Posts by maksutov

haven't read it all yet, but 15 skeletons have been found in south africa, near jo'burg... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11855405/homo-naledi-a-new-species-of-human-discovered-in-a-cave-in-south-africa.html.

maksutov

I think Saintbertholdt was being satirical. At least, I hope so.

13

The Oesophagus of the whale shark and the story of Jonah

by purrpurr in

in the wt's literature it is often theorised that the "great fish" that swallowed jonah was a whale shark.

indeed looking at whale sharks with their wide huge mouths it seems reasonable to think that a human could fit in there.... ... until that is you do any research on it.

while the whales mouth is huge, it's oesophagus however is only a few inches wide.

maksutov

http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=190: The gullet of Physeter macrocephalus is the largest among cetaceans; it is in fact the only gullet large enough to swallow a human.

...but that is a whale, not a 'big fish'. It is however, the critter shown in the Bible Stories book, swallowing Jonah. The whale shark, as you point out, couldn't do it due to the narrow esophagus: http://www.oceantoursmexico.com/blog/could-a-whaleshark-swallow-a-human/

Among fish, it seems a very large Great White Shark could potentially swallow a human whole. Of course, surviving in the stomach of any creature for 3 days would be physically impossible.

13

The Oesophagus of the whale shark and the story of Jonah

by purrpurr in

in the wt's literature it is often theorised that the "great fish" that swallowed jonah was a whale shark.

indeed looking at whale sharks with their wide huge mouths it seems reasonable to think that a human could fit in there.... ... until that is you do any research on it.

while the whales mouth is huge, it's oesophagus however is only a few inches wide.

maksutov

Makes me wonder - is there any fish or marine mammal that would theoretically be capable of swallowing a man whole?

43

Do you find it hard to be around active JW's now?

by EdenOne in

i do - actually, it's become close to unbearable.. and herein lies the paradox: i tried to fade in the illusion that i might keep contact with family and friends still "in".

was it worth it?

because not only most of them shun me anyways, but i find it almost unbearable to be around them, especially when the cult chit chat kicks in: every cute animal video clip triggers endless comments about glimpses of the future paradise and how "god did it"; those greasy praises to the organization and the governing body; the dumb awe about every jw broadcast and those cheesy music videos; the endless drivel against other religions when one knows perfectly well that we're no better than them; the endless flow of "experiences" of field service or spectacular conversions into "the truth"; the relentless congregation gossip; and so on .... i ask myself: is this why i am fading for ...?

maksutov

Since I was forcibly disassociated, I have found life a bit more peaceful. The constant cult reminders were difficult to cope with before. Now I am p*ssed off about being shunned, but at least I don't have to listen to their drivel any more.

16

Emma art

by umbertoecho in

dark were my thoughts when i drew these after losing emma.....she was so beautiful...i thought i might say more with art than complaining......

maksutov

umbertoecho: She was my daughter...she suicided...

Oh no, how terrible. I can't even imagine the pain of that.

You are very talented.

16

Emma art

by umbertoecho in

dark were my thoughts when i drew these after losing emma.....she was so beautiful...i thought i might say more with art than complaining......

maksutov

They look fascinating, but can we see bigger versions?

Forgive my ignorance, but who was Emma?

38

Hello

by Munster Abu in

jw
friends

new here but looking forward to joining in some of the discussions with you all.. a small bit about me: i'm shane.

was raised as a jw in the uk by my mum (single parent family) from about 2 years of age.

got baptised at 15 for all the wrong reasons.

maksutov

Hi Shane, nice to see you here.

18

Books by Former Witnesses

by GiftsinMen in

i am interested in reading books published by former jws which detail personal experiences of their time with the organisation.

i know of coc, exiting the jw cult, mamas club, 30yrs a wt slave, and told ones were written by otwo, punk and terry.

i'd like to spend some time making my way through them so titles, authors and links would be really useful.

maksutov

I also wrote one. It is free to download as an e-book from here: http://scepticalmusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/jehovahs-witnesses-reasons-for-leaving.html

Also available in paperback from Amazon. I don't get any royalties from it.

13

New Child Abuse Lawsuit

by maksutov in

can't see this having been mentioned already - forgive me if i missed it and it is old news.. velicia alston brings lawsuit against watchtower (irwin zalkin representing):.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=8nmgrvlmvxo.

maksutov

Sorry - didn't realise this was an old-ish case - the video was only uploaded yesterday and I hadn't heard of it, but I should've googled it before posting really.