Scientology has a LOT of money. What they don't have a lot of is: Truth.
Onager
JoinedPosts by Onager
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6
Scientology opens up H.Q. in UK
by The Fall Guy inhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-41697303.
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Onager
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No other religion is as guilty as JW religion—you know why?
by venus inall other religions have myths that show satan as inferior to god almighty.
but only jw religion portrays satan more powerful than god through their teaching of “issue of sovereignty” which implies god almighty needs validation from satan as though he waits till satan is satisfied which has not happened even after killing of jesus 2000 years ago and things like ethnic cleansing, spilling of oceans of blood ….
etc..
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Onager
I don't see how the sovereignty issue makes Satan more powerful than Yahweh. It's the outcome of the issue that both parties are waiting on. Neither party is forcing the other party to wait.
In other news Dumbledore is stronger than Voldemort. Discuss!
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Why I lost my religion
by Sour Grapes ini was a jw for over 50 years and recently just stopped cold turkey going to the meetings.
years of sitting at the meetings with the boredom, the gloom and doom, repetition of doctrine, the gloom and doom, the fake love, the gloom and doom, the end being so close, do more - do more, just got to be too much for me to stomach.
i stopped praying to god and no longer thank god for the food before i eat.
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Onager
@Phoebe Just because I don't believe in God, doesn't mean that I don't understand your position. There are many qualifications in the various religious books I've looked at for understanding the mysteries of the divine and revealing gods will. You need to be humble before god, listen with understanding etc. etc. Nowhere does it say that you have to be an old, white man.
So you're as equally qualified as anyone else on this planet to discover the truth, to discover god.
Big Hugs!
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“There’s nothing out there in the world for you...”
by Jules Saturn inhow would you guys react if or when you were told this phrase by a jw while having a conversation?
another phrase is “this world...” or “this system, like gum will chew you up and when it’s done with you, spit you right back out.”.
one i’ve been personally told was from a convert that had told me “whenever i speak to young ones that want to know if the grass is greener on the other side, i tell them i was a part of it.
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Onager
Laughter, just laughter, honest, from the gut laughter. Possibly even a bit of slapping of the thigh and a wiping of a tear from the eye.
That's how I'd respond.
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89
Do you believe in god?
by freakyAL ini used to be a staunch believer in god.
maybe its technology and science advancing so much thats got me doubting idk.
do you believe in god?
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Onager
I'm atheist. I went through a period of saying I was spiritual rather than religious, then I said I was agnostic, then agnostic atheist before finally settling into atheism.
I can't say I'm an Agnostic atheist because although I don't know, my current belief is that there is no god. After all, I'm not an agnostic unicornist, I just don't believe in the existence of unicorns. Show me evidence for either and I'll change my beliefs.
Similarly I realised that what I was calling spirituality was actually entirely within the natural world. My reverence for nature or that feeling of awe looking up at the stars was a result of the amazing capacity of my human brain and not because of something "more" than reality.
I have to say though that if, incredibly, the god of the bible did suddenly manifest themselves unmistakably, I would become a theist through not having any other choice, but I would not become a worshipper. The horrific things that god has done, the malicious, cruel, but above all, stupid decision to hand out their instruction manual to a tiny group of people in the form of a book! And then leave it in the hands of countless scribes and translators so that almost any interpretation can be taken from it.
That alone would make me rather die than submit to being ruled by such an inept overlord. But when you take into account the cold cruelty of what would then be revealed as their creation: The orcas playing catch with a live baby seal, the Ichneumon wasps laying their eggs inside living caterpillars which are then eaten from the inside while still alive, the mallard ducks gang raping females to death and, of course, the worm that eats children's eyeballs. If a god manifested themselves and took credit for creating that deliberately then I say shame. shame on you, now kill me and be done.
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is armageddon starting ?
by stan livedeath inthe sky is so dark here in the south of the uk.
could be armageddon starting.. or then it could be dust particles in the atmosphere..
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Onager
There were a couple of people in the office this morning saying "It's the end of the world!". Admittedly it was tongue in cheek... but I think it does say something about human nature that the first response to any change in the environment is that it means the end of the world!
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Avatar image or whatever it is called
by amicabl incould someone please tell me why my image is either sideways or upside down.
i feel an utter fool asking this question but i can't find any help anywhere.
sorry..
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Onager
Did the picture come from a phone or tablet? It may be upside down but a phone or tablet will automatically turn it the right way up.
Try opening it in Windows Paint and see if it's upside down in that. If so, you can rotate it in Paint and save it to sort out the problem.
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Did you leave the JW RECENTLY? Really? Recently? WTF were you thinking?
by The Real Edward Gentry innot to be overly harsh...but if you just left, what the hell were you thinking?
between 1995 and now, you never did an internet search of "jehovahs-witness" or "watchtower"?
good god.
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Onager
I think that the answer to the OP is that the trigger that awakens people is almost, if ever, logic.
The reason is that logical thinking has itself been subverted by JW conditioning. After all, if it was simply a matter of assembling and assessing the facts, then there would be no JW followers. None.
If you accept the premises that the world is full of evil people and that anyone who speaks against the JW organisation is an apostate who only tells lies. If you accept that the GB are, at the same time, fallible humans and yet divinely directed\inspired, then it doesn't matter how rational, intelligent or logical you are. In fact! These attributes will work against you as you will use those abilities to defend and reinforce your beliefs.
The factors involved in a trigger that awakens people are complex and almost random. Take the child abuse scandal for example. In theory that should be enough to awaken 100% of JW's. But a percentage of those on hearing about the child abuse scandal will "Wait on Jehovah", a percentage won't believe it at all and some will even not have heard about it at all. Of those that would be woken up, some will remain JW's through fear of losing their family, some through fear of death at Armageddon and so on. It's a minor miracle when all the factors align for a single person to wake them up.
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Using history as a means to pinpoint possible future events.
by HealthySkeptic inthe purpose of this thread is to share some history with the community.
i am an active jw.
the reason i picked this forum is due to the openness and ease with which information can be accessed.
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Onager
Bertrand! The best of the Russells! (compared to Charles T).
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3
Shunning accountability – To god or men?
by sinboi ini have met this brother a few times after i da’d.
in the past, when i met him, he was with another jw.
i am sure he saw me but he just continue walking, pretending not to see me.
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Onager
Is that a trick question?
It's men of course! That's obvious by your example.
It's obvious in a thousand different ways, have you ever tried debating the existence of god with a JW? It's pointless, yes, but the argument can go on for hours. Try debating that the governing body are a bunch of fallible, corrupt men and Boom! You're instantly branded an apostate and the conversation is over. God is abstract to them, but the GB are real.