If you want to extend the meaning of the word abstain to a complete avoidance of any use, then the WT's current blood policy is apostate, since it allows the use of fractions. Not to mention most vaccines, which I'm sure you've taken, are derived from blood in one way or another. To truely abstain from blood in every way, you need to stop vaccinating.
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
-
20
Questions for those who believe in the Watchtower Blood Policy
by Lee Elder innew article on ajwrb:.
http://ajwrb.org/medicine/questions-for-those-who-believe-in-the-watcthower-blood-policy.
lee.
-
-
-
12
Watchtower Memorial Day makes local UK newspaper
by TableForOne ina tragic, but honest, story.
well written, in my opinion.. i'd like to see how the local jw's would handle this being mentioned to them this saturday morning in the ministry.. it's just a shame it's only a local newspaper, not a national.. www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/former-jehovah-s-witness-leaves-memorial-to-family-who-shunned-her-1-6206648.
tf1.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
For you old folks with bad eyes , here's the text of the sign:
Watchtower Fictims Memorial Day - 26TH July 2014
For my parents, sister, brother, and dear friends who have shunned me for over 5 years.
For the wasted gifts and talents I was not allowed to pursue.
For the magic of childhood Christmasses and Birthdays I was denied.
For a childhood of enforced alienation from my peers.
For the irrational fear, guild and nighmares which still haund me as an adult.
For my beautiful daughter who has never been acknowledged by her grandparents, aunts and uncles, simply because she is mine.
Most importantly, for those not as fortunate as me. Those still trapped because of fear. Those whose lives will forever be blighted by the rampant child abuse still going on within this organization. Those who have needlessly lost their lives because they refused a blood transfusion. Those who have taken their own lives because they simply cannot cope with the damage that has been done to them, or the prospect of being shunned by tloved ones.
I HAVE MOVED ON BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET
-
26
Evolution is just a theory
by venting inthis ticks me off!
last sundays watchtower talked about how organised the heavens are.
how it works so acuratley.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Ha, yeah...sounds good to me.
-
17
I know this is never going to happen ....however , what if ...?
by smiddy incan you imagine what this world would be like today , with 7 billion people , if their were never , ever a religous concept in anybodys mind ?.
wouldnt this world be such a better place to be in if it was devoid of all religion ?.
if religion never existed from the time man/woman first walked the earth until now how do you see , pros or cons , how humakind would fare today.. as i said in my o.p.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Well how 'bout that...learn somethin new every day. Thanks.
-
26
Evolution is just a theory
by venting inthis ticks me off!
last sundays watchtower talked about how organised the heavens are.
how it works so acuratley.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Yeah, there were some classic comments last sunday. One I always like was:
When you look at the stars and galaxies and the orbits of the planets, you can clearly see that a god of oganization created it. Scientists say that everything came about from an explosion in the "big bang" (said with a very snide tone) but what do you get from an explosion? Chaos, not order.
That one had me pretty pissed off, since that's a complete misunderstanding of what the big bang is. Also, it's not really difficult to demonstrate the concept that gravity would naturally cause things to coalesce into something resembling an equilibrium after a while. As the OP mentioned, asteroid collisions, aptly demonstrate that things aren't all that ordered. Whats more, it's very likely that early planets are often sent crashing into their stars. Hell, even galaxies collide rather frequently, and our own galaxy is due for a collision with andromeda in about 4 billion years. Not so ordered afterall.
Another great moment was when one elder accidentially disproved the story of the flood: He said "what I never understood was what they did with all the insects - there's millions of species of insects and they don't interbreed...they couldn't possibly have all fit on the ark" It's so sad, this elder is relatively clever (another of his favorite comments is that he wants to ask god what was up with them dinosaurs) and seems to see the holes in the bible and the religion but he is so absolutely loyal to the organization that it's disgusting.
As for the "evolution is just a theory" argument, my counterpoint is that it is "just" a theory in exactly the same way that gravity is just a theory. We don't fully understand the mechanisms behind gravity, and there are many different explanations of how gravity might work (and physicists often get into rather impassioned debates about which must be the best explanation). Yet, we don't go around arguing that gravity never happened, because we can see the evidence everywhere. Just like there's evidence for evolution everywhere.
