It would have to be a tie between:
Voltaire, who fearlessly took on the church of his day, exposing them to well thought-out and much-deserved ridicule...
and Robert G. Ingersoll, who carried on the tradition.
smmcroberts
JoinedPosts by smmcroberts
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who is your favoured successful APOSTATE?
by prologos inon this site are very capable people and much to learn.
rejects from powerful religions, that contributed to mankinds advance, are good examples for us.
what is your inspiring historical apostate figure?
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Jehovah's Pagan Witnesses?
by smmcroberts inrecent responses to teeny's "siestas are bad" blog on jwb have seen witnesses defending their stance against birthdays on the basis that the practice has "pagan origins".
that got me wondering how many things with a "pagan origin" a witness accepts in their daily life without a fuss.
upon examination it seems they may be nearly as "steeped in paganism" as the religions they condemn.. for the details (and at least one good chuckle) please see my latest blog:.
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smmcroberts
Thanks for the info on bird-seed, Heaven. I've added it to the blog.
I also added a clarification about throwing rice: I didn't mean to imply that JWs do this. I meant to show that they attend weddings which have many pagan customs, yet they outlaw birthdays because they have some pagan customs! If you're going to allow the one you can't logically ban the other. Unless of course you cop the attitude: "We don't give a damn about consistency; we're the GB and will issue whatever edicts pop into our tiny little minds, and you'd better play along or our god will zap you real soon now."
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Jehovah's Pagan Witnesses?
by smmcroberts inrecent responses to teeny's "siestas are bad" blog on jwb have seen witnesses defending their stance against birthdays on the basis that the practice has "pagan origins".
that got me wondering how many things with a "pagan origin" a witness accepts in their daily life without a fuss.
upon examination it seems they may be nearly as "steeped in paganism" as the religions they condemn.. for the details (and at least one good chuckle) please see my latest blog:.
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smmcroberts
Recent responses to Teeny's "Siestas are bad" blog on JWB have seen Witnesses defending their stance against birthdays on the basis that the practice has "pagan origins". That got me wondering how many things with a "pagan origin" a Witness accepts in their daily life without a fuss. Upon examination it seems they may be nearly as "steeped in paganism" as the religions they condemn.
For the details (and at least one good chuckle) please see my latest blog:
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Minimus' Post Gave Me Courage To Finally Post My Questions, New Here
by toweragent ini have been "lurking" for about four years now.. it was an incredibly weird experience just to look at a site like jwn or freeminds.
he came off very loving.. so, i decided that i would talk to one of my elders about the things i read.
if any of you have time to read this, thank you.
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smmcroberts
It seems foolish to start bickering about the Trinity, etc., when the OP specifically stated that he had no doubts about these things. When someone comes here expressing doubts about the Org itself, how helpful is it to try pulling them in different directions over issues they aren't ready to consider?
IMHO it would seem better to stick to what we pretty much all agree on here: that the WT is not being used by Jehovah to spread his message.
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Minimus' Post Gave Me Courage To Finally Post My Questions, New Here
by toweragent ini have been "lurking" for about four years now.. it was an incredibly weird experience just to look at a site like jwn or freeminds.
he came off very loving.. so, i decided that i would talk to one of my elders about the things i read.
if any of you have time to read this, thank you.
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smmcroberts
He admitted that there were various things he didn't understand either, but he had decided to wait for the new system instead of abandoning his hope.
I agree with nochoice; at some point the pattern is too overwhelming to ignore. You stop thinking that there are a few things you don't understand, and come to wonder if there's anything that they are right about.
If they are wrong about so much, then there's no reason to think that they're right about a"new system" coming where everything will be explained and somehow made right. Which means these things will never be made right as long as the GB refuses to own up to its mistakes and resorts to deception to cover them up instead.
The only way to live "in the truth" is to do so here and now by abandoning an organization that refuses to admit the truth right now here today. Otherwise you're following a lie, and it seems foolish to believe that following a lie will lead you to the truth: ever.
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I apologise Lord
by StopTheTears ini apologize on behalf of my nation.
the united states of america has become a large sodom and gomorrah.i am so sorry lord, you deserve far much better.
you have blessed us with freedom.
