Posts by peacefulpete

6

JW, soul and free will

by inbetween in

good morning,.

when it comes to the question of free will, any jw will ascertain the existence of free will as needed for any moral issue regarding god, the bible etc.

without free will the whole foundation of what their belief is based on will collapse.. now atheists, at least thats my understanding, deny also the existence of free will.

Sadly the lady in the video has overlooked emergent aspects of consciousness and self identity. Unique abilities can and do arise from fundamental properties. Despite much instinct or behavior taking place at an unconscious level, we have evolved useful software floating above that. A reflexive self recognition as a being shaped by countless contingencies. The more aware we are of how profoundly we are influenced by these contingencies, i.e. culture,genetic and association the more we become aware of alternatives. Alternatives are evaluated by there very acknowledgement. IOW a person practiced in self awareness can over rule the inclination for snap judgement and prejudice.

35

I have changed a bit

by Lee Marsh in

jw
friends

for one thing i am older.

this is what i look like now or at least on jan 1, 2022.. .

yes, 69 years old.. i moved once.

peacefulpete

It's a hellava thing.

My current cancer experience in ways is like yours Lee Marsh. In ways different. My estranged jw sister and I were diagnosed weeks apart. That, plus issues of caring for our father gave us something to reconnect over. Hadn't had conversation in 20 years, now we texted pictures of birds and sunsets and talked like no time had been lost. She passed quickly. Whereas my chemo,rad, surgery has given me more time it appears. Ridiculous as it was that we hadn't been able to be closer all those years, it took this to tell each other we still loved each other.

I've often contemplated just how many times I have won the lottery of life, just being here to watch the world go round, having a home, a true partner....I always knew eventually luck would run low. It has to be that way. But even at its lowest I've had good things to celebrate.

Hope the same for you and everyone.

63

Is Bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding the prelude to the great tribulation?

by Disillusioned JW in

is bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding a prelude to the great tribulation?.

full disclosure: i still don't believe in the bible's claims about the existence of the supernatural, even of jehovah god (i'm an atheist and a scientific/philosophical naturalist), but i am asking this question because recent events are starting to seem (to me) to fit well the description of some prophecies in the bible.

consider the following.. several hours ago (on 11-26-2021) as i was about to enter a local fred meyer store of my city (in suburb or small city in the metro area of a large city) a person i know told me that a moment earlier a person left the store in a hurry with a cart load up with unpaid merchandise (i think i was told it was groceries but i don't remember that for sure).

peacefulpete

For me the world has nearly as one condemned the imperialist actions of a throwback autocracy and united scientific knowledge with unprecedented openness over the past 2 years. Both are strong evidence of improvement.

63

Is Bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding the prelude to the great tribulation?

by Disillusioned JW in

is bible prophecy now starting to come true regarding a prelude to the great tribulation?.

full disclosure: i still don't believe in the bible's claims about the existence of the supernatural, even of jehovah god (i'm an atheist and a scientific/philosophical naturalist), but i am asking this question because recent events are starting to seem (to me) to fit well the description of some prophecies in the bible.

consider the following.. several hours ago (on 11-26-2021) as i was about to enter a local fred meyer store of my city (in suburb or small city in the metro area of a large city) a person i know told me that a moment earlier a person left the store in a hurry with a cart load up with unpaid merchandise (i think i was told it was groceries but i don't remember that for sure).

peacefulpete

I have to say how sad that after so many opportunities to understand that some still cling to millennialist spins and doomsday interpretations. Simply put the first author of what we now call Mark 13, anticipated the troubled times he lived in would escalate into the war of God. It didn't happen, and just as the author Daniel and many apocalyptical writers of the time felt confusion and disappointment. Some gave up their dark fantasies but others found ways to keep the delusion alive. Subtle rewording of the "prophecy" and dualistic hidden meaning are standards responses to desperation.

Ask yourself objectively, what good is a prophecy that no none understands? To believers there are endless collections of would-be prophecies. How is this different than those of Nostradamus?

11

Escaped the cold

by peacefulpete in

jw
friends

went to arizona last to see what we could see and get away from winter.

here's some pics..

peacefulpete

No, not this time. we've been to paleontolological sites in Colorado, california and even Indiana where found a half dozen ice age bison teeth. No dino fossils yet. We have a friend who found new species of ceratopsid. Lots of work little financial reward. He did get to

name it though.

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