Noumenon
JoinedTopics Started by Noumenon
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Matthew 24: 36
by Noumenon infor those interested in bible chronology here is an interesting website.
it also discusses jw chronology and un involvement.
this link is to an intriguing take on matthew 24: 36: .
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Critical reasoning - spurious 'therefore' and spurious 'so'
by Noumenon inan inappropriate use of the word 'therefore' or 'so' to persuade listeners or readers that something has been proved when in fact is hasn't.
the words 'therefore'and 'so' are usually used to indicate that what follows is the conclusion of an argument, either explicitly stated or implied.
for instance, in the following argument, the word 'therefore' is used correctly to indicate that what follows is a conclusion derived from the given premises by means of deduction:
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JW Suicide teaching - a legacy of no compassion
by Noumenon inw54 5/1 pp.
285-286 questions from readers
inasmuch as suicide is self-murder, the same view may be taken of it as of murder.
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Critical reasoning - black-and-white thinking
by Noumenon inclassifying every particular case as an example of one of two extremes when in fact there is a range of possible positions that can be occupied within the extremes.
this is a variety of false dichotomy (eg, 'i know some christians that are such hypocrites, so i reject christianity entirely'.
eg, 'some parts of the bible are ambigious and open to different interpretations, therefore all of the bible must be this way').
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Critical reasoning - getting personal
by Noumenon inattacking the character of the person with whom you are arguing rather than finding fault with his or her argument (eg, "i loathe that elder, so will ignore his counsel to me, even though it's straight from the bible".
eg, 'that ex-jw is so bitter and just wants to bad-mouth the organisation, so i will dismiss out of hand anything they have to say'
eg, 'the organisation has failed to adequately protect children against child molesters, therefore i reject all their teachings'.
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Critical thinking - Kowtowing
by Noumenon inbeing over deferential.
there have been many great thinkers in history and it can be tempting to treat anything whatsoever said by a thinker whom you greatly admire as if it were obviously true ('faithful and discreet slave' must be right on everything because they have a great knowledge of scripture?).
sometimes there may be excellent reasons for relying on the opinions of experts and the authority of those who have devoted their lifetime to the study of a particular subject.
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Critical thinking - Alternative Explanations
by Noumenon inignored explanations of the phenomenon in question.
in many situations it is tempting to believe that because an explanation is consistent with the known facts it must therefore be the correct explanation.
this is especially tempting when the particular explanation is the on which we would most like to be true (egs, jesus returned in 1914. the gentile times start in 607ce.
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Wishful Thinking
by Noumenon inbelieving that because it would be nice if something were true, then it must actually be true (it would be nice to think jesus returned in 1914. it would be nice to think armageddon is just around the corner).
this pattern of thought is extremely common, and very tempting because it allows us to avoid unpalatable truths.
in extreme forms it is a king of self-deception; in milder forms, an unwarranted optimism (believing the end is 'just around the corner' motivates one to keep performing as one is expected to as a jw).
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My experience and motives
by Noumenon ini'm an inactive dub.
i still ponder a lot on my true motives and the chain of events and developments in my heart and mind that have led to where i am.
here's my story anyway.
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Snakes image in illustration in WT study just done
by Noumenon ini was at the meeting on sunday just gone (first time in about 5 weeks), and being a lot more attentive to detail these days, i noticed in the illustration of jacob and his sons (page 20 of june 15th watchtower) on the wall behind the old jacob there is what is clearly a bird with wings spread, but have a look at it's nec and head?
it looks more like a coiled serpent with large wings than a bird!
more sneaky images of snakes and s's (sssatan the original ssserpent)?.