waysider

Don't feel guilty, my friend. Just be grateful you didn't have to needlessly kill innocent people for a meaningless war.

Twinky, your post reminds me so much of the FellowLaborer program I participated in during the mid 1970s. Work, work, work, that's all we did. When we would be allowed to go back home for a visit, you got a sense that local believers were under the impression we were doing in-depth studies of "the word". Nothing could be farther from the truth. When we weren't working, we rehashed the PFAL materials over and over and over. Then we rehashed them again. There was precious little time to do any independent study or simply grow as an individual. I read the Bible less there than I ever had before entering the program. That may be, for me, one of the biggest disappointments of the program.

This is flawed logic.

Q: How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? A: Only one...but the light bulb has to want to change.

Waxit, your post is filled with circular reasoning. "How do you know that's true?" "I saw it on the internet and they can't put it on the internet if it's not true." "How do you know they can't?" "I saw it on the internet." (It also crosses the line into antisemitism, but maybe I shouldn't go there for now.)

What am I missing here? How much more specific can you get than "do not commit murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc."?

You're basing this on the assumption that the Bible is a historical record, which it is not. Unless you are a moderator, please don't tell me what I can and can't respond to.

You don't need any scientific evidence on this, just good old fashioned historical probing. By the way, you may want to reexamine your post if you still don't understand why that was a personal attack.

And you know that Moses, as an actual person, existed ...how? Have you looked at any secular historical sources that would support this premise? When you resort to personal attacks, it diminishes the value of your response. Edit: It may seem like a discussion of Moses is off topic but it is not. After all, we have to verify the existence of the messenger before we can examine the message.

The 14 rule restrictions got circumvented by the advanced class. "...about which it is humanly impossible for you by your five senses to know anything."

Ditto, with a "Thank You" added.

Waxit, this is a strawman argument. You're probably familiar with that term but, if not, please take some time and figure out what it is and why your response to my post fits the definition.

Huh?

Not hurt or offended. We all have our own paths to follow. Enjoy the journey.

My dad said you should always consider your sources. That's why I made mention of Moses, as he would be considered the source, or, at the very least, a messenger for the source..

I'm not interested in winding anyone up. I'm only saying that, in the context of what we know about history, the existence of Moses as a real person may require a bit closer scrutiny. That's not to say there may not be some even greater sort of metaphoric value in the story of Moses. I think it requires an inquisitive approach rather than quick, unbending refutation.

Historians, Biblical scholars and anthropologists has questioned the very existence of Moses for some time now.

In order to propose that the 10 commandment were given by God to all Christians, you have to dismiss the concept of dispensationalism. Conversely, in order to suggest that certain sections of scripture are intended only for a specific time period or group of people you have to embrace the concept of dispensationalism. It's a real dilemma.

Modeling your lifestyle behavior after VPW is like seeking dietary advise from Jeffry Dahmer.

I see what you did there.That sort of thing is right up your alley.

I remember one day, in FellowLaborers, looking in the mirror and suddenly wondering "How did I become this person I'm looking at in the mirror?" It wasn't one of those moments where you somberly ponder the situation. It was jolting and instantaneous, like an unexpected slap in the face. It was depressing and horrifying at the same time. I chalked it up to unrenewed mind and silently chanted some since forgotten retemory verse.

Interviewer: "What do you consider your strong points?" Me: "I can kill flies with my bare hands." Interviewer: "SECURITY!"

This is a bit off topic but meant to bring things back on track. The scientific community is quite advanced in their ability to trace the genetic origins of various DNA/RNA. They have used those skills in an effort to hone in on the origins of COVID 19. What they have found is that, although the virus that causes COVID 19 exists in Wuhan, it is not the predominant strain. Some viruses can, indeed, move back and forth between humans and animals. Known examples of this are bird flu and swine flu. As you state, bats carry a vast array of viruses. And bats are common in Asia. But, for a virus to go from a bat to a human it would typically have to pass through an intermediary host, such as a pangolin. No one is absolutely sure where or when this may have taken place. Bats are not a delicacy in China. In fact, in some locations, consumption of bats is forbidden. People in poor, rural areas, however, will sometimes resort to bats as a readily available source of protein. While that may seem disgusting to us in the US, consider for a moment that people in poor, rural areas of America will sometimes resort to eating squirrels, raccoons, opossums, rattlesnakes, crayfish, alligators and other wild creatures as a readily available source of protein. The "Wuhan Connection" appears to have been used as a political tool for scapegoating in recent days. Maybe COVID 19 started in Wuhan and maybe it didn't. What we know for sure is that it isn't man-made and that it jumped from an animal (most likely a wild animal) to a human. It's not relevant to a discussion of Biblical taboos. Furthermore, discussion of this specific topic can quickly takes us into political discourse which is something we don't engage in at GSC.

Remember how, at big events, flies used to crawl all over the plates of WoW-Burgers? Don't worry, your believing will keep you safe.