Posts by Coded Logic

19

Moral High Ground

by Spoletta in

it seems that the other threads about trump's policies are veering off into endless ideological theories about how much better we are than islam.

does anyone think there is a chance that islam can be changed in the same manner that christianity has over the centuries?

with the inflow of ideas from western countries into the middle east, will people gradually want to move away from sharia law to something less patriarchal and cruel?

Well let's not lose sight of the fact that Christian's had a little help from Jesus. A peace loving hippy who went around saying things like "love your neighbor as yourself", "return evil for to evil to no one", and "be peaceable to all men" kinda goes a long way. To be fair, I find myself complaining a lot more about how Christians DON'T follow Jesus rather than the ways in which they do follow the guy.

But conversely, Muhammad was a war lord who said things like "lay in wait to attack the poly theist", "kill apostates", and "wage jihad against the non-believer". We are genuinely terrified when Muslims act in accordance with the founder of their religion.

There's no two ways about it. Any reform of Islam is going to have it's work cut out for it. And is going to have many challenges Christianity simply didn't have not the least of which is that Muhammad claimed to be the "final revelation". While I appreciate the work people like Maajid Nawaz are doing I sometimes feel that an outright rejection of the Quran and organized Theism would be far more effective instead of trying to reinterpret dogmatic scripture.

12

Global warming? Maybe next year.

by a Christian in

year of global coolingby david deming.

december 19, 2007 .

al gore says global warming is a planetary emergency.

Coded Logic

explain this

9

Manufactured conflict and the media

by Coded Logic in

manufactured outrage.

false equivalence.

every issues has "two sides".

Coded Logic

CNN isn't as overt about it as Fox but it's to the same effect. The Republican talking points are always front and center on CNN. The issue of Syrian refugees is always pushed to the side. The issue of Global Warming might get 30 seconds of airtime on a good day. Trump surrogates get to weigh in on every single issue.

How Fox news presents its news is blatantly bias. But what CNN chooses to present as news shows it bias.

9

Manufactured conflict and the media

by Coded Logic in

manufactured outrage.

false equivalence.

every issues has "two sides".

Coded Logic

CNN is just a megaphone for the republicans. All day long they broadcast the GOPs talking points and feign there's something actually meaningful there to address.

9

Manufactured conflict and the media

by Coded Logic in

manufactured outrage.

false equivalence.

every issues has "two sides".

Coded Logic

Manufactured outrage. False equivalence. Every issues has "two sides". Etc. I can hardly turn on the news anymore without feeling my blood starting to boil. I watch the news because I want to be informed on what's going on in the world - not because I want to be dumbed down by talking heads reacting to the latest press conference or publicity stunt.

Whatever happened to investigative journalism? Whatever happened to going out and getting the story? It seems to me all the major networks do these days is sit on their ass' while waiting for some government employee to hand them a press release or go "live" to a rally.

Having a waiter bring you a candy bar from the vending machine isn't cooking. And waiting for the white house or some campaign surrogate to dispense a pre-manufactured piece of propaganda is not journalism!

News networks should seek to inform us - the viewer - with the most accurate information they have at their disposal. And they absolutely shouldn't expose us to an endless parade of BS artists and campaign apologists in the name of "fairness". It's okay to present peoples OPINIONS fairly. But when it comes to FACTS - "fairness" should always yield to accuracy. And substance should always trump analysis.

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91x3nKXTh7U

9

The Watchtower should be scared of Hillary becoming President

by Coded Logic in

in many countries around the world the realization of how reckless the jws can be towards child endangerment and, more broadly, family safety, has started to take hold.

the results from the preliminary findings of the australian royal commission and the case being made in the united kingdom - which may remove the watchtowers tax exempt status - are both prime examples of this.

unfortunately, as the wt is headquartered in the united states any actions taken against the society will ultimately be limited in scope for such outside countries.. however, if hillary clinton should become president, i think there's a very good chance the wt could face serious and very far reaching legal action.

Coded Logic

Don't forget this part of her experience
- Hecee

I didn't:

During this time Hillary also ran a Legal Aid Clinic which gave legal assistance to low income person. At one point she was forced by a judge, despite he objections, to defend a child abuser. In her book "Living History" she describes what a bad taste this left in her mouth and even described how she knows "polygraphs don't work because my client passed one." Shortly after the trial ended she was inspired to create the first rape crisis hotline in Arkansas (one of the first int he whole country).

9

The Watchtower should be scared of Hillary becoming President

by Coded Logic in

in many countries around the world the realization of how reckless the jws can be towards child endangerment and, more broadly, family safety, has started to take hold.

the results from the preliminary findings of the australian royal commission and the case being made in the united kingdom - which may remove the watchtowers tax exempt status - are both prime examples of this.

unfortunately, as the wt is headquartered in the united states any actions taken against the society will ultimately be limited in scope for such outside countries.. however, if hillary clinton should become president, i think there's a very good chance the wt could face serious and very far reaching legal action.

