Posts by Searril

144

Escaping Indoctrination - Faith Isn't a Virtue.

by cofty in

the unknown writer of the gospel of john put the following words in jesus' mouth, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.".

persuading countless generations that it is a virtue to believe incredible things on insufficient evidence, is one of religion's cleverest tricks.. the more incredible the claim; the more flimsy the evidence; the stronger the belief; the greater the virtue.. this is the exact opposite of how we operate in every other aspect of our lives.. rational people must demand objective evidence for everything they are asked to believe.

"extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence".. leaving the dogmatic claims of the watchtower is only a first step.

Searril

Searril - I can't thank you enough for your thoughtful and profound contribution.

You're welcome. What the person wrote was correct, and I agreed with her.

144

Escaping Indoctrination - Faith Isn't a Virtue.

by cofty in

the unknown writer of the gospel of john put the following words in jesus' mouth, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.".

persuading countless generations that it is a virtue to believe incredible things on insufficient evidence, is one of religion's cleverest tricks.. the more incredible the claim; the more flimsy the evidence; the stronger the belief; the greater the virtue.. this is the exact opposite of how we operate in every other aspect of our lives.. rational people must demand objective evidence for everything they are asked to believe.

"extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence".. leaving the dogmatic claims of the watchtower is only a first step.

Searril

Dogma; is a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.

It serves as part of the primary basis of an ideology, nationalism or belief system,

and it cannot be changed or discarded without affecting the very system's paradigm,

or the ideology itself. The term can refer to acceptable opinions of philosophers

or philosophical schools, public decrees, religion, or issued decisions of political authorities.

- source the Dictionary

Cofty you have your own Dogma. You seek to impose it on others.

You judge others way of seeing the world, or belief systems or spiritual

ideas, or anything you think is connected to any kind of thinking,

other than your own narrow point of view. If its not atheism then

you reject it, I continue to wonder why you even come here at all.

This is an ex-JW forum for people trying to free themselves from

rigid and unbending and male dominated, authority based on the idea

that God has some central authority called the governing body.

Freedom - may not lie in simply telling them there is no God,

based on your own dogma that you insist this is the only acceptable

course, you don't like the idea of God and believe you can prove he does

not exist, which you cannot. How about just freedom and individuality,

aside from any organization or doctrines. I believe in freedom, and I

also believe in spiritual freedom for all.

Yep.

145

If you believe in Gods laws why dont you go live in Saudi Arabia ?

by mP in

i think we all know that shariah law is basically mohammads copy of the torah, with minor edits.

slavery, womens inequality, anti homosexuality are obviously written in the same spirit.

so believers why dont you go live in saudi arabia if yo u believe gods law is perfect or at the last useful ?.

Searril

Conversely, the most religious countries, like the USA, have the highest murder rates

So gang membership is caused by churches in the US?

---

ADCMS: Really? This is what you got out of what I said? Wow. I don't debate "Strawman" arguments and nonsensical statements, so I'll say no more.

***************

You are the one who implied there was some type of causation between religion and crime rate in this country. That was your logical fallacy that led me to point it out.

My point about atheism and China/Russia is very valid, especially after you had specifically scolded someone else for having their facts wrong.

Basically, this thread is trash as it was formed based on severely flawed thinking which was never properly vetted in-brain before being put down in typewritten form as an attack on others. That's precisely why so many of the ridiculous religion=violence "arguments" have been so easily put down. And that's precisely why it is so difficult for anyone looking for a balanced view on dubs or religion in general to take this forum seriously, because nearly every topic always wants to devolve into either "you're religious so you're stupid" or "you're religious so you're violent" in the end.

Waste of time, as already proven. I'm out. Be back in another month or so to see if anything has changed.

145

If you believe in Gods laws why dont you go live in Saudi Arabia ?

by mP in

i think we all know that shariah law is basically mohammads copy of the torah, with minor edits.

slavery, womens inequality, anti homosexuality are obviously written in the same spirit.

so believers why dont you go live in saudi arabia if yo u believe gods law is perfect or at the last useful ?.

Searril

Neither of these countries {China,Russia} is "atheistic".

