The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty 2596 Replies latest jw experiences

  • cofty
    cofty

    How much predictability do you think is going to make you feel both safe and free ? - Villagegirl

    I am only asking why a loving, omnipotent god would go out his way to design a world that unecessarily kills millions of it's inhabitants.

    In your previous post you blamed 250 000 victims for their own deaths. Is that really the way christianity taught you to respond to unimaginable human suffering? Really?

  • defender of truth
    defender of truth

    Bttt...
    This is well worth a read from the beginning, lurkers!
    You may find that it gives you food for thought.
    (Viewed 53283 times!)

  • Phizzy
    Phizzy

    is this the longest Thread on JWN ?

    Whether it has that Title or not, well done Cofty, for showing where religious belief fails.

  • cofty
  • cofty
    cofty

    I just read that summary again. I have to say I am still very happy with it.

    I should find the time to update it to include anything new that was raised in the last 30 or so pages.

  • sunny23
    sunny23

    Having been 7 months since i first posted on the first page of this topic I have just read those posts and acknowledged a huge transfromation in myself for the better. How naieve I was! I feel inclined to apologize for my lack of mental creativity to think in a more moral perspective but I won't. I still held a JW bias. In fact I will thank Cofty and all others who contributed for and against his initial claims for helping me and others to grow! :) This is why I joined.

    I especially am gratefull for the part where I tried to defend the "paradise is the ultimate goal" theory to downplay suffering and up-play rewards and Cofty developed Theodicy #15 after posing the question, " To be clear the question that has to be addressed is "does the promise of eternal life make suffering morally right?"

    I really thought I had it figured out. Even when #15 was made I read it over and over and still disagreed with it, but couldn't come up with anything solid enough to post confidently in rebuttle. I remember typing up long winded posts only to delete them after proof-reading only to find out it was totally useless or morally unacceptable.

    Re-reading much of this thread now after 7 months of spiritual self introspection and research I find this whole thread (especially the fformative pages leading to 74) essential to those who are truly open minded enough and in search of the "truth."

    15. Suffering will be unimportant compared to eternal rewards

    Response - This is ethically repugnant. It is an extreme example of "the end justifies the means" defense, so beloved of tyrants.

    Like other theodices it is dehumanising by reducing humans to pawns in god's game.

    Imagine that scientists developed a pill that would eradicate all unwelcome memories and create a feeling of bliss.

    How would you judge a scientist who imposed the most horrific suffering on millions of people, as unwilling subjects of his experiment, but who gave all of them one of the magic pills when it was over?

  • Phizzy
    Phizzy

    Bump for the most important Thread ever on JWN.

  • MissFit
    MissFit

    Sunny: You don't need to apologize for making sincere posts of what you believed at the time. I've been right behind you on a similar journey.

    I know what you mean about trying to post an answer and then deleting the whole post.

    We were discovering critical thinking. I know I used to parrot what I was taught on the subject. I had to stop and really think if I really believed it or was this an automatic response?

    I think that was one of Cofty's objectives. To get people past that automatic response and really think about the implications and issues of that response .

    These threads are little time capsules, or snapshots. They allow us to go back and measure and assess our journey and growth.

    Your fellow traveler, Miss.Fit

    Cofty:Thank you Cofty for this thread.

  • cantleave
    cantleave

    Cofty:Thank you Cofty for this thread.

    I would like to add Cofty - thank you for all your contributions

  • PSacramento
    PSacramento

    109 pages?

    Wow...sorry I missed it...

    Is there a "cliff notes" version ?

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