While religious people act "holier than thou", atheists act "smarter than thou". Even when speaking with an atheist who is obviously not very bright, he makes it clear his mere association with atheism makes him more logical and intelligent. Sound familiar? While their arrogance may be of a different sort, it's equally annoying. Of course, atheists don't see it thusly, as democrats don't see Jon Stewart as an obnoxious ideologue and republicans don't see Rush Limbaugh as a pompous windbag.
WontLeave
JoinedPosts by WontLeave
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Why do Americans still dislike atheists?
by behemot inby gregory paul and phil zuckerman (washington post).
long after blacks and jews have made great strides, and even as homosexuals gain respect, acceptance and new rights, there is still a group that lots of americans just dont like much: atheists.
those who dont believe in god are widely considered to be immoral, wicked and angry.
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Association: Am i being lied to?
by roxanesophia ini don't hesitate to bring up with the girl i study with, my criticisms of the religion, and one of those is the association.
i keep reading on here that jw's don't make friends outside the cult, and this is what i used as an excuse for stepping further away from being baptized.
she tells me it's not true, and they can have what ever friends they want.
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WontLeave
The ultimate goal of JW higher-ups is to completely control every aspect of your life, as their puppet.
If they print an article that says the human heart muscle controls emotions, you must believe it. If they print an article that says Jesus was clean-shaved, you must believe it. If they print an article that says you can't get your tubes tied, you must believe it. If they print an article that says you must avoid any education beyond what's mandatory, you must believe it. If they print an article that says you can't go down on your spouse, you must believe it. If they print an article that says you can't accept an organ transplant, you must believe it.
Many of these articles will be printed as "suggestions", but you'd better believe they'll be seen as commands. Since the Watchtower is "God's mouthpiece", ignoring a suggestion in the Watchtower will be seen as disobeying God. No matter how nutty, arbitrary, or demonstrably false a Watchtower suggestion might be, you must obey it or be seen as "spiritually weak" and may get you "marked". If you're in the wrong Kingdom Hall and the elders are on a real power trip, something completely acceptible in another Hall could get you disfellowshipped.
There are many, many articles about "bad associations" and basically that boils down to anyone who isn't a JW, any literature the JWs don't produce, any music the JWs don't produce, any movies the JWs don't produce, etc. Depending on how much they want to micromanage you, it can be nearly anything and whether any of the elders do anything to stop the witch hunt will greatly depend on your popularity or political clout in the congregation.
Any Witness who tells you anything different than this is a flaming liar, trying to score points for the "organization", believing it to be God. There is a very good reason people on forums like this call JWs "the Borg". On Star Trek, the Borg have no independence, no friends, no thoughts or emotions that are not completely controlled by the 'collective'. "Good" JWs are not people, but part of a hive. "The individual" isn't a concept JWs comprehend. Every breath you take and everything you do must be for the good of the hive, and ultimately for the promotion of the collective, which only rewards and enriches the leaders. Outsiders do not contribute to the cause, so they are to be avoided. Anything that will distract you from living your life for the seven old men in Brooklyn is to be shunned.
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just listened to the talk including counsel on social networking
by therevealer init is one of the dumbest talks i have heard.
this brother communicated with a woman who offered/suggested a meeting with no commitment involved.
they met and he commited fornication.
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WontLeave
Every JW I've ever known who got into trouble over fornication did it with someone from the Hall. I guess that anecdotal evidence means we shouldn't attend meetings. I hate the "experiences" these morons give. Out of 7M people, we can find every potential outcome as evidence of about any point we want, to cherry-pick with a predetermined goal in mind.
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The April 15th (current) Watchtower. Could it be more blasphemous?
by Slidin Fast instartfragment.
this article:- do you discern the evidence of gods guidance?, equates the faithful and discreet slave with moses.
moses, according to the scriptures spoke directly with god and was gods spokesman to the israelites.
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WontLeave
They're close! The Pharisees sat themselves on the seat of Moses, and Jesus had nothing good to say about that, so that can't be right. There's no clear, perfect direction or evidence, so they're not the pillar of cloud/fire. Aaron had the urim and thummin to help him make decisions, so they can't be him, since their decisions are all over the place and don't make sense. But something in that ballpark is definitely closer... I'm thinking the ancient Jewish equivalent of the Governing Body is either Korah or the golden calf. I'm still torn as to which. Maybe the GB is Korah and the Watchtower organization is the golden calf.
