it is an often asked question i know, but it perplexes me.. if witnesses are so convinced that they have "the truth", why is the act of researching information from external sources so taboo?
didn't the bible itself tell people to "use their powers of reason" and also praised ones like the boreans for researching things they were told??.
seriously, if there is no doubt about the organization being "god's channel" on earth, and it alone having the "truth", surely researching would only enhance such 'facts'?.
Phizzy10 hours ago
I asked this of an Elder, who said he did research on non-JW Sites, like Wiki. I thought that's a start.
He then said that any whiff of a Site being Apostate and he was off. I said "Why ? if something is true, it doesn't matter if Satan the Devil himself told you it, it is still true, why be afraid of truth?".
A truth presented by Satan himself is just as true as a truth stated by God. ~ Charles Taze Russell
which world is this?_________________when the doctor pulled my screaming body out of mom all those 7 decades ago, i landed in a post-wwii world.it was--compared to today's world--an alien planet.. the world i live in today has nothing in common with the world in which i grew up.. there were no cell phones back then--there were black telephones with a dial-tone and an operator who placed your call.
everywhere you found telephone booths!
a call was a nickle.where did all those telephone booths go?i dunno.where did my whole world go?i dunno.. tv sets were huge boxes with tubes and small screens.
In some ways I envy you.
I wouldn't want to be 70 years old, but I think I would have loved to have been young when you were young. The fact is I feel totally alienated from my own generation (Gen X); I always have. Almost everyone I know in my own age bracket is addicted to drugs and functionally illiterate.
I can do more than imagine how much it sucks to be seventy years old. I grew up around my grandpa and his siblings so I know what old age is like. But even so, you should feel proud to be a member of your generation, for it is, so far, the most privileged generation in history; and not just in terms of prosperity and overall happiness, but in what you were able to see happening right before your eyes (like the Apollo moon landing).
i am wondering if anyone is aware of a book or series of videos designed to explain evolution to creationists, (specifically the jw strain of creationism if possible) without being patronizing or overly confrontational.
i would like to have something to recommend to people who challenge evolution, but i know that the sources which convinced me would turn most of them off because of the confrontational and at times condescending tone in which it's presented.. some examples of what i'm looking for would be someone who doesn't claim evolution is a fact until after they have presented all of the evidence that makes it a fact and also have addressed as many counter-arguments as possible..
The Origin of Species of Species by Charles Darwin.
Why not go directly to the source? Darwin believed in God and never just assumed that his theory was correct, but instead meticulously presented the evidence and did his best to answer the objections of critics.
this is another great video from theramin trees called "punishing doubt".
fantastic reasoning, and very well presented!.
really worth watching!!.
It was a good video but the producer seems to be under the impression that if Jehovah existed he would disapprove of child molestation and should therefore do something to stop it.
But if we search the scriptures we find no such prohibition and in fact there is at least one instance where Jehovah orders the rape of younger girls (Num 31:17). As for boys, the prohibition against homosexuality in Lev. 20:15, if we examine the wording closely, we find that it only applies to a man lying with another MAN in which actual penetration takes place.
I'm not saying that Jehovah exists. But if he did exist, there is no reason to believe that he would disapprove of rape, least of all the rape of children who aren't married and therefore cannot commit adultery by definition.
okay i was thinking about it.
and it is a transhumanist argument and nothing new, i do realise that before anyone points it out.
but it struck me afresh today that the resurrection must happen.. firstly, to state the obvious, a rational materialist conception of reality seems to exclude resurrection.
You might want to look into Friedrich Nietzsche's doctrine of eternal recurrence. Though both mathematicians and consmologists have attempted to poke holes in it over the years, I maintain that the idea, properly understood, still holds water.
One of these days I intend to write a refutation of all known refutations of the doctrine of eternal recurrence
a relative of mine was telling me, that in his, and a few neighboring congregations, there is a little confusion amongst some of the jw's about this "issue".
some families are having a hard time about whether certain relatives will be attending certain family functions, because some family members that are no longer in the "truth", might be invited to these functions.
mind you, these persons were never disfellowshipped.
it is an often asked question i know, but it perplexes me.. if witnesses are so convinced that they have "the truth", why is the act of researching information from external sources so taboo?
didn't the bible itself tell people to "use their powers of reason" and also praised ones like the boreans for researching things they were told??.
seriously, if there is no doubt about the organization being "god's channel" on earth, and it alone having the "truth", surely researching would only enhance such 'facts'?.
Because Satan is such a cunning adversary that he can fool even the most meticulous and skeptical researchers into swollowing his BS.
For starters, we know for a fact that he has had digital copies of WT publications altered in such a way as to embarrass the organization. Then he got his servant, apostate Bill Bowen, to get together with other bitter apostates and fabricate a slew of false sex abuse accusations against Jehovah's servants. As you can see, there is no slimy abyss to which Satan will not stoop to decieve God's people!
To be succinct about it: what would be the point of conducting research if all the 'evidence' is either phony or altered?
eurgh!
more patronizing and uninformed reasoning from the "experts" at bethel.
this time tackling the sensitive subject of those attracted the the same sex.
The fact is, millions of heterosexuals who wish to conform to the Bible’s standards employ self-control despite any temptations they might face. Those with homosexual inclinations can do the same if they truly want to please God
I agree.
Gays should exercise self-control like everyone else and wait until they get married.
i keep hearing stories of rank and file publishers involved in gross wrongdoing but because they fear of the possibility of being shunned they only tell those who will not report them to elders .
and they continue to go out on service and conduct bible studies and stay in good standing with cong even going to many social gatherings..
It became obvious to me over the years that the shunning policy did not make better Christians, only better liars and hypocrites.
in the time since i've left the borg behind i've had a few things hit me as to how words were used.
i'm wondering if anyone else has some similar examples, but here are some things that have made me think:.
watchtower - my whole life i saw this as a thing of protection from outside evil forces, and then when i left someone pointed out "isn't that what they used to keep people in prison".
schnell 3 hours ago
@Rainbow_Troll, just show them Ezekiel 1:10 and 15-20, and then a picture of the zodiac
LOL
Not to mention the numerous veiled (or not so veiled if you know astrology) astrological themes in the gospels as well as the Book of Revelation. I once met a woman who called Christianity "astro-theology". She even wrote a book about it called 'Suns of God' which I haven't yet gotten around to reading, but it would be a great place to start for anyone still hung up on Christianity.
The early history of the Watchtower is itself rife with occultism. C.T. Russell believed in astrology and even once used it to make a prediction in a 1903 Watchtower. C.J. Woodworth, who wrote a portion of The Finished Mystery, openly admitted on several occassions to being demon possessed. Then there is the barely hidden occult iconography and symbolism that sometimes shows up in Watchtower publications.
