stemming from the 'absentheism' thread, an old question came to my mind.
what exactly is "belief"?.
is it the same to ask: "do you believe in god?
@ pressman, "...bundle up the courage to truly believe in the one true Lord."
For many it takes courage to be an atheist. Nothing expected out of the Universe. No egocentric beliefs that you will be rewarded for eternity for going through a submission ritual.
researchers say todays lord almighty shares many traits in common with the chimp deity, including color vision and omniscience.. .
berkeley, cachallenging long-held views on the origins of divinity, biologists at the university of california, berkeley, presented findings thursday that confirm god, the almighty creator of the universe, evolved from an ancient chimpanzee deity.. the recently discovered sacred ancestor, a divine chimp species scientists have named pan sanctorum, reportedly gave rise over millions of years to the lord our god, maker of heaven and earth.. although perhaps not obvious at first glance, there are actually overwhelming similarities between the supreme being of today and this early primate deity who preceded him, said dr. richard kamen, a leading biologist who also heads berkeleys paleotheology department.
the holy chimp moved around on all fours, but its descendants eventually began walking upright to expend less energy while foraging across the infinite reaches of the universe.
stemming from the 'absentheism' thread, an old question came to my mind.
what exactly is "belief"?.
is it the same to ask: "do you believe in god?
"Show us your Evidence Against God.."
There is no evidence against 'God' just like there is no evidence against leprechauns. There simply is no valid evidence for such entities and the lack of such evidence is sufficient for disbelief.
the latest phase of the uk charity commission case included this:.
subsequent to the opening of the inquiry, in a letter dated 10 july 2014, mr cook of the watchtower informed the respondent that the disfellowshipping hearing for mr rose had in fact been carried out by the elders of a different congregation, so the charity had played no role in that process.
mr cook (who is the in-house solicitor at the watchtower) later elaborated on his own letter in a witness statement for the tribunal.
today's watchtower study article is all about jesus.
this stuck out to me after a year of hanging out on here where one frequent point of criticism is that jws claim to be christians but never talk about jesus.. anyone think it's a coincidence that today was the "special talk" follow-up to the memorial?
i think not - this is the most attended sunday meeting of the year, complete with many ubms, studies, and miscellaneous other potential victims who have been subjected to a coordinated effort to pressure them into attending.
"elders do not try and control the sheep, or make rules etc or pressure them to do more!"
Their pathetic lies never cease.
today's watchtower study article is all about jesus.
this stuck out to me after a year of hanging out on here where one frequent point of criticism is that jws claim to be christians but never talk about jesus.. anyone think it's a coincidence that today was the "special talk" follow-up to the memorial?
i think not - this is the most attended sunday meeting of the year, complete with many ubms, studies, and miscellaneous other potential victims who have been subjected to a coordinated effort to pressure them into attending.
@ a watcher, "The ransom is for EVERYONE who will "worship the Father with spirit and truth." (John 4:23)"
One of the better JW scholars on this forum might be able to research this. I have a feeling that it's one of those doctrines that the Watchtower has flip flopped on. My main point is that they don't emphasize Jesus to the extent that the epistles do where he is the primary focus. Contrast this to the Watchtower's fixation with itself and their using Jehovah as a sock puppet.
today's watchtower study article is all about jesus.
this stuck out to me after a year of hanging out on here where one frequent point of criticism is that jws claim to be christians but never talk about jesus.. anyone think it's a coincidence that today was the "special talk" follow-up to the memorial?
i think not - this is the most attended sunday meeting of the year, complete with many ubms, studies, and miscellaneous other potential victims who have been subjected to a coordinated effort to pressure them into attending.
@ a watcher, "You diss us when we DON'T talk about Jesus and you diss us when we DO!"
The Jesus of the Watchtower, regardless of how often he's mentioned, is not the Jesus of the New Testament. JW doctrine clearly states that the Ransom is only intended for an elite - the 144,000. There is no emphasis of Jesus as Lord and savior or of you having to accept him into your heart to the exclusion of all else such as men - organizations of men.
So no matter how often or how little they mention Jesus, he doesn't receive the respect that the New Testament commands.
PS: Atheist speaking.
just curious about others experience.
i've been living just a few miles from a kingdom hall for 9 years.
i've been called on 0 times.
Lisa, I have a few suggestions. You mentioned putting up a No Soliciting sign. You may want to make a sign that specifically forbids JWs; clearly states that you're an apostate and threatens to call the police if they do trespass. Either that or do it on a No Trespassing sign. You might want to attach a ripped up Watchtower on the sign.
Or you can answer the door with your cellphone in hand and tell them that you are calling the police.
Or you can take one of their Watchtowers and rip it up right in front of them.
moroni 6:7 states,.
' and they were strict to observe that there should be no iniquity among them; and whoso was found to commit iniquity, and three witnesses of the church did condemn them before the elders, and if they repented not, and confessed not, their names were blotted out, and they were not numbered among the people of christ.'.
any comments?.
so, here's a bit of a different point of view.
while most of us will agree that our time within the jw cult was rather terrible, however, i'd like to look at another aspect.
did anything good come out of being in a cult and then waking up from it?.
Bonsai,
"Being a witness helped me to overcome the beginnings of substance abuse."
Being a witness has led many to substance abuse. Probably more than those it has helped.
"I met many good people who taught me a lot of good principles in life."
Many Nazis, aside from their heinous crimes, were moral and ethical in most regards. The Witnesses believe in genocide. No, Godwin's Law does not apply.
"This religion helped me to make many contacts so I could travel to many countries with ease. It taught me how to be a good, persuasive public speaker. etc. etc. I lived. I learned."
You could have acquired those skills and contacts without the negative effect of the Witnesses. I will admit, though, that the Ministry School does hone your public speaking skills and draws some introverts out.
