Posts by Caedes

27

Did Polonius kill his wife? A problem with apolegetics

by bohm in

jw
friends

a basic problem with christian apologetics when applied to the bible is that it relies on the tacit assumption you can draw reliable conclusions on the material.

the most common form of apologetics start out by certain claims (the tomb was found empty, the disciples had post-crusifiction experiences of jesus that transformed their lives, etc.

this is hearsay since the person who made the statement cannot be sworn in.

Caedes

In my opinion (yeah, I have one of those too. I'm sitting on it) each person has the privilege of believing it or not and no one will be able to change their minds no matter what 'evidence' or suppositions they provide.

I would very happily change my mind if I was provided with empirical evidence that I was wrong. In fact I would welcome people providing such evidence. If people choose not to change their mind after being presented with such evidence then they are fools. You are assuming that the default religious position of believing things despite evidence also applies to more rational individuals.

14

Watch out Apple/Samsung: WT into Device Business

by pixel in

i haven't seen this posted yet.

i was watching the january-don't-educate-yourself-programming and i think we missed the following, at the :31 minute of the show:.

wt now sending portable music devices to malawi so they can sing the new song.

Caedes

The WBTS are not going to become a consumer electronics company, for a start they would have to employ educated people.

14

Watch out Apple/Samsung: WT into Device Business

by pixel in

i haven't seen this posted yet.

i was watching the january-don't-educate-yourself-programming and i think we missed the following, at the :31 minute of the show:.

wt now sending portable music devices to malawi so they can sing the new song.

Caedes

You do realise they don't make those, they have just bought them from someone who makes consumer electronics?

102

Should I attend Kingdom Hall meetings to discreetly "preach"?

by CrytoJesus in

jw
friends

christians, should i attend kingdom hall meetings to discreetly "preach" to jws about the real jesus and the lies of the watchtower?.

.

i plan to go undercover and plant seeds into them.. .

Caedes

Cryto,

They are just as genuine in their beliefs as you and would make exactly the same claims as you do. They have exactly the same personal testimonies as you do. There is no difference between you and the JWs.

24

Can anyone tell me any narrative of having successfully avoided Baptism while being raised JW?

by SonoftheTrinity in

i just worry for my stepkids about their future that way..

Caedes

Apognophos,

Using the example of jesus does not mean you are comparing yourself to him, it is saying if the son of god wasn't ready until he was thirty then how can I claim that I am so much more mature and ready for that commitment than the son of god was. I think it is the ones who are getting baptised at less than 30 who think they are special.

Obviously this only works if the person you are talking to was inclined to think that mumbling some words and getting a cold dunk was in anyway a meaningful exercise!

102

Should I attend Kingdom Hall meetings to discreetly "preach"?

by CrytoJesus in

jw
friends

christians, should i attend kingdom hall meetings to discreetly "preach" to jws about the real jesus and the lies of the watchtower?.

.

i plan to go undercover and plant seeds into them.. .

Caedes

Crytojesus,

If there is nothing that would cause you to question your faith then what makes you think that other theists are any less committed to their beliefs?

Perry,

There is nothing in your link that suggests that atheists don't exist. What it says is that some scientists have shown that some atheists have inconsistant beliefs. Personally I don't believe in anything supernatural and none of the examples listed applied to me or indeed to any of the atheists that I know, this would suggest to me that there are at least some atheists that do have consistant beliefs. The fact that religious parents tend to have more children conveniantly forgets that it is education and teaching critical thinking that creates atheists not the the religious beliefs of the parents.

102

Should I attend Kingdom Hall meetings to discreetly "preach"?

by CrytoJesus in

jw
friends

christians, should i attend kingdom hall meetings to discreetly "preach" to jws about the real jesus and the lies of the watchtower?.

.

i plan to go undercover and plant seeds into them.. .

Caedes

Crytojesus,

What would it take to make you question your faith?

24

Can anyone tell me any narrative of having successfully avoided Baptism while being raised JW?

by SonoftheTrinity in

i just worry for my stepkids about their future that way..

Caedes

I was raised by JWs and managed to avoid getting baptised. I avoided it because I would argue about what they were telling me, since they couldn't answer questions that would stop all conversation on the subject. I seem to recall pointing out that it took Jesus until he was thirty. Probably though they knew there was no point forcing me to do something when it was plainly obvious I didn't believe.

I wasn't concerned about armageddon since I already thought it was a fairy tale.

65

Did you AWAKEN from the JWs by yourself?

by cultBgone in

jw
friends

i was thinking about how so many posters here on jwn are frustrated and frantic to help their loved ones get away from the brainwashing of jws, and how much advice is given about how to help family members and loved ones.

i considered my own leaving and that it was internal turmoil based on the teachings getting weirder and child abuse issues, to name just a few, and it made me wonder:.

did you self-awaken or were you assisted by the gentle proddings of a friend or family member?

Caedes

I'm not sure I awoke as I never believed any of it. I was about 6 when I realised that my parents stories had big plot holes. I remember my primary school teacher talking about the fact that different people had different opinions about how we got here. She explained that some people believe that god created us and that other people believed we evolved and she said that she couldn't see why god couldn't use evolution. Obviously I am sure she said it rather more simply than that but that was what I remember.

That immediately made more sense than the much more dogmatic approach my parents had. I could ask questions and get an answer rather than a clip around the ear.

It took several years after that before I realised that I didn't believe in god either and that happened because of the dismissive way my parents treated other superstition. My parents liked to walk under ladders etc to prove they didn't believe in superstitions, I quickly came to realise that their own superstitions were just as easily dismissed.

So i would say that I didn't awaken myself, the JWs woke me up by using inferior reasoning that was easily refuted.

49

This religion is about to be toast.

by kneehighmiah in

the governing body is preparing to take a major hit.

this recent watchtower shows it.

not the new understandings, but the article on marriage.

Caedes

So what does the rest of the article say, it's difficult to tell what they are trying to say from just the introduction