Coded Logic

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Posts by Coded Logic

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  36

  Estimating future growth or decline of Watchtower

  by shepherdless in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have seen a few posts here, in various guises, in relation to whether watchtower is in decline.

  plenty of people respond, but it is all fairly anecdotal, or "gut feel".

  some of it has been wishful thinking.. as of late 2015, watchtower's numbers suggest it is still growing marginally, but there are various anecdotes on this site of publishers typically being older, and younger ones disappearing.

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  Coded Logic

  I'm not sure that "median age" will be particularly informative in estimating the potential decline of the WT. I think a much better source would be to look at how quickly the growth rate has declined over the past fifteen years and project that continued reduction into the future.

  http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/statistics.php

  It's also worth noting that the decline isn't just in the lower recruitment. It's also in the fact that what qualifies as a "publisher" has been downgraded to someone who reports as little as fifteen minutes per month. Many of the publishers are JWs purely for social reasons and have little understanding or interest in doctrinal matter - and even less interest in donating funds or performing parts.

  Pioneer hours have been reduced. Aux pioneer hours have been reduced. Length of talks have been reduced. Meetings have been reduced. Reading material has been reduced. Studies have been grossly simplified. Baptism is being encouraged younger and younger. Etc.

  The WT has been fudging the numbers for some time. And there's not much more they can do at this point to keep cooking the books. The WT already is in decline. It has been for almost a decade now. The real question is how much longer can they hide that fact?
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  17

  The Monsters the WTBTS Created

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  growing up, the jws at the kingdom hall taught me that perfection is the only standard via which things can ever be measured.

  "well yeah modern medicine is great - but it's pointless because they can't save everyone.

  and they can't stop people from dying.

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  Coded Logic

  Nirvana Fallacy: Comparing a realistic solution with an idealized one, and dismissing or even discounting the realistic solution as a result of comparing to a “perfect world” or impossible standard. Ignoring the fact that improvements are often a good enough reason to implement even imperfect solutions.
  
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  83

  if you had the slightest of doubt about leaving leaving the watchtower org. go to to jwsurvey.org NOW!

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  and we are suposed to trust these guys with our lives?

  !

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  Coded Logic

  If you look on the Telly website for the 2015 Silver award for Online Videos they have literally HUNDREDS of winners. Here's a link to a page that just has the winners beginning with A:

  https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/list/?event=16&category=3&award=S

  It looks like anyone can be a "winner" if you just pay them the $150 entry fee and then another $300 for the statue. So disgusting!
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  5

  Second Class Citizenship

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. current

  can you imagine if a person was refused services because they were black?

  or because they were christian?

  there would be nationwide outrage.

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  Coded Logic

  Can you imagine if a person was refused services because they were black? Or because they were Christian? There would be nationwide outrage. Every major network would be covering it and politicians would be lining up left and right to denounce such a business. But when it's the LGBT community it's doesn't even make the front page of the local paper.

  We've come a long way. But there is still a long way yet to go for LGBT equality. Here's just a few outrageous acts of discrimination over the past couple of months.

  .

  • In February 2015, a pediatrician in Michigan refused to treat a newborn because the child’s parents were lesbians. She said she had prayed before making her decision.
  • In February 2015, a gay man was refused funeral services for his husband and then when the funeral did take place, church members handed the family antigay pamphlets.
  • In January 2016, Republican State Senator in Nebraska introduced a bill that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children in the homes of qualified LGBT parents.
  • In March 2016, a California Barber refused to give a haircut to a Transgender Army Veteran because "it is a shame for a man to have long hair but if a woman has long hair, it's her glory and it speaks to being given to her as her covering."

  .

  Enough with the religious bullying and the social intolerance. Enough with people claiming to be acting in the name of God. The sooner organized religion dies the better.

  
  
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  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

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  Coded Logic

  Dear God,

  Please show up and do something. Everyone is arguing all the time about who you are, what you want, and what you're going to do. Please provide some clarity. It would be nice too if you could get people to stop killing each other in your name and trespassing upon the rights of others. And it would be especially great if you could chime in on this thread and shut up all of us stupid non-believers.

  Sincerely,

  An Agnostic Atheist

  .

  .

  PS: There was no milk in the house this morning and I didn't find this out until after I poured my bowl of cereal - please make sure this sort of travesty don't happen in the future ;)

  xoxo
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  4

  Godzilla has aching feet in door to door activity. Requests mobile cart.

  by FatFreek 2005 in

  1. social
  2. humour

  enjoy.. .

  len.

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  Coded Logic

  
  
  
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  127

  The people are mobilizing Mr Drumpf

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  protesters shut down a trump rally.

  massive numbers of people are out in chicago and have shut his event down.

  there were scuffles inside the event.. despite his lame attempt to pretend the violence he instigates is nothing to do with him it's clear that it is as the cnn quotes during the last event showed only too well.. this doesn't happen at anyone else's events - candidates have even given up the stage to protesters, not called for them to be beaten and punched.. trump is an ugly person and this is just a small taste of what a future under his rule would be like.. shame on the gop for not kicking his ass out.

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  Coded Logic

  Thank you SBF and Fink for your links. What Chomsky had to say was certainly . . . bizarr.

  Concerning media propaganda, he seems to think that the British press not covering the US rejection of a conditional Iraqi retreat from Kuwait was somehow informative. I don't understand why he thinks this. Especially when the US had specifically stated it would not accept anything other than an unconditional retreat. Is there some reason that the British media should have covered this non-story going on in the back doors of US negotiations?

