Posts by LisaRose

78

My experience of christians and religion

by Doltologist in

one or two of you have noticed that i use derogatory terms when talking about matters religion.

i offer no apology.

you do, however, deserve an explanation.. my father, bless him and now dead, was a survivor of belsen, the german concentration camp.

LisaRose

Doltologist, your parents were idiots, being C of E had little to do with it. Religion can make us better people or not, to the extent we can look at ourselves, see our own faults and let it motivate us to be better. It doesn't work when people won't do that, as with your parents. There are churches that address these kinds of things, so not all Christians are like your parents. I am not too familiar with C and E, being American, but plenty of churches are attempting to teach altruism, empathy and true morality (that not having to do sex). That most fail is why they are on the decline, imo.

Given your history it's understandable that you hate religion, but I find your use of made up terms to be annoying and it's hard to take you seriously because of it. We all have had our moments of making fun of the Watchtower and religion in general, but most of us moved on at some point. You may want to think about why you still have a lot of anger towards your parents. While understandable, is it really serving you well in your life right now? I'd there the possibility of letting it go? Just something to think about.

One of the goals of this board it to help those who are leaving or at least having doubts about the Watchtower. They may very well be turned off by your use of such terms and not stick around to learn more that could help them get free of the Watchtower. They have been conditioned to think that all us apostates are evil, horrible people who want to tear down the faith of others. This fear is so strong that even if they hate the Watchtower they may be hesitant to come here. I myself didn't find this site until eight years after leaving the Watchtower, even as I knew it was not the truth.

9

PERFECTION (ISM) leaves no trace of YOU

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

the problem of perfection(ism).

the best piece of advice i got was from my art teacher, aubrey mayhew.he told me, "art isn't about 'getting it right.

' it's about your mistaken views which you give yourself permission to explore.".

LisaRose

I like the quote that says "art is the lie that reveals the truth."

I saw a sculpture in a gallery of a crouching man. It was crudely constructed of newspaper and duct tape, but it was more memorable than any bronze sculptures I have ever seen. You felt the power in the thing, that at any moment that man was going to stand up and do something.

I know enough about the creative process to know that being afraid (of not reaching perfection, or of people not liking it, of people will think you are stupid, etc) will keep you from doing your best work. When you let that go, when you accept that you are deeply flawed (as we all are) then you can start to have something.

60

Why don’t we have a better story?

by iconoclastic in

1. some say we are all gods, and god is omnipresent..

2. some say: god created his children who later challenged his sovereignty, who in turn asked his eldest son: go down to the world, do not resist the wicked, but be murdered by them, the value of which will be used to atone the sins of the world..

3. universe arose out of a big bang.

LisaRose

iconoclastic4 hours agoYou all are explaining this with such an ease you would explain how giraffe got its long neck.

That one is really easy. Millions of years ago there were ancestors of modern day giraffes that ate tree leaves, however their necks were shorter. A giraffe is born who has a gene mutation that causes it to have a longer neck. Because this gives it an advantage (access to more leaves others cannot reach) it is healthier and stronger and more likely to reproduce and pass on the beneficial DNA mutation. Any offspring of the taller neck giraffe with that mutation is also stronger and more likely to reproduce. Over time the short neck gene dies out and the tall neck gene dominates. This happens over and over until all giraffes have very long necks

duction, a core-issue—as important as creation—the very process that ensured the next generation. So question is not that easy!!!!!
How can an organism (whether the simplest form or extremely complex form) come into existence—first without the copying ability, and pick up the copying ability later on its way?

I don't know what you mean by "copying ability" . All evolution is based on DNA. It started with simple one celled organisms and progressed from there. All organisms have DNA, so any changes are copied and passed down via DNA. Any genetic mutation to the DNA that results in an advantage to that organism in terms of survival and reproduction will tend to get passed down to the offspring. Any mutation that is not beneficial is not as likely since the organism will not survive or reproduce. Over millions of years and millions of genetic mutations the result is the world as we know it, with all the diversity of plants and animals.

67

'Conti' Court decision secures Watchtower's Policy of confidentiality

by telemetry11 in

the court on the rule of confidentiality of penitential communications and evidentiary privilege--.. decision reads:.

"the law generally protects the confidentiality of communications with clergy like those of kendrick to the elders here.".

"if the person has a constitutional right to independence in making religious choices, the recognition of an evidentiary privilege is an apt means of protecting that autonomy.

LisaRose

I am surprised that they ruled that this was a case of clergy- penitent privilege. I thought I read a few years ago that this didn't apply to judicial committee hearings of Jehovah's Witnesses, although I could be remembering this wrong. Even if a JC qualifies I am surprised that they ruled that this was a case because Kendrick did not confess, or at least not totally, this was a complaint by the mother of the victim, so how does clergy-penitent priviledge apply?

