Posts by bavman

21

For women over thirty!

by helncon in

this is for all you girls 30 years and over.... and for those who are turning 30, and for those who are scared of moving into their 30's...and for guys who are scared of girls over 30!!!!....

this was written by andy rooney from cbs 60 minutes.

andy rooney says:.

bavman

Lol! I see a whole lot of truth in what he wrote. No offense to women here under 30 but in general I agree with Andy.

38

Why So Many More Atheists in Europe?

by bavman in

top 50 countries .

with highest proportion of atheists / agnostics.

(zuckerman, 2005)below is a list of the top fifty countries containing the largest measured percentage of people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in god.

Top 50 Countries
With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics
(Zuckerman, 2005)

Below is a list of the top fifty countries containing the largest measured percentage of people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in God. These figures do not necessarily represent the number of people who are identify themselves as "atheists." For example, in Estonia in 2004, 49% of people surveyed said they did not believe in God. At the same time, only 11% of people in the country identified themselves as atheists.

Country	Total country population (2004)	% Atheist/ Agnostic/ Nonbeliever in God	Number of Atheists/ Agnostics Nonbelievers in God (minimum - maximum)
Sweden	8,986,000	46 - 85%	4,133,560 - 7,638,100
Vietnam	82,690,000	81%	66,978,900
Denmark	5,413,000	43 - 80%	2,327,590 - 4,330,400
Norway	4,575,000	31 - 72%	1,418,250 - 3,294,000
Japan	127,333,000	64 - 65%	81,493,120 - 82,766,450
Czech Republic	10,246,100	54 - 61%	5,328,940 - 6,250,121
Finland	5,215,000	28 - 60%	1,460,200 - 3,129,000
France	60,424,000	43 - 54%	25,982,320 - 32,628,960
South Korea	48,598,000	30 - 52%	14,579,400 - 25,270,960
Estonia	1,342,000	49%	657,580
Germany	82,425,000	41 - 49%	33,794,250 - 40,388,250
Russia	143,782,000	24 - 48%	34,507,680 - 69,015,360
Hungary	10,032,000	32 - 46%	3,210,240 - 4,614,720
Netherlands	16,318,000	39 - 44%	6,364,020 - 7,179,920
Britain	60,271,000	31 - 44%	18,684,010 - 26,519,240
Belgium	10,348,000	42 - 43%	4,346,160 - 4,449,640
Bulgaria	7,518,000	34 - 40%	2,556,120 - 3,007,200
Slovenia	2,011,000	35 - 38%	703,850 - 764,180
Israel	6,199,000	15 - 37%	929,850 - 2,293,630
Canada	32,508,000	19 - 30%	6,176,520 - 9,752,400
Latvia	2,306,000	20 - 29%	461,200 - 668,740
Slovakia	5,424,000	10 - 28%	542,400 - 1,518,720
Switzerland	7,451,000	17 - 27%	1,266,670 - 2,011,770
Austria	8,175,000	18 - 26%	1,471,500 - 2,125,500
Australia	19,913,000	24 - 25%	4,779,120 - 4,978,250
Taiwan	22,750,000	24%	5,460,000
Spain	40,281,000	15 - 24%	6,042,150 - 9,667,440
Iceland	294,000	16 - 23%	47,040 - 67,620
New Zealand	3,994,000	20 - 22%	798,800 - 878,680
Ukraine	47,732,000	20%	9,546,400
Belarus	10,311,000	17%	1,752,870
Greece	10,648,000	16%	1,703,680
North Korea	22,698,000	15%*	3,404,700
Italy	58,057,000	6 - 15%	3,483,420 - 8,708,550
Armenia	2,991,000	14%	418,740
China	1,298,848,000	8 - 14%*	103,907,840 - 181,838,720
Lithuania	3,608,000	13%	469,040
Singapore	4,354,000	13%	566,020
Uruguay	3,399,000	12%	407,880
Kazakhstan	15,144,000	11 - 12%	1,665,840 - 1,817,280
Mongolia	2,751,000	9%	247,590
Portugal	10,524,000	4 - 9%	420,960 - 947,160
USA	293,028,000	3 - 9%	8,790,840 - 26,822,520
Albania	3,545,000	8%	283,600
Argentina	39,145,000	4 - 8%	1,565,800 - 3,131,600
Kyrgyzstan	5,081,000	7%	355,670
Dominican Republic	8,834,000	7%	618,380
Cuba	11,309,000	7%*	791,630
Croatia	4,497,000	7%	314,790

http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html

Anyone know of any reasons for this? Has this been studied? What say you European ex-dubs?

23

What do you know about Unitarian Universalists?

by Good Girl or Bad Girl? in

jw
friends

i'm just wondering if anyone has looked into this faith or church or religion or whatever you might call it?

it seems like a positive community, but i have also read things about it that seem borderline scary to vulnerable people who are looking to fit in somewhere... .

i'm not looking for a religion to convert to or anything like that.

bavman

Hey GG/BG, I have gone to a few different UU churches here in Milwaukee. Pretty cool people and I have a couple UU friends. Very mixed beliefs but in general VERY open-minded and accepting. I even went through the introduction classes at two of these churches. A good book to get about them is: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalisim - A Chosen Faith by Buehrens and Church

Website: http://www.uua.org/

I recommend going there to get a feel. No obligation although they may pass a basket (throw a buck in if you want). Just going there is educational because they have speakers and subjects on all different religions.

