Posts by jonathanconway

1

New Watchtower DVD on youtube

by alanv in

apparantly at this years conventions a new dvd was released.

this has been uploaded onto youtube.

it paints the normal utopia that any one of us would love.

jonathanconway

Got it off my family and had a flick through.

The old goof at the beginning looks like such a dork! Either that or on drugs. I guess that's what it looks like when you're standing outside the hypnosis.

The rest of the film is as expected...

Montage after montage of stock footage showing nature with selected bible verses super-imposed.
Doesn't even begin to approach a rational discussion of whether evolution could be scientific alternative to creationism
The dream-like "paradise" sequences (they even used a very subtle "halo" effect) are the most revealing. I was watching this and was thinking... funny how watchtower have put their finger on some very common, subliminal yearnings that many people really do have.

79

A Question Ex-Jws and Atheist On This Site

by Blue Grass in

i have a question for the regulars on this site which are mainly ex-jws and atheist.

my first question is just for the atheist.

why do you guys spend so much time discussing and researching a book you believe to be fiction?

jonathanconway

It's interesting how the sect affects a person's perceptions of self-expression.

Blue Grass berates a group who want to get together, peacefully, and discuss something they happen to have in common - a JW upbringing.

The idea is this: don't criticize the Witnesses openly, because no one wants to hear you. If you don't like the religion, then leave it and find your own way (which, of course, leads to social alienation.)

This is a subtle form of social blackmail.

It's a powerful way of making people divided and helpless (a phrase borrowed from Richard Stallman).

Of course, the good thing about the Internet it its democratizing, empowering effect, and its focus on the individual. MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have already reached mass audiences not just with their usefullness, but also with the underlying, subconscious message that "it's OK to speak up and express yourself."

22

How much will Watchtower publish online?

by jonathanconway in

i've noticed that they have a small selection of articles online.. however the majority of their stuff is only accessible through either the watchtower cdrom or dead trees.. has anyone yet asked them about putting their entire library online?.

if their aim is to "spead the good news", then what possible reason could there be for not making the content publicly accessible?.

since they already have it in electronic form (i believe the content is already in html format on the cd), the cost of doing this would be minimal, and it would probably make their website rank better in google.. of course, the flip-side is that this would allow others to link to their content and discuss it openly and, anonymously, which might expose them to much more criticism than they've ever experienced before.. but i'm wondering what their excuse would be if someone asked them "why not"?.

jonathanconway

Good points guys.

As far as revenue, I think they still make a pretty large amount from donations (in fact, all from donations in countries where they "give away" the publications to active witnesses).

Of course, I'd like to see it all online, so we can more easily pick holes in it.

But the next best thing is to somehow force Watchtower to make a comment on why they haven't done it yet.

What excuse can there possibly be, to not share knowledge, when A) the cost of sharing it is zero, B) you're an organization who's primary goal is supposed to be the spreading of knowledge?

57

Beard stories. Nothing but beards.

by Open mind in

i've done a jwn search on beards and had some great reads.. i've learned the history of russell vs. rutherford and knorr and the hippies.. here's what i'd like to hear about.. either you or someone you know who grew a beard and the fallout because of it.. for me, i'd love to hear about the squeaky clean elder who decided to grow a beard and got removed because of it.. katie kitten, from england, on another thread told the story of her dad, the squeaky clean elder who grew a beard in the 70's and got away with it.. i don't think that would happen in california 2009.. anyway, what are your beard stories?.

i'm all ears.

(and my ears are freshly plucked.

jonathanconway

By the time I was 16 I was totally over cutting my skin with razorblades... pissed my parents off by sporting the sexy "unshaven" look that girls love.

It's so amazing that they still don't like facial hair apart from a neat moustache! When almost all the bible characters are shown with beards. It's as if they're making fun of their followers in not to many words.

79

A Question Ex-Jws and Atheist On This Site

by Blue Grass in

i have a question for the regulars on this site which are mainly ex-jws and atheist.

my first question is just for the atheist.

why do you guys spend so much time discussing and researching a book you believe to be fiction?

jonathanconway

@zarco ... thanks, your post was spot-on mate!

