Comments on Ambassador Watch: Future Shock

Oh, Aggie, I forgot to mention: there is some exp...

2010-01-20T15:59:34.944+13:00

Oh, Aggie, I forgot to mention: there is some experimental support for Holographic Theory.

"Moses is the ultimate prophet and Israel is ...

2010-01-20T13:25:00.397+13:00

"Moses is the ultimate prophet and Israel is the witness to the validity of Moses' prophecy."

PROTIP: "Israel" is NOT the United States and British Commonwealth, anon.

"many of us are happily serving Him and there...

2010-01-20T13:23:15.171+13:00

"many of us are happily serving Him and therefore have the peace that surpasses all understanding"

2/10, anon doesn't sound converted enough too wishy-washy

"E8 is interesting, but it's just a pile ...

2010-01-20T13:22:06.178+13:00

"E8 is interesting, but it's just a pile of symmetries. I don't think it accounts for gravity, though I could be mistaken on that."

E8 not only accounts for gravity, it encompasses every other unified field theory out there, including string theory; so rather than invalidating the old theories, it encompasses them all, and provides for a literal multiverse of possibilities, as to what a unified vision of space and time may look like.

At least, according to Garrett Lisi. I make no hard-and-fast judgements as to whether or not E8 will have any staying power, because string theory certainly hasn't. The only way to know for certain will be thanks to the LHC, which is the only evidence I'll be willing to take to the bank.

Historian Paul Johnson wrote a book entitled "...

2010-01-20T12:41:21.292+13:00

Historian Paul Johnson wrote a book entitled "Modern Times." It is a detailed study of the era from World War I to the early 1980s.

He states, "This is the first epoch in nearly 2,000 years in which most governments have been guided by what might be called post-Christian ethics. And I find it to be unique in its cruelty, destructiveness and depravity.

He appears to be hugely ignorant of Christian European history and its colonization practices of indigenous cultures that were non-Christian.

Once again I discovered that the historical record actually strengthened my faith.

Onward Christian Soldiers marching on to war....

These huge evils occurred precisely because great power was placed in the hands of men who had no fear of God and who believed themselves restrained by no absolute code of conduct (Lenin, Stalin and Hitler)...

Versus what? Christians who felt their evil actions justified by scripture? Just when you don't expect it along comes the Spanish inquisition.

Hitler and Stalin we meglomaniacs, and cared only for one thing, all the power they could garner for themselves and the crushing of their opponents. Even Hitler patted little girls on the head and liked dogs. Hitler was on methamphetamine and may have been the first drug crazed dictator. Anyone who has seen or dealt with the behavior of crystal meth addicts knows how ruthless and cruel they can be.

The history of the 20th century proves the view that as the vision of God fades, we first become mere clever monkeys; then, we exterminate one another."

I won't argue that the old idea of God is indeed fading. It should. What is emerging is a more encompassing view of God.

One can be moral and not believe in a God. There are many moral atheists. This generalization just falls flat on its face.

Its the illusion that humans are separate from each other and from God that causes people to abuse each other.

If they saw the interconnectedness of life and humanity they wouldn't do what they do. When all humanity is seen as the Children of God (instead of an "elect" few) we will all be better off.

And Anonymous 4:57, I wish you could know just som...

2010-01-20T11:50:56.957+13:00

And Anonymous 4:57, I wish you could know just some of the ardent Christians I've known up close and personal the past 30 years - then you'd really know who truly are "the most tortured of souls."

And if what you say is true, then WHY do Christians have just as high a suicide rate, or addiction to illegal drugs, or alchohol, as unbeleivers in the general population?

Please answer this question for me.

Anonymous 4:18 sanctimoniously wrote: "While ...

2010-01-20T11:46:07.378+13:00

Anonymous 4:18 sanctimoniously wrote:
"While you guy doubt deny and debate God and His word many of us are happily serving Him and therefore have the peace that surpasses all understanding."

Oh really, Anon?

Many sure couldn't tell that by the loony and angry comments you folks regularly write here on AW. Would you not agree that the quality and intelligibility of people's words are a good index of their minds, perhaps even of their inner peace of mind?

You folks consistently couldn’t reason your way out of a paper bag with a bowie knife, and yet you claim to be the true servants of God. It seems to me if you were truly who you regularly claim yourselves to be, you would demonstrate considerably more wisdom, understanding, articulateness and human kindness than you actually do in your brief and often ambiguous comments.