*My addition in {}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_China

"The People's Republic of China was established 1 October 1949. Its government is officially atheist, having viewed religion as emblematic of feudalism and foreign colonialism, and maintained separation of state and the church. This changed during the Cultural Revolution, in 1966 and 1967. The Cultural Revolution led to a policy of elimination of religions; a massive number of places of worship were destroyed."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism

"State promotion of atheism as a public norm was first practiced during a brief period in Revolutionary France. Since then, such a policy was repeated only in Revolutionary Mexico and some communist states. The Soviet Union had a long history of state atheism, in which social success largely required individuals to profess atheism and stay away from houses of worship; this attitude was especially militant during the middle Stalinist era from 1929–1939. The Soviet Union attempted to suppress public religious expression over wide areas of its influence, including places such as central Asia."

"In the Marxist–Leninist interpretation of Marxist theory, developed primarily by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, religion is seen as negative to human development, and communist states that follow a Marxist–Leninist variant are atheistic and explicitly antireligious."

as I said to ravens, you may want to educate yourself before commenting.

Indeed.

145

If you believe in Gods laws why dont you go live in Saudi Arabia ?

by mP in

i think we all know that shariah law is basically mohammads copy of the torah, with minor edits.

slavery, womens inequality, anti homosexuality are obviously written in the same spirit.

so believers why dont you go live in saudi arabia if yo u believe gods law is perfect or at the last useful ?.

Searril

Conversely, the most religious countries, like the USA, have the highest murder rates

So gang membership is caused by churches in the US?

3

Strawberry smoothies!

by Atlantis in

don't let that flimzy title line fool ya, it was done on purpose.. .. your going to want these.

they are very rare!.

click the link in the blue box by the blue arrow..1909 http://www.sendspace.com/file/9468pe.1921 http://www.sendspace.com/file/hmajfz.1923 http://www.sendspace.com/file/i7pt8w.1923 http://www.sendspace.com/file/40dk7l.1923 http://www.sendspace.com/file/203sal.1923 http://www.sendspace.com/file/w3unoi.1923 http://www.sendspace.com/file/9t2632.1923 http://www.sendspace.com/file/gdz23u.1923 http://www.sendspace.com/file/dzjpqs.tracts and booklets.

Searril

Good collection of apostate literature. Thanks.

52

Josephus and Jesus

by jhine in

on another thread wot i read a few days ago and can't remember which one, someone asked why josephus never mentions jesus .

at the time i had no knowledge of this so kept quiet .

however today while reading an excellent book (don't know if i should advertise but if anyone wants the title let me know ) i have found out that josephus mentions jesus in around about manner.

Searril

I know this might sound funny, but Mary is pretending to be a witness! I met her at a Kingdom Hall.

Then why does nobody else know about this?

If Mary is still alive and 2 millenia old then how is it that no great grandparents, then grand parents, then parents, and now children ever stopped and wondered why this super-dubette looks the same now as she did 80-100 years ago?

Honestly, you scare me. People who imagine such elaborate delusions need help. I'm not saying this to shame you. It's like any other disease that requires medical professionals to treat. You should get yourself help before you or innocent people get hurt.

63

New Article regarding the Global Flood of Noah

by jwfacts in

i have put together a new article regarding whether the global flood of noah is possible.

it utilises a lot of information from threads on jwn, and some of you may recognise your own comments.

please feel free to proof read, make suggestions, provide further references, etc.. http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/flood-noah-global.php.

Searril

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/localflood.html

19

A populations numbers game: After the flood

by PSacramento in

on another forum:.

with the flood at about 4,500 years ago, it needs less than 0.5% per year growth.

i think today's rate is about 1.7%.

Searril

Searii, as most know here, I do NOT believe that Genesis referres to a single GLOBAL flood the covered ALL the plaent Earth.
I was just curious as to how valid this "population argument" is.

Gotcha. I won't comment on that as I have no idea what is considered "normal" population growth.

19

A populations numbers game: After the flood

by PSacramento in

on another forum:.

with the flood at about 4,500 years ago, it needs less than 0.5% per year growth.

i think today's rate is about 1.7%.

Searril

PS To be clear, there is a difference between what the bible says and what translation bias says.