Anders Andersen

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Posts by Anders Andersen

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  14

  How do you determine whether any religion is good or bad since...

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so, yesterday whilst playing chess i had a discussion ranging widely topically in which my chess opponent asked me, "how do you determine whether any religion is good or bad since there is so much basic disagreement on interpretations of text?

  "i replied this way:"does this particular god need to be treated like an adult, or as a spoiled child with a churlish temper?

  that's a good place to start.

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  Anders Andersen

  @Terry,

  Thanks for sharing you disagreement, A.A.

  You're welcome. Those who know me can tell you it's entirely my pleasure to disagree ;-)
  Thanks for your kind reply :-D

  
  
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  14

  How do you determine whether any religion is good or bad since...

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so, yesterday whilst playing chess i had a discussion ranging widely topically in which my chess opponent asked me, "how do you determine whether any religion is good or bad since there is so much basic disagreement on interpretations of text?

  "i replied this way:"does this particular god need to be treated like an adult, or as a spoiled child with a churlish temper?

  that's a good place to start.

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  Anders Andersen

  @Terry,

  I must strongly disagree with your last comment! Which is, I think a first in over 3 years of me being here ;-)

  On the other hand, learning a routine, sitting quietly while adults talk, studying things together with your family, showing concern for others, discussing ethical behavior...those things modeled inside a family structure are rarely found outside of religion. Formative formatting of a child's conscience is better than none at all.

  Children learn to sit and be quiet at school (although I wonder what's so good at being quiet and still instead of exploring and inquiring...)

  Religious families in my opinion most often don't discuss ethics and morality. They'll simply inform the children which rules they must obey lest they burn in hell (or something less graphic but unfavorable and lethal all the same).

  On the other hand, I have noticed that many atheists (the intelligent ones at least) make a conscious effort to teach their children to develop an actual moral compass based on compassion, basic human rights, etc. without rigidly prescribing where that compass must point.

  They try to show their children by example how to do and be good, as they can't fall back to a primitive set of rules that must be obeyed.

  Yes, there's enough religious folks that do some of that too.

  I'd say your comment is a (perhaps watered down) continuation of the trope 'without God one cannot have morals'.

  Having intelligent conversations about ethics and morality is far from the exclusive domain of religious people...

  
  
  
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  30

  It's My Birthday Today

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  today is my 34th birthday.

  or, my 3rd birthday that i've actually acknowledged seeing as i was raised in the cult.. i woke up this morning to my 4yo running into my room and wishing me a "happy birthday daddy!".

  i got a card from my ex-jw brother and i bought myself a birthday gift - a new 50mm lens for my nikon camera (photography is a hobby i took up since leaving the cult).. i dont know about you guys, but birthdays is still something i have to make a conscious effort to acknowledge and enjoy.

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  Anders Andersen

  Happy birthday bro!

  I celebrated it by voting in the city council elections and listen to my baby girl sing Sinterklaas songs ;-)
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  34

  For those who are athest, or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?

  by Tameria2001 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm not asking this question to cause an argument or accuse, but i am honestly just wondering?

  for those of you who are now atheist or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?

  i hadn't given this much thought until about a year ago.

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  Anders Andersen

  Real simple: I started on a journey to find credible, testable, objective evidence that would support my religious beliefs.

  I found none. I was forced to conclude my beliefs were not founded in any evidence. So what good is hanging on to them?

  To be sure, I prayed a lot a put a simple test before God, much simpler than some of the tests faithful people mentioned in the Bible are said to have put before God.

  God didn't respond in any way or form.

  So, no evidence and no response. To me, that's clear enough.

  Hadn't I been indoctrinated from birth I would never have come to believe in God based on the (lacking) evidence.
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  12

  Did the WTBTS really print this stuff?

  by Giordano in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i am not going to delve into the opinions and information provided by the good folks on this forum on matters of health and science in another post.

  instead i want to make clear that the wtbts provided a fountain of information on this subject.

  feel free to add any other misinformation you received.

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  Anders Andersen

  To be fair, much of the crazy Golden Age stuff was not written by Watchtower staff, but letters they received.

  Of course one can wonder why they would print insane and ridiculous statements that people sent them by letter...
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  56

  Things you will never hear a good Jehovah’s Witness say (to another Jehovah’s Witness)

  by hoser in

  1. social
  2. humour

  i’ll start it off.

  boy did we get drunk last night.

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  Anders Andersen

  Since the Law of Moses doesn't apply to us I shaved my beard and got a nice tattoo. Wanna see?
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  19

  Do you remember this?

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when g. was a litle kid, remembering the watchtower study at age 9, hearing all the stuff, the paragraph, the questions, the answers, about topics i could not understand, so it became so abstract that it was not entering my ears and brains.

  it felt that i was no part of the group, someone alone on a distant planet.. do you remember this feeling?.

  g..

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  Anders Andersen

  Mom, what is heavy petting?

  That's when you keep some large pigs as pets kid!
  
  
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  19

  Do you remember this?

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when g. was a litle kid, remembering the watchtower study at age 9, hearing all the stuff, the paragraph, the questions, the answers, about topics i could not understand, so it became so abstract that it was not entering my ears and brains.

  it felt that i was no part of the group, someone alone on a distant planet.. do you remember this feeling?.

  g..

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  Anders Andersen

  Not really. I think I felt more like a boss as I knew all this important stuff that most people didn't know. Especially the first time studying Revelation book at the book study. I was around 8 I think.

  I remember some other stuff too:

  • When very young: sleeping on the floor between the seats during conventions. The constant buzz of the crowd and the building, the echoing monotony of the speaker's unintelligible voice that entered my sleepy brain from far, far away. There's no better place to enjoy sleep than when you're supposed to listen to life saving instructions from God lol.
  • When a bit older: being bored out of my mind at meetings. We couldn't bring any toys, always say in first row, so there was not much I could do. I crossed my legs, and my knee became a mountain lair. My finger became a car that sped up the hill for some heroic task or another. I think I'd be able to entertain myself if I ever find myself locked away in solitary confinement.
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  21

  The effect Crisis of Conscience has...

  by pleaseresearch in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  would love to read this book one day and give it to my mum and brother who are both in the organisation.. so many people i see on videos claim that this book was the nail in the coffin.

  but do you know anyone where it had no effect on them?.

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  Anders Andersen

  Would love to read this book one day

  If reading a physical copy is too dangerous for you right now, buy the ebook version.

  In the Kobo store you can buy it for under 10 dollars, and you can read it in the Kobo app on your phone, tablet or PC.

  Just go buy and read it .

  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/crisis-of-conscience
  
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  9

  Secret documents from WHQ: JWs do everything to avoid reporting CSA

  by jochie in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clbnspvradui have seen the documents myself but i am not able to share them without jeopardizing the source.the rtl broadcasting company has spoken to the orginal source and we know that these documents are real..

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  Anders Andersen

  This is big.
  One because of the letter and its contents. Dutch MPs will have a field day with that.
  Two because this doesn't seem a letter to all elders, so there's a serious leak in the org.