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names of 144000 to be read in paradise?
by agent zero infirst day back at work after attending the dc.
the one with 12 baptized (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/211447/1/great-crowd-of-12-people-get-baptised-at-district-convention).
i must have been dozing off during the part in question, but after the sessions someone told me that in the question and answer segment with the speaker from bethel, they said that there have been anointed ones all throughout history, and that in the new world their names will be read from a list.
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WontLeave
It would be so awesome to watch the Governing Body, standing in line between velvet ropes, while an angel is reading the list. They shove to the front and demand they're on the list. The angel shuffles some pages, looks up and says "Nope. Step aside, please."
Of course, the GB members would demand to speak to God (Since they've already decided they're equal to Jesus, they wouldn't stoop to speaking to him). The angel mutters into his cuff, then says "He'll be right down."
God comes with a huge book, glances at the angel's list, then opens the book. The GB guys see the book says "Book of Life" on it and start looking at each other. God looks up at them and says, "Here's the problem. You're not on the VIP list, because you're not even on the master list. I'm so glad you guys brought this to my attention. Hey, Michael! You have your flaming sword on you?"
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A Thing About Language and Thought Processes...
by AGuest inand particularly old/ancient languages (may you all have peace!)..
some often comment as to why i "speak" as i do when i post certain things.
i received from my lord why that is: according to him, in order for one to understand what certain words/passages meant... and/or what was meant by them... what their speaker/author intended... one has to know something of the language... and the thinking behind the words.
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WontLeave
So far, we have a messiah (Larsinger), a god (fernidad), a few Bible scholars (djeggnog, maze, etc.), several people who are in communication with the Holy Spirit on a regular basis (godrulz, ixthis, etc.), and a prophet (AGuest).
Is it just my imagination or is there a hell of a lot of crazy on this forum, lately? Studies have shown JWs have 10-15 times as much mental illness as the public and I'm starting to think this is where the ones who are even too crazy to be a JW go.
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What do you think about the "United Church of God"?
by tia.dalma inhere is a link to their main site.
http://www.ucg.org/.
i've read a little about them and they do not believe in trinity, and have similar believes as jehovah's witnesses.. they also try to keep all ten commandments, in addition to that.. i did not research all their doctrines, but a lot of them look familiar to me.. what do you think?.
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WontLeave
There are a few churches that have about the same right:wrong ratio as JWs. Unitarian Universalists, United Church of God, Christadelphians, etc. Don't bother; there is no "true" church, only true followers. No group leads to salvation and no group has it right.
I actually sent an email to the United Church of God about their blatant misquote of the Jewish Encyclopedia concerning "between the evenings". I checked their citing of the material and it directly contradicted what they said, so I called them on it and sent them a real excerpt. I got the exact same non-response, copy-and-paste reply one would expect from Bethel. They even used the same false quote from the source I was bringing to their attention they'd lied about in the first place. This is identical to the total disregard the Society has for truth and facts, in favor of their own authority and assumed "faithful and discreet slave" status.
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My You Tube Video on 1914
by cantleave ini am getting into this video making thing..... looking for ideas for new ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh5uj8tyelg.
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WontLeave
Since you're already putting stuff out there, want to do a video version of my paper on the Memorial being on the wrong day? It probably wouldn't be such a big deal, but they go out of their way to deny the Jewish day of Passover to adopt a false, fringe view. Of course, in typical JW fashion, they turn over every rock to find some "expert" to agree with them, so they're fighting for Nisan 14, when it's supposed to be on Nisan 15. I'm not quite ready to stick my face on the Interwebs just yet.
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Proverbs 3: 5-6
by sleepingbeauty in.
trust in jehovah with all your heart, and do not lean upon your own understanding, in all your ways take notice of him & he will make your paths straight... prov 3:5/6.
this scripture is the scripture that made me blindly accept everything .... because it specified that i not lean upon my own understanding i did exactly that.. is there any particular scripture that you took to heart that kept you blind?.
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WontLeave
I always looked at that scripture in complete amazement, how they could read those words, but then act as though they say:
Trust in the literature with all your heart, and disregard everything your brain and senses tell you. In all your ways take notice of us and we will make sure you toe the company line. - Borg 3:5-6
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