Posts by changeling

10

Are you really drawn to a God who wants to kill you?

by hamsterbait in

the question a jw will ask at the doors is often.

"have you ever wondered why the world is in such turmoil?".

of course their "answer" is that a snake told a naked lady to eat some fruit 6 000 years ago, and as a result god views us all as unworthy of life.

Do 'Family Values' Weaken Families?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

do 'family values' weaken families?.

.. six of the seven states with the lowest divorce rates in 2007, and all seven with the lowest teen birthrates in 2006, voted blue in both elections.

six of the seven states with the highest divorce rates in 2007, and five of the seven with the highest teen birthrates, voted red.

My only comment is that JW's tend to follow the "families form adults" route. The pressure to remain "chaste" and fight natural desires forces many to marry young w/o having gained life experience or completed an education. And we all know that all is not well in JW families...

74

607 B.C.E. - A Trip To The Local Library! With Pictures!

by mentallyfree31 in

watchtower says 607 bce.

i decided to dig into this matter myself at the public library yesterday.

i examined every book i could find that contained facts about jerusalem.

changeling

I did the same thing a few years ago. I sat in B&N and then Borders for two afternoons, I searched in the History, Theology and Judeica (you'd think the Jews would know when Jerusalem was destroyed) sections and, as you did, found NO support for 607BCE and no debate among scholars about 587-586. Good job with the pictures. No explanation is needed, the facts speak for themselves!

13

I Just Ran Into a Former Bible Student And He Was (Sadly) Shocked About Me

by minimus in

jw
friends

i studied with this guy for years.

he believed it was the "truth" although a few things weren't right with him.

he asked me how business, family, being an elder was and he was flabbergasted when i told him i was divorced and had left the religion.

changeling

So, he's no longer "in" but still feels it's a shame being out? The saddest situation to be in, IMHO.

61

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Atheist

by BurnTheShips in

please note that this list is intended to apply to the fundies alone.

not to all nonbelievers.

so let's turn the mirror and grab some popcorn:.

changeling

Hi Burns! It's me, changeling, your long lost, warm and fuzzy atheist buddy!

I rarely come to JWN and seldom post, but your thread caught my eye.

I wanted to share with you a book you may find interesting: The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, by Mark A. Noll (a christian scholar). Noll makes a very interesting study of the religious sentiment for and against slavery in the US during and leading up to the CW. He shows how both sides of the issue were fueled by Christians trying to use the scriptures to prove their point. Interestingly, he also includes publications from European newspapers and other publications to show how most Europeans (America was behind Europe in abollishing slavery) felt slavery was morally wrong and did not know why the silly Americans were trying to use the Bible to debate the issue.

He includes a wealth of historical documentation to prove his points. It's truly eye opening. And yes, one comes away feeling that the Civil War was, in large extent, a religious war.

I agree with you that there are extremists on both sides of the god issue. For me, a "fundie" Christian takes a literal view of the Bible and rejects the very notion that it may, at least in part, be allegorical, or just plain wrong.

A "fundie" atheist would be one that, as you mentioned in #1, denies categorically the existance of "god". No one can prove or disprove the existance of what some call god; a powerful being of some sort that caused the universe to exist.

Me, I don't deny the possibility that some unknown force caused what we know as the universe, but I don't call this possible entity "god" because the concept of "god" and owing it worship is a human construct based on the ignorance and fear of early man. I also don't feel this entiy would require devotion or worship or draws lines in the sand to decide who gets treats and who gets spankings. Therefore, I'm an "a-theist".

Most atheists will aknowledge they don't have all the answers, and therefore, I would not consider them "fundies".

20

"If Christianity Doesnt Matter Why Do You Bother With It?"

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

many theists ask why atheists care about god or the bible.

the question deserves an answer.

below, former pastor, bruce gerencser, provides one.

changeling

The US Constitution is "godless". The US in NOT a Christian country. This is exaclty what guarantees that all religions are on equal standing.

If you enjoy freedom of beliefs, don't mess with the Constitution.

:)

20

Letter I wrote to my mom

by cammygee in

dear mom,

thank you for your last letter, i know that you care about me, and you have obviously been thinking of me and it means a lot that youd take the time to write me.

ive been thinking a lot about you lately too.

changeling

Truly beautiful! Please let us know if your mom responds.

Welcome to the board! :)

5

Be prepared...

by changeling in

jw
friends

http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/.

:).

.

changeling

http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/

:)

28

Mill Hill Disfellowshippings and JW prayers

by VM44 in

the following comment was posted in the "mill hill disfellowshipping" thread:.

all 4 were disfellowshipped for believing that the entirety of the ransom, including the new covenant, and the mediatorship and everything else in the bible, applied to everyone.. if that is the case, why do all of the jw prayers, public and private, end with "we pray this through your son, jesus christ, amen"?.

ending prayers like this implies that the payer is going through jesus, hence jesus is the mediator for all prayers made by jws!.

changeling

What are the "Mill Hill DFings"? Can someone post a link, please? :)

20

Letter I wrote to my mom

by cammygee in

dear mom,

thank you for your last letter, i know that you care about me, and you have obviously been thinking of me and it means a lot that youd take the time to write me.

ive been thinking a lot about you lately too.

changeling

I would love to read your story, but I would need paragraphs and double spacing to get through it w/o giving myself a headache :)