Posts by Captain Obvious

8

How Do you Solve A Problem Like Maria (or more importantly 1914)

by wizzstick in

so how will they solve it?.

having researched the whole 607bce thing, it's clear that it's utter nonsense.

for example, the house of egibi transaction records closes the door on any questions about the reign of kings of this time.

Captain Obvious

NeverKnew, great points.

First, you're right that discovering the 607 lie will only awaken the thinkers, not so much the feelers. This would be a great subject for another thread! Of the members of this board, thinkers vs. feelers , what woke them up. The 607 issue, combined with the fact that I had known NOTHING of the controversy over the matter, was what woke me up the hardest. After reading about it and letting it soak in, I grabbed my blood card out of my wallet, destroyed it and vowed never to go in FS again. When I showed all of the same information to my wife, she just shrugged and said, "So?"

Unfortunately mos Dubs don't even understand how pivotal 607 is to their theology. They just snooze through the studies and answer the underlined bits into the microphone. Mind control at its best!

A change this large in their theology would wake many people up, if they do understand. The society's supposed 'expectation' of the events of 1914 is the main reason they have any faith in these men at all. I know it was for me. Take that away, and the whole illusion crumbles. Some will shrug, pick up their service bags and continue. MANY will wake up. I don't believe they could survive a change that big at this point or anytime soon.

119

How many of you followed the WTS direction on education years ago and have been screwed by it?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

i'm really interested in this question because i've heard for years that if you forgo further education and go pioneering, when you have a family down the track you will get a good job because jehovah will provide for you because you pioneered.

as long as i was a kool-aid drinker, even then, i thought, "how does pioneering pay your bills?

surely education should come first.

Captain Obvious

I guess it helps that I never dreamed too big. A year after high school I took a 7 month trades pre-apprenticeship course, and went into an apprenticeship in a trade that I really enjoy. A few years later, I'm in a position where I am doing exactly what I would like to be doing, for a great company who pays my a GREAT living. At this point I feel fulfilled. I could work for myself, or work for many companies earning good money. This, of course is a product of Canada's trades-driven industry. I wouldn't get paid nearly as much in another country.

Looking back, I would have made a better engineer than what I am doing. I like what I do, but it comes easily which means I will get bored eventually. Had I gone to uni at the time I did my apprenticeship, my 19 year old born-in Dub brain wouldn't have had the clarity of thought or personal motivation to do well. If I have the opportunity to go, I will consider it.

I wasn't screwed by the WT's stance on education. My parents impressed on me the importance of a certification of some kind, and I never planned on being a pioneer or anything. Contrast that with my sister. She and her husband are pioneers. They run a nice little window washing business. University was not an option for her husband because he is a pioneer high school dropout. His honest reasoning was 'why finish? I can work laying floors or whatever and pioneer until the end comes'. Seriously.

Those who REALLY follow the WTs advice and believe what they say, will ALWAYS be screwed. Even those who would be no good with a good education, could still benefit from a business course or trades certification or something. Armageddon ain't coming folks, time to prepare for the rest of your lives.

69

Atheism and the delusion of meaning

by Laika in

jw
friends

in the movie annie hall, written by woody allen, as a young boy, alvy's mother, takes him to see a doctor as he appears to be dealing with some kind of depression.

when the doctor asks alvy what's up, alvy explains that he just found out the universe is expanding, everything will spread out and go cold and die, therefore nothing he does matters, so he is not going to do anything anymore.

most people might see this as a joke, but i think woody is trying to make a serious point.. the point here is about meaning.

Captain Obvious

The fact that you personally place value on the concept of meaning, has nothing to do with the question of whether or not your life has meaning.

My particular brand of 'Secular Humanism' doesn't require me to try to find meaning in an old book that tells us we came from one couple, there's a god up there who's a real prick. My beliefs don't require me to make constant excuses for this god, or this book. When reading the bible, if one is to try to believe it, one must start making excuses for it right from Genesis 1:1 on. My beliefs make logical sense. The fact that I feel a meaning to my life has nothing to do with whether or not the meaning of my life has any effect on the universe at all. MY universe is made up of my family and those I love first, followed by my love for all other humans. That is something every one of us feels, even you pious folk. What's more, it's a product of our evolution.

The fact that the universe has no purpose isn't a bother at all. Actually, I'm glad. I'm now free to do what I like. That doesn't mean being selfish, it means I don't have to dedicate my life to anything other than my loved ones. That my friend, is the beauty of it all. Do you think your beloved creator would rather you dedicate your life to whatever his favourite humans dictate is a way to serve him? Would he/it not rather you spend your energy and resources helping those around you, enjoying your life? Not worrying about whether he approves of you enough to NOT kill you for not doing what his silly book of riddles says...?

If this issue is the last one that holds you back from letting go of god, then I wish you well in sorting it out. You will. If you think that ANYTHING you could do could have any effect on the universe, then you are still stuck in the same place. If you think ANYTHING you could do could have any effect on a creator of this universe, then again you are still stuck in the same place.

