What about the scripture in which Paul said he hopes to become saved (and I think that he also said it is not until the end that a person will know if one is saved or not)? That scripture and the words attributed to Jesus at Mathew 10:22 and at Matthew 24:13 convinced me (while I was a teenager) that the WT is correct in saying that the Bible says a Christian's salvation isn't assured until the end.
Disillusioned JW
JoinedPosts by Disillusioned JW
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Are YOU saved?
by JW Answers insadly today, many churches and religious organisations teach their followers that they are saved based on something the bible does not record.
many people are following a lie, and are heading to a lost eternity and do not know it.. my question here is... are you saved?
it's vitally important to know!.
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Disillusioned JW
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'In Search of Christian Freedom'
by riblah ini cross-posted this on reddit:.
i would love to have a hard copy of this book.
does anyone know about how to go about persuading the person who has the rights to print a batch?.
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Disillusioned JW
A Second edition of In Search of Christian Freedom is available for download (in PDF) from https://friendsofraymondfranz.com/christian-freedom-book/ . A Fourth edition of Crisis of Conscience is available for download (in PDF) from https://friendsofraymondfranz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CC2004-Eng.pdf . See also https://friendsofraymondfranz.com/books-in-english/ .
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NASA: Humans Back to the Moon
by Gerard innasa plans return to moon by 2020
"this vision aims to return humans to the moon, and then to use it as a staging point for a manned mission to mars.
i wonder if jws will be required to canvas those areas too.
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Disillusioned JW
On October 6, 2022 (yesterday) NASA posted an update at https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/tag/artemis-i/ , called "Inspections Underway for Rocket, Spacecraft Before Setting Launch Date". The following is something it says which I am very glad to read.
"Work will also include charging the CubeSats that are equipped to be re-charged and have elected to do so. Inside Orion, work will include replenishing the specimens and batteries for the biology investigations riding within the capsule, as well as recharging the batteries associated with the crew seat accelerometers and space radiation experiments."
I am glad NASA is doing those tasks since those experiments and scientific data collection equipment are to me a very important part of the Artemis I mission. However it looks like the batteries of some CubeSats won't be recharged (since apparently some are not equipped for recharging), and it is too bad that no mention is made of those batteries being replaced.
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'In Search of Christian Freedom'
by riblah ini cross-posted this on reddit:.
i would love to have a hard copy of this book.
does anyone know about how to go about persuading the person who has the rights to print a batch?.
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Disillusioned JW
Hey Beth Sarim, for what reasons or reasons should we hold onto the "Reasoning From the Scriptures1985, Live Forever on Earth1982, Revelation Climax1988"? Is it so we can point things out to JWs? I don't know of any JWs who are interested in seeing doctrinal changes (including flip flops), including my mother and sister. Other than my mother and sister I rarely come into social contact with any JW (except sometimes my place of work has one or two JWs).
I notice you say "They are worth their weight in gold......soon." Do think they will have high resale values? What about the Truth book? I used to have the one copyright 1968 (I had obtained it before I got baptized as a teenager) but the cover had become very worn, so I sold it after I bought a like-new condition (the edition revised in 1981) one at a thrift store. Likewise I sold the Paradise Lost book which I had studied when I was a very young child after I had obtained a like-new condition one.
The only Reasoning book I currently have the first printing of the copyright 1989 edition (I used that edition when I was a regular pioneer). But, I do have the 1982 Forever book and the 1988 Revelation book.
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JW Obession with the trinity
by Riley inso a few years i watched a lecture series by a man named dr. micheal heiser called the two powers in heaven, jesus in the old testament.
funny thing was it wasn't even very evangelical in nature, so i turned off my religious binders and just watched it like a regular person.
it turns out that the new testament is a hinge point in the bible.
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Disillusioned JW
God as described in the Jewish Hebrew Scriptures is far more concerned with being obeyed than he is with people having correct metaphysical (or theological) ideas of God. In Judaism atheistic ethnic Jews are considered good Jews if they adhere to the laws/rituals of Judaism and do good. That is because in Judaism beliefs are not nearly as important as what a person does. In that respect I think Judaism is better than Christianity.
Judaism is about what people do, whereas Christianity is about what people believe.
It is better for human society when people do good and avoid doing bad, whether they believe in God or not, than if they have the correct metaphysical (or theological) ideas about God but do bad instead of doing good.
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If not the WT/JW relgion where else are 'we' to go? Why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism?
by Disillusioned JW insometimes jws wonder if the wt/jw is not the truth, 'then where else are we to go?
' i say 'why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism and why not a secular philosophy which teaches a way of life?
' what do you folks say?.
