Posts by OnTheWayOut

40

Elders are Complicit with WT Society in Child Abuse Scandals- Gonzalo Campos Case

by flipper in

of course, most of us realize this.

however sometimes even on this board sometimes threads have stated that the jw elders have been occasionally painted as the " fall guys " who take the rap for the wt society leaders - which of course is true - to a degree.

however- that being said , many times elders have failed to protect - or even have failed to advocate for child abuse victims when it has been within their power to do so.

OnTheWayOut

They have Stockholm Syndrome - and they don't even know it.

Don't get me wrong on this, as I am not excusing the elders involved. But that's what it is- they are mind-controlled into thinking they are doing the greater good by protecting the organization before the individual. They think that reporting all to Headquarters is their obligation to God and they are "obeying God before men."

As far as "clergy penitent privilege " goes, I don't remember any details, but I think it has been shown that this does not apply when a danger to people exists and I believe it has also been shot down in court because the very first thing a JW elder does is report the crimes to Watchtower. Since he reports it, it is not confidential and the elder is not acting as a clergyman receiving confession, but rather as an interrogator and investigator (policeman) and a judge passing sentence.

15

Why Do The Demons Love Mexico?

by minimus in

jw
friends

the mexicans must be pretty bad, right?

OnTheWayOut

I am not sure what the thread is about but.......

Everyone loves Mexico.

89

Problems with Common Atheist Arguments

by FusionTheism in

the reason i entitled this "problems with common atheist arguments" instead of "the case against atheism" is that many atheists claim that atheism is not a belief system, makes no claims, and has no requirements to follow, so there's no way to argue against atheism itself.

i will go along with this idea, and argue against the most frequently used arguments of atheists instead of atheism itself.disclaimer # 1: this is not an argument against atheism or all atheists.

no, rather this is an argument against the most frequently used claims and arguments made by the atheists i speak to on twitter.

OnTheWayOut

I am not a "common atheist " so I hope my arguments are better.

#1. I see where you are going with philosophy of what a person accepts, so feel free to examine anecdotes and whatnot. Many uncommon atheists (and some common ones) recognize that there is very little absolute evidence in the universe for things of nature and science, so we weigh evidence for its value. Fossils being where the theory say they should be are accepted, theories that account for all known variables are accepted. Each must weigh these for themself. As for me, anecdotes are weak, especially when I can find people of varying faiths swearing by an anecdote being a proof of their different beliefs.

#2. The multiverse theory is mathematical and not "universally " accepted. And it doesn't address the very beginning of the mass-energy. We just don't know enough to accept that. But accepting and theorizing are different. We make progress by considering possibilities, especially those that fit known data. You feel free to personally reject multiverse and dark matter/energy theories, string theory, yadda yadda. Keep in mind that theories might have more evidence in the future (like black hole theory ) so that's part of pondering and examining.

#3. I wholeheartedly disagree with you on the moral values of Yahweh. You don't need something outside of humanity to judge Yahweh's treatment of humanity. If you attempt to compare God's treatment of men to men's treatment of animals, men have failed and God has failed (if "God" is Yahweh of the Bible). It is ludicrous to figure that lowly humans being treated poorly just don't understand and cannot judge because the being treating them poorly is superior. If you mean we are animals or pets to God and we deserve similar treatment as that which profit driven companies like Purdue Chicken dish out to chickens, then why worship such a bastard?

I will leave the rest for another time.

8

CONFUSION about what MOVIES REALLY ARE . . .

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

confusion about what movies really are.

.. the word 'movies' is a vernacular reference which popped up pretty early in the history of filmmaking.

before movies moved they were still photographs.. but those still photographs began moving, didn't they?

OnTheWayOut

Reading a book causes the mind to work more and to fill in the visuals.

Listening to a story does the same, but the brain is guided a bit more. The narrator tells you things in a way to cause your brain to fill in the visuals a certain way.

