Posts by DarioKehl

108

do you believe in karma?

by SpiceItUp in

jw
friends

we have all heard the cliche' "what goes around comes around" but do you really believe it?.

i know this person that for many years has been unkind, devious and vengeful and then over more recent years has had bad luck everywhere they turned around.

i mean one thing after another.

DarioKehl

no. i believe people remember the hits and forget the misses.

the human brain is hard-wired to automatically search for patterns within random noise or mistakenly assign significance to vague or random stimuli.

even though things like these happen, spilling coffee in my lap on wednesday has nothing to do with upsetting a coworker the previous week. giving a bum change will not make my job search any more successful.

each of us do good things and bad things, intentionally and unintentionally. each of us experience daily crises and successes. believing that there is causality or meaning to them is flawed thinking. it's an illusion. anyone can play connect the dots with multiple unrelated events and assign a special significance to an apparent connection, but, there are far more other ways in which these connections can be arranged. our brains find the ones that appear to make sense.

i do it all the time even though i know it's woo. but when left unrestrained, very dangerous things can happen. case in point: that terrible book "the secret" was responsible for ruining lives and destroying the confidence of many people because it tells you that if you just "will" or "believe" or "think" about things happening, the "energy" (GOD pseudoscientists love that word, don't they?) connected to the universe will "realign" your future and those wishes will simply "create" the desired outcome. it's pure BS. think of all the good people who suffer and the wicked who seem to have it all so easy. for every example of "karma," you can easily find a dozen of examples refuting the idea.

uncomfortable, i know. but welcome to the world of reality!

20

New World Translation Assaults on Language and Phrases that Always Wigged Me Out!

by DarioKehl in

i listened to the august 4th episode of the healingxjws podcast where they interviewed a former jw circuit overseer.

he shared many great examples of how original meanings (especially poetry) were lost in this terrible translation.

it's worth listening to.

DarioKehl

In that same podcast episode, the guest talks about the lost meaning of the poetry quite a bit. The NWT translators were so analytical in selecting things word-for-word that the ancient cultural context (and beauty, mood and tone) of the poetry was obliterated. The Song of Solomon is a perfect example. I always HAT-ED talk #2s from that book because the direct translation into English is absolutely ridiculous. "Your breasts are like towers" probably had a greater cultural meaning in original Hebrew but I dare anyone to snag NWT SoS verses like that and use them in pickup lines at a club. See how far you get!

6

Reuters Story; Worldwide drop in "Religiosity" since 2005.

by Balaamsass in

by tom heneghan, religion editor.

paris | wed aug 8, 2012 1:41pm edt.

paris (reuters) - traditionally catholic ireland has registered almost the steepest drop worldwide in people calling themselves religious in a new survey tracking international trends in faith and atheism in recent years.. only 47 percent of irish polled said they were religious people, a 22-point drop from the 69 percent recorded in the last similar poll in 2005, according to the win-gallup international network of opinion pollsters.. average religiosity in the 57 countries included in the poll was 59 percent, a decline of 9 points since 2005, it said.. at the same time, the number of people declaring themselves to be convinced atheists rose from 4 percent worldwide in 2005 to 7 percent this year.

DarioKehl

exxxxcellennnnnt...

41

Is Fading Emotionally Taxing?

by Aware! in

jw
friends

i don't think i could handle a fade.

sooner or later the truth would be found out.

i have yet to come out, but when i do, i'll probably da myself without telling anyone why.

DarioKehl

hey, Aware!

i sent you a PM.

20

New World Translation Assaults on Language and Phrases that Always Wigged Me Out!

by DarioKehl in

i listened to the august 4th episode of the healingxjws podcast where they interviewed a former jw circuit overseer.

he shared many great examples of how original meanings (especially poetry) were lost in this terrible translation.

it's worth listening to.

DarioKehl

I listened to the August 4th episode of the HealingXJWS podcast where they interviewed a former JW Circuit Overseer. He shared many great examples of how original meanings (especially poetry) were lost in this terrible translation. It's worth listening to. Although I'm an atheist, I enjoy listening to other Xian podcasts and the hosts of this podcast are very much Xian. I dismiss the entirety of the bible because I think it is truly an awful, hateful, reprehensible book. However, I like to hear other theistic perspectives on JWs and their NWT of the holy scriptures. I figure, if I'm going to debate JWs, atheism is not the most effective route. If a doubting dub still has a strong leaning to spiritual things, it's best to get on their level and use other theistic reasoning points--and there are many! GOOD ones, too.

