Posts by Coded Logic

14

Didn't go to memorial this year

by silent in

jw
friends

my wife and i had business to attend to out of town today and i had thought if we made it back home in time, we'd go to the memorial.

as it turned out, we didn't get home in time and we missed it, but we had a real good talk with each other on the way home.

we are largely successful faders and at the very least, i like to try and make the memorial.

Coded Logic

If there is a creator God I'm pretty sure he's a big boy. He will understand what you're going through and will have the wisdom to know that you need to take some time to figure out what you believe and why.

Appreciation can come in many forms. It can be a silent prayer. It can be moment contemplating something that amazes you. It can be learning more about the universe we inhabit. It can be simple awe.

Give yourself permission to search for answers. And NEVER feel guilty for following the evidence where it leads. When I first began my journey I found this video highly informative, thought provoking, and spiritual in a way I had never known before. Take a moment to check it out :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaMM2lAo2C8

17

Evolution vs Creationism.

by Labate in

jw
friends

perhaps this has been discussed in the past, but i can't help noticing that on many posts creation vs evolution seems to equal theist vs atheist.

granted, a creationist by defination would have to believe in a creator.

on the other hand, believing in evolution doesn't automatically make one an atheist, a small point perhaps, but i think it would be more accurate to say believer vs nonbeliever.. just sayin'..

Coded Logic

That means beginning with an assumption that there is an answer to all questions that doesn't involve the supernatural.

Not quite right. Science doesn't assume there are no supernatural answers. Rather, it recognizes that there is no current method of detecting or investigating the supernatural and thus seeks naturalistic explanations.

Though I do think it's worth pointing out that every time we've been able to study a phenomenon that was supposedly "supernatural" in origin - it has turned out to have a natural cause. Most likely the reason we can't detect the supernatural is because it doesn't exist.

95

Evolution is a Fact #31 - Ten Questions for Creationists

by cofty in

i thought this would be a good time to pose some questions based on the series so far.. if creationism is true these should be easy.

answers that don't involve copy-paste would be really interesting to read.. ... .

1. since some proteins can be assembled in more ways than there are atoms in the universe why do the sequences of amino acids and bases vary between species in exactly the way evolution predicts?

Coded Logic

Since some proteins can be assembled in more ways than there are atoms in the universe why do the sequences of amino acids and bases vary between species in exactly the way evolution predicts?

Because scientists are dishonestly trying to make the model fit the evidence.

Why do humans and other primates have virus DNA, and other bits of non-coding text, in exactly same place in their genomes?

Because God has full licensing rights to His intellectual property and likes to recycle where he can.

Why do humans and other species have broken genetic code for features that they no longer possess?

Because this DNA serves some unknown purpose and we just have to have faith and one scientist at one time didn't understand the purpose of one line of genetics that was later found out to be meaningful so now we're perfectly justified in believing that all junk DNA is meaningful . . . and also imperfection and fallen world and stuff.

Why does human chromosome 2 consist of two primate chromosomes joined end-to-end?

Sometimes painters use two different colors. And sometimes painters mix colors to produce an entirely new color.

How do you explain the amazing fossils that demonstrate major transitions?

Piltdown Man was a hoax so therefore all transitional fossils are hoaxes.

Why do the same fossils always appear in the same layers of rock in a way that is totally predictable?

Because during the flood larger animals could run to higher ground faster so they're in the top strata and slower animals are in deeper strata.

Who were the hominids that walked upright more than 3 million years ago?

Scientists just make up dates and stuff and the hominids are really only six thousand years old.

Why do humans have vestigial features?

We just don't understand their purpose yet and God will fix us back to our former glory so we can use them and stuff.

Why does the distribution of species align exactly with evolution?

Because God intelligently designed his creations . . . ?

How does creationism explain bad design like the recurrent laryngeal nerve?

Who are we to question God?

43

The Modern Exodus: Perception or Reality?

by Hadriel in

i'm completely new at this however just in my joining this forum and of course interacting with others i can't help but notice what appears to be a significant exodus from the organization.. for those of you that have long been in this game have you seen this before?

i'm really curious and we should refrain from the sensational, but is what we're seeing different than in years past?.

it sure seems like so so many are waking and leaving.

Coded Logic

It all depends on what a person means by "Mass Exodus".

If you mean within a period of just a couple of months that millions of JWs will walk away from the religion - than I'm with Simon on this and I don't think it's likely to happen.

But if by mass exodus you mean the churn becomes so high they start having negative growth - then I think they're already there. I believe they have been fudging the numbers for the past couple of years by moving the goal post of what they call a "publisher" and they won't be able to hide their reducing numbers for much longer.

