This is interesting. I asked the exact same question sometime back.
Atheists and the Occult
Occultism is the study of occult or hidden wisdom. To the occultist it is the study of "Truth", a deeper truth that exists beneath the surface: 'The truth is always hidden in plain sight'. It can involve such subjects as magic (alternatively spelled and defined as magick), alchemy, extra-sensory perception, astrology, spiritualism and numerology. There is often a strong religious element to these studies and beliefs, and many occultists profess adherence to religions such as Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Luciferianism, Thelema, and Neopaganism.
I rarely hear atheists talk about the occult. I have a family member that’s agnostic. He told me he didn’t like occult paraphernalia.
The question is what do atheists think about the occult? For example, would you buy your children a Harry Potter gift set complete with an Ouija board, tarot cards, runes, a crystal ball, a miniature alchemist laboratory and books on witchcraft and divination?
alice.in.wonderland
JoinedPosts by alice.in.wonderland
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Atheists - how do you feel about magic / demonism?
by EndofMysteries incurious, as ones not believing in any spirit creatures, would you feel completely at ease performing a summon demon ritual, or using ancient magic words, that absolutely nothing would happen?
or deep down would you have a 'what if' restraint preventing you?
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alice.in.wonderland
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The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
g93 3/22 pp. 3-4 Why So Many False Alarms?
There are some who make spectacular predictions of the world’s end to grab attention and a following, but others are sincerely convinced that their proclamations are true. They are voicing expectations based on their own interpretation of some scripture text or physical event. They do not claim that their predictions are direct revelations from Jehovah and that in this sense they are prophesying in Jehovah’s name. Hence, in such cases, when their words do not come true, they should not be viewed as false prophets such as those warned against at Deuteronomy 18:20-22. In their human fallibility, they misinterpreted matters.
False prophets have made spectacular predictions of the world’s end to grab attention. There is a difference:http://www.cuttingedge.org/ce1011.html
After the Thule Society selected Adolf Hitler to be their leader of the New World Order, they faced the problem of practical implementation of this goal. They realized that their plans for world domination required control of military power of Germany; however, the military is controlled by those holding political power, and Germany was a democracy. Therefore, the Thule Society created the Nazi Party. The Guiding Spirits of the Thule Society became the Guiding Spirits of the Nazi Party. In only 10 tumultuous years, Hitler gained high political office, from which he catapulted himself into the position of absolute dictator in 1933. In 1938, Hitler began the Final Solution of the Jewish problem by initiating the Holocaust. In 1939, Hitler initiated World War II, which lasted until Mid-1945. As I read the results, remember James' words, "Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death." By 1945, the occultic sin conceived by the Thule Society had come to full completion. These are the results: (Source is The Webster Family Encyclopedia, Volume 19, 1984, p. 492-3)
One of the most basic plans after the New World Order is established is to reduce the world's population from its present 6 billion to 2 billion by the year 2,000 (Constance Cumbey, Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow). Thus, birth control and abortion were early identified as necessary to begin reducing population. Our current emphasis on man's devastating effects upon the earth and upon Global Warming and pollution are designed to convince people that only united, drastic action from the United Nations can save this planet from collapse.
However, the year 2,000 is only a few short years away. How can this drastic reduction be achieved within this short time frame? The basic answer is war.
Bailey, in her book, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p. 548, states that the atomic bomb will be turned over to the One-World Government and will be used against any nation who refuses to go along with the New World Order.
Bill Cooper, in his book, Behold A Pale Horse, quotes a document from the Bilderberg Secret Society, which is an offshoot of Skull and Bones. "Since most of the general public will not exercise [economic] restraint...[we must] take control of the world by the use of economic silent weapons in a form of quiet warfare and reduce [the dangerous levels of consumption] of the world to a safe level by a process of benevolent slavery and genocide." (p. 49). How could anyone ever think of slavery and genocide as being benevolent? This was the precise thinking of Hitler as he was planning his New World Order. He was going to rid the world of all the undesirables by benevolent warfare. We reviewed the horrible results in the beginning of the program; however, these figures pale in comparison with the deaths of 4 billion people.
