Posts by cappytan

13

587 vs 607: JW sources only

by wifibandit in

the latest jw podcast has inspired me to update the copypasta comment that i post anytime this topic comes up.. i have formatted it to more closely follow the wonderful www.jwfacts.com table.

i have also added a few more links directly to the jw online library.

"evil-merodach reigned two years" w65 1/1 p. 29.

cappytan

Just a quick bump.... Important OP for lurkers.

182

The Case for Theism

by FusionTheism in

"theism" here means "belief in a god" or "the worldview that an intelligent designer created the universe and life.

" ("god" here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth)the most common claim that i see atheists making on twitter, is that "no evidence" exists in support of belief in a god.this post will remove any excuse atheists have for claiming "no evidence exists" in support of an initiator.

atheists can still reject this evidence as "weak," but they cannot truthfully say it does not exist.now, it is true that we do not have "observable, repeatable, falsifiable, empirical, scientific" evidence conclusively proving that an initiator exists, but we do have many lines of philisophical, experiential, and logical evidence.and... here... we... go:1:) many leading scientists, including stephen hawking, say that the space-time-matter universe had a beginning at the singularity/big bang.

cappytan

Wow....this thread hasn't died yet? Funny...just like the virus of Theism.

182

The Case for Theism

by FusionTheism in

"theism" here means "belief in a god" or "the worldview that an intelligent designer created the universe and life.

" ("god" here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth)the most common claim that i see atheists making on twitter, is that "no evidence" exists in support of belief in a god.this post will remove any excuse atheists have for claiming "no evidence exists" in support of an initiator.

atheists can still reject this evidence as "weak," but they cannot truthfully say it does not exist.now, it is true that we do not have "observable, repeatable, falsifiable, empirical, scientific" evidence conclusively proving that an initiator exists, but we do have many lines of philisophical, experiential, and logical evidence.and... here... we... go:1:) many leading scientists, including stephen hawking, say that the space-time-matter universe had a beginning at the singularity/big bang.

cappytan

FayeDunaway is all class.

*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*

35

My Story of Waking Up - in retrospect

by cappytan in

so, many of y'all know bits and pieces of my story of waking up, but i thought it might be nice to have it all in one place.. i was baptized at 11, auxiliary pioneered every summer, regular pioneer at 17, ministerial servant by 19, then went to bethel for a year.. i always had minor doubts from time to time, but nothing serious.

always dismissed doubts and decided to "just have faith.".

after leaving bethel, i was never really firing on all cylinders "spiritually speaking.

cappytan

I hesitate to use the words betrayed or conned because I'm not convinced there is an evil motive, yet.

I felt betrayed. Here's why: I realized that the ONLY reason they were sticking to their guns on 607 BCE was because they needed that date to justify their authority.

To me, that is a selfish motive...and a betrayal.

Conned? No. I don't feel conned.

Duped is a good word. But I would also say betrayed. They betrayed the concept of truth.

I told my wife the other day that I probably could have gotten over my doubts if the Society didn't put so much emphasis on calling the organization "the Truth." Equating the organization with that word "truth" was something I couldn't get over when I found things that were obviously NOT true.

75

What was your eye opening moment?

by WasOnceBlind in

if you had to pinpoint the time or experience that finally made you open your eyes, what would it be?.

i think for me it was the time i saw my dad shun his brother who he had not seen in decades just because he was a da'ed jw.

i thought to my self "no way jesus would do that.

cappytan

Legitimately researching 607 BCE got the ball rolling for me.

35

My Story of Waking Up - in retrospect

by cappytan in

so, many of y'all know bits and pieces of my story of waking up, but i thought it might be nice to have it all in one place.. i was baptized at 11, auxiliary pioneered every summer, regular pioneer at 17, ministerial servant by 19, then went to bethel for a year.. i always had minor doubts from time to time, but nothing serious.

always dismissed doubts and decided to "just have faith.".

after leaving bethel, i was never really firing on all cylinders "spiritually speaking.

cappytan

Tornintwo: Where are you now? Are you fading/faded, do you still attend? How have your parents been? Sorry perhaps everyone else knows this. Any helpful tips about leaving quietly?

First off, thanks for the kind words!

