It was weird Phizzy. I had actually already embarked on that journey without realizing it. All of this research I had done was filed about and hidden in my brain. I was in complete denial. I could justify anything. Like how I started really belly laughing at Bill Maher and Tim Minchin. I would tell myself that it wasn't that I agreed with them, just that I could see things from their point of view, and they said it well. Especially Minchin. Or I would rework evidence so that if fit into my worldview. Like I said, it was exhausting. When it all fell on me that day, I already had looked into all of it. Of course, I've read even more since, but I'm good. I don't feel the need to reaffirm my nonbelief everyday. No need for a daily text.
Atheists..... throwing the baby out with the bath water ?
by snare&racket 403 Replies latest jw friends
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poopsiecakes
Does anyone else think that witnessdater has no intention of sharing the field of science he/she works in?
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cofty
I'm guessing its not theoretical physics.
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Berengaria
Obviously, we could go on forever about this, but there is one main driver to show me why atheism cannot be a belief in what is actually true.
So this is what continually irritates me in these discussions. Atheism is not a belief. It is a lack of belief. Y'all started it. You told us there was a god, we don't believe that. Period.
Like I've said before we don't walk in to an empty room and say, I believe there is no desk in here. You walk in and say Ooooohhhh look how awesome that desk is. You walk carefully around the area that you just know holds that desk. At that point we are compelled to point out that we do not believe there is any such desk.
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cofty
Becks
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NewChapter
POOPSIE! You found that clip. I looked for it to turn up. That was so freaking funny. Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sexual position. It will go down with the classics.
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Violia
I guess I fall into the category of a believer but I don't hate those who do not believe. Nor do I feel like I need to debate them, tell them they are wounded. I do know folks can get wounded by religion. I know that's happened to me. If I had had a positive experience with jws I might have stayed. I will be forever grateful to them for kicking me to the curb and hurting me badly enough to walk out that door and basically tell them to go "F" themselves. They did me a favor- forcing me to investigate the wts. I did this after I left. I just started reading the Bible before I left and that alone told me they were wrong.
I have always thought religion should do something for others and as I grew up in the Borg. I realized they did nothing for other's and very little for each other. My mother used to say" jws are not going to help you if you have problems" I have found this to be true in my life. I do know that there were those who were friends here that hung together and protected each other, but my family was excluded from that group. So yes there are some great elders and some very nice jws but they are still judgmental of others , however nice they may be.
I find the need to believe in something and right now I'm OK with that. I too have found that Tim Minchin ( and NC)has given me a great deal to think about and he challenges me every time I listen to him and read her posts. I guess I just need a blankie at this time.
I once had a conversation with an elder who had never been my friend but he was moving and I found out he was terminally ill. I told him that from what I had read in the Bible Jws had got it wrong. I knew i was taking a chances but somehow I knew he'd listen to me. I was sure Armageddon was symbolic and if it was then so was paradise. I said the entire belief system was a house of cards and rested on the generation doctrine and the Borg appointing themselves the F&DS. Strangely he agreed with me and I asked if he thought they would ever change? He said "no , too many people have spent their lives as jws and given up careers . They won't ever change, they will just keep adjusting the teachings". I knew he was right and I told him for what it was worth the NT taught we would be changed in a twinkling of an eye and so though he faced death, he had hope of be raised up, as the scriptures taught. He agreed with me.
I wonder about why God has not made Himself known to people but keep hoping there is a reason I don't know about. Currently I am leaning toward there may be a Creator but He has no interest in us. He made us and walked away. That feels so cold, but is it better than delusion? If we give up waiting for God to fix things mankind can assume responsibility for themselves and we can really be our brother's keeper .
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NewChapter
That's okay V. Let Minchin be your guide! LOL After all, Jesus had a beard, long hair and went barefoot and he's not saying he's Jesus, he's not saying he's Jesus, he's Jesus.
Did you see last year when he turned 33 he kept saying he was the same age as Jesus. So funny.
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Berengaria
I wonder about why God has not made Himself known to people but keep hoping there is a reason I don't know about. Currently I am leaning toward there may be a Creator but He has no interest in us. He made us and walked away. That feels so cold, but is it better than delusion? If we give up waiting for God to fix things mankind can assume responsibility for themselves and we can really be our brother's keeper .
I really believe life is getting better and better for the most part. All through man's learning and striving. Sure we make things worse too, figuring out how to poison ourselves a thousand different ways.............. But then we learn, and maybe even more importantly, good men (and women) stand up and demand we look at what is going on. We change.
If we are looking to live forever in paradise............................well, we know where that will lead. But if we just want to live a good life like so many millions before us, and go to a good comfy sleep at the end of it, it's up to us to do what is right by our fellow humans and our earth. IMHO.