I woke up on my own too, and I agree that is the case for most. However, apostates helped me tremendously once I had woken up, and if it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't have come to understand how dangerous the org is.
maksutov
JoinedPosts by maksutov
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112
Did an EX-JW wake you up to TTATT or did you put the effort to wake up yourself?
by John Aquila inhow many of us were woken up by some apostate yelling false prophets at a convention?.
how many of us were woken up by someone holding a sign and yelling, what happened to 1975.
how many of us were coerced to investigate the wt because some ex-jw pulled up a bunch of old watchtowers magazines and told us to read the false predictions?.
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This is for all JW's out there...
by Divergent in.
sorry to be so blunt, but you only have yourself to blame if you realize something is wrong but allow your cognitive dissonance to kick in.
if you are confronted with facts which are reported by reliable sources which are hard to dispute and deny, and you choose to dismiss these as "apostate lies" rather than looking at these from an objective point of view, it's your fault and you deserve the consequences of willful ignorance!.
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maksutov
I'm not sure it is quite as black-and-white as that. I would agree that it is intellectually dishonest to dismiss evidence just because you don't like what it leads to, but human psychology is such that unless we have some very specific education and strategies in place, we are all susceptible to logical fallacies and manipulation. In order to break free from that, we need to be educated in critical thinking skills, how to spot logical fallacies, and the mechanisms used by manipulators. Sadly, once the manipulation has started, it becomes increasingly difficult for the victim to think rationally - and religious manipulation often starts in childhood. IMHO, critical thinking skills should be a core subject in schools - from primary school level up.
Even when we know about cognitive dissonance though, we are still susceptible to it, and we have to implement strategies to negate the effects of bias. I'd recommend Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow" for more insights on that (the author acknowledges that psychologists find themselves falling for the same fallacies that everyone else falls for, even though they are aware of them).
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Stargate SG1: False Gods, False Religion
by JWchange inhas anyone watched this scifi series?
has it helped anyone wake up to ttatt?
i woke up many years ago, however this incredible series reinforces my beliefs about religion.
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maksutov
The Ori were a pretty close match for JWs I think, but sadly, it did not wake me up - I watched it while still in. Great series for its time, but the early episodes look a bit lame now. -
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Stargate SG1: False Gods, False Religion
by JWchange inhas anyone watched this scifi series?
has it helped anyone wake up to ttatt?
i woke up many years ago, however this incredible series reinforces my beliefs about religion.
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maksutov
The Ori were a pretty close match for JWs I think, but sadly, it did not wake me up - I watched it while still in. Great series for its time, but the early episodes look a bit lame now. -
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My Mother Died Two Weeks Ago
by Perry innone of my jehovah's witness relatives called to tell me or my family.
just found out this morning.
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maksutov
Just want to add my condolences too. Your not being told is pretty shocking, even by JW standards. -
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"New Light never contradicts Old Light, but simply adds to it"
by stuckinarut2 indoes anyone remember this classic quote from a society publication??.
i remember it has been quoted many times, but i cant find the reference.. if this comment is to be taken literally, it condemns the organization anytime there has been a complete changes in teachings and doctrine!
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maksutov
stuckinarut2: it condemns the organization anytime there has been a complete changes in teachings and doctrine!
Haven't you heard of "tacking"? lol.
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Annulment of baptism for a minor?
by Tornintwo ini've seen references to baptism annulment on a few websites, does anyone know if there has ever been a successful annulment of a baptism?.
eg.
a minor claims they didn't understand a key wtbts teaching prior to baptism, is there any realistic chance of annulment?
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maksutov
I think they would only consider that if the person wants to be re-baptised (even then, they don't like doing it). As far as I am aware though, they have never issued annulments for those who want to leave. -
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Just recovering from a 'Mormon Mind Melt' ...
by LoveUniHateExams ini was in town centre about an hour ago to buy a shirt and tie for an upcoming job interview when i was stopped by a youngish, clean cut american young man (20-ish) in a cheap suit.
my heart sank as i thought it was local jws.
to my slight relief, it was mormons!
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maksutov
I had a similar discussion with a pair of Mormons who came to my door - they also told me that God is made of flesh and bone (but not blood, I think). My response was: "So does God have legs?" They replied that he does indeed. I asked what he used them for - after all, he doesn't really need to walk anywhere does he? Why would he have legs? That kinda stumped Mormon 1, but Mormon 2 stepped in and said that he thinks maybe sometimes God likes to walk around among his creation. Yeah, maybe, lol.
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Hey Simon
by ShirleyW ini'm noticing that when i open quite a few of the posts here i notice that the end of the sentences on some lines are breaking improperly.
like for the word paragraph, it's broken up with the "aph" on the next line for an example.
it's happening a lot i'm seeing it just about in every post i open, is it just my view and my computer?.
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maksutov
It is due to this bit of CSS in http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/static/styles/main-15abe09721.css:
.post-body {
-moz-hyphens: auto;
word-break: break-all;
word-wrap: break-word;
}According to this page, it should perhaps be changed to:
.post-body {
-ms-hyphens: auto;
-moz-hyphens: auto;
-webkit-hyphens: auto;
hyphens: auto;
-ms-word-break: break-all;
word-break: break-word
word-wrap: break-word;
overflow-wrap: break-word;
}...for maximum browser compatability.
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Where does the Society stand on Uniformitarianism?
by marmot inmy dad doesn't like the fact that i've come to accept the theory of evolution.
he always accuses me of unquestioningly "buying into" what scientists say and says i don't apply critical thinking to the problem.
so now i've decided to tackle his claim at the roots.
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maksutov
marmot: My dad doesn't like the fact that I've come to accept the theory of evolution. He always accuses me of unquestioningly 'buying into' what scientists say and says I don't apply critical thinking to the problem.
I don't think "critical thinking" means what your dad thinks it means. I also don't hold out much hope that you will ever be able to help him understand your point of view. As for your question, I don't think JWs accept uniformitarianism (I had to copy and paste that, lol) as true. They just cherry pick.