i grew up a jw kid until the age of twelve.
since then i have lived a worldly life.
i have enjoyed alot of my life experiences, but i now feel like i am lost.
I'll state up front that I haven't read the thread yet. There are many people here who mean well and will be eager to give you advice. I find in situations like these it's more beneficial to start simple and look at the basic questions.
What makes you think that joining this religion will give you a chance at a do-over in paradise?
so, you left because of a bad example(s).. why all the whining?
nothing better to do with your time?.
you at least know far more about the bible than any church-goer?.
We hope ? will never have to experience what many experienced on this site through the org. But when he does...most likely he or she will change their name from question to something else so none of us will recognize them, because they will have to eat their words by calling folks on here whiners....as I say don't wish it on them...As we know many of us were as smug and judgmental as they are ....but it's just a matter of time..
This person has been on the Topix dub forum for years trolling under a different name. He implies that everyone in his congregation knows he thinks the GB are imbeciles but he's so super special that nobody gives him grief over it.
any takers?
we can pick a date and pull the plug?
lol .
A mass exodus will be interpreted as a sign that the wheat and the weeds have been fully separated and now they are definitely "the truth" and a spiritual paradise.
You have to think like them. This will help them.
any takers?
we can pick a date and pull the plug?
lol .
This is a really bad idea. The best way to work against the machinations of the Watchtower is to always have agents of truth within.
Remember, the Watchtower and its clergymen are the real enemies of truth and freedom, so you need to think like them if you want to defeat them. An exodus of people who aren't supporting them monetarily or vocally will help them far more than hurt them.
here's a question for all you bible students out there, both critics and apologists: in 1513 bce the israelites were said to be in the wilderness, without food, so jeh gave them miraculous manna to eat.
exodus 16:35 says they ate it for 40 years.
the funny thing is that a year after they began eating manna, the bible book of leviticus, which wts says was written in 1512, records a mind-numbing litany of rules and regulations regarding sacrifices that were to be made at the tabernacle, which had just recently been put into use.
http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Leviticus.html
Date of Writing: The Book of Leviticus was written between 1440 and 1400 B.C.
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 - 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.
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.
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.
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 ?.
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.
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 ?.
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.
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 ?.
Conversely, the most religious countries, like the USA, have the highest murder rates
So gang membership is caused by churches in the US?
