Posts by Driveby

49

My 71st Birthday Confessional

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

i was born january 15, 1947in mt.

carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.

it was a union job.

Driveby

Hi Terry,

I'm about a month older than you. I, too, have PTSD but from being an infantry rifleman in a war. You didn't miss anything. The good thing is that we've both outlived about half the folks who were born when we were.

I think I get what you were saying about your artwork. I went to an art class half a dozen times about four years ago and started an oil painting. I took my painting home and did most of my painting there, which at first frustrated my instructor, but eventually she said, "You got it." I really don't know how I did it and became frightened that if I touched it again, I would ruin it, so I never did.

I went through a divorce about 10 years ago and left the cult shortly after that. A couple of years later, I got married to a wonderful, positive thinking lady and have not revisited my deep depressions since.

Your story is fascinating. Being a Jehovah's Witness AND being successful is almost an impossibility. Glad you got out.

38

Goodbye my friends.

by StephaneLaliberte in

jw
friends

for almost 12 years now, i have been coming to this site on a regular basis and in the last 5, i “faded out”.

i never regretted this and never will.

unfortunately though, yesterday, i realized that, until i can publically tell all my old acquaintances why i have left, i will never be truly free.

Driveby

Unfortunately though, yesterday, I realized that, until I can publically tell all my old acquaintances why I have left, I will never be truly free. There must be about 200+ JWs that I personally know me and none of them know why I have left.

I felt the same way 10 years ago when I left. I wrote a letter to the congregation explaining that I no longer wanted to be a part of Jehovah's Witnesses and why. I quoted some verses from the Bible and explained how I believed they were like the Pharisees.

Two elders came to my house and asked me if I still felt the same way. I did, but to my surprise, one elder said he felt the same way but couldn't find anything better. They disfellowshipped me a few days later because of my letter but no one knew why except the elders. Not one of my 'friends' has ever spoken to me since. For all they know, I committed some gross 'sin.'

I moved and have been away from that area for eight years. I don't really think about it much anymore and that would be my advice: Get as far away from them as possible and forget about them. You are just another casualty to them, another notch in Satan's pitchfork. You can no longer talk to them, much less, explain anything.

Once you've completely cleared yourself of the JW mentality, you'll experience true freedom of thought. But be careful; with freedom comes responsibility. Some go from the JW cult directly into another because of the longing to belong to something. Be critical about everything you've ever learned about religion. Just be yourself.

14

May I ask for help about Egyptian chronology and Neolithic settlements?

by paradiseseeker in

jw
friends

one of the first things that shook my faith as a teenager was learning about egypt and how its history goes back as far as 3500 bc, much earlier than the flood.

also learning about the first settlements like çatalhöyük, which flourished around 7500 bc, much earlier than the creation of adam.

the only answer i got from my mother was that this world is dominated by satan and thus we cannot trust in worldly chronologies.

Driveby

The only answer I got from my mother was that this world is dominated by Satan and thus we cannot trust in worldly chronologies.

You'll not shake the faith of a true believer. Doesn't matter whether they are JWs, exJWs or any other believer. Yes, there are even exJWs who still believe in that nonsense about God creating Adam and causing a flood. It didn't happen, but don't bother getting bogged down trying to convince someone who will not listen. All the facts and evidence in the world will not convince them otherwise.

For your own benefit, though, try Googling your questions but stay away from the creationists websites. They are complete nonsense as you'll find out by seeking true answers to your questions.

Here is an example of what you can find:

http://www.nature.com/articles/1601646

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

Driveby

Who really cares what anyone believes so long as it doesn't result in any sort of bad behavior? - Old Navy

No one as long as they keep it to themselves. - me

Who are "they" and what is "it" that they should keep to themselves? You wouldn't be advocating censorship or non-freedom of speech, wouldja now? - Old Navy

I was referring to religions that are harmful. I would go into it in more detail but that would be drifting too far from the thread which was about asking cofty to explain evolution.

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

Driveby

Who really cares what anyone believes so long as it doesn't result in any sort of bad behavior?

No one as long as they keep it to themselves.

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

Driveby

Creationism 101

Where did the concept of creationism originate?

With Abrahamic religions, it was written in their ancient Hebrew manuscripts.

What evidence did the ancient Israelites have to support their assertion?

None.

Why do folks still believe what was written in those ancient manuscripts?

Because they believe some supernatural being said it was so.

What evidence do we have today that proves creationism?

None.

Faith is what drives the belief in creationism. Creationism was not founded upon evidence, and still cannot be supported with modern scientific knowledge.

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

Driveby

But, when Evolution is proven to be fantasy one day (as it surely shall) what will then be thine refrain?

For a staunch creationist to admit that evolution cannot be proven false at this point in time is a good starting point. That's a little higher up the ladder than those who believe that scientists are evil and controlled by Satan who is using the theory of evolution to destroy Christianity. Or, is that what you do believe?

Creationism is a religion. If you continue to strongly believe in that religion, NOTHING will ever change your mind! All you're doing is proselytizing junk creationism. You've resorted to attacking something you know nothing about by calling it a fantasy because it is impossible to defend your myth.

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

Driveby

BTW You think I am a christian or creationist or something?? Believe it or not, it is possible to write things Cofty don't like without being a christian!

Of course you can be anything to write nonsense.

They did something similar with Einsteins theory recently but I can't remember the details. You see what I mean?

No.

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

Driveby

Darwinism doesn't exist. – cofty

But sure you know better than wikipedia lol - hothabanero

Wikipedia says:

In the 2008 documentary film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which promotes intelligent design (ID), American writer and actor Ben Stein refers to scientists as Darwinists. Reviewing the film for Scientific American, John Rennie says "The term is a curious throwback, because in modern biology almost no one relies solely on Darwin's original ideas... Yet the choice of terminology isn't random: Ben Stein wants you to stop thinking of evolution as an actual science supported by verifiable facts and logical arguments and to start thinking of it as a dogmatic, atheistic ideology akin to Marxism

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

Driveby

How exactly does a solid tooth become hollow? I asked an atheist recently how he explained this.

Do you actually believe that all atheists believe in evolution? Do you actually believe that all atheists are knowledgeable enough about evolution to answer a question about how a hollow fang evolved in a snake? Quoting someone who is not an expert and then attacking that statement is being dishonest.

This reminds me of the “Creation” book that the JWs put out years ago. In that book, they quoted an “evolutionist.” Readers were led to assume the “evolutionist” was an evolutionary scientist, but Francis Hitching was not ‘any’ kind of scientist. Richard Dawkins who ‘is’ an evolutionary biologist wrote about Hitching’s book, “The Neck of the Giraffe:” It "is one of the silliest and most ignorant I have read for years." And this book is widely quoted by creationists.

There are many complex life forms, but to look at them without studying them and then come to the conclusion that they had a designer and maker is being intellectually lazy.