The quote (posted on page 1 of this topic thread) from the Golden Age does not say that the dinosaurs were transported from Earth to Venus, nor does it say the WT taught there were dinosaurs on Venus. Instead the quote says that some scientists think animals like the former dinosaurs of Earth exist on Venus. Back in 1931 scientists did not know how hot Venus is and they did not know if some kind of life exists on Venus. Venus was thought as possibly have life on it. The Golden Age was correct in saying that the temperature of Venus is considerably warmer than Earth's temperature of the year 1931. Some modern scientists also say that life like that of some life of Earth (and life like that of a former time on Earth) likely exist on another world beyond Earth.
Disillusioned JW
JoinedPosts by Disillusioned JW
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Rutherford and dinosaurs
by jhine insorry if this has been discussed before but on quora someone asked if rutherford had said that dinosaurs had been taken to venus .
i assume that the questioner had heard it somewhere and wanted to check it out.
i've never come across this before is it true ?
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Disillusioned JW
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New poll shows public knows Jehovah's Witnesses and dislike them....almost as much as the Church of Satan
by Balaamsass2 inwow.
while not a pew survey, i found these to be surprising results.
" a recent yougov poll explores americans' attitudes toward 35 religious groups, organizations, and belief systems.
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Disillusioned JW
slimboyfat notice from the website of the Unitarian Universalists are so radically different from the WT/JW religion. Notice that https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/principles says the following.
"As Rev. Barbara Wells ten Hove explains, “The Principles are not dogma or doctrine, but rather a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist religious communities.”
- 1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
- 2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
- 3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
- 4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
- 5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
- 6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
- 7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/beliefs says the folklowing.
"We Welcome People with Many Beliefs
In Unitarian Universalism, you can bring your whole self: your full identity, your questioning mind, your expansive heart.
... Explore the links below to learn how Unitarian Universalists weave these traditions and identities into who they are today.
What Unites Us?
We are united in our broad and inclusive outlook, and in our values, as expressed in our seven Principles."https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/sources says the following.
"Sources of Our Living Tradition
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- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
- Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature."
... https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/life-death says the following.
'At the beginning of life, we welcome children with ceremonies of Child Dedication, in which we affirm the goodness and the blessing in every human life. You could say we believe in “original blessing” rather than “original sin.”
... Unitarian Universalist views about life after death are informed by both science and spiritual traditions. Many of us live with the assumption that life does not continue after death, and many of us hold it as an open question, wondering if our minds will have any awareness when we are no longer living. Few of us believe in divine judgment after death. It’s in our religious DNA: the Universalist side of our tradition broke with mainstream Christianity by rejecting the idea of eternal damnation."
https://www.uua.org/beliefs/who-we-are says the following.
"We have radical roots and a history as self-motivated spiritual people: we think for ourselves and recognize that life experience influences our beliefs more than anything.
We need not think alike to love alike. We are people of many beliefs and backgrounds: people with a religious background, people with none, people who believe in a God, people who don’t, and people who let the mystery be.
We are Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, atheist and agnostic, believers in God, and more.
On the forefront of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer inclusion for more than 40 years, we are people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
We seek to welcome you: your whole self, with all your truths and your doubts, your worries and your hopes. Join us on this extraordinary adventure of faith."
https://www.uua.org/safe says the following.
"Professional Misconduct Complaints
- Our ministers, credentialed religious educators, and credentialed music leaders are held to high standards for appropriate behavior. Our Office of Ethics and Safety handles Complaints of Professional Misconduct for these professionals who serve our faith. The UUA's system for responding to complaints of professional misconduct is grounded in principles of restorative justice and reconciliation."
The Unitarian Universalists also urge people to be active voters - the opposite of what the Wt/JW urges. Notice that https://www.uua.org/justice says the following.
"Directly or indirectly, the issues so many of us care most deeply about—climate change, LGBTQ rights, immigration, racial justice and more—are part of every election and on every ballot. UUs are called to join forces with all people who want to organize our communities and our nation to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate. Let’s UU the Vote to defend democracy and voting rights." They probably also view the United Nations favorably.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/04/the-most-and-least-educated-u-s-religious-groups/ list (in a chart) the Unitarian Universalists as the religion with its members being the 2nd most college educated in the USA in contrast to the Jehovah's Witnesses being the 3rd least college educated in the USA. The web page says the following. "By far, Hindus and Unitarian Universalists have among the largest share of those with a college degree – 77% and 67% respectively."
In light of the above, do you now see why "... many Unitarians really dislike JWs ..."? They represent much of what the WT/JW religion calls Babylon the Great (but in many respects in what I consider a good way) and the WT/JW religion says that Babylon the Great will be destroyed by God, so naturally many Unitarian Universalists would disprove of the WT religion and dislike many of its JWs. They also appear to handle cases of sexual abuse of children far better than the WT/JW religion does.
