Funny, KS, that you didn't read the book or research this subject, yet you have given your grand write off "Next". Do you do the same thing with science? I think maybe you do. Many claim to leave JWs, THOROUGHLY examine Christianity, and then give it up based on the evidence. Funny, I keep to trying to find one that has actually done it and not just claim to. But what I find is that they leave JWs, then they start researching atheism instead of Biblical Christianity and then they leave. I'm having a hard time find (with maybe the exception of cofty) those that gave historic Christianity a chance and then left. No, from my experience (and I'm only speaking from what I alone have seen), they leave, attempt to disprove the Bible and God, and then are happy with the label atheist or agnostic.
Christ Alone
JoinedPosts by Christ Alone
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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231
Thinking of becoming a JW.
by Kate82 inhi,.
i am new to here so please be bear with me.. i have always believed in god, but was never baptised, my parents wanted me to make up my own mind religon wise.. i am thinking of becoming a jw and am just needing some advice on how to do this, bible study and jw beliefs.
also do jw say grace and how.. i am greatful of any help.. thanks.
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Christ Alone
Can someone please tell me more about being controlled what to wear and how to look... i mean i am 29 not bad looking, does it mean no make up head covered etc dowdy looking etc...
It's more than just what to wear and how to look. But some small examples are this: Men are not allowed to have beards because the WT views it as dirty. Women must be very careful that their skirts are not too short. You MUST dress up fully when coming to the Kingdom Hall. Men are not allowed to give talks without a jacket and a tie. Long hair for men is not allowed. A good clean 1950's haircut is preferred. Slits are not recommended for women and if someone has one, it must be very short. Earings are allowed, but other piercings or tattoos are not. The overall theme is that it is all about APPERENCE. The outside is the most important part.
About prayer, they are VERY formal about it. It is not about having a close relationship in prayer. You will never hear someone come up to you at a Kingdom Hall and ask to pray with you. Prayer is used to open and close meetings or open and close Bible studies. They MUST end every prayer with "We pray in Jesus name, Amen". They don't know what this means other than that it is sort of like a "stamp" on an envelope, to make sure that the prayer gets to God. Yes, they pray before every meal.
The term "Grace" is NOT used with Jehovah's Witnesses. They do not understand the Christian concept of Grace. They prefer the term "Undeserved Kindness." According to them, we must do works to earn our salvation. They claim that we cannot EARN it, but they teach that if we do not do the works that the Watchtower prescribes, we will not make it into God's New System (aka paradise earth, new world, etc...)
Head coverings are used in certain situations. If a woman is with a baptized JW man, she must wear a head covering if she is teaching another student. The Watchtower is extremely sexist in that it does not allow women to teach. You will see this at their meetings. Women can only do demonstration type talks where they talk to another woman, lest it appear that they are trying to teach a man *gasp*.
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Non-JW family members who are overly RESPECTFUL and PROTECTIVE of the JW's.
by nicolaou inin my immediate family only my dad was never a jw.
my brother was the first to leave when he was 15, i left some twenty years later.
my mum always was and still is the hardcore jw 'hub' of the family and she also brought in her sister and nephew.. now here's the thing.
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Christ Alone
I see this phenomenon on youtube all the time. People post, "Why are you picking on the Jehovah's Witnesses?!?" It's because they don't know about the hurt and pain that exJWs have gone through in and out of the organization.
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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Christ Alone
With this child like quality, they view the world, because they are not delving into science and how things actually happened.
Exactly my point. We were talking about children that have not been taught yet. They are not naturally atheist. They are naturally believers in the supernatural. They haven't learned about Santa Clause or any other fiction. But they believe, even sub consciously, in a designer. Once they are exposed to beliefs of their parents (whether religious or atheist) then they develop along those lines. When they are taught what science claims to know, they develop that way as well.
At all points in scientific history, scientists have claimed to know FOR SURE how things work. And then another discovery will come along and change the entire scientific community. Then they will again claim, "Now we know for sure that this happened." And then again the same thing will happen. I posted it yesterday and I'll say it again. He who thinks he knows something, does not yet know anything. And that applies to believers and non believers alike.
