Evolution is not only compatible with belief in God, in fact Alvin Plantinga makes a strong argument that evolution is evidence for God. The argument is complicated but quite compelling when you really think about it.
slimboyfat
JoinedPosts by slimboyfat
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61
Simple introduction to the theory of evolution
by Diogenesister inhi new folks, lurkers and trolls.
i thought i would post this simple but interesting video which shows how scientists bring multiple lines of evidence together to prove evolution is true; for example:.
comparative anatomy.
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61
Simple introduction to the theory of evolution
by Diogenesister inhi new folks, lurkers and trolls.
i thought i would post this simple but interesting video which shows how scientists bring multiple lines of evidence together to prove evolution is true; for example:.
comparative anatomy.
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slimboyfat
Was that poll done in Iran?
Why choose Iran? Just a generic, backward, Muslim country? Bad choice. Iranian education of evolution is equal to European countries:
In Iran, evolution is an important part of the K-12 biology curriculum. The standard Iranian text book in biology at the high-school level has been analyzed by Elise Burton who writes: “The evolution chapter, divided into three sections, provides a comprehensive introduction to the development of evolutionary theory, with the first section devoted primarily to Darwin and his influences and culminating in the formulation of the new synthesis; the second section to evidence of evolution, including paleontology, molecular and structural homology, and embryology, with discussion of evolutionary rates and punctuated equilibrium; and the third section to examples of natural selection, such as peppered moths and the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant on Darwin’s finches (3)”. The high-school curriculum in evolution in Iran appears to be at par with the education in most countries in Europe, the Americas, and East Asia.
http://www.nielsenlab.org/2016/02/teaching-evolution-in-the-middle-east/
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138
JW org collapses
by I Faded Twice inok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
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slimboyfat
Very interesting page of Mormon statistics. I think it’s clear from these charts that Mormon growth is on a downward trajectory and they have never been as big as JWs. In particular the baptism figures are striking, plus the chart of active members as opposed to nominal members.
Despite being much more proactive in baptising members of the public, Mormons only managed to baptise 233,000 last year. They only have 30,000 congregations worldwide, compared with around 120,000 JW congregations, and there are only around 5 million active Mormons compared with over 8 million JW publishers.
http://www.churchistrue.com/blog/lds-membership-statistics-2018/
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138
JW org collapses
by I Faded Twice inok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
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slimboyfat
Just go compare their Kingdom Halls with those of the 7th day Adventists or Mormons.
In Scotland there are roughly:
35 Mormon Churches
10 SDA churches
82 Kingdom Halls and 1 Assembly Hall
Mormon churches are bigger than Kingdom Halls but are generally empty on Sunday. The one in Johnstone is literally empty, and presumably will be sold at some point. The one in the west end of Glasgow is the biggest in Scotland and used to have two congregations, now only one since Springboig Congregation was dissolved. I think it’s also used as a base for training missionaries.
SDA churches comprise a variety of different buildings. The one in Irvine is an extension of a shop front. The one in Faifley is like a large hut, which is smaller than most Kingdom Halls. The church in Dundee is a large building and they recently built an extension that almost doubled its size. The church in Glasgow is about the same size as a Kingdom Hall and struggles to accommodate more than 120 on a Saturday, which is sometimes the attendance. In Edinburgh they use a large old converted church, which is cold in the winter because they can’t afford heating. In Paisley they rent a hall in a local community centre. The SDA church in Crieff is probably their nicest church in Scotland it has lots of wood beams and windows and large rooms and gardens. Here is a picture.
http://sm.adventist.org.uk/news/archives/sc/scottish-evangelism-training-creating-a-church-for-others
Within a UK context Mormons are overreprested in Scotland whereas JWs and SDAs are underrepresented.
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138
JW org collapses
by I Faded Twice inok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
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slimboyfat
Doubter, Stephen Lett said in 2015 that the organisation has “more going out than coming in”. All their desperate actions since indicate he was telling the truth, and then some.
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138
JW org collapses
by I Faded Twice inok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
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slimboyfat
Sanchez yes the question is whether Watchtower can find a way to live within their means. I think it’s doubtful they can do this without undermining the organisation itself by selling too many KHs and undermining their credibility to the rank and file JWs.
The comparison with Mormons does seem relevant because they only have 5 million active members and around 40,000 congregations worldwide. JWs have three times as many congregations to maintain on a much smaller budget. I think that is relevant information.
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138
JW org collapses
by I Faded Twice inok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
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slimboyfat
Why are they still around 17 years after they were not in trouble? Huh? I wasn’t saying they were in trouble in 2001. You’d need to take that up with whoever said that. If there were people saying that. In fact, until 2015 I thought they were in pretty good shape. My old posts reflect that. That’s when the crisis hit in earnest, although the first signs might be detected from around 2008, in hindsight,
If what some people were predicting in 2001 was that Watchtower’s payouts for abuse would become an issue for for the organisation, I think we’d have to say that was pretty accurate. And this is nowhere near run its course.
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138
JW org collapses
by I Faded Twice inok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
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slimboyfat
Doubter back in the 1990s we didn’t have: dozens of branch closures, thousands of KHs being sold, WT and Awake! reduced to nothing, Yearbook discontinued, thousands of bethelites sent home, district overseers abolished, special pioneer numbers slashed, no new missionaries from Gilead, begging for more donations by GB members, sale and downsizing of headquarters in US, UK and elsewhere, cutting bethel services, no new book releases, demanding perpetual payments from congregations straight to organisation, millions of dollars being paid out to abuse victims, worst media coverage in their history, lack of leadership, completely nonsensical new generation teaching, unprecedented opposition online, on YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, commercial movies exposing shunning, blood, abuse and more, etc, etc.
Apart from that, everything is pretty much the same as it was in 2001 and absolutely nothing to suggesf Watchtower is in any kind of trouble whatever.
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Here's another subtle reverse-witnessing topic:
by neat blue dog inthe next time a jw brings up a natural disaster or severe weather event as proof of the last days, and they preface it by reciting a fact they heard on the news like, (just for the sake of example) 'it's the worst earthquake in 70 years' or 'the worst plague in 200' years', (you get the picture), then simply reply: "oh, so that means that ____ years ago there was one that was worse, right?".
i did this twice.
both times got the same response:.
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slimboyfat
Yeah but, ah but, yeah but... it’s a composite sign, doncha know!
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138
JW org collapses
by I Faded Twice inok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
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slimboyfat
Do you know how much WT made from the sale of Brooklyn properties? 1 billion dollars?
Do you know how much the Mormon church collects in tithes each year? 8 billion or so?
WT is not weathly compared to other religions, and they are getting poorer every month. Can they turn it around by making even more cuts? It’s possible, but not likely they can turn it around, in my view.
Churches that have collapsed/are in terminal decline:
Apostolic Church - because their prophecy about their leadership being specially chosen in a specific timeframe failed
Shakers - because they opposed procreation
Church of God - because their media empire faltered
Methodists in Britain - didn’t move with the times and also lost sight of core message: worst of both worlds
Christian Science - lack of leadership to carry on legacy of founder
Watchtower suffers from every single one of these issues that have destroyed comparable religious groups. Yet some people insist that Watchtower is immune to collapse. Why?