Posts by Half banana

8

Michael Cremo and the book Fobbiden archaeology

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

it my understanding that he's claiming that humans have lived on earth for millions of years.

it looks as though he's even showing different archaeological findings to support his claim.

he seams to be claiming that other inferior humanoids could not created some of the things found and i guess modern scientists would agree on that single piont.. its also if interest to find out that his religious beliefs maybe behind his ideas.

Half banana

Last night I was in Westminster Abbey at a concert and during the intermission I looked down and found I was standing on Darwin's grave! Darwin was a scientist who used evidence as the basis for his world shattering big idea.

Writers and their books with ludicrous titles such as Forbidden Archaeology are a waste of time if you are seeking to learn something useful.

The evidence is that humans 'morphologically' i.e. with the same basic shape as us, goes back in the scientific record to around a quarter of a million years before present. Since these examples of early african Homo sapiens skulls were only the specimens found by scientists it would indicate they would have existed earlier evolving alongside other 'hominins' i.e human related species but their evidence has not yet arrived. It would be reasonable on the evidence available so say that H sapiens therefore is at least 250 000years old and probably arose another 50, 000 years before that.

4

Marx had it right - religion is a drug

by berrygerry in

watching the head-bobbers at a meeting, or as my ex would always say "wasn't that a great meeting?

" there simply must be a chemical, hormonal reason for someone to sincerely enjoy sitting through 2 hours of regurgitated, puréed bullshit.

mri's confirm what religious manipulators exploit.. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/sex-drugs-ancient-scrolls-scientists-9356777?service=responsive.

Half banana

The WT drug has staying power, it’s like ’getting’ Communism and looking forward to the world communist revolution to come ...but never did and like Big A, never will. But the believer is hooked and constantly needs the WT weekly fix to keep going.

45

Why Did JWs Abandon Brooklyn for the Sticks?

by Room 215 in

i may have missed this, but can anyone tell me what was the pretext the gb concocted to justify their abandonment of a perfectly suitable, high-profile, high-visibility complex in what is arguably the world's greatest metropolis for the bucolic isolation of upstate new york.

any how does the move square with their purported belief in the imminence of armageddon?

.

Half banana

If the JW claim of divine guidance were true their message would be true and they would not need to move.

But the whole deceiving organisation is based on the lie that Armageddon is forever just around the corner.

By selling up in NY city, it frees up money for them to further their interests in gaining even more influence and wealth from their snake oil doctrine which I call: The perpetual imminence of God's Day of Wrath. And what a money spinner it is!

19

Looking for a bit of advice in a difficult situation

by Oversteer in

jw
friends

i'm looking for a bit of guidance here and not really sure where to turn.

maybe someone has been in a similar situation and can help me out.. currently i'm an awake, baptized jw.

have been for a few years.

Half banana

Oversteer, your altruism is admirable, to lose a chunk of your own liver for a relative is no small sacrifice.

Compatibility test first then if suitable:

From the perspective of the medics, they will be aware of the difficulty which confronts JWs when it would normally be recommended to use blood in a procedure. Surely a part liver transplant would demand blood. The doctors also know that when push comes to shove, many if not most JWs will take the transfusion on the understanding that the doctors knowing the patient's predicament will not let on to the relatives that a transfusion has taken place. This usually applies in the UK, it might be worth knowing if it is the case for your sibling's doctors.

The first issue is the person's life weighed against their compliance with what they have been led to believe is "God's law".

Second, whereas you wish to help, your own anti JW position on blood will be exposed which will have hefty social consequences .

Third if you permit your donation to your sibling he/she will see it as being able to live only by complicity with sinful anti-JW thinking.

Your sibling's instinct is to lose life rather than get mixed up with a non JW style resolution. Whereas blood is the safest and quickest means of recovery from serious operations. You can give them a tangible hope of a future life, the Watchtower's hopes have never been realized.