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How come the old boys on the GB don't get kicked out at 70?
by eyeslice init would appear that circuit overseers (no dos these days i guess) are taken off at 70 years old.
even older ones in bethels are disposed (sorry 're-assigned to the field) of before they get too past it.. how come though the old boys on the gb aren't shown the door at 70 and replaced by younger men - obviously of the recently anointed type?
they don't look a particularly fit bunch so they can't claim special mightiness because of doing 'the lord's work'.
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Disillusioned JW
Similarly how come the judges of the Supreme Court of the USA don't get kicked out at age 70 or for any other reason? The answer is similar to why the governing body members don't get kicked out of the WT/JW religion due to old age. Furthermore, the USA federal Constitution protects the USA Supreme Court judges from being removed from office.
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New poll shows public knows Jehovah's Witnesses and dislike them....almost as much as the Church of Satan
by Balaamsass2 inwow.
while not a pew survey, i found these to be surprising results.
" a recent yougov poll explores americans' attitudes toward 35 religious groups, organizations, and belief systems.
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Disillusioned JW
slimboyfat did it occur to you that many Unitarians really dislike the JWs (and other fundamentalists) because JWs (and other fundamentalists) have core values diametrically opposite of Unitarians? Modern day Unitarians highly value freedom of thought (including in regards to religion), but the WT opposes its members from exercising freedom of thought in religious matters and from expressing criticisms of the WT with other JWs. The Unitarians highly value higher education and the pursuit of high level careers whereas the WT highly discourages JWs from obtaining university degrees and high level careers and the WT is sharply critical of the scientific idea of evolution. The Unitarians Universalists are highly tolerant of their members being a Unitarian and of a different religion (such as Muslim) at the same time, but the JW religion condemns all religions other than their own and says that Jehovah and Jesus will destroy all religions and all worshipers other than the JW religion and JWs. The Unitarians are highly tolerant of Unitarians beings atheists whereas the JW religion is extremely intolerant of JWs being atheists.
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Is The Religion Of Jehovah's Witnesses Biblical?
by Vanderhoven7 inthe answer is a definite no!.
because every doctrine that is unique to jehovah's witnesses is not in the bible.
the unique doctrines of jehovah’s witnesses are the ones that only jehovah’s witnesses teach.
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Disillusioned JW
ozziepost, yes a Christian can be independent and even avoid attending a congregation, but parts of the NT say that Christians are to attend a congregation (and that they would have works of the spirit and gifts of the spirit). Furthermore, when people read the Bible and become Christians of some kind as a result they will come up with their own ideas of what the Bible teaches (even if they ask for guidance from the so-called holy spirit, from Jesus the so-called Christ, and from the so called God the Father). Furthermore, they will disagree with each other on a number of those ideas. That is why there are so many doctrinal divisions within Christianity and part of the reason why various churches, denominations, sects, and 'cults' have formed within Christianity.According to the NT, shouldn't Christianity be one? Shouldn't there be only one version of Christianity (regarding doctrines and regarding practices claimed to be required by God), instead of the numerous divisions we find in Christianity? Didn't the gospels (at least one gospel) say that Jesus told his disciples that they should be one just as "I and the father are one"? Doesn't the NT say that God is a god of order instead of disorder/chaos? Doesn't truth matter? Doesn't truth really really matter? If the Bible is true, doesn't there exist a God of Christianity who communicates very clearly to all of his followers/believers? Didn't a gospel account (the one named John) say that Jesus would send the holy spirit (also called the spirit of truth) to provide correct understanding to all disciples of Christ who request to receive such?
Since by etymology the word "theology" literally means "science of God/god" and "knowledge of God/god" (and "study of God/god") shouldn't Christianity theology be a true science, an actual branch of science? But Christian theology is not a real science, not a real branch of science [people study human ideas about God instead of studying God/god himself/herself/itself/themselves]. Shouldn't God/god be an entity which humans can directly study if theology is really a study of God and a science of God?
Why don't all Christian theologians, especially those who are scholars of such, agree with each other on all matters of doctrine? Why are some them Catholics, some Orthodox, some Lutheran, some Presbyterian, some Methodist, some Baptist, some evangelical, some Episcopalian, some Seventh-day Adventist, etc? Why are of some them atheist or deist or agnostic?
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New poll shows public knows Jehovah's Witnesses and dislike them....almost as much as the Church of Satan
by Balaamsass2 inwow.
while not a pew survey, i found these to be surprising results.
" a recent yougov poll explores americans' attitudes toward 35 religious groups, organizations, and belief systems.
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Disillusioned JW
Regarding the attitudes towards atheists and nonreligious people in general, and some of the concerns of those people, I found the following article very informative and interesting.: https://www.atheists.org/2022/12/ny-governor-hochul-secular-recovery-bill/ .
