Posts by cognisonance

23

Why did you leave?

by Fred Franztone in

we all have many reasons for leaving, most are doctrinal, some are emotional.

it's a religion which obsesses over factual proofs (counterfactual though they are) of its veracity rather than faith, so it's inevitable that most who leave will do so for intellectual reasons.

which doctrine above all others forced you to reconsider your position?

cognisonance

I left mainly because of the following cascade of events:

Gave the public talk many times: "The origin of humans, does it matter what you believe?"
Read not only the referenced sources in that outline (creation, creator, and also supplemented with the newer brochures), but also did a little random reading about evolution online because I found the cited sources to be quite simplistic.
Realized the scientific stuff was much too complicated for me to digest at the time
Wanted to go back to college to finish my undergrad (stopped at a 2-year degree) and so read what the JWs had written on the topic.
Found out they misquoted a 1990? The Daily Beast article on education that compared those who get a college degree from a state school verses private and claimed that college students who went to a private university on average did not do any better in the job market than those that did not. The JWs twisted this to simply say: Those who go to college do no better than those who do not [...go at all -- is the implication the JWs make]. As an aside: I just tried to find this quote and SHOCK! wol.jw.org does not return any results for "The Daily Beast." I know for fact these WT library white washing fuckers quoted that magazine. Now covered up. Fuck those bastards! They'd fit in well at Orwell's Ministry of Truth.
Wanting to go back to college had been on my agenda for a long time, so finding out they lied to me about a reason why I shouldn't be going made me wonder what else they lied about. So back to looking into their plethera of quotes on evolution...
Obtained copies of their evolution sources online or via the library
Also found sources on their quotes about the flood
Also looked into their quotes about other topics (such as the trinity magazine as I remember a Bible Study student objected once that they quoted out of context).
Looked up sources whenever I could regarding their quotes
If evolution is true, and a global flood never happened, and Adam and Eve weren't real then the whole JW house of cards collapses.
Read Why Evolution is True By Jerry Coyne
GAME OVER

29

conversation with a JW about the sun

by neat blue dog in

jw: didn't we just hear somebody say that the sun's gonna blow up?.

me: well, they were saying that it will expand and eventually burn out.. jw: but it can't do that, it just keeps blowing up inside and getting more power.. me: well, they were talking about stars in general, how they have a life span.. jw: but god didn't make it that way, it's firmly established to time indefinite.

it's not like the sun is a regular star.

cognisonance

@ _Morpheus, thanks for the perspective. I didn't really think about the logic to my SciFi thinking. I am a nerd after all, even as a JW. I'm now an atheist so my previous "god did it" and "got can do anything" views give me face-palm.

29

conversation with a JW about the sun

by neat blue dog in

jw: didn't we just hear somebody say that the sun's gonna blow up?.

me: well, they were saying that it will expand and eventually burn out.. jw: but it can't do that, it just keeps blowing up inside and getting more power.. me: well, they were talking about stars in general, how they have a life span.. jw: but god didn't make it that way, it's firmly established to time indefinite.

it's not like the sun is a regular star.

cognisonance

Embarrassingly when I was a JW I thought that god would just refuel the sun to prevent it from depleting hydrogen

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

cognisonance

I agree. And I started to see their dishonesty in many places in their literature. Another one was a quote about "intellectual honesty" in the Creator book that was well intellectually dishonestly quoted...

131

Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

by jukief in

by evolution or by creation?

"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

cognisonance

I agree OneEyedJoe. It was stuff like this helped wake me up:

"The fossil evidence could be consistent with the idea of a Great Designer" -- Carl Sagan

Here's the quote (emphasized), in context:

A Designer is a natural, appealing and altogether human explanation of the biological world. But, as Darwin and Wallace showed, there is another way, equally appealing, equally human, and far more compelling: natural selection, which makes the music of life more beautiful as the aeons pass.
The fossil evidence could be consistent with the idea of a Great Designer; perhaps some species are destroyed when the Designer becomes dissatisfied with them, and new experiments are attempted on an improved design. But this notion is a little disconcerting. Each plant and animal is exquisitely made; should not a supremely competent Designer have been able to make the intended variety from the start? The fossil record implies trial and error, an inability to anticipate the future, features inconsistent with an efficient Great Designer (although not with a Designer of a more remote and indirect temperament).