Anonymous 7:55 further claims: "The history o...

2010-01-20T11:37:44.763+13:00

Anonymous 7:55 further claims:
"The history of the 20th century proves the view that as the vision of God fades, we first become mere clever monkeys; then, we exterminate one another."

OK Anon, then how would you explain the Spanish Inquisition? Or the Crusades? These folks fervently believed in the Christian God and Jesus, and so could hardly be considered atheists, yet in the name of their God mercilessly tortured and murdered many innocent people. They weren't atheists, as you falsely imply about Adolph Hitler, for example.

Fundamentalists such as yourself make all these big CLAIMS and ASSERTIONS, and constantly appeal to authority to justify your views, but clearly you are embarrassingly oblivious to the most basic facts of history – both Christian and secular.

Explain another thing for all of us too: recent surveys show that atheists actually have a lower divorce rate than evangelical Christians in America. Oh well, so much for “family values” the fundamentalists make such a fetish over.

Please address both of my questions, especially in the light of your claim that “as the vision of God fades, we first become mere clever monkeys; then, we exterminate one another.”

As I always say, put up or shut up!

Anon, you mentioned that intellectuals "seem ...

2010-01-20T11:28:20.758+13:00

Anon, you mentioned that intellectuals "seem the most tortured of souls" and declared your intention to "just be content with the simple tales of a gentle carpenter to keep [you] in blissful ignorance."

This raises an interesting point. We intellectuals are expected to sneer at such willful ignorance, but I notice we close our eyes to our own. Most of my university colleagues were (like me) perfectly happy to remain ignorant of camshafts and carburetors. Most of us enjoyed gathering our academic data and tweaking our academic conclusions; taking time to gain the mechanical knowledge required to repair our own cars would have turned us into "the most tortured of souls."

Gerald Waterhouse used to rant about having to study Shakespeare and Chaucer in college, a vain endeavor that had evidently made his life miserable. I secretly sneered at Waterhouse, because Shakespeare and Chaucer are two of my favorite authors.

But am I any better? No. I avoid his favorites books, Revelations and Jeremiah, because studying them makes me miserable. (For the record, I also avoid Dickens, Milton, and Danielle Steel, among others. It's not just books in the Bible.)*

The way I see it, remaining willfully ignorant of certain fields of knowledge is a way to simplify our lives, a desirable end, and we each need to simplify to our own specifications, to satisfy our own urges. I have seen no evidence that either embracing or denying religious faith causes more misery overall. Some people fare better one way, some the other.

I still sneer at the memory of Gerald Waterhouse, but only because he commanded members to violate whichever of their own intellectual and emotional needs conflicted with the specifications set forth in Herbert W. Armstrong's version of godliness.

*By the way, it also makes me happy to learn as little about golf as possible. Sometimes I have an extra beer in hopes of forgetting what little I do know.

Content former member claims: "...I'm no ...

2010-01-20T11:25:37.635+13:00

Content former member claims:
"...I'm no Bible thumper."

I beg to differ with you, Content!

In fact, you've provided NOTHING BUT groundless biblical assertions in support of the many claims you've made just in this single blog comment.

Anonymous 7:55 wrote (quoting British historian Pa...

2010-01-20T11:22:01.861+13:00

Anonymous 7:55 wrote (quoting British historian Paul Johnson):
""This is the first epoch in nearly 2,000 years in which most governments have been guided by what might be called post-Christian ethics. And I find it to be unique in its cruelty, destructiveness and depravity."

I greatly respect Paul Johnson, and have read his books, but before you buy into this short-sighted view (strongly influenced by his Catholic ideology), you might want to check out the following video - it may shock you if you labor under the demonstrably FALSE idea that things (human violence, specifically) are getting worse:

http://www.ted.com/talks
/lang/eng/steven_pinker
_on_the_myth_of_violence
.html

Actual objective FACTS are the most important things, not religious ideologies in determining truth.

At least be fair and give this 20-minute video a careful listen. I’m not saying Pinker makes an absolutely iron-clad case for this perspective, but it’s worthy of careful consideration. So give up viewing “Dancing with the Stars” tonight and watch this thought-provoking video instead.