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Disillusioned JW
Sea Breeze I commented in regards to what you said some people said about Krauss' judgment, not his truthfulness. Note I said '... some have made against his judgment ...". I have made no attempt to determine Kraus was being truthful or not in regards to what the accusations say, since the accusations did not pertain to cosmological science. Furthermore, It is hard to determine if people are sincere about the matters you are directing attention to. In contrast scientific facts and logic often speak for themselves.
My focus i this topic thread is on the science, not on someone's alleged sexual habits or alleged remarks about sex. For me the issue regarding Krauss is with his science book being informative and accurate on the topic of the book. Other leading scientists agree with at least Krauss' basic idea of a Universe from a so-called 'nothing (and probably with many other things he says in his book, but until I read the book I won't be able to compare what the book says with what other leading scientists say)'. Hawking also spoke and wrote of a universe from so-called 'nothing'.
“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,” Hawking wrote.
In contrast you seem to be focused (at the moment) on committing the logical fallacy of Ad hominem attacks, and apparently as a way to distract people from considering scientific information which supports a naturalistic beginning to our universe.
For the time being I prefer to no longer communicate with you, though I intend to still communicate to folks in general about some things you write on this web site, so I can point out factual and/or logical flaws in that which you write.
Folks, regarding Dr. Sanford's idea pertaining to genetics and evolution, the review at https://www.amazon.com/review/RPW6H4PXYFMTM of Sanford's book called Genetic Entropy might be useful. The title of the review is called "Disinformation Theory...UPDATED REVIEW".
Young earth creationism is overwhelming false - and even absurd. Young earth creationist apologists reject much of modern science - including much of cosmology, physical geology, historical geology, astrophysics, and biology (at least in regards to evolutionary biology).
Evolutionary cosmology and biological evolution are realities.
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If not the WT/JW relgion where else are 'we' to go? Why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism?
by Disillusioned JW insometimes jws wonder if the wt/jw is not the truth, 'then where else are we to go?
' i say 'why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism and why not a secular philosophy which teaches a way of life?
' what do you folks say?.
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Disillusioned JW
Folks, I invite you to look at the science article (from 2015) called 'A Surprise Source of Life’s Code: Emerging data suggests the seemingly impossible — that mysterious new genes arise from “junk” DNA.' It located at A Surprise Source of Life’s Code | Quanta Magazine . The article says in part the following.
'Certain genes, however, seem to defy that origin story. They have no known relatives, and they bear no resemblance to any other gene. They’re the molecular equivalent of a mysterious beast discovered in the depths of a remote rainforest, a biological enigma seemingly unrelated to anything else on earth.
The mystery of where these orphan genes came from has puzzled scientists for decades. But in the past few years, a once-heretical explanation has quickly gained momentum — that many of these orphans arose out of so-called junk DNA, or non-coding DNA, the mysterious stretches of DNA between genes. “Genetic function somehow springs into existence,” said David Begun, a biologist at the University of California, Davis.
... Certain genes, however, seem to defy that origin story. They have no known relatives, and they bear no resemblance to any other gene. They’re the molecular equivalent of a mysterious beast discovered in the depths of a remote rainforest, a biological enigma seemingly unrelated to anything else on earth.
The mystery of where these orphan genes came from has puzzled scientists for decades. But in the past few years, a once-heretical explanation has quickly gained momentum — that many of these orphans arose out of so-called junk DNA, or non-coding DNA, the mysterious stretches of DNA between genes. “Genetic function somehow springs into existence,” said David Begun, a biologist at the University of California, Davis.'
I also invite people to see the science article (from 2017) called "A hidden code in our DNA explains how new pieces of genes are made" located at https://phys.org/news/2017-01-hidden-code-dna-pieces-genes.html . It says in part the following.
'The two forces are tightly coupled in evolution, so that as soon as any mutations make the ying stronger, the yang catches up and stops them. This allows the Alu elements to remain in a harmless state in our DNA over long evolutionary periods, during which they accumulate a lot of change via mutations. As a result, they become less harmful and gradually start escaping the repressive force. Eventually, some of them take on an important function and became indispensable pieces of human genes.
To put it another way, the balanced forces buy the time needed for mutations to make beneficial changes, rather than disruptive ones, to a species. And this is why evolution proceeds in such small steps – it only works if the two forces remain balanced by complementary mutations, which takes time. Eventually, important new molecular functions can emerge from randomness.'
I also invite people to read the science article (from 2019) called "How evolution builds genes from scratch: Scientists long assumed that new genes appear when evolution tinkers with old ones. It turns out that natural selection is much more creative." It is located at How evolution builds genes from scratch (nature.com) . It says in part the following.
'... genes do not always evolve from existing ones, as biologists long supposed. Instead, some are fashioned from desolate stretches of the genome that do not code for any functional molecules.
