Posts by Anders Andersen

9

some thing i said..?

by zeb in

jw
friends

has anyone had this experience.

that once some contact is made with others here they never write again?

.

Yes, I'm one of those people who probably respond once or twice, but let things be as they are as soon as the conversation about the topic at hand is finished. As a matter of fact you and I exchanged some friendly messages about a year ago (I had to look that up though).

It's not malice, it's my way of being. I don't feel a need to expand my circle of friends (mind you: I basically have none...just some left over JW semi-lost friends, and two old jw now exjw friends with whom I must push myself to rebuild the friendship), nor do I (claim to) have the time to.

In fact, I strongly believe being raised as a JW is a root cause for this behaviour. Being raised as a JW you'll have insta-friends wherever you go. You'll never learn to properly start and maintain friendships.

Others here simply move on; some members whom I had pm contact with here appear to be gone from this forum.

61

Saying hello for first time

by pimojw in

i have been sneakily looking at this forum, almost every day, ever since it began!

it has taken me till now to actually register and contribute.

(actually i did register with a different name in the beginning but never commented).. i am a pimo elder with a fairly long history of senior "positions" in the organization.

Anders Andersen

Welcome! I hope you have a good journey out of the Watchtower and into control of your own life, thoughts and decisions.

You've been here a lot longer than I am :-)

I'm here since about 2 years. After reading a sentence that triggered me regarding why I believed in God in the first place (Heb 3:4), I set out to prove to myself that

God exists
direct creation is true (and evolution is not)
the Bible cannot merely be the product of human wit but is unlike any other book ever written and divinely inspired
and evidence shows JW are the one true religion, while no such evidence exists for other religion's claims.

Well after thorough research I was forced to conclude none of it could be supported by evidence except the opposite of what I believed. Thus I exited JW. Of course, your mileage may vary ;-)

watching evolution v creation debates (and haven't decided which side I'm on)

Be aware that debates aren't exactly suited for presenting the overwhelming amount of evidence that exists in support of both the fact of evolution and the scientific theories that explain those facts.

And in many debates tricks are used to win the debate regardless of whose position is better supported by evidence.

Many scientists simply refuse to debate creationists because of that.

You be better informed if you simply started reading on the subject.

Pick up a book that does a good job explaining what evolution is, how it is understood to work, and what evidence exists to support it. You can only evaluate what you understand and know.

Then review the arguments and counter-arguments presented by each side. See what (physical) evidence exists in support of each argument. Evidence is more compelling than conjecture and empty claims.

Check sources and quotes! I have noticed that most creationists (including Watchtower!) quote scientists completely out of context. One can only wonder why they would need to resort to such dishonesty if their position is strongly supported by evidence?

Ah well, just 2 cents on my pet peeve :-p

I'm still unpleasantly surprised by how dishonest Watchtower is when discussing their views on this subject.

21

Orwellian change of the history(Again)

by Ray Frankz in

well, this month's jw broadcasting had a curious piece of history class.

samuel herd was there, but i don't remember if it was him that presented it.

the theme was "how it was to be a jw in the years 1900.".

Anders Andersen

@blondie,

Interesting quotes! Watchtower basically claims they gradually bring up new ideas before going all in...slipping the idea in quietly, hoping nobody notices or gets upsets.

No doubt they do the same when changing doctrine: drop the subject for some time, then imply their may be more than just the existing (but muted) interpretation, and finally introduce the new idea completely.

Boil the frog slowly.

5

So many companies with so many names....

by Tahoe in

just ~one~ company changed names 27 times??

jws have many llcs, makes my head spin.

company info.

Anders Andersen

Option one: in early years this LLC was registered with the names of the brothers responsible for it's tasks. Whenever the brothers in charge changed, the registration changed too. Then they finally imagined it'd be better to have a generic name.
Option two: the address listed is the address for Watchtower Farms. Multiple legal entities are likely registered at that address (including private businesses of bethelites). The registry may present info on different LLC in a mixed up way.

Disclaimer: I use common sense only, I have no knowledge of this particular situation nor of the American way of registering businesses and LLCs

28

What is sin?

by sinboi in

what do you consider sinful?

okay, i know many of you no longer believe that there is a god.

just bear with me a little, just assumed that there is a creator or god.

Anders Andersen

@deegee, excellent questions and points!

@sinboi

I still can't

Good, it means you're human :-)

Adapting your worldview is life shocking as you and most of us here are (or have been) experiencing.

