Posts by unshackled

33

Divine Name

by brotherdan in

i know this has been a often discussed topic.

but i just can't understand the wt's take on this.

they freely admit that we do not know how god's name was pronounced.

unshackled

You're right BroDan...it doesn't make sense, but no surpise there.

I think they clung to the name Jehovah because it was just another way to differentiate themselves from all other christianity. In order to create an elitist group that is "separate" from the rest of the world you gotta stand out as "unique". Not celebrating xmas, birthdays, etc. is the same thing. Gotta create the us versus them mentality. Gives the people a sense of "we ARE different and special" which further entrenches them in their fake world. Just a piece of the puzzle that creates a tightly controlled group in society. IMO.

30

Do you ENJOY these endless theism/atheism - faith/reason - creation/evolution debates?

by nicolaou in

.

sure i get frustrated when i have to explain for the bajillionth time just why atheism is not a belief or why it is possible to know some things with 100% certainty but despite all the exasperations i still count it as one of the rewards of freeing my mind and exiting the wt that i can argue so endlessly and freely.. even if some of you do get on my tits sometimes .

nic'.

unshackled

I hope we're making the same poing Nicolaou. But to clarify...what I'm saying is not about WHY believers go to church. But rather why the church itself wants believers to keep coming. The motivation is to control people and make money off of them.

Specifically, the Watchtower gang in new york wants to grow their number of followers, and keep and control their followers because the more they have, the more money they make. Cha-ching with tax exemption!

2

my xwife is still terrified of the jw's help!

by warmasasunned in

spoke to my xwife for the first time in 14yrs via facebook.

we were in the witnesses together we left about twenty years ago got divorced almost straight away we were never suited i liked sex and she didn't (i'm very ugly).. anway a few years later she went back, i got the sermon of course "you should comeback its the truth" i put her straight on that one, her eyes glazed over as i spoke and she went her merry way.. 14years later i pop her name into facebook there she is tattos and spouting politics animal rights (not very jw they ignore all that of course).

dropped her a line, caught up, shes got four kids (she likes sex now, told you i was ugly).

unshackled

First, this was pretty funny..."i liked sex and she didn't (i'm very ugly)."

Seems to me some people don't want to come to terms with reality, they avoid it and push it to the back of their minds. I come from a large family (7 siblings total) and only 3 siblings remain as JWs. Myself and the 4 others have left. Of course, our family is torn in two because of this and we who left are pretty much shunned.

Anyways, all of us who left pretty much accept and know the reality of the JW's being a highly controlled group. That everything we were taught was lies. BUT there is one sibling who takes the "I don't want to think about it" approach. Head in the sand and doesn't want to go there.

I just figure that perhaps she will take longer to process it all. She is on her own timeline and hopefully she'll see the light. Regardless, she has left and has shown no interest in going back. I know the shunning thing really strikes a cord with her, it disgusts her and wouldn't go back because of it. But she still doesn't really want to see the bigger picture.

30

Do you ENJOY these endless theism/atheism - faith/reason - creation/evolution debates?

by nicolaou in

.

sure i get frustrated when i have to explain for the bajillionth time just why atheism is not a belief or why it is possible to know some things with 100% certainty but despite all the exasperations i still count it as one of the rewards of freeing my mind and exiting the wt that i can argue so endlessly and freely.. even if some of you do get on my tits sometimes .

nic'.

unshackled

Nicolaou...what I meant is the churches keep denying and lying about evolution to keep the cash flowing in. Such as the WTBS latest effort releasing the 'Origin of Life' brochure. Or the garbage Answers in Genesis and the Discovery Institute spew out.

And yes...faith is the problem that keeps people sucked in to their church. And the money flowing out of their pockets into the church/org.

58

OT God vs NT God

by brotherdan in

this is mainly a question for bible believers.

but of course anyone can chime in.

how do you justify the differences between the way god acts in the ot and the very different way he acts in the nt.

unshackled

I'm not a bible believer, but I too am curious how believers justify god's actions in the bible. I don't ask this in an attempt to flame a debate, but how do JWs justify the fact that god condoned slavery and rape?

Slavery is universally accepted as an atrocity and morally wrong. Why would a god condone it?

It is morally disgusting for a father to offer up his daughters for a crowd to rape (story of Lot), but yet this is a "good morals" story in the bible? Or where is the morality and decency in asking Abraham to kill his son?

Has there ever been anything in the literature that defends this? How would you defend it? And please, don't say "we don't have the power to understand god". Rape is rape...slavery is slavery...they are just wrong.

