OneEyedJoe

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Posts by OneEyedJoe

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  20

  Surge in Mormon Suicides

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last november the mormon cult has issued new rules about homosexuality labelling those in same-sex relationships as apostates who can be excommunicated.

  children of gay couples are now required to leave home and repudiate their parent's relationship before they can be part of the church.. at least 32 gay mormon youths have killed themselves since the announcement of the new policy, and there’s been an alarming increase of suicidal teens and twenty-somethings in the church.....

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  OneEyedJoe

  Could also be children from a prior (hetero) relationship.
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  70

  When is a theory 'just a theory'?

  by HB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the titles of cofty's excellent recent posts are all preceeded by the words "evolution is a fact...".

  richard dawkins is encouraging people to use the term 'fact' in relation to evolution, especially when debating with creationists as the word 'theory' is confusing to many, and the latter often takes the discussion off on an often unproductive tangent.

  the following may be of interest, it's from the bbc website - part of a regular series of articles called 'the vocabularist', discussing the origin and meaning of words: .

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  OneEyedJoe

  I never received an education about such things but it would seem that the evolutionist and the creationist take the same information and come to different conclusions with it... Surely that is OK ?
  

  I don't think they're taking in the same information. Evolutionists take in scientific information in large doses and come to a conclusion. Creationists take in the bible, come to a conclusion, and then dismiss (i.e refuse to "take") any information that doesn't confirm their already held belief.
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  70

  When is a theory 'just a theory'?

  by HB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the titles of cofty's excellent recent posts are all preceeded by the words "evolution is a fact...".

  richard dawkins is encouraging people to use the term 'fact' in relation to evolution, especially when debating with creationists as the word 'theory' is confusing to many, and the latter often takes the discussion off on an often unproductive tangent.

  the following may be of interest, it's from the bbc website - part of a regular series of articles called 'the vocabularist', discussing the origin and meaning of words: .

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  OneEyedJoe

  Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe something starts as a hypothesis, meaning "I think this is true". Then if under the scientific method it is proved true it becomes a theory and from then on the theory is "Ok this is true, what more can we learn about it"?
  

  Not quite. For example, the theory of general relativity spawned the hypothesis that clocks on a satellite in earth orbit would run faster because they're farther removed from earth's gravity. This was then tested and confirmed, which strengthened the theory of general relativity. A hypothesis doesn't "graduate" to become a theory, it (upon being tested) either supports a theory or indicates that a theory needs revision. Alternatively, a group of related, confirmed, hypotheses can be combined to form a theory. You don't typically get a single hypothesis that then becomes a theory, though. A hypothesis' scope is much more limited than that of a theory.

  Similarly a theory never really "graduates" to the point that it can be described as a law. The use of the word "law" in the scientific sense is typically relates to an equation that describes the results of a theory. It actually does not imply that anything is more reliable, though. For example, Newton's laws of motion are flawed (confirmed predictions made by general relativity demonstrate this) but they're still taught in schools as a law. These laws come in the form of things like f=ma to describe how something responds to a force applied. Similarly the laws of gravity describe how much force is applied due to gravity in certain situations (as predicted by the theory of gravitation).

  In my view, the theory of evolution and the theory of gravitation are on roughly similar footing. If you dispute one on the grounds of "it's just a theory" then you should be open to someone disputing the existence of gravity on similar grounds.
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  70

  When is a theory 'just a theory'?

  by HB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the titles of cofty's excellent recent posts are all preceeded by the words "evolution is a fact...".

  richard dawkins is encouraging people to use the term 'fact' in relation to evolution, especially when debating with creationists as the word 'theory' is confusing to many, and the latter often takes the discussion off on an often unproductive tangent.

  the following may be of interest, it's from the bbc website - part of a regular series of articles called 'the vocabularist', discussing the origin and meaning of words: .

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  OneEyedJoe

  A theory is just a theory. Evolution is theory. Faith can be put in the same category. Belief in a superior being takes just as much faith as believing in evolution.

  If you believe that evolution being a theory means that it's merely one explanation, then I invite you to jump off a cliff. The theory of gravitation is, afterall, just a theory.
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  108

  Leaked Elder's Video: How to deal with a suicidal sister

  by cappytan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this video will be played at one of the clam meetings in march 2016.. the content is kind of old news because it is a recut version of a previous video produced for the elder's school.

  however, it's still significant because it shows that the organization still has dissenting brothers in positions of leadership.. my thanks to the leaker.

  feel free to claim credit here.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Is there any precedent for materials making their way from the top secret elders school to general distribution? I wonder if this might be a sign that they're having trouble keeping up with the demands of content creation for the new meeting.
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  34

  My boyfriend is thinking of becoming reinstated

  by gypsyvine in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i'm not really sure where to post this.. i've been with my boyfriend for 4 months now and i've really never been happier.

  i was brought up in the church of christ with an elder father and i really believe in my religion, although i will admit to being a lousy christian at times due to sheer laziness (not wanting to get out of bed on sunday).

  my boyfriend essentially lives with me.

