Posts by Onager

29

JW’s do NOT shun... (apprently)

by pale.emperor in

my quora campaign of answering all jw related questions truthfully with evidence is going well.

however, one jw had the audacity to claim that "jws do not shun".

they seem to want to present a fake, squeeky clean image to non-members and seem to get angry when answering questions regarding shunning.. like this asshole, dennis cybulski.

Onager

Upvoted your final comment to Dennis. It's mind-boggling that he can state that JW's don't shun and then not miss a beat when you link to an official JW video called "Shunning Wrongdoers." The cognitive dissonance is strong with this one.

77

Creation, evolution, ???

by Freedom rocks in

was on the bus today and got into a discussion somehow with the driver and ok be ood his work colleagues about whether there's life in other planets, evolution and creation.

the driver believes there must be other life out there, i agree with him that life can't be unique to this planet out of the billions that exist.

his colleague who i think might be a jw by his attitude and reasoning skills thinks we're the only planet with life on it and it was made perfect and exact purposely for humans.

Onager

Hi Perry,

Every assumption provides a basis for claim making. But, both the assumption and the claims are not testable, repeatable science when it comes to examining history. History is unique in this regard. Therefore, historical assumptions are not science in the commonly understood definition of the term as in Scientific Method. It is deceptive to use "science" in conjunction with theories, assumptions and postulates when this is the common understanding.

You have an incorrect understanding of how science works. Science comes up with theories, claims and laws to define a working model of the world around us. It's the best model that it can come up with using the data and tools available. Every single part of that model can change, even the laws, if new data or new tools become available. It's not perfect and some parts of the model are decidedly "fudgy" (Dark Matter, for example in my opinion), but the model works. And when something doesn't work, the model is changed.

The creation model does not work this way. In your example it is fitting the reality of the diversity of life into the Kinds model, because that's what the bible says. The creation model can never change because it starts from the assertions of an allegedly infallible book, so it doesn't matter WHAT THE EVIDENCE IS, the creation model cannot and will not change.

77

Creation, evolution, ???

by Freedom rocks in

was on the bus today and got into a discussion somehow with the driver and ok be ood his work colleagues about whether there's life in other planets, evolution and creation.

the driver believes there must be other life out there, i agree with him that life can't be unique to this planet out of the billions that exist.

his colleague who i think might be a jw by his attitude and reasoning skills thinks we're the only planet with life on it and it was made perfect and exact purposely for humans.

Onager

cofty15 hours agoFreedom Rocks - Yes I have investigated creationism in all its forms. To be fair there isn't much to study. Every argument can be distilled down to - 'complexity; therefore god'.

To further that, creationism has no predictive power. You can't Do anything with it, because the answer is always God. Where did this flower come from? God made it. Why does the lion have big teeth? Because that's how God made it.

With evolutionary theory though, you can actually make predictions about the world and then prove (or disprove) them.

Take the story of the orchid, moth and our old friend Mr C. Darwin. https://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/darwin%E2%80%99s-hawkmoth

The world view of Relgion is stuck in amber, preserved unchanging for all time in its holy books, and of no practical use.

36

Here is what silly looks like

by Sour Grapes in

for shits and grins, i looked at an online sunday meeting a few days ago on youtube.

i was in disbelieve on just how silly everything looks with the watchtower reader reading from his little iphone and the watchtower conductor holding up his iphone to ask the questions.

then the conductor asked the reader to read a bible verse and of course, he reads from his little phone.

Onager

What do the poor people do? There must be millions of them?

3

Superstitions ,Numbers , and Miracles of the Bible Writers ? Why then & not now.

by smiddy3 in

doesn`t the bible with its fascination / significance with numbers indicate that its authors were superstitious and written for the benefit of superstitious people in mind ?.

numbers such as 7 ,10 , 12 , 40 , 144,000 , and the amount of times and applications in scripture , sometimes a multiple of such numbers are used.. coupled with its magical claims of miracles , curing the sick by touch,raising the dead ,curing the blind ,walking on water ,axe heads floating on top of the water ,calming the weather during a storm,curing leprosy ,etc,etc.?.

all of these instances on a limited occurrence of course and only in certain cases.

