Posts by DarioKehl

284

I'm an ABSENTHEIST. Are you also?

by EdenOne in

it just dawned on me.

the existence of god can't be proved, neither is there evidence of god's inexistence.

so, i'm neither theist neither atheist.

DarioKehl

Belief in the absentee god is called deism.

40

The mathematical probability of spontaneous order (no designer/creator)

by Fernando in

there seem to be many prerequisites for life as we know it.. to name a few: order, function, compatibility, availability, sustainability, intelligence, consciousness, intuition and so on.. focusing on only one, namely order.. what are the chances of order arising spontaneously, by chance, with no creator/designer?.

i have often pondered this and recently came across a mathematical summary of the big picture:.

if every particle in the known physical universe (10^80 particles), participated in one trillion interactions (10^12 interactions) per second, for the entire 30 billion years of the universe's existence (10^18 seconds), then we would by now have covered only 10^110 permutations.. if you had only 100 components in a container, what are the chances that a blindfolded person could lay them out in order on a table?.

DarioKehl

Fernando:

You do have honest & legitimate questions that most people who have recently left religion will (and should) be asking.

All of the points you've raised, believe it or not, have been studied heavily and there are hundreds of peer-reviewed journals on those topics. However, for the average person, it's hard to even know where to begin the investigation--many science journals were only available on pay sites or university libraries until a few years ago. Even now, it is hard to slug through all of the pseudoscience/creationist/conspiracy theory pages that will come up on page 1 of a Google search.

Might I suggest a link for you? I'll provide it below. But first, I want you to think about something:

Evolution involves two equally important things. The first (and usually the only one focused on by religions) is random mutation. Every publication by JWs stops there. They only focus on the exceedingly unlikely probabilities that the final observed product could have resulted "by chance."

They ignore the second (and most important) part: natural selection. There is a SELECTION process involved. In every example you gave in your OP, I want you to imagine a selective process in the system. For example, if a million monkeys were banging away on keyboards for thousands of years, they'd likely not produce the entire works of Shakespeare. But, if a selection process were introduced that saved each correct entry by all 1 million monkeys and excluded the nonsense entries based on a template, you'd have the works of Shakespeare in no time!

so, what you should be asking is, "what's the template and where did IT come from?"

that, my friend, is where your journey begins. PM me if you have any questions. But for now, take a look at the information at this link:

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/abioprob/

25

Watchtower 'Experts' on Being Gay?

by jw07 in

have you seen this article?.

the watchtower is trying to be experts on all things having to do with human sexuality.. repressing sexual desires, gay or straight only creates more problems.. http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/teenagers/ask/pressure-to-be-gay/.

.

DarioKehl

Disgusting.

heterosexuals who must also "flee from fornication" still have the option to eventually marry. Gays do not. they never address this! Have a follow-up article every 2 years with advice on how to cope with knowing you must remain celibate for the rest if your life. But, they won't. On to the next article about "wholesome hobbies."

76

From 1 to 10, how do you rate the value of the Internet in your awakening?

by Hidden-Window in

jw
friends

as we all know, the internet is a real game-changer in allowing us to know the truth about the watch tower and its history.

i always had doubts and it was the internet that presented me with the ever-growing number of individuals who were going through a similar struggle.. i give the internet a 9 in my awakening.

what about you?.

DarioKehl

10. No question about it.

98

Is is Muslim terrorist cafe seige Sydney...hundreds of hostages! looks bad.

by Witness 007 in

lindt chocalate cafe martin place in city people pressed against the glass with hands up...this will not end well..

DarioKehl

OMG I hope Australia has "stand your ground" laws and this guy gets slaughtered where he stands. I hate ISIS so

much. Burn them all

98

Is is Muslim terrorist cafe seige Sydney...hundreds of hostages! looks bad.

by Witness 007 in

lindt chocalate cafe martin place in city people pressed against the glass with hands up...this will not end well..

DarioKehl

Link? I just tried searching for it online

26

One day Circuit Assembly Review !!

by DATA-DOG in

it sucked!!.

so what's going on in the borg!?

what have you missed??

DarioKehl

I went today as well. Wonder if we were at same one

43

Interesting Comment From an Active Elder

by DarioKehl in

i was recently speaking to an elder "off the record" while helping him do some house repairs.

i have a comfortable enough relationship to speak openly with him about things, but am careful to disclose the extent of my disbelief in wt doctrine.

anyway, this guy wouldn't last a day in the mafia because he can't keep anything confidential.

DarioKehl

Wow...

I've never gotten this many hits on a topic before. Yay me!

Yes, to reply to a few of you, this kind elder and good friend of mine is intelligent in every other area of his life. Sadly, he comes off as quite the simpleton when he puts his JW blinders on. It's so sad. I will definitely keep the board updated on this and other interesting conversations I have with people still inside. I have quite a few good ones, actually. People seem more receptive to examining the WT lately, especially if you're already in one of those crazy "speculation" discussions (for example: Clothes in the NS or not? Meat in the NS or not? Children in the NS or not? Horse and buggies or advanced hovercrafts? Resurrection inside of cloning chambers or upon Star Trek transporters?). You know the ones I'm talking about--we've all had 'em. When those get going, sprinkle a little bit of critical thinking into the mix. Ferment that lump with leaven. Then, stand back and watch it go to work. This approach seems to have worked well so far.

