Posts by cobweb

85

Are you a Christian Who Accepts Evolution?

by cofty in

if you identify as a christian but you have accepted that the diversity of life - including humans - resulted from a process of biological evolution could you add your name please?.

just to be clear i am referring to the fact that our physical lineage could literally be traced back all the way to non-human species.. if you like maybe you could comment on why you see not conflict between evolution and your christian faith.. there is a tendency to conflate evolution with atheism.

it would be good to show that this is not the case..

cobweb

There is a tendency to conflate evolution with atheism. It would be good to show that this is not the case.

I don't really understand where you are going with this. Do you yourself believe in Christianity as well as Evolution?

I do see a conflict between having irrational beliefs such as in miracles and the resurrection of the dead and also a scientific approach which values evidence. If you do have the scientific approach, how can you then suspend it in the case of your chosen belief. It would be totally inconsistent.

11

ISIS update

by The Fall Guy in

it's reported that isis terrorists in syria are putting small video cameras on all of the vehicles they use, in order to use the footage as propaganda.

they're calling them daesh-cams..

cobweb

It was a funny joke though lol

Daesh-cams

18

Books are not dying out and this is not the reason for the WT turning to tablets

by slimboyfat in

there's a popular misconception that books in general are in terminal decline, that this is the reason the wt organisation has turned to tablets instead of print, and this in turn has created a financial crisis for the organisation which traditionally relied upon publishing books for income.

this is wrong on a number of levels.

firstly physical books are not in terminal decline, they are as popular as ever with consumers.

cobweb

Your right, although many assumed books were going to become redundant, they are still popular. People like the tactile feel of a book. There are parallels to the resurgence of vinyl.

I don't feel like there is a general misconception on this point though. When I asked my still in family about tablet use, one of the reasons they gave was that it saved the org money which they saw as a good thing as it could be used for other things. They also seemed to take pride in making use of modern technology, i suppose in the same way as Russell with his photodrama of creation and Rutherford with his phonographs.

11

ISIS update

by The Fall Guy in

it's reported that isis terrorists in syria are putting small video cameras on all of the vehicles they use, in order to use the footage as propaganda.

they're calling them daesh-cams..

cobweb

I wouldn't be optimistic. They may be being fought back in Syria and Iraq but they have a presence in a number of other countries around the world. The Philippines seems to be a new one. Also, as Cofty says, there will be a greater likelihood of terrorist attacks in the West.

6

book advice about the 'jw experience'

by cobweb in

jw
friends

i'm looking for a book recommendation about the jw experience for the audience of a non-jw friend.. here is a scenario: you have recently left the jw religion and have made a friend who has little knowledge about your old religion.

you would like them to understand more about you but at this point you feel awkward about explaining your religious background and don't feel confident that you can make them 'get it'.

you decide you would like to give them a book that will do the grunt work of explaining it all; one that will give them a deeper insight into your former world than you feel able to provide, which will additionally explain why it is that you are now in the position you are, friendless, unsure of many things and adrift at an age where most people have got their life sorted.. if someone were in this situation and needed such a book, what you recommend?.

cobweb

I'll check those out Wake me up. I think something with a narrative which has personal experience at the heart is going to work best for a non-JW, though i'm open to any suggestions. I agree about books such as Apocalypse Delayed and CoC. They're great books but neither seem quite suited to the purpose.

Thanks also for the suggestion dubstepped. I'll give your podcast a listen. I would like a book ideally though if something appropriate exists.

6

book advice about the 'jw experience'

by cobweb in

jw
friends

i'm looking for a book recommendation about the jw experience for the audience of a non-jw friend.. here is a scenario: you have recently left the jw religion and have made a friend who has little knowledge about your old religion.

you would like them to understand more about you but at this point you feel awkward about explaining your religious background and don't feel confident that you can make them 'get it'.

you decide you would like to give them a book that will do the grunt work of explaining it all; one that will give them a deeper insight into your former world than you feel able to provide, which will additionally explain why it is that you are now in the position you are, friendless, unsure of many things and adrift at an age where most people have got their life sorted.. if someone were in this situation and needed such a book, what you recommend?.

cobweb

I'm looking for a book recommendation about the JW experience for the audience of a non-JW friend.

Here is a scenario: You have recently left the JW religion and have made a friend who has little knowledge about your old religion. You would like them to understand more about you but at this point you feel awkward about explaining your religious background and don't feel confident that you can make them 'get it'. You decide you would like to give them a book that will do the grunt work of explaining it all; one that will give them a deeper insight into your former world than you feel able to provide, which will additionally explain why it is that you are now in the position you are, friendless, unsure of many things and adrift at an age where most people have got their life sorted.

If someone were in this situation and needed such a book, what you recommend?