Coded Logic

In many countries around the world the realization of how reckless the JWs can be towards child endangerment and, more broadly, family safety, has started to take hold. The results from the preliminary findings of the Australian Royal Commission and the case being made in the United Kingdom - which may remove the Watchtowers tax exempt status - are both prime examples of this. Unfortunately, as the WT is headquartered in the United States any actions taken against the Society will ultimately be limited in scope for such outside countries.

However, if Hillary Clinton should become President, I think there's a very good chance the WT could face serious and very far reaching legal action. Hillary has a lifelong history of fighting for child and family issues. Shortly after graduating from Yale Law School in 1973 she started work at the Children's Defense Fund. A few years later, in 1977, she co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families that - among many other things - gave legal aid to abused women and children.

During this time Hillary also ran a Legal Aid Clinic which gave legal assistance to low income person. At one point she was forced by a judge, despite he objections, to defend a child abuser. In her book "Living History" she describes what a bad taste this left in her mouth and even described how she knows "polygraphs don't work because my client passed one." Shortly after the trial ended she was inspired to create the first rape crisis hotline in Arkansas (one of the first int he whole country). By 1977 President Carter appointed Hillary to chair the Legal Services Corporation - a federal program charged with expanding access to legal services.

Long story short, Hillary Clinton has first hand experience helping families obtain legal assistance and direct involvement in helping women and children after being victims of rape. This, in itself, should give the WT pause. But I think there are two other equally concerning issues about Hillary the Society would have to worry about.

The first one is Hillary's work in the private sector. She worked as a corporate lawyer at the Rose Law Firm (and even became a partner there). She knows how corporations work, how they hide things, spin things, and will do anything to protect themselves from legal ramifications. Should the JW child abuse scandal become an national issue, it is not likely Clinton would be duped by the false sincerity of the Governing Body.

The other issue is Hillary's work to change laws to help protect victims. For example, she helped write - and get passed - the Safe Families Act. Also, at the Department of Justice, she helped create he Office on Violence Against Women. And even the very first scholarly article she wrote was "Children Under the Law" where she advocated that children should have rights under the law and shouldn't be considered "minors" but rather "child citizens".

If Clinton becomes President there is no guarantee the cover ups of the Watchtower will make their way into the public consciousness. However, considering her life long fight for women and children rights, I think there's a very good chance she will - without even intending to - appoint a special prosecutor or some other legal board that will look into a broad category of child issues that will uncover the exact sort of behavior the WT has been engaged in (protecting abusers, not having best practices, no transfusions for children, etc.). Even more to the point, if the scandals do come to light here in the United States like they have in other countries, I can think of no person I'd rather have for President than someone with a proven track record like Hillary Clinton.

101

Are Gods true worshippers on Earth today? If they are not JWs then who are they?

by Formerbrother in

is there gods true worshipers on earth today as jesus said there would be?

if they are not jws then who are they?.

who else comes close to being gods true followers today?.

Coded Logic

Why would a God want to be worshiped?

Wouldn't an all knowing all powerful God resist such efforts by people. Wouldn't a truly wise God instead tell people to worship things like human decency, altruism, and equality?

Any real God wouldn't want worship.

29

dealing with religion after leaving the witnesses

by joker in

i’ve noticed many people posting on this site seem to have completely given up on religion/spirituality.. but some have attended services at another religion, or just follow their own heart regarding what to believe.. my question is how does anyone deal after leaving with all of the witness crap that we believed about babylon the great, the great harlot, spiritual prostitute, etc., etc.

i’m finding out that i seem to have built myself a pretty solid wall regarding religion.. some people can just chuck all beliefs into one basket saying that they are all basically garbage,,, and that is ok, no problem i respect that.. but for myself there is a certain part of my personality that needs a spiritual belief not like the witnesses in any way, but something to meditate on, and contemplate.. being a witness taught me how bad it is to actually think of god in any other way besides what the jw’s believe.

and now when i attend any other service, the dark jw side seems to pop out and seriously makes me believe that everything i see/do/say is wrong.

Coded Logic

TrueNoir -

You asked a large number of questions. I'll try to answer them in order:

1.) If we look at things based off of evolution if we came out of evolved monkeys why has that evolution process stopped then?

It hasn't stopped. Genetic mutation and the selection process continue within the human race to this day.

2.) Scientists still have not been able to create life from nothing as well because that's basically what evolution says.

Evolution is a scientific theory that explains the diverse speciation we observe on our planet. It says NOTHING about the origins of life. You're confusing abiognesis with evolution. They're two very separate things.

Furthermore, scientists also haven't been able to create a stable nuclear fusion reactor - are we then justified in believing the Sun is powered by the breath of Zeus? Should we just chuck out the entire process of nucleosynthesis and supplement whatever we feel like because scientist can't do something in a lab? Do you really think that's a valid objection?

3.) The bible has been around for a very long time and many things out of the bible can be proven historically such as places and such.

