zoiks

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Posts by zoiks

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  7

  Viruses (how a virus works)

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbizi4s5nie&feature=playlist&p=ad457976c289ab80&playnext=1&playnext_from=pl&index=12.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01qwlckblsm&feature=related.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niswzcsmsss.

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  zoiks

  Awesome stuff, especially the one dealing with human evolution. Humans and chimps having ERV dna in exactly the same spots in the genome is very telling.
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  18

  So an elder came by and asked me if I have found another Church

  by bluesapphire in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  very nice brother came by who comes about every 6 months or so.

  i really like this guy and knew ahead of time that the next time he came over i was going to be friendly to him.

  he came by during a storm and was obviously cold.

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  zoiks

  Well done; hopefully I'll be able to recall some of your points if the occasion calls for it.

  11 years of fading - wow!
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  14

  Vikings or Saints?

  by 5thGeneration in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we all know the colts will win.. how 'bout the vikings and saints?.

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  zoiks

  Saints, I guess.

  Also, I would love to see the Jets take out Indy. Just for the opportunity to see the "Manning face" in HD.
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  zoiks

  Paul,

  Of course love exists. And relationships. And all the good things that we enjoy and hold dear. Life is worth living, and living to the full. I will agree that the thought of there being no afterlife, paradise, heaven - anything - was initially disturbing and frightening. But life can be and is enjoyed to the full by people of virtually every background, creed, faith, belief, and non-belief. Life is good and fulfilling.

  I look around me at family, friends, my children, satisfying work, food, drink, love, laughter, this beautiful earth, and I think, isn't this ENOUGH? I think that it is!
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  8

  Email in circulation

  by watson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if so, my apologies for re hashing.

  curious what you think.

  very sad moments--robin buried a 14 year old sister last night--she .

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  zoiks

  Terrible.
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  zoiks

  I guess I'm just saying that I don't understand how anyone can say anything other than "I don't know for sure".

  I know where you're coming from, believe me. Some folks are perfectly ok with saying, "I don't know". For others, that just isn't acceptable. Personally, I am coming to terms with not knowing, and being ok with that. I second Jeff's sentiments - I hope that you will find your own beliefs and be ok with them. It is a heavy responsibility as well as an exciting time of self-discovery that we go through when we leave the WT, but it is uniquely OURS.

  Peace.
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  zoiks

  They both require a certain amount of "suspension of disbelief".

  Paul, I must take issue with this statement. Perhaps atheism as a stance is subject to a measure of this, perhaps not. But simply not being convinced of any god's existence is certainly not "suspension of disbelief". My personal view is that gods have been used to explain a great many things throughout human history. But they are increasingly becoming "a god of the gaps", that is, gaps in our understanding. The more that we understand about the life, the universe, and everything - the need to use "god" to explain things decreases.

  It is simply looking at data in an objective way. Are there things that we may never be able to explain? Probably. But an argument from incredulity, i.e. "I don't know how that happened or works so god must have done it" is not intellectually honest, in my opinion.
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  9

  Link from WT fan Facebook yields BS experience

  by huxley2.0 in

  1. forum
  2. tech-support

  i found this crap cake while browsing a link on the facebook wt fan site.... .

  "from a circuit overseer in georgia.... brother steve kormendi .

  we had an interesting experience at our recent assembly.

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  zoiks

  Variations on this story have been around for years! The last one that I heard was that a brother was on a long flight, sitting next to a UN dignitary/VIP/janitor. During the conversation it came out that the UN had plans in place to get rid of religion.

  JW urban legends are exactly like every other urban legend.
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  128

  The upside of atheism

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i realize whether you believe in god or the non-existence of god it has to be taken on faith since both positions are unknowable and unprovable.

  however, i can understand faith in god as basically a hope for something better.

  i can also understand agnosticism; admitting it's unknowable but still leaving the door open (perhaps the only intellectually honest option).

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  zoiks

  For me, it is a lack of belief in god(s), and it is very liberating. I want to be good for goodness' sake. Not for a (probably fictitious) sky-man holding a carrot just out of reach.

  And I have learned to stop looking at everything with an agenda already in place. The world is full of wonder, and I try very hard to appreciate it for what it is, not what somebody else says it should be.
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  18

  To those who were ‘born in’

  by poopsiecakes in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while you were a witness, did you ever play the what if game?

  i would occasionally sit with my friends and wed bandy the ideas around...if we werent born in would we be interested if someone knocked at our door...would we want to go to college...would we be promiscuous.... it was interesting to hear the responses and i think about that now.

  one thing i always knew was that if someone knocked at my door a) chances are i wouldnt answer and b) although i would be polite, i would not have any interest whatsoever.

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  zoiks

  My sentiments have been similar to those of JWfacts since I was a teenager. Then I played the 'what if' game by myself a little over a year ago...