Can you explain the whole background of obedience to this JW org has all along been a waste of life? Probably not... and in this particular life and death situation the JW instinct, after years of indoctrination, is for them to simply conform to the demands of the cult.

I imagine that unless you can convince your sibling of the bigger picture, you are likely to be keeping the whole of your own liver.

Of course you are the one who is in the unenviable position to make up your mind on the matter but your sib is under great pressure to perform as an obedient JW. A person who has been trained to give all to the WTBTS and people when under such immense pressures are less likely to make rational decisions.

So might the answer be to have a further calm long talk with your bro/sis to get them to see reason and if unsuccessful from your position, you can still retreat knowing that you gave him or her your best?

It must be in their interest to listen to you and surely they would agree to keep silent on the matter of your disagreement with the WT on account of your willingness to help?

How sad it is that irrational thinking puts people into this dangerous medical dilemma in the first place, however I wish you the best, whatever choice is made.

138

Jehovah God is Real

by TakeOffTheCrown in

there are many on this site that do not believe that jehovah truly exists; that he is not a real being.

but, he is as real as next breath you draw into your nostrils.. some of you say that there is no evidence that he exists.

yet, none of you can prove that he does not exits.. cofty, (you come to mind), i appreciate that you have stated, without reservation, that you do not believe that god exists.. yet, you cannot prove it.. hope in jehovah..

Half banana

You're welcome here TotC!

Yahweh, the Canaanite deity, had sixty nine brother gods who were the sons of El. El's female consort was Ashera. The Bible records some of the pantheon of brothers; notably Chemosh... (Now for goodness sake, why not worship him instead?) Later Ashera became associated with Yahweh as his consort as well but in myth this sort of migration of identity is the norm because we are dealing with stories not reality.

In fact it is a test for determining myth to observe whether the characters are transfigured from one person to another. Real people never become other people! The local horned deity Yahweh could not become the almighty creator.

So there Yahweh sat, hands on the top of the knees, fingers pointing straight forward, a bovine headed idol with impressive curved horns, carved in wood in imitation of the gods of their overlords the Egyptians.

Then about the sixth century BCE, influenced by the emerging Classical world it was realized that the stylish Egyptian gods were just expressions of the personality of the nameless almighty God who is ineffable, omnipotent and NAMELESS (as they were led to believe). So the Israelite priestly elite got the local peasants to destroy their handmade idols and follow the new game in town of ‘invisible’ gods.

For the Jews this involved death and worse for those who didn’t agree with their tribal deity, who they stressed, was much given to defending the “new light” of monolatry. Isa 13,16

Please note it was monolatry, the worship of one particular god, which arrived in Israel at this time, monotheism came many centuries later. The death dealing rhetoric of the early part of the OT is driven by this revolutionary change of viewpoint from pantheism to monolatry.

Since there is no concrete evidence for any god having ever lived, Jehovah is only as real as non-inquisitive, uninformed and easily led people want him to exist.

It's not a sound idea to base your life on invisible non-entities.

29

Dr Monica Applewhite's evidence rejected by Australian Child Abuse Royal Commission

by jwleaks in

australian child abuse royal commission rejects dr monica applewhite's evidence and testimony.. [quote] dr applewhite acknowledged that her report did not identify the basis on which she had formed her opinions.657 she accepted that her report failed to identify the ‘current standards’ of other religious organisations658 or which ‘religious organisations’ she referred to in writing her report.659 dr applewhite told the royal commission that her understanding of material provided to parents and families about sexual development in children by other faith-based organisations was ‘anecdotal’.660.

dr applewhite accepted that it would be difficult for the royal commission to accept the opinions expressed in paragraphs 36, 45, and 46 of her report because her report did not identify the basis on which those opinions were formed.661.

we do not consider that dr applewhite’s report and the opinions expressed therein assist the royal commission in its inquiry for the following reasons:.

