My own conclusions about the bible as a man-made book were reached over a long period of study and reflection.
I read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins but that didn't convince me at the time.
The tipping point for me came when I did a thorough study of Genesis and I couldn't reconcile the idea that mankind is only 6000 years old. There is simply too much evidence from multiple cross-verifiable sources to the contrary. There are some apologist who have concocted very complicated explanations for this but they seem to be grasping at straws.
I fully admit that it is scary to think that there is no god and that your life is the only one you're going to get, and I even found myself wanting to pray, but that fear eventually goes away. I honestly think there's something physiological about it, even Buddhist have a term for the potentially terrifying moment when meditation makes the mind blank.
The point is that fear is transient. I now feel at peace.
marmot
JoinedPosts by marmot
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64
The Bible - God's Word or Man's? - What Convinces You?
by sweet pea inhaving believed the whole bible, hook, line and sinker all these years i get the impression many of you have come to the conclusion that we should take it with a pinch of salt and not hold to it so dogmatically.
and some possibly believe in it just as much as you did when you were a witness.
to save me some time please, lovely people, as i am very lazy - could you share with me why you do or don't believe in it - what evidence there is either way and if there are any particular books that you found helpful in coming to your conclusions?
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marmot
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3
Do like this music?
by blueviceroy inhttp://au.youtube.com/watch?v=pbilay7mdbw&feature=related.
this guy kills me with his hand made music..
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marmot
I crack up during his Iron Maiden cover.
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This is how wrongful disfellowshippings happen
by AnneB inre: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/146760/1.ashx.
did it ever occur to any of you that blakeseeley and carlhernz could be separate people posting from the same computer?
if they are then it follows that their vocabularies and writing styles may be similar; if one is a journalist (even part-time) perhaps the other is as well.. it could be that one is visiting the other; carlhernz said that blakeseeley was in florida at present but would be returning to texas soon.. why not step back, take a few deep breaths...and unlock that thread?.
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marmot
Anne, read through (new) Carl's posts - in post #2 he says that he sent an e-mail to Blake Seeley after reading his thread.
They both used the same computer.
Why would Carl send an e-mail to someone sharing the same computer? -
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This is how wrongful disfellowshippings happen
by AnneB inre: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/146760/1.ashx.
did it ever occur to any of you that blakeseeley and carlhernz could be separate people posting from the same computer?
if they are then it follows that their vocabularies and writing styles may be similar; if one is a journalist (even part-time) perhaps the other is as well.. it could be that one is visiting the other; carlhernz said that blakeseeley was in florida at present but would be returning to texas soon.. why not step back, take a few deep breaths...and unlock that thread?.
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marmot
From the looks of it, the original Carl_Hernz aka BlakeSeeley aka Carl Hernz got his feelings hurt a few months ago because he ran into people who called him out on some blanket statements he was making. His final posting before leaving (under his original username of Carl_Hernz) was this:
"And while I do want to thank those that were kind enough to write in their support and others who even apologized I am really bowing out now. I am sure I just caught some people on a bad day, and like Anne Frank believe that there's goodness in everybody. I'm just don't feel up to par with you fine folks, and I mean that sincerely. Thanks for the messages of welcome, but I don't like the way I have ended up feeling the short time I've been here. Perhaps I am not ready. But enjoy!"
The fact is that he came out as a strong theist and was surprised when he found out that not everybody else shared his views. -
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What's the big deal with Jesus' "sacrifice"?
by bluesapphire inwhat was the big deal with that dam tree to begin with!
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marmot
In reply to Blake Seeley, it's not so much smashing other's beliefs (I respect everyone's decisions, even my parents to stay in the Organization) and I'm an atheist myself. The negativity you see happening is a reaction to other religious-minded posters trying to convince others that their beliefs are the truth, ironically.
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Great Canadian music
by Guest with Questions inwhat is your favourite?
heres just a few of mine.
because im in a mellow mood tonight i will play more of that kind of music.. neil young: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywlmewen1l8.
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marmot
Kid Koala, a simply amazing turntablist and a Montrealer to boot! Gives great live shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR-i0qRHLpM&feature=related
(you old Bryan Adams and Anne Murray-loving types probably wouldn't like this type of music) -
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Explain it like I'm three...what's the big deal about being an ex-dub?
by wanderlustguy inits just not that big of a deal.
i hear people respond to stories of ex-witnesses and it reminds me how the organization is viewed by those who have not been in it.
since witnesses are not allowed to participate in any public activities that involve association with worldy people (my program just put a red line under worldly, but the way) these people never get to know a jehovahs witness.
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marmot
I think it's a very serious situation where a group claims to be the only true path to salvation and makes you strictly adhere to that code or risk complete ostracization. Not to mention that interpretations of scripture literally put their members' lives on the line when it comes to certain medical procedures.
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What's the big deal with Jesus' "sacrifice"?
by bluesapphire inwhat was the big deal with that dam tree to begin with!
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marmot
"Evil Jewish celebrations? Evil Jewish laws? Doctrine of demons?"
Cripes man, I don't even believe in the bible as a holy book but even I know that's way outta line. The god of the OT set out those celebrations in mind-numbingly intricate detail (ever bother reading Leviticus?), and Jesus himself celebrated them.
You've got some widening of the mind to do. -
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Tower of Babel - /another thing/ God didn't have to do.
by Awakened07 inwe all know the story of the tower of babel, and there are lots of things one can discuss around the topic, like for instance how god actually didn't allow mankind to 'experiment' with governing themselves, but chose to intervene whenever they seemed to get close to being united.. however - that is not the topic of this thread (and has been covered in other threads already).. .
so - what do i mean when i say "another thing god didn't have to do"?.
the first of the things i'm referring to, is the diversity of life itself, as it happens through evolution by cumulative steps of naturally selected, inherited traits over the generations of a population (i'm not going to go into detail here).. so - over to the other thing that god didn't have to do:.
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marmot
I don't have the cognitive dissonance safety net to fall back on anymore when I hear the theory that the god of the bible did all this "because he loves us". Does not compute, regardless of how many tortuous theological arguments you can dredge up.
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What Religion Do you Follow Now?
by luna14 ini am new to the site.
i wish i had known about it earlier, it would have avoided a lot of the guilty feelings i felt when i was df in 1998. it's so cool to see so many members.
anyway i wanted to ask what religion do you follow now that you are no longer a jw?
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marmot
I'm a Pastafarian.
All hail FSM!