braincleaned

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Posts by braincleaned

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  187

  The reason behind why the ex-JW community can never match Jehovah's Witnesses' success.

  by Stand for Pure Worship in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an average of five kingdom halls being constructed daily, almost 8 million brothers and sisters, dissemination of bible literature in 595 languages, 111,795 congregations worldwide, distribution of 179 million bibles available in 116 languages, 239 countries where jehovah's witnesses have a presence, etc.. need i go on?.

  on the other hand........... crisis of conscience, freeminds, the awaa, jw.net, ummmmmm........hmmm........idk six screens or something?

  not exactly working out for you guys.

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  braincleaned

  The sound of me walking in my flip-flops is more discreet than the flip-flopping of the FDS.
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  3

  The Watchtower Corporation's Faithful And Discreet Fairy Tale, And They Lived Happily Ever After Always Faithful To Jehovah

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it's a complicated fairy tale modeled after a parable atributed to jesus as author.

  due to the clever juxtapositoning of pastor russell the chief editor of a incorporated printing business(established in 1884).this parable eventually became a prophecy about pastor russell being appointed to some imaginary 'faithful steward' who is able to decipher the bible correctly and lead people who read his printed material to salvation and glory(approximately).. by employing the terminology of this parable to the corporation's chief editor and calling him 'the faithful steward' of matthew 25, the corporation managed to manipulate its readers to become unpaid volunteers to sell the corporation's printed material thus increasing profitability.

  end of the world predictions is the specialty of this publishing business with an ever growing army of dedicated readers willing to put themselves in the service of selling the corporation's good in order to earn salvation.

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  braincleaned

  Being delusional is not a crime. But to exploit delusion for profit or power is.
  The R&F are not the bad guys — the ones manipulating them are.
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  24

  Brooklyn Eagle Article: WT Tunnels - Mysterious, Lingering Remnants Ministerial Heights Presence

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/watchtower-tunnels-mysterious-lingering-remnants-ministerial-heights-presence-2013-10-16.

  very interesting article.

  how much do you think the wt has to pay the city for using their own four tunnels?.

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  braincleaned

  I remember those tunnels... pretty impressive, and yes... kinda creepy. LOL!
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  62

  Epistemology. I Wonder 2...

  by braincleaned in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the value of our knowledge?.

  i respect all beliefs for what they are.

  but many of us are being treated condescendingly by those who have more certainty than we atheists do.

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  braincleaned

  Thank you for your patience with me tec. And of course, I mean no disrespect for you, quite the contrary.
  
  So may I ask 2 simple questions:
  
  — How do you know what you know about Christ (or how do you know the sources you trust are true)?
  and
  — What was the process building up to your convictions?
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  10

  Sheep and Goats

  by ctrwtf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm lucky enough to live in a part of the us that many would call "pastoral.

  " true to the label, i pass a small farm on the way to talking my daughter to school each day.

  the other day i notice the owners had their small flock of sheep out to pasture along witha black goat.. for some reason i had a flashback to all the references the society uses re sheep, other sheep, sheeplike and goatlike etc.

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  braincleaned

  Haha! Priceless... no wonder they took so long to preach in China! :D
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  62

  Epistemology. I Wonder 2...

  by braincleaned in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the value of our knowledge?.

  i respect all beliefs for what they are.

  but many of us are being treated condescendingly by those who have more certainty than we atheists do.

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  braincleaned

  Maybe I'm totally taking this belief/unbelief thing the wrong way! So please let me refocus and rephrase.

  After all, I was a believer almost all my life, albeit not always comfortable with my cognitive dissonance. Today, I'm less arrogant in my 'knowledge' — as I have learned the hard way to question myself and show more humility about what I know (or think I know)… because frankly, I know too little to brag about.

  When I was a JW, I had that confidence of KNOWING, although by proxy. This is true for any religious person — we trust our leaders, our Holy Books, our Gods. Proxies.
  We have "Faith." Thus, real homework is not necessary, except maybe learning the arguments of our religious group.