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Is The Religion Of Jehovah's Witnesses Biblical?
by Vanderhoven7 inthe answer is a definite no!.
because every doctrine that is unique to jehovah's witnesses is not in the bible.
the unique doctrines of jehovah’s witnesses are the ones that only jehovah’s witnesses teach.
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Disillusioned JW
Has anyone ever become a Christian of a specific church (such as Roman Catholic or Lutheran, for example), denomination, sect, or 'cult' of Christianity just by reading the Bible (and I don't mean an edition of the Bible bundled with notes, helps, or an appendix of a specific denomination or specific church)?
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Who raised Jesus from the dead?
by Blotty ini have seen arguments surrounding jesus' resurrection being proof of "the trinity" - now while in some cases it's a good argument the evidence for it remains very weak.
(bible quotes are from the nwt but other bibles are referenced, use whichever you please) this following version of it is a good example.. "the bible indicates that all [persons] of the trinity was involved in jesus’ resurrection.
galatians[1:1] says that the father raised jesus from the dead.
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Disillusioned JW
Though I still have a number of Christian books which I still read (though for various reasons) I now intensely dislike reading books (and watching videos) which are specifically apologetic for Christianity (or for some other religion which teaches that the supernatural exists) - especially if they are also heavily criticizing atheism, evolution, and/or scientific naturalism. I thus have no desire at all to watch Christian apologetic videos of Mark Lanier.
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Who raised Jesus from the dead?
by Blotty ini have seen arguments surrounding jesus' resurrection being proof of "the trinity" - now while in some cases it's a good argument the evidence for it remains very weak.
(bible quotes are from the nwt but other bibles are referenced, use whichever you please) this following version of it is a good example.. "the bible indicates that all [persons] of the trinity was involved in jesus’ resurrection.
galatians[1:1] says that the father raised jesus from the dead.
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Disillusioned JW
Correction: On page 9 of this topic thread I had a typo when I wrote the following. "Well I learned many years. from a science show on television, that some people can function well (including thinking very consciously) despite having the vast majority of their brain tissue!" I meant instead the following. "Well I learned many years ago from a science show on television, that some people can function well (including thinking very consciously) despite having the vast majority of their brain tissue severely damaged or even gone/missing!"
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Who raised Jesus from the dead?
by Blotty ini have seen arguments surrounding jesus' resurrection being proof of "the trinity" - now while in some cases it's a good argument the evidence for it remains very weak.
(bible quotes are from the nwt but other bibles are referenced, use whichever you please) this following version of it is a good example.. "the bible indicates that all [persons] of the trinity was involved in jesus’ resurrection.
galatians[1:1] says that the father raised jesus from the dead.
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Disillusioned JW
On page 8 of this topic thread Sea Breeze wrote the following. "Mark Lanier is a Trial Lawyer" who spoke "on the topic of the nature of evidence" at an event "of an atheist / christian book club". Sea Breeze also said the following regarding the "club". "Recently they completed a segment called "Christianity on Trial". They just completed a segment called "Atheism on Trial"." What Sea Breeze did not say is that though Mark Lanier is a trail lawyer, he is also a Christian apologist with an honorary theological degree and that he has published a Christian apologetic book called Christianity on Trial: A Lawyer Examines the Christian Faith and a Christian apologetic book called Atheism on Trial: A Lawyer Examines the Case for Unbelief. Both books are published by InterVarsity Press - a Christian publisher. I thus strongly suspect that the "club" Sea Breeze wrote of is one created by Mark Lanier. https://www.lanierlawfirm.com/attorneys/w-mark-lanier/ says the following about Mark Lanier.
"Mark has been awarded honorary doctor degrees from St. Johns University, Pepperdine University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. ...
Personal Background
A devout Christian, Mark is also the founder of the Lanier Theological Library, one of the nation’s largest private theological collections. He teaches a weekly, 700-plus-member Sunday school class focusing on Biblical literacy at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston. Mark is also the founder of the Christian Trial Lawyers Association, a nonprofit organization working to create a network of principled attorneys to minister to others through civic-minded endeavors. Mark has also published several books on faith. These include Christianity on Trial (IVP, 2014) and a daily devotional book titled Psalms for Living: Daily Prayers, Wisdom, and Guidance (Baylor University Press, 2016), the latter of which was awarded the 2018 Illumination Book Award in the Devotional category. He followed this up with Torah for Living (Baylor University Press, 2018)."
Laanier's above mentioned web page in the html code for "<title>" says "W. Mark Lanier - Attorney, Pastor & Founder of The Lanier Law Firm".
Atheists and others who do not believe in Christianity should keeps the above mentioned facts in mind about Mark Lanier when considering watching the video (of which Sea Breeze provided a link to) which includes him as a speaker. Sea Breeze tends to use exclusively Christian apologetic sources in his posts in which he criticizes atheism, materialism, naturalism, and evolution.