never a jw

Joined

• started 57 topics
• posted 2,278 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by never a jw

• 
  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  Ayn Rand's philosophy can only work in an ideal world where everyone believes what she believed; ironically, that kills one of the main tenets of her philosophy, individualism. Same thing can be of any group, either religious or political, it works very smoothly when everyone follows and does as the leader expects. Unfortunately, those are worlds lacking heroes, deep emotions, extreme pain and joy. No thank you. I rather experience the full range of human personalities, so I can enjoy the full range of emotions that humans are capable of. I am not interested in paradisiacal perfect worlds. It's too boring, too robotic, even it is controlled by reason and objectivity.

  Regarding AtlasShrugged, it's unnecessarily long. A. Rand could have made her points just using 25 % of the pages. She should have learned from Voltaire's Candide. Voltaire drives his points home more convincingly, more effectively and certainly more efficiently.
• 
  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  adjusted knowledge wrote: "I can see why conservatives would hold some of her ideology in high esteem."

  It's rather libertarians who hold her ideology in high esteem. Conservatives are quite a diverse crowd that are hard to define as a homogeneous group. Many purport to hold the very Christian values that are rejected by Ayn Rand.
• 
  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  Ayn Rand ant the Watchtower are diametrically opposite. She takes selfishness and self reliance to the extreme; the Watchtower demands total devotion and a life of sacrifice from its members for the sake of the few parasites at the top. Both are cultic paradigms, both are wrong, both are extremes. As I get older I find myself agreeing more and more with classic Athenian values of moderation.
• 
  51

  CO has been coming to my door. Would like 1 or 2 solid and easy arguments.

  by The Laser Viking in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am 6th generation.

  i have been out for a few years.. back story on the situation:.

  i had a co come by while going door-to-door in the neighborhood.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  The video has a lie. It shows in a time line the 2520 years from 607 bc to 1914 ad. In the same video you can see how in a section of the video where the video producers put the actual article written by Russell scrolling in the background; the actual year chosen by him as the beginning of the 2520 years was 606 bce.

  It was until 1943 when, in a surreptitious and deceptive manner, Fred Franz changed the date (see page 239 of "The Truth shall make you Free").
• 
  25

  When did you realize evolution was true?

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  ) which person/source first made you reconsider your position on creationism?.

  ) how long a period of time did it take to fully convince you?.

  ) what books and videos did you read and watch?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  I never doubted the scientific spirit. So I must have been exposed and accepted evolution when I was about 11 or 12. I rejected religion and God 2 or 3 years later.

  My understanding of evolution is much better, but I have a long way to go.
• 
  110

  Four Blood Moons might be significant

  by CharlieSmith1975 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuqzhnx7xma.

  the bible does say that the "day of jehovah" (armageddon) would be associated with the sun becoming dark followed by the moon turning to blood.

  but the moon turning to blood is specific to a total lunar eclipse.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  How about ignoring the loon. Wait...even threads like these can unexpectedly provide some gems:

  "If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people", House

  I am adding it to my favorite quotes
• 
  4

  Can I prove the hypocrisy of the Watchtower?

  by never a jw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just found the following quote that appears quite hypocritical.. .

  *** w03 6/1 pp.

  3-4 what is happening to charity?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  I just found the following quote that appears quite hypocritical.

  *** w03 6/1 pp. 3-4 What Is Happening to Charity? ***

  AFTER the attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York City and Washington, D.C., public support for the victims of the tragedy was remarkable. Charities were overwhelmed by $2.7 billion in donations to help care for the victims’ families. Shocked by the extent of the devastation, people everywhere wanted to help.

  The mood of some of the public quickly soured, however, when allegations surfaced that prominent charities were misappropriating funds. There was a flood of outrage at the report that one large charity planned to hold back nearly half of the $546 million it received and use it for other purposes. Although the organization later reversed its decision and apologized, one reporter observed: “Critics see this new turn of events as a day late and a dollar short to restore the trust” enjoyed before the attacks. How about you? Has your trust in charity been shaken lately?

  WASN'T THE WATCHTOWER ASKING MEMBERS NOT TO MARK THE PURPOSE OF THE DONATIONS WHEN THEY WERE ASKING FOR HELP TO DISASTER AREAS WHRE JW'S WERE AFFECTED. IF SO, WHY?

  I would appreciate if anyone can provide a quote where the Watchtower specifically asks members not to mark the purpose of the donation in cases where the money is intended to help for a specific disaster.
• 
  7

  Type CHARITABLE GIVING into the JW.org search engine and guess what you find?

  by Zoos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a long list of articles detailing how you can give money to them.. not a single mention of feeding, clothing or sheltering the poor, but an in depth discussion of how you can donate money, jewelry, property, both while you are living and after you are dead.. charitable giving - what a loving arrangement..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  Hey, let's be fair. I typed "charitable giving" and I got this video. Sometimes the GB can come up with a good thing. I watched the whole video about "giving makes you happy". I was waiting for the final appeal for money for the ORG, but it never happened. Thumbs up to the org. on this one... just this one.

  http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/giving-makes-you-happy/#?insight[search_id]=dc88ea8a-2c21-4120-a209-d032151d3196&insight[search_result_index]=4
• 
  33

  All things considered, when will THE JW religion end?

  by sowhatnow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  id give a guess of maybe another 15 to 20 years ,.

  nothing will be the same , if there even is a headquarters.. opinion?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  Village idiot, I am with you

  I was quoting R Jerome Harris, with whom I was disagreeing vehemently. The highlight in the top paragraph is my way of indicating a quote. I couldn't make the "quote" function work

  .
• 
  33

  All things considered, when will THE JW religion end?

  by sowhatnow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  id give a guess of maybe another 15 to 20 years ,.

  nothing will be the same , if there even is a headquarters.. opinion?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  never a jw

  @R Jerome Harris

  I say leave JWs alone. I say leave any person of any religious system or organization alone. Who are we to meddle as if what we personally believe is right and everyone else is wrong? Who are we to meddle because we personally do not like someone else's religion or beliefs? They might not like ours either.

  Humble yourselves and let God take care it. Let God take care of ending that which is false.

  Let me meddle in your belief system.

  Harmful, manipulative and deceiving religions should not be allowed to continue unchecked. Regarding God, he hasn't done s_it to alleviate humans suffering since "creation", not even his son Jesus fixed human affairs. Why should we expect God to start fixing anything, any time in the future. By the way, I like a God that leaves humanity alone. Thank you God for not sending Jesus for the last 2,000 years. Humans, or humanists, have done a much better job at providing fair laws, human rights, freedom, opportunity, than Jesus ever did.