Posts by cappytan

19

Give me 5 minutes to explain...

by pixel in

jw
friends

i keep thinking about the time i will "come out" and tell my wife about this sick cult.

i don't know when that day will come, but knowing me i will seat down with her and ask her for 5 minutes to explain to her why we as a family has to get out.

my question is: what will you tell somebody in 5 minutes, that will convince that perdon that this is not a good religion to follow and that we have been deceived?.

cappytan

I think it depends about the person you're talking to.

For me, doctrinal stuff probably would have worked best. (It's what eventually woke me up.)

For my wife, it was the child abuse things she couldn't excuse. Specifically that branch representative stating that the congregation's "protection was a spiritual protection" not a physical one.

I think it's different for everyone.

Perhaps lay some groundwork before you ask her for the 5 minutes. Innocently ask her, "If there was one thing you could change about Jehovah's Witnesses, what would it be?" That might give you a clue as to what part of the organization's policies she's sensitive to. In fact, she may even ask YOU what you wish could change. It might open up a good dialog.

34

Aus Bethel reducing numbers dramatically.

by joey jojo in

sorry if this is old news but just heard that there will only be about 75 people left at sydney bethel after layoffs.

cappytan

Dannnng. That's a huge cut.

212

Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

by Tenacious in

i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

was it the wts and all its crap?

was it something you read?

cappytan

Why are we not then, all of us going over to the a birthers forum and combating that?

Because we're here. I was using Birthers as an example. What these theists are doing is the same as if you asked a Birther for proof of their claims and then they said, "You prove that we're wrong."

When someone makes an extraordinary claim, it shouldn't be verboten to ask them to back it up with some evidence.

Saying that there is a being outside of the space time continuum that is all powerful and that he created the universe in which we live and everything in it is an even more extraordinary claim than what the birthers are asserting.

Why do people get so upset when you ask them for proof of that claim?

212

Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

by Tenacious in

i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

was it the wts and all its crap?

was it something you read?

cappytan

If you think a certain topic is stupid or has no evidence or foundation, simply stay out of it.

How about when someone says, "Obama is a Kenyan! His birth certificate is fake!"

That topic is stupid and has no evidence or foundation to support it. But we should "simply stay out of it?" We should let this person continue to spew beliefs that are harmful and not based on evidence continue to do so and possibly mislead others? We should let them go unchallenged without demanding evidence for their extraordinary claim?

Hell no. I will not stand by and I will not stay out of it.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke (supposedly)

47

Taking bets on how long this cult will last and what will happen to it

by macys in

i wanna make a poll here.

how many years do you think the jdub cult will exist as is and what will happen to it?.

i say the growth stops this year and starts to decline.

cappytan

I'm putting my money on negative growth within 10 years, but a 50% decline is a bit optimistic, in my opinion. Remember that they're seeing tremendous growth in the latino populations and countries in Africa. (If we are to believe the numbers.)

But I could see that within the next 10 years numbers in the US fall in the hundreds of thousands.

212

Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

by Tenacious in

i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

was it the wts and all its crap?

was it something you read?

cappytan

I am of the same opinion. I will eat a whole crockpot full of crow if someone presents verifiable definitive evidence of the existence of any supernatural creator being.

Now, whether or not I would worship such a being is another story.

48

Your thoughts on Halloween , yes, no or maybe ?

by Finkelstein in

well its that time again when the ghouls come out to play.

i personally think halloween is a bit irresponsible and inappropriate from a sociological perspective.. there's something about the intent of frightening young impressionable children minds with frightening objests.

and feeding them candy which most likely cause tooth decay and stomachs is irresponsible activity conducted by adults.

cappytan

Since my position is that there is no such thing as the supernatural (like ghosts or demons or witches), it's all fun and games.

It's like going to comicon or a Lord of the Rings cosplay event or playing Dungeons and Dragons.

212

Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

by Tenacious in

i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

was it the wts and all its crap?

was it something you read?

cappytan

When will people get it that the onus is on the one making the claim to prove that claim.

When a theist says, "There is a God!" and the atheist says, "I don't believe you," it's not up to the atheist to prove his position. The burden of proof is on the one making the extraordinary claim.

Rebel: Viv doesn't have to prove that there is no God. That responsibility lies with the one claiming there is a God.

28

question: Pinky rink, the ring i have seen on alot of the GB resembles a Masionic ring

by goingthruthemotions in

i get infuriated when i see the god's (guardians of doctrine) sporting pinky rings or rings on there right hands.

like a club association.

when i try and take a look at the ring it resembles a masionic ring.

cappytan

I think it's a signet ring of some sort. It is certainly in the signet style. However, without examining it up close, it would be premature to jump to the conclusion that it has anything to do with freemasonry.

137

Something interesting!

by John Aquila in

i was invited to a small get-together by a long time friend.

we both served as elders for years.

he is in his late 70s.

cappytan

60 and above. Sounds like a group of people that are old enough to remember the 1975 fiasco. "Fool me once..."