Evacuated

8 hours ago, SuzA said:

"The freedom to depart from the facts of a matter or from the conventional rules of language when speaking or writing in order to create an effect."

Like Ecc.9:4?

1 hour ago, Srecko Sostar said:

There exists a reason why - making doctrines from poetry - is bad idea.

And also " There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Pr.14:12

1 hour ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

every day normal reality, not idiosyncrasies

Didn't think there was a difference.

1 hour ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

is called a "simile"

There is a comparison in Ps.89:37, but the term "faithful" is not being used here specifically as a simile. It is being used as an adjective.

The moon (and its faithful adherence to its course), is being used as a simile to emphasise the reliabilty of Jehovah's covenant with David. The modern day perception of the indiosyncrasies of planetary movement are irrelevant to the point being made.

7 minutes ago, Srecko Sostar said:

The Sun, Moon and Stars are things without brain ,  so they can not be no faithful neither loyal.

Ps.89:37:"Like the moon, it will be firmly established forever as a faithful witness in the skies.” 

Dictionary definitions and Bible definitions do not always concur.

8 hours ago, Anna said:

just a case of semantics

Understated beautifully. I think faithfulness and loyalty are related, but different. But....that's another story.....

4 hours ago, Indiana said:

What false position?

Atheism. This is demonstrated as a false position by the atheists capacity to display a semblance of loyalty.

4 hours ago, Indiana said:

 this went from  Hachiko to question the loyaly of an atheist or demons

This question is whether a dog, such as Hachiko, can display true loyalty or not. This was the statement made in the second post:

On 6/27/2017 at 6:54 AM, The Librarian said:

Hachiko’s statue remains a symbol of this dog’s extreme loyalty

which I believe is incorrect. The very definition of loyalty precludes its display by a dog. As atheists and demons behaviour was submitted as evidence that a dog can display loyalty, so the discussion on the subject continued. Hardly off topic. It is the reasoning that is askew. No slight to the endearing Hachiko, who, it seems, reprieved his breed. 😊

4 hours ago, Indiana said:

That evidence must have been planted by someone who disagrees with "a dog is the man's best friend"

Must be.

Dogs like to clear up after their owners have gone.

4 hours ago, Indiana said:

I know atheist people who are truly loyal.

They just demonstrate their false position, as their loyalty, along with the presence of other godly qualities, is evidence of mankind having been created "in God's image".

5 hours ago, Indiana said:

I wouldn't  even question demons  loyalty to Satan 

Demons, "like their father, the Devil", are not capable of loyalty.

3 hours ago, Indiana said:

The most loyal human can't compare to the level of  loyalty of a dog to his master... 

This is not a tenable statement.

Loyalty implies faithfulness to one’s pledged word or continued allegiance to the institution or the principles to which one feels himself morally bound; the term suggests not only adherence but resistance to being lured and persuaded away from that adherence.

Because loyalty always includes principle, only free moral agents, such as man, made in, and capable of reflecting, Gods image, are able to express loyalty. The capacity to understand and demonstrate true loyalty is bound up in having a personal relationship with the Creator, who alone is (or defines what is) loyal. (Rev.15:4). A dog cannot develop such a relationship with God, and thus can never be spoken of as being loyal.

A dog (and many other animals), can be said to be faithful, for to be faithful means to be dependable, to be constant. Even inanimate objects like the sun, moon, and stars can be spoken of as faithful, as they are in God's word (comp.Ps.89:37). But these things are not loyal.

As stated, only free moral agents can express loyalty as a personal choice, based not only on a personal adherence to the one who is an object of that loyalty, but also on a comprehension of the principles that define its expression.

7 hours ago, JOHN BUTLER said:

Wow are they lowering the standards

How patronising can you get?

On 6/27/2017 at 8:22 PM, The Librarian said:

 

it is a sad fact that  (some)  humans are not as loyal as dogs.

 

On 2/10/2019 at 6:42 PM, Outta Here said:

Rules? What Rules? These Rules?

Be Strong Convention speaker

11 hours ago, Queen Esther said:

JOKES ABOUT JEHOVAH'S CREATIONS

Jehovah himself invented joking and  laughs at his own:

Awake April 8 1979: "When you observe the playful antics of baby kittens or watch otters zipping down a mud slide and splashing into a pond, do you not discern something about their Maker? He must be a happy Person. Certainly a God that created a monkey must himself have a sense of humor."

Jehovah also uses humor in his teaching. We can see this at Isaiah 44:14-17

Jesus followed this pattern and injected humor into his teaching also, paticularly in the use of hyperbole (rafters, camels, etc):

WT August 15 2003: "Jesus was not a tight-lipped martinet. He was warm and friendly. For Christians today, a sense of humor can lighten the gloom in times of stress."

And also, a good sense of humor and a positive disposition can help us cope with health problems:

Awake April 22 2005:  "Why is a good sense of humor effective as a healer? Because it is a quality that allows us to handle situations in a positive way, even in the face of unfavorable circumstances.“By including humor and laughter in our daily lives, we maintain our energy level, we alleviate fatigue, and we expel self-pity,” "

It is important to recognise that humor is very personal, just like taste and color. I understood @The Librarianto be injecting a bit of humor with this post, but what may be funny to one person may be taken seriously by someone else, and even seem like an insult to another.  The Awake 8 Sep 1980 is enlightening on cultural differences in humor, and we should, of course, be sensitive to the feelings of others in this regard. Rom.14:1.

But it is important to keep a sense of proportion and not to take ourselves too seriously. Otherwise we may feel unecessarily upset when the other person was only ribbing us!

16 hours ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

There is NO EVIDENCE ANYWHERE about "a portion of a rib ...", or that " his rib grew back".

NONE WHATSOEVER.

Ya never heard of spare rib???

On 4/20/2019 at 12:07 AM, Outta Here said:

"with their forsaken self-assertion, for the sake of the Lord, but not for the sake of doing so, and this is what you see in the day."

Lot of "sake" in there, I see 😊

On 6/16/2018 at 6:53 PM, Jack Ryan said:

pickled feet and fried pork rinds were ok

This is the doctorine of the erroneous assumption.

Probably a bit risky to be showing mobile phones or tablets on the street there. Do they do it just verbally?

It is risky to do that in London https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/eac0d5c6-86e1-417e-b52c-956c688829c4

6 hours ago, JW Insider said:

"A slave of the Lord does not need to fight."

Why fight then?

7 hours ago, Jack Ryan said:

I ran the Japanese version through google translate

Very scholarly approach (NOT).

Actually, look what google translate does to the greek: "with their forsaken self-assertion, for the sake of the Lord, but not for the sake of doing so, and this is what you see in the day."

I think I prefer "Do not follow the people who are inactive at attending meetings." actually.  😊

7 hours ago, Jack Ryan said:

a bunch of immortals living on a paradise on earth as the JWs would have it

Oh dear.This bit of "foot in mouth" syndrome calls into question.................................................something? It's probably not worth looking at the rest.  😕

Critical times, hard to deal with...................

6 hours ago, Jack Ryan said:

But there has been no news about Holland at all.

No need. It is covered ad nauseum by Dick, Tom, Jack, and Harry. Anyone with a ha'porth of sense will let the other man go first in these kinds of matters. Rest assured, we will have our say.

4 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

we all come to be death examples

Now I understand your position.

1 hour ago, Srecko Sostar said:

I just point here to hypocrisy of religion and some religious people.

As a living example?

Hmm....Gets complicated