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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Christ Alone
NC, I've been on point this entire time. I mainly was talking about KS's constant insulting. Unfortunately I get drawn into that sometimes and try and give it back. But the stance is always "They are all delusional". It's the militant atheism that I have problems with. KS has shown to be one of those. Those sorts of atheists demand that anyone that does not agree with them are less intelligent. Yes, many believers do the same and I have issue with that too. It just seems to be an overall theme to atheism that it demands that you condemn all others as delusional, thanks to good ol' Dick Dawkins.
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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Christ Alone
I just had an involved conversation with a believer that insists that believers are always superior to nonbelievers.
Yeah, there are alot of those sorts of people that are believers.
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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Christ Alone
NC, I've seen you and others do this numerous times. A claim is made and you say that it's so untrue, it's laughable or silly. Well here's one study, and I can find NUMEROUS others, that show academics are seeing that kids are predisposed to belief in God WITHOUT being taught:
Children are born believers in God, academic claims
Children are "born believers" in God and do not simply acquire religious beliefs through indoctrination, according to an academic.
Dr. Barrett: "If we threw a handful on an island and they raised themselves I think they would believe in God." Photo: John Taylor By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
2:54PM GMT 24 Nov 2008
Dr Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, claims that young people have a predisposition to believe in a supreme being because they assume that everything in the world was created with a purpose.
He says that young children have faith even when they have not been taught about it by family or at school, and argues that even those raised alone on a desert island would come to believe in God.
"The preponderance of scientific evidence for the past 10 years or so has shown that a lot more seems to be built into the natural development of children's minds than we once thought, including a predisposition to see the natural world as designed and purposeful and that some kind of intelligent being is behind that purpose," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"If we threw a handful on an island and they raised themselves I think they would believe in God."
In a lecture to be given at the University of Cambridge's Faraday Institute on Tuesday, Dr Barrett will cite psychological experiments carried out on children that he says show they instinctively believe that almost everything has been designed with a specific purpose.
Another experiment on 12-month-old babies suggested that they were surprised by a film in which a rolling ball apparently created a neat stack of blocks from a disordered heap.
Dr Barrett said there is evidence that even by the age of four, children understand that although some objects are made by humans, the natural world is different.
He added that this means children are more likely to believe in creationism rather than evolution, despite what they may be told by parents or teachers.
Dr Barrett claimed anthropologists have found that in some cultures children believe in God even when religious teachings are withheld from them.
"Children's normally and naturally developing minds make them prone to believe in divine creation and intelligent design. In contrast, evolution is unnatural for human minds; relatively difficult to believe."
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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Christ Alone
I mean, if we spit on you and kicked you, that would be doing exactly what Jesus tells you is required for you to experience in order to bear your Cross in his name, right?
That's ridiculous. Jesus never said to look for that. And I'm talking about your attitude, not some sort of imagined persecution. I'm sorry I'm feisty today, but KS you rub me the wrong way, always have. You insult others constantly that don't agree with you. I've even seen you do it to other atheists! It really shows how happy atheism has made you. I'm happy for you.
But yeah, the CONSTANT accusations that everyone that believes in God, Christian or otherwise, is delusional shows your attitude about yourself. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe your self esteem is so low and you were made to feel unintelligent growing up has caused you to put down others in order to make yourself feel better. That's probably closer to the truth.
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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Christ Alone
YHWH loses any rights to claim to be the Intelligent Designer by not being aware of basic facts of human anatomy that WERE ancient "scientific" beliefs at the time the Bible was written (based on Egyptian and Babylonian knowledge), but are now known to be in error.
BUZZ!!!! Wrong! We were talking about a PROOF that there is no God. Even intelligent atheists don't believe that there is PROOF that there is no God. They just say that there is no proof that there IS, God. Who was talking about the Judeo/Christian God here?
What a scientist (as you claim) you are! Failed on the first easy question. You get an "F", smart guy. King Solomon, I really doubt your doctorate.
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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Christ Alone
Try to understand what i said, first. Then we can talk.
I'm just saying that atheism ISN'T the default. There have been studies that have shown that kids that were not specifically taught a belief in God, still had a belief in God naturally. We naturally believe in God, and that is why atheism never has and never will be the default position. I wasn't arguing your other points. Just that kids believe in the supernatural even when their parents don't. Atheism is learned. Yes, kids learn about God and believe what their parents teach them. But why do kids still believe in God even when their parents DON'T teach them.
Dr. Barrett: "If we threw a handful on an island and they raised themselves I think they would believe in God." Photo: John Taylor