Posts by The Rebel

75

Evolution and Atheism - please help

by Fernando in

not being familiar with either, my question is:.

what is the relationship between evolution and atheism?.

i'd love to hear from anyone and everyone, and also from any perspective.. without limiting the conversation in any way, i would of course also appreciate comments that are simple, clear, direct and correct (as i don't have the capacity to do a phd in evolution or atheism)..

The Rebel

Fernando (Q ) What is the relationship between evolution and atheism?

Fernando. I would like to learn more about the stepping stones on the journey.

Well like you Fernando I don't have the capacity for a P.H.D in either subject, but I think :

a) They are both theories not facts.

b) They have both came about by information trading.

And with the Internet we can investigate such questions despite not having the capacity for getting a P.H.D . However the danger is our ability in knowledge sourcing as this can be challenging,

Anyway with the Internet religion can no longer force me to believe in the Almighty, because I can now get out of bed, and do my own research. And doing this I am no longer intolerant to the idea of Evolution, but I won't believe every theory because the scientists say they are right. That would be narrow minded and make me a traitor to the FREEWILL I now have, having left the Watchtower.

Most importantly it's fun learning about such topics, particularly on this board. I also think it worth mentioning if Genesis didn't happen, there was no origional sin, and in my opinion no Jesus, and therefore evolution destroys Christian theology, However I must confess I still find some of the theories connected with evolution absurd, but in conclusion I think Iam on the path of discovery.

The Rebel.

15

A question on natural selection

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

last friday my boy of ten was very late back from school, so i called the school, they called the police, and to cut a long horrible exsperience short he had been helping a younger boy fly his kite.. but what has occurred to me is that when orlando was 5 years old he was totally dependent on mummy and daddy, whilst horses, cats, birds and other animals are born and are independent within days.. so my question on natural selection is, how are we humuns still here?.

the rebel..

The Rebel

Last friday my boy of ten was very late back from school, so I called the school, they called the police, and to cut a long horrible exsperience short he had been helping a younger boy fly his kite.

But what has occurred to me is that when Orlando was 5 years old he was totally dependent on mummy and daddy, whilst horses, cats, birds and other animals are born and are independent within days.

So my question on natural selection is, how are we humuns still here?

The Rebel.

51

Why facts fail to reach the faithful, (even the intelligent ones)

by done4good in

jw
friends

i posted this on another thread, and decided it deserves its own...thoughts?.

an unfortunate artifact of evolution is that belief can, and often does trump fact.

survival is at the core of what belief is about.

The Rebel

done4good " the part of the two sentences lost in the ellipsis is key"

The Rebel, sorry about that, and I apologise if I inadvertently in my post took your comment out of context.

The Rebel.

51

Why facts fail to reach the faithful, (even the intelligent ones)

by done4good in

jw
friends

i posted this on another thread, and decided it deserves its own...thoughts?.

an unfortunate artifact of evolution is that belief can, and often does trump fact.

survival is at the core of what belief is about.

The Rebel

Done4good " humuns have developed a concience and the ability to reason.....,our most primal instinct is to survive first"

The Rebel:- I believe humuns like animals don't rationalise, they instinctively feel. Both animals and humuns " ethical and moral concience " even from the beginning of creation has been to sacrifice life for a sibling.

As for facts, I believe they are so far beyound the grasp of the humun mind, and we don't learn them from our parents nor our education system, anymore than we learn them in the nine months we spend in our mothers stomach. We leave our mothers belly and we learn to think and we learn to change our mind....

The Rebel.

Being bought up in a controlled environment....

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

i am amazed and shocked by this, founded in 2006 "seeking arrangements" dating site boasts 5 million members worldwide.

( a "sugar baby" is where rich men date younger girls).

top 3 university " sugar baby" students in england.. 1. kent - 724.

The Rebel

I am amazed and shocked by this, founded in 2006 "seeking arrangements" dating site boasts 5 million members worldwide. ( A "sugar baby" is where rich men date younger girls)

TOP 3 UNIVERSITY " SUGAR BABY" students in England.

1. Kent - 724

2. Cambridge - 704

3. Nottingham- 671

As an ex-witness I value an education, but if I had a daughter :-

A) I wouldn't want her paying for her education this way.

B) As a man I could never treat a woman like that.

C) I don't want to judge the " sugar babies" but selling yourself for an education to me is the same as selling yourself for a designer handbag, and I believe will effect true love in the future.

Anyway neither the man nor the sugar baby are doing anything wrong or illegal, so who am I to judge the morals of others? But I have awakened from my Watchtower hell to discover the society i now live in is a less controlled environment than I grew up in.

My question therefore is, HOW have YOU having left the organisation, dealt with alternative relationship models that we were told and believed were immoral?

The Rebel

70

how do most of you now feel about the military?

by sowhatnow in

was not sure where to post this, but i was curious, how do some of you now feel about the military?

would any of you let your children enlist, or would you yourselves join any military field?

how do you feel about the idea of women in the military?

