an elder came over for a visit the other night (he couldn't get a partner) personally i consider him a friend and have revieiled many things to him an figured the tie has come to step out of this religion slowly.. well i finally told him i have no believe in the bible (other then the confirmed history in it) or god.
i did it slowly and tactfully and even non-agressive.. his response to learning i believe in evolution was that evolution doesn't happen now i respectfully disagreed and pointed out lactose and alcohol tolerance among the last thousand years as well as tibetian lung/hearts.
he refused to believe it.
Right...no need for a different flu shot as the living viruses do not evolve at all, right? MRSA didn't evolve either?
Some other examples:
http://listverse.com/2011/11/19/8-examples-of-evolution-in-action/
But don't try to convince him, it won't work. As long as he knows you made a rational decision based on a lot of evidence. He might not accept the evidence, but sure as hell cannot refute it.
our family and friends blame us for the fact that they shun us.
imagine an abusive husband who threatened his wife that if she leaves him he will hunt her down and kill her.
eventually she finds the courage to leave and he carries out his threat.
IDD.
Say something simple so shocked shunners show shamed sentiments.
I will actively approach those who most wish to avoid me, and cheerfully make smalltalk. They will mostly cringe and suffer because they can't stand me being cheerful with them, while I oughta be ashamed or depressed.
While they probably assume I should be in desperate need of their attention and company, I will show them I am very much happy without that.
It's just that I love to make them feel the immorality of all shades of shunning, and I love that look of cognitive dissonance replacing the Watchtower Shunning Grin on their faces :-D
Nothing beats ignoring Watchtower rules...
i thought this would be a good time to pose some questions based on the series so far.. if creationism is true these should be easy.
answers that don't involve copy-paste would be really interesting to read.. ... .
1. since some proteins can be assembled in more ways than there are atoms in the universe why do the sequences of amino acids and bases vary between species in exactly the way evolution predicts?
Give it some time Cofty....Perhaps they are deep in thought or they have gone to relieve themselves.
Or maybe they are asleep and someone needs to wake them up!
l guess we all have our own reasons and thought it would give insight to others considering going to reconsider and not go.
our family and friends blame us for the fact that they shun us.
imagine an abusive husband who threatened his wife that if she leaves him he will hunt her down and kill her.
eventually she finds the courage to leave and he carries out his threat.
@KateWild,
Same here. Some family members 'preemptively' shun me. I just continue to treat them well, and contact them whenever I feel like it is a normal thing to do.
If they don't want that they better take steps themselves, as I won't conform to their announcement 'we have decided to limit our contact with you'.
our family and friends blame us for the fact that they shun us.
imagine an abusive husband who threatened his wife that if she leaves him he will hunt her down and kill her.
eventually she finds the courage to leave and he carries out his threat.
Amen!
Besides, Watchtower encourages young people not to get married too young (read: before they are at least 25), but on the other hand they pressure JW into getting their kids baptized as soon as they can ring a doorbell and hand out a tract.
How do these kids really understand the consequences of 'their' choice?
If you're not mature enough to commit to a marriage partner for life, you're not mature enought to commit to a God or Watchtower for life!
It may be that your parents would object because they feel that you are too young to make such an important decision. They may fear that your tastes will change as you mature and that you will soon regret your choice of marriage mate. [...]
Marriage should be undertaken only when we are physically, mentally, and spiritually ready to take on an enduring partnership.
Wise parents carefully teach their children a dignified view of marriage. They neither urge their children to marry for money nor pressure them to begin dating when still too young to take on adult roles and responsibilities. (1 Corinthians 7:36)
It is a fact that your tastes will change as you mature. “When I was a babe,” writes the apostle Paul, “I used to speak as a babe, to think as a babe, to reason as a babe; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the traits of a babe.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) Likewise, the traits in another person that appeal to you as a teenager will likely be quite different from those that will appeal to you when you are older. Thus, the Bible recommends that you wait until you are “past the bloom of youth”—the years when your sexual desire is at its peak—before you take the serious step of choosing a marriage mate.—1 Corinthians 7:36.
The Bible does not suggest that baptism is a step to be taken only by those who are older or who have reached at least an age at which certain legal rights may be granted. We read at Proverbs 20:11: “Even a child is known by his actions, whether his behavior is pure and right.” One who is somewhat younger can realize what it means to do what is right and to be dedicated to his Creator. Thus, baptism is an important and appropriate step for a young person who has manifested considerable maturity and has made a dedication to Jehovah.—Prov. 20:7.
At the various assemblies and conventions this year, it has been a real joy to see so many who have qualified for baptism. Among them were some quite young in years. You parents are to be commended for raising your children to have an appreciation for the truth and for encouraging them to make a dedication to serve Jehovah when young.
i've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
@Stumpy,
Especially this last update of yours is a great read. Thanks.
I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm much happier for what you gained!
Cheers mate! ;-)
as a born-in jw, i never considered myself to be a fundamentalist.
i always thought we were enlightened, progressive and not 'stuck in darkness' like all the other religions.. i was totally wrong.. as far as fundamentalists go, jw's are probably right up there amongst the front-runners.
no, they do not stone people to death or go on religion-fuelled violent rampages but that's not what i'm talking about.
Amen!
And there he was this Joey, a stranger to my eyes,
Strumming my pain with his fingers (one time),
Singing my life with his words (two times),
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song
how far do you think the corporation will take this?.
will it totally replace speakers at the meetings?.
y'know, that kind of thing..... .
Well for small foreign language groups/Congo's they already stream public talks from the stream.JW.org (where also special events are streamed) recorded in a country where the native speakers are.
It's not a big leap from there to having public talks in smaller/remote Congo's streamed. Using DC speakers to improve brainwas....eh.... quality.
And then do that for all Congo's.
And then just translated HQ recorded stuff.
All relatively small steps. Could be done.
Saw it yesterday and puked a bit.
Dumb leeches is what they are.