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  OneEyedJoe

  You're in for a difficult ride if you stick with him. You've had a short relationship, so I suspect that most here will advise you to run as fast as you can, but only you can make the decision regarding how much you want to try and potentially sacrifice knowing that there's a strong chance that this will end in heartbreak.

  My advice would be to have a serious conversation with him to gauge his motivations and level of indoctrination. See if you can get him to review the content of jwfacts.com, the book Crisis of Conscience, or the book Combatting Cult Mind Control. If he refuses this is evidence that the JW indoctrination is still very strong. If he agrees, there's a good chance that he'll "wake up" and realize the extent of his indoctrination and the systematic deception that he has been subjected to.

  If he's simply getting reinstated so that he can be around his family, then no big deal...if its because he believes in the cult doctrine then your relationship probably has an expiration date. The elders are often very snoopy and there's a fair chance they'll discover your relationship and he will not be reinstated if he's living with you while unwed. Between this possibility and the guilt he'll feel from meetings and the indoctrination about "worldly" people (which includes you) there is a fair chance that he'll end the relationship as he begins to rejoin the cult.

  I hope things work out and I hope you're able to free him from his indoctrination. If he's saying that he's only getting reinstated to please his mother then I think you have a chance. Unfortunately getting reinstated (or making the effort to do so) can have some powerful psychological effects that may cause him to embrace the cult on a greater level. The social pressure he'll be subjected to will be strong as well. Your best chance is to try to free him from indoctrination before his involvement with the cult grows. It would be a good idea for you to read Combating Cult Mind Control regardless of whether he does. This will help you understand the indoctrination that he's been subjected to and it will give you a better chance of freeing him from it.

  All that said, no one would blame you for simply deciding that this is all too much and moving on. This is a HUGE undertaking and a HUGE risk to your emotional and mental well-being.

  Good luck! I'm wishing you all the best in this, whatever path you choose.
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  29

  EXJW's in Mensa?

  by Luther bertrand in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any exjw's or faders out there in mensa?

  any online groups for this niche?

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  OneEyedJoe

  As for the ex-JW aspect, I never mentioned my flirtation with Mensa to anyone other than family, but I've been told several times that I'm "too smart for [my] own good." Whatever that means. I think it was just a way to avoid answering my questions that challenged the way they were told to think.

  Yeah, when being intelligent is viewed as a negative, someone really needs to start reevaluating things. After I quit the cult my father-in-law came over to talk about my reasons. I was fairly open about many of the flaws that lead to my awakening. He called me "computer brained" and told me that he's known several JWs that he put in the category of being "computer brained" and all but one had left. Apparently my problem is I just need to learn how to turn it off.
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  29

  EXJW's in Mensa?

  by Luther bertrand in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any exjw's or faders out there in mensa?

  any online groups for this niche?

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  OneEyedJoe

  For me the most stifling thing was having to hide my books. and being restricted on the types of conversations that I could have as a result of my "worldly" or "Apostate" sounding subjects
  

  Yep. Being of even slightly above average intelligence leaves you very lonely in the JW world.

  I looked in to mensa once. I didn't try to qualify, but I have a hunch I would. I couldn't see what benefit I would get from joining, other than perhaps being able to put it on a resume.
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  18

  Proof the GB changes scriptures in the Bible...really interesting

  by MrsR-Awaken in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hello everyone, this info below me is not mine it's from a user in reddit that posted it.

  his user name is question_and_answer1 i was hoping he was in this forum too but i don't know if he is.

  anyway the credit goes to him for researching this and it's really interesting what he found and i want everyone here to read, and it's proof of how fake the watchtower is and how disgusting the gb really is...it's sickening.

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  OneEyedJoe

  I don't see what the fuss is about on this one, but maybe I'm missing something. They didn't really change the meaning of the scripture much, they just sorta invalidated their previous "old light" interpretation. Since the old interpretation relied on types/antitypes and referred to the anointed slave class, it's completely full of "old light."

  For my money, their addition of the word "public" at romans 10:10 ("For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.") is much stronger evidence of their changing the scriptures to match the doctrine.
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  32

  Do You Remember The First Time You Looked At "Apostate" Material?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was always fascinated by it.

  as a kid, i used to go to the local library and secretly read books by so called apostates.

  later, i would sneak into christian book stores and quickly buy a book or two.

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  OneEyedJoe

  My very first bit of apostate material was a small tri-fold tract that someone gave me and a friend when we were out recruiting one saturday. This was about 15 years ago, I'd say. One of the first times the two of us were allowed to go to the door without parental supervision. I still clearly recall showing it to his parents (we didn't read it by ourselves) after service was over. They read it to us and we all had a good laugh at all the insane lies they expected us to believe. Things like CTR sold his mensware business and made what would be milions in today's money to fund the WTS printing shop. I recall that there was something in there about miracle wheat, 1886, 1914, 1925 as well.

  Then I didn't look at apostate information until 3-4 years ago. The next time I saw apostate stuff was on jwleaks about child abuse while I was trying to find a KM. That didn't really have an impact either though. I think the 100 year countdown on that site was probably the most impactful thing....it wasn't until I was 90% sure that I was in a cult that I really seriously looked at anything online.