Posts by Coded Logic

13

what more cuts might be in the pipeline

by pepperheart in

there have been so many cuts in the past few years in the jw world what do you think might be next?

Coded Logic

The events of the past ten years has been truly extraordinary. The amount of material published is less than half. The amount of printing materials is a fraction of what it used to be. A whole meeting has been disposed of. Over a 1/3 of the branches have shut down. No more District Overseers. Massive layoffs at Bethel. Suspension of all construction. etc.

None of us had any idea the WT would so quickly be brought to her knees. If the slow attrition continues we'll see KHs being sold off more and more often. But if the next decade is anything like the last - there won't be much of an organisation left at all.

Can you imagine if half of the remaining Branches also get closed? If the role of Circuit Overseer gets phased out? If all printing is suspended? If the amount of content produced continues to plummet?

The WT is already well on its way to being a TV/internet evangelist religion. I doubt they be able to keep more than 25% of their Publisher base if they go that route. But it may be all they can do to stave off extinction. Adapt or die.

24

Why it's a waste of time talking to JW's

by Phizzy in

i believe it to be a waste of time talking to, reasoning with, jw's if you expect any kind of quick result.. many of us when we first wake up think that 'coz ttatt is blindingly obvious to us, it will soon get through to our jw loved ones.. this simply isn't so for a couple of important reasons.

the first is that, if someone believes something is true, or the truth, to them it really is, without doubt, true.

so whatever you say must be wrong somehow.. the second problem is that jw's simply do not have to use, or pay any attention to facts and logic.

Coded Logic

I've never understood this line of reasoning. Every single one of us on this forum CHANGED OUR MINDS because we were confronted with some evidence that we just couldn't rationalize anymore. And the more we sought answers from the WT the more we realized what a house of cards their theology is.

No, you can't deconvert a JW in a single conversation. But it doesn't always take massive earthquakes to start an avalanche. Often it's a single snow flake that gets the ball rolling. And sometimes even one small point can have a profound impact upon the mind.

I should also point out that people don't change their minds because they "want to". Rather, people change their minds because they have no choice but to. Who knows what sorts of doubts and logical inconsistencies a JW may be noticing. Taking a moment to point out a few more is hardly a waste of time.

Using inclusive language can be hugely beneficial. Saying things like "how can we know that?" - "I understand that's what you believe but how can we tell if it's actually true?" - "do you think that we should have good reasons for believing the things we believe?" - can force them to think instead of just having emotional reactions.

All in all, I believe that people should have good reasons for believing the things they believe. And it therefore follows that if I want to change other people's minds (JWs included) I have an obligation to give them good reasons for doing so.

Simply saying "they'll never change their minds therefore I won't even try" isn't only wrong - it's also intellectually lazy.

26

Now finally Caleb & Sofia Anti-Gay Video going viral in Germany too

by Daniel1555 in

today spiegel online & bento have an article about the anti-gay video.. spiegel is one of the biggest and most serious news media in germany.. they also report and show that youtubers cut the video and changed it in a funny way.

sofia tells her mother that the teacher said it's fine if they live each other.

then sofia's mother says: "thats wonderful.".

Coded Logic

I am genuinely shocked at how many people posting on the various threads addressing this topic don't get why this cartoon is so offensive.

It's not just that it's telling children being gay is dangerous (which is bad enough in it's own right). It's also instructing kids to go out and tell other kids that being gay is dangerous. The little girl in the cartoon is expected to teach her classmate about a paradise that her Moms wouldn't ever be allowed to be a part of.

JW children are already the school pariah. Instructing them to go around attacking the family structure of other kids is only go to make things that much worse for them. And be very hard on the kids who's parents are being singled out as "dangerous".

This cartoon is not benign. Nor is it their "same old bigotry". Rather, this is a whole new low. Don't be deceived by the pixar animation and happy music. It's a disgusting piece of propaganda.

13

Building 500 new kingdom halls?

by Coded Logic in

jw
friends

the wtbts has to know they aren't actually going to see their numbers significantly jump anytime soon/ever right?

are they planning on cutting the rbc down to 1/10th the work force so they can actually slow down their kh projects instead of increasing them?

or do they think their little website scheme is actually going to bring in more people?.

