if you were to read the watchtower literature and you believed it to be the exclusive divinely inspired interpretation of the bible, i suggest that you would not be learning anything useful, instead you would simply be absorbing the indoctrination of the jw org..
what is the difference between indoctrination and education?.
take any passage from the watchtower this sentence for example which assumes significance in the end of six thousand years of human history in 1975: “how then does this fit in with god’s timetable?”.
@Ucantnome, JWs for the most part are not stupid but they are deceived or deluded.
Religion appeals to the emotional aspects of our being often at the expense of the logical. Humans can find emotional drives more powerful than any knowledge of the cosmos which might seem detached or merely abstract... but our feelings are what we live with and what we colour the world with.
It takes some growing up to step outside of a purely emotionally driven life.
i've been using the forum to vent and post a lot more frequently lately as a venting purpose & way to obtain peace of mind with the craziness i've been going through recently as i fade away form the org.
anyways today i'm sitting here at work and thinking to myself about demons... ok i know this sounds crazy but has anyone else out there been traumatized by the thought of demons?
i had a dream the other night, just flat out spooky and i woke and couldn't help but feeling it may have been evil ole' satan and his demons at it again.. i don't want to believe that, (trying not to, & just brushing it under the rug so to speak) but have any of you out there been talked up about demons?
i've been using the forum to vent and post a lot more frequently lately as a venting purpose & way to obtain peace of mind with the craziness i've been going through recently as i fade away form the org.
anyways today i'm sitting here at work and thinking to myself about demons... ok i know this sounds crazy but has anyone else out there been traumatized by the thought of demons?
i had a dream the other night, just flat out spooky and i woke and couldn't help but feeling it may have been evil ole' satan and his demons at it again.. i don't want to believe that, (trying not to, & just brushing it under the rug so to speak) but have any of you out there been talked up about demons?
The threat of a devil and demons is a fantastic way to get people to conform to a religious doctrine. The JW org play this card all the time. If you don't do what we say you are pleasing Satan... This is so childish, so black and white! Real life is not like this.
JWs and the early christ sects for that matter, made just the same warnings. It's a psychological trick, as they say: talk of the devil and he bound to appear.
Once a person researches cult religion and its mind control, it becomes apparent that these infantile methods work on the people who do concern themselves with the devil, those who have been held back in their education and natural development. Mature humans don't worry about invisible spirits unprovable fears and threats from another dimension, the real world has enough to worry about!...but our unfounded fears can be conquered.
Life is better than you think once you have shaken off the Watchtower mindset.
time to take a break from debating religion.
take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?
how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?
with the increasing number of young ones leaving "the truth", it is critical to brainwash them regularly from young!.
monday, may 16. the one who has dealings with the stupid will fare badly.—prov.
13:20.. a child could drift away gradually on a spiritually dangerous path, being tempted by harmful association or degrading entertainment.
"Have dealings with the stupid and you will certainly fair badly." Prov 13:20
Been there and done that with the Watchtower organisation.
i have thought about writing this article for many years, and the awake!
2014 no.4 was the final straw.
there it states that jehovah's witnesses show no prejudice towards homosexuals, and "they neither mock nor mistreat people whose practices differ from their own.
I think that the Los Angeles Times science correspondents need to do some research to understand what they are reporting. The article on twins DNA whilst comparing results of different research, tends to assume that homosexuality must be epigenetic and its a matter of finding it. A genetic cause of homosexuality had been sought for a number of years since genes falsely appeared to be the answer to all biology questions.
Yet it would be with good reason, not to expect to find a specific 'homosexual' gene because exclusive homosexual activity so programmed in any species would soon render its bearer's lineage extinct. Which is another reason why at birth, sexual preference need not be differentiated, just the impulse for sexual activity must be latent in the newborn. This does not imply that same sex preference may indeed be found to be caused or influenced by epigenetic factors.
The other article from the same newspaper on a 4500 year old Ethiopian was all over the place and made little sense so it might be better to look to the scientific data in the first place rather than rough journalism.
@ Balaam's ass, funny how God is so obsessed with regulating human sex...
I have an idea that the gay Bethelite is often trying to resolve the terrible dilemma he suffers from by using the anti gay rhetoric to reinforce his determination to battle it out inside the organisation. I imagine most fail. It must be dreadful.
i have thought about writing this article for many years, and the awake!
2014 no.4 was the final straw.
there it states that jehovah's witnesses show no prejudice towards homosexuals, and "they neither mock nor mistreat people whose practices differ from their own.
I think that the Los Angeles Times science correspondents need to do some research to understand what they are reporting. The article on twins DNA whilst comparing results of different research, tends to assume that homosexuality must be genetic and its a matter of locating it. This had been the case for a number of years since genes falsely appeared to be the answer to all biology questions.
Yet it would be with good reason, not to expect to find a specific 'homosexual' gene because exclusive homosexual activity so programmed in any species would soon render its bearer's lineage extinct. Which is another reason why at birth, sexual preference need not be differentiated, just the impulse for sexual activity must be latent in the newborn. This does not imply that same sex preference may indeed be found to be caused by epigenetic factors.
The other article from the same newspaper on a 4500 year old Ethiopian was all over the place and made little sense so it might be better to look to the scientific data in the first place rather than rough journalism.
@ Balaam's ass, funny how God is so obsessed with regulating human sex...
I have an idea that the gay Bethelite is often trying to resolve the terrible dilemma he suffers from by using the anti gay rhetoric to reinforce his determination to battle it out inside the organisation. I imagine most fail. It must be dreadful.
time to take a break from debating religion.
take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?
how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?
Xanthippe, virtually no pink at all in the apple blossom even in the bud! What variety is this? It normally it indicates the native wild apple of the hedgerow. A thing of beauty nevertheless.
Heaven, I have drunk dandelion 'coffee' which is made from the root but not yet eaten the flower. Would you recommend it? The French name for it is a bit off-putting!
Did you know that the dandelion reproduces asexually?
here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.
i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.
which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.
Well said Spiral, a fumbling,casual, whimsical god who gives mixed messages and lives apparently with no tangible evidence for his existence. Worse still he claims to zap those who don't believe in him or misinterpret his message.
Truly I'm very glad there is no such thing as a god.
If there were... it would be hell on Earth if his Bible is anything to go by; being scrutinised for error, fearing punishment and lacking the freedom of humanity which has come through philosophical thinking, passing learning down the generations and democracy.
Thank goodness there is no god!
As a JW, I heard others talk about being so pleased that they had an intimate relationship with Big J, talking to him all the time and relying on him for everything...I felt deficient, just couldn't get the hang of it, I never felt close to a spirit Thing even as a pioneer. Yep it's insane!
i have thought about writing this article for many years, and the awake!
2014 no.4 was the final straw.
there it states that jehovah's witnesses show no prejudice towards homosexuals, and "they neither mock nor mistreat people whose practices differ from their own.
Just one point I would like to make, it's more of a technicality than anything else and may not appear to help the case but it is best to get things right if we can.
A person is born homosexual; it is not a choice
There is no evidence that the first part of this statement is true. From genetics we learn that at birth the individual's sexual proclivity is not differentiated or determined. There is no test which could determine that a baby is born homosexual or heterosexual.
Nevertheless the second part of the statement
It is not a choice
still holds true. Our sexual interest becomes apparent from an early age ( I remember at three years old being electrically attracted to the opposite sex) but it comes not through deliberate choice or external forces so far as anyone knows or can measure.
Life is so interesting!