The parallel with gravity also works when creationists make use of the inflation of conflict logical falacy (saying, even the experts don't agree on how evolution works, so why should I believe it?). Experts don't agree on how gravity works, but we all believe in it. The only difference between evolution and gravity is that the idea of gravity has been around longer, and the evidence for it takes less effort to see. Oh, and it doesn't directly disprove the bible (though it does indirectly disprove many accounts in the bible)
-
17
I know this is never going to happen ....however , what if ...?
by smiddy incan you imagine what this world would be like today , with 7 billion people , if their were never , ever a religous concept in anybodys mind ?.
wouldnt this world be such a better place to be in if it was devoid of all religion ?.
if religion never existed from the time man/woman first walked the earth until now how do you see , pros or cons , how humakind would fare today.. as i said in my o.p.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Well, for one thing the dark ages probably wouldn't have happened, so scientific discovery would've had about 1000 years extra to develop, so by now we'd have technology that would be unimaginable for us today. But on the other hand, we could easily have been stuck as a bunch of small tribes without religion.
I think it just depends on what was used to fill the void that religion currently fills. This is an interesting concept to ponder, since religion has obviously caused many attrocities, but the good that it does is often diffused. Without religion it would likely have taken civilization longer to organize itself, and organization on some level is neccessary for economic efficiency. Religion also makes for a convenient way to explain morals without requiring everyone to have a degree in sociology. To people with little education, it's difficult to connect having personal morals to positive advancement of society since humans tend to be myopic and selfish, especially in poor economic conditions. Instead of trying to explain the benefit to society that an individual can have by living honestly, it's easier to just say "God sees everything and will burn you in hell if you step out of line."
As an atheist I'm reluctant to admit it, but it's entirely possible that the concept of god has a place in a developing society. Without the immediate trust and comonality that religion can provide two strangers, it would likely have been very difficult to form societies larger than a small tribe where everyone knows everyone else. It may just be that a society has to progress from small tribal groups, to large religious groups, before it can become a global atheist (but moral) society. Sometimes it's tempting to skip the painful middle steps, but it may have been necessary in order to become organized on a sufficient scale.
-
16
Thinking it through and not liking the result.
by donny intoday at work a co-worker of mine and i were having lunch at a nearby establishment.
he is what you would call a c&e christian in that he basically attends church only for the christmas and easter services, though he definitely says he believes in god.. he said that he just recently caught an episode of a crime/forensic show that featured a man from new jersey named john list who was also known locally as the "bogeyman of westfield.
" list became infamous for murdering his entire family consisting of his wife, three children and his mother on november 9, 1971. see below link for more data.. on the tv show the narrator commented there were a few reasons why he did it.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Just like you see in all man-made law codes, there are always loopholes that can result in people getting away with some pretty messed up stuff. It just goes to show that there's no way that God is behind such a flawed belief system. When the most selfless act there could be is killing children and resigning to your (possible) eternal fate in hell, you really have to re-evaluate your beliefs.
-
69
Said from the platform: "You are not surviving Armaggedon if you are spiritually weak"
by Daniel1555 intoday i was at the meeting (i go there about once a month now).
in the service meeting they had a part where they interviewed the secretary of the congregation.. so one question was: "why are the service reports so important?".
our secretary explained that the reports are important, because the elders can see, who is spiritually weak.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
My theory is that the WTS is playing a game of good-cop, bad-cop. Or current CO has given a couple talks, over a few visits, in which the gist was that we should just do or best, and even of that's not much, even the most spiritually weak JW is way better of than a worldly person. It's not just pure guilt that keeps people in line, it's the emotional rollercoaster of guilt then relief then guilt then relief that keeps people in. When you consistently send mixed messages, people hear the ones that they need to hear.
-
151
If you don't believe in God where do you get the strength to cope?
by Miss.Fit ini know there are some here that are going through some tough times.
some of you do not believe in god.
some are not sure.. i was told recently by a friend to pray to god for help and he would comfort me.. my first impulse is to pray.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Prayer vs meditation is an interesting topic.
When someone prays, the brain scans seem to indicate similar activity to someone in conversation, while an atheist in mediation seems more like someone thinking intently. I'm not certain what the distinction is in practice, but it stands to reason that there is a significant psychological effect to earnestly believing that there's someone listening to your prayers. For me, the way to replicate prayer is meditation plus practicing trust in myself that whatever happens, it'll be OK. Once you let go and stop blaming yourself for things that are out of your control, you can find the same calm as a theist has when trusting that god is handling things for them. Sure, it takes a little more conscious effort than blind faith, but I think that the freedom of mind and intellectual honesty that comes from my atheism is worth the extra effort.
-
22
HAS ANYONE SEEN.......
by DATA-DOG ina super bat-shit crazy invitation to pioneer in august??
i stumbled upon something the other day, but i have been hesitant to post it.
i am afraid that it could be a local thing and thereby traced back to me.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Nothing here, but I've missed quite a few meetings lately, and left immediately after the prayer at the ones I've made, so I could've missed it.