So Will 2012 Be Just Another Year?

Lara67 said:
Hi all! I'm a newbie, so I'm hoping y'all will be gentle with me. LOL

The reason I say that is, my beliefs are more than likely a bit different than the vast majority of JREF members. I am a conservative Christian, and I joined knowing Mr. Randi is an atheist. That really doesn't bother me, because although our religious views are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, I still find him to be a highly intelligent man and thoroughly enjoy listening to him speak and watching him put hucksters in their place. That is why I chose to join here.

As to the thread topic, as a Christian I believe what the Bible has to say concerning the last days, the Rapture, the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming. Based on my faith in Jesus Christ (which is something that cannot be scientifically measured, it just is what it is), I know these things will come to pass at some point. Will it be this year? I don't know. The Bible says only God knows precisely when the world will end. Even his son Jesus doesn't know, nor the angels ... OR the Mayans. So, it's not up to me to say yes or no.

I will say that I do believe we ARE in the last days. Yes, I know people have been saying that for what seems like forever, but things are happening now that 20 years ago didn't seem possible ... i.e. a one-world financial system/cashless society. I'm 44 now, and the lightning-fast speed of technology in the past two decades astounds me. I graduated college in 1988, and back then we used IBM typewriters and MS-DOS on computers! The first Windows software program was not available until 1990. Data storage used to require entire rooms filled with gigantic machines. Now multiple amounts fit into smartphones no bigger than a credit card. It's mind boggling -- something I never could have envisioned or believed back then.

Compare the level of knowledge (the RFID chip, for example) with the current global economic crisis, and suddenly ... BAM! It's all starting to become clearer and make more sense. Many things prophesied in the Bible that seemed impossible a generation ago now appear to be happening before our very eyes.

I hope I don't get rotten tomatoes thrown at me. :blush:
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Yes... too much of a good thing makes you a non-believable character.

There are too many hooks to angle for specific comments here...

Why not react to some of the discussion first, hmmm?
 
Welcome Lara. I admire your bravery, so I will point out a couple things as gently as possible:

Lara67 said:
I will say that I do believe we ARE in the last days. Yes, I know people have been saying that for what seems like forever, but things are happening now that 20 years ago didn't seem possible ...
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That is true. What it fails to take into account is that 20 years ago, things were happening that didn't seem possible 20 years before that, and so on for as far back as you'd care to go. Yes, the rate of advancement has been increasing in many ways, which can make this seem like an extra-special time to those living in it, because "things have never changed this fast before." But that too has been true, to varying degrees, for quite a long time now.

Many things prophesied in the Bible that seemed impossible a generation ago now appear to be happening before our very eyes.
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I'm afraid this too falls under the category of "things people have been saying forever." Cashless transactions and RFID chips don't make it any more true now than did ATMs and Pong a generation ago, or airplanes and motorcars before that. That's what happens with "prophecies" that are so vague they could made to apply to just about any culture and period in history.
 
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For any of you to understand what I'm talking about regarding why I think we're in the last days, you would have to be open to Christianity for it to make any sense. And I think most of your minds are firmly closed and locked with a deadbolt on that, so my efforts would be essentially useless.

So, I will just leave it at that.
 
I don't think I really belong here anyway, LOL I just find Mr. Randi an intelligent and interesting man. That's the only reason I joined.

Thanks.
 
Lara67 said:
I don't think I really belong here anyway, LOL I just find Mr. Randi an intelligent and interesting man. That's the only reason I joined.

Thanks.
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A lot of us think so too, but it is not a good reason to join. Maybe lurking would have been a better idea than trolli posting.
 
Lara67 said:
For any of you to understand what I'm talking about regarding why I think we're in the last days, you would have to be open to Christianity for it to make any sense.
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We're open to Christianity - if the evidence points that way.

And I think most of your minds are firmly closed and locked with a deadbolt on that, so my efforts would be essentially useless.
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That's just lazy and dishonest. You haven't even tried to make your case, and you're already accusing us of refusing to listen.
 
Lara67 said:
For any of you to understand what I'm talking about regarding why I think we're in the last days, you would have to be open to Christianity for it to make any sense.
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This is simply another way of saying, "In order to see the evidence, you have to already believe it." This is true of every religion, cult and conspiracy theory that humankind has ever dreamed up.
 
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Lara67 said:
For any of you to understand what I'm talking about regarding why I think we're in the last days, you would have to be open to Christianity for it to make any sense. And I think most of your minds are firmly closed and locked with a deadbolt on that, so my efforts would be essentially useless.

So, I will just leave it at that.
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My mind is open to evidence. Do you have any? I find the idea of a fudamentalist last days christian calling others closed minded very amusing.
 
Quinn said:
This is simply another way of saying, "In order to see the evidence, you have to already believe it." This is true of every religion, cult and conspiracy theory that humankind has ever dreamed up.
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That's because in a reality made out of "mind-stuff", such as ours, mental states are part of the "inner alchemy" behind religious transformation. Belief is a mental state. It makes perfect sense, if you're capable of realizing that consciousness is actually real.

I think pseudo-skeptical Randi fanbois are incapable of realizing that.
 
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Limbo said:
I think pseudo-skeptical Randi fanbois are incapable of realizing that.
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As opposed to neo-aquarians with no better argument than 'you don't get it', huh? ;)
 
Limbo said:
That's because in a reality made out of "mind-stuff", such as ours, mental states are part of the "inner alchemy" behind religious transformation. Belief is a mental state. It makes perfect sense, if you're capable of realizing that consciousness is actually real.

I think pseudo-skeptical Randi fanbois are incapable of realizing that.
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Quotation marks are for quoting people.
 
Limbo said:
That's because in a reality made out of "mind-stuff", such as ours, mental states are part of the "inner alchemy" behind religious transformation. Belief is a mental state. It makes perfect sense, if you're capable of realizing that consciousness is actually real.

I think pseudo-skeptical Randi fanbois are incapable of realizing that.
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I agree. It's called being delusional.
 
dafydd said:
How dare you insult the greatest mystic of our time? The man who has danced on the dark side of the Moon?
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I know that is a euphemism for something, but I haven't decided what.

Any suggestions?
 
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Limbo said:
That's because in a reality made out of "mind-stuff", such as ours, mental states are part of the "inner alchemy" behind religious transformation. Belief is a mental state. It makes perfect sense, if you're capable of realizing that consciousness is actually real.
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I don't think that will count as an excuse when Jesus finally returns. Turn around before it is too late!
 
Complexity said:
I know that is a euphemism for something, but I haven't decided what.

Any suggestions?
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I have just had one of my chit-chats with God over some tea and very nice cookies, and I inquired what this phrase might mean. But They just laughed and said something about, and I quote, "Noobs, and their silly ideas of stuff". FWIW.
 
Lara67, the JREF forum is a good bunch of guys, but you have to have a skin like a rhino's hide to hang out. We have all begat the hazing, some of the eyes are ruthless.

This from someone who made the mistake of quote mining a UFO's are real website.

:eek:
 
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