Your thoughts and emotions need time to catch up with this new situation. Take it step by step, day by day. Don't force yourself to be, think or feel anything you're not ready for yet.

Over time you'll discover new questions for yourself to answer and things you never thought about before.

At your age it will be double the challenge: while you are discovering yourself and life in general (like all teenagers go through) you're also challenged by discovering completely new universe: a universe outside the JW religious fundamentalist narrative.

You'll discover that life outside JW is not at all what JW say it is.

You'll discover that life is worth living either with or without religion, with or without god(s).

You'll discover that what you think may be just as true as what anyone else thinks.

You'll discover JW claims to know THE TRUTH work very polarizing, but that it's very well possible (and advantageous) to freely discuss, agree, agree to disagree, and be friends with people who believe completely different things than you do.

You'll discover the world isn't black and white.

You'll discover life is beautiful, wonderful, and very much worth living!

Keep looking, keep asking, keep thinking, keep wondering, keep appreciating.

And be cautious for (no, run from!) everyone who claims his or her opinions or beliefs are THE truth.

28

What is sin?

by sinboi in

what do you consider sinful?

okay, i know many of you no longer believe that there is a god.

just bear with me a little, just assumed that there is a creator or god.

Anders Andersen

What would the world be like if there was no god?

The world simply will not exist.

How do you know that for sure?
And...what would god(s) look like if there were no humans? ;-)
Anyway, I'm with what honest said above: sin is invented to control people.
It's very much the same as companies do nowadays: first make up a (imaginary) problem, then sell people the solution.

Nobody needed smartphones until companies told us we need them. Thus we give our money to smartphone sellers.
Nobody needed redemption until priests told us we're sinners. Thus we give our money, obedience and time to the priests.
Do you see a similarity there?

64

Free to sin but still cannot bring myself to do it

by sinboi in

have da'd myself nearly 3 months ago.

now i am part of this world but i feel myself the odd one out.

something inside me is still blocking me to do the things i have been longing to do while i was still a jw, such as attending birthday parties, sex, etc.... just last nite, i was on the way to attend a birthday party.

Anders Andersen

....or maybe the stories in the Bible and Quran were made up by humans to rationalize their atrocious actions?

A human who wages war and kills others is evil....unless he claims it's by God's command. Then the same evil actions suddenly seem to become 'righteous' (at least in the eyes of his fellow believers).

Don't freak out....you have your whole life before you to decide whether you believe in any gods or not, and what their qualities are...

40

My Father has brandished me with the "APOSTATE" word for talking about the BIBLE!

by stuckinarut2 in

so after three years of fading, my elder father has never really asked why we have chosen to stop attending.. today, after a mixed discussion, he starts talking about the "solution to all the world problems" and says "i don't know what you now believe, but i believe gods kingdom will fix everything" i let the comment go, and didn't respond.. then he goes on about the video "remember the wife of lot" because he just came from the convention last weekend.

"don't get caught up in this system...blah blah".

i couldn't help myself, and said one thing "dad, that video failed to show the next chapter of that account.

Anders Andersen

What he really said is:

Even your single comment might be enough to make me realize my faith is baseless. I'm afraid what would happen next. So shut up! LALALALALALALALALALALALA

64

Free to sin but still cannot bring myself to do it

by sinboi in

have da'd myself nearly 3 months ago.

now i am part of this world but i feel myself the odd one out.

something inside me is still blocking me to do the things i have been longing to do while i was still a jw, such as attending birthday parties, sex, etc.... just last nite, i was on the way to attend a birthday party.

Anders Andersen

I was told since birth that it is the word of god. For 16 years, nobody has proven to me it is not.

Other religious people have exactly the same feeling ;-)

Quran - for muslim. It is the most evil religious book , telling believers to chop off heads of non-believer.

Read Deuteronomy 13, then think about how it compares to what you wrote above...remember, Deut. 13 is just a single chapter. There's a lot more similar verses in the Bible...

23

Pale.Emperor And The Hypnotists

by pale.emperor in

jw
friends

even as a jw i was fascinated with hypnosis and seeing people like derren brown putting people under almost instantly.

in the last 2/3 years when i was a jw but beginning to wake up from the bullshit i read up on hypnosis, watched a few youtube demos and explanations etc.

but never actually studied it seriously until about a year ago.

Anders Andersen

Do you think suggestability (for hypnosis) correlates with credulity?

Or with the willingness to accept authority?