Outlaw; that was great.
Peace to you!!
tammy
time to reboot jwn??? attn. tech49, formerlongtime elder, others.
by nowwhat? 57 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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laverite
So in a nutshell, as you said, Nowwhat?, the problem is when "too many athiests chime in." Perhaps Simon could program a quota and allow two athiests and one agnostic to chime in per thread (first come, first served so to speak). It might get a bit complicated though, as I am not entirely sure what the limit should be for Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. Perhaps you have a formula that might help.
Just PM Simon. I'm sure he'll get a program up and running by daybreak that will satisfy your requirements for this board.
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AudeSapere
nowwhat? wrote: boy am i pissing off alot of people, sorry do'nt want to make enemies,
Wow! Where did that come from? I think the key to the problem lies in that comment, though. I didn't see *any* pissed-off posters leading up to that comment in this thread. Noone was pissed off. And noone was calling you an enemy. The strongest comments were to encourage you to speak your mind, post your comments, but if they are 100% pro-religion and 100% pro-diety, be prepared to back up your comments with clear thoughts.
I think you mistook the concept of 'discussion' for antagonism. Or may you even consider a discussion/expression of different opinions to be verbal assault. But that does not mean that the people particpating in the discussion are pissed off. Nor are they your enemies. They may be your best friends as they help you prove your own faith to yourself.
Atheists are not necessarily evil. Devoutly religious people are not necessarily good. People are people.
My non-/never-a-JW aunt secretly works for an Atheist group in NJ. She travels to conventions with them. She is strongly Christian but does not want family to know that she works for an Atheist agency. (I don't know the name of the group.) But she is SHOCKED at how kind, decent, generous, thoughtful these people are. I thought it was funny that she expected something completely different from them.
For what it's worth, I am not an Atheist. I want to be. But too many things have happened to me personally to believe that there is *nothing* intervening. I don't believe in God, per se. I consider myself Agnostic and I believe that is a bit of a cop-out, a sort of setting it all on the side while I live my life the best I can. Whether I believe in God or not, my life and my actions will not change that drastically.
If there *is* a God, I believe he should have explained himself better and provided clearer instructions to humankind on what he wants of his creatures.
If there *is* a God and if my life is a gift from said God, he will understand that I sacrificed far to much of my life earnestly doing what I thought was pleasing him. But all along I was serving a few old geysers in Brooklyn who run book publishing company and act like a cult.
If there *is* a God and if my life is a gift from said God, then I need to not squander any more of my time or my life trying to figure out what God wants.
I should respect the life I have by doing something with it.
If there is no God, I will still have lived a good life.
Either way, I will confidently go to my grave knowing that I made conscious decision to do the right thing because it was the right thing, not because someone somewhere wrote a book telling me what to believe.
I would also like to say that I usually skip over the doctrinal threads here simply because I do not care about them. In keeping with my philosophy of Agnosticism, I choose to not waste my time with the back-and-forth discussions on the subject.
I hope nowwhat? stays. This board has so many things to offer besides 'feel-good' christian stroking.
It's certainly a better educator than the Awake! magazine. It teaches critical-thinking, which is never a bad thing.
-Aude Sapere (meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding; Dare to Think for Yourself)
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steve2
Athiests aren't really that bad. I knew one once who, when let off the leash, bounded mercilessly towards the nearest Christian church at worrying haste. However, rather than savage the gentle believers as they ventured gingerly out in the midday sun after the faith-preserving service, he licked them all over with ferociously indecent taste. The believers were tickled into against-their-will hysterics and the athiest gave his tongue a good workout with ne'er a word being spoken. Believers, haplessly rescued from having to listen their treasured beliefs being assailed by savage reason, settled willingly for hysterics - to date, the best, most effective response to over-excited athiests.
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Ucantnome
i think maybe we read or post for different reasons. i didn't come here to learn about christianity or atheism. i have learnt where a couple of things are in the Watchtower publications.
when i was leaving the Witnesses i wouldn't have come here, i wouldn't read Ray Franz books although i had both. i felt it needed to be my decision.
i was surprised so many who were strong Witnesses are now atheist. reading the threads that relate to atheism and evolution i generally find boring.
for some reason those who i know who are witnesses i wouldn't encourage to read what they would view as apostate literature or visit such websites anymore than i did when i was one. it could be that i fear they could lose their love of God which at this point i think could be worse.
but i don't think this site needs to change and i wouldn't post here if i did although one day i probably won't.
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steve2
I acknowledge some people need consolation more than they need to confront their cherished beliefs. That's as true for every single registered religious organization as it is for religious individuals. However, for individuals who prize personal integrity of beliefs above the strong need to be consoled, here is as good a place as any to put your belief, to the test.
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Jeffro
tec:
That is the second time that you have gone on a personal attack and rant of me this week, Band... and for no reason at all. My name wasn't even brought up in this thread.
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DJS
Nowwhat?
In addition to what Cofty said, I will add my usual rant. Grow up. Review the topics posted. Ninety percent or more are about JWish stuff, either current teachings or some sort of analysis/angst regarding the organization. I don't see many non-theists entering those conversations; I never do. What you want is a site where your cherished beliefs are never challenged. Very few topics on this board center around non theist subjects, but when they do the theists get frustrated because you can't bring anything to the discussion other than your beliefs. And any discussion about the bible or the gods of the bible is more of an argument for the non theists than it is the atheists.
But I agree with you; you need to seek you like minded folk who want to discuss safely your own interpretation of the myths and legends those of who of finally began using our brains rejected. As if your interpretation is the correct one. Choose a number; there have been tens of thousands of interpretations and there will be thousands more.
What now WhatNow? I would suggest by starting to use you brain. Start by actually analyzing the topics on this board; there is almost never anything for a non theist to discuss. You and those like you won't be happy untili every topic is JW lite, post-JW angst or your own version of Christianity, allowing each of you to find your little roles in your little online congregation. I find that pathetic, sad really that so many of you didn't learn anything of value during your JW life.
Or take a class in something and learn a bit about the world and the compexities in it.