Posts by done4good

18

The monthly broadcast as an opportunity to wake up

by paradisebeauty in

i was thinking that maybe the monthly broadcasts are a occasion for some jw's to wake up.

before those broadcasts they probably imagined that the gobgoverning y members are some very special peopleand that you see in their behavior and words that they are "chosen".

but now all jw's can see them for who they really are: average men, some full of themselves, some ridiculous, some just normal men with nothing special.

done4good

FMF - We are far more aware of content with the JW's, the Bible, the Broadcasts than in R&F. They just check out, do their time, look at the pretty lights, then rave about how wonderful the koolaid tastes. You have to pay attention to wake up.

I agree with your and Steve2'a thoughts on this. However, I would add that there are still thinking JWs among the ranks, and this is the kind of stuff that causes extreme CD for them. What I have noticed is that this type tend to tune out a lot of this, becoming increasingly apathetic towards what comes off the platform. They may in fact never mention it at all, but slowly the apathy builds.

Once that happens, there is a tendency for them to become very susceptible to something putting them over the edge. I think that explains a lot of the recent activity here.

d4g

13

there are a lot of people on this site and others who even though they don't believe anymore still fill the seats at the meetings.. i was just wondering, if they all decided to leave at the same time, how many do you think would leave?

would the numbers drop dramatically?

i would love to see that..

done4good

Shunning, (and fear of it), keeps people in. Humans are social creatures and shunning is unnatural treatment that people are instinctively fearful of. Many believers that don't fit into the category of "needing" the religion would stop believing if this threat did not exist.

I count those that "need" the religion as those that are dependent on it for career or existential needs.

d4g

51

Best Argument for Atheism - In your view.

by LAWHFol in

if crisis of conscience is one of the top watchtower doctrine killers, what is the coc of theism?.

i'd like to read a book, or other material that does the best job logically arguing for atheism.. i've not read any darwin, however it is my assumption that his focus is primarily on evolution, is this correct?

if you were to recommend one book or a few pieces of reading material, which do the best job of defending atheism, what would they be?.

done4good

Doltologist-

I agree at a practical level, any sky daddy wizard concept falls outside of what we call common sense. My point was, common sense is relative. Until someone learns to think critically, what might be common to us, is not so much to a theist.

In case I was not clear, I understand atheism is not a belief system. I am an atheist myself. I kind of thought that was clear. That said, prior to reading Dawkins' book in 2006, my understanding then was incorrect, just as it was for almost everyone else here at one time. By framing the definition of atheism correctly, this gave me something to build upon over the next 5 years.

I am not here to pat myself on the back. I offer this information as someone with 10 years experience out of the cult to help others who are not as far along.Take what you need, and leave the rest.

d4g

55

Are Jehovah’s Witnesses losing the War on Apostates

by Watchtower-Free in

found this.

http://jwalumni.org/2015/06/08/who-are-jehovahs-witnesses-september-watchtower/.

by misha anouk on 8. june 2015 in news

done4good

How can any thinking person possibly accept such hubris??? The tone and content of the September 2007 KM has become the norm. Unbelievable!

d4g

51

Best Argument for Atheism - In your view.

by LAWHFol in

if crisis of conscience is one of the top watchtower doctrine killers, what is the coc of theism?.

i'd like to read a book, or other material that does the best job logically arguing for atheism.. i've not read any darwin, however it is my assumption that his focus is primarily on evolution, is this correct?

if you were to recommend one book or a few pieces of reading material, which do the best job of defending atheism, what would they be?.

done4good

Doltologist - Try common bleedin' sense. Much underrated IMHO.

The problem with that is common sense is a heuristic, or rule of thumb. It varies from person to person relative to what part of the world they live in, their upbringing, etc. No sense is truly "common".

There are no short cuts. There are no three sentence or three volume reads a person could read or recite that would convince them in of itself, because of the preconditioned ideas one may already hold to. While it is true that no one is born with theistic belief, the problem is that such belief is usually taught very young in a person's life, and as such, becomes very foundational to the way a person thinks, and filters all other information through. Until they first learn to think critically, trying to undo that belief is likely a wasted effort. You can tell a theist that the burden of proof is on them all you want, (and be right), and still get nowhere. Ever wonder why? Re-read what I just wrote.

My best recommendation would be to take a class in logic or critical thinking first, if someone really wanted to speed up the process. As a non-linear thinker, I tend to learn a bit differently than some, so through considering a lot of information about many subjects, I was able to draw an atheistic conclusion. Your mileage may vary, and who knows, you may come to the conclusion sooner.

d4g

14

Are they banning college again?

by thedepressedsoul in

i wasn't alive for this but my parents and many old timers told me that at one point it was pretty much a rule that you couldn't go to college.

some of you may remember that from that time.

over time they relaxed that rule to that you did what you had to do in order to provide for yourself.

done4good

I think it started back that way with respect to higher ed around 2001. I left in late 2005, but things appear to have gone bat sh*t crazy since then.

Could not imagine being JW today.

d4g

51

Best Argument for Atheism - In your view.

by LAWHFol in

if crisis of conscience is one of the top watchtower doctrine killers, what is the coc of theism?.

i'd like to read a book, or other material that does the best job logically arguing for atheism.. i've not read any darwin, however it is my assumption that his focus is primarily on evolution, is this correct?

if you were to recommend one book or a few pieces of reading material, which do the best job of defending atheism, what would they be?.

done4good

...the thing that gives me pause in the can/cant prove God does exist argument, is that atheists are no happier than everyone else.

That points to a false dichotomy. Happiness is independent of belief.

d4g

28

Education makes you leave God

by FusionTheism in

quote from the watchtower, simplified edition, september 2015, "how can we show that we love jehovah?".

higher education often makes them lose their love for god..

done4good

Generally speaking, the more fundamentalist, (i.e. black and white), a religion, the less educated and/or intelligent the membership. Religions that do manage to maintain an educated and intelligent base, only do so because they allow for a large amount of free thought. It is usually not too far a step from there to non-belief.

d4g

45

New Thought About Active J.W.'s

by The Searcher in

from my own observations & conversations with selected active j.w.

's, here are my conclusions:.

's are very rapidly falling into two distinct camps -.

done4good

The group Frank mentions above is the largest group, IMO. However, the trend seems to be one of polarization from this group, to one of the other two.

d4g

25

The JOYS of being an EX-JW

by nicolaou in

add to the list and let's see the weekend out on a positive note!

1. sunday mornings.

alarm not set, cuddles with the mrs, tunes in the bedroom, coffee, bacon, another lazy coffee in the garden .

done4good

Thinking for myself. All else good, (or bad), stems from this. I will take it any day before being part of "the collective". And yes, it is virtually all good.

d4g