DT

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Posts by DT

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  60

  The Problem with Atheism by Sam Harris

  by nvrgnbk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the problem with atheism(this is an edited transcript of a talk given at the atheist alliance conference in washington d.c. on september 28th, 2007).

  to begin, id like to take a moment to acknowledge just how strange it is that a meeting like this is even necessary.

  the year is 2007, and we have all taken time out of our busy lives, and many of us have traveled considerable distance, so that we can strategize about how best to live in a world in which most people believe in an imaginary god.

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  DT

  Wow, that was well said.
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  69

  The Suicide of Jason R: a rational battlecry

  by inkling in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  ok, here is a short introduction:.

  worf has posted an email sent to him by someone who claims: to have testified.

  in court in a case involving the illegal digging up of the body of a young bethelite .

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  DT

  Could is not the same as true. Therefore it must be assumed as untrue until proven otherwise. That is, even if I dearly want it to be true, I cannot accept it as so. Without proof.

  What's the difference between assuming something is true and assuming it's not true if there isn't enough evidence for either conclusion? It's rare to have proof of anything. Usually, all we can do is weigh the evidence to try to get a good idea of the probability of something being true and hopefully be willing to alter our view if new evidence comes in.
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  18

  An unbelievable quote by the JW's about the New World Translation

  by isnrblog in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i came across this incredable quote in the watchtower, .

  from the watchtower 8/1/62, pg 480: .

  "the way these two words have been rendered in the new world translation has given rise to the charge that the new world bible translation committee let their religious beliefs influence them.

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  DT

  This emphasizes the fact that one simply cannot properly and accurately translate the Bible unless one clearly understands its teachings.

  But how can you clearly understand its teachings until you have an accurate translation? Its all very circular. I'm glad they admitted their bias, but this makes it pointless to evaluate their teachings with the translation that is influenced by their teachings.
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  4

  A New Creation Myth

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm just having some fun with genesis and the wts explanation of the issue of universal sovereignty.. one day a powerful god named jehover got lonely and created other spirit creatures.

  since he was an angry bully, he made them spend all their time serving him and talking about what a great and powerful god he was.

  eventually, this got kind of boring and jehover decided that if he made intelligent creatures that were even weaker and more pathetic than the angels, then he would really feel like a great and powerful god.

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  DT

  Thank you THX1139 and welcome to the group.

  I'm bumping this because I hoped that it would prompt a discussion about the issue of universal sovereignty. It seems that in order for Jehovah to be vindicated, he has to show that we can't rule ourselves. What does that prove? Wouldn't it be more impressive if he made us with the ability to rule ourselves? Proving that we are incompetent doesn't bring glory to our creator.
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  18

  Are we too cynical?

  by Princess Daisy Boo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is it a good thing to look for fault in everything the borg does?

  .

  are we clutching at straws sometimes in our efforts to strengthen our fight and fuel our anger?.

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  DT

  It may be that some of us are more cynical than we need to be. As a group though, I think we need to be cynical and look closely at everything the WTS does. I'm sure that there is still a lot of hidden dirt. Hopefully, it will lead to the freeing of more minds.
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  5

  excerpt from 7/1/89 letter on search warrants.

  by darth frosty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "c. search warrants and subpoenas.

  1. a search warrant is a court order authorizing the police to search premises to locate evidence that may be used in a criminal prosecution.

  no elder should ever consent to the search of a kingdom hall or any other place where confidential records are stored.

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  DT

  I'm curious about the legalities of this. It sounds like the WTS is asking the elders to break the law. Isn't it illegal to ask someone to break the law, especially if you are in a position of authority over them?
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  115

  Confidential Body of Elder Letters from 1981 through 2006

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here it is guys.

  this is what darth frosty was talking about in his post the other day (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/149460/1.ashx).

  this is a collection of confidential letters from the watchtower society that were sent to the bodies of elders in the years 1981 through 2006. these are the letters that you were never meant to see or read.. there's all sorts of information in them ranging from the boring and mundian to instructions about how to handle child molesters.. many thanks to darth frosty and others (who i'm not sure can be named) who worked very hard and took risks to collect and scan the information.

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  DT

  This is limiting the WTS ability to communicate privately with it's elders. This could have a profound effect. If we limit what they can say, we limit their power. I have already found cases where they make a public announcement of how elders handle things, but redefine the policies in their secret letters to the elders. I will be making some separate posts about this and hope others do to.
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  30

  Questioning the question of God's existence

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know if there is a god.

  if i knew for certain, this piece of knowledge could serve as a foundation for my world view.

  some people are confident they know the answer (both theists and atheists) and their world view is based on this faith.

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  DT

  I am an atheist, but not one who blatantly asserts that God doesn't exist. Rather, I have considered the evidence and seen that there is not enough to convince me of a God. Most atheists think this same way.

  So I'd suggest you modify your first statement in your initial post here where it said atheists have a faith, just like theists do.

  Good point. I should have expressed myself more clearly. I only meant to suggest that some atheists have faith in the nonexistence of God. I have known some, but they're probably in the minority. I consider myself an agnostic because I can't prove that God doesn't exist. I realise that some people admit this, but consider themselves to be atheists. I'm an atheist when it comes to the God of the bible and similar gods, but feel I must remain agnostic about the bigger question. I tried to edit my post, but it was too late.

  Hey, this is my 100th post. Is everyone proud of me?
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  23

  Bizarre conversations

  by RebelWife in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  tula and i started talking about this yesterday.

  can anybody tell us what's going on here or how to deal with these goofy conversations?

  we're not talking about anything even remotely connected with religion, god, the bible or jws.

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  DT

  It's like my husband heard a totally different question.

  I don't know what is going on, but that could be a possibility. It is my opinion that women have a richer emotional context in their language. Studies indicate that women use fewer words than men, but use more vocal inflections to give their words a greater range of meanings. This can be very confusing for a guy. We realise that the same words or phrases can have different meanings in different situations. We try hard to pick up on the emotional context, but we aren't very good at distinguishing subtleties. If there is tension in the voice, we will probably pick it up, but may completely misinterpret the cause of the tension. If he is acting defensively, that may be how he feels. If he uses a neutral voice, he may be trying not to contribute to the tension that he perceives, but this may make it hard for you to understand how he is really feeling. Unfortunately, it's easy for this type of situation to snowball and lead to greater confusion. Of course, him being a dub doesn't help either and could also be contributing to this situation.
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  115

  Confidential Body of Elder Letters from 1981 through 2006

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here it is guys.

  this is what darth frosty was talking about in his post the other day (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/149460/1.ashx).

  this is a collection of confidential letters from the watchtower society that were sent to the bodies of elders in the years 1981 through 2006. these are the letters that you were never meant to see or read.. there's all sorts of information in them ranging from the boring and mundian to instructions about how to handle child molesters.. many thanks to darth frosty and others (who i'm not sure can be named) who worked very hard and took risks to collect and scan the information.

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  DT

  This is great. Thanks.