Posts by Captain Obvious

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.

Captain Obvious

My mom being DFed started the ball rolling for me. It was wrong and somehow I knew it.

Researching info about The Flood was the beginning of my wake up. After that it was 607. That is the epicentre of JW teachings. Without 607 there is no theology. Once that was clear... The floodgates were open.

I'm now a happy 85% faded atheist. No service in 3.5 years and about 6 meetings a year. Skipped last SAD and probably skipping the RC! Can't wait to NOT sit through three days of brain melting bullshit.

24

Barings Bank & the JWs

by Doltologist in

in the early 1990s, i was in a meeting.

we were making some major changes to the main it system of the company i worked for.

during the meeting i said, 'what would happen if one of our major customers went belly up and shouldn't we build something into the system to cope with this?'.

Captain Obvious

I believe taxation would be the best way, but if the church of Scientology can maintain tax-free status... Anyone can. Laws will need to change first and we don't see that happening anytime soon.

If religious groups were held to account on certain laws with the threat of the removal of their tax-free status, we would definitely have a chance at seeing the WT fall but otherwise... No

31

Why do you still give talks?

by 1tMakesNoSence in

assuming you are still sitting there because of circumstances.

why do you still give/don't give talks?i ask this because i have to give talk no.

3: love and obedience bring happinessnwt p. 26 4-6 (5 min.

Captain Obvious

You ARE allowed to decline to give talks.

Or you could do what I did and blow a bunch of readings off. Accept the slip, tell em you'll be there then not show up. After a couple times they'll see you as too unreliable to assign talks to.

51

Best Argument for Atheism - In your view.

by LAWHFol in

if crisis of conscience is one of the top watchtower doctrine killers, what is the coc of theism?.

i'd like to read a book, or other material that does the best job logically arguing for atheism.. i've not read any darwin, however it is my assumption that his focus is primarily on evolution, is this correct?

if you were to recommend one book or a few pieces of reading material, which do the best job of defending atheism, what would they be?.

Captain Obvious

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan

God is not Great - Christopher Hitchens

Why I am not a Christian - Richard Carrier

Drunk With Blood - Steve Wells

Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris

On the Origin of Species - Charles Darwin

Start with these. Top to bottom. I actually started with Sagan and went to Dawkins from there, equally effective. Open your eyes!

74

Jehovah's Witnesses 2015 Regional Convention Saturday PM experience parents shunning children

by Watchtower-Free in

clip 3 minutes long.

ron and brenda sutton ................warwick 3 children

it was the missed association with family that brought them back.

Captain Obvious

I LOVE that write up. It was my mom getting DFed that began my wake-up process, and put a large divide between my family forever.

28

Today my son told me that he can't stand this religion

by hardtobeme in

jw
friends

i have talked to him ttat.

and he understands.

he doesn't wanna be a jw.

Captain Obvious

Well for starters... Congratulations! To him and yourself.

The conversation you two had today is what many of our dreams are made of. Stop being stressed! Just help him understand what's at stake for your family, help him understand your plan with your family and how he can help.

The he danger is when your wife questions him on his inactivity or outright disbelief. It will circle right back around to you sooner or later. Probably sooner. Be ready for that, could blow it all wide open but if that's what is going to happen, so be it.

You need to prepare sir. Prepare for fights with wife and family, confrontations with friends and elders. If it were you alone you could probably pull it off but with him involved... You have no control.

Reflect on on how fortunate you are that your son is awake! And prepare yourself for the fight of your life.

I wish you well.

19

"I cant wait to meet Abraham!"

by stuckinarut2 in

"i can't wait to meet abraham" was the eager comment made by a young 7 year old witness girl.. when asked why, she said "because he was jehovahs friend, and he was even willing to kill his own son!".

this comment was said with joy and excitement!

she can't see the obvious issues with this?.

Captain Obvious

The WT doesn't seem to have read Matt 8:11...

Matt 8:11, NIV - 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

5

disgusted with their smugness

by LuckyNun in

a few people from my jw past recently friended me on facebook and i accepted.

it was all good and we sent a few catching-up messages back and forth.

then i started seeing their newsfeed posts and it was just a bunch of memorial invite spam and nature photos with smug comments on how the chosen ones had paradise to look forward to.

Captain Obvious

Wow... I read a few posts on that right wing news.... Wish I hadn't. Barf!

I wouldn't say the opinions shared there would reflect JWs exactly though. Just typical American ignorance at its best

40

The mathematical probability of spontaneous order (no designer/creator)

by Fernando in

there seem to be many prerequisites for life as we know it.. to name a few: order, function, compatibility, availability, sustainability, intelligence, consciousness, intuition and so on.. focusing on only one, namely order.. what are the chances of order arising spontaneously, by chance, with no creator/designer?.

i have often pondered this and recently came across a mathematical summary of the big picture:.

if every particle in the known physical universe (10^80 particles), participated in one trillion interactions (10^12 interactions) per second, for the entire 30 billion years of the universe's existence (10^18 seconds), then we would by now have covered only 10^110 permutations.. if you had only 100 components in a container, what are the chances that a blindfolded person could lay them out in order on a table?.

Captain Obvious

Fernando, you've started a good discussion but you got the entire premise wrong. Life on earth works on earth. If the earth were any different, and life had still begun, the earth would still be perfect for those life forms. You're looking at things backwards.

Order can and does arise from disorder, we see it in nature. That's exactly how biology works... Whatever doesn't work is eliminated, what we see now is the result of automatic processes which didn't need divine guidance.

37

Who is Gog of Magog? - Watchtower May 2015

by jwleaks in

here we go again... let's study... news report... comment.... who is gog of magog mentioned in the book of ezekiel?.

for a number of years, our publications have explained that gog of magog is the name given to satan the devil after his ouster from heaven.

this explanation was based on the fact that the book of revelation identifies satan the devil as the leader of the worldwide attack on gods people.

Captain Obvious

Sooo... Can I be part of Magog?