  Next he says the US media initially wouldn't cover COINTELPRO. This is only partially true. It took years for all the facts to come out about the program after the FBI field office had been broken into and it's not uncommon for newspapers to sit on stories for months at a time while they collect all the facts before they will publish. Chomsky then tries to say it's meaningful that the reporter interviewing him (admittedly not the brightest crayon in the box) knows about Watergate but has never heard of COINTELPRO. As though these two things are comparable? The FBI being caught with it's hand in the cookie jar (not the first or last time) is not the same as a US President attempting to steal an election and being forced out of the oval office. This would be like saying "Well you know who Monica Lewinsky is but how come you don't know who Paula Broadwell is?" These two stories are not equal.

  I agree with Chomsky that there is a lot of media bias. But his additional step that all reporters are indoctrinated and tools of propaganda is moon landing conspiracy stuff. There's a huge difference between newspapers being, at times, incompetent (Iraqi WMDs anyone?) vs. reporters deliberately turning a blind eye to inconvenient facts.

  I think Chomsky is well informed and has a good handle on the facts. Unfortunately, his conclusions from those facts seem to be completely unbridled by reason. It's as though the emperor purchased the best clothes he could find but then decides not to wear them every time he goes out for a walk.
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  127

  The people are mobilizing Mr Drumpf

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  protesters shut down a trump rally.

  massive numbers of people are out in chicago and have shut his event down.

  there were scuffles inside the event.. despite his lame attempt to pretend the violence he instigates is nothing to do with him it's clear that it is as the cnn quotes during the last event showed only too well.. this doesn't happen at anyone else's events - candidates have even given up the stage to protesters, not called for them to be beaten and punched.. trump is an ugly person and this is just a small taste of what a future under his rule would be like.. shame on the gop for not kicking his ass out.

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  Coded Logic

  Am I the only one who thinks Chomsky is the emperor with no clothes on? I just don't get it. Everyone talks about how smart this guy is and what a visionary he is. But, to be perfectly honest, I've never heard him say anything particularly insightful nor do I feel he says anything very well.

  Maybe it's just me. If anyone thinks I'm outa my mind post a link for me to a video or some of his writing that you feel really hits the mark. Not trying to disrespect the guy, I'm just genuinely baffled as to why Chomsky's opinion carries so much weight with liberals.
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  9

  Why don't we have dominion over the animals?

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. current

  a devout christian had his buttocks mauled by a lion after challenging the big cat to a duel in order to prove the “lord’s power over animals”.. alec ndiwane, who has been described as a “prophet” in african media, was on safari at the kruger national park in south africa when he confronted the pride.. determined to prove to fellow tourists that god would save him, ndiwane is said to have gone into a trance and started speaking in tongues before opening his car door and charging at the lions.. but the lions were quick off the mark and bit him viciously on the backside as he clambered into the vehicle.. a warden managed to scare the big cats off by firing a gun in the air.. “i do not know what came over me,” ndiwane told ghanaweb.. “i thought the lord wanted to use me to show his power over animals.

  is it not we were given dominion over all creatures of the earth?” he added.. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6994224/devout-christian-has-buttocks-mauled-by-lions-after-challenging-big-cats-to-a-duel-to-prove-the-lords-power-over-animals.html?cmp=spklr-_-editorial-_-twitter-_-thesunnewspaper-_-20160311-_-news-_-394160343-_-imageandlink.

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  Coded Logic

  A DEVOUT Christian had his buttocks mauled by a lion after challenging the big cat to a duel in order to prove the “Lord’s power over animals”.

  Alec Ndiwane, who has been described as a “prophet” in African media, was on safari at the Kruger National Park in South Africa when he confronted the pride.

  Determined to prove to fellow tourists that God would save him, Ndiwane is said to have gone into a trance and started speaking in tongues before opening his car door and charging at the lions.

  But the lions were quick off the mark and bit him viciously on the backside as he clambered into the vehicle.

  A warden managed to scare the big cats off by firing a gun in the air.

  “I do not know what came over me,” Ndiwane told GhanaWeb.

  “I thought the Lord wanted to use me to show his power over animals. Is it not we were given dominion over all creatures of the earth?” he added.

  http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6994224/Devout-Christian-has-buttocks-mauled-by-lions-after-challenging-big-cats-to-a-duel-to-prove-the-Lords-power-over-animals.html?CMP=spklr-_-Editorial-_-TWITTER-_-TheSunNewspaper-_-20160311-_-News-_-394160343-_-Imageandlink
  
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  A "was it designed" that will never appear in WT publications

  by ILoveTTATT2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/genetic_algorithm.

  many times, the watchtower has published articles that show that scientists have used "biomimetics" to get some amazing answers to tough technological problems.

  they want to make it seem like the solution was made by a creator and not the result of millions of years of evolution and natural selection.. well... i doubt that this part of "biomimetics" will ever come up in one of the wt articles.. scientists have mimicked natural selection itself to arrive at amazing solutions to tough technological problems.. for example, would you think that this design (below) is the best design for an antenna?.

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  Coded Logic

  "Then who or what does the computer program represent? Ha, gotcha!"

  Umm, it represents the natural selection process that is unguided.

  "But it has an intelligent programer! Ha, gotcha!"

  Well no, the programer is just looking at how nature works and is modeling that. We don't infer from that - that nature has a programer.

  "So it's all by accident? That sounds dumb to me. Ha, gotcha!"

  Oh brother . . .