Posts by binadub

12

Does Anyone know what congregation RBC is?

by binadub in

jw
friends

there seems to be some kind of a trend, i think of jw congregations separating from the authority of the watchtower if the elders vote for it.. i'm trying to get more information about what this is and whether or not the wt hq sanctions is, ever.. thanks for any info,.

~binadub.

binadub

Thanks for the replies, especially Blondie.

The reason for my inquiry is that there is evidently a scandal going on, with elders being removed, evidently for not following the process, but evidently it is not an entirely unique case. If I understand the situation, certain other congregations were not held to the same criteria. The impression I get is that there are certain circumstances where the WTS has allowed some exceptions in certain areas or circumstances. It would be intersting to know.

~Binadub

12

Does Anyone know what congregation RBC is?

by binadub in

jw
friends

there seems to be some kind of a trend, i think of jw congregations separating from the authority of the watchtower if the elders vote for it.. i'm trying to get more information about what this is and whether or not the wt hq sanctions is, ever.. thanks for any info,.

~binadub.

binadub

There seems to be some kind of a trend, I think of JW congregations separating from the authority of the Watchtower if the elders vote for it.

I'm trying to get more information about what this is and whether or not the WT HQ sanctions is, ever.

Thanks for any info,
~Binadub

EX JWS in Southern Idaho?

by binadub in

jw
friends

in particular, are there any exjws in southern idaho who would be interested in non-sectarian bible study?.

thanks,.

~binadub.

binadub

In particular, are there any exJWs in southern Idaho who would be interested in non-sectarian Bible study?

Thanks,

~Binadub

77

Like we'll ever settle this once and for all, but here goes; ARE YOU A TRUE CHRISTIAN?

by nicolaou in

the watchtower says; "there is an enormous distinction between true christianity and the religion practiced by those who are christians in name only" - wt 1st october 2009. now, in the light of all the current controversy over the word 'atheist' and what it means can you see how irritating it is to have your frame of reference, be it a religious belief system or something else, redefined by others?

and usually it is redefined by those who have something to gain by the linguistic manipulation.. for the watchtower the gain is easy to see but what about the attempt by many believers to define atheism as a belief system?

could it be that equating rational atheism with belief is nothing more than an attempt to legitimize faith?.

binadub

Hello nicolau:

I had asked you what you consider credibility that atheism has that religion does not have. This was a question about your explicit statement that atheism has credibility but religion does not.

You wrote:

My atheism is a simple absence of belief but (sigh) I'm sure you take atheism to mean a belief in god's non-existence. Atheism really needs no support, it isn't positing anything. Do I need to provide 'support' for my absence of belief in pixies, goblins or faked moon landings? No. It's the idiots who assert those outrageous claims who need to proved 'support' for their position.

Hmmm, I've been diverted.

Yes, that seems obvious from the fact that you didn't answer the question about your initial claim as to what constitutes "credibility" in your view for atheism. Your reply confuses the issue further. How can non-belief have creditility one way or the other?
I have no argument as to the atheist definition of "atheism." What seems more apparent is that you don't seem to understand the term "credibillity."

Binadub, you consider yourself "a somewhat studied Christian", would you say you are a 'true christian'? If so, would you accept that there are 'false christians'? How does anyone make that distinction anyway?

There can only be true Christians. A "false Christian" would not be a Christian.
Wouldn't that be a little like saying one is a "true atheist" or a "false atheist"? How would you define those?"False Christian" as a term would seem to be an oxymoron.

And you still did not explain your claim that atheism has credibility. How does atheism--in your view--have credibility.
(I don't need a definition of "atheism." )

~Bin

5

The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society As Homeland Security Clergy Response Team Member: The Big Sell Out

by Bangalore in

the watchtower bible & tract society as homeland security clergy response team member: the big sell out.. http://hubpages.com/hub/the-watchtower-bible-tract-society-as-homeland-security-clergy-response-team-member.

anybody here got any info about this?

is this really true?.

binadub

I guess I don't understand the issue. What do they mean by "sell out"? Providing a list of names of who is a member?

Also, at most, it would be American members which number about 1M, not 7M.

