the consequent. You're affirming the consequent because you want to confirm what you already believe (confirmation bias).

  Another person could make an equally invalid argument by saying "If life is a biochemical process, we would expect death due to limitations imposed by the laws of thermodynamics. We all die. Therefore, life is a biochemical process."
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  23

  Horoscopes/star signs

  by HB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a friend who is an intelligent high-flying business woman is going through a relationship break-up and is also recovering from breast cancer.

  she is not religious but has been turning to 'new-age' beliefs to try to help her cope, (she has visited a numerologist and had her palm read).

  she has just sent me an email with a description of 12 different personalities based on star signs.

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  Eyes Open

  Yeah, they're great. I also find studying cow pats turns up some amazing results.
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  11

  Worshipping the Watchtower: Symbolism and Idolatry

  by Eyes Open in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the other day, something occurred to me: the symbol of the watchtower is in my old kingdom hall's driveway, created with different coloured bricks.

  it would be interesting to read of any other displays which show that the symbol of the watchtower is effectively held as sacred.

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  Eyes Open

  The other day, something occurred to me: the symbol of the watchtower is in my old Kingdom Hall's driveway, created with different coloured bricks. It would be interesting to read of any other displays which show that the symbol of the watchtower is effectively held as sacred.
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  46

  Do you think the Society has spies on sites like this?

  by easyreader1970 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  not that any of them would post, but do you think that they have people who they secretly have visit anti-jw sites and forums like this just for the purpose of seeing what people are saying about them and what their current members might stumble upon?.

  if you google jws, the first couple are official, the next two are wikis, then you have an anti-jw site and then there's this one.

  any current or potential member that is looking for more information than is published by the wbts will be directed to these sites.

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  Eyes Open

  But as soon as anyone starts reading information, they're gonna have a serious... crisis of conscience. How can they effectively spy without losing followers to reality?
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  193

  One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

  by snowbird in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while this may be construed as a rebuttal to nvr's thread re: why i post about atheism, that is not my intent.. it is my intent, however, to show how i developed a belief in and love for the god of the bible.. my paternal grandfather, who died before i was born, was a baptist preacher, so you could say i cut my teeth on the bible.

  i loved having it read to me, and once i learned how, reading it for myself.

  i'm convinced that spirituality runs deep in my blood.. i've always had such a strong sense of right and wrong that injustices make me literally sick.

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  Eyes Open

  I have thoroughly enjoyed our little interchange.

  Does this signal the end of your participation in your thread, having not been able to address why humanity's dying (like every other living thing on the planet) can in any way be used to support the bible/God on the basis that the writer wrote that God said it would happen?

  I'm not trying to be confrontational, by the way - just in case any theists should try and slot this comment into a stereotypical image of a hateful atheist. It's just that you made a statement about it being something that provides a reason for your faith, and reasons for faith should be explained/justified to make sure that they are not merely circular reasoning.
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  13

  My Elder Dad said "what changes"

  by Champion in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yeah, i need the one that shows how the old wt lit says the same basic teaching as the new generation understanding.....so not new light but finally just recycled crap...........oompa.

  i will try to find it.

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  Eyes Open

  Watchtower Comments 4.14.08 The Generation

  "What we will find is that this is not a new understanding, but a return to older beliefs."

  Good luck. I don't know your situation, but it's often better to frame information as a question. E.g. 'I'm having trouble understanding/believing this because of this. Can you explain?' It can seem less of an attack and be less likely to trigger the mind control defenses.
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  136

  I am the Faithful and Discreet Slave

  by jwblog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i first attended the congregation of jehovahs witnesses i never even thought about whom or what was the faithful and discreet slave.

  i do not believe that this information is ever taught to the public directly.

  i think you have to be baptised or start attending the same meetings as those that are baptised.. anyway what made all of you adapt the teaching of the faithful and discreet slave (class or whatever)?

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  Eyes Open

  Pretty amazing visions I tell you.

  Well, it would be interesting to hear some. Are they like Revelation? Any new scroll-openings?

  Preserve yourself alive until Jesus Christ arrives in all of his glory and his angel with him.Count your blessings and pray for those that are having to endure the great tribulation in the Middle East. That is where there are earth quakes, food shortages, famines, pestilences, floods, and wars where people are killing one another. Weap along with those in the heavens. myself, and those whose hearts are tormented from all of the pain and suffering they are witness to. Imagine their pain and pray to your God to hurry please and bring the suffering to an end. It is written, there will be a hurrying of it.

  That's it? No indoctrination of others? No trying to prove that a collection of stories and contradictory statements is divinely inspired? No address to which to send a cheque?

  I'm almost disappointed.
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  136

  I am the Faithful and Discreet Slave

  by jwblog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i first attended the congregation of jehovahs witnesses i never even thought about whom or what was the faithful and discreet slave.

  i do not believe that this information is ever taught to the public directly.

  i think you have to be baptised or start attending the same meetings as those that are baptised.. anyway what made all of you adapt the teaching of the faithful and discreet slave (class or whatever)?

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  Eyes Open

  jwblog,
  
  You've convinced me. So what do I do now?
  
  (I can't believe I missed that some were fulfilled invisibly in heaven - there I was looking in completely the wrong place!)