44

I appreciate "our" free speech.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

i had given serious consideration too leaving the board.

i rationalised my views on " muslims" we're not held by the majority so i should leave.

but this would have been wrong thinking, instead i should appreciate the platform i was given to debate with free speech.

cobweb

I take your points, but have you read the thread that sparked Rebel to think of leaving this site?

Rebel seems to me to be a very thoughtful sensitive and even handed type person. He makes the point that he has Muslim friends who he is close to and they all treat him well, and he is made to feel like he is wrong to think this - and he apologizes for offending people. I hate that he is made to feel that way for acting on a good positive emotion.

His personal narrative of Muslims being mostly nice people in his experience isn't allowed to stand. He is told that if they are nice then they aren't Real Muslims - they are something else, because so called Real Muslims are evil and deserve to be killed.

The whole 'they aren't real Muslims' if they are nice reminds me of the 'No True Scotsman fallacy:

Person A: "No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge."
Person B: "But my uncle Angus likes sugar with his porridge."
Person A: "Ah yes, but no true Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge."

If a Muslim is a nice decent type person then they aren't true Muslim.

Muslim attackers are extremists. There are extremist Christians too. A week or so back there was a guy in Portland USA who went on a rant at two Muslim women sitting on a train. When two men went to defend these Muslim girls the harasser killed them with a knife. He yelled 'death to the enemies of America' in court. Yet somehow that isn't labeled as terrorism because he was Christian.

I condemn him as a Christian terrorist extremist but I don't condemn the entire Christian religion out of hand. I understand that not everyone applies Christianity the same way. Muslims are not afforded this luxury in people's minds it seems. For many here, if you are Muslim who have to advocate the very worst aspects of it no matter what or else you aren't a true Muslim.

I do not say Islam doesn't need to get its house in order. I accept that the number of extremists in Islam are greater than any other religion currently. But this aggression against the general Muslim population is ugly.

I listened to a story on the radio last week: After the London attack a Muslim nurse who had been working all night to help those who were injured, traveled back home and suffered disturbing verbal abuse. This is where bombast gets you.

I am not saying it is wrong to criticize Islam just like I would criticize the policies of JWs but there is a generality and a forcefulness to it which disturbs me. People like Rebel shouldn't be made to feel bad for defending his Muslim friends. That is a bell weather for where the conversation lies. If he or others try to be even a little fair minded on the subject they get shouted down and ridiculed. Just like they did on that previous thread where Landy was told to get lost essentially. I fully expect to be insulted and ridiculed for saying what I have said here. I don't intend to say anymore on the subject because I know how it will go and I don't enjoy argument for argument sake.

37

Police cordon around Honiton's Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses after fatal stabbing

by ShirleyW in

jw
friends

hey uk folks, what's going with this story?

was it an unbelieving mate that attacked and elder or something?.

cobweb

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/fatal-stabbing-at-jehovah-s-witness-hall-may-be-religious-hate-crime-say-police/story-30376760-detail/story.html

44

I appreciate "our" free speech.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

i had given serious consideration too leaving the board.

i rationalised my views on " muslims" we're not held by the majority so i should leave.

but this would have been wrong thinking, instead i should appreciate the platform i was given to debate with free speech.

cobweb

I share your "Muslim views" and find myself wanting to visit this board less due to the rabid anti-muslim sentiment which dominates on here. The Reddit board has none of that which is refreshing. I still come here for the JWrelated threads and have adopted an avoidance strategy for the Trump/Muslim/Terrorist attack type threads because they are no good for my peace of mind.

31

Have Jehovah's Witnesses Become Boring?

by David_Jay in

okay, that new video about 1975 has got people talking, and yes, the child abuse cases will always require us to remain vigilant...but after my having left in the late 1980s/early 1990s, it seems all the real "exciting" stuff is gone.

when i left the witnesses were still preaching that the "generation that was old enough to understand the events of 1914" will not pass away before armageddon comes.

no blood cards were our badges (not that stupid jw logo) and that card meant what it said, "no blood"!

cobweb

yeah I agree. The most popular threads on this board now seem to be politics related but they seem largely pointless because everyone is convinced they are right and can't understand why others can't see it and the pages go on and on forever without progress.

I think I know why you wrote this:

So we're left with taking our anger out on one another sometimes, biting and backbiting others we should be supporting after leaving the Witnesses, never stopping to realize that the people we should be arguing with are not each other but with the Witnesses.

I think its probably JWs who have become athiests like me who are more guilty of this. This board should be accepting of other people's beliefs and try to be respectful of them but because many posters are in the process of recovering from having the wool pulled over their eyes and are embracing a new zeal for scientific rationality, their anger can be directed toward belief in general and want to challenge and tear it down. Advocating any belief system with too much enthusiasm can be like a red flag to a bull to some on this board. I understand this - it is a very human reaction under the circumstances, but its unfortunate for those who do want to explore new spiritual paths, and it would be better if they could do so without having to be so defensive about it.