Posts by behemot

It all boils down to the old claim summed up by one of Dostoevskij characters, that “if there is no God, then everything is permitted.” (The Brothers Karamazov)

But loosing one’s faith doesn’t change the individual’s morality. It’s not because we loose our faith that we, all of a sudden, start betraying our friends, robbing or raping, killing or torturing!

It’s just not true that “everything is permitted” because we ourselves don’t permit it. Morality is autonomous, says Kant (Critique of Practical Reason) or it is not morality at all.

The behavior of an individual who doesn’t allow himself to kill just because he’s afraid of divine punishment is not “moral”: it’s just precaution, fear of the divine policeman, selfishness; the behavior of an individual who does good only for his own salvation is not “moral” either.

So, for the faithless ones, there are no longer “divine” commandments, but still there are our moral duties, that are the commandments that we impose upon ourselves.

As French philosopher André Comte-Sponville ( L'Esprit de l'athéisme) says: “Robbing, raping, killing? It wouldn’t be worthy of me – it would be unworthy of my upbringing, of what I am and want to be. Thus I forbid that to myself, and this is what we call “morality”. There’s no need to believe in God for that; it suffices to have faith in our parents and our teachers, in our friends (if we’ve been able to choose them well) and in our conscience.”

I would even say that stats like this one prove that Dostoevskij’s sentence could be paradoxically reversed thus: “If there is a God, then everything is permitted”. In fact, God speaks only and always through men, through their (biased) interpretation, thus every “moral” dictate, even the more questionable, can present itself as being of divine origin, and justify virtually everything (violence and war included).

Behemot

12

2009 Global Peace Index: atheist nations are more peaceful

by behemot in

jw
friends

interesting .... http://mwcnews.net/content/view/31030&itemid=1.

behemot.

.

behemot

MissingLink,

try this: http://bhascience.blogspot.com/2009/06/atheist-nations-are-more-peaceful.html

Behemot

12

2009 Global Peace Index: atheist nations are more peaceful

by behemot in

jw
friends

interesting .... http://mwcnews.net/content/view/31030&itemid=1.

behemot.

.

behemot

Interesting ...

http://mwcnews.net/content/view/31030&Itemid=1

Behemot

17

Bible Canon

by allelsefails in

has anyone done any personal research on how the bible canon was selected?

i am putting together an article on this and would like whatever insight anyone would care to give.

preferably historical references that are verifiable.

behemot

forgot to add ... you will find a summary of Metzger's book here:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/NTcanon.html

Behemot

17

Bible Canon

by allelsefails in

has anyone done any personal research on how the bible canon was selected?

i am putting together an article on this and would like whatever insight anyone would care to give.

preferably historical references that are verifiable.

behemot

For the New Testament Canon see this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-New-Testament-Development-Significance/dp/0198269544

Behemot

20

Ex-Circuit Overseers Write Books about Jehovah's Witnesses

by cabasilas in

some of our new members may find these online books of interest.

two former circuit overseers (both of whom "served" in the uk) have published books about jehovah's witnesses.. the first was a circuit overseer in the early 1960s by the name of william stevenson.

he published his book shortly after the watchtower society started promoting 1975 as the date for the end of 6,000 years of mankind's existence.

behemot

... Just found out G.R.I.S. is organizing for next July (4 and 5) two lectures by Barbara Anderson.

The lectures will be given in Cervia and Rimini in two churches (Q.E.D.)

I found this news in an Italian ex-JWs forum here: http://freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=8584482

(scroll down to view the flyers)

Behemot

20

Ex-Circuit Overseers Write Books about Jehovah's Witnesses

by cabasilas in

some of our new members may find these online books of interest.

two former circuit overseers (both of whom "served" in the uk) have published books about jehovah's witnesses.. the first was a circuit overseer in the early 1960s by the name of william stevenson.

he published his book shortly after the watchtower society started promoting 1975 as the date for the end of 6,000 years of mankind's existence.

behemot

Cabasilas,

I don’t know about the current religious stance of the books’ authors.

