C0ntr013r

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Posts by C0ntr013r

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  34

  Belief in God Can Be Turned Off Like a Light Switch

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  researchers in york used magnetic stimulation to target an area of the brain called the medial frontal cortex in a group of volunteers.

  a control group received a sham treatment.. both groups were asked to think about death.

  the group who experienced the magnetic energy reported 32.8% less belief in angels, god and heaven.. when faced with difficult challenges people often take refuge in ideology.

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  C0ntr013r

  Sometimes missapplied, the quote in context:

  "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people"
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  34

  Belief in God Can Be Turned Off Like a Light Switch

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  researchers in york used magnetic stimulation to target an area of the brain called the medial frontal cortex in a group of volunteers.

  a control group received a sham treatment.. both groups were asked to think about death.

  the group who experienced the magnetic energy reported 32.8% less belief in angels, god and heaven.. when faced with difficult challenges people often take refuge in ideology.

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  C0ntr013r

  Interesting!

  We who consider ourselves logical, rational thinkers should try this.

  That way we can find out a lot of our biases and our ideological thinking that we are unaware of.

  We humans like to think that we base our decisions and beliefs on rational thinking. But this is often not the case. We commonly resort to "lazy" thinking unconsciously. (cognitive shortcut that usually involve feelings instead of facts)
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  20

  How many of us are 'perfectionists'?

  by FayeDunaway in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i made a medium level mistake at work today, and when i make mistakes it really shakes me up and takes me a long time to recover.

  it completely rattles me, makes me feel awful about myself.

  my mind keeps going back to the mistake reliving how i could have let it happen.

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  C0ntr013r

  Same thing here, I am thinking however that it might simply be a human trait? I think many "worldly" people could identify with this too. Maybe it is stronger in us thou?
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  138

  My Mother Died Two Weeks Ago

  by Perry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  none of my jehovah's witness relatives called to tell me or my family.

  just found out this morning.

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  C0ntr013r

  That is horrible!...

  My condolences Perry
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  447

  Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

  by LaurenM in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

  even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

  the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

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  C0ntr013r

  I believe that the Universe is full of order and disorder but not intelligence nor, by my definition, "design". Why would a creator god smash two galaxies together with the horrific results that occur? It makes sense when you use non-anthropomorphic terms. It's spontaneous order and disorder that makes our Universe.

  Why would a creator god smash two galaxies together with the horrific results that occur?
  

  Not a very strong argument. It is similar to these;

  Why would a creator start a forest fire? Hurricane, or any other destructive fenomenen in the universe?

  A simple explanation would be that it is the cycle of creation, destroy and recreate.

  If you know how the universe started you would also know that these systems are a driving force in the creation of the universe we have today.

  However, to say that all these complex systems and galaxies where created for us humans in our small corner of the universe is quite ridiculous and arrogant...

  With my use of "creation" I am not implying a creator, it is just for lack of a better word.
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  447

  Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

  by LaurenM in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

  even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

  the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

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  C0ntr013r

  I have no interest in arguing against deism. It seems like such a vacuous position it isn't worth bothering about.

  Except Gnostic Deism that is? ;)
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  447

  Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

  by LaurenM in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

  even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

  the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

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  C0ntr013r

  stuffwotifink

  
  

  Excellent explanation, I think this issue is often confused in these debates, and it just turns into a free for all flame war between; Atheists vs Theists vs Desists vs Agnostics vs Gnostic, and any combination of the different ideologies.
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  7

  Saved

  by Stephanie Twist in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  how can a person be saved?

  do jw believe that we are saved through the blood of jesus?

  bible verses?

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  C0ntr013r

  Most JWs are "saved" through Jesus through their organisation ;)

  No bible verse for that, it is because of the fact that the new testament was written for the anointed. Reason? It it obvious when you read it and if you cant see it... It is because God is keeping it from you/has not reveled it to you...

  Yeah, that pretty much sums it up :P
• 
  447

  Does Anyone Still Believe in God?

  by LaurenM in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?

  even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.

  the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.

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  C0ntr013r

  freemindfade

  Why use the word 'God' as all? What can you claim about this.... idea? Is it he? She? It? Them? A series of never ending responsible parties? The monolith from 2001? what is 'God'????
  The minute you say 'God' you have attached the idea of a personality solely responsible and above everything.
  You call what you do not understand 'God' instead of just, unknown. Or undiscovered yet, because every discovery you reveal, god is not there.
  You see the grand canyon and you say god must have carved this, then you find out no, it was water, well what is water made of, and you keep going and going and you find no 'God' just more elements making up reality, not a person.

  A good way to differentiate between the two concepts is to use God/deity when referring to a powerful being in the universe vs a personal God/Gods.

  
  

  I agree with your point but there might be a straw-man lurking in the argumentation, I don't even think God of the gaps where used by stuffwotifink.

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  17

  Annulment of baptism for a minor?

  by Tornintwo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've seen references to baptism annulment on a few websites, does anyone know if there has ever been a successful annulment of a baptism?.

  eg.

  a minor claims they didn't understand a key wtbts teaching prior to baptism, is there any realistic chance of annulment?

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  C0ntr013r

  I posted on this topic before:

  Read entire thread: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/109423/do-disassociate-anull-your-baptism?size=20&page=1

  If you read the elders hand book you can see that the only way to get your baptism annulled is if you where participating in sinful behavior before during and after your baptism that, if the eldest knew would have stopped you from getting baptized. They are advised to contact the branch to make sure thou, maybe there will be a way to disfellowship anyways...
  It is worth a try if you want a "clean" exit.

  If anyone want's to try it I would suggest that you first read the "rules" so you can play their "game".
  Then you could go to the elders with a story (if it is fabricated or not wont matter). You can tell them that you where watching porn before during and after your baptism, you can say that you are distraught because you know deep down you never really got baptized and you hate living a lie, you never even gave your life to Jehovah in prayer... You just gave in to peer pressure etc.
  Then if they decide to "grant your wish" you can start to fade instead of making progress towards your "real" baptism.
  It is dishonest I know, but why play by their rules?
  I don't know if this works in practice but it think it would have the best chance of working. I don't think bringing up doubt and reasons you don't believe anymore is going to help, that might just reveal the truth, that you are trying to escape without being DFed.

  Yeah, if anyone tries please let us know how it goes.
  One of the reasons it might fail is that the elders manual makes it very hard to actually pull it of. And if you say all the right things and manage to persuade the BOE, they are then supposed to call bethel for future instructions. So they might not grant it even if the BOE think it needs to be annulled...
  It is important that you where sinning before and during the entire process because that is proof that Jehovah could not have accepted your dedication to him.
  Don't forget to read everything about this before trying it, the elders manual is a good place to start.