I also think it's important that we make predictions (not proclamations). Because over time it allows us to look at what we first thought vs. what's actually going on and produce more accurate models. My own prediction for a "mass exodus" is that in fifteen years there will be half the number of publishers. And I think such a prediction is worthy of the title "mass exodus". But that's just me. It seems like very few others on this forum are willing to make specific predictions about where the WT will be in the next ten to twenty years.

11

Evolution is a Fact - Index for Numbers 1 - 30

by cofty in

#1 protein functional redundancycomparing the sequences of amino acids in ubiquitous proteins confirms the relationship between all living things.. #2 dna functional redundancycomparison of the dna that codes for the amino acids of ubiquitous proteins predicts the tree of life with an astonishing degree of accuracy.. #3 ervsendogenous retroviruses that infected our ancestors are found in the same place of the genome of our closest primate cousins.. #4 smelly geneshundreds of broken genes that used to code for olfactory receptors in our ancestors are still found in our genome.. #5 vitamin cwhy humans can no longer make their own vitamin c and what that tells us about our species' history.. #6 human chromosome 2our second biggest chromosome is made up of two of our ancestors' chromosomes stuck end-to-end.. #7 human egg yolk genehumans and our primate cousins have the genes for making vitellogenin and they are all broken in the same way.. #8 jumping genesbits of parasitic code called alu elements prove our common ancestry with primates.. #9 less chewing more thinkinga broken gene for a type of muscle fibre we no longer have tells a story about our evolutionary past.. #10 non-coding dnain common with many other species huge amounts of our genome originated as copying errors.. #11 tiktaalikan amazing fossil discovery illustrates the transition of life from sea to land.. #12 lenski's e.coli experimentan experiment with e.coli, now in it's third decade, demonstrates the power of natural selection.. #13 morris minor bonnetsevolution has to make do with building on existing designs as illustrated by the recurrent laryngeal nerve.. #14 joey goes to ozfossil evidence for the origins of marsupials found in antarctica exactly as predicted.. #15 robinson crusoethe biogeography of oceanic islands presents an impossible dilemma for creationism.. #16 aquatic mammalsan excellent sequence of fossils illustrates the evolutionary journey of whales from land to sea.. #17 belyaev's silver foxesa 50 year breeding programme demonstrates the amazing power of selection and the interconnected nature of genes.. #18 fish fingersthe evolution of limbs is mapped out in an amazing sequence of ancient fish fossils.. #19 goosebumpsa vestigial reflex bequeathed by our hairier ancestors.. #20 lucy in the sky...an exceptional fossil of a 3 million year old hominid.. #21 footprints in the sand...footprints at laetoli show our australopithecus afarensis ancestors were bipedal 3.6 million years ago.. #22 the hillocks of hiss...a vestigial feature if the human ear shared by 10% of the population demonstrates our evolutionary history.. #23 faunal succession...the consistent sequence of fossils found in the rocks can only be explained by evolution.. #24 the origin of your inner ear...how the bones that reptiles eat with became the bones that we hear with.. #25 deep time...scottish geologist andrew hutton discovered the proof of earth's great antiquity.. #26 colour vision...how gene duplication - new "information" -and mutation equipped us with trichromatic vision.. #27 monkeys, typewriters, shakespeare, 747s etc...evolution is a combination of random mutations and non-random selection.. #28 something darwin didn't say...a long term study of pigeons demonstrates how natural selection acts on a local population.. #29 use it or lose it...fossil genes reveal the history of modern species.. #30 your third eyelid...the remnants of a nictitating membrane reveals our evolutionary history..

Coded Logic

Fantastic resource. Thanks for putting this together Crofty!

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

Amazing how Perry always lights fires but never sticks around to support anything he says.

12

The earth is flat...

by rory-ks in

jw
friends

...and the ship is sailing over the edge.. .

such is the state of the watch tower society..

Coded Logic

Hmm, I can't help but wonder how much more they can change or update their ideology. And would doing so actually save them?

36

Estimating future growth or decline of Watchtower

by shepherdless in

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.

Coded Logic

I think you are absolutely correct to focus on the age profile of adherents as an indicator of decline. Increasing age of membership is a well studied phenomenon in the UK in relation to declining churches such as Methodists, Anglicans and Presbyterians. Peter Brierley has collected data on church attendance, including age profiles and lots of other details for decades.

Good points SBF! I hadn't considered this.

36

Estimating future growth or decline of Watchtower

by shepherdless in

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.

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?

17

The Monsters the WTBTS Created

by Coded Logic in

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.

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.