CAUTION: The facts may change your end-time mindset that humanity is getting more and more violent, ala the Apostle Paul. Perhaps the reality is just the OPPOSITE to what the purveyors of religion want you to believe.

""This is the first epoch in nearly 2,00...

2010-01-20T09:11:07.403+13:00

""This is the first epoch in nearly 2,000 years in which most governments have been guided by what might be called post-Christian ethics. And I find it to be unique in its cruelty, destructiveness and depravity."

Then you must be totally ignorant of the past 2000 years. The only thing unique to the tyrants of the 20th century is their efficiency in killing; but they are no more cruel, destructive, or depraved than any other past tyrant, including the god of the bible himself, who murdered every infant on the planet in a big flood, and ordered the Israelites to slaughter infants and children during the conquest of Cannan. But you probably don't have a problem with genocide, as long as your god orders it. Hitler and Stalin look like schoolboys compared to your psychopathic god- the wellspring of your "morality."

The Apostate Paul

"While you guy doubt deny and debate God and ...

2010-01-20T08:39:18.163+13:00

"While you guy doubt deny and debate God and His word many of us are happily serving Him and therefore have the peace that surpasses all understanding"

And of course you have to come here and stir it up because you're so peaceful. "By their fruits shall ye know them", and your fruit is rotten.

Dennis writes, "I'll get right to the poi...

2010-01-20T08:30:33.478+13:00

Dennis writes, "I'll get right to the point. Can human beings know the future? No they cannot."

Pretty dour, I'd say, and wrong.

Moses is the ultimate prophet and Israel is the witness to the validity of Moses' prophecy. All subsequent prophecy is to be weighed against the benchmark of Moses.

Israel abandoned the covenant and was exiled, precisely as promised in the covenant. The northern tribes are now so thoroughly assimilated that their identities are no longer known. We all know this, and still manage to reject prophecy?

One day Israel will discover her identity, consider her desperate condition and wholeheartedly return to God, Torah and the promised land. That's the part not yet fully realized, but the redemption has begun, with Judah in the lead as in the days of Moses.

The bulk of the promised exile still continues, in plain sight of the whole world, so the promise of complete return should be no less trustworthy.

All of this is easily corroborated in scripture, in history and in today's world news. Since I'm no Bible thumper, I'll spare everyone the references, but they're there, and plain as the noses on our faces.

Content Former Member

The Apostle Paul told us in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 "...

2010-01-20T07:55:12.869+13:00

The Apostle Paul told us in 2 Timothy 3:1-4
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God."

Historian Paul Johnson wrote a book entitled "Modern Times." It is a detailed study of the era from World War I to the early 1980s. He states, "This is the first epoch in nearly 2,000 years in which most governments have been guided by what might be called post-Christian ethics. And I find it to be unique in its cruelty, destructiveness and depravity. Once again I discovered that the historical record actually strengthened my faith. These huge evils occurred precisely because great power was placed in the hands of men who had no fear of God and who believed themselves restrained by no absolute code of conduct (Lenin, Stalin and Hitler)...The history of the 20th century proves the view that as the vision of God fades, we first become mere clever monkeys; then, we exterminate one another."

Would you call this prophetic? I would. Removing the dignity of being made in God's image and making light of God's word leads to nothing good. God's word gives us liberty, hope and TRUTH. Don't be discouraged--God is there. He and Christ are real.

RETIRED PROF SAID Anonymous 12:57, if you decide ...

2010-01-20T04:57:49.827+13:00

RETIRED PROF SAID

Anonymous 12:57, if you decide to go ahead and do yourself in with your revolver, I hope it is a .22. If you have something more powerful, maybe you could hold a cast iron pot lid up on the opposite side of your head to catch the splatter. No need to cause the undertaker extra work cleaning the walls.

It is in committing small acts of kindness such as this that many of us find a bit of satisfaction in life to offset its ultimate lack of meaning.

anon says

Thank you so much for your sage council, and of course your words of consideration but alas I live in the UK so a firearm is as faraway from me as any understanding I have about life and its meaning. I do find though that those with a simple understanding of god seem to be more content with life , while those who see themselves on another intellectual level and can understand other intellectual ideas seem the most tortured of souls....sometimes I think that the words simple and intellectual dont tell us the full picture, I think i will just be content with the simple tales of a gentle carpenter to keep me in blissful ignorance.

While you guy doubt deny and debate God and His wo...