22

I Need A Comeback Statement

by journey-on in

when i suggested to my jw sister that the wts has caused so much pain and division in our family, she told me it was because my brothers and i had made the choice to leave.

we were responsible for the division---not the society.

we are the ones that chose to leave the love and protective shelter of jehovah's organization and we are the ones that have the choice to return to the fold.. i need an intelligent comeback, preferably one that will plant a seed, not one too sarcastic.

bavman

I don't let them get away with that. I tell them I have simply woken up but it is YOU that have chosen to shun me. Tell them they are always welcome to be and talk with you. The door is open on your side. All they need to do is open their mouth or show up in your presence.

44

WILL THE WATCHTOWER EVER DO THE RIGHT THING AND APOLOGIZE?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

will this arrogant, presumptuous organization that has ruined so many lives, that loves to talk about humility and modesty, ever present a formal apology to all those who've suffered at their hands?.

would it really matter if they did?.

nvrgnbk .

bavman

I asked this question to a couple of elders. They claimed that the society has apologized in the past. I said 'no, I mean REALLY apologize.' The answer I received was that 'you can't just keep apologizing, you will lose respect.' I sat there shocked, with my mouth wide open knowing that I was making the right decision leaving the borg...

71

Knocking forum is now open on PBS website

by Jourles in

jw
friends

here we go folks.

a newly opened forum for knocking is now open on pbs's website.

let's not let the jw's overrun this with crap.

bavman

I have to say. I think the discussion going on there right now is one of the most interesting things I have seen in a long time. Ex-dubs and active-dubs actually talking...

25

Inconvenient Watchtower Anagrams!

by professor in

jw
friends

as you probably know, an anagram is made by taking all of the letters in a word or phrase and re-arranging them to spell something else.

sometimes it can be humourously approprite what you can come up with.

for instance, you can re-arrange the letters in.

bavman

2 questions for you. How long did it take you to figure out all those anagrams and where were you for my last party?

14

Before the Elder Arrangement

by bavman in

for you "old timers"...lol!

what was procedure if someone seriously sinned and needed to confess?

also, was there less disfellowshipping going on?

bavman

HEY BAVMAN!! You fellow cheesehead! Didn't realize this was your Topic. I thought you were an old-timer too?? Have a good one! ~~

Naw...I was around quite awhile especially since I was a born-in but I would consider myself as more of a middle-timer I guess....I was born about the time this arrangement came into place. I heard all the stories and what the society wrote about it but I don't have any actual experience myself about the time before the "arrangement".

Thanks for all the comments!

14

Before the Elder Arrangement

by bavman in

for you "old timers"...lol!

what was procedure if someone seriously sinned and needed to confess?

also, was there less disfellowshipping going on?

bavman

For you "old timers"...lol! What was procedure if someone seriously sinned and needed to confess? Who would they go to? Also, was there less disfellowshipping going on?

18

Matt. 10:34-42 Proves the JWs Are the True Religion

by Undecided in

jw
friends

christ came with a sword to break up families if they don't follow the line.

he is all that matters.

you have to reject your families if they don't follow jesus(jehovah according to jws) so this proves they are right.

bavman

Here's a couple different interpretations of this scripture from Wikepedia:

Interpretations

Advocating violence

Some Christians and non-Christians believe that in these passages Jesus was advocating the use of violence. Applying a literal interpretation, they take the word "sword" to mean a literal metal sword and, by extension, warfare. In that case "division", as used in the verse from the Book of Luke, would tend to mean strife and war. For Christians accepting this interpretation, these passages may be seen as part of a justification for just wars and capital punishment. For non-Christians accepting this interpretation—particularly those who are philosophically opposed to violence—the Matthew and Luke passages are often seen as evidence of a moral deficiency in Jesus's teachings and therefore in Christianity. Many non-Christians go even further, claiming that this verse contradicts other teachings of Jesus, and therefore conclude that since the Bible is not self-consistent Christianity must be false.

Predicting violence

Other Christians hold that Jesus is using the word "sword" as a metaphor to describe the division that his message would bring between those who accept it and those who reject it. A further and more mystical interpretation represents a personal conflict, or evolution, as in a rebirth. In the context of the passage, Jesus was warning his disciples. Whether internal or external, conflict will come for Christians. "It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for them."

They conclude that this division between righteous and unrighteous is the "sword" which Jesus brought. And as a result of this division:

"Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death," indicating that the message would divide families between those who accepted the message and those who rejected it.

Rather than advocating violence, Jesus was warning his disciples that they would encounter violence from those unwilling to accept the Truth. Nowhere in the passage does he instruct them to harm anyone. On the contrary, he instructs them to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons, and explicitly tells them to be "as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves." These are all instructions consistent with his message of love and grace. He does not command them to resort to violence with those who reject the message. On the contrary, he tells them to leave the homes of those who reject them, because God alone will be the judge of those who reject the Truth.

This interpretation that the Truth will cause division between those who accept it and those who reject it is also reflected in John 1:10-13 (RSV), which reports of Jesus:

"He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God."

bavman

Posts by bavman

Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)

Advocating violence

Predicting violence

Top 50 Countries
With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics
(Zuckerman, 2005)