43

Interesting Comment From an Active Elder

by DarioKehl in

i was recently speaking to an elder "off the record" while helping him do some house repairs.

i have a comfortable enough relationship to speak openly with him about things, but am careful to disclose the extent of my disbelief in wt doctrine.

anyway, this guy wouldn't last a day in the mafia because he can't keep anything confidential.

DarioKehl

Oh yeah, Bobcat...

Thanks for your comment. As a nonbeliever, I hadn't even considered that option. Yes, the JW version of the ceremony is quite different in meaning than that held by the majority of Christianity. So, that would bring the total for the increase to 3 reasons: silent protest by those mentally out, silent protest by those who interpret the scriptures to mean everyone should be included and, of course, the delusional nuts who actually believe they're part of the 144K elect saved who will rule over the rest of our bitch asses lol.

43

Interesting Comment From an Active Elder

by DarioKehl in

i was recently speaking to an elder "off the record" while helping him do some house repairs.

i have a comfortable enough relationship to speak openly with him about things, but am careful to disclose the extent of my disbelief in wt doctrine.

anyway, this guy wouldn't last a day in the mafia because he can't keep anything confidential.

DarioKehl

I was recently speaking to an elder "off the record" while helping him do some house repairs. I have a comfortable enough relationship to speak openly with him about things, but am careful to disclose the extent of my disbelief in WT doctrine. Anyway, this guy wouldn't last a day in the mafia because he can't keep anything confidential. If I hang around him long enough and allow him to do most of the talking, I'll know about every juicy B-room detail.

Anyway, I decided to pick his brain a little. He never discusses doctrinal matters. One of the things I'll never miss about the JW lifestyle is the gossip. So, rather than listening to everyone's dirty laundry, I started the topic this time.

I asked him, "So, honestly, what do you think about all the changes that are going on?"

Elder: "Changes? What changes?"

Me: "Well, for starters, just compare everything today to 2007! We no longer have book study, Bethel properties are shutting down everywhere, the magazines releases were reduced in frequency and now volume, we have a totally different song book now with creepy music, the generation doctrine has been changed TWICE since then, the annual meeting announced that the slave IS the GB, they're pounding jw.org at every opportunity when the internet was all but forbidden not long ago, the word "brazen" has replaced "loose conduct" in all the newest literature (even though "loose conduct" is what appears in the sited scripture) and the publications have taken a much stricter tone with education and disfellowshipping!"

Elder: "Huh. Really? You think they've gotten stricter? I thought they've been getting much better! The end is so close and they're really trying to keep us alert!"

Me: "Not so fast. We have decades left now! The most recent understanding of "generation" means that there will be an "overlapping" of those living in 1914 and those who see the end."

Elder: (scoffs) "Well. Honestly, just between you and me, I don't think even they know what's going on right now. I think there is corruption all the way to the top. It's happened at headquarters before. Or, maybe this younger batch on the GB are mostly Pharisees."

[Ok, that blew me away. I couldn't believe he just said that to me. In my mind, party horns and confetti poppers where going off.]

Me: "Wow. You know, I've suspected that myself but never felt comfortable sharing it with anyone. I'm glad you said that. It would go hand in hand with their new light allowing them to consolidate authority from the "remnant," that would make sense! But, I have another reason for thinking we have decades left. Since 2007, the number of partakers has gone from around 8,300 to almost 12,000! What do you think?"

[At this point, I'm playing devil's advocate--a very dumb one. I have to play the role as a sincerly confused dub who's asking honest questions from an elder but my real motive is to get him to start thinking for himself and speak freely. He did. What he said next is pretty interesting.]

Elder: "Huh, really? I hadn't noticed that. Wow. Well... All I can say about that is, in my experience, any time someone starts partaking out of the blue, it's only a matter of months before they become apostate."

I was dumbfounded for 2 reasons. First, how could he be so naiive about all the major changes I'd mentioned that have happened since 2007? Second, how could he not have noticed the massive increase in partakers? This man is obviously under heavy, heavy indoctrination/mind control. Seriously. However, when I asked my questions, the look in his eyes showed a real "wake up" moment! Finally, the thing I found really interesting was his observations about new partakers going apostate. He's an elder who can't keep confidential things quiet, so I know he's speaking from experience. I'm wondering, if this is the case, is the reason for the increasing partakers mostly composed of delusional, megalomanical nuts who really believe they're annointed? Or are many closet doubters making some kind of silent protest? I do know of a few people who recently began partaking within the last 15 years or so (and these aren't people who were alive prior to 1935. These are people who started partaking in their 20s-50s) and they're all either totally nuts or have since left the organization. This elder may be absolutely correct.

Have any people here who are "still in" started partaking at JW Memorials as a form or protest or to screw up their numbers?