2010-01-20T04:18:33.289+13:00

While you guy doubt deny and debate God and His word many of us are happily serving Him and therefore have the peace that surpasses all understanding

Aggie, there's some pretty solid math behind t...

2010-01-20T02:06:52.097+13:00

Aggie, there's some pretty solid math behind the holographic principle. It's not "new age". E8 is interesting, but it's just a pile of symmetries. I don't think it accounts for gravity, though I could be mistaken on that.

PS In fact, if annon would get in touch with me t...

2010-01-20T01:33:31.376+13:00

PS In fact, if annon would get in touch with me through Gavin, perhaps we can talk a bit and you could help me out with your experience.

I find only two choices in life. Be open and honest or closed and dishonest or too stuck on image and appearances. It's still not easy to do or be.

Hey Russ, the "holographic universe" is ...

2010-01-19T22:37:23.024+13:00

Hey Russ, the "holographic universe" is a newage theory that's been kicking around since the late '80s. Science still hasn't proven it. E8 theory is the way I roll, now.

"Leaving everything I'd ever been taught,...

2010-01-19T22:35:04.970+13:00

"Leaving everything I'd ever been taught, being abandoned by family and ALL of my friends, no longer knowing right from wrong, up from down....was an extremely turbulent process. That transitory period is one of the most traumatic things I've ever experienced."

Yep. Me too. That was a rough couple of years, and I didn't have any ex-CoG websites on my radar at the time. Science fiction saved me, and I will be grateful for that, until my dying day.

Thank you Star Trek and Mulder and Scully and Dr Who and Blake's 7 (and every four-episode SF show that hit the air), thank you for every SF movie I went to see countless times, and thank you for every used bookstore I haunted for two years, for that.

Anon said: "Now my life is so much better tha...

2010-01-19T19:56:47.990+13:00

Anon said: "Now my life is so much better than it ever was in the COGs. I don't really even know how to articulate it. I guess I'm just....happy."

I wholeheartedly agree and have had the same experience in my life.

Life after WCG and after Christianity is wonderful and amazing. No more guilt, no more shame, no more worry and no more SIN! Yay!

By the way, I read Kurzweil's book, "The age of spiritual machines" back in 2000, recently I looked at the predictions he made back then for what would be true in 2010 and it was amazing how accurate his predictions were.

anonSeven21

anon said: "OK then.........there is no god t...

2010-01-19T19:53:01.328+13:00

anon said: "OK then.........there is no god there is no purpose to life.....life itself is a lie.."

This arrogance amazes me. I look at the animals around the world in abundance and they exist with one purpose. To continue the species.

Suddenly, our own species develops enough brains cells to be conscious of our own self and we suddenly have godly purpose?

Pull the other leg. We are here to develop the species just like all other species. We can choose if we have additional purpose in our life, like to develop and encourage rational thinking, and positive thinking, etc.

But to assume just because we are self aware that we have some godly purpose is arrogant and delusional.

anonSeven21

Leonardo said... Anonymous 12:57 wrote: &q...

2010-01-19T19:12:39.167+13:00

Leonardo said...

Anonymous 12:57 wrote:
"OK then.........there is no god there is no purpose to life.....life itself is a lie...most ppl that have lived are liars the books of the bible are lies and are wrote by liars....

The above reasoning is a very illustrative example of the inner workings of the vast majority of fundamentalist minds.

I've known (and current know) many COG members who, if they could suddenly perceive that most of what they believe is totally groundless, would likely decide to blow their brains out within a week.

And I think this is tragic.

They made a God out of the religion and the Bible. When you deconstruct that, their worldview collapses because they have no larger vision of things. Yet even among them some put love and relationships first, and those people do just fine.

A slow withdrawal from it is best, but I think science, scholarship, and understanding is moving so fast now that these people might simply go mad when they finally see that what they thought was true, is not.

Its a worldview built around fear, and fear is addictive.

Good video on that here.

Dennis said: "It was written long after the e...

2010-01-19T17:59:23.174+13:00

Dennis said: "It was written long after the events it foretells happened and when it gets to the parts that are really future, it goes vague."

So sure are you...?

The latest news, read you have not yes mmm.

Bible Possibly Written Centuries Earlier, Text Suggests

http://www.livescience.com/history/earliest-hebrew-text-100115.html