30

Do you ENJOY these endless theism/atheism - faith/reason - creation/evolution debates?

by nicolaou in

.

sure i get frustrated when i have to explain for the bajillionth time just why atheism is not a belief or why it is possible to know some things with 100% certainty but despite all the exasperations i still count it as one of the rewards of freeing my mind and exiting the wt that i can argue so endlessly and freely.. even if some of you do get on my tits sometimes .

nic'.

unshackled

Evolution is a fact and it explains the diversity of life on this planet. But it shouldn't be confused that evolution answers whether there is intelligent being at the root cause of it all. You can accept evolution as fact but still believe in your god. I wouldn't suggest that but there should be no debate about the fact of evolution.

The reason there is a 'debate' is because the religions that base their theology on the bible, and the garden of eden creation story, need to cling to that in order to keep the 'business' running. The 'talking snake' religions already took their stance on the bible as fact, so when evolution and natural selection were discovered it threatened all that. They need to keep denying and lying to keep the cash flowing in.

Hence the general lack of understanding on how evolution works and what it is about. It has been set up as evil opposition to the believer's god and faith.

And it drives me crazy. We live in a delusional society that denies our history on this planet. Argh.

4

I have a hard time hearing JWs defend their Blood Doctrine

by sabastious in

to me there is no reason to let a child die, even if he/she will be resurrected.. i have some convos with jws about the blood doctrine and it gets my blood boiling!

(no pun intended).. no respect for life.

but i guess that's the point of being a jw, this current life is worthless so dying in it "in the name of jehovah" is more appealing then living it out to the end.. "abstain from blood.

unshackled

It is indeed sickening, Sabastious. I was just thinking about the "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" campaign from the 1920s (?). Where do you think those millions are now? Yep, dead. Sickening lies.

If a pharmaceutical company advertised a new pill with "take it, you will never die" they'd be ripped to pieces with lawsuits and FDA investigations. Or same thing for a gym that would promote a workout plan that will make you "love forever"!

What do they do to a church that promotes "you will never die"? Tax exemption! Yah for religion.

22

The fascinating mind of ANSELM (the man who proved God exists)

by Terry in

that one thing, of course, exists through itself, and so it is greater than all the other things.

so that than which nothing greater can be thought exists in the understanding.

but if it exists in the understanding, it must also exist in reality.

unshackled

Richard Dawkins in the God Delusion dumbed down the ontological argument with this playground banter:

"Bet you I can prove God exists."
"Bet you can't."
"Right then, imagine the most perfect, perfect, perfect thing possible."
"Okay, now what?"
"Now, is that perfect, perfect, perfect thing real? Does it exist?"
"No, it's only in my mind."
"But if it was real it would be even more perfect, because a really really perfect thing would have to be better than a silly old imaginary thing. So I've proved that God exists."

As philosopher Immanuel Kent pointed out, the key flaw with the ontological argument is Anselm's slippery assumption that 'existence' is more 'perfect' than non-existence. Even if we concede that existence is a property, it does not seem to be the sort of property that makes something better for having it. American philosopher Norman Malcolm explained it this way:

"The doctrine that existence is a perfection is remarkably queer. It makes sense and is true to say that my future house will be a better one if it is insulated than if it is not insulated; but what could it mean to say that it will be a better house if it exists than if it does not? My future child will be a better man if he is honest than if he is not; but who would understand the saying that he will be a better man if he exists than if he does not? Or who understands the saying that if God exists He is more perfect than if he does not exist?"

To myself, being no genius philosopher, it just seems to be a form of empty, circular logic. You could easily use the same argument to try prove that the almighty creator Flying Spaghetti Monster exists.

21

Have any of you asked your JW family why they started the kool-aid edition?

by serenitynow! in

i mean really asked why after all these years they don't want the public to see the study articles?.

has anyone ever challenged a jw to give the private wt to "worldly" people?.

i've asked my mom why they have the private edition and she gave me some crap about not having to explain terms or teachings to worldly people, then she kind of blew me off like it wasn't an important issue.

unshackled

Thanks for the clarification everyone. And for the link brotherdan...look at that, downloadable koolaid. Looking thru the latest Watchtowers gives me the heebie jeebies.

21

Have any of you asked your JW family why they started the kool-aid edition?

by serenitynow! in

i mean really asked why after all these years they don't want the public to see the study articles?.

has anyone ever challenged a jw to give the private wt to "worldly" people?.

i've asked my mom why they have the private edition and she gave me some crap about not having to explain terms or teachings to worldly people, then she kind of blew me off like it wasn't an important issue.

unshackled

Anyone mind filling me on this public and "private" versions of the WT? I left about 10 years ago, and the setup was 2 Watchtowers per month...with the study articles in those.What are they doing now? Thanks.