15

so if paradise won't happen, what about armargedon?

by highdose in

it has been recently proved ( as far as i'm concerned) that paradise the jw view of it isn't coming.

scriptual evidence is so thin as to be non exsistent.

ok so what about armargedon then?

jonathanconway

"Armageddon" and "paradise" are as fictional as "hell" and "heaven".

There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.

22

How much will Watchtower publish online?

by jonathanconway in

i've noticed that they have a small selection of articles online.. however the majority of their stuff is only accessible through either the watchtower cdrom or dead trees.. has anyone yet asked them about putting their entire library online?.

if their aim is to "spead the good news", then what possible reason could there be for not making the content publicly accessible?.

since they already have it in electronic form (i believe the content is already in html format on the cd), the cost of doing this would be minimal, and it would probably make their website rank better in google.. of course, the flip-side is that this would allow others to link to their content and discuss it openly and, anonymously, which might expose them to much more criticism than they've ever experienced before.. but i'm wondering what their excuse would be if someone asked them "why not"?.

jonathanconway

I've noticed that they have a small selection of articles online.

However the majority of their stuff is only accessible through either the Watchtower CDROM or dead trees.

Has anyone yet asked them about putting their entire library online?

If their aim is to "spead the good news", then what possible reason could there be for not making the content publicly accessible?

Since they already have it in electronic form (I believe the content is already in HTML format on the CD), the cost of doing this would be minimal, and it would probably make their website rank better in Google.

Of course, the flip-side is that this would allow others to link to their content and discuss it openly and, anonymously, which might expose them to much more criticism than they've ever experienced before.

But I'm wondering what their excuse would be if someone asked them "why not"?

105

I'm a Neutral Jehovah's Witness

by Martini in

jw
friends

dear brothers and sisters,.

i martini, will confide in you that i have become a neutral jehovah's witness.

i wonder if i'm not coining a new phrase here!.

jonathanconway

Sometimes the best choice you can make in a given situation requires some initial pain or loss.

It's like ripping off a bandaid or purchasing an investment property.

You can either struggle now for a better future, or you can wallow in the present, and live a life of quiet desperation.

I got out when I was 17 and never looked back.

I would also recommend that you take a genuinely objective look at evolution and atheism, and question your beliefs. You should be fully informed of the arguments for the above before you dedicate the rest of your life to an invisible supreme being.

9

Will We in the Future Bioengineer Our Children?

by frankiespeakin in

jw
friends

i think in the near future this will be very prevalent and be the norm.

i don't think anyone will want to have the risk of inherent birth defects that are preventable and their child being born that way just because they didn't want it, the future concerns of the child being more important.

religons will have to go along with this too or else get a very bad label as not being progressive and harmful to the human race..

jonathanconway

I don't see a huge future for eugenics.

Mainly because biological evolution is such a slow process - think about how long it takes to fall pregnant and raise a child, and multiply that over many hundreds of generations and you're looking at several centuries.

Whereas techniques like gene therapy can repair and enhance existing human bodies within a matter of decades.

We can expect to see nano-technology that maintains our red blood cells within the next 20 years, given the predictions of the technological singularity.

92

Please nominate your favourite film and say why you rate it so highly.

by lifelong humanist in

jw
friends

i've just watched all 3 parts of francis ford coppola's epic godfather once again.

it is a superb achievement on many levels.

each viewing reveals something new and fresh.. i recall, as a good jw at the time, not seeing it when released as it was not certified as 'suitable' given the content for jws.

jonathanconway

Without a single doubt, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I'm a complete atheist, but that movie is the most moving, religious experience of my life. (Absolutely beats to death the mindless hours of droning at the "kingdom hall").

I was lucky to see it when I was 12, and I saw it several other times in my life, and now at 22, I still have yet to see any movie that can communicate so much content with mainly images and very little dialog.

Movies I had to keep secret from my JW parents -- Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction, A Clockwork Orange, The Matrix (yes, my parents didn't approve of that either).

And the first Godfather is also a shining classic worth a million re-viewings!