Posts by braincleaned

192

New Homo erectus Skull Shakes up Palaeontology

by cofty in

a fantastic homo erectus skull has been found in georgia - no not our former colony, the one in asia.. it is one of 5 that have been found at a site in dmanisi, it's the first homo erectus to be found outside of africa and it is in excellent condition.

the fossils are dated at 1.8 million years ago and comparisions of the specimens have thrown doubt over the details of human evolution.. it is possible that species previously named as h rudolfensis , h gautengensis , h ergaster and possibly h habilis were actually all h erectus.

the natural variation withing the species may be greater than thought previously.. the "lumpers" and the "splitters" are going to have plenty to argue about for years to come.. note to creationists - please read the article carefully.

braincleaned

Of course Tec — I value your opinion, and we are both richer to understand each other's journey.
I personally do not trust my biases... never did. Maybe I'm a masochist! LOL!

192

New Homo erectus Skull Shakes up Palaeontology

by cofty in

a fantastic homo erectus skull has been found in georgia - no not our former colony, the one in asia.. it is one of 5 that have been found at a site in dmanisi, it's the first homo erectus to be found outside of africa and it is in excellent condition.

the fossils are dated at 1.8 million years ago and comparisions of the specimens have thrown doubt over the details of human evolution.. it is possible that species previously named as h rudolfensis , h gautengensis , h ergaster and possibly h habilis were actually all h erectus.

the natural variation withing the species may be greater than thought previously.. the "lumpers" and the "splitters" are going to have plenty to argue about for years to come.. note to creationists - please read the article carefully.

braincleaned

My dear tec, " There is no evidence against God... certainly not the same category of evidence that you expect believers to provide FOR God."

That is plainly untrue. Please refer to my post on this very subject:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/265723/1/I-wonder#.Umf6DpTF0i8

100

cantleave had a valid opinion. Is God like a pencil-pointless?

by KateWild in

i don't know?

what do you think?.

kate xx.

braincleaned

Monsieur, even as a symbol, what are the virtues of the Abrahamic God? I don't see symbolism changing anything as to his character.

adamah nails it. A study of logic and what constitutes a fallacy is essential for debate. Without the tools of reason and logic, anything goes.

SOOO on spot, as usual Terry!

39

I wonder...

by braincleaned in

i wonder about why so many of us stick to the "truth" within the frame of the jehovah's witness religion.. of course, the wts has authority over our minds thru the control of information, demonizing any "worldly" knowledge that might jeopardize our faith in this entity.. thru my own experience, i understand how we can stick to this organization; because of a life's investment in serving, and the close ties of family and peers we do not wish to abandon or upset.

so we are here on sites like these, to understand the mechanisms of the cult... to try to make sense of why we should stay, or why we should leave.. the consequences are too important to take this lightly, or too swiftly.. if i may share a bit of my journey, i did not have to worry too much about the cult at first, because my main battle was based deeper than that.

after all, the root of any christian religion is in the bible itself; faith in jehovah and christ; trust in the idea that the bible is inspired by god himself.. so yes, my quest went to the base, the root of the jw faith... the bible.. since childhood, the character of jehovah was a problem for me.

braincleaned

Well argued Rip.
I get your point on the Wager, and your " willingness to be used, just in case." Best defense of Pascal's Wager so far, in my opinion.

We will agree to disagree on evolution. No problem.

I have just one question though; what is the evidence, even circumstantial, that convinces you that there is such a God?
If you can, please avoid the god-of-the-gaps logic.
What I would like to understand, is if this conviction is a deep-seated need to believe, a strong bias, or a reasonable explanation of facts.

In other words, how do we go from "we can't know" to asserting the existance of a god that clearly has its roots in ancient writings that are scientifically and medically moot?

26

My struggle in leaving WTBTS - What is yours- if you want to share?

by Junebuggie in

my struggle- my journey finding salvationoctober 16, 2013 at 8:03pm"anyone who believes in the son of god has this testimony: god has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son.

he who has the son has life; he who does not have the son of god does not have life.

i write these things to you who believe in the name of the son of god so that you may know that you have eternal life.

braincleaned

I have walked a different path, as you may have read in my posts about my coming out.

I am happy you found your way. I also do not understand it, but I can respect your choice.
Just keep an open mind — what we think we know today may very well change upon new evidence and understanding.
This goes for all of us, of course.

66

New 1975? Jan 1st WT 2014

by notsurewheretogo in

this post was taken from reddit exjw but makes a very good point:.

these are two paragraphs of the watchtower of january 1st 2014.... .

i don't know about you guys, but in my mind, i'm seeing a deja vu of the articles before 1975 i've read.

braincleaned

Never saw a flame flickering over the head of ANY annoited one. They say they just "know" they are annointed.
uh-huh...
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche.... Indeed.

100

cantleave had a valid opinion. Is God like a pencil-pointless?

by KateWild in

i don't know?

what do you think?.

kate xx.

braincleaned

Funny thing, this was the main issue on my other thread; the character of the Abrahamic god:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/265723/1/I-wonder

I agree with adamah:

And you? What evidence do you have to prove the existence of God? What evidence do you have to you support redefining God to mean all these other varied concepts (love, etc)? And what benefit does it provide?

You've got an insurmountable amount of work cut out for you here...."

