Posts by tastyrerun

53

Present some evidence for evolution...

by Spade in

there's no evidence that can't be overturned and exposed as deception in the scientific community.

jehovah's witnesses don't stonewall any new findings.

we have degree regarding adaptation.

tastyrerun

@Quentin

Read it carefully. I didn't say that about God believers, I said it about Creationists. If you accept the evidence of evolution but still believe in a God, you're exempt from the comment I made. There are plenty of god believers who accept the antiquity of man, common descent of all living things, and I wouldn't call them Creationists.

Creationism has three major flavors. There is Young Earth Creationism as espoused by most Adventist and many Baptist and Evangelical sects, Old Earth Creationism as the Watchtower Society teaches, and Intelligent Design Creationism which is a pseudo-scientific propaganda campaign lead by the Discovery Institute. All three flavors are anti-science religious ideologies. People who accept the teachings of these groups are being intentionally misinformed by groups of people who are going out of their way to dupe them. I used to be one of those people so I'm not saying this means the believers are stupid or unreasonable. They are being mislead by people who are intentionally misleading them. The Watchtower Society has adopted the teachings of the ID and Young Earth people whenever it suits them, and used those teachings in their own propaganda efforts.

So, don't think I'm equating belief in God with Creationism. Theism comes in many many many varieties. Most Christian sects accept that the early Genesis part is a myth and evolution is a fact. Creationists are a particular group of people who have adopted a particular literal anti-science philosophy and those people are either misinformed, ignorant, or irrational, even if they sincerely mean well. I do not believe that the leaders of the Creationism movement are sincere seekers of truth, I believe they are sociopathic charlatans incapable of honesty or integrity who are crafting fallacious arguments that look valid to sincere people. I have sympathy for most creationists, I have utter disdain for the religious leaders who publish creationist literature and craft creationist arguments. It is an industry of intentional dishonesty and deception built on the sincere beliefs of decent people.

53

Present some evidence for evolution...

by Spade in

there's no evidence that can't be overturned and exposed as deception in the scientific community.

jehovah's witnesses don't stonewall any new findings.

we have degree regarding adaptation.

tastyrerun

@DarioKehl - Hi! I'm the Ryan Sutter you were referring to. While I was indeed on the Minnesota Atheists show, and I did do extensive XJW blogging at ryansutter.net for several years, and I am an atheist apostate and I do make the occasional foray into XJW video production... it's all true... unfortunately, I did not actually create the fantastic videos you posted. Those videos are the work of my good friend and long-time cohort James Zimmerman, a man I have known since we were JW kids together and who now regularly hosts the Minnesota Atheist television show, as well as producing videos of his own on his YouTube channel. So, thanks for the props, but credit where credit is due. Gotta hand it to my man James.

Oh, and evolution is amazing, creationism is ridiculous, anybody who says differently is either ignorant of the science, intentionally misinformed, or in some other way incapable of rational thought on the subject due to cult mind control.

Peace!

Ryan

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Shunned: Stories of Former Jehovah's Witnesses

by tastyrerun in

i just started a community book writing project over at webook called "shunned: stories of former jehovah's witnesses".

it is intended to be a collection of personal stories about leaving the witnesses and building a new life in the aftermath.. from the description of the project:.

shunning: the deliberate avoiding of association with, and habitually keeping away from, an individual or group.

tastyrerun

I just started a community book writing project over at WEBook called "Shunned: Stories of Former Jehovah's Witnesses". It is intended to be a collection of personal stories about leaving the Witnesses and building a new life in the aftermath.

From the description of the project:

shunning: the deliberate avoiding of association with, and habitually keeping away from, an individual or group

There are many religious traditions that practice shunning of current and former members as a form of congregational discipline, but none so large and fierce about the practice as the Watchtower Society, also known as Jehovah's Witnesses. Anabaptist groups (such as the Amish and Mennonites), the Ba' Hai, and some Protestant Evangelical churches practice shunning, but the Jehovah's Witnesses at over 6.5 million members are the largest of them all and the form of shunning they practice is among the most severe, consisting of a complete ban on all unnecessary interactions with anyone who leaves the religion for any reason, including family members.

This means that if a daughter leaves the religion and her parents are still members, the parents will never speak to that daughter again if they can avoid doing so or they may face punishment themselves. No matter who leaves, son or daughter, father, mother, grandparent, or just very dear friend, the treatment is the same. Shunning is expected, enforced. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people are disfellowshipped by the Watchtower Society or disassociate themselves from the religion every year and are subjected to this harsh, traumatic treatment. It is the fear of losing all the people a person loves that keeps many within the group and it has been the experience of enduring it that has driven many back into the group, even if they don't believe in the teachings.