At this point, you may protest that the drive to the New World Order is being achieved peacefully. This is true, and when it is fully achieved will fulfill Biblical prophecy which states "When people are saying 'All is well and secure' and 'There is peace and safety', then in a moment, unforeseen destruction, ruin and death shall come upon them and no one shall escape." (1 Thess 5:3).-------------------------------------------
This is the year 2010 and we are all here in spite of the eccentric predictions of false prophets. -
88
The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
"Alice dear...
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
What color does the Invisible Pink Unicorn paint her royal hooves?
I don't know about you, but I can't digest the Flying Spaghetti Monster..."
agonus, These are questions that are likewise applicable to Mary, as she has yet to admit whether the Bible is the word of God or the word of man. Until further notice, some ex-Jehovah's Witnesses I've come across here, are the most duplicitous characters....hiding their religious beliefs is a given. An exposé would reveal the lowest form of hypocrisy.
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88
The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
"..... and that has something to do with the WTs light getting brighter???????"
NO .....and neither does the cartoon image I responded to have anything to do with the WTS light getting brighter.
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88
The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
Gerard, you believe I'm in wonderland? Google “Salem witch trials.”
The Puritans believed in the existence of an invisible world inhabited by God and the angels including the Devil (who was seen as a fallen angel) and his fellow demons. To Puritans, this invisible world was as real as the visible one around them. Real or unreal, they were fanatical and went to violent extremes. They were "sincere" but not wise or practical:
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20021015/article_02.htm
Belief that people could be possessed by the Devil or his demons soon gave rise to a collective paranoia—a hysterical fear of sorcery and witchcraft. From the 13th to the 17th century, fear of witches swept across Europe and reached North America with the European colonists. Even the Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin approved of witch-hunts. In Europe witch trials based on mere rumor or malicious denunciations were conducted by both the Inquisition and secular courts. Torture was commonly used to extort confessions of "guilt."
Those found guilty could be sentenced to death either by burning or, in England and Scotland, by hanging. As to the number of victims, The World Book Encyclopedia states: "From 1484 to 1782, according to some historians, the Christian church put to death about 300,000 women for witchcraft." If Satan was behind this medieval tragedy, who were his instruments—the victims or their fanatic religious persecutors?Would you elect these European colonists as your local representative?
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88
The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
"...sincerity alone does not purify someone of wrong teachings..."---- Awake! February 2006 p. 13
g 2/06 p. 13 Pilgrims and Puritans—Who Were They?
The Puritans were often hardworking, courageous, and devoted to their religion. People still speak of “Puritan character” and “Puritan honesty.” But sincerity alone does not purify someone of wrong teachings. The mixing of politics and religion is something that Jesus Christ avoided. (John 6:15; 18:36) And brutality is a contradiction of this vital truth: “He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love.”—1 John 4:8.
Nice quote mining. From the context of the Awake! article you cited the context should make it obvious that some believe they're sincere when they are really not and a heart of wisdom is instrumental to unlocking Bible truths. -
88
The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
"...However, the prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. And in case you should say in your heart: "How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not spoken?" when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true that is the word that Jehovah did not speak. With presumptuousness the prophet spoke it. You must not get frightened at him."---Deuteronomy 18:20-22
Quoting from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures I see; interesting. As I have also pointed out on other threads: The Law Covenant which Israel broke was replaced with a New Covenant in 33 C.E. and that brings us back to what I a fore mentioned in Matthew 7:15-20.
New Covenant. Jehovah foretold the new covenant by the prophet Jeremiah in the seventh century B.C.E., stating that it would not be like the Law covenant, which Israel broke. (Jer 31:31-34) On the night before his death, Nisan 14, 33 C.E., when he established the celebration of the Lord’s Evening Meal, Jesus Christ announced the new covenant, to be validated by his sacrifice. (Lu 22:20) On the 50th day from his resurrection and 10 days after he had ascended to his Father, he poured out the holy spirit, which he had received from Jehovah, on his disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem.—Ac 2:1-4, 17, 33; 2Co 3:6, 8, 9; Heb 2:3, 4.