I'm currently fading pretty quickly, but still attending sporadically to keep elders and the in-laws that happen to attend our congregation off the scent.

Thankfully, I have been able to wake my wife up. I had a much easier time of waking her up than other people have experienced. I am a very fortunate and lucky man. I actually moved too fast with her. Most faders that move as fast as I did with my wife end up having a lot of conflict with their wife or divorced and disfellowshipped within weeks.

From the time I shared my first doubts with my wife to the time she told me she didn't want to be a Jehovah's Witness anymore, it was about 6 weeks.

My parents have no idea we're fading. Although they live close by, they're in a completely different town and circuit. I'm finding it hard, though, to stay close to them. I'm recognizing narcissistic selfish behavior in my mother, and it's leading me to resent her. My dad, who was my best friend for most of my adult life, I just can't be genuine with anymore. There's this big elephant in the room, and I can't talk about it because I don't want to be shunned.

I'm taking it day by day, though. Trying not to let the negatives get me down and just be thankful I'm gaining true freedom!

141

Schoolyard bully mentality

by FusionTheism in

i'm not naming names, but i just want to encourage people on here or on reddit or twitter, and tell you that you do not have to tolerate people who act like schoolyard bullies in the way they speak to you online.

i think anonymity is a big part of it.

they feel like there is zero accountability so they can be a bully all they want.. i recommend just ignoring or blocking anyone who is verbally abusive or treats you like schoolyard bullies treated you.. life is way too short to spend any time dealing with those kinds of people..

cappytan

I'm going to interject to ask some honest questions of FusionTheism.

FT, do you value evidence and rationality when forming an opinion on a matter?

The answer to that question is important. It's important to your freedom, for Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

How can one "know" the truth? How does one "know" anything is true? Is it just a feeling one gets? Is something "true" because that's just how you were raised? Or is something actually "true" because the evidence shows it to be so?

How would you answer these questions?

60

Why don’t we have a better story?

by iconoclastic in

1. some say we are all gods, and god is omnipresent..

2. some say: god created his children who later challenged his sovereignty, who in turn asked his eldest son: go down to the world, do not resist the wicked, but be murdered by them, the value of which will be used to atone the sins of the world..

3. universe arose out of a big bang.

cappytan

Cool story, bro!

182

The Case for Theism

by FusionTheism in

"theism" here means "belief in a god" or "the worldview that an intelligent designer created the universe and life.

" ("god" here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth)the most common claim that i see atheists making on twitter, is that "no evidence" exists in support of belief in a god.this post will remove any excuse atheists have for claiming "no evidence exists" in support of an initiator.

atheists can still reject this evidence as "weak," but they cannot truthfully say it does not exist.now, it is true that we do not have "observable, repeatable, falsifiable, empirical, scientific" evidence conclusively proving that an initiator exists, but we do have many lines of philisophical, experiential, and logical evidence.and... here... we... go:1:) many leading scientists, including stephen hawking, say that the space-time-matter universe had a beginning at the singularity/big bang.

cappytan

If Richard Dawkins says that we evolved from apes, why do we still have Richard Dawkins?

CHECKMATE ATHEISTS!j

182

The Case for Theism

by FusionTheism in

"theism" here means "belief in a god" or "the worldview that an intelligent designer created the universe and life.

" ("god" here means a being with a mind who initiated and/or wound-up the universe, and designed life on earth)the most common claim that i see atheists making on twitter, is that "no evidence" exists in support of belief in a god.this post will remove any excuse atheists have for claiming "no evidence exists" in support of an initiator.

atheists can still reject this evidence as "weak," but they cannot truthfully say it does not exist.now, it is true that we do not have "observable, repeatable, falsifiable, empirical, scientific" evidence conclusively proving that an initiator exists, but we do have many lines of philisophical, experiential, and logical evidence.and... here... we... go:1:) many leading scientists, including stephen hawking, say that the space-time-matter universe had a beginning at the singularity/big bang.

cappytan

Someone who is deeply entrenched in the Idea of the Existance of God..
Is`nt going to jump straight to abandoning a belief in God..
Those people need time to think,they have`nt done that in a very long time..
They literally need to rehabilitate their ability to think on their own again..

This I completely agree with.