The Odyssey also references real places and time periods. Are we then justified in believing that Odysseus actually slayed a giant cyclops? Or that mermaids actually tried to lure him off his ship so they could kill him?

Just because the Bible references some towns of antiquity doesn't mean that it's story's are actually true. Not only that, there's a great deal of things written in the Bible that are historical false. For example, is says that 4,200 years ago there was only one language - yet we have hundreds and hundreds of writings from different cultures during that time period. Or it says that King Hezekiah only worshiped one God - yet we have his seal which includes both the symbol or Ra and an Ankh. Or it says that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Tyre - but we know he was never able to breach the towns walls - and the city still exists to this day. Etc.

4.) Also I personally have had prayers answered though that was before I identified as a JW which for me makes me believe that the bible is real.

What about all your unanswered prayers? We all have desirable and favorable experiences happen in our lives. We also all have undesirable and unfavorable experiences. You're just counting the hits and ignoring all the misses.

5.) But by going off and identifying as atheist instead all your really doing too is justifying what JW say happens to people when they leave the religion. And your allowing a religion to steal your personal spirituality.

This is as absurd as it is offensive. The most spiritual people I know are atheists. And most of us didn't lose our faith. Rather, we found our curiosity. As such, we now have a much deeper and richer connection to the natural world around us and to the people in our lives. We know that this life is the only one we've got and we're determined to make the best of it. And to leave the world a little bit better off than when we entered it.

6.) And in the event that the bible is true you've turned your back on god.

Can you turn your back on something that isn't there? Would it be meaningful for me to say that since you don't actually believe there's "one ring to rule them all" you've turned your back on Gandalf?

7.) But yeah if you want to fly off the handle and believe that you evolved from a monkey and you just evolved and gained the ability to speak and communicate even though the actual scientific proof of current day monkey's evolving into humans don't exist its totally up to you.

There's no scientific proof? Are you sure?

What about mitochondrial DNA?

What about Endogenous retrovirus'?

What about transitional fossil forms like Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus deyiremeda, Kenyanthropus platyops, Paranthropus aethiopicus, Homo rudolfensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Paranthropus boisei, Homo heidelbergensis, etc?

What about atavisims?

What about physiological, anatomical, and molecular vestiges?

What about the our number 2 fused chromosome?

Have you bothered to look at ANY of the scientific evidence for our evolution? Wouldn't it be a good thing to know something about evolution before you start insisting there's "no scientific proof"?

10

Self Delusion

by Coded Logic in

once upon a time there was a "kiai master" who trained his students how to knock people over - no touch - with purely the power of his chi.

how he came to think he actually had telekinetic powers - or how his students became accomplices in his self delusion - i have no idea.

but he was so convinced he could actually do these things he issued a challenge and put up $5,000 for any martial artist who could beat him.

Coded Logic

Once upon a time there was a "Kiai Master" who trained his students how to knock people over - no touch - with purely the power of his chi. How he came to think he actually had telekinetic powers - or how his students became accomplices in his self delusion - I have no idea. But he was so convinced he could actually do these things he issued a challenge and put up $5,000 for any martial artist who could beat him. An MMA fighter accepted the contest and stepped into the ring with him . . .

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

I find this affair a strangely analogous to life in the WT. I remember when I was a teenager I went out in field service with the circuit overseer. As he was telling me that I should apply myself so I could get into Bethel we knocked on the door of a women in her sixties. The issue of the Trinity quickly came up and the circuit overseer proceeded to pull up some scriptures showing it wasn't true. I remember in the moment being glad I was with a real heavyweight who could knock this one out of the park. Surely if there was someone who could show the Trinity was man made it was the Circuit Overseer. But then something strange happened.

Every scripture he looked up and read aloud the women would cite - from memory - the surrounding scriptures showing that his context wasn't quite right - and then she would proceed to recite another scripture rebutting the point he was attempting to make. They went back and forth for a few short minutes and then - abruptly - the circuit overseer proceeded to excuse himself. As we wondered back to the car I wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing and then the Circuit Overseer said, "There's just no use in arguing with people who have their minds made up."

I remember thinking, hey, we were the ones who knocked on her door. It was our job to convince her we had the truth. We shouldn't be disparaging her as "hard hearted" just because she had the audacity to know something about the Bible. If we couldn't reach someone who cared about the Bible - then who could we reach?

That wasn't the end of the faith for me. But it was one of the first notches in the tree of self delusion. After so clearly having our ass' handed to us I knew that "Jehovah will give you the right words to say" was a load of crap. And that if I wanted to convince people I had the truth I would have to really study and know the Bible. It took me a long time to get around to such serious study - but once I did the whole thing quickly came crashing down.

While I get a strange sense of pleasure of watching the "Kiai Master" get totally owned - I can't help but feel bad for him. Many of us used to think we had special powers too. Perhaps the easiest person to fool is yourself. Clearly this man is a victim of buying into his own BS. As are his students. I'm just glad I never managed to fool anyone with my own BS. Or the BS of the WT.