1. Bad association
2. Indoctrination in worldly thinking & philosophy
3. Time wasted that is not beneficial to the ministry
I think that about sums it up.
Real reason: Keep you away from learning critical thinking skills!
doubtfull1799
JoinedPosts by doubtfull1799
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36
What is the basis for advising “Don’t pursue higher studies”?
by venus intwo elders who visited my friend last week encouraged her not to pursue higher studies.
it seems they are dishing out the same old stuff: “the end is imminent, and this is the time to do more in the service; hence don’t waste your resources on higher studies.”.
i wonder whether there was some official communiqué (something that is sent out recently like letter to the elders, or kingdom ministry article …).
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Book That Helped Me - My Recommended Reading List
by doubtfull1799 inthese are the books that led to my awakening:.
the art of thinking clearly - rolf dobelli.
how to defend the christian faith: advice from an evolutionist - john w.loftus.
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doubtfull1799
Thanks Saethydd, am currently reading it already.
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Book That Helped Me - My Recommended Reading List
by doubtfull1799 inthese are the books that led to my awakening:.
the art of thinking clearly - rolf dobelli.
how to defend the christian faith: advice from an evolutionist - john w.loftus.
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doubtfull1799
These are the books that led to my awakening:
The Art of Thinking Clearly - Rolf Dobelli
How to Defend the Christian Faith: Advice From an Evolutionist - John W.Loftus
Evolution - What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters - Donald R. Prothero
Crisis of Conscience - Raymond Franz
Apocalypse Delayed - Penton
The Quest for the Historical Israel - Israel Finkelstein
The Finished Mystery - WTB&TS
Captives of a Concept - Don Cameron
1984 - George Orwell (What a genius!)
Some other books I found really helpful in sorting out the mess (in no particular order):
The Invention of Religion - Alexander Drake
Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of your Life - Richard W. Paul
Cognitive Illusions: A Handbook on Fallacies & Biases... - Rudiger F. Pohl
The Invention of Nature - Andrea Wulf
A History of Religion in the Old Testament Period - Rainer Albertz
Waking Up - Sam Harris
Rock of Ages - Stephen J. Gould
The Pursuit of the Millennium - Norman Cohn
The Battle For God - Karen Armstrong
Angels & Women - J.G.Smith
Questioning the Millennium - Stephen J. Gould
How Jesus became God - Bart D. Ehrman
The Better Angels of our Nature - Steven Pinker
The Moral Arc - Michael Shermer
Irrationality - Stuart Sutherland
What also helped me was reading many books on Scientology & North Korea and noticing the similarities!
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A Special Thanks ESPECIALLY to ATHEISTS
by David_Jay inas most of you know there has been a rise in antisemitism in the world as of late, especially in the united states where i live where many of our jewish community centers and schools have been subjected to bomb threats.
around the world many jewish cemeteries have been vandalized too.. while i have left the forum earlier this year due to a need to move on with my own healing path (and realizing this forum is doing quite well with the many bright minds already among the crowd), i have briefly returned mainly to write this note of gratitude (though i did post a few times too while i have been here).. it has been touching and very helpful when muslims, christians, and people of other faiths have stood with those of us in the jewish community to protest this wave of hostility against my people.
there have been many public displays of solidarity with us against these acts of hatred and prejudice and some personal notes from friends letting me know i am not alone.. some of you have been among those who have voiced your concern for me and other jews during this time.
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doubtfull1799
Appreciate your comments David_Jay. It's just further proof that belief in God does not automatically equal moral behaviour and vise versa. On a side note I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed many of your posts that provided a "Jewish" perspective on debates on Biblical meaning & interpretation. They were most enlightening and gave me a different perspective I never had before. So thank you.
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How did you feel when you got baptized?
by Schnufti inback in 2005, i remember sitting in the stadium in the special rows with 42 others.
8000 people were looking at us - maybe even with a binocular - while listening to the speech.
my family and my friends among them, being all proud of me.. i don't remember being enthusiastic.
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doubtfull1799
I was baptised at 14 and I don't remember much about it other than I didn't feel any different. Which kind of surprised me at the time because I guess I expected to feel something different. I never really admitted that to anyone or thought about it much as I assumed it was just something wrong with me. Another little niggle I suppressed and buried....
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Which is worse according to the GB: Child Abuse or Apostasy??
by stuckinarut2 inso we all know how the organization conducts itself regarding child abuse.
the multitude of legal cases worldwide including the current australian royal commission as well as anecdotal accounts prove their attitude.. perpetrators have not been reported to authorities, and data bases of such have been kept sealed even when demanded by the courts!.
however, when it comes to those of us who have simply left the organization due to learning the truth, the society spares no effort in spreading gossip and ensuring that one's name and reputation is ruined.. so gb, which crime is worse?
