Posts by Twitch

447

Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

by LaurenM in

do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

Twitch

Why would you admire an approach that is the least thoughtful? It seems like something an intelligent and thoughtful person would av... oh, wait. Got it.

Because it references a much studied and thought about field that I think is relevant to the topic and question posed regarding the definition of atheism. Negative/positive atheism are valid definitions discussed at length and worth mentioning for those to investigate. Clearly some educated minds have put much thought into the subject. Perhaps not worthy of discussing here though.

What was that you were saying? You think of circle jerks and scat? Like, a lot? Maybe you should see someone. Just sayin...

lol

447

Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

by LaurenM in

do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

Twitch

I would be embarassed to make such juvenile arguments as Stuff and that article. The real shame is the lack of education they have but *thnk* they know what they are talking about.

Anyone else have an opinion or care to discuss?

Anyways, thanks for the shoutout. I'm done here

As I said, a shame but understandable. I know where you're coming from and admire such an approach.

447

Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

by LaurenM in

do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

Twitch

stuffwotifink

Excellent post. Thank you for providing a truly rational and honest response to the question and topic.

2. Theists will claim that skepticism or atheism is its own “religion” or belief system.
But some skeptics/atheists respond in a different way. Some think that even acknowledging that they hold a belief is too much. In order to avoid the charge of “having a belief system”, some will claim to merely “lack a belief” and therefore don’t have a belief or belief system at all. This is a mistake. This will very quickly come back around to bite us on the ass. All a theist has to do is get you to admit that you do in fact believe that, say, Joseph Smith was a con man, or that Mormonism is false, or that Jesus was not God in the flesh, etc. Once the skeptic/atheist admits of having better evidence against the theistic claim, this shows the presence of a mental belief of the negation of that claim, and the “lack of belief” position is thereby undermined.
It is not too much to admit that we hold beliefs about the world. If we are going to actively fight against primitive superstitions and mythical beliefs, and if we think we can show good evidence or argument for holding our skeptical position, we’d better also believe it.

An excerpt from the link provided and worthy of consideration for the atheist position. Your input is not a waste of time, though I fear the emotion of posters with regard to honestly discussing the position will obscure any real discussion. A shame really.

447

Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

by LaurenM in

do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

Twitch

Being an atheist means you positively mean God doesn't exist. Saying there is a possibility there could be some sort of god is agnosticism (which is where I'm at).

Well, despite what some may claim it is, the definition of atheist does have some caveats worth investigating i.e. positive vs negative atheism. There are subtle differences for one's consideration...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism#Positive_vs._negative

447

Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

by LaurenM in

do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

Twitch

stuffwotifink

A shame your posts and inquiries are met with silence from the anti-theist crowd. Any possibility of god other than theism seems to be ignored and scorned, despite the intellectual honesty you give the topic.

447

Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

by LaurenM in

do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

Twitch

Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

I identify with the atheist position in that there is no clear concise evidence of god's existence and by that, I primarily mean the christian theist belief or any that presents a personal god that cares about humanity. There is overwhelming evidence against such a god's existence, thankfully.

I do consider the idea of an impersonal god that is intrinsic to everything in existence i.e. pantheism. It is more probable than the idea behind theism IMO. An improbability is not an impossibility. The sublime connectedness in things may only be anecdotal to the premise but there is "magic" in our existence at times.

And it doesn't matter that such a god isn't "worthy" of worship or pointless because you can't have a personal relationship with it. Who says god has to care about you? Seems like a strawman argument using theism as a crutch.

In any case, there is no hard evidence of such a god, or any for that matter. We humans can't even understand ourselves fully never mind the OS of the universe. Until there is undeniable proof, the matter remains inconclusive to me and I'm fine with that. If belief in god makes you a better person and brings you peace, who am I to say that's a bad thing,

33

Why isn't demon possession a DF offense?

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

let's review: it's a cult!.

allrighty--got thinking about it in this thread.

isn't it odd that, of all things, that isn't on the list of df offenses?

Twitch

Hmmm

Whenever I hear the word demon, I think of Lucifer's backing band in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band. Particularly the break to the funky minor key frenzy. Yea, bet those guys could play...

That and Linda Blair.

39

The only way to know God exists!

by iconoclastic in

do everything as god would do if he were present here.

this will attract his attention, and you will experience his invisible hands blessing everything you do, giving you results more than what you sowed.. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

hence put to the test the above, and then you can make really authentic comments!.

Twitch

Do everything as God would do if He were present here.

I thought god was omniscient, omnipresent and omniuberalles.

This will attract His attention, and you will experience His invisible hands blessing everything you do, giving you results more than what you sowed.

It would follow that results will be invisible as well, yes?

36

I'm sick of...

by freemindfade in

jw
friends

i'm sick of.... ...having an elder i barely know invite himself over to my house, and bring another asshole elder with him, you know, to "see how i'm doing" f-ck them.

...having same elder with all insincerity approach me at the beeting and before inviting himself over, ask, "how are you doing?

" then when i say everything is great, go ahead and invite them selves over anyway.

Twitch

What Great Teacher and others have said. In the immortal words of the Lord Humongous, "just walk away"

The only power they have is that which is given to them.

41

Are you angry for having been a JW?

by Half banana in

i remember seeing the ex-jws parading around outside the assembly like lepers holding placards of hate.

we were the righteous and enlightened ones... and they were lost in outer darkness.

just dont look at them was the standard response to their unwelcome presence..

Twitch

No, I don't feel anger anymore at being a JW, at Christianity or religion in general. I spent too many years being angry and resentful and the only person that was affected was myself, sometimes to my detriment. The people and entities I was angry with don't give a shit anyways.

Anger is a natural response to being lied to and manipulated, and a part of the healing process. As my psychologist (may he rest in peace) said many years ago, "Anger is a good motivator and useful in forging new directions but not necessarily a healthy long term practice. It tends to feed upon itself and over time, one may forget the original reason for being angry. It also may prevent one from healing and moving on"

It's better to forge a new life and be content, not as revenge (which seems contradictory) but rather more to enjoy the time we have.