Posts by Alpaca

50

Do we have an idiot running the United States?

by jaguarbass in

jw
friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whhbpvrb5km.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moutuefquq4.

is it possible that this guy doesnt know that bin laden is in afghanistan?.

Alpaca

That is a rhetorical question, right? Alpaca

36

WHILE STILL A WITNESS, DID YOU POSTPONE YOUR LIFE UNTIL THE NEW ORDER?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

did you, even in subtle ways, stop living now, "putting all of your eggs" in one basket- the paradise earth?

.

were you so busy with "theocratic activities" that you planned to actually enjoy life once the new system arrived..

Swalker, Thanks for starting this thread. One of the most ironic things for me concerns love. JWs think they have a monopoly on genuine love and yet it was all of the "worldly" people in my life who really showed unconditional love. My Grandmother, my Father, my loving Aunt's and Uncles, and loving friends of all the adults in my life continued giving me birthday cards and presents, Christmas cards and presents, and doing kind things for me even though I rarely reciprocated. They accepted my beliefs but never stopped showing love in the ways they knew how to. I postponed showing love in ways that I now wish I had. Many of those people have passed on and there is no way to go back and undo any of the selfish JW behavior. Of course, there are all of the other sacrifices--education, no children, countless hours of service over 25+ years, and on and on and on....... Cheers and toast to all of us who have seen the light and taken a stand for truly living!!!! Love to all, Alpaca

19

The Question Of ReligionThe Question of Atheism

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

the question of religionthe question of atheism recently, i posted some thoughts and questions about atheism and after having .

read some of the individual thoughts on that thread it is understandable why some.

individuals on both sides feel the way they do.

Alpaca

Wanderer: I just noticed that you are from Florida. I was a life-long Floridian (South Florida--Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood, Delray Beach) until 1999, when I moved to Ohio to go back to school. What a great place to be living. Hang in there, buddy. It is rough leaving and changing your whole belief system, but it does smooth out. Alpaca

19

The Question Of ReligionThe Question of Atheism

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

the question of religionthe question of atheism recently, i posted some thoughts and questions about atheism and after having .

read some of the individual thoughts on that thread it is understandable why some.

individuals on both sides feel the way they do.

Alpaca

Wanderer: You are traveling a well trodden path. The questions you are grappling with can serve as the starting point for a very liberating and fulfilling experience. I was a Witness for most of my life, but there was always some nagging doubt (even when I served as an elder) about the way the Witnesses (and a majority of theistic beliefs) completely dismiss or ignore the vast body of scientific evidence regarding the "deep time" aspects of earth's history and the anthropological evidence for human evolution. We aren't so special...we are just another species that has appeared on the scene, for maybe a little while, maybe a little longer. If there is a good university nearby, go sign up for some geology classes and evolutionary biology classes--MAN, what an eye-opener--once you start to dig (no pun intended) for answers you won't be able to stop. The atheist can no more prove the non-existence of god than the theist can prove the existence of god (or even a spiritual realm inhabited by spiritual beings). Both positions are logically untenable. That being said, the human brain, as far as I can see, is the most amazing thing this vast universe has produced and it has served our species extraordinarily well. I don't think it is a stretch to say that our brains have enabled us to build our base of knowledge and civilization to unprecedented levels of sophistication (in spite of the mess we have made of many things) because humans have either consciously or intuitively employed the scientific methods of hypothesis, experimentation, and deductive and inductive reasoning to achieve what we have. The same scientific method(s) work just as well when exploring the atheist/theist arguments. After all, if you think about it, science really is a pure search for truth. So, weigh the evidence for yourself--what does it tell you? Most of the people I know who have been willing to free their minds from the fetters of preconceived ideas about why we are here and whether or not there is a purpose, have come to realize that on the continuum from belief/theism at one end to non-belief/atheism at the other end, the evidence stacks up pretty heavily at the atheist end. But, atheism is just as dogmatic as theism and it doesn't appear that there will ever be incontrovertible evidence that will settle the issue in one camp or the other. So, for me and my journey, I am left with the empirical evidence for what the cosmos, our earth and its geologic/paleontological story, and my mind tell me is logical --that this probably is all there is, that there is no life after death, that there is no god looking out for us, that it is up to us to solve the problems and create solutions to perpetuate our species. It was a very scary thing to relax and just let go of a belief in a benevolent god, but once I did it was an incredibly liberating and peace-inducing experience. For what it is worth, there are great groups of people out there, especially secular humanist organizations, that explore this kind of stuff in great depth and with great care and understanding.

21

What would you say is the most sick/twisted JW belief?

by jambon1 in

thoughts?

Alpaca

This is probably more twisted than sick: In the face of an overwhelming mountain of evidence to the contrary, how do they maintain that all life on earth has only been here for only 35,000 years (7 creative days @ 7,000 years each; life started on the 5th creative day = 35,000). And, the mistake that all religions in Christendom, including the DUBS, make is to ignore the reality that humans are just another species that have evolved on this earth--we are not a special creation, we were not "created" to live forever, we are going to leave a small imprint as a species and the river of time will swallow us just as it has with all of the species that have preceded us.