What I am aware of is that both of them co-operate with an organization named G.R.I.S. (Gruppo di Ricerca e Informazione Socioreligiosa = Socio-religious Research and Information Group, website http://www.gris.org/), a sort of anti-sects organization (whose main target is JWs) promoted and sponsored by the Catholic Church.

As a matter of fact, most if not all of the anti JWs activities in Italy are inspired and boosted by the Catholic Church (as a side note, I don’t like this monopoly at all) and the activities of these two former c.o. gravitate around that same area.

Not only a couple of their titles were handled directly by the Vatican Press, but also most of their other books were printed by Catholic publishers (San Paolo, Edizioni Dehoniane).

Behemot

20

Ex-Circuit Overseers Write Books about Jehovah's Witnesses

by cabasilas in

some of our new members may find these online books of interest.

two former circuit overseers (both of whom "served" in the uk) have published books about jehovah's witnesses.. the first was a circuit overseer in the early 1960s by the name of william stevenson.

he published his book shortly after the watchtower society started promoting 1975 as the date for the end of 6,000 years of mankind's existence.

behemot

Cabasilas,

these books are quite good readings for the Italian public but they don't contain anything more than what can already be found in English books, English being the language in which JWs related literature is way more conspicuous than in any other language, Italian included.

Behemot

20

Ex-Circuit Overseers Write Books about Jehovah's Witnesses

by cabasilas in

some of our new members may find these online books of interest.

two former circuit overseers (both of whom "served" in the uk) have published books about jehovah's witnesses.. the first was a circuit overseer in the early 1960s by the name of william stevenson.

he published his book shortly after the watchtower society started promoting 1975 as the date for the end of 6,000 years of mankind's existence.

behemot

Cabasilas,

none of their books has been translated into English. Here a few details on some of the books’ content:

Sergio Pollina – Achille Aveta, Movimenti religiosi alternativi. Effetti dell’adesione e motivi dell’abbandono (Alternative Religious Movements. Effects of Joining and Reasons for Leaving)

Deals with the dynamics of joining and leaving cults.

Sergio Pollina, I nostri “amici” Testimoni di Geova (Our “friends” the Jehovah’s Witnesses)

Deals with JWs lifestyle, beliefs and thinking modes.

Sergio Pollina – Achille Aveta, Scontro tra totalitarismi: nazifascismo e geovismo (Clash between Totalitarianisms: Nazi-fascism and Jehovism)

Analyzes the ambiguous relationship between JWs and nazi-fascism.

Achille Aveta – Sergio Pollina, I Testimoni di Geova e il terzo reich. Inediti di una persecuzione

It’s the translation of James Penton’s Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Third Reich: Sectarian Politics Under Persecution

Sergio Pollina, I testimoni di Geova fra mito e realtà: Vittime o artefici dell’intolleranza religiosa? (Jehovah’s Witnesses between Myth and Reality: Victims or Initiators of Religious Intolerance?)

Deals with the roots and the role of the ideology of persecution in JWs thought

Sergio Pollina, Il popolo dell’Apocalisse (The People of Apocalypse)

Deals with the JWs doctrine of end times.

Sergio Pollina, I testimoni di Geova e il problema del sangue (Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Problem of Blood)

Deals with the history of the blood doctrine

Sergio Pollina, L’altra faccia della medaglia dei Testimoni di Geova (Jehovah’s Witnesses: the other Side of the Coin)

Deals with less known aspects of JWs universe.

Achille Aveta, I Testimoni di Geova: un’ideologia che logora (Jehovah’s Witnesses: a Wearing Ideology)

Achille Aveta, Storia e dottrina dei Testimoni di Geova (History and Doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses)

Achille Aveta, I Testimoni di Geova e la politica: martiri o opportunisti? (Jehovah’s Witnesses and Politics: Martyrs or Opportunists?)

Behemot