The Rebel

A couple of decades ago, Sweden had a strong military. Then a strange thing happened and in 2000, the Swedish Parliment made a decision to cut the budget by half. And in 2004 25% of the military personal were let go.

Now I can only assume the Swedish polititians either:-

A) Do not imagine there is a need to defend the country.

B) They realise even if they had a large military, they couldn't defend themselfs against Russia's military.

Q) What are the advantages of Swedish military cutbacks?

A) The money has been spent on the health of the population, and giving the aged,sick and disabled a decent quality of life.

For many Swedish citizens there's no question this is a good thing, yet many citizens would prefer a strong military. My opinion it would be nice if we lived in the words of John Lennon....." and the world will live as one"

The Rebel.

6

Is a circle round?

by slimboyfat in

"christ, not this again!

there's a serious point to be made here however.

somebody published a study in the journal of personality and social psychology showing that disagreements about what constitutes a circle depend on your political perspective.

The Rebel

Slimboyfat (Q) is a circle round?

The Rebel (A) Maybe with a little " Circular" reasoning.

Slimboyfat " Quite literally , whether something is a circle or not depends on how you look at it!

The Rebel (A) In that case I am sure for many a circle is an ellipse.

Slimboyfat " And in a more radical sence, our view the "Whole " world depends on our perspective"

The Rebel (A) You may be right, or there may be some " Holes" in your thinking!

Seriously having left the W.T I have realised how much my perspective was wrong, and I am pleased my worldview my goals and attitudes to people have now changed immensely since leaving.

The Rebel.

11

Measuring my progress by past threads....

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

my conclusion is, i hope this site is :-.

a) first about solving practical problems of people leaving the w.t,.

b) secondly about if god exists or not.. so what have i learnt since reading my first posts from 6 months ago?.

The Rebel

Jan" So keep calm and thinking"

The Rebel, As a witness truth was written in books, whatever the G.B wrote was holy, but the truth is not in books, TO KNOW BOOKS SHOULD MEAN " KNOWING" AUTHORS, and this is hidden in the W.T and the science world of books. Anyway now, for me novels are better than W.T books, adventure books, better than science, but I still prefer the funny books to both.

The Rebel

11

Measuring my progress by past threads....

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

my conclusion is, i hope this site is :-.

a) first about solving practical problems of people leaving the w.t,.

b) secondly about if god exists or not.. so what have i learnt since reading my first posts from 6 months ago?.

The Rebel

My conclusion is, I hope this site is :-

A) FIRST about solving PRACTICAL problems of people leaving the W.T,

b) secondly about if God exists or Not.

So what have I learnt since reading my first posts from 6 months ago?

Well I am embarresed and amazed how I have progressed.( embarresed my spelling is still shit and amazed if my threads are still read) But more importantly I have learnt, it doesn't matter what we believe, what is important is that we can believe what we believe and respectfully be challenged. And my only rule is my words and thoughts are not by a dictator that says you must wear my "SWASTIKA"

So whilst Cofty, D.J.S, Slimboyfat, and others, MAY LEAVE ME MORE "CONFUSED" THAN EVER, with their thinking, I do appreciate, the effort they have made to a stranger in hyperspace. And the truth is I couldn't write to any of my " former" friends in the congregation with such honesty as I can on the internet. ( that would have been crossing THE NAZI LINE.)

So my final point is that we can't all express our thoughts, anymore than I the writer can even understood what I wrote, nor can I presume to understand that people can understand what I have written?

So how can truth and facts express itself in letters?

At least we are not FORCED to listen ,and put our HANDS up in public and READ, as we were in W.T land, ( particularly when we new it was bullshit)

So my question, how have you changed since your first post, on this site?

The Rebel

1

In appreciation of Compound and Complex

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

i have really enjoyed reading some of " compound and complex " old posts, i love his writing style, particularly his thread about appreciating " the natural beauty of your neighbourhood".

i won't embaress myself by attempting to write in such a beautiful style as "compound and complex" , and i won't embaress c & c by copying and pasting his words, but i will submit a little burt bacharach:-.

have you ever dreamed of a place.

The Rebel

I have really enjoyed reading some of " compound and complex " old posts, I love his writing style, particularly his thread about appreciating " The natural beauty of your neighbourhood".

I won't embaress myself by attempting to write in such a beautiful style as "Compound and Complex" , and I won't embaress C & C by copying and pasting his words, but I will submit a little Burt Bacharach:-

Have you ever dreamed of a place

Far away from it all,

Where the winter winds will never blow,

And living there things have room to grow.

...............

So what's the point of this O.P ? Well my point is, i love this forum, because I have learnt a lot, but it would be an even better forum if " Compound and Complex" honours it with more of his wonderful writings on " life" and the " natural beauty of his neighbourhood"

The Rebel