Half banana

I agree steve2, Monica Applewhite must have tarnished her credibility as an expert in her own field of social problems and sexual abuse cases. Also it must call into question the integrity of the company she works for Park Dietz and Associates of Los Angeles who call themselves “forensic lawyers”.

Applewhite’s blurb on the Park Dietz website says she is an expert in “root causes” of sexual abuse and has studied 1800 cases. The questions arise as to why she jeopardised her otherwise impeccable credentials for this particular client the Watchtower? Was she bamboozled by their charm or taken in by highly detailed in-house documents specially prepared for her?

The issue under investigation was not the causes of sexual abuse but the way the WT org handled the incidents. Perhaps she was not well equipped for this aspect of the hearing and therefore the wrong lawyer to defend the religion...but then she was the choice of the WT or the company who supplied her services?

Any individual or company who is asked to defend the JW org could learn a lesson from this that it will not turn out well for them.

16

I've been embarrassed so many times!

by stillin in

i was kind of proud to go out in field service, most of the time.

important message, straight from god to their doors, right?.

but if you met with the group and didn't have previous arrangements, you could end up with the village idiot for a companion.

Half banana

Any group of humans will have "fringe" people but the JW org is a magnet for them.

I remember how a young man with autism would usually be put out in the field service with an older single sister who would quietly mumble an incoherent message to the householder. I used to ponder what picture of JWs they must have given. Both of them were complete innocents but had borderline communication skills.

They would never make an impact in preaching but a charitable view would be that they gained satisfaction in acting like the others in the looney Watchtower social club.

16

The Metropolitan Museum Oasis Bible Tours in NYC

by Beachlover in

jw
friends

i just came home from a day in nyc and was taken to the met for the the woman and her offspring tour i went to keep peace and just enjoy my family.

i've been to the metrpolitan museum of art on many occasions and have enjoyed spending time wandering thru the exhibits appreciating the art and history.

since all family members wanted to do the tour by the wts entitled a woman and her offspring, i thought i could just follow along and just enjoy the art and exhibits.. in all honesty, i'm still amazed at this whole tour.

Half banana

Darkspilver, thanks for info. I am a frequent visitor at the BM and the incident I reported would have been a midweek visit. I never normally go on Saturday which is when they must mainly be operating.

It is a clearly defined method which the GB use to immerse their flock in a state of permanent idolisation of the Watchtower and the Bible. Don't let the flock use their brains for even one moment in case they see the hideous flaws in the indoctrination.

16

The Metropolitan Museum Oasis Bible Tours in NYC

by Beachlover in

jw
friends

i just came home from a day in nyc and was taken to the met for the the woman and her offspring tour i went to keep peace and just enjoy my family.

i've been to the metrpolitan museum of art on many occasions and have enjoyed spending time wandering thru the exhibits appreciating the art and history.

since all family members wanted to do the tour by the wts entitled a woman and her offspring, i thought i could just follow along and just enjoy the art and exhibits.. in all honesty, i'm still amazed at this whole tour.

Half banana

Beachlover, well done for keeping your cool. The JW org is just a delusion based on the ignorant belief that the Bible (and GB) alone hold vital truth for mankind.

About four years ago I was in the British museum and came across such a group as you attended held in the hearing of passing visitors and tourists. I believe that the tour guides were pioneers getting in their field service time and hence it was a public "witness" as well.

But oh! what irredeemable drivel...there he stood, the enlightened one, in a temple of tangible evidence and human learning, holding aloft the NWT, telling the world and his wife that whatever you see in the museum is only of secondary importance to what it says in the Bible.

I wanted to vomit over him as I walked by but decided otherwise. They seem to have stopped these ridiculous indoctrination sessions at the British Museum.

63

"Just around the corner." The dumbest song that I have ever heard..

by DATA-DOG in

i'm at my quasi-thanksgiving dinner with relatives.

i hear a haunting sound from another room.

"is that a children's song?

Half banana

Now sing-along with the GB:

"Paradise is forever round the corner........."