Obstinate men and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you are always resisting the holy spirit; as your forefathers did, so you do. Which one of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? Yes, they killed those who made announcement in advance concerning the coming of the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, you who received the Law as transmitted by angels but have not kept it.” Acts 7:51-53Being under the direction of God's Spirit is not the same as direct communication from a supernatural source that took place in ancient Israel. Direct communication from celestial beings is infallible.
You have all of this profound insight you learned as one of Jehovah's Witnesses; Questions answered and things you would have never learned anywhere else. -
88
The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
Mary do you even know what the Bible's definition of a false prophet is? You claim Jehovah's Witnesses twist the scriptures or tailor their interpretation for selfish motives. In the context of this discussion, "to cover-up the failure of a certain prophecy." How do you interpret the Bible's definition of a false prophet?
http://nlt.scripturetext.com/matthew/7.htm
The Tree and Its Fruit
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Matthew 7:15-20
The interpretation of certain scriptures led to the Hellfire doctrine. This eventually led to corrupt medieval churches justifying torture as a means to extort confessions of "guilt" for spiritual transgressions. I posted some information on this sometime back:
Christians and Instruments of Torture
If and when the faithful and discreet slave errs, they openly admit it unlike false prophets.
Pope John Paul II said in 1999: "Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy." As to the images of hell as a fiery place, he said: "They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God." Had the pope described hell in terms of "flames and a red-suited devil with a pitchfork," church historian Martin Marty said, "people wouldn't take it seriously."http://richarddawkins.net/articles/5128
The fires of Hell are real and eternal, Pope warns
Hell is a place where sinners really do burn in an everlasting fire, and not just a religious symbol designed to galvanise the faithful, the Pope has said.
Addressing a parish gathering in a northern suburb of Rome, Benedict XVI said that in the modern world many people, including some believers, had forgotten that if they failed to “admit blame and promise to sin no more”, they risked “eternal damnation — the Inferno”.As clearly noted, false prophets change doctrines at the drop of a hat with little next to nothing to back their positions and do not learn from mistakes unlike genuine Christians.
w84 2/15 pp. 23-24 Always Ready for the End
The year 1925 also held expectations for Jehovah’s servants. It was thought that a cycle of 70 typical Jubilees (70 × 50 years) from the time Israel entered the Promised Land would end in 1925 and mark the beginning of the great antitypical Jubilee, the Millennial Reign of Christ Jesus. It did not turn out that way.
However, our family came to appreciate that unrealized hopes are not unique to our day. The apostles themselves had similar misplaced expectations. They envisioned the resurrected Jesus Christ as restoring the nation of Israel to its former glory as Jehovah’s chosen people under theocratic rule, breaking the viselike domination of the Romans. They asked Jesus: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He answered, “It does not belong to you to get knowledge of the times or seasons which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.” (Acts 1:6, 7) That same basic point has applied to the ‘faithful slave class’ today. There is an alertness, a searching to know God’s purpose, at times even an overeagerness to see the end of the world’s wicked system—but the exact timing of events is in Jehovah’s jurisdiction.—Matthew 24:34-36, 45-47.w68 8/15 p. 494 Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?
WHAT about all this talk concerning the year 1975? Lively discussions, some based on speculation, have burst into flame during recent months among serious students of the Bible. Their interest has been kindled by the belief that 1975 will mark the end of 6,000 years of human history since Adam’s creation. The nearness of such an important date indeed fires the imagination and presents unlimited possibilities for discussion.
But wait! How do we know their calculations are correct? What basis is there for saying Adam was created nearly 5,993 years ago? Does the one Book that can be implicitly trusted for its truthful historical accuracy, namely, the Inspired Word of Jehovah, the Holy Bible, give support and credence to such a conclusion?One thing is absolutely certain, Bible chronology reinforced with fulfilled Bible prophecy shows that six thousand years of man’s existence will soon be up, yes, within this generation! (Matt. 24:34) This is, therefore, no time to be indifferent and complacent. This is not the time to be toying with the words of Jesus that “concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt. 24:36) To the contrary, it is a time when one should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end. Make no mistake, it is sufficient that the Father himself knows both the “day and hour”!