... De novo genes are even prompting a rethink of some portions of evolutionary theory. Conventional wisdom was that new genes tended to arise when existing ones are accidentally duplicated, blended with others or broken up, but some researchers now think that de novo genes could be quite common: some studies suggest at least one-tenth of genes could be made in this way; others estimate that more genes could emerge de novo than from gene duplication. Their existence blurs the boundaries of what constitutes a gene, revealing that the starting material for some new genes is non-coding DNA (see ‘Birth of a gene’).
The ability of organisms to acquire new genes in this way is testament to evolution’s “plasticity to make something seemingly impossible, possible”, says Yong Zhang, a geneticist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Zoology in Beijing, who has studied the role of de novo genes in the human brain.'
Biological evolution is indeed a fact. It is real.
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Regarding Lawrence Krauss, regardless of the accusations some have made against his judgment he has received high honors in regards to his intellect. His intellect is what is relevant regarding what his science book (called A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing) teaches. Note the following about him (as stated at Lawrence Krauss - Wikipedia ).
"'In an interview with Krauss in the Scientific American, science writer Claudia Dreifus called Krauss "one of the few top physicists who is also known as a public intellectual."[29] Krauss is one of very few to have received awards from all three major American physics societies: the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Institute of Physics. In 2012, he was awarded the National Science Board's Public Service Medal for his contributions to public education in science and engineering in the United States.[46]'
Correction: in my prior post where I said "... by Lawrence Krauss Lawrence" I meant to say "... by Lawrence Krauss" instead.
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If not the WT/JW relgion where else are 'we' to go? Why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism?
by Disillusioned JW insometimes jws wonder if the wt/jw is not the truth, 'then where else are we to go?
' i say 'why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism and why not a secular philosophy which teaches a way of life?
' what do you folks say?.
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Disillusioned JW
Today I purchased an ex-library (from a sale at the local library) copy of the book called A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing, by Lawrence Krauss Lawrence.
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If not the WT/JW relgion where else are 'we' to go? Why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism?
by Disillusioned JW insometimes jws wonder if the wt/jw is not the truth, 'then where else are we to go?
' i say 'why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism and why not a secular philosophy which teaches a way of life?
' what do you folks say?.
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Disillusioned JW
Sea Breeze, of course I know it is also based upon replication mistakes, for I said (in words which you did not quote) "... and their genetic material undergoes mutations, including sometimes beneficial ones." It is also based upon replication of those portions of the codes which were copied accurately. Both are needed.
Though you are telling what to do, you have no control over me. You can't muzzle my speech. Perhaps you want to act like the governing body of the JWs. Like them you reject evolution and believe in Yahweh, Christ, Holy Spirit, Satan the Devil, angels, demons, and supernatural miracles.
Believe in magic and spirits as much as you want, but as for me I will continue to know that naturalism is true. I chose to believe in reality - not superstition.
I am not being hypocritical (at least on this matter). What I am saying is well grounded in science. Yes Sanford, a type of young earth creationist, does not believe in biological evolution and he thinks he found a disproof of biological evolution. But I am not convinced he is correct in that matter. I have confidence in many of the claims of evolutionist literature written by scientists (some who are Christians) which specifically disprove numerous claims of creationists, including of intelligent design proponents.
In this paragraph I am addressing readers in general, but to the exclusion of Sea Breeze (for I have no hope he will change his creationist views). Readers, I invite you to read the article located at http://blog.rongarret.info/2020/05/a-review-of-john-sanfords-genetic.html . The article is called 'A review of John Sanford's "Genetic Entropy" '. -
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NASA: Humans Back to the Moon
by Gerard innasa plans return to moon by 2020
"this vision aims to return humans to the moon, and then to use it as a staging point for a manned mission to mars.
i wonder if jws will be required to canvas those areas too.
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Disillusioned JW
I am confident that the Artemis I Mission will be a success and that humans will within several years land on the moon's south pole, and that later humans will begin the process of creating a base on the moon. [See https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/ .] I am also confident that humans will eventually land on Mars. I intend to live long enough to see all of that happen - and I intend to live beyond that.
Tonight I saw for the second time the science fiction movie (from the year 2015) called "The Martian", except that this time I saw the "Extended Edition" of the movie. The movie is excellent! It has a very high degree of scientific accuracy (with one only a few scientific inaccuracies in it). [See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(film) .] It is the best science fiction movie about Mars ever! It is so encouraging and hopeful.
Though the Bible (at Psalms 115:16, as paraphrased by me) says that 'the heavens belong to Yahweh, but that the Earth he has given to humankind', I know that eventually humans will be also be living on the Earth's moon and on Mars, not just on Earth. I look forward to that happening. It will happen because of some humans embracing a form of Humanism (which includes embracing science) and striving to make it happen. Oh joy of joy.
Today at a large book sale of the local library I purchased a copy of the book (copyright 2013) called Mission To Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration by Buzz Aldrin. Mr. Aldrin is one of NASA's astronauts who walked on Earth's moon about 50 years ago.