One thing this guest brings up is a question that bothered me a lot in high school. This was way before I doubted god's existence, but I did have profound "but what if we're wrong" fears. I honestly wanted assurance that this belief that I'd never ever die was reliable! One of the things that always scared me was the phrase "to times indefinite." Now, this exCO really nails that down. JWs NWT just assume "to times indefinite" means "forever." But there are plenty of examples in the NWT where "to times indefinite" is used when "forever" is clearly not meant. My big fear was, "how do we know that living in the new system 'to times indefinite' means 'forever?'"

Another phrase brought to my attention from other Xian podcasts is the substitution of the word "grace" for "undeserved kindness." That clearly shows the pathology of the "inspired" translating committee, doesn't it? It sounds so guilt-ridden and burdensome. "Grace" is loving, warm and mentally freeing. "Undeserved kindness" just makes a person feel bad. Imagine getting a Xmas gift---ooops, wait... bad example---ok, imagine getting an ANNIVERSARY or GRADUATION gift (since those are the only things allowed) and the person presenting it to you reminds you that it's "undeserved" because everyone has anniversaries and graduates. It just conveys a sense of "you're nothing but a piece of $#!+, but I'll do this for you anyway." It reminds me of getting a flat tire on the road, in the rain and calling a friend or family member for help.

They may reply: "Oh sure! Yeah, man, are you ok? Where are you at? I'll be right there, no problem."

but, in NWT speak, it would go: "*SIGH* ...really? How did THAT happen? Did you DRIVE over something you weren't supposed to??? Well... I JUST put the meatloaf in and sat down in my robe and slippers for Jeopardy!, but, I GUESS I can get you. It'll take a while, though, I mean, I've got my hands full! And dude...YOU OWE ME BIG TIME."

Which one would you rather hear at the other end of that phone call? The WBTS, GB and their nasty NWT make god and hay-soos out to be bigger dicks and @$$holes than they already are!

What other words UNIQUE TO NWT have you always had a hard time with?

8

Common Cult Vocabulary Compared To Phenotypes

by DarioKehl in

jw
friends

tonight, i watched the season opener of the new show on the nat geo channel about the religious colony in montana (usa) called the hutterites.

there is also another fantastic show called amish: out of order.

both shows focus on ex-members or people inside wishing to escape and follows them as they adjust to their new lives on the outside.

DarioKehl

...crickets.

Does this mean my hunch is correct? Or is this an incredibly stupid topic? lol

107

Please someone, explain scientifically how an omnipotent,omniscience,omnipresent,almighty GOD came from nothing

by smiddy in

only scientific responses needed smiddy

DarioKehl

"The Earth is supported by 2 elephants standing on a large turtle."

"But what is the turtle standing on?"

"It's turtles all the way down."

The whole "never had a beginning" idea is a massive case of special pleading and leads to an infinite regress--both fatal when used in a debate and creationists use them all. the. time.

8

Common Cult Vocabulary Compared To Phenotypes

by DarioKehl in

jw
friends

tonight, i watched the season opener of the new show on the nat geo channel about the religious colony in montana (usa) called the hutterites.

there is also another fantastic show called amish: out of order.

both shows focus on ex-members or people inside wishing to escape and follows them as they adjust to their new lives on the outside.

DarioKehl

Tonight, I watched the season opener of the new show on the Nat Geo Channel about the religious colony in Montana (USA) called the Hutterites. There is also another fantastic show called Amish: Out of Order. Both shows focus on ex-members or people inside wishing to escape and follows them as they adjust to their new lives on the outside. Having recently met and befriended an ex-Seventh Day Adventist and in speaking with a few ex-Mormon friends, I noticed several common terms that all of these groups share with JWs. Two terms came up in the Hutterite program tonight AND the Amish show a few weeks ago:

"Frowned upon"

and

"...if the elders find out..."

a few others that are shared with LDS and SDA are:

"disfellowship"

"heavy petting"

"worldy"

"the group (organization/colony)"

"brothers and sisters"

"like-minded"

"independant thinking (in a pejorative sense)"

and "what will others think?"

"family study (or family Bible reading/family home evening)"

Each of these groups originated independantly, separated geographically or by a few decades. But all seemed to originate in the late 1700-1800s. I'm interested to know how these groups developed similar vocabulary having never crossed paths with one another. Granted, the SDA and JWs share common ancestry with the Millerite movement, but the other highly controlled groups are almost hermetically sealed from outside influences. Are there any sociology people who wanna chime in with their theories on how this phenomenon may have arose? This was actually one of the big wake-up moments for me. When I discovered that JWs were actually not that different from many other "false" religious groups, it blew my mind. I finally realized, "Hey wait a sec... we are not really all that unique from all the other oddball religions out there!" That was a huge boost to my mental exit from dubland. And after hearing our new Kingdom Melodies, nothing ever sounded more "churchy" to me before.