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The Origin of Life / Was Life Created - Utter Lies!
by God_Delusion in"peter faces a dilemma.
his parents have taught him that god created the earth and all life on it.
they say that the bible's account of creation is trustworthy and that evolution is simply a theory-one not supported by the evidence.
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alice.in.wonderland
"Err, you do realise that scientists don't just sit around making stuff up? The scientific method requires repeatable experiments, so lets have a look at some experiments that scientists have done to find out how evolution works.
The E. coli long-term evolution experiment is an ongoing study in experimental evolution led by Richard Lenski that has been tracking genetic changes in 12 initially nearly identical populations of asexual Escherichia coli bacteria since February 24, 1988. The populations reached the milestone of 50,000 generations on February 14, 2010. [1]
Since the experiment's inception, Lenski and his colleagues have reported a wide array of genetic changes; some evolutionary adaptations have occurred in all 12 populations, while others have only appeared in one or a few populations. One particularly striking adaption was the evolution of a strain of E. coli that was able to grow on citric acid in the growth media."
Microorganisms are wildly mutable and the experiments pertaining to them are interesting, but this is not evidence for macroevolution.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/section1.html
29+ Evidences for Macroevolution
What constitutes evidence in the minds of some isn't adequate if you consider evidence based quality standards in all other aspects of research and development. If the modern world accepted the standards of evidence some evolutionists accept, the world as we know it, would be much more dysfunctional than it already is. The oil well in the Gulf of Mexico wouldn't be the only well contaminating our ecosystem.
None of the 29+ evidences for macroevolution provide an adequate demonstration of macroevolution: species deriving complexity from simpler lifeforms. Without this, the chain of events Darwin theorized that ultimately results in the latter stages in the hereditary line of succession, (higher primates, homosapians) is null and void.
The alternative theory that was formed as a cover up for a lack of evidence is the critical time interval for vertebrate evolution: between 100 and 112 million years in duration-spans. Even if this were true, current advancements in biology would at the least reveal subtle changes in a species' genetic makeup towards this end.
According to Dr. Paul Sharp, "Attempt to detect adaptive evolution at the molecular level have met with little success." Although the study described one of the few molecular successes of evolutionary theory, the trend has been that molecular biology contradicts much of evolutionary theory. (Sharp, P.M.. 1997. In search of molecular Darwinism. Nature 385: 111-112).
Francis Collins could make a case for theistic evolution, but not atheistic evolution.
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief is a bestselling book by Francis Collins in which he advocates theistic evolution. Francis Collins is an American physician-geneticist, noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes, and his leadership of the Human Genome Project (HGP). He currently serves as the Director of the US National Institutes of Health. In the book, Collins describes briefly the process by which he became a Christian.
"As someone who's had the privilege of leading the human genome project, I've had the opportunity to study our own DNA instruction book at a level of detail that was never really possible before. It's also now been possible to compare our DNA with that of many other species. The evidence supporting the idea that all living things are descended from a common ancestor is truly overwhelming. I would not necessarily wish that to be so, as a Bible-believing Christian. But it is so. It does not serve faith well to try to deny that." -Francis Collins -
88
The next dub that says "the light's getting brighter" to me...
by undercover in...is going to get his punched out.
yes, friends, this is another thread about the latest generation teaching.
so, if you're sick to death of it, leave now, save yourselves.... anyhoo... as the wts has now unleashed on the world the true explanation of generation and what it means for those of us in this time of the end, dubs who accept without question this teaching are 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the new explanation 'makes so much sense now'.
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alice.in.wonderland
Yknot, you seem to be facilitating some sort of arrangement where I go to the meetings and do what you claim to do; attend the meetings as some sort of covert and disseminate the information retrieved to your online brethren for some mysterious purpose. Not the social norm...