cofty

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Posts by cofty

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  13

  Why Blame God?

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  why blame god?.

  he said to the woman, "did god really say, 'you must not eat from any tree in the garden'?

  so, whose really to blame for the thousands of years of suffering and death?

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  cofty

  Either this is satire or wannabe is living in a trance
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  40

  GENETICS- CREATIONISTS need not be INTIMIDATED.

  by hooberus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  genetics- creationists need not be intimidated.. .

  internet evolutionists almost universally and repetitiously proclaim that modern neo-darwinian evolutionary theory is supported by overwhelming evidence and that there is no evidence for biblical creation (or even mere intelligent design) for that matter.

  they will dogmatically claim that evolution receives universal support from all the real scientists and all the facts from genetics, biology, geology, paleontology, and every other ology that one can think of.

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  cofty

  hooberus - the evidence for the common ancestry of all living things that is found in our genome is off-the-scale compelling.

  It requires an a priori religious motive to deny it. How about explaining your objections in your own words instead of the cut-and-paste appeals to authority?

  Here is a very simple snippet of evidence that I personally find very convincing....

  Occasionally a virus will infect an animal and get its DNA implanted in its host genome, HIV is an example of such an infection. Most infections are of soma (body) cells and end with the death of the hapless victim. Very occasionally a virus will infect a germ (sex) cell of its host and will then become part of the genome of all of its victims descendants.

  These kind of infections, known as "endogenous retroviruses", are very rare and very random. Remember your DNA consists of 3 billion base pairs and is split into 24 pairs of chromosomes. If the same remnant of a virus was found in exactly the same place in the genome of two different people it would be irrefutable evidence that they both inherited it from a common ancestor.
  
  If many such examples were found that exactly matched in two people we know for an absolute certainty that they have shared the same family tree.
  
  Now that the whole human genome has been deciphered many of these examples have been found, every one in exactly the same place proving the common ancestry of every human on earth. However scientists next looked at the genome of the primates and found the very same remnants of ancient virus DNA in exactly the same places.
  
  Not only that but they found a "family tree" of endogenous retroviruses that confirmed exactly the relationships we previously believed to be the case. In other words those species we knew for other reasons to be our closest relatives share more endogenous retroviruses than those more distantly related. We can therefore show exactly when each of these viruses infected our common ancestors.

  

  This is the same kind of evidence with the same degree of certainty that scientist use every day to establish paternity or to convict those accused of serious crimes.
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  25

  When You Were A Witness Did You Feel YOU Were Part Of The "Brotherhood"?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did you personally feel like you actually belonged to the worldwide brotherhood?

  did you feel special, as if you were part of something truly extraordainary?.

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  cofty

  Yes totally believed it hook, line and sinker

  I didn't have any delusions about the fact that there were plenty a$$holes in the borg but I was convinced we were a chosen people regardless
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  22

  Let slip the dogs of war...

  by sd-7 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the calm before session 2 of borg court is a chilling one.

  quietly, our units go about their duties, but deep down, they're wondering: can we match swords with the very powers-that-be?

  we are fighting against mount olympus itself, the elders, the organization--with our beloved wife and child looking on.

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  cofty

  Wishing you well. Remember the less you care about their self-assumed authority the more powerful you will feel. Let us know how it goes
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  25

  Did they have this part right?

  by desib77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so what do you think happens to someone when they die.

  i learned of the death of someone yesterday that was never a very good person.

  i can't help but wonder where he is now... is he dead "aware of nothing" like the jws always said?

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  cofty

  I had an anesthetic once, it completely obliterated my consciousness until I woke up again in the hospital ward. I strongly suspect it will not survive the complete destruction of my brain.
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  36

  Why does the WTBS hate sex so much?

  by highdose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  now i know they try to control everything and pretty much ban anything.

  but sex seems to be somthing they can't stand and would like to get rid of completly if they could.

  so many articles and so much conusel about not having sex or having anything to do with sex from any angle at all.

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  cofty

  The gb obsess about it because they are disfunctional. Its like food, the only people who fixate on it are gluttons and anorexics, the rest of us just enjoy it.
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  24

  Thank God for Morals ?

  by PSacramento in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not sure if this is the best title, but.... [if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> </w:worddocument> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:latentstyles> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 10]> <mce:style><!

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  cofty

  Sometimes being moral DOES cause unnecessary suffering, does that make the action immoral then?
  
  If by me giving food to someone when I am hungry, causes me to be hungry, is it immoral to give food?

  You are right, sometimes we are faced with Hobson's choice. The moral thing is that which minimises suffering.

  As for a choice between personal suffering and the suffering of others there is no easy answer, most ethical decisions are complex. Will you be hungry to the point of endangering your life? When will you get food next? Whose need is greater? There are no easy answers, that's the problem with written codes they break down too easily in the real world.

  Interesting studies on reciprocal altruism in the animal kingdom studied vampire bats. If a bat fails to find blood on an evening, a neighboring bat will usually regurgitate some blood for him back at the roost. If a bat reneges when its time to pay back, he is made to pay by being rejected next time he goes hungry. Human society is a little more complex but that's why we got the big frontal lobes.

  Ethics are relative - "minimise suffering"
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  22

  Adam wasn't a ROBOT----so damn what??

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  adam was never a baby cradled in his loving mother's arms.

  nobody sang a lullabye to him or tickled him just to make him smile.. adam didn't grow up with brothers and sisters and a playground or a teddy bear or sitting around a family dinner with loving conversations.. adam wasn't given by god the things we take for granted as minimum requirements to normalize us.. this is what makes the genesis account so cold and unloving on god's side of the argument.. adam had no friends.. adam never played a game with companions or sat around a campfire and sang a song.. adam never grew up with music in his ears.. there was no art or literature, poetry or encouragement.. whatever humanity is---wasn't there for him to shape him.. .

  his was a cold, empty, loveless existence until eve appeared.. eve had no mother, sisters or family life as a child either.. eve had never been cuddled by her mother and lovingly encouraged to be or do anything.. adam and eve were raw humanity with nobody to say to them "i love you.".

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  cofty

  $hit happens! Two words, explains everything.
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  24

  Thank God for Morals ?

  by PSacramento in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not sure if this is the best title, but.... [if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> </w:worddocument> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:latentstyles> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 10]> <mce:style><!

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  cofty

  If morals come from god how come there are so many opinions on the specifics of right and wrong among believers? God is the ultimate sock-puppet, every believer thinks god agrees with her/his opinion on every moral dilemma.

  The basics of morality is not a mystery. We all flinch from pain; physical and emotional. Avoid causing unnecessary suffering, that is the foundation of every moral "law" that is worth observing.
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  10

  Invisible Presence! Or COMING? Which?

  by wannabe in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  invisible presence!

  or coming?

  the governing body of the watchtower society, makes claim to being the anointed brothers of the christ.

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  cofty

  I wrote an article on parousia and sent it to Brooklyn when I was an elder, it was very respectful; almost to the point of sichophantic - they df'd me!

  The word also had a particular meaning that referred to a visit of a ruler. It is clearly used in this context in the NT and to call it invisible is just a way of covering up failed expectations, 1844, 1878, & 1914