Commercial Break: Original Interview with Aron Ra on Losing Faith in Faith

 I was interviewed, for the first time about my own WCG experience by Aron Ra seven years ago. Aron is the author of Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism . Aron also did a brutal and honest 17 part take down of Dave Pack's shallow and outdated "proofs" of Creationism.

"If one is going to have an experience, they may as well share it..."

Example of Aron's series refuting the childish and long ago refuted apologetics of Dave Pack concerning Evolution.  This is part 8 of the series as just an example of what Dave was up against and lost badly to the facts.

I personally found Aron to be one of the most kind and genuine human beings I have met in life. A brother from another mother....  :)

If one was seriously interested in examining their thinking about the facts of evolution, this would be one series to invest in. 

It refutes all the "explanations" that over the years of defending Creationism were part and parcel of the literalist and young Earth Creationist apologetics. 

I realize that most people are set in their beliefs which they confuse with reality and find such presentations threatening or something they freely make fun of, but never address the information presented. Beliefs are not truth and often don't represent reality on many topics in life, but they are strong. 

"Whataboutary" often kicks in and the walls go up to preserve belief. 

Musings: Who Got It Right?

 

Sunday School for Critical Thinkers and Apologists: Who Got It Right?

Jesus is said to have said...

 

The Gospel of John is said to have been written between 85 CE and 110 CE

John 3:13

Berean Literal Bible

And no one has gone up into heaven except the One having come down out of heaven, the Son of Man.

New International Version

No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.

King James Bible

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Either the author of John knew little about the Old Testament stories and had never read Paul's letter to the Galatians, or he just disagreed with the stories and his Jesus said that he only had ever ascended into heaven.

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OF course, none of the authors of the following stories would have known that Future Jesus and Gospels would have said that no mere human has ever done this...

Enoch ] is a biblical figure and patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible.

The text of the Book of Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God. The text reads that Enoch "walked with God: and he was no more; for God took him" (Gen 5:21–24), which is interpreted as Enoch's entering heaven alive in some Jewish and Christian traditions, and interpreted differently in others.

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2 Kings 11-Written between 560 and 538 BCE

11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

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2 Corinthians is said to have been written by the Apostle Paul around 55 CE before any Gosple was ever penned. Here we see Paul boasting about the experiences denying he is boasting, which he is, but if he did boast about it, which he isn't, it would be true.

...which personally I suspect wasn't true

2 Corinthians 12:

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— 

4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. 

5 On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. 

6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

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NOTE: I really enjoy Paul's reasoning in Verse 6:

"I want to boast but that would be foolish. But if I did boast  what I boasted about above, in verses 2 -5,  would be true. But I won't do that so that no one thinks of me as more special, though special I am, than I am. "

:)

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Just a normal day in COGland

From a reader:

This COGlogyte has wrenched his neck at work, and goes to his pastor for annointing. After the prayer, the pastor advises him that it may be a good idea to have a chiropractor examine him. 

 

So, he goes to the chiropractor, who adjusts the man's neck. He suddenly feels quite a bit better, so asks the doctor what he did. 

 

"Oh, I adjusted your third cervical vertebra. It's back in place, but I'm going to give you some simple exercises to strengthen the muscles so that it stays in place!" answers the Chiropractor. 

 

The wife is happy to see her husband as he walks in the door, and asks him what the doctor had done.  

 

"Well, he said he adjusted my third cervical vertebra!" exclaims the man. 

 

"Oh, Honey," she giggles. "Those guys don't know any more than those sorcerer doctors! A man doesn't even have a cervix! That's part of the female anatomy. 

 

"Yeah, I know! Good thing I got annointed! That's probably why I feel so much better!" replies the man.