  Then I finally dared to question out loud some things that I found disturbing.
  Was I willing to reconsider my beliefs, my biases? Did I trust my faith enough to put it thru the test of reason?

  The real question is an epistemological one: How do we know what we know?
  I realized that I never looked at my process to knowing. I didn't have any! It was all emotional and dictated by decades of just trusting a book, a god, and an organization that chewed my food to make it easier for me to swallow.
  There was no process for getting my knowledge! I trusted an entity. Again, I had Faith in God; his book; his supposed Organization. Period.
  Questioning was Satan's playground. Convenient.

  When I realized I couldn't continue to defend my own God, nor his actions — I started to have an honest look at my thinking process. What kind of evidence and/or logic could show my understanding to be wrong (falsifiable)? How could I curb my confirmation bias (starting with conclusions, and reading all the material that confirmed those beliefs, while dismissing any information that contradicted them)? What were the counter-arguments? Would I be courageous enough to avoid rationalizing everything to fit my bias?
  Of course, I knew that going this path would jeopardize a lifetime of investment for Jehovah, and endanger my friendships and family ties!

  In the process, I realized there were basically two kinds of knowledge — OBJECTIVE and SUBJECTIVE.
  The first is related to statements about the world and reality — the latter related to knowledge about feelings, with no use for evidence.
  If I like pie, I don't need to back this up with logic or evidence.
  If I claim the Earth is flat, then I need to back it up with logic or evidence.

  What if I believed in God?
  What if I didn't?
  Are either one of these objective or suggestive?

  Is it reasonable to claim knowledge on what we can't justify thru reality, and believing it?
  I don't think so. Where am I wrong to think that "feeling God" is purely suggestive (and emotional)?

  How do you know what you know?
• 
  62

  Epistemology. I Wonder 2...

  by braincleaned in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the value of our knowledge?.

  i respect all beliefs for what they are.

  but many of us are being treated condescendingly by those who have more certainty than we atheists do.

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  braincleaned

  // because the not only the jury, but the detectives are still out.//
  
  True dat.
  
  Okay, back to work! ;)
• 
  62

  Epistemology. I Wonder 2...

  by braincleaned in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the value of our knowledge?.

  i respect all beliefs for what they are.

  but many of us are being treated condescendingly by those who have more certainty than we atheists do.

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  braincleaned

  LOVED Pacific Rim, tec!! Enjoy the show!
  
  I apologize if II went too far in my words... I do have an issue. I paid a dear price for where I am today.
  I'm really sorry if some scorn still shows.
  
  Peace! :)
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  62

  Epistemology. I Wonder 2...

  by braincleaned in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the value of our knowledge?.

  i respect all beliefs for what they are.

  but many of us are being treated condescendingly by those who have more certainty than we atheists do.

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  braincleaned

  I do admit that I will NEVER understand an exJW who leaves the Borg and latches on to other Christian beliefs. Yes, I will admit that.
  
  I will respect your choice of belief tec, and stop arguing my perspective.
  
  I respect you very much. However, please let me be bluntly honest and say that I find your line of thinking quite scary.
  I am thrown into an uncomfortable Twilight Zone... where I hear things that I cannot understand for the life on me. Out of the realm of logic.
  The capitalization of Him; He... it's all so uncanny... like Jesus is a sort of cult leader... hypnotizing his willing followers.
  
  I wonder... if He asked you to... would you kill for him?
  
  
  I will stop now. I have said enough, I'm sure.
  Peace.
• 
  62

  Epistemology. I Wonder 2...

  by braincleaned in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the value of our knowledge?.

  i respect all beliefs for what they are.

  but many of us are being treated condescendingly by those who have more certainty than we atheists do.

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  braincleaned

  // I assume that you were a jw, and the wts does not follow Christ,//
  That was an issue for me. So yes, you can count me in as a follower of Christ.