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smmcroberts
I believe the Bible so much that I am compelled, burdened day and night, to warn people about the coming judgment.
I have the cure for your burdensome compulsion, which will probably stop-the-tears:
(Click to read.) -
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Minimus' Post Gave Me Courage To Finally Post My Questions, New Here
by toweragent ini have been "lurking" for about four years now.. it was an incredibly weird experience just to look at a site like jwn or freeminds.
he came off very loving.. so, i decided that i would talk to one of my elders about the things i read.
if any of you have time to read this, thank you.
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smmcroberts
Welcome, TowerAgent!
Literally speaking there is no certainty in life. So you'll never know with 100% certainty that the WT is not being used by the war god of the ancient Hebrews (aka "Jehovah"). Just as we don't know for sure whether or not fairies exist. But we can be reasonably sure; or as the law puts it: sure beyond a reasonable doubt.
What made me 99.9999% sure was this: from 1921-1952 the WT held that vaccinations were "a direct violation of the everlasting covenant God made with Noah after the flood" Does that sound familiar? It should: It's the same thing they continue to say about blood transfusions. They also stated that "Vaccination has never saved a human life. It does not prevent smallpox.” (The Golden Age, February 4, 1931, pp. 293-294). In the meantime, vaccination erradicated smallpox from the United States, and eventually from the face of the Earth.
Similarly, from 1967-1980 they held that organ transplants were against God's law. In the meantime, Witnesses needing transplants died, while "worldly" people in the same situation lived.
Now, here's the thing:
1. If the GB is "faithful and discreet," they must've felt certain that they "had Jehovah's spirit" guiding them in these deadly pronouncements (otherwise it wouldn't have been discreet to issue them.)
2. But if they felt "certain" that these things were against God's law, and later they admitted that they were not against God's law, then it follows that they don't know when God's spirit is directing them and when it is not directing them.
3. If they don't know when God's spirit is directing them, then they must not know what God's direction feels like.
4. If they don't know what God's direction feels like, then they must have never felt it.
5. If they have never felt God's direction, then God is not directing them.
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Keeping Score: WT vs. "the world"
by smmcroberts inwe make points here and there, and the wt makes some points... but i've never sat down and really compared them, until now.. .
my latest blog is a scorecard comparing the positive and negative points of the wt against science/"the world":.
http://smmcroberts.net/blog/scorecard-watchtower-vs-the-world.
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smmcroberts
Thanks secondary priorities, and welcome to the site! (I'm something of a newbie here myself.)
Yes, there's a human tendency to swing too far in the opposite direction once we're free of the WT, and just automatically assume that everything about them is wrong. Which, of course, is as erroneous as assuming that everything they say is true.
Still, any way you look at it, I think in an honest comparison "the world" wins.
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Keeping Score: WT vs. "the world"
by smmcroberts inwe make points here and there, and the wt makes some points... but i've never sat down and really compared them, until now.. .
my latest blog is a scorecard comparing the positive and negative points of the wt against science/"the world":.
http://smmcroberts.net/blog/scorecard-watchtower-vs-the-world.
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smmcroberts
We make points here and there, and the WT makes some points... but I've never sat down and really compared them, until now.
My latest blog is a scorecard comparing the positive and negative points of the WT against science/"the world":
http://smmcroberts.net/blog/scorecard-watchtower-vs-the-world
I tried to be objective (and yes, I did give the WT some positive points) but you probably won't agree with every score, or choice of topic. But, it's a start.
Can you guess who won?
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I apologise Lord
by StopTheTears ini apologize on behalf of my nation.
the united states of america has become a large sodom and gomorrah.i am so sorry lord, you deserve far much better.
you have blessed us with freedom.
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smmcroberts
There is no shame in banning religious instruction from publicly-funded schools; that is where freedom begins: the freedom to think outside the constraints of religious chains.
BTW: No one teaches that humankind evolved from apes. You either didn't attend public school, or you slept through science class.
But shame on you for having strained the gnat and swallowed the camel; you overlooked the biggest sin of the United States: our war-mongering ways! That is something that needs to change, and no amount of prayer (in the schools or out) will accomplish it.
