Posts by Knowsnothing

12

I don't like genocide

by nancy drew in

jw
friends

the other day i was thinking again about what was at the core of my feelings about the wtbs and i realized that i don't feel right about anything that requires genocide for it to exist.

when i think about the "paradise earth" relying on the death of 7 billion humans or the hebrew scripture loaded with extermination orders for anyone who got in the way i feel a wave of unhappiness.

during the time i was in the org i kept thinking surely at the end of the 1000 years happiness won't exist on the backs of 99% of humanity.

Knowsnothing

I don't like it either, Nancy. I also didn't like the prospect of "screw up once in paradise (once you're perfect), and die."

7

WTBTS environmental impact: Printing Production - Worldwide

by bats in the belfry in

221,746 trees per month are felled.

"in wallkill, every month some 1,400 rolls of paper arrive at the printery, which uses some 80 to 100 tons of paper a day".

during 2008 the printery received "requests from the 12,754 congregations of jehovah's witnesses in the continental united states and 1,369 in the caribbean and hawaii".. the watchtower, 2009 7/1 pp.

Evolution disproved by 11 year old niece

by StopTheTears in

jw
friends

mary: what's evolution?.

me: well it's kinda complicated.

they think plasma gave birth to monkeys which gave birth to humans.

Knowsnothing

Stopthetears is a JW apologist. Check out this thread. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/210223/1/Stop-and-consider-God

Or, just click on her name and see all the threads she's started. I think, however, that no one is as bad as godrulz. He was the messiah troll of all evangelical trolls.

63

Circuit Assembly Confronting Apostate Challenge

by watson in

jw
friends

well, i sat thru day 2 of the latest circuit assembly.

instead of having the co or do re address the "generation" confusion, they had a couple of brothers do a demonstration.

mocha break out in service, weaker brother mentions he's tired....all of the changes lately, the confusing new understanding of that generation, et al.

Knowsnothing

Halting, nervous...I was more confused when he was done. There was a strange feeling that just hung over the audience when they were done.-Mr. Watson

Just proves they have nothing to defend, nothing to say. If this religion were the real deal, such things would be addressed to satisfaction. Instead, the audience was like.... WTF? And then, the forced clap at the end of demonstration.....

384

Atheism 2.0

by Qcmbr in

apologies if this has been posted before or even discussed.. this ted talk gets at the heart of what atheism is missing and my wife an di discussed this for a long time last night.

in short religion provides a framework for meeting, for ritual, for art, education and sociality.

without this framework atheism can seem lonely harsh and certainly disorganised (the general idea that education and culture can replace the gap may well be true but without a formal structure the route to personal mental fulfillment is somewhat piecemeal and patchwork.

Knowsnothing

So I ask again, regardless of how ludicrous and unbelievable a belief is, can we not find a common ground? Can't we work together?

Ultimately what harm is a belief that is only belief?

384

Atheism 2.0

by Qcmbr in

apologies if this has been posted before or even discussed.. this ted talk gets at the heart of what atheism is missing and my wife an di discussed this for a long time last night.

in short religion provides a framework for meeting, for ritual, for art, education and sociality.

without this framework atheism can seem lonely harsh and certainly disorganised (the general idea that education and culture can replace the gap may well be true but without a formal structure the route to personal mental fulfillment is somewhat piecemeal and patchwork.

Knowsnothing

Here are my thoughts. I don't care what other people think or believe. As long as it doesn't go to a fundamentalist extreme, who cares if they think their invisible sky man hates me as a non-believer?

As Qcmbr stated, religion has also had a good impact such as bringing people together for a common purpose. Religion has also inspired art. When you see a painting of Job with ulcers, of Christ crucified, of the Burning Bush, etc., you can immediately relate to the picture. It doesn't matter if it's real or not.

I'll give you an example. If JW's didn't believe so dogmatically and didn't disfellowship people, wouldn't you mind hanging out with them as people? Who cares what their world view is.

So ultimately, to me, it is a question of extremes. Fundamentalists go to extremes to say it is written, so it must be so. Militant-atheists argue religion is bullshit and worthless and actively villify, not only religion, but the religious (as some posters have exhibited)

Why can't we find a common ground? We all share this one earth and it would be great if we could work together. Not everyone is intelligent. Not everyone has taken a college course on biology, geology, astronomy, etc. Just because people lack knowledge and believe in things that aren't real, doesn't necessarily make them dangerous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhq-yO1KN8&feature=related

79

Can you be in Love with two persons? My Dilemma...

by Intel in

first, don't laugh.

i'm not some adolescent teen that is confused about his relationship.

what i am going to relate here has become a maior hard ship and is really gnawing at me.

Knowsnothing

Thinking of the long-term is what usually helps me in these situations. Your suffering and pain is very real now, but what about your kid? How will he grow up? Also, having a young girlfriend is nice, but as the years pass, how will the relationship hold up? Everything is fine and dandy now.

Even if you were never to find the happiness you once had with your former wife, the fact she is making strides to get out of the religion and make contact with you again is big. If you told your wife you want to get back with her, would you tell her about your girlfriend? How would she react?

Your in a tough situation and I hope you can sit still and think realistically for a bit. Clear your mind and look for the best solution. Don't wait too long either, hesitance could hold you back on making the decision you need to make.

45

Corny Joke Thread

by MrFreeze in

here's the corny joke thread.

post your favorite corny joke thread.

that means no quality jokes!

Knowsnothing

What do you call a fly with no wings?

A walk.

126

This Made Me So Thankful I am No Longer A Christian

by cofty in

i was following some links researching something to do with my condition when i came across this article by the well known christian author john piper called "don't waste your cancer".. if i had still been a christian when i got my diagnosis i would have been subjected to these sort of pious platitudes.

here are a few gems, read the full article if you wish but not on a full stomach.. .

cancer is not wasted when it is healed by god.

Knowsnothing

Cofty, did you ever see that episode on Futurama about Bender being left out in deep space and becoming a god to a small population of microscopic smurf look-a-likes? And then Bender encountering a galaxy that is god? I'm not saying it's necessarily true or applicable, but it's another way to look at the problem of suffering.

I would hope rational people wouldn't look at suffering as something to exhalt god. You, nor anybody got cancer because it was god's purpose. Like you said on another thread, shit happens. People get sick. It's the world we live in.

5

The internet may be dead soon.

by Knowsnothing in

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/english_wikipedia_anti-sopa_blackout.

today, the wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the english-language wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide, beginning at 05:00 utc on wednesday, january 18 (you can read statement from the wikimedia foundation here).

the blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the united states the stop online piracy act (sopa) in the u.s. house of representatives, and the protectip act (pipa) in the u.s. senate that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open internet, including wikipedia.. this will be the first time the english wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this nature, and its a decision that wasnt lightly made.

Knowsnothing

Can you imagine websites like Google getting shut down because they have merely 1 piracy breach?

The effects would be devastating. On Google, you can sign a petition. Just click on the censor bar.