Posts by Half banana

2

A question from across the pond

by stillin in

jw
friends

my wife and i visited england a couple of years ago.

did a bunch of castle tours and cathedrals, etc.

lots of beautiful architecture over there.

Half banana

As far as I am aware although available in all of the UK and Ireland, the tradition lives on mainly in the north of England.

Blood sausage is called black pudding and is most usually encountered as an addition to a fried breakfast as I knew it before I became a JW. It contains lumps of soft white pork fat or beef suet giving it when sliced, a mottling with somewhat regular shaped white bits. I find the the taste pleasant but as discussed on this site not long ago-- many ex JWs understandably seem to have their taste buds on high alert when trying it!

89

Do you believe in god?

by freakyAL in

i used to be a staunch believer in god.

maybe its technology and science advancing so much thats got me doubting idk.

do you believe in god?

Half banana

The best we can do in a few lines in determining whether a god is relevant is to work from these two conditions with which the ‘believer’ is likely to agree.

1 That God created all things including humans.

2 That God created pathogens which cause suffering and kill humans.

Answer this question: If you are a loving parent would you desire your children to suffer?

The facts of human experience, testify that if a god exists, then he is a sadist and therefore not worthy of our allegiance.

However since no god ever has interacted with mankind, there is no god worth bothering about.

50

The wonder of scientific research

by amicabl in

this has possibly been brought up before however here goes.. constant reference is made by many posters to scientific research as being the only way to prove something factual that would otherwise have to be taken on faith.

there actually seems to be "faith" in scientific findings.. my experience over many years is that most scientific research is fake.

nothing oftencomes of the big announcements made to raise more money.. money, prestige, pride, human error, suppositions etc., are rife amongst the scientific community.. i realise that there have been many advances over hundreds of years but humankind is in a mess, although very different to even a century ago.. the medical profession now has vaccinations for everything, antiviral drugs etc.

Half banana

Science is at the forefront of pushing the boundaries of our understanding of our universe. Its tools are capable of almost infinitely extending the five human senses.

What was considered hidden or exotic science two hundred years ago is now commonplace fact. Building on proven reality, science represents one of the greatest achievements of humanity, it is driven by the irrepressible curiosity of the human mind.

One of its weaknesses is the fact that is sometimes performed by egocentric operators; some of whom claim credit for their students or other's work or attempt to massage results in favour of a breakthrough. Notwithstanding that human weakness sometimes impinges on scientific papers, the peer review usually catches out the few who are dishonest.

As democracy is the best for fairness in politics, so the scientific method of openness, testability and peer review is to the best method humans have devised to grasp the workings of the cosmos.

I suggest anyone should attempt to read science rather than sensational press messages. Although I read scientific things (I am no scientist) perhaps its not for everyone?

7

Great Simulator to Demonstrate How Evolution Works

by Simon in

fascinating - setting up some simple rules and a way to apply evolutionary pressure and the creatures learn the best way to run:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gofws_hhzs8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31dsh2fs1iq.

Half banana

You're right, it's really fascinating. A plausible analogue of the real thing.

13

Captain Obvious: A Success Story

by Captain Obvious in

january 2012, at the age of 24 i “woke up” to the truth about the truth.

march 2012, i joined this esteemed message board and was welcomed.

this forum was such a help.

Half banana

Well said and well done Captain Obvious!

You can also be glad you didn't waste too many years in the JW swamp, you still have a long and free life ahead of you.

20

How do they get away with "New Light"?

by moreconfusedthanever in

one thing that bothers me greatly is the fact that they can change their policies and beliefs and just say its "new light" and no one bats an eyelid.. there are many scriptures such as isaiah 40:8 "the word of god will last to time indefinite.

" or hebrews 6:18 "it is impossible for god to lie".

if he is "spirit directing" the borg then there should be no need for new light..

Half banana

OC quoted this unknown apologist JW

I can assure you that the study discipline of JW is readily comparable to a high-quality academic education in the US

How he lies and how the Watchtower lies by using the deceptive statement! He sucks up to the Org and he is dishonest. Yet he is able to lie because very few JWs would realize what “scholarship” is.

Scholarship involves finding and proving the authenticity of source material, motive for its creation, its context, past interpretation, archaeological finds, the historical cultural and political matrix, comparable texts and most importantly a discussion of the reasons why the assertion is not true. These are among some of the demanding criteria for evidence for any claim or statement in scholarly terms. It has to be available to others in the same academic field who will tear it to shreds if the rigorous standards of logic and consistency are not sustained.

The JW cult leaders have created a dumb following who are trained by constant propaganda to believe whatever they are told without questioning it.

HQ says "new light" and "God cannot lie" and the Witnesses believe and follow like sheep to the slaughter.

There can be few large organisations (apart from other religions) which depend on so much bare-faced deception and lies as the JW org.

19

Look what I got for five bucks...

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

i think i've found the one true religion!.

.

Half banana

It's a bargain; everlasting life for five dollars!

But then this must be offset by the psychiatrist's fees for getting rid of the cognitive dissonance...........

16

Why I constantly write letters to the Watchtower Society

by UnshackleTheChains in

hi all.. for many years now, i have been writing letters to bethel in new york and london.

i have also written to the charity commission, the bbc and more to highlight the harmful teachings and policies of the watchtower society.

i realise that some may view this as futile and understand why they might feel this way,; especially considering the pharisaical stonewall-like attitude displayed by the leadership of watchtower.. some reasons i do so is because i feel that constructive criticism is essential in helping to bring about change.

Half banana

Well done Unshackle but I do think that your letters to outsiders such as the charity commission and the press are better directed.

I'm not so keen for improvement within the Org; surely it is better that there are fewer authoritarian bodies misleading millions of innocent people based on false premises?

According to their perceived 'divine mandate' of being Gods earthly agents it would be impossible for them to accept instructions and ideas from outsiders and most especially from apostates. (But now I think of it they have done so before regarding several doctrines,"the great crowd" interpretation was one such).

When we do see them yielding to some form of democracy then we will know they are becoming desperate for survival, the next step will be to siphon off all of the remaining wealth before they scuttle the good ship Watchtower.

33

The Second Coming of Christ

by maccauk in

the second coming of christ was in the 1st century at the destruction of jerusalem the temple the law and the old covenants.

so the new eternal covenant came into force in which people of every tribe tongue and naation would enter into.

the new jerusalem not built by human hands nor with bricks and mortar its spiritual cannot be seen but people will stream to it the sin issue is done there is no more judgment for those in christ .

Half banana

It is impossible to arrive at a set of incontrovertible doctrines drawn from the Bible.

49

Dietary Quirks Among JWs

by millie210 in

i recently had to accompany an older family member out of state to a family reunion.

it was a big reunion and not much was overtly made of the fact that i am "misguided" and not attending meetings (lost soul that i am) which was nice.

the thing i noticed that i was most struck by was all the dietary quirks in evidence during our 3 days together.

Half banana

Gluten intolerance and other allergies are very real, sometimes fatal and have nothing to do with being highly strung as you say Sparky.

Among JWs as for many outside the cult, individuals hear of problems others have with certain foods and because of their reputation (like gluten) they avoid them as if this information will benefit them also. I remember a stupid sister who ate all and any medicines since she reasoned that medicine was there to help you. It is this sort of thinking which drives superstitious people to collect food fads and prohibitions. When I was a JW I did find JWs were most susceptible to this type of thinking but through lack of of data it would be hard to compare the frequencies with the general population.