Posts by OnTheWayOut

28

Do You Think Humanity Will Ever Be Completely Free From Religion?

by InjusticeSystem in

i realize that many here still have a form of spirituality or faith, and i mean no disrespect to those individuals.

i suppose i am posting this question to those, like myself, who have come to the conclusion that religion in general is a major hindrance to the progress of our species and needs to be put aside so that we can advance to our full potential.

so my question is, do you think this will ever actually happen, and how do you think we can get there?

OnTheWayOut

Humans have between 1.75 and 3.25 (arguable) billion years left before earth is uninhabitable. That's a long time. We'll go conservative and assume that humankind has up to a billion years before his time is up.

That's a long time. In that time, I do believe that mankind will give up on God and Jesus and Mohammad.

It wouldn't surprise me if man picks up some completely different radical practices in that time, but I think most all of religion as something organized will disappear.

It may seem impossible now, but two factors will work against religion: the wasted resources and time for religion and the education of the population. Some taxing authority will end religion's tax-free status and it will spread. Eventually, everyone will be able to google without typing a keyboard- we are almost there now. They will figure out that religion is a scandal.

37

£150,000,000 Jehovahs Witnesses HQ approved

by defender of truth in

the jehovahs witnesses have gained planning to build a vast uk headquarters complex in chelmsford.the international bible students association, which manages the christian groups literature, gained planning to redevelop a derelict farm near galleywood with a 1.2m sq ft scheme.the 150m complex will provide homes for 1,200 people spread across 16 five-storey blocks, a large printing plant, offices, auditorium, health and fitness centre, water treatment plant and on-site parking for 1,040 vehicles.. the ibsa is now set to begin groundwork at the 82-acre temple farm site and start construction by 2016.. .

www.constructionenquirer.com/2015/04/29/150m-jehovahs-witnesses-hq-approved-for-chelmsford/.

OnTheWayOut

They might have felt it was necessary to hire people for the steel construction. It greases the wheels to get local government to approve and it may have been really not possible to train members and do it right for less.

Still, their figures are probably extremely inflated to impress. It's what they do.

And I have little doubt that they will say that this new place is so ideal for the job that all other European branches can close.

19

Sorry, But Your Sad Story Doesn't Make Me Feel Better. Is it supposed to?

by Tempest in a Teacup in

jw
friends

i have very recently come out of a bout of severe depression which lasted for years.

i have ginormous underlying issues which i hardly talk about, especially to my family.. today my sister came in, wanting to force me to do something she wanted.

her strategy was to make me feel bad for feeling bad, just to show me that my problem (which she has no idea of but thinks she does) wasn't the biggest in the world.

OnTheWayOut

While it didn't help, I would try to understand that's the best she's got. It seems you get that.
Better might be just being there for you, ready to listen or just to be there.

But I make the same mistakes your sister made. We just have to try to fix it when we see something broke.

55

why did man go from living 900 years to 90?

by sowhatnow in

i cant recall the scripture, where it says than only a few men will he live to be 80 years or so, can anyone recall that?.

so then im wondering, if it is a fact that men lived long years 900 in some cases, for what reason would god limit our lifespan if our time is so short compared to his?.

how on earth does man go from living 8 and 9 hundred years down to 80 to 100 ?.

OnTheWayOut

Man has been slowly expanding his lifespan. Historically, the oldest person ever lived to 122. It is possible that some lived longer than that without being part of recorded history,but statistics don't make it likely.

Statistics are tricky on this one. Life expectancy at birth was very short in ancient times, but those that did live past infancy and childhood could have lived to grow old. So it seems that some have virtually always managed to live past 70, but now many more do so and many of them live into their 80's and 90's.

As far as the Bible goes, the same book that says people lived nearly 900 years says that man started out only a bit over 6000 years ago and that a global flood happened some 4300 years ago, give or take, and wiped out all animal and human life except for a tiny gene pool.

And don't forget that the story forgot that dinosaurs existed. That's evidence enough for me that the writings were based on what people believed at the time of writing and that no supernatural power helped them with the story.

57

"Normal family affections and dealings" continue - If only?!?

by LHS123 in

i am new to this forum - it is only a couple of weeks since i have allowed myself to acknowledge and research my doubts.

i am trying to be fair by reading both sides of the story and considering jw official explanation of confusing matters.

one of the issues i have been looking at is shunning - and i was shocked to see the misleading information about shunning on the jw.org website: .

OnTheWayOut

I am trying to be ‘fair’ by reading both sides of the story.....

Most of us have been there, so we fully understand. We also expect that once you start to see matters for what they are, there really is no turning back, so we expect you to figure that out on your own. Bravo.

This is one area where they mislead. What gets me in some of those areas is that they can do it right out in the open. Any JW knows that isn't really the truth, that adults outside of the family home will tend to support the shunning. Despite any JW knowing that, they read or hear what Watchtower says and they go "YES!" So they have learned to sort of lie to themselves because they figure it will never happen to them anyway.

