Posts by JonathanH

151

Why do I no longer get attacked and persecuted by the demons, since I left JW,s ?

by pedal power in

jw
friends

most jw.s really believe that they ( as we once did ) are promoting gods will, but what if they really are ?

is it possible that god is supporting them even though they (governing body ) lie, because most jw,s are ignorant of the lies told on their behalf, ?.

when i was a jw i got attacked by the demons bigtime, but not now, and i can only assume that they (demons ) are happy that i am no longer a jw and are now leaving me alone, cant think of any other reason, has god ever supported a group who were similarly found wanting ?.

JonathanH

Funny thing about demons is they always seem to obey the rules and logic of the beliefs of the people that "experience" them. That alone should be a tip off that demons are a result of psychology, sociology and culture rather than an emperical fact of reality. Demons disappear or relenquish control if you say "jehovah"....if you believe they will, they will cower and hide from a cross as long as you think the cross is holy and has power over demons, they will refuse to enter your house if you sprinkle lambs blood on your stoop if that's what you think keeps them out.

Even the objects or circumstances that summon demons vary depending on religious belief, but every one of them is correct, because for those people it did "summon demons". A copy of the New World Translation summons demons for fire and brimstone baptists, and a tract on hellfire and brimstone will summon demons for a JW. A JW would claim that a cross summons demons, while the baptist successfully expels demons using a cross. And it's amazing that exorcists of every religious denomination seem to have success in expelling demons....of the people that believe they can expel demons.

If the only consistent thing about undocumented "mysterious" occurences is that it seems to always line up with the prejudices of those experiencing them, then it's a safe bet that it's not a matter of reality, but one of psychology and culture.

12

New CO Rules

by Quarterback in

a few years past, i remember a post mentioning that this was the last period of the circuit overseer arrangement.

apparently, a local brother would be chosen to represent the society, and visit the congregations.

just wondering, because our co hasn't announced who the new co is, and he is suddenly retiring.

JonathanH

I heard about that rumor months ago, and when I did a quick google search I found a topic on some long since dead exJW board saying the same thing.....seven years ago. Apparently the "end of the CO arrangement" is just some wierd apostate urban myth that continually cycles through.

23

Who is your hero?

by HintOfLime in

personally, as a computer programmer, my hero is a bit odd perhaps - gordon ramsey.

i think gordon ramsey is awesome.

no nonsense - he tells boring, lazy, mediocre people that they are mediocre, and passionately tells them what they are doing wrong... because he wants them to do better.

JonathanH

As for my actual heros. People like Socrates and Galileo who refused to deny reason and wisdom even in the face of absolute authority that demanded that they do so. Ghandi for showing that the world and society can be moved without having to fire a gun, and the strength it took to hold fast to such values in the face of so much pain. People like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine for being fierce intellectuals that fought for people's right to be intellectually free. And in modern times people like Neil Degrasse Tyson, Jerry Coyne, and Sam Harris who try to communicate the marvels of our world to us while striving to show people the benefits of reason and science.

23

Who is your hero?

by HintOfLime in

personally, as a computer programmer, my hero is a bit odd perhaps - gordon ramsey.

i think gordon ramsey is awesome.

no nonsense - he tells boring, lazy, mediocre people that they are mediocre, and passionately tells them what they are doing wrong... because he wants them to do better.

JonathanH

@ lime

It's great that you value a person's thriftyness over a big expensive education, but for the majority of employers "knows how to use google" isn't half as impressive as "Has a degree in economics and accounting" or "got a 4.0 GPA getting my B.S.". Believe you me, I'm just now starting school and I tried the approach of "I can learn fast, and know how to use the internet, and know how to use these programs", didn't do jack shit.

I don't believe that a college education is necessary to being able to do a good job, and it's not a sign of a good work ethic or intelligence, but there is a reason that people with college educations make more money than people without. And a big part of that is employers don't hire people without college educations unless it's a menial job. When an employer gets 100 applications, they are going to filter right through most of them by seeing who has experience, and who has education, and people that say "I can use google" are going straight into the circular filing bin under the desk. It's great that you don't care about a college education, or training, maybe you can give some hard working upstart a career, but for most people that expensive training is necessary just to get their foot in the door.

I do agree that the age of reality TV and the internet have made a great deal of youth grossly overconfident. Simply "being you" is not enough. There are too many dufuses that think they will make millions because they are so smart, clever, and talented while they are making B's in high school, and spending five hours a day on face book. An age of celebrity celebrities, people that offer nothing to society but strike it rich anyway, too many people assume that's all it takes, and they should be rich and successful too. And then they go on to resent people that actually have expectations of them, or for actually wanting them to work, or be a benefit to a company. Reality will be a harsh mistress for those that grew up thinking this way.