Coded Logic

The amount of cognitive dissonance the GB experiences everyday must be truly extraordinary. They make plans to build - only to have it fall apart. They make predictions about the end of generations - only to have them come and pass and fail. They talk about extraordinary growth - only to see their gains tapering off. They demand that brothers and sisters become more spiritually educated - only to have to dumb down their literature more and more to keep people in. They say the UN will turn on religion - only to watch it continue fighting for religious freedom. etc.

13

Building 500 new kingdom halls?

by Coded Logic in

jw
friends

the wtbts has to know they aren't actually going to see their numbers significantly jump anytime soon/ever right?

are they planning on cutting the rbc down to 1/10th the work force so they can actually slow down their kh projects instead of increasing them?

or do they think their little website scheme is actually going to bring in more people?.

Coded Logic

I really don't understand WT "logic". Why boast about all the KH they're going to build and then cancel all projects a couple of months later?

So weird. I honestly can't make heads or tails of this.

31

All Gays Are Perverts

by Coded Logic in

"scientists may never resolve exactly how much of a role nature and nurturing play in same-sex attraction.

but one thing is clear: all humans are born with the tendency to succumb to wrong thinking and inclinations.

--romans 3:23. a youth who desires to please god must therefore conform to his moral standards and shun immoral behavior, though doing so may be agonizingly difficult.

Coded Logic

What would be wrong with two consenting adults of the same sex choosing to have a sexual relationship?

My feelings exactly.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

Coded Logic

Anything that begins to exist has a cause.

This is not known to be true. We've never witnessed something "begin to exist" via a cause. Causation only applies to existing materials transitioning from one state into another state (nebulae into stars, trees into furniture, etc.)

And the only thing we've ever witnessed "beginning to exist" are virtual particle pairs - which don't have a cause as far as we know.

An expanding universe must of had a beginning.

Once again, this is not known to be true. And if space-time began with the universe than saying "the universe began to exist" and "the universe has always existed" are identical statements.

4

People are paying attention

by Coded Logic in

yes, i read pink news from time to time.

i'm a gay man.

so sue me.

Coded Logic

Makes me want to go and try and fix some other JW cartoons.

32

Shooting in the foot (homophobic video)

by Syme in

with the newly released homophobic video by the wts, it gets clearer that those people can't stop shooting themselves in the foot.

they are already under examination and de facto trial by the australian committee; more and more people and officials in western democracies inquire into their abusive tactics and put them under the microscope, and what do they do?

they release a video which confirms those worries.

Coded Logic

Christianity expect men to deny this strong urge and stick to one partner for the rest of his life even though it may be very difficult. If this video were about a little girl who's school friend was upset because her parents were divorcing after the Daddy cheated on the Mommy, the JW mother would be explaining how Jehovah is against fornication and adultery and won't allow people who do that, into Paradise.
-PZ

The fact that you're trying to compare fornication to being gay is truly abysmal. One is about a person being selfish and betraying their spouses trust. The other is about two people who love each other developing their relationship and cultivating a sense of trust and affection between each other.

This is the exact sort of bigotry I am referring to. It's a deep seeded intolerance towards anything that is different and an attempt to vilify it by false equivocation. Biblical pronouncements are not "standards". Their arbitrary statements without regard to human decency or the well being of sentient creatures.

4

People are paying attention

by Coded Logic in

yes, i read pink news from time to time.

i'm a gay man.

so sue me.

Coded Logic

Yes, I read Pink News from time to time. I'm a gay man. So sue me. You have to understand the onus put on us to be fashion savvy and culturally up to date on every piece of celebrity garbage is not an easy stereotype to live up to.

Anyway, was really glad to see this on their site. Apparently the latest JW cartoon has been getting a lot of attention and someone took the time to fix it:

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/05/05/watch-someone-fixed-that-creepy-anti-gay-jehovahs-witness-cartoon/?utm_source=ET&utm_medium=ETFB&utm_campaign=portal&utm_content=inf_11_60_2&tse_id=INF_21bc451e8ea24636911e09123d6cca24