by The Rebel 24 Replies latest jw friends
People respond abusively to believers like you Perry. It is because of your asinigne statements like all people believe in God. Believers that are like you are no different than the jws that stick there head in the sand or have their apologetic responses at the ready.
Faith is the antonym of fact. Belief requires one to stop critical thinking and is extremely dangerous.
Just one further point.
i think the most difficult part about my amazing transformation in beliefs, was having to conclude that so many of those I admire, or looked up to are so adamant that God exists. Of course now I can indulge myself as an outsider, and in most cases I realise I saw an organisation being worshipped and believed in, not God.
p.s please not so hard on Perry, people are free to believe what they believe, and it wasn't so long ago I would have agreed wholeheartedly with Perrys comment.
The Rebel.
Accepting G-d does not mean rejecting analytical thinking. Just ask the Roman Catholic priest that developed and introduced the big bang theory, Georges Lemaître. Do you know how many atheists I’ve spoken to who have no idea that a theist developed this now widely embraced theory?
It means suspending critical thinking and rejecting it when the subject is reality. How many atheists that don't know about Lemaitre is utterly irrelevant to anything.
Actually... it's not. Lemaitre is a perfect example of rejecting god when it comes to working with reality.
@Viviane
I can't vouch for Lemaitre, and again it appears my words are not understood.
I don't agree with the religion of Lemaitre nor do I accept that "belief" in a deity is logical or even relevant.
What I was talking about is " ambiguity intolerance," a Watchtower earmark that many people even outside the JW religion share, both theist and atheist. The statement was made in the context that some theists, due to ambiguity intolerance, often believe that atheists are void of spirituality or void of belief in something that cannot be readily subject to scientific measurement, such as how much love a mate has for another or trust in a friend. On the same level some atheists with ambiguity intolerance were unaware that a theist first introduced the expansion model theory.
Some have misread this as a statement stating that the priest who made this discovery is a logical thinker. That statement was never, ever made. I don't believe in Catholicism, and as a Jew that would be the very last thing, next to advocating Nazism, that I would ever promote. I don't believe Catholicism or Christianity for that matter is a logical conclusion.
The statement was simple: some atheists (like some theists) suffer from ambiguity intolerance. Ambiguity intolerance often blinds them from leaving the confines of confirmation bias. For religious people this is often demonstrated by their believing in outrageous theories that claim to "prove" the Bible as factual. For some atheists also with ambiguity intolerance that I personally have known, it has included being blind to the fact that theists can often act logically, like Lemaitre.
The number of atheists who knew nothing of this was not relevant to my argument, partially because, as I mentioned in a follow-up statement, I was specifically speaking of some people I have met over the years ( a very limited number indeed). All of this was meant to demonstrate how destructive ambiguity intolerance is.
Ambiguity intolerance is encouraged among the JWs who lead a life of compartmentalizing all they know and meet. This causes the black-and-white polarizing views they have and that some of us never shake off upon leaving that religious system behind.
The statements I made were extreme examples of ambiguity intolerance which claims that theists can't have moments of logical clarity and that no atheists have any spiritual side. I wasn't stating what was true. I was stating what constituted misconceptions due to ambiguity intolerance.
Why some people keep bringing this up over and over again in this way makes me think that some here on the board may not be aware that they have some ambiguity intolerance as well. They don't seem to be able to accept that people of all kinds can be composed of even contradictory facets which was the point of the comment in question and nothing else. People with ambiguity tolerance cannot accept this as a fact.
By the way I am not claiming for sure that anyone here has ambiguity intolerance. It isn 't a trait of failure or mental illness either. It's merely a human characteristic. But I do find it odd that this one statement keeps getting read in this odd manner and some have felt a need to defend or raise an "opposing view" that isn't even based on why I made the illustration in the first place.
Well maybe my days are numbered, I realise by questioning Gods organisation I will cease to exist. This is the punishment for an indoctrinated witness who questions their faith ( I mean organisation) But that's what I did, I committed the unforgivable sin, I questioned Jehovers " spirit directed organisation"
I discover they believe the bible is the exact word of God, and then change it....and I have so many unresolvable problems with this organisation, that I am sure I made the correct decision to leave....as for God I think that's an unresolvable problem, I call him/ her a mystery, and the truth is I really no longer give a shit anymore.....life is to be lived and enjoyed today.
The Rebel