Trying to read snippets of JW literation now is like trying to read random text

by cognisonance in

effects present letters inquiry no an removed or friends.

desire behind latter me though in.

supposing shameless am he engrossed up additions.

cognisonance

Effects present letters inquiry no an removed or friends. Desire behind latter me though in. Supposing shameless am he engrossed up additions. My possible peculiar together to. Desire so better am cannot he up before points. Remember mistaken opinions it pleasure of debating. Court front maids forty if aware their at. Chicken use are pressed removed.

vs

Indeed, as long as we “do not let [our] hand rest” from sowing Kingdom seed, we have a valuable share in giving “a witness to all the nations.” (Matt. 24:14) Above all, we have the deep joy that comes from knowing that we have Jehovah’s approval, for he loves all those who “bear fruit with endurance”!

Reading either is just as arduous mentally. Anytime I peak at the bullshit my parents and extended family have to read, it just all looks like gibberish now. Maybe the first quote is even easier to read come to think of it.

21

Watchtower May 2018

by Listener in

the may 2018 watchtower is now out and thought i would make a few observations.in this article we get a story about gb sam herd.

the recurring theme throughout is the struggles he has had as a black man.he was born in 1935 in a one roomed log cabin in liberty indiana.

his mother raised him in the baptist church.

cognisonance

I can't help but wonder: was it him being duped by the so-called truth that attracted him to this cult, or the young lady that he ended up marrying? Maybe both. Still, makes you wonder...

45

November Is The Cruelest Month

by JRK in

jw
friends

i have been going through old papers and photographs since my mother passed away.

it has reminded me of some of the reasons that i really hate november.

this year has added to it obviously.. thirty-four years ago, my father passed away in early november.

cognisonance

Sadly since waking up, life often just seems like a countdown to death.
The big downside of leaving the cult.

I can feel my mortality more, but after 6 years since I left the cult I've come to terms with that. Instead life now seems to be full of opportunity. I only have one life and I might as well get the most from it, pursue my passions, and not to be afraid of failure or rejection. So even if it's a countdown, it should be a fun one along the way.

7

Costs Associated with a Regular Size smaller rink Assembly Public Owned

by truthlover123 in

jw
friends

just came from the one day -- like to call it that cause everything is a changin.... this question would be directed to someone who worked in accounts for an assembly of maybe 1700 in attendance (recently) in a small town, about 2 hours from a main city.

the accounts report was read and it was a stunner..... i guess i could call the location and see how much it costs to rent this arena for a day and see but i was wondering why would they send a large amount of monies to the wt and say we are short on contribution???.

anyb ody know - i do know about monies going for child abuse court problems they are having - latest one in canada where there us a class action suit being brought by trey bundy... plus the so called out of court settlements worldwide.. arc, britain, etc...so i know that end of it - just wondering why they are sucking /lying to support the www... .

cognisonance

Interesting. Why doesn't the WTBT$ just tell their members that there's a $10 fee to attend? I'm sure their members will comply with their "god given direction." What they are doing is lying and deceiving. Is it even necessary? I thought the WTBT$ itself said that JWs should always be honest? They were right about one thing though. Religion is a snare and a ratchet!

23

"We don't venerate idols or images!"

by stuckinarut2 in

how often did we as witnesses say something like this : "unlike members of false religion, who venerate or worship through statues or idols, we give our focus to jehovah!".

members of religious groups focus their religious adoration via an image or statue.

they do this in order to provide some sort of focus to their need to worship.. witnesses give extreme focus on the name "jehovah" .

cognisonance

What's next?

Temple prostitutes?