Posts by neverendingjourney

36

Jupiter protects the earth... another example of intellectual dishonesty and an argument against design

by cognisonance in

i'm taking a university astronomy course, and i must say it's really fun to read about this field.

anyway, i remember the jws used to use jupiter (and probably still do) as an example for how unique and special our solar system is (and thus designed) -- namely, that jupiter protects the earth from astroids, comets, and meteors.

convincing if one doesn't know any better, especially circa 1994 when jupiter stepped in front of a comet for us... but this isn't the full story!

neverendingjourney

The problem with the "if you change this one little thing, life on Earth wouldn't be possible" line of reasoning is that life evolved specifically with the Earth's conditions in mind. Of course changing things around would be fatal for life on Earth. But life evolved to survive in these specific conditions, not any other.

There are likely trillions of worlds (including moons) in the universe, each with a unique blend of conditions specific to them. We know the vast majority of them don't have the conditions to host complex life as we know it, but eventually a world would have the specific mix of criteria just right for life as we know it to develop. The Earth is one such world.

More difficult questions arise with the "if you change this specific factor, the universe as we know it wouldn't exist" line of reasoning. Modern physics seeks to get around this conundrum with multiverse theories, but such theories are untested and perhaps untestable. That doesn't mean "God did it" is the correct answer, though.

10

Time for a new type/anti-type, G.B? 2033 is the new 1975!

by The Fall Guy in

a well known scripture says, "however, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with jehovah as a thousand years......." (2 peter 3:8) .

using this divine calculation of time, let's apply it to a prophetic type/anti-type scenario:.

matthew 16:21 says, ".....the christ would suffer and rise from among the dead on the third day...", while john 21:1 reveals that it was at the very beginning of that third day - "on the first day of the week, mary magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone had already been taken away from the tomb.

neverendingjourney

Charles Taze Russell used the same basic prophesy-interpretation framework as William Miller to arrive at 1914. Miller originally picked a 677 B.C. start date instead of Russell's 607 B.C. (because why not?) and arrived at 1844.

He, like Russell, made the mistake of not accounting for there not being a Year 0. Miller moved the end date from 1843 to 1844. Russell moved the start date from 606 to 607.

Clowns, the both of them, plucking dates at random. But at least Miller admitted his mistake and faded into obscurity.

Miller's "proof" chart below:

20

My 1 Year Update - I've Been Disfellowshipped One Year Today

by pale.emperor in

what a journey!.

it was a year ago today that i was announced from the platform by brother paul "twofaced" castley that i was "no longer one of jehovah's witnesses".

i didn't go to that meeting to hear the announcement because i already didn't believe the watchtower religion.. how was my first year?

neverendingjourney

Sometimes, even now, i get the urge to pray before im about to eat.

Routine is a powerful influence. I had the urge to pray before going to bed for years after I left. Sometimes I would give in and say a monotonous little prayer even though I didn't believe in God, because, why not.

It's been about 14 years since I began to realize it wasn't the truth. About 11 since I stopped going to meetings altogether. Every now and then I still find myself reacting to a certain situation in pre-programmed JW way.

It sounds like you're doing quite well and finding your way in life. You're certainly further along than I was 1 year out.

55

Why do ones that got out come back in?

by moreconfusedthanever in

i have not been to a meeting for about 2 years now.

i do not intend to go back but one thing has me baffled.

why do ones that have faded and been out for years return?

neverendingjourney

I'm of the opinion that most who leave don't leave because they become convinced it's not the truth. That's just based on my own personal experience. Can't say whether that's the case today or whether it's the same in every region of the world.

Most seem to leave because (a) they give up because they feel they're not strong enough to live up to the religion's standards or (b) because they get into some personal issues with other JWs and can't bring themselves to remain part of the community.

The problem is that people in those situations live their lives with constant guilt. It's incredibly damaging from a psychological perspective. They think God is good and showed them the road map to everlasting life, but they're too selfish to obey. Or that they're letting their petty issues with others stand in the way of doing what God wants.

A few younger ones convinced themselves it was okay to stray away for a while, live a "sinful" life, and come back a few years later when they're ready to settle down.

These type of people usually come back at some point. Some make multiple failed efforts to return and remain in "good standing."

In my local area I can only think of two others who left for reasons of conscience. There are dozens, however, who fit the mold of what I was describing earlier.

I hope the internet is helping change that, but I've been away from all things JW for over a decade.

15

I remember my Grandfather who was a CO saying;

by dogon in

i was thinking of my co grandfather who passed on a few years ago.

his wife my grandmother passed on in 99. i can remember him saying "i know after armageddon i can not be married to her but maybe we can live next to each other.

not sure where the cult stands on this issue today.

neverendingjourney

Thinking about death and resurrection logically will make your brain hurt.

