Posts by Coded Logic

24

Why I Refuse to Accept the term APOSTATE

by Black Man in

jw
friends

been going back in forth with my mom (who is a longtime pioneer and dyed-in-the-wool jw) about the term apostate.

she has labeled me one because of my fading and because i stopped attending meetings a few years ago.

i told her that i refuse to accept the term apostate because its a lazy way for the wts to not deal with dissenters and address why people are leaving this organization in droves.

Coded Logic

Okay I really got to speak my mind on this one because this is one of the most ridiculous things that the WTBTS does! The Greek word apostate (from apostasia) means to renounce, depart, or go away from. It does NOT mean to disagree with or to criticize. The WTBTS has taken the modern use of the world (synonymous with revolt) and has tried to apply it retroactively to the Bible. It is incredibly dishonest and in direct conflict with the teachings of the Bible.

Worse, they now use it as Loaded Language so thagt anytime a JW feels uncomfortable when being called out on the inconsitancy of their beliefs or when someone challenges authority they can just say, “Oh, that person is an apostate. Don’t talk to them."

* Loaded Language is intended to produce an emotional response in the mind of the audience while the meaning is intentionally obfuscated in order to vilify or condem a particular minority or belief without raising an alarm among those who would be offended by the actual meaning.

For example, the term "family values" immediately invokes the feelings of warmth, security, honesty and support that a family brings. Even though the term really means a few vicious pet social issues - hatred of gays , being anti- abortion , and restricting roles for women. (See also " traditional values ").

-Rational Wiki

20

Lockheed: Limitless Energy?

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://news.yahoo.com/lockheed-says-makes-breakthrough-fusion-energy-project-123840986--finance.html.

a prototype for testing in a year?

there have been a number of claims about fusion reactors in the past year but this seems the most bold.. .

Coded Logic

Another sensationalist claim. At best, fusion technology is 30 years away.

"There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical about Lockheed's announcement, says Mahajan, who, with a team of scientists, designed a new way to reduce waste from nuclear reactors in 2009. First, fusion reactors right now are pretty big. Mahajan says making them smaller is extremely hard to do—you need a very confined space, with loads of material at extremely high densities, and then you need to get that power out of the reactor to be used. "So it's both the physics and the engineering which are extremely, extremely daunting," he said. "We know of no materials that would be able to handle anywhere near that amount of heat."

Mahajan called Lockheed's announcement "poppycock." He said, "Getting net energy from fusion is such a goddamn difficult undertaking," he said. "We're all aware that there's always a finite chance of some breakthrough which is beyond the powers of imagination." But if there was a genuine breakthrough, he said, "we'd be screaming from the treetops."

128

900 Top Scientists Sign Statement Skeptical of Macro-Evolution

by Perry in

we are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural .

selection to account for the complexity of life.

careful examination of the .

Coded Logic

900 you say? Well that represents less than 1/50th of 1% of the worlds scientests. And, its not a decent from evolution. The majority of the people signing it think that there may be factors other than natural selection - such as genetic drift and gene flow that cause species to evolve.

I recomend you look up Project Steve which is a list of scientists with the given name "Steve" or "Steven" who support evolution. With just that name alone there are already more than 1,200 signitories.

23

Can a religion claim: Only we have the truth?

by Kalos in

truth is self-evident (things like: the whole is greater than its part ....).. truth is always right (things like: caring for the accident victim helplessly bleeding on the road ....).. claiming: only we have the truth is like claiming: only my university is useful.

history shows that many school/college drop-outs have made significant contributions to the society like many those who completed their education!

and on the contrary, many school/college drop-outs have made significant damage to the society like some of those who completed their education!

Coded Logic

Anyone can claim anything. What matters is the evidence you have to support your proposition.

29

Do we know for sure what happens after death?

by Yondaime in

christian denominations say we go to heaven, witness say we stay alseep until ressurection.

quran says when we go we grt 72 virgins, unless we blow some people up.. .

i'm not really concerned with death atm, i'm not dead.

Coded Logic

How come no one asks, "Is there life before birth?"

I don't remember being around before I was born. Chances are I'm not going to be around after I die.

42

What are the ODDS Jehovah's Witnesses are the ONLY TRUE religion?

by Terry in

the entire organization shoves all its chips into the center of the table on one bet: they are the only mouthpiece of god on earth.. what are the odds to this bet?.

the statistic for christian denominations make jw's 1 out of 41,000 opinions.. a chance of 1 in 41 thousand is a tough bet.. _________________________.

if abc tv broadcasts shark tank and your tv receives mister ed .

Coded Logic

It's not possible that all religions can be right . . . but it is possible they can all be wrong.

-Matt Dillahunty

10

Bible Students Question

by lambsbottom in

jw
friends

i've know ttatt for over three years.

stopped going to meetings three months ago.

i recently contacted the bible students.

Coded Logic

Following the teachings of a hippy who wandered the desert? Yeah, your still in a cult buddy. It's called Christianity.

32

Sister pleads guilty to killing her newborn while at congregation outing!

by Atlantis in

http://social.jw-archive.org/articles/sister-pleads-guilty-to-killing-her-baby-while-at-congregation-ou#sthash.xzojqlck.dpuf.

.

nevada!.

Coded Logic

Its okay to post things multiple times. People new to the site can't possibly go through all the archives and be caught up on every story. For some people this is the first time hearing about this. Nobody appointed you moderator of this site Yadda yadda.

29

Accounts of Jesus From Hostile Ancient Sources

by Perry in

from ancient accounts hostile to christinity, we can learn the following:.

jesus was born and lived in palestine.

he was born, supposedly, to a virgin and had an earthly father who was a carpenter.

Coded Logic

No, we can't learn ANY of that from ancient sources. Because the ancient sources that you provide in your references

A.) Didn't know Jesus.

B.) Weren't contemporaries of Jesus (all were born after Jesus supposed cruxifiction)

C.) None of them knew anyone who knew Jesus.

D.) And the sources for their information comes from Christians over sixty years after Jesus died.

What you're claiming is equivalant to future historians from the year 4000 saying that a reference from a present day day figure - who in turn is citing one the nuts from Ancient Aliens - proves that aliens actually landed at Roswell. Using sources, who themselves are getting their information from third hand biased accounts, written decades after a supposed event, is NOT a credible source.

The writer of your link, J Warner Wallace, is not a historian nor is he a textual critic. He has a degree in Architecture and his book in NOT peer reviewed. In other words, he has no academic credibility in this field and his work has not been checked. It's always good to get information from a wide range of sources but when your reading online be sure to always CHECK SOURCES!

Thallus, Tacitus, Mara Bar-Serapion, Phlegon, Pliny the Younger, etc, are not capable of supporting the claims that you are making becuase none of them were contemporariers of Jesus and their sources are all from unknown third hand accounts.

39

Well, it was your basic KH wedding, now 40 years later

by JeffT in

my wife and i still like each other.

fortieth is "ruby.

" since rubies aren't in the budget, we went to ruby beach for the weekend.

Coded Logic

Patricks Point CA?