Seeker

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Posts by Seeker

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  8

  A JWD Season's Greetings

  by Seeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many times on jwd we squabble and argue,.

  even to the point of angry fights.. really, we all have our points-of-view.. really, we all think we are right.. you jws especially.. christmas time is a nice time of year, though.. however we individually believe, we wish each other peace.. rex included.

  i wish everyone at jwd a very merry christmas.. share it with someone you love.. try to be peaceable with your fellow humans.. make time for others.. and have a wonderful 2002. soon enough, you know will be back in october to tell us our doom!

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  Seeker

  Thank you, Unc!
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  80

  To those who need no purpose in life

  by gumby in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after reading the comments from many on the thread "is there a purpose in life" by itsjustme , posted a couple of days ago i am confussed.. i cannot understand how anyone can be content and not believe life has a purpose.. to not be compelled to wonder how all the design around us is just here because who knows why ......totally baffles me.. at this point in my life believe in a creator but have so many unanswered questions.

  things do not make sense in the bible.. if i were to come to believe that the bible were a fairytale of myths...i would feel as stupid as i did when finding out the borg was a crock.. i also would be emotionally devastated.. here are some samples of your comments about lifes purpose.

  we may have been put here by someone, or we may not have.

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  Seeker

  Well, of course. I did preface my words by stating this was the evolutionary explanation. If you accept evolution, there is an answer to your question. On the other hand, if you believe God is behind everything, including perhaps the beginning of the evolutionary process, then you have ready-made explanations for the purpose of life, and no need to ask the question in the first place.
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  1

  Funny advertisement

  by wonderwoman77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on my way home from visiting my dad today, i heard the funniest commercial on the radio, i thought i was going to die laughing.

  it was for a muffler shop called dad's mufflers.

  there slogan is..."ain't no muff too tough".

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  Seeker

  Hilarious! That's why someone should proofread any ad before it goes out to the public.
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  80

  To those who need no purpose in life

  by gumby in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after reading the comments from many on the thread "is there a purpose in life" by itsjustme , posted a couple of days ago i am confussed.. i cannot understand how anyone can be content and not believe life has a purpose.. to not be compelled to wonder how all the design around us is just here because who knows why ......totally baffles me.. at this point in my life believe in a creator but have so many unanswered questions.

  things do not make sense in the bible.. if i were to come to believe that the bible were a fairytale of myths...i would feel as stupid as i did when finding out the borg was a crock.. i also would be emotionally devastated.. here are some samples of your comments about lifes purpose.

  we may have been put here by someone, or we may not have.

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  Seeker

  The ability to contemplate one’s own inevitable death, however, is in no way connected with the preservation of the species. The ability to contemplate one’s future, inevitable demise serves no useful purpose as far as the continuation of the species is concerned.

  No, but as I said, that's merely the side-effect, the down side, to an enhanced ability humans have that absolutely does help to perpetuate the species. It is incredibly advantageous to us to have the ability to project into the future, and to anticipate what will yet come. Much of our planning is based on this ability. It just so happens that what comes with it is an unpleasant side-effect. On balance, however, it's worth this side-effect for all the good that also comes with this ability.

  That's why I said it is logically-consistent from an evolutionary perspective.
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  80

  To those who need no purpose in life

  by gumby in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after reading the comments from many on the thread "is there a purpose in life" by itsjustme , posted a couple of days ago i am confussed.. i cannot understand how anyone can be content and not believe life has a purpose.. to not be compelled to wonder how all the design around us is just here because who knows why ......totally baffles me.. at this point in my life believe in a creator but have so many unanswered questions.

  things do not make sense in the bible.. if i were to come to believe that the bible were a fairytale of myths...i would feel as stupid as i did when finding out the borg was a crock.. i also would be emotionally devastated.. here are some samples of your comments about lifes purpose.

  we may have been put here by someone, or we may not have.

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  Seeker

  Frenchy

  Those are heartfelt questions. Here's my take on why we feel dread about the idea of death even though it's universal and natural. I'm speaking purely from evolutionary perspectives here. We exist to propagate the species. Beyond that, we have no purpose. Until man developed a consciousness of his surroundings that exceeded that of animals, death wasn't anticipated. Now, it's very advantageous to have this awareness that humans have, but one of the down sides is that we can anticipate our own deaths. Since we normally enjoy life, who wants it to end? Thus the dread of death. We can see it in others and extrapolate to our own life, a unique ability in the natural world.

  So it's natural, but not pleasant, and that's how they both fit. We have developed the ability to foresee our own actions, a wonderful gift that comes with a great caveat: we do not look forward to everything we foresee. Thus it's perfectly natural to die, and yet we do not wish it to be so.

  "Wish" is the operative word. You even used a similar word, "want," when describing why you yearn to know a purpose. You "want" there to be more, and that emotional reaction (perfectly understandable) makes you think there must be more. But there doesn't have to be more, even if we wish it so. Wishing does not make it so. The evolutionary explanation, while not accepted by all, does provide a logically-consistent explanation for this issue.
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  8

  A JWD Season's Greetings

  by Seeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many times on jwd we squabble and argue,.

  even to the point of angry fights.. really, we all have our points-of-view.. really, we all think we are right.. you jws especially.. christmas time is a nice time of year, though.. however we individually believe, we wish each other peace.. rex included.

  i wish everyone at jwd a very merry christmas.. share it with someone you love.. try to be peaceable with your fellow humans.. make time for others.. and have a wonderful 2002. soon enough, you know will be back in october to tell us our doom!