~Bin

77

Like we'll ever settle this once and for all, but here goes; ARE YOU A TRUE CHRISTIAN?

by nicolaou in

the watchtower says; "there is an enormous distinction between true christianity and the religion practiced by those who are christians in name only" - wt 1st october 2009. now, in the light of all the current controversy over the word 'atheist' and what it means can you see how irritating it is to have your frame of reference, be it a religious belief system or something else, redefined by others?

and usually it is redefined by those who have something to gain by the linguistic manipulation.. for the watchtower the gain is easy to see but what about the attempt by many believers to define atheism as a belief system?

could it be that equating rational atheism with belief is nothing more than an attempt to legitimize faith?.

binadub

Hi nicolaou:

I almost never post anymore, although I was a frequent poster on JWD's predecessor H2O. I infrequently check in on other sites these days and your topic happened to catch my interest. I hope you'll respond. You'll have to forgive me, I have forgotten some of the features of this program such as the quote, but you wrote:

Religion has nothing to offer a rational, skeptical atheist like me, atheism on the other hand has something the religious would love to have - credibility.

As I consider myself a somewhat studied Christian (i.e., not plunging into blind orthodox or evangelical blind faith but considering what I believe to be credible evidence for theism as well as Biblical Christianity), before I comment further on your ideology, may I ask for some further clarification on your comment as quoted above. In other words, what do you consider to be "credible" support for atheism.

Respectfully,
~Binadub

243

Let's settle this for once and for all...... is atheism a belief, a non-belief or an anti-belief?

by Quillsky in

jw
friends

my opinion is that atheism is not a belief.

it is a belief in no belief..

binadub

Essan:

Bin, if the word atheism had an element which signified belief between 'a' and 'theism' - as in: a-(belief)-theism, you might have a point. But it doesn't.
It's a-the-ism, or "No-God-Doctrine" or "Without-God-ism" Not "No belief in God" nor "Without belief in God".

There is no agreement on the definition, not even in the dictionaries, so trying to settle the question is an exercise in futility because it yields to the opinions of the people using the term.

That being said, the ambiguity is that theists tend to side with the position of "a-thism" being simply the absense of belief.
Theists tend to side with the position of "a-thism" being a belief--a definite belief that there is no god.

In my opinion (o-pin-ion), there is a subtle but very distinct difference between a lack of belief and a specific belief.
What you're saying is that atheism is a belief that there is no god. That's a belief.
Imo that's different than the absense of belief, which is what the more astute atheists claim is their position.

There may be aliens in outer space.
Some people don't believe in aliens in outer space, but other believe there are not aliens in outer space.
It's a trivial point of differentiation that astute atheists like to annoy people with.

~Bin

4

REMEMBERING RAY FRANZ - A Personal Tribute

by binadub in

jw
friends

a personal tribute to raymond franz:.

http://www.xjw.com/rememberingrayfranz.html.

~bin.

binadub

HI FARKEL!

I think about you and the "old-timers" not infrequently. Often wish we would have an e-mail reunion or something.

It's good to hear from you too. Do you keep in touch with AlanF?

Blessings,
~Ros (aka binadub)

243

Let's settle this for once and for all...... is atheism a belief, a non-belief or an anti-belief?

by Quillsky in

jw
friends

my opinion is that atheism is not a belief.

it is a belief in no belief..

binadub

Not sure why the absolute definition of this is important, but the prefix a- simply means "without" or absense of. It does not mean "anit-" as being opposed to. It simply means the absense of belief, as might be differentiated from antitheist. It's like amoral means without morals, not necessarily antimoral or against morals. An amoral person might believe differently than what they practice, so they may not necessarily be anti-moral.

~Bin
(not an atheist)

4

REMEMBERING RAY FRANZ - A Personal Tribute

by binadub in

jw
friends

a personal tribute to raymond franz:.

http://www.xjw.com/rememberingrayfranz.html.

~bin.

binadub

cantleave:

CoC helped more people than we can imagine. When that book was written and published there was no Internet and the many support forums that exist now. People who had left were alone, believed they were abandoned in the universe, and often believed they had forsaken their everlasting life for leaving the "Arc of safety." It's a whole different world now.

Thanks for sharing.

~Bin