9

Musings about geology, "deep" time, and humans

by Alpaca in

jw
friends

one of the most humbling things a person can do is to stand at the base of a tall (hundreds of feet) outcrop of fossil bearing sedimentary rocks, wiggle out a piece of rock, and look at the fossils...knowing that they have not seen the light of day in 350 million years (give or take a few million, lol).

ordinary concepts of time disappear with these kinds of numbers, hence geologists resort to the term "deep time.

" when you take the mental step back to try and grasp "deep time" it makes you realize how puny and insignificant the human species is.

Alpaca

One of the most humbling things a person can do is to stand at the base of a tall (hundreds of feet) outcrop of fossil bearing sedimentary rocks, wiggle out a piece of rock, and look at the fossils...knowing that they have not seen the light of day in 350 million years (give or take a few million, LOL). Ordinary concepts of time disappear with these kinds of numbers, hence geologists resort to the term "deep time." When you take the mental step back to try and grasp "deep time" it makes you realize how puny and insignificant the human species is. We have been here for only a geologic blink and yet we think the universe revolves around us. We can grasp a hundred, a thousand, maybe ten thousand years but beyond that our ability to grasp the vast spans of time that have preceded us breaks down. Over these vast spans of time species come and go. Those that persist, adapt and radiate (genetically) over a long time, through mass extinctions, and reach their full evolutionary potential are referred to as "mature" species. As you might have guessed, humans are an immature species, having been here for a very short time. In my mind we are like a gawky, out-of-control teenager with all kinds of energy, strength and raging hormones. We have all this power to control the planet and we lack the wisdom and foresight to know what that really means. The most dangerous of the raging hormones is religion. If humans are to become a "mature" species and truly endure for the long haul, we are going to have to direct our own evolution and get past the B.S. that is destroying us. Sorry if I rambled...it just comes out....

40

Pathetic Speakers

by Alpaca in

jw
friends

this is great.

i was suffering through an interminably long sunday p.m. public talk (we flip-flopped w/ the other cong--at least sunday a.m. was a little more tolerable because there was still some of the day left to do something).

the speaker was talking about "physical training being beneficial for a little" and how some exercise was necessary.

Alpaca

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Later this year will be my 10th Anniversary out of the "BORG" (what a great term--who coined it?) so I am pretty well healed, but wow what a waste. The really sad thing is that there are so many genuinely nice, good witnesses and they just don't get it. By a very odd twist of fate and circumstances, my best friend from my years as a teen, in and out of the "BORG," ended up in Ohio (we started our friendship in Florida) not far from where I live and we have resumed our friendship after half a lifetime of being out of touch. I have found peace of mind and spirit in agnostic/atheist secular humanist philosophy. CFI (Center for Free Inquiry) is a great national nonprofit resource for like-minded people...this is an organization that exposes B.S. everywhere.

40

Pathetic Speakers

by Alpaca in

jw
friends

this is great.

i was suffering through an interminably long sunday p.m. public talk (we flip-flopped w/ the other cong--at least sunday a.m. was a little more tolerable because there was still some of the day left to do something).

the speaker was talking about "physical training being beneficial for a little" and how some exercise was necessary.

Alpaca

Some people are just plain "igneous". They'll never learn. and It's also true that the path out of the WTS mind cult is a "metamorphic" experience. Phunny stuff....... Sorry about the cryptic message. I am trying to figure this board out.

40

Pathetic Speakers

by Alpaca in

jw
friends

this is great.

i was suffering through an interminably long sunday p.m. public talk (we flip-flopped w/ the other cong--at least sunday a.m. was a little more tolerable because there was still some of the day left to do something).

the speaker was talking about "physical training being beneficial for a little" and how some exercise was necessary.

Alpaca

That was good -- we're on the same humor wavelength.

40

Pathetic Speakers

by Alpaca in

jw
friends

this is great.

i was suffering through an interminably long sunday p.m. public talk (we flip-flopped w/ the other cong--at least sunday a.m. was a little more tolerable because there was still some of the day left to do something).

the speaker was talking about "physical training being beneficial for a little" and how some exercise was necessary.

Alpaca

This is great. I was suffering through an interminably long Sunday p.m. Public Talk (we flip-flopped w/ the other cong--at least Sunday a.m. was a little more tolerable because there was still some of the day left to do something). The speaker was talking about "physical training being beneficial for a little" and how some exercise was necessary. This guy probably cut grass for a living and he definitely had only a marginal command of language. He warned the congregation that a "sedimentary" instead of "sedentary" lifestyle was probably not a good way to live. Duhhhhhhh......sedimentary is about as inactive as you can get. This is even funnier for me because, after getting out of that mess, I am closing in on a masters degree in geology. One of the interesting things about our "49,000 year old earth" is that most of the surficial bedrock on the planet is sedimentary. I Love It. Morons.