We're not so different, you and I.

31

A QUESTION NOBODY EVER ASKS....

by Terry in

what is the difference between working a math problem and, say...playing a piano piece?.

the math problem has a correct answer.

getting close to the correct answer is simply called being wrong.. music, on the other hand, can have a wide range of expression not easily judged to be "wrong".

Captain Obvious

Well if the Catholic Church theology is 100% correct, then god is still megalomaniacal twat....

Jus' sayin'

261

Evolution is Crap, there I said it!

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

ok i started another thread and every one jumped on me because i was trying to take the theory of evolution out of the mix and most here seem to believe in it so i will just say it.

the theory of major evolution is crap!

the theory is falling apart.

Captain Obvious

Your OP smells of yet further ignorance. Evolution has nothing to do with light, dark, hot, cold, etc. that's like saying the theory of gravity doesn't explain why we get sick.

An organism does not need to understand why it can do what it does. No organism ever "created" it's eyes. The evolution of the eye is well documented and explained. Again, read a damn book.

Many of us are not defending evolution because of its sentimental value or anything. It's not something that needs to be defended when its facts are available. Contrast that with the bible, which is defended solely because of what it means to people, and yet a Christian must start making excuses for it right from the beginning.

If you can disprove evolution, you are welcome to do so and collect your Nobel Prize. If someone were to come up with a better explanation for the diversity we see, and the facts were there to back it up, I'm sure most of us would readily accept it. Darwin released "on the origin of species" over 150 years ago. While today we have a much clearer picture of the theory than he did, the main statements of his theory have stood strong every since. I say, well done Darwin.

People don't adopt a belief in evolution just so that they can drop their belief in god. They believe it to be true because that's where the facts lead. All of your objections (at least the ones that actually pertain to evolution) are easily explained (not excused) and are important components of how it actually works. Just saying "how can that come about be evolution!?" Is not a legitimate argument, it is an argument from personal incredulity. In your case, it is an argument from personal ignorance.

The information is all there and readily available for you, you just need to read a book that wasn't written by equally ignorant people. You have been fooled.

52

OK so if the Bible is crap??

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

ok so if the bible is nothing more then a pagan religious book, then how do all of you that think this, think we got here?

and please don't tell me you believe in evolution, because even the experts are finding major flaws in that theory.

so what is your opinion??

Captain Obvious

This clown will just be back to say "that's not what I asked! Waaa waaa waaaa"

The OP was very facepalm-inducing, but I'm not sure whether to blame him for his ignorance, or try to help. We have all tried to help him on this thread, though not sure it will help. That quote by Sam Harris is awesome! CrazyGuy, read it and consider it seriously. If you really want to live in such ignorance, perhaps the WT is the place for you.

Think about what lead you away from the WT... Was it not incontrovertible evidence? Follow that path where it leads. And don't tell me you believe in the bible, even the experts are finding flaws with it.

69

Millions now living will never die - false prophecy yet?

by slimboyfat in

rutherford wrote the booklet of that name in 1920. is that definitively a false prophecy yet?

even if everyone who was alive in 1920 survived armageddon, if it was to come today, would that amount to millions of people?

according to wikipedia there are 316,600 people who are a 100 years old or older.

Captain Obvious

Of course this begs the question of will armygeddon actually happen, "ushering in" a new world?

Well... NO

28

How will the WT spin China???

by Freeof1914 in

i read an article this morning on how china is quickly reaching even footing with the united states in all aspects; military, economic etc.

the article continued saying how it was imperative that the united states recognize that it would be forced to behave accordingly or risk ddestabilizing the world.

another interesting statement was made that sooner rather than later the u.s. would become the 2nd largest economy falling behind china.

Captain Obvious

I don't they've read that far in their bibles! Remember, they're not allowed to read all verses in a row, only cherry picked ones out of context. That's just how they roll. Or they'd just state that half of the prophecy was "figurative".

88

Former Long Time Elder, New Member

by James Jackson in

jw
friends

i have served 20 years as an elder, 5 years as an ms. was on the district committee in 2010, held various positions on the district , circuit, and rbc level.

probably been on more than 100 judicial committees and even an appeals committee.

was the coordinator in our congregation and deleted because adult child was df ( i kicked him out at the time of his wrongdoing, but that wasn't enough for thr brothers).

Captain Obvious

James, how is your wife handling your changes? Is she on the same page or opening her eyes at all? If you'd like to share your story on that we'd love to hear it.

19

Evolution Tree has no Trunk

by Escargot in

jw
friends

simon: last post on this topic for the week!

hope all have enjoyed this information!.

"""""missing trunk .

Captain Obvious

The apparent lack of fossil evidence in the Precambrian doesn't hurt the theory at all. And it certainly doesn't prove Gawd did it.