Posts by unshackled

79

Why I no longer believe the Bible is "God's Word" and I no longer believe in "God"

by lifeisgood in

jw
friends

i became a christain at the age of 9. not by going to a church or asking a preacher to baptize me, or anything like that.

i started reading my mother's king james bible cover to cover at the age of 8. my father was very abusive and when he was abusing me, i would close my eyes and pray.

i never hated my father, which is one good thing i got out of prayer.. when i turned 13 i became a lay preacher and traveled, on my own, preaching in any church that would let me.. when i was 15 i studied with the jws and was baptized after four months of study.. i was a zealous christain but not a zealous jw, according to them.

unshackled

No offence but there are a whole lot of misconceptions in there:

While capitalisim was not the cause of 9/11, American imperialisim ( according to AL Queada) Was, not religion.

Aids would NOT spread if people practiced what religion advocates in regards to sex: Abstanince and monogomy.

No offence taken. If you type it, prepare for it to be scrutinized.

Can't say I agree those statements point out any misconceptions. Your points too can be scrutinized and argued back and forth. For instance, I think Al Qaeda's hate of the US is very much rooted in religion, they are the infidels that must be fought for Allah. Imperialism and foreign policies are just a catalyst. Same with the church's stance on abstinence and monogamy...."sex is sinful" is a whole other debate.

But anyways, those topics could be an entire thread on their own. For another day.

All in all, when it comes to the saying - "but for good people to do evil things, now that takes God and religion" - yes it seems we all agree there are other means to accomplish this. But I was noting that PSac and Tec came to the defense of religion, eager to point out it isn't the only cause.

But if someone started a thread that said this: "but for good people to do evil things, now that takes capitalism" ...I doubt you'd be so passionate as to jump up and make the same point. Defending capitalism from being "thrown under the bus" like you did with religion. I think the reason is that because you have biblical beliefs with no affiliation to any religion, but you still feel threatened if someone attacks religion in general.

I'd be more likely to agree if you were eager to defend your own spirituality, and not religion.

79

Why I no longer believe the Bible is "God's Word" and I no longer believe in "God"

by lifeisgood in

jw
friends

i became a christain at the age of 9. not by going to a church or asking a preacher to baptize me, or anything like that.

i started reading my mother's king james bible cover to cover at the age of 8. my father was very abusive and when he was abusing me, i would close my eyes and pray.

i never hated my father, which is one good thing i got out of prayer.. when i turned 13 i became a lay preacher and traveled, on my own, preaching in any church that would let me.. when i was 15 i studied with the jws and was baptized after four months of study.. i was a zealous christain but not a zealous jw, according to them.

unshackled

Unshackled... lol... by clarifying that there are other means that make good people do evil things, you are declaring that you do not believe in that original statement.

Now that is just petty semantics. But since you went there....you accused me of stating that it is untrue. I never stated it. It was your interpretation that I implied it. There is a difference. And further to the point the statement is: "But for good people to do evil things, now that takes God and religion." Note that it doesn't say "there is no other possible means that makes people do bad things, ONLY religion." If I say "it takes politics to make people do bad things" that doesn't say there are no other possible means.

Religion for me takes a spot in the top three things (though I would not blame all religious people for the actions of some religious people). But it has nothing to do with wanting to defend all religions. It just has to do with wanting to be honest and see/speak about things clearly and truthfully.

Again, I consider religion the #1 cause of people doing bad things. There are others, but I feel quite honest and truthful in believing religion deserves the main share of the blame.

79

Why I no longer believe the Bible is "God's Word" and I no longer believe in "God"

by lifeisgood in

jw
friends

i became a christain at the age of 9. not by going to a church or asking a preacher to baptize me, or anything like that.

i started reading my mother's king james bible cover to cover at the age of 8. my father was very abusive and when he was abusing me, i would close my eyes and pray.

i never hated my father, which is one good thing i got out of prayer.. when i turned 13 i became a lay preacher and traveled, on my own, preaching in any church that would let me.. when i was 15 i studied with the jws and was baptized after four months of study.. i was a zealous christain but not a zealous jw, according to them.

unshackled

Tammy...not sure where I stated this statement is untrue: " But for good people to do evil things, now that takes God and religion."

To clarify, I agree there are other means that make good people do evil things. Capitalism does that, war does that. BUT on a top ten list of things that make good people do evil, religion takes the #1 spot.

Now, the question I have....what motivates you to WANT to defend all religions? Why do you need to try so hard to apologize for it? From the sense I get from yourself (and PSac) on this forum, is that your type of belief systems are harmless. The world would be a better place if all believers were like you two. But you also don't seem to like organized religion. So why bother standing up for it? Far as I can tell, you don't have much to do with it.

Guess I can't connect those dots.