Watching (and listening to) a movie removes the need for the brain to fill in visuals. This can be more vibrant and enjoying. It's also easier on the brain. I am for the enjoyment of movies and accept cinema as art, but let's not forget that movies tend to appeal to some of our most basic desires in the brain. Let's not pretend that MARVEL's AVENGERS is comparable to THE GODFATHER or to reading a book. By all means, go enjoy your action or comedy movie, but pick up a book sometime too. You may find that the movies cause you to have a base from which your brain can visualize better when you read.

4

Henry Carr, (a JW) Olympic Sprinter and a Football Giant, Dies at 73

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/sports/football/henry-carr-gold-medalist-and-then-a-giant-dies-at-73.html?_r=1.

by richard goldstein june 7, 2015 .

photo .

OnTheWayOut

Very good obituary. His Memorial talk at the Kingdom Hall will be (probably "was" by now) far less informative than the article. But don't be surprised if they stretch this into an Awake! article. It should be titled, "Another Person Captured By the Cult at a Vulnerable Moment in Life."

42

No end to JW logic, Oranges can make you gay

by James Mixon in

i was told that today by a jw...no more to say.

OnTheWayOut

I would say, "Do you realize how many hotels that JW's stay in for their conventions have oranges and orange juice out for their free breakfast, and how many JW's not only partake but even snatch an extra orange for their Watchtower-approved lunch later that day? That certainly is very gay of them."

46

I had breakfast with 50+ JWs on Sunday

by zimunzucz in

jw
friends

we pulled into a hotel parking lot saturday around 6pm on the return leg of a wonderful family vacation to new england - an then fate stepped in---a man in a suit got out of a car with the rest of a picture perfect family.

i immediately noticed all the name tags--- and my blood pressure spiked 50pts- damn!!

i was booked in a 4 story hotel full of jws-- the only time they took off the name tags was in the swimming pool- they were so proud of themselves.. at 6:30 am the hot water went cold in the wife's shower- what do you expect on the 4th floor when a herd of jws is trying to get ready at the same time?

OnTheWayOut

The only time they took off the name tags was in the swimming pool-

I may make a small fortune selling waterproof name tags on a lanyard to hang around the neck so you can wear it in the swimming pool, at your baptism, in the shower after your Watchtower-approved sex with your spouse. Heck, you can swing it around onto your back and wear it during that sex and right straight into the shower.

I hope one of those kids makes it out.

I am confident that one of those kids will make it out, actually more than one. And you will have some part in that. Totally awesome.

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.

OnTheWayOut

It's long. I highly recommend it for Jonathan Drake:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp4WUFXvCFQ

67

All Christians Should Accept EVOLUTION

by FusionTheism in

it is time for christians to accept evolution, in my opinion.. there are many reasons why i think it is long overdue for all christians to finally accept what science says about evolution.

below i will show these reasons.. .

the bible tells people to pay attention to nature to see the glory of god (psalm 19; romans 1:19-20).

OnTheWayOut

How do we know Jesus or the disciples viewed Adam as a literal person who actually existed?

Okay, so now we have an all-allegory Bible and a Jesus who didn't redeem humanity from an original sin, but just pointed out that we can all do better, and everything this Jesus guy is reported to have said could be parable, including Adam, Eve, the flood.

Well, it sounds like Christianity could be morphed into a form of Buddhism and we could replace the Bible with the writings of Deepak Chopra.

I mean, Deepak even says that Darwin over-simplifies evolution and that the observer (you and me) plays a part in how it all came about. Basically, we can replace the Bible with a bunch of pseudo-science and pseudo-philosophy and pseudo-psychology.

You know, as much as I disagree with that, I don't bother people who think that way- that the universe is based on what the mind of the observer wants it to be. They are very content people. If that's your "Christianity" then great.

26

Watchtower has a Philosophy of Totalism

by OnTheWayOut in

cults tend to have a total explanation for everything- everything that ever happened, everything that is happening now, and everything that ever will happen.

that certainly fits watchtower.

they have a black-and-white perception of everything, they are never wrong, there are no gray areas.

OnTheWayOut

Having learned about dangerous mind control, none of this surprises me.

But the hardest thing to deal with is the pity that JW loved ones have for us who leave the religion.

"Poor OTWO, he let pride get between him and 'the truth' (God)."
"OTWO is mentally diseased. He seems normal but we've been told otherwise."