Topics Started by cofty
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92
When did Theology Last add something to Human Knowledge?
by cofty into illustrate my question.... i am watching an episode of the australian tv program "q & a" on youtube.
the panel includes the brilliant laurence krauss, gay bishop gene robinson, the woefully ignorant and bigoted rev fred nile and a few others.. the early questions put gene robinson under the spotlight and to be fair he comes across as a loving, compassionate, intelligent and - in his own words - "fabulous" person.
by contrast the reverend nile is a caricature of everything that is dispicable and hateful about theism.. a self-righteous young man in the audience asks gene how he deals with the bible's condemnation of homosexuality.
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The Gospel Contrasted With the Watchtower Doctrine of the Ransom
by cofty inthis is an article i wrote back in '97 or '98 when i was a christian.
it is based on my personal experience of the watchtower's teachings as well as further reading of the earlier writings of russell and rutherford.. disclaimer - in my opinion, what follows shows clearly that the watchtower's doctrine of the ransom is not based on any sensible interpretation of scripture.
however i no longer believe in any version of theism.
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11
Sam Harris' $20,000 Challenge - The Moral Landscape
by cofty inin his book, "the moral landscape" sam harris argues that you can in fact get "an ought from an is".. the split between facts and values is an illusion.. he challenges the assumption that science has nothing to say about objective morality, which he defines as our thinking about the well-being of conscious creatures.. personally i found his book to be compelling; all the arguments against it that i have read so far are based on misunderstandings of his thesis.
i hve quoted harris a couple of times when he said to his critics that he didn't want to be wrong any longer than necessary.
in that spirit he has offered $10,000 to anybody who can refute the central argument of his book in 1000 words or less.
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95
Please Share one of your Favourite Quotations
by cofty inhave you ever come across words that resonate with you?
it doesn't have to be a great gem of wisdom, just something that is meaningful to you.. please share, and if you want to, tell us why it's meaningful to you.. here is something that made me nod when i first read it.... .
"fortunate are those who have learned to see, in the wild things of nature, something to be loved, something to be wondered at, something to be reverenced, for they have found the key to a never-failing source of recreation and refreshment".
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124
Does your Theology Align with Reality?
by cofty inthesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.
however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.
sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.
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23
Head Gasket Sorted - with pics
by cofty inok if you clicked on this you might be a mechanical geek like me.
some people love buying shoes or handbags for me is shiny new tools.. for the last few weeks the head gasket has been blowing on my rover 214. fortunately the oil and water hasn't been mixing so no harm done.
the combustion gases have been blowing through the water jacket which made it sounded like a witches cauldron.
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37
When "The Persecution" Comes - What a Let Down that turned out to be!
by cofty inwhen i was young there was endless speculation about "the persecution".
i have very clear memories as a child sitting in the old kingdom hall in coatbridge hearing it talked about from the platform.
it was a frequent topic at home.. sometimes there was lurid detail about what sort of torture "they" might use against us to make us betray others.
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33
So I Went back to my old Kingdom Hall Today...
by cofty in...because it's now an art gallery.. it was really strange to have a look around the building and see what they have done with it.
a lot of the old kh features are still there.
they have kept the old platform, it gets used as a music venue on occasions.. i went up on the platform and faced the hall to bring back memories of the hundreds of times i stood there giving talks.. they have quite a few of the old chairs and the magazine/literature counter is still there but it has been moved beside the stage and painted.. all those huge windows have been restored and the place is full of light.. you can see a lot of pictures at their website, they have called it "the berwick watchtower".. the owner asked my wife and i if it was our first visit - hahaha.
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Steve Martin - Atheists Don't Have no Songs, Until Now
by cofty in.... catholics,.
dress up for mass.. and listen to,.
gregorian chants.. atheists,.
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85
My Letter to Brooklyn about the Parousia that got me disfellowshipped
by cofty inthis is the letter i wrote back in '96 about the parousia.
following the '95 watchtower that disconnected the "generation" from 1914 i began to look carefully at end-time prophecy and soon discovered what i knew were basic errors in what i had been taught.. i was a loyal jw at the time and was still serving as an elder.
i used only watchtower publications in my research.