57

Are atheists more likely to be morally good than Christians?

by FusionTheism in

i have no problem saying atheists and christians are equal.. but some people seem to have the belief that atheists are more likely to be morally good, or more likely to change the world for good, than christians and theists.. but what evidence do you have to support this claim?.

if atheism is what causes people to do great positive things for the world, then why weren't martin luther king, jr., william wilberforce, isaac newton, francis collins, barack obama, mother theresa, abraham lincoln, or john f. kennedy atheists?.

LisaRose

I feel that losing faith in God ultimately made me a better and more moral person. As a Jehovah's Witness I let the WTBT define what was moral. Since I don't have anyone telling what is right or wrong I have to give it a lot more thought. I am still moral in most of the ways that that is defined in society, I don't lie, cheat or steal, I didn't need religion to tell me that.

I also think more about how my actions affect others, I guess you would call it the nuances of morality. I seek in everything to be kind wherever possible, to seek out the greater good, to give something back to society when I am able. My goodness isn't measured in field service reports, or magazines sold or not celebrating holidays, but it is in my soul, I know when I am being my best self, when my actions match my values, that is what being moral is to me.

24

Why are Battle Against Faith

by Jonathan Drake in

if any are willing, share your fact based reasons for viewing faith as dangerous.

viewing faith as dangerous is the reason for almost all of my posts recently.

what seems constant is that theists are too focused on there own little world to realize how and why faith is so damaging to society.

LisaRose

Sorry Talesin, I hit the dislike button by mistake, I have fat fingers tonight, I meant to hit the like button.

61

God loves Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered People

by FusionTheism in

god's view of gays and lesbians.

why should anyone care what i have to say on this topic?

i am not a priest.

LisaRose

Some of the new testament writers did write that homosexuality was a sin, but that does not mean they were necessarily right.

Jonathan Drake

This is why people like you need treatment.

People like me? What do you mean by that? And do you think I need treatment because I support the right of Christians to believe what they want? That's patently ridiculous. You do know I am an atheist, right?

You are an Atheist telling Christians how to be Christians?

are you a disciple telling the apostles how to teach?

I am not a disciple of anything, I am saying Christians have a right to interpret the scriptures anyway they want and to choose what they believe. It astounds me that some atheists demand they follow their own interpretation of scripture or be atheists. It smacks of the black and white thinking of the Watchtower. There. I said it and I'm not sorry.

150

Disfellowshipping Image

by naazira in

jw
friends

this photo can be found in the april 15 , study edition article titled:.

why disfellowshipping is a loving provision.

just by looking at this image we can see how quickly the barrier between the congregation and former member is put up, after the announcement that this sister is no longer one of jehovah's witneses.

LisaRose

I read the book Subliminal Seduction back in the day. I don't doubt that some artists place subliminal image in advertising art, but there is no evidence that people actually react to things that are not perceived on a conscious level. The often quoted study of placing subliminal ads for popcorn at movie theaters causing people to buy more popcorn has never been substantiated.

87

Disturbing hidden image in w15 04/15 page 9 (Not DF image)

by campaign of hate in

could someone do me a favor and post the picture on page 9 on the above mentioned watchtower.. i'll point it out, very surprised no one else has picked up on this creepy image..

LisaRose

Once you pointed it out I could kinda sorta see what you are talking about, but to me it's just random rocks and vegetation . I think our brains are just wired to see and recognize certain patterns like this, like seeing things in the clouds.

I saw something on how we recognize faces, it's a very specific brain function that is different from other types of memories. There is a woman that cannot recognize faces, even her own, although she is otherwise of normal intelligence. That part of her brain just doesn't work. She memorizes clothes people wear, their voices and other things to help her identify people she knows.

While it wouldn't be impossible for the watchtower to put in subliminal messages, there is no proof that subliminal messages work, so it wouldn't gain them anything. If they did put a the image of a man laying down, what would be the purpose, or what do they have to gain from it?

61

God loves Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered People

by FusionTheism in

god's view of gays and lesbians.

why should anyone care what i have to say on this topic?

i am not a priest.

LisaRose

Your assertion that the OT can be dismissed by christians is ridiculous. The god of the OT is the god and father of Jesus. Apparently he is unchanging.

You are an Atheist telling Christians how to be Christians? That's what is ridiculous. Many Christian churches do not follow a literal interpretation of the visible, or even a loose interpretation of the bible. The bible itself in contradictory, so any Christian religion will by definition choose some scriptures to follow and others to ignore.

The Christian scriptures clearly indicate says that Jesus came to fulfil the law. Jesus said of an adulterous woman "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", what did that mean other than that the Hebrew laws need not be followed?

Some of the new testament writers did write that homosexuality was a sin, but that does not mean they were necessarily right. Christians at the time did disagree with each other and have different opinions about things, just like today.