George Carlin had a brilliant bit about this in the context of the traditional Christian teaching of going to heaven when you die:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PiZSFIVFiU

28

Another JW Urban Legend Thread

by Funchback in

threads about jw urban legends are nothing new on this forum.

they are loads of fun to read.

how many of you remember the one about the teenager who skipped the meeting and decided to get into a car with his worldly friends and they worldly guys decided to rob a store and the jw didn't know they were going to do so but he was arrested simply for being with them?.

neverendingjourney

Not an urban legend, but this actually happened to an inactive family in our hall. One weekend when there was a convention going on the teenage son was riding in the bed of a pickup truck. Truck was in an accident, the kid was ejected and ended up in a vegetative state.

Thankfully most JWs had enough decency not to openly use it as a cautionary tale, but every now and then it was brought up among the more "spiritually mature" JWs. If only they were "still serving Jehovah" they would have been at the convention and nothing would have happened to him...

66

Do you think the general public cares about former Jehovah's witnesses?

by Christian Gutierrez in

jw
friends

i was wondering if you guys think if the general public cares about our stories or if they even care what the watchtower does to people??

?.

neverendingjourney

According to some reports, 3 million children die every year due to poor nutrition, roughly one every ten seconds.

How much time do I spend thinking about them? Sadly, hardly any. I'm wrapped up in my own concerns, many of which directly relate to JWs.

There are much bigger problems in the world and JWs don't directly affect the lives of 99% of the world's population.

If a definitive history textbook of the last 100 years existed, the Witnesses would occupy a footnote at best.

17

Another day, another cart

by Anony Mous in

i was standing at a red light and i noticed the little cart standing there.

they're barely noticeable and when i continued there was apparently someone on the other side of the street too.

the only problem, the location is a very busy intersection which has virtually no foot traffic and they're hard to see to begin with, as you can see from my vantage point i couldn't even read the cart and three people next to them on this side and two of them on the other side.. .

neverendingjourney

I've yet to see a cart in the US but I recently got back from a two-week vacation in Europe and there were carts in front of roughly half the landmarks I visited. It was odd. The JWs were mostly standing there looking indifferent as the tourists walked around them.

21

How serious is sexting

by Homer notsimpson in

jw
friends

some of y'all may know why i am asking this, but i am curious about it.. sexting in the elders book says it's enough to warrant a jc but it's very loose at it... what's y'all opinion?

do elders care alot of it?

what if it's an old case?

neverendingjourney

If the person:
-- Was connected by phone to another human
-- They engaged in sex talk
-- One or both masturbated during the call
...then he/she could be DF'ed. That combination of circumstances was rendered equivalent to "porneia".

I remember hearing/reading about this in the context of online chat rooms. This would have been around the early or mid 00s.

7

Another family goes down in flames.

by dogon in

my wife's mother has alzheimer.

it is progressing to the point that she is writing things like she wishes she was dead and does not want to live.

if you know my mil you would know this is not her at all.

neverendingjourney

I'm not quite there yet with my parents, but I'm not far off. Dad is 70 and Mom is 68. They live off social security. Never saved a penny for retirement. Made every terrible financial decision one can make. Dad essentially retired (refused to work is more like it) in his late 50s without a penny to his name instead of working hard to fund a retirement.

I dropped out of the Witnesses in my mid 20s, went to a four-year university, got a bachelor's degree, then got a professional degree after that. After eight years of building a career, I've paid off my massive, six-figure student loan burden and am now finally in a position to make long-term financial plans of my own.

At the same time my parents health is deteriorating and my siblings are starting to look at me as the logical one to bear the burden. I'm not having any of it. I won't let my parents starve, but I'm not going to let myself get taken down along with them.

I went through this in my early 20s when I was still a good Witnesses and living under my parents roof. I took a year's worth of savings and spent it all on badly needed repairs on my parents home. We're talking over $10,000 about 15 years ago. My parents then went out and bought $5,000 in living room furniture because they "got it on payments." Not only could they not afford the furniture, they had a dog who chewed up the couches within weeks.

But I didn't learn my lesson. A year or two later I bought my mother a car so she could get around and my father, jealous that I had done something nice for my mom, went out and bought a car himself, one he didn't need and couldn't afford. Again, he got it on payments. It sat in his driveway, mostly unused for years. It was a complete waste of money.

I'm not making the same mistakes again. I love them, but they have to face the consequences of a lifetime of bad decision-making.