41

A few notes on September 15, 2011 Watchtower, fresh off the presses!

by sd-7 in

jw
friends

september 15th, 2011 watchtower, page 28, paragraph 13:.

"if a human overseer in god's organization provides you with instructions that seem extremely detailed, you might at times feel frustrated.

jehovah, however, is a perfect overseer who delegates generously and trusts his servants.

JonathanH

Their equating themselves with god is getting less and less subtle, but it will still be lost on the majority of JWs. The society gives incredibly detailed instructions, with lots of rules and regulations enforced by elders, god gave lots of instructions and rules and everyone was expected to obey. What are you going to do? Obey or not? Jesus told his disciples things they didn't understand, we are telling you things that you don't understand? Peter went along with jesus, will you go along with us?

4

The Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop...

by leavingwt in

.

the dalai lama walks into a pizza shop... .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xliri80og8c.

JonathanH

lol, the dalai lama seems like such a nice guy. Can you imagine the pope going on TV, having a joke about him told to him, and being able to laugh even in the awkwardness of it? The dalai lama seems like a far more spiritual guy than other religious leaders. And I'm an atheist.

10

YOUTUBE - Kingdom Hall Of JW's

by elder-schmelder in

jw
friends

these are the best video's that i have seen on youtube.

who makes these?

do they post on here?.

JonathanH

It's scary more than anything. It really is the same shit where ever you go. Sent chills.

59

Aug.1 WT: God is not omnipresent, independent of physical universe, uses probes

by unshackled in

was checking out the aug. 1 public watchtower and the our readers ask... is does god dwell in one place?

think there was something in an awake a few months back about this.

the physical heavens cannot.

JonathanH

@ jay88

Neither of those scriptures say or imply anything about warning people either. One says god waited patiently while noah built the ark, the other says people were eating and drinkin until noah boarded the ark. Neither account says they ignored Noah, or that God told noah to do anything, or that noah did anything other than build an ark and then get on it. The society just blatantly made it up.

51

SURVEY: Is a JWN members post count a reasonable indicator of their theist/atheist position? If so what can be learned from that?

by nicolaou in

i've done no research on this but i suspect that a members belief or absence of belief in god may have some correspondence with the number of posts he or she has made.. my tentative suggestion is that members with fewer than 500 posts are mostly believers while members with more than 3000 posts are mostly non-believers.

of course there are exceptions, maybe quite a few, but i'm only dealing with generalities here.

so how about a survey?

JonathanH

Atheist with a young post count.

59

Aug.1 WT: God is not omnipresent, independent of physical universe, uses probes

by unshackled in

was checking out the aug. 1 public watchtower and the our readers ask... is does god dwell in one place?

think there was something in an awake a few months back about this.

the physical heavens cannot.

JonathanH

Wow, that noah's ark thing blows my mind. It's so blatant. I just went and read Genesis 6 and 7 and at NO POINT does god tell noah to warn anybody. Amazing what JW brain washing can do. I must've read the beginning of genesis a hundred times while I was on the inside and not once did I notice that God never told noah to warn anybody, but if you asked me if that the bible said that I would've said yes. Crazy.

On another note, the WT's attempts at intellectualism are always amusing/horrifying/disgustingly bad. As dumb as the old school used to be, the new school has absolutely zero background in any intellectual pursuit. They got to the top by being blindly obedient, not theologically intellectual. All these philosophical questions there are volumes and volumes written on by great thinkers of the past. Then some really badly educated guys take themselves to be importants mediums to understanding the nature of god so they come up with crap like "God isn't omniscient, it's just that like, he's in heaven in his like throne, but he's shoots out like these spirit probes that go to the place and see what's happening, and then the spirit probes come back and tell god what is happening, so like he knows what's going on. But that's not a problem for free will, because like you know, you can do whatever, he might not use his spirit probes to go to the future, but sometimes he does, and he could, but he doesn't or didn't and that's why you have free will." And somewhere Aquinas is crying.

The other topic on how they talked about how things like historical criticism, or textual criticism are just evidence that scholars are always critical of the bible. I mean WTF, and I guess movie critics just really don't like movies. Damn they're stupid. They wanted a generation that wouldn't think for themself or get an education, and they got just that, and now they're in charge.