Posts by xchange

144

Escaping Indoctrination - Faith Isn't a Virtue.

by cofty in

the unknown writer of the gospel of john put the following words in jesus' mouth, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.".

persuading countless generations that it is a virtue to believe incredible things on insufficient evidence, is one of religion's cleverest tricks.. the more incredible the claim; the more flimsy the evidence; the stronger the belief; the greater the virtue.. this is the exact opposite of how we operate in every other aspect of our lives.. rational people must demand objective evidence for everything they are asked to believe.

"extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence".. leaving the dogmatic claims of the watchtower is only a first step.

xchange

mrhhome said: To re-iterate a point made in a previous thread, we worship the religion of science without understanding it.

Unfortunately, statements such as the one above, affects the overall points (not in a good way) that she/he is trying to make when they conflate the words 'religion' and 'science' together. Science is not based on faith. Faith is one of those words with many utilities in the English language. However, when a theist uses the word faith, he/she is merely saying "I am pretending to know things I don't really know". - (Peter Boghossian). That is why faith is NOT a virtue. It is not something that should be privileged in our society. Especially, for those in places of authority.

43

Coping with becoming an atheist?

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

its been a very eye opening experience for me to find out that the god of the bible is as real as thor or ra.

i still believe a higher power created life but can see now how it doesn't really care about us.

so with this in mind realizing one has only 70-80 years to live and that may be just it, is very stunning..

xchange

In becoming an atheist, I found that I had to cope with certain people closest to me and their disdain for my new found unbelief. I had to put up with a multiple of strawmen arguments concerning atheism - the very thing we see here on JWN by some posters.

For me, it was a stunning breath of fresh air in becoming an atheist. It game me a fantastic perspective on this life. Bottom line is, I didn't have to cope with being liberated from ridiculous archaic writings that are promulgated today, despite the fact we live in an age of modernity and human advancements. I mean, when was the last time you saw a Fred Flinstone 'foot' car on the streets.

18

Shepherd the Flock Book - Did Your Wife or Other Family Member Find It?

by jw07 in

those of you who served as elders, did your wife or other family members / friends find your secret shepherd the flock book?

how did they react?

how did you react?.

xchange

I showed it to my then wife. She was underwhelmed.

15

The official COSMOS thread

by Jon Preston in

jw
friends

so what does everyone think this far?

please theist feel free to add your opinions if you e watched so you can also appreciate certain facts weve learned....and hey theres speculation too!

but non judgmental speculation;-).

xchange

I think it's a great program! I'll disagree with some of the language used by some of the posters here. I don't adhere to the term 'dumbed down'. In all domains and fields, language is used very specifically and becomes esoteric. Language mechanics such as phrases, terms etc are not accessible to the majority. Language adapation to help those uninitiated in that domain. Even though I do understand scientific language very well, I'm glad for this program. The visuals, music and graphics (including the cartoons) is fantastic. Great production value! And it's pissing off creationists - my guilty pleasure ;)

127

OK..Seriously..Has GOD ever answered your prayers????

by DATA-DOG in

look...i am not an atheist.

even so, i have never had one prayer answered my entire life.

the only thing that would even come close was learning ttatt.

xchange

When I was in and being very sincere about having a relationship with god and praying almost everyday since I was a kid, my ratio of prayers being answered to none was 0:10,803 roughly.

What makes other so special and not me, I have no idea.

People asking god for money and getting it while multiple human lives are extinguished in that moment is a repulsive idea. Beaming with pride that they were so special to get this special treatment from their special god. In that moment, other people were praying for god to change the world, prevent innocent children from dying of starvation, warfare etc. But that person was so special in that moment that god decided to give them money instead.

Seems god has issues with allocating proper resources at the proper time. Maybe he should read that book he wrote to remind himself that he's suppose to be a loving, caring, just father.

If I'm walking down the street with my kid and she wants money to buy candy at the store and at the same time I see someone has been hit by a car and is lying on the street, what should I do. If I'm like god, I ignore the scene entirely and walk merrily into the store and grant my daughters wish.

69

Your Experience with Resigning as an Elder

by committeechairman in

i'm considering resigning as an elder.

i'm not planning to fade or stop as one of jehovah's witnesses, just stop serving as an elder.. i have responsibility in the congregation and in circuit, district, rbc, etc.

and i'm completely exhausted.

xchange

I was in a congregation with very few elders. When I told the body that I was no longer capable of serving anymore, they simply took me at my word. I said that due to family considerations it would no longer be feasible to continue on serving. Of course they offered to lighten my load (it was a lot) or even take a small break, but they never tried to coerce me into staying on.

One month later, I was gone. It was always my intention to just fade away. Every body of elders will react differently. In my case, they saw how determined I was and let it go at that. They didn't treat me any differently nor did anyone else treat me adversely.

The best part of it, other than fading away, was not having to contend with congregational issues, maintaining the school, judicial committees etc etc and how much more free time I had. That part was by far the best feeling I had in many years.

12

Take care, you educated heathens!

by Etude in

jw
friends

i think the jws gave this to the baptist.

.

xchange

Is that suppose to be a bad thing?

59

Goodbye and Thank You Jw Net (Last Post)

by Brother Mike in

jw
friends

i would like to thank everyone for the discussions that we've all had.

after all of them i have realized, all of you have made me realized that after all of the stuff i have been through, i just need a good friend.

and regardless of how hostile our discussion could get i have felt that you have all shared something with me that have helped me.

xchange

Thanks for all the fish?

304

Musings about different types of atheist!

by Seraphim23 in

jw
friends

a thought that occurs to me is that if one has the belief that all that is real is only explicable in terms of particles and forces, and that nothing exists that is not one of these, then good and bad doesnt exist either, the same would be true for any concept for that matter.

or perhaps it is only true when reduced to the level of matter and forces, but without the moral force, meaning and purpose that such a materialist only description would entail.

after all, if death is forever, which is materialist view, then what does it matter if a seventy or seven year old enters the grave?

xchange

Seraphim: If we accept atoms due to indirect evidence, why doesn’t good quality anecdotal evidence at least count toward keeping the mind open on such matters?

Because we don't accept anecdotal evidence when it comes to atoms.

304

Musings about different types of atheist!

by Seraphim23 in

jw
friends

a thought that occurs to me is that if one has the belief that all that is real is only explicable in terms of particles and forces, and that nothing exists that is not one of these, then good and bad doesnt exist either, the same would be true for any concept for that matter.

or perhaps it is only true when reduced to the level of matter and forces, but without the moral force, meaning and purpose that such a materialist only description would entail.

after all, if death is forever, which is materialist view, then what does it matter if a seventy or seven year old enters the grave?

xchange

I'm an atheist (weak, strong or whatever). I've had spiritual experiences. Or so I thought they were 'spiritual' at the time.

That was when I was in a religious/god/jesus mode. So of course I thought it was a metaphysical phenomenon that I was experiencing.

Turns out that once I started to carefully critique my thinking on the matter (god) and over time found myself outside of that theological framework, I saw things differently.

Funny how learning biology, psychology, neurology, physiology, etc will shed a different light on matters.

It's like owning a car. Some people will hear a ping coming from the motor and speculate endlessly on the cause. While others will undertake learning more about engines. How motors are built, how they run, and how to identify the cause the ping based on a working knowledge of the engine. Unqualified speculation versus actual knowledge.

So I'm not afraid to say on this board that I've had experiences.