If you want more examples, what they say today about 1914 vs. what they said back then was already mentioned. There was "Millions now living will never die." What happened to that? Read up on all they had to say in print about 1975 and what they said afterward. Also consider what they say about all the "field service" being voluntary, and then try to actually just stop turning in time. There's also how they try to say "We are the only ones who...." If you research each point, you will find others who do or think the same way. Mormons do a preaching work, others consider themselves pacifists (or neutral), there are plenty of Biblically moral groups.

13

Saw my first JW literature cart

by undercover in

jw
friends

i saw a jw literature cart, and two dubs standing behind it this weekend.

they set up at a popular well attended event in a small town that brings thousands of people from around the country.

even though i've been out and away from jws for some time, and no longer identify as one of them, and the people i was with had no clue, it was a bit embarrassing to see the cart and cult zombies with it.

OnTheWayOut

I have seen them breaking the cart out of the car or loading it. I have seen them in downtown-type places. They are so far away from the main crowds though. They are "out of the way" of traffic, which is good.

But they don't approach people or hold some flyers to pass out. They are very passive in this work.

All that matters to a JW is "getting their time in." I think Watchtower is fully at the point where literature is a loss for them and they don't care that much is getting out to people.

12

Help prevent sons indoctrination.

by WasOnceBlind in

ok so here is the deal, as some of you who might have read my first post might remember, my parents are jw's while i myself have faded.

i have not told them that i don't believe in the borg and i have done my research and concluded it's a bunch of crap.

the main reason i haven't is because it would break my moms heart and probably send her into a deep depression (she suffers from depression).

OnTheWayOut

You are in a tough spot.

No. The simpler solution is to lay ground rules for your parents when they look after him. He is your child not theirs, if you say no cult propaganda then no cult propaganda it is...

That wouldn't work at all. Even if you clearly stated your position to your parents, they would continue to secretly indoctrinate your son.
I am not going to tell you what you should do. I can only say what I would do were I to have children and find myself in that situation. I would not take chances that my son or daughter would be successfully recruited. If necessary, I would find an alternative to my JW family watching my child. If further necessary, I would say whatever was necessary to be clear on how I felt about my child being told such bull crap, even if it were to cause me to lose contact with my own parents. It's my child's future well being at stake.

38

Things I trust more than the Jehovah's Witnesses Governing Body

by OnTheWayOut in

i stole this, from of all places, rick fearon.

i don't know who he stole it from.

please think of more.. things i trust more than the jehovah's witnesses governing body+ the media+ mexican tap water+ cappuccino from bill cosby+ a bigfoot sighting+ a politician who says "trust me"+ an al qaeda who wants flying lessons, but skips landing and take-offs+ a hillary clinton war story+ bill clinton wanting to give a speech at an all-female school+ gas station sushi+ a brian williams or bill o'rielly news report+ email from a nigerian prince.

OnTheWayOut

I'm getting senile. I commented there but didn't remember how eerily similar it was.

38

Things I trust more than the Jehovah's Witnesses Governing Body

by OnTheWayOut in

i stole this, from of all places, rick fearon.

i don't know who he stole it from.

please think of more.. things i trust more than the jehovah's witnesses governing body+ the media+ mexican tap water+ cappuccino from bill cosby+ a bigfoot sighting+ a politician who says "trust me"+ an al qaeda who wants flying lessons, but skips landing and take-offs+ a hillary clinton war story+ bill clinton wanting to give a speech at an all-female school+ gas station sushi+ a brian williams or bill o'rielly news report+ email from a nigerian prince.

OnTheWayOut

These are great. Don't stop.

5

Scientology and JW's

by MTSman in

jw
friends

ok, i just signed up for hbo now and after binge watching entourage and game of thrones, i clicked on going clear, which is an expose of l. ron hubbard and scientology.

i was mortified at the similarities of that cult and the witnesses.

it's crazy!

OnTheWayOut

MTSman, you are correct that it's crazy how "we" sane people can succumb to bat-shit crazy theories and beliefs, leaving the insane people out of the equation right now.

But you and I see pretty clearly how Scientology is bat-shit crazy. Those who have joined over the years did not have the benefits of hindsight and documentaries like GOING CLEAR.

Well, it's the same for Jehovah's Witnesses. People didn't know that what they were joining had bat-shit crazy theories. Recruitment is tougher in the 21st century with everyone googling everything, so we are on the dying edge of that. And being raised in bat-shit crazy stuff, even in the information age, many are re-wired to think that it is normal or that it is strange and different, but the normal stuff is bat-shit crazy.

Now, the insane factor. I am not the sane adult that joined. Things in my life were insane when I joined Jehovah's Witnesses. Same for people who may join Scientology or any dangerous mind-control cult. Cults pry on people going through huge stresses in their lives. Who's to say what's bat-shit crazy to someone whose whole life is bat-shit crazy?