This book is a collection of stories, experiences, of people who have left the Watchtower Society and what they endured in the process of starting their new lives, trying to move on despite all they've left behind.

If you want to share your story, your experience, go to the site and contribute to the book. Tell your story.

http://www.webook.com/project/Shunned

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38 years, are these people friends ???

by lancelink in

last week my mother died, and since my parents live clear across the country, i had to travel out there and help .

my father with the arraignments.

they were active, visible witnesses here at home here in wisconsin for over 15 years.

tastyrerun

First off, let me say how sorry I am for your loss. It is really tragic.

It is especially tragic the way Witnesses treat former members in situations like this. I had recently left the Org back in 2005 when my 32-year-old brother died unexpectedly of blood clots that formed in his legs and went into his lungs. My brother and I had been inseparable our whole lives, being only 14-months different in age. Rhett was a pioneer, an MS, and widely known and loved. I'd say there were close to 2,000 people at his funeral. Almost all of these people, ones I had known my whole life, shunned me even there. I never received a single card, or flower, or phone call, or visit while my Witness family members were inundated with support and sympathy and visitors. Hours after I learned of his death and went to the house where I was raised to mourn the passing of my brother, my step-mother suggested I leave the premises as it would be more "dignified". People I had known my whole life referred to me in the third person while I was standing right in front of them at my brothers funeral, as if it were I who had died and not him. I will never forget how cold, how vicious, how unloving and inhuman was the treatment I received at the hands of my former "Brothers" and "Sisters" once I no longer believed their religion. They couldn't even have basic compassion towards me as a young man who had just lost his life-long best friend, his closest brother.

Ryan
XJW Net: The new social network for former Jehovah's Witnesses

12

Stonehenge was Built only 70 years after Noah's Flood

by ThomasCovenant in

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7625145.stm.

flood =2370bc .

stonhenge built 70 years later.. good going..

tastyrerun

And the wood he used for the barbecue came from one of the still-living bristlecone pine trees that is older than the flood. Amazing that a tree can survive being submerged in salt water for a year and still live another 4,000 years ain't it?

Ryan
XJW Net: The new social network for former Jehovah's Witnesses

129

YHWH a minor pagan god: Ugaritic Texts and the Sons of El

by DoomVoyager in

interesting.. here is the first thing i've found on the subject, though i haven't read much of it yet.. http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/otesources/05-deuteronomy/text/articles/heiser-deut32-bs.htm.

pseudo.

tastyrerun

Your statements about Yahweh being one of the 70 sons of El are spot on. And yes, Deuteronomy 32:8-9 clinches it. Interestingly, the Masoretes altered this verse in the middle ages in an attempt to remove this link to Canaanite religion from the Bible. It was (and is) a fairly embarrassing scripture. Also of interest: despite the conclusive evidence that the Masoretic rendition of this scripture is a later "correction", not the original text, the New World Translation continues to use the Masoretic fudged version instead of the original rendering. Nice one Watchtower.

How does Satan enter into this? Easy, he doesn't. Satan was a later invention. The early Jews did not believe in a specific entity named Satan, this was originally a title, like Judge, that simply meant "the adversary". It indicated whomever was playing the part of the foil in a debate or discussion. Anybody could be referred to as "the satan" in a situation, and it wasn't always considered a bad thing. Later Hellenized Jews, picking up ideas from Zoroastrianism and other beliefs, developed this idea that there was a specific character named Satan because they didn't understand what they were reading. Christianity developed the idea further.

I love this topic too, BTW.

Ryan
XJW Net: The new social network for former Jehovah's Witnesses

What's Happening This Week at XJW Net

by tastyrerun in

jw
friends

this week i started a new social networking site for former jw's called xjw net.

i did it pretty much on a whim.

it's not intended to replace sites like jwd here, but to provide another way for this community to connect and share experiences, thoughts, and friendships.

tastyrerun

This week I started a new social networking site for former JW's called XJW Net. I did it pretty much on a whim. It's not intended to replace sites like JWD here, but to provide another way for this community to connect and share experiences, thoughts, and friendships. In the first couple of days we've gotten to 24 members, not a massive number, but at least enough to get the ball rolling. People have started to post pictures and videos, a few good discussions have begun and some new connections have been made.

One particular topic of discussion that I thought was interesting was started by Anthony, "Your Positive Experience with the JW Religion". I've really enjoyed reading the different views about whether one person or another was able to find something positive to take out of their association with the Organization.

All told it's been a nice start to XJW Net. I hope we keep growing and really develop into a full-fledged community. Please come join the network and contribute!

http://xjwnet.ning.com

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