Onager

I think it could be because there were miracles at the time the bible was written. Two people are sick, one touches the holy stone of Ptah and gets better, the other doesn't and dies. It's a miracle!

Miracles followed the same evolution as religion itself. The portable version of sacred stones, prayer, was developed and then, of course, there was a need for faith and lack of faith. Everyone can pray but not everyone gets the miracles, ah hah! They must have lacked faith!

Miracles haven't gone away since the bible was written, they've just evolved. There are people today who say that their illness was cured by a miracle from god and there are charlatans right now exploiting super-natural and superstitious beliefs.

51

Why go back to the Old Testament?

by Lost in the fog in

why do jws insist on still quoting from the old testament to back up some of their wacky ideas?

such as on blood, beards, abortion, tattoos, etc.

surely if the mosaic law code was nailed to the torture stake all of its parts were cancelled.

Onager

Dear Myelaine,

I didn't ask if you could give me any evidence, I asked if you had any evidence. It's a small difference, but I have looked for evidence myself and have proved to my own satisfaction that there is none. I'm not looking for evidence any more as I have a working model of reality that doesn't include gods although I am open to new evidence if it is presented.

If you want to assert the existence of such things then I will only accept them with evidence, otherwise my position is that you're just making up stories. :)

51

Why go back to the Old Testament?

by Lost in the fog in

why do jws insist on still quoting from the old testament to back up some of their wacky ideas?

such as on blood, beards, abortion, tattoos, etc.

surely if the mosaic law code was nailed to the torture stake all of its parts were cancelled.

Onager

Dear Myelaine,

I'm sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick with your post. I thought you were advocating the JW Kingdom of God and my response was aimed at that religion.

You do seem to be claiming the existence of a Kingdom of God though and that humans can go there as a reward and that there is a "One" who can deliver that reward? If that's so and I haven't missed the point again, do you have any evidence for any of those things?

51

Why go back to the Old Testament?

by Lost in the fog in

why do jws insist on still quoting from the old testament to back up some of their wacky ideas?

such as on blood, beards, abortion, tattoos, etc.

surely if the mosaic law code was nailed to the torture stake all of its parts were cancelled.

Onager

myelaine15 hours agoI don't know how a contemporary Jewish theocracy would run the show, (justice and mercy was always in the hands of the judiciary) but the kingdom of God under Christ's rule is in the future and by all scriptural indication, there wont be any "infidels" to stone. Everyone will be harmonious because that's the way everyone WANTS it to be. When you're just sick of the inequity of this kingdom, the reward is the kingdom of God. Of course, if you're not REALLY into that sort of thing, it shows in that you'll continue to strive against the only One who can deliver that reward.
xo

The thing that I'm REALLY not into is living my life according to stories which have NO evidence of being true.

I'm REALLY not into telling other people what to do with their sexual organs (unless they are in bed with me).

I'm REALLY not into controlling people in ANY way by dangling a carrot of lies in front of their desperate faces.

REALLY.

51

Why go back to the Old Testament?

by Lost in the fog in

why do jws insist on still quoting from the old testament to back up some of their wacky ideas?

such as on blood, beards, abortion, tattoos, etc.

surely if the mosaic law code was nailed to the torture stake all of its parts were cancelled.

Onager

Don't forget the Sikhs! They're famous for their good works, it's a central tenet of their religion, called Seva:

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Seva

"Sikhs believe that wealth is only acceptable if it is used for other people such as giving them work or food. It is the responsibility of the rich to look after the poor."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/poverty/sikhismrev2.shtml

Christians are in fact late to the party in every single area of charity. They're not unique and they're not even particularly good at it. That's the truth.

8

Sex and Love, Advice? Regrets and Stories?

by Letty in

do you guys have any advice on dating worldly people?

how do i not freak out during my first date with my boyfriend?

how can i avoid being awkward?

Onager

My biggest regret is not taking up the opportunities offered to me when I was young and single. That way I might have come into my marriage with experience and fewer hang ups and so would be a better lover for my wife.

(It's been a few years now so I am improving, but DAMN my wife has had to be patient with me!)