My theory is this: Religions evolve too. Analogy: There are north American wolves and Australian wolves. The difference is, the Australian wolves are marcupial as are most Australian mammals. That trait is unique to Australia and a few other tiny coastal areas facing Australia in the southern hemisphere (eastern S. America); evidence that the 2 land masses were connected at one time and that all the marcupials share a common marcupial ancestor. The American wolf and Australian wolf are not even closely related. They arose within 2 entirely different branches of evolution. However, both the American and Australian environments positively selected for specific phenotypes. In other words, both locations had environments that provided a suitable niche for species that were wolf-like. I think these separate offshoots of religions developed the same way. Within their cultural environments, each group deemed it necessary to develop similar vocabulary to ensure the survival of their religion from generation to generation. Agree? Disagree? Gimmie your thoughts, I'd like to hear what you guys have to say.

14

We Are Witnessing a New Enlightenment Age

by DarioKehl in

jw
friends

good day, everyone.. i choose not to post much, but i enjoy lurking several times a day.

i haven't seen anyone remark on the growing trend of apostacy globally, specifically within the last year.

i mean apostacy that's not just among jws.

DarioKehl

Good day, everyone.

I choose not to post much, but I enjoy lurking several times a day. I haven't seen anyone remark on the growing trend of apostacy globally, specifically within the last year. I mean apostacy that's not just among JWs.

NatGeo and Discovery have done several fantastic programs lately. I Escaped a Cult is one series, but perhaps the most moving and well-balanced program is the newest called Amish: Out of Order. Has anyone seen this program yet? I have saved every episode and am amazed at how much similarities there are between JWs and the Amish. On May 29th, they will do a program about the Hutterites. It's a matter of time before they do one on JWs. The Amish forbid photography and the Hutterites are extremely reclusive. ...BUT, they managed to get documentaries to run on these networks. Certainly, they will cover JWs at some point in the future. With South Park making fun of Mormons, Islam, Catholics and Scientology, it's just a matter of time before they reach the JWs. IMAGINE what that would do to kids and young adults still inside. Come on...those people sneak and watch South Park all the time, even if their family says it's verboten. What would happen if JW youth saw a South Park episode satire about JWs and their history? I'm talking about people who probably would never research an apostate web site or visit a forum like this. That would be HUGE. And so would a doc on NatGeo. I'm telling you, it's coming!

When I first began to awaken in 2007-2008, I remember the same few dozen YouTube Channels devoted to Ex-JW issues. However, has anyone noticed YouTube absolutely lighting up since last spring? If you search "Jehovah's Witnesses" under the "today" filter, you will see 5-12 new videos posted DAILY.

To what do you attribute this? It's obviously not exclusive to JWs. There are many new Ex-Mormon posters as well. NatGeo certainly sees relevance in this increase of apostacy and has at least 3 successful programs dealing with the subject. It's so weird because it's all happening at the same time from my perspective. It feels like once I chose to investigate TTAT and realized it wasn't for me, suddenly, the illusion of being all alone was proven false. Now, 4 years later, I see many, many more making that leap just within the last 12 months.

Have any of you noticed this, or is this just an illusion from my own unique perspective? For people who left in the 80's and 90's and even the early 2000's, was it a more lonely exit for you compared to someone who decided to leave in 2007-2012? It certainly seems that way to me. It's a perfect storm right now for a mass exodus. Growing secularism is available in libraries, internet, billboards, youtube... And for JWs, there is the tightening stranglehold with all the recent angry rhetoric coming from WBTS that most fence sitters find unappealing. Couple that with smart phones and the ability to research anything from anywhere with no fear of discovery, and I think we will see not just WBTS, but ALL major religions drastically lose membership over the next 10 years. I belive the exodus for all churches will force major doctrinal changes, new recruiting measures and perhaps an easing up on all the doom and gloom from WBTS...unless they're in kamikazi mode.

Comments?

57

The real identity of the F&DS revealed...any news yet?

by Aussie Oz in

recently barbara posted the update on the unthank case and mentioned that more would be revealed soon on the real identity of the faithful slave.. has it been revealed yet?

have i missed it?.

been looking, hoping!.

DarioKehl

well, according to the recent WT, we don't "NEED" to know!