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  Seeker

  Shall I boldface the hidden message that isn't exactly hidden?
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  10

  My 2001 Top Ten List of Movies

  by Seeker in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  ok, folks, the year is almost up, and it's time for the critics to post their list of the ten best movies of the year.

  since this is subjective, everyone's list is unique, and here is my list.

  feel free to comment with your own selections, or even disagreements with my choices, though i'm not so much interesting in arguing the worth of a given movie as i am in seeing what the consensus for the best movies is.. i can't think of ten really great movies this year, but i can easily come up with the 5 best, in ascending order to number 1:.

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  Seeker

  Oooh, yes! The Deep End was a wonderful movie! Thanks for reminding me. Top Ten material for sure.
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  80

  To those who need no purpose in life

  by gumby in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after reading the comments from many on the thread "is there a purpose in life" by itsjustme , posted a couple of days ago i am confussed.. i cannot understand how anyone can be content and not believe life has a purpose.. to not be compelled to wonder how all the design around us is just here because who knows why ......totally baffles me.. at this point in my life believe in a creator but have so many unanswered questions.

  things do not make sense in the bible.. if i were to come to believe that the bible were a fairytale of myths...i would feel as stupid as i did when finding out the borg was a crock.. i also would be emotionally devastated.. here are some samples of your comments about lifes purpose.

  we may have been put here by someone, or we may not have.

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  Seeker

  Gumby,

  Since mine was one of the comments you quoted, allow me to explain my views on this subject. First, though, stop and take a look at my handle, a good hard look. See what it says? See what it means? It means I am seeking truth. Not that I have found it, or that I have all the answers, only that I am constantly learning and trying to understand. Please don't feel I am saying my way is the only way, for who am I to say that?

  Secondly, I was once where you are now, and I know well the feeling of panic that can come over a person when they realize what they believed is no longer true. All I can suggest is that you take things one day at a time, and try not to gulp it all down in one serving. I took years to get to this point. And where you will go may be an entirely different destination. Figure out what's right for you.

  Finally, how can I cope without a purpose in life? Easy, really. As SixofNine said, the sun comes up every day, and I rise to greet another day full of wonder. I mean that, the universe is full of wonder for me. I need no Creator to make it so. I do not let the scientific explanation for a star prevent me from marveling at its beauty and magnificance. I do not let the explanation for man's evolutionary development make me forget how beautiful a woman's eyes can be.

  Life is poetry. The poetry is there whether or not you feel there is a purpose. You have a purpose? Great! Enjoy it. You don't have a purpose? Fine, enjoy life anyway. Regardless of our views of the universe, we can both stop to smell the roses along the way.

  I wish you peace and contentment in your journey. The journey is its own reward.
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  9

  Other Fundy Voices

  by Francois in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there's a great article by a fundy in the current salon.

  here's an excerpt from the top of the story, followed by the link.

  enjoy:.

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  Seeker

  Interesting article, with obvious parallels to JWs. Two quotes I liked:

  I knew I had the answer of the universe. I knew I was right about the path to God. And for years, I didn't doubt it, not for a minute. I didn't waver in the face of others who embraced another religion as fiercely as I. They were mistaken. They had been deceived by their own desires, their prejudice, their allegiance to the Father of Lies, Satan himself.

  Sounds like the fundies among us.

  The fundamentalist is intractable. Can you convince her to compromise in any of the tenets she holds sacred? You cannot. Even in the most benign case, she will see you as a contaminant. Your values and your ideas are not worthy of her consideration because they are wrong. The fundamentalist does not need to understand you and has no desire to try: You are of your father, the devil, the deceiver, the one who is the enemy of her soul. You are not redeemable as far as the fundamentalist is concerned. Your fate is sealed. You, in fact, are dead already.

  That is why it's not such a leap for these fundamentalist extremists from another part of the world to see others as nonentities. As far as they are concerned, those outside the true faith might as well be dead. Unbelievers have missed out on the only real thing on planet Earth, the only opportunity for redemption and a ticket to paradise. Through their own choice and because of their own rebellion, they have sealed their fate.

  This is why fundamentalism is so dangerous. It's a short leap from thinking a person deserves death to thinking I'm going to kill him.
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  17

  The most violently insane acts in the Bible.

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the bible contains accounts of some horrendously voilent happenings.. some more graphic then many modern films.. this disturbs many when they first read those accounts.. heres one that stood out to me when i first read it.. 1 samuel 15:33 "with that samuel went hacking a'gag to pieces before jehovah in gil'gal".

  it wasn't enough just to kill him but samuel hacked him to pieces in front of a large crowd of people.. i wouldn't want to get into a tangle with samuel if he got out of the wrong side of bed that morning.

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  Seeker

  Rex,

  Someone in your family (or someone close to you) has become born-again, right Seeker?

  Nope. I know of no one in my family like that.

  That's the reason for your continuing obsession and it will probably stun you that I know that.

  I'm stunned at your arrogant belief that you are right when you are (yet again) 100% wrong.

  Does it bother you that intelligent, thinking individuals accept the call of God on both faith and historical truths? By your philosophy, NONE if that caliber should accept God.

  So far in my life, I know of NONE who have. Well, I know of some intelligent, thinking individuals who believe in God, but in very general terms. No one believes as you do, however. None that I have ever known.

  Hey, you asked! I answered.