Posts by Eyes Open

45

Relief for nighttime leg cramps

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

okay, i'm closing in on 500 posts, but have almost no 'new topics' to my name.

i don't feel like starting anything profoundly spiritual.

so, i'll share this tip that has worked for my kinfolk.. on both sides of my family, we frequently suffer from nighttime leg craps.

Eyes Open

Make sure you drink lots of water.

193

One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

by snowbird in

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.

Eyes Open

I can't help thinking that some Christians just love to think they're being persecuted. I haven't reread this thread, but I've considered it a discussion on a forum involving people with different beliefs and ways of thinking who disagree about some things, not the evil atheist vitriol you seem determined to see. (In fact, the original poster, a Christian, and other theists indulged in some name-calling/judging.)

Talk about a storm in a tea cup.

10

Reinventing the Sacred --- A New View of Science, Reason and Religion?

by hamilcarr in

jw
friends

i've just finished one of the most awesome non-fiction books i've ever read.

it's entitled 'reinventing the sacred: a new view of science, reason and religion' and written by stuart kauffman, well known for his theories on the origin of life and other complex systems, and author of the highly acclaimed 'origins of order', a must read for anyone interested in contemporary post-darwinian biology.

in rts, kauffman tries to transcend the huge divide between secular humanists and those believing in a transcendent god by exposing the inadequacies of both world views.

Eyes Open

Thanks for the post.

So what's the gist of it? That there is no actual transcendant God, but we could/should respect our universe and the things in it as if we're all part of it (it being his "God")? Or am I way off?

Thanks.

58

Jesus Saves

by Farkel in

prove it.. farkel.

Eyes Open

Jesus saves. Prove it. Jesus saves. Quite circular of you, don't you think? I could use some of that wine, though.

I'm guessing you didn't realise that was a link, White Dove... :)

58

Jesus Saves

by Farkel in

prove it.. farkel.

Eyes Open

Prove it.

Jesus saves.

25

Jehovah's Witnesses and Apostates

by tfjw in

jehovah's witnesses basically define the term "apostate" as someone who was once a member of the "organization" (a jehovah's witness) but no longer follows the teachings, rules, regulations and practices.

the society gives their official definition in the following manner: "apostasy is abandoning or deserting the worship and service of god, actually a rebellion against jehovah god.

some apostates profess to know and serve god but reject teachings or requirements set out in his word.

Eyes Open

Thank you tfjw - tagged for later.

37

My Story - Part 1

by Jeremy C in

i have never posted my personal story about my years as a jw, and my departure from the organization.

i thought that my personal story might be of interest.

it is my hope that some of my experiences and observations might be of help to some of you who have recently left the organization.

Eyes Open

Hi there Jeremy C - welcome to the forum. Enjoyed part 1 - I too felt the baptism pool was strangely special when I was a kid and sometimes used to look at the water in it at our circuit assemblies.

May I suggest you insert a link to the other parts once they are done to your original post? This will make it easier to read your entire story once it is complete.

193

One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

by snowbird in

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.

Eyes Open

Interesting thoughts posted, and I, too, don't deny the existence of a creator of some kind although I'm sure the bible has nothing directly to do with it if there is one. If people still belive in the bible, that's their choice. The reason I have been posting in this thread is that when someone posts a line of reasoning that I can see is flawed I don't see why that shouldn't be pointed out. This is, after all, a discussion forum. If I post things that are wrong or unsupported, I expect others to help me see that they are so.

And if we end up disagreeing, then that's fine. I hope I haven't been judging or name-calling, but if I've given that impression, sorry.

193

One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

by snowbird in

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.

Eyes Open

Posted by Snowbird
You can pick what you want and discard the rest - as I did with the article on confirmation bias.
Just wanted to say thats one of the funniest things I've read in ages. Thanks for a good laugh.
cheers
pak

Oh my - I was so busy thinking about the topic that I missed that. I guess that sums up the issue quite nicely.

"confirmation bias is a tendency to search for or interpret new information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions and avoids information and interpretations which contradict prior beliefs."

193

One Reason Why I Worship the God of the Bible

by snowbird in

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.

Eyes Open

the cynical, the doubting, the questing

Thanks for letting me know. I'm actually less cynical in reality these days. I used to think the world was beyond repair and needed destruction at Armageddon so that "we" could start afresh. Now I understand things are not as we want them, but that we can improve. I now also doubt myself a lot less; my gut feeling that what I'd been taught was not right was proved right by my research (including that on the bible itself). Am I questing? Yeah: questing to live life as a human devoid of false beliefs.

I am so glad that religious types' judgments on me now have absolutely no validity in my mind, and that I now require natural evidence/experience before believing things.

Anyway... any more comment on the God-said-everyone-would-die-so-he-must-be-right thing? You do realise that this is actually an unsupportable line of reasoning, even if it holds meaning for you as a person who has faith in God?