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doubtfull1799
I think officially and theoretically they are both considered abhorrent, neither one is worse than the other. However in practice, they are obviously much more pro-active & strict when dealing with apostasy, so that probably reveals the truth of the matter if we believe actions speak louder than words?
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March Broadcast Governing Body Truly Enjoy our new Facility Warwick
by Buster k inhello everyone first post, i will leave my whole story for another post.
but i would like to say hello to everyone and wish everyone here much love and support.
and i should also note of my self i might say things that are odd or makes no sense, but then that is my humour.
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doubtfull1799
Welcome Buster k and thanks for your thoughts on the broadcast.
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PUT YOUR THINKING CAPS ON...AGAIN! (Zeb's thread regarding 1914)
by redpilltwice in23 days ago, zeb posted this familiar but ever intriguing thread regarding 1914, the mother of all topics.. put youir [sic] thinking caps on.zeb 23 days ago this was sent to me from doug shields blog.
for those who like stats and numbers may find this of interest.1914 – recognizing the ”the elephant in the room”.
the problem with the date ”1914 ad” lays with the two calendars that are involved – jewish and gregorian.
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doubtfull1799
None of it makes any sense because the numbers are arbitrary, not absolute.
It's like with the Pyramid measurements that Russell used. So you can make the number of inches mean something if you want to, but why use inches, why are they significant? Why are they any more prophetic than centimetres or handspans?
So its the same with trying to correlate Jewish years with prophetic years and then trying to overlay that on a Gregorian calendar. It's meaningless and arbitrary. Nothing reliable can come from it. It's all just superstition & numerology.
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Observations from an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Why not create multiple Adam & Eve's?
by doubtfull1799 ini saw a post the other day on another forum (think it was reddit) that put forward the idea that god should have created multiple couples, not just adam and ever.
this idea was so simple and brilliantly logical, that i wish i'd thought of it, but i cannot claim credit!
but it really got me thinking of the practical implications and benefits.... if god had simply created multiple couples instead of one, he would in one foul swoop have solved the problem of incest, as well as have prevented 6 thousand years of human tragedy and a ransom sacrifice being needed etc.
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doubtfull1799
@nowwhat - that raises another question, if the angels are gender neutral, why were they only attracted to the women? Why did some not materialise as women to have relations with men?
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Observations from an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Why not create multiple Adam & Eve's?
by doubtfull1799 ini saw a post the other day on another forum (think it was reddit) that put forward the idea that god should have created multiple couples, not just adam and ever.
this idea was so simple and brilliantly logical, that i wish i'd thought of it, but i cannot claim credit!
but it really got me thinking of the practical implications and benefits.... if god had simply created multiple couples instead of one, he would in one foul swoop have solved the problem of incest, as well as have prevented 6 thousand years of human tragedy and a ransom sacrifice being needed etc.
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doubtfull1799
I saw a post the other day on another forum (think it was Reddit) that put forward the idea that God should have created multiple couples, not just Adam and Ever. This idea was so simple and brilliantly logical, that I wish I'd thought of it, but I cannot claim credit! But it really got me thinking of the practical implications and benefits...
If God had simply created multiple couples instead of one, he would in one foul swoop have solved the problem of incest, as well as have prevented 6 thousand years of human tragedy and a ransom sacrifice being needed etc
If another couple had proved obedient they could have fathered a perfect human race. If we wanted to test mans obedience he started with too small a sample size. If he created hundreds of couples and most remained obedient, Satan would have no issue to raise. Jehovah could have written Adam and Eve off as an “anomaly.” How did he not think to create some “back-ups", and a more diverse gene pool? Of course all atheists know the answer to that. That is a non-issue to them.
Then that got me thinking back to the ransom sacrifice and a problem I had always struggled to grasp, but had never dared to voice until now: I always got the "ransom" part, but never understood the "sacrifice" part. What did Jesus really sacrifice?
His Life?
Can it be considered a great sacrifice if you lend something out for a couple of days only to have it returned to you? Its only a true sacrifice if you give it away permanently, right?
His Human Body?
Well he never needed a human body, or would have wanted one, so how much of a sacrifice was it to get one for a few years and then give it back because you didn't want it anyway?
He suffered?
OK, but in the scheme of things and from a spiritual heavenly standpoint, where a thousand years is but one day, it was mere seconds of his existence. Hardly a scratch, compared to what many humans suffer their whole lives. So how is it the greatest act of love? How was it truly a sacrifice in any real sense?
Please help me reason these concepts out and flesh them out further for addition to my thesis...
By the way, I'm sorry of some of these topics have been covered many times before. Though I have looked over some of the history of this forum, being new here I am not aware of everything... so I ask your indulgence/forgiveness in advance if I am covering old ground here and flogging a dead horse.