9

New Urban Legends?

by Pika_Chu in

has anyone heard this one before?

it's similar to the one where the angels are supposedly protecting this woman out in fs.

a brother/sister knock on someone's door, the guy answers it, his familiy are huddled into a corner, crying.

unshackled

This isn't new but recall one from years ago...details are fuzzy...in a country where JWs are oppressed by the government they have to operate in secret. Three brothers are walking down the street, one of them is about to turn them in to the authorities, but a bolt of lightning takes him out right then and there.

So absurd to type that....but as a kid remember believing that completely.

79

Why I no longer believe the Bible is "God's Word" and I no longer believe in "God"

by lifeisgood in

jw
friends

i became a christain at the age of 9. not by going to a church or asking a preacher to baptize me, or anything like that.

i started reading my mother's king james bible cover to cover at the age of 8. my father was very abusive and when he was abusing me, i would close my eyes and pray.

i never hated my father, which is one good thing i got out of prayer.. when i turned 13 i became a lay preacher and traveled, on my own, preaching in any church that would let me.. when i was 15 i studied with the jws and was baptized after four months of study.. i was a zealous christain but not a zealous jw, according to them.

unshackled

It's a numbers game that no one wins, but if you want to compare atrocites commited by believers VS those commited by non-believer, go right ahead.

I stand by the statement...throughout history it has been religion that has coerced more people to do bad things than anything else. Has capitalism ever caused a group to fly airliners into a building for their capitalist beliefs? Has it caused the massive spread of aids because a church says birth control is bad? Has it suppressed women for centuries?

The point I'm making is that when one points out the atrocities of religion, they take it personally as if their beliefs are being attacked. Then stand behind all religious beliefs to defend their own particular one.

79

Why I no longer believe the Bible is "God's Word" and I no longer believe in "God"

by lifeisgood in

jw
friends

i became a christain at the age of 9. not by going to a church or asking a preacher to baptize me, or anything like that.

i started reading my mother's king james bible cover to cover at the age of 8. my father was very abusive and when he was abusing me, i would close my eyes and pray.

i never hated my father, which is one good thing i got out of prayer.. when i turned 13 i became a lay preacher and traveled, on my own, preaching in any church that would let me.. when i was 15 i studied with the jws and was baptized after four months of study.. i was a zealous christain but not a zealous jw, according to them.

unshackled

PSac: Fascinating and it has been prove to be incorrect over and over and the 20th century is a prime example of such. But go ahead and keeping saying it, they say if you say soemthing enough and enough people believe it, then it must be true.

Sure there are other means that coerce good people to do bad things. But religion is hands down the tried and true champion of that...with centuries of proof.

When believers feel the need to apologize for and defend religion they are never defending ALL religions, only their own.

30

Recognizing Christ's leadership involves submission to his "brothers." 5/15/2011 WT

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

i hesitated to do this thread as i thought it was the same article flipper did, but its not the same article.

here's flip's thread for those who missed it.

it's a must read.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/207377/1/april-15th-wt-wt-society-says-obeying-us-is-same-as-obeying-god.

unshackled

That article reeks like a gas station bathroom just used by Gary Busey after a weekend bender in Tijuana.

41

Where does my DNA go when I die?

by sabastious in

jw
friends

when i die my consiousness ceases to exist, but the matter that makes me does not cease to exist, it merely changes form.

dna is where all the "data" that makes me is stored, so where does it go when i die?

what smaller parts does it break down to over time?.

unshackled

I hear ya. In my mid-thirties and feel like my life is just now starting after de-programming (well, still de-programming). Appreciate my life but still have regrets about the past. Especially not taking education/career seriously earlier in life.

41

Where does my DNA go when I die?

by sabastious in

jw
friends

when i die my consiousness ceases to exist, but the matter that makes me does not cease to exist, it merely changes form.

dna is where all the "data" that makes me is stored, so where does it go when i die?

what smaller parts does it break down to over time?.

unshackled

Besides my son and my wife my life could be considered a curse so far.

I can relate to that feeling Sab, think I know what you mean. Have spent too many days feeling that way. A byproduct of having been indoctrinated with the JW bullshit I suppose. But whenever I do catch myself thinking that way I get frustrated and correct myself with a reminder along the lines of what cofty said...

Sab would it not be more satisfying to just accept that you already won life's lottery be being born at all?

54

Am I the only one who felt sorry for adam and eve?

by Joliette in

jw
friends

the witnesses always blame everything on adam and eve (besides satan).

for some reason, when i used to look at the my book and bible stories when i was little, i used to feel bad for adam and eve?

its kinda like getting mad at a baby for making a mistake.

unshackled

I thought I was just isolating myself with the Ackbar postings.

Nah, this should be a forum rule: all Star Wars references are welcome, at any time, on any thread. Excluding Jar Jar Binks.