Posts by OnTheWayOut

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."

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

I find it ironic that atheists are strongly arguing that the Bible must be interpreted literally, even though it's been interpreted allegorically ever since church father Origen, probably before him even.

Atheists WANT the Bible to be interpreted literally so they can have something to attack.

Atheists do not need a literal Bible to attack. Fine, throw it out. We wish you would. Even throwing out the literalness is a fine start. So where do you draw the line? Was Jesus just a man? Was he born of a virgin like the myth borrowed from false religion? Did he perform actual miracles? Or was that all figurative of a smart guy just like the Buddha? What does the future hold for earth if the Bible is figurative? How do we interpret Revelation, or is that one that doesn't really belong? Why doesn't God just tell us?

Adam and Eve (and also Noah's Flood) can simply be a Parable for mankind falling deeply into the sins of murdering, enslaving, raping, stealing, plus greed and selfishness.
And Jesus came to liberate us and elevate from those evil things.

Then we don't need a redeemer from original sin. The men who wrote the Bible elevated Jesus to a status that doesn't represent what God wants. People really need to lift themselves up to become their own "Jesus" and we can close down all the churches. I assume that you feel that only Christians can avoid falling deeply into the sins of murdering, enslaving, raping, stealing, greed, and selfishness. WHY? And if you don't feel that way, then do all attempted paths of righteousness lead to God?

14

If the Governing Body members had to take a 'lie detector test' what questions would you recommend they are asked?

by Esse quam videri in

i think it is reasonable for every leader or head of any organization that has control of peoples thinking and actions should, by law, submit to a lie detector test.

the results would be accessible to any one who had an interest in the matter.this test would be required before appointment to any position and on a yearly basis.

questions could be submitted to a competent and unbiased committee for approval.

OnTheWayOut

Do you wholeheartedly believe that Jehovah dispenses spiritual truth through the Governing Body?

Do you believe Jehovah uses the 2/3rds majority method?

Have you ever had premarital or extramarital sex with anyone?

Is Armageddon really imminent?

65

Richard Dawkins espouses Militant Atheism: "Mock them, Ridicule them." Attack Religious People with Insults!

by MagicMItchJensen in

richard dawkins has said frequently if we don't agree with religious or spiritual people we need to "insult them!

" tell their their out of their "fucking gourds!

" and make sure you really show them how stupid they are for believing in something they can't prove!".

OnTheWayOut

I don't see any point in arguing over how far we can go in disagreement over belief/nonbelief.

Hey, each one of us is free to go as far as we like. When a Christian mocks the unbelievers, I feel they often think they deserve a pass because it's in the name of God and any retaliatory remarks some of these Christians receive make them cry out "UNFAIR, HATRED!" The unbeliever and the Christian both think they are doing the other a service by "mocking" the other. So those who can't take the criticism should not dish it out.

And come on people. If an educated adult were to seriously believe the Santa Claus story, would we not mock him? Flying reindeer? All the houses around the world in one night? So if a person wants to come off as firm in their belief in some crazy things like the virgin birth or the worldwide flood of a few thousand years ago, they are taking on the burden of being criticized for that. Their opinion demands that they educate themselves about it before insisting upon such a view.

I tend to agree with those that think Dawkins' attitude is a bit extreme, but he makes a living out of that. I am for HIM doing what he does because people can seek him out or avoid him. I will mock extreme beliefs on this forum, but I won't necessarily mock sincere believers in person when they seem to be reasonable people otherwise. That's because I see this as an appropriate place for that.

But I also see times when the believer chooses to pick the fight in person- state their silly claim and insist that arguing with it is hatred or ignorance.

Now, having come from the Jehovah's Witnesses, if I have a conversation with a Christian and they go to church or express their general agreement with the words accredited to Jesus of the Bible, and they are all about love and peace and harmony and they think that their Christianity contributes to such, I see no need to attack or mock them for such thoughts....as long as they don't insist I see it their way or they don't belittle those that don't see it their way.