39

I wonder...

by braincleaned in

i wonder about why so many of us stick to the "truth" within the frame of the jehovah's witness religion.. of course, the wts has authority over our minds thru the control of information, demonizing any "worldly" knowledge that might jeopardize our faith in this entity.. thru my own experience, i understand how we can stick to this organization; because of a life's investment in serving, and the close ties of family and peers we do not wish to abandon or upset.

so we are here on sites like these, to understand the mechanisms of the cult... to try to make sense of why we should stay, or why we should leave.. the consequences are too important to take this lightly, or too swiftly.. if i may share a bit of my journey, i did not have to worry too much about the cult at first, because my main battle was based deeper than that.

after all, the root of any christian religion is in the bible itself; faith in jehovah and christ; trust in the idea that the bible is inspired by god himself.. so yes, my quest went to the base, the root of the jw faith... the bible.. since childhood, the character of jehovah was a problem for me.

braincleaned

Rip, you say " I am not the ONE who is the author of my own existance..."

I agree. Actually, logic is that no one, no thing, is ever the author of its own existence. That is another problem I faced, because neither is God the author of his own existence.

Although I never believed he was created — so I concluded that if he always existed, it was not absurd to believe that the workings of Nature could ALSO have always existed.
I was faced with two possibilities that were impossible to prove.
However, because evolution turned out to be true (if not always explained the same way), and that the scientific knowledge the Bible portrays fits the understanding of the times, I lean towards Nature as being responsible for life as we know it.

Also, when you say " I simply think that it would be more risky to not believe he exist than it is to believe he exists." — What you are proposing is Pascal's Wager.
Problem with that is that belief is not a choice; hence Jehovah would know if you are disingenuously serving him.

Does this make sense to you?

39

I wonder...

by braincleaned in

i wonder about why so many of us stick to the "truth" within the frame of the jehovah's witness religion.. of course, the wts has authority over our minds thru the control of information, demonizing any "worldly" knowledge that might jeopardize our faith in this entity.. thru my own experience, i understand how we can stick to this organization; because of a life's investment in serving, and the close ties of family and peers we do not wish to abandon or upset.

so we are here on sites like these, to understand the mechanisms of the cult... to try to make sense of why we should stay, or why we should leave.. the consequences are too important to take this lightly, or too swiftly.. if i may share a bit of my journey, i did not have to worry too much about the cult at first, because my main battle was based deeper than that.

after all, the root of any christian religion is in the bible itself; faith in jehovah and christ; trust in the idea that the bible is inspired by god himself.. so yes, my quest went to the base, the root of the jw faith... the bible.. since childhood, the character of jehovah was a problem for me.

braincleaned

Daniel1555, I want to make sure you know I'm not here to destroy the hope anyone holds on life, nor the faith one may give Jehovah.

I am just like everybody else here — I wish to share my feelings and what epistemological path brought me where I am.
This goes for you too Rip — I'm not aiming to change your personal conclusions.

I think my questions are more than reasonable. I also think my attitude is an open one. But nothing can rationaize what Jehovah does in the Bible, nor does any of his good deeds excuse his wicked ones.
This is my opinon — my natural bias was FOR Jehovah . Thses conclusions were painful to me. Nonetheless, truth is truth. Sometimes facing it hurts.

39

I wonder...

by braincleaned in

i wonder about why so many of us stick to the "truth" within the frame of the jehovah's witness religion.. of course, the wts has authority over our minds thru the control of information, demonizing any "worldly" knowledge that might jeopardize our faith in this entity.. thru my own experience, i understand how we can stick to this organization; because of a life's investment in serving, and the close ties of family and peers we do not wish to abandon or upset.

so we are here on sites like these, to understand the mechanisms of the cult... to try to make sense of why we should stay, or why we should leave.. the consequences are too important to take this lightly, or too swiftly.. if i may share a bit of my journey, i did not have to worry too much about the cult at first, because my main battle was based deeper than that.

after all, the root of any christian religion is in the bible itself; faith in jehovah and christ; trust in the idea that the bible is inspired by god himself.. so yes, my quest went to the base, the root of the jw faith... the bible.. since childhood, the character of jehovah was a problem for me.

braincleaned

//I still believe he is also a loving creator//

Interesting comment Daniel1555.
I understand the belief in a creator. In fact, I'm agnostic about a creator. I believe quantum mechanics may very well reveal more intelligence in Nature than we expect today.

So as far as a godlike creator, I simply don't know — hence, on that point I'm agnostic. However, I am a strong atheist as to the Abrahamic God. I can't disprove a creative mind behind Nature, but I can reasonably prove it is not Jehovah! Nor any god claiming to be LOVE.

The most obvious evidence is that Nature is not created with Love.
For example, if you had all power to create animals, would you have created a balance of vegetation for wildlife, or would you have made them cruelly kill and live from killing each other?
Some talk about the overpopulation of animals if the circle of life was not what it is, but you are GOD! You could give animals a limited life and die with dignity and painlessly.

Also, 98% of species have died off. Do you know what my reputation would be if 98% of my creative work was moot??

There may be a creator — MAYBE — but I don't see any evidence for it, and I certainly see no Love in Nature. Nature is cruel, as expected with evolution, and the need for survival. Hence, I keep Jehovah where he came from; the imagination of men of old, and the cultural folklore from that era. Same with the other gods of our invention.

Something to think about...