Posts by Skimmer

21

usa 2001 stats

by jeffory in

jw
friends

avg.

pubs in 2001 service year[ usa] 945,689 compared to 945,000 avg.

in 2000.. total baptized in 2001 service year 28,239 compared to the 28,475 in 2000.

Skimmer

proplog2 writes: "keep scanning the world scene looking for correlations and sifting the evidence".

The big correlation I see is the one in each country that directly correlates access to the Internet (and the truth about the WTBTS) and a decline in baptisms.

proplog2 writes: "If there isn't a reward then when all is said and done - none are the better for believing or not believing."

Well, what about all the family disruption caused by disfellowshipping due to the ever-changing and unjustifiable doctrine of the WTBTS? What about the lives lost due to quack medical policies such as the bans on vaccination, transplants, and blood transfusion? What about all the nightmares induced in children who don't know any better? What about the destruction caused to teenagers who've lost any chance with a normal social life? What about couples forced into unhappy marriages because of the inability to date normally? What about the parents who've lost contact with their children due to unscriptural shunning caused by man-made, arbitrary rules? What about all the middle aged persons who got suckered into giving up on a college education and are stuck in poor employment situations? What about all the elderly who've sacrificed their whole lives for a publishing scam and now have no retirement? What about everyone who's been humiliated by so-called judicial committees that are nothing more than witch hunts by the unqualified and the malevolent?

I can think of no obscenity strong enough to accurately portray the WTBTS. Those than continue to defend it after learning the real truth are beyond pity.

21

usa 2001 stats

by jeffory in

jw
friends

avg.

pubs in 2001 service year[ usa] 945,689 compared to 945,000 avg.

in 2000.. total baptized in 2001 service year 28,239 compared to the 28,475 in 2000.

Skimmer

Hello proplog2:

If it is as you say that the WTBTS should flee the US, do you think that we'll see the "For Sale" signs popping up on Brooklyn and Patterson? Maybe the property will be bought by someone who will actually pay city taxes and stop mooching off the public.

Then again, what about all those poor people in the area who will than have to go without any of the WTBTS food pantries, the WTBTS clothing assistance, the WTBTS homeless shelters, the WTBTS soup kitchens, and WTBTS schools? Oh, sorry, I forgot; there aren't any of these, only Satan's "Worldwide Empire of False Religion" has provided such assistance. I guess "God's Only True Channel" has just been too busy pumping out billions of copies of the _Watchtower_ and other "fine spiritual food in due season".

21

usa 2001 stats

by jeffory in

jw
friends

avg.

pubs in 2001 service year[ usa] 945,689 compared to 945,000 avg.

in 2000.. total baptized in 2001 service year 28,239 compared to the 28,475 in 2000.

Skimmer

My thanks to all those who have posted 2001 disService Year statistics.

It now appears that the decline in the English speaking portion of the United States membership can no longer be made up with any increase in the Spanish speaking segment. This will undoubtedly continue as the US is now likely to crack down on illegal immigration, most of which are Spanish speaking, and so further reduce the WTBTS victim count.

As mentioned before, it is the decline in the baptism counts that is the real indicator for future prospects. The WTBTS sees this just as clearly, and they realize that they are in big trouble that is getting even bigger as the largest baptism declines are in the more developed countries. These are the countries where the WTBTS has been milking the cash cow, but, as they say, the handwriting is on the wall.

I stand by my prediction of a while back where we we see the 2006 disService year figures show a peak for the entire WTBTS publisher count. Then, it's downhill all the way unless a very serious mainstreaming effort is put into place.

Again:

2001: End of net growth in first world countries.

2006: Worldwide peak publishers.

2011: Strongly mainstream, or schism, or very rapid decline.

2027: If not fully mainstream, then bankrupt.

3

Now The Royal Marines Are Going In..

by Englishman in

jw
friends

this, from todays the times: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/.

4,000 british troops for afghanistan .

by pa news .

Skimmer

I thank the United Kingdom for their strength and resolve in the war against terrorism. May the Royal Marines have success and good fortune.

19

automatic weapons and things

by radar in

jw
friends

as a matter of interest, how easy or difficult is it to purchase weapons in america?.

i see films like terminator, where it appears you can buy anything from rocket launchers to kalashnikov ak 74s.. can someone educate me on this?.

radar

Skimmer

Here's a link of interest from the NRA Institute for Legislative Action:

-> http://www.nraila.org/Faqs.asp?FormMode=Call&LinkType=Section&Section=1

It gives some hard facts and analysis, much of which the mostly liberal media would rather that you not know.

There's a lot of material there, but if you're limited in your browsing time, at least try the link:

-> http://www.nraila.org/Faqs.asp?FormMode=Call&LinkType=Section&Section=23

which discusses the question "If we have licensing and registration for automobiles, why not for guns and gun owners?".

Also, for some cautionary tales:

England: http://www.nraila.org/factsheets.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=35

Canada: http://www.nraila.org/articles.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=4

28

Why atheism?

by Skimmer in

jw
friends

on varieties of atheism:.

can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

Skimmer

Hello pseudoxristos:

A fair enough question, although off topic.

I answered this long ago in another post. My choice to become a Catholic was made after about twenty years of "weak" agnosticism interspersed with brief brushes of Deism. It was and continues to be a mostly Scholastic road to belief, a contrast to the possibly superior and certainly more common emotive route. Neither of my parents are Catholic, although my father's mother (passed long ago) was a Catholic as was by recently deceased mother's only brother. I myself was raised in a Methodist family before spending a brief period of my middle teenage years as a JW.

I do not believe that the Roman Catholic Church has a monopoly on truth, nor is it free from a whole slew of historical mistakes. The Pope believes this as well, and his encyclicals and, more notably, public apologies of recent years show this to be the case.

I cannot say that the RCC is the best path for everyone; certainly there are many hundreds of millions of people that have no knowledge of the RCC or even Christianity in general. Are they doomed? I rather doubt it, and I for one would hesitate to try and limit God's actions with selecting alternative methods of belief for others. Who knows? Perhaps for some, atheism is the best way for them to lead a life with Christian morality albeit without any Christian ritual. That is clearly better than having the ritual without the morality.

19

automatic weapons and things

by radar in

jw
friends

as a matter of interest, how easy or difficult is it to purchase weapons in america?.

i see films like terminator, where it appears you can buy anything from rocket launchers to kalashnikov ak 74s.. can someone educate me on this?.

radar

Skimmer

Firearms laws exist at the Federal and state levels, and there are also county and city/town laws in some jurisdictions.

A good synopsis: http://secondamendmentstuff.com/laws.htm

"NRA Life Member"

28

Why atheism?

by Skimmer in

jw
friends

on varieties of atheism:.

can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

Skimmer

First, let me thank all of you for your thoughtful responses.

Second, for any who might have taken umbrage at my comments as being patronizing, you are mistaken as to my intent. There is apparently some misinterpretation of my use of the word "choice"; maybe "decision" would have been better. But in this context I think it is a distinction without a difference.

Third, as for diatribes against theism or Christianity, some of what was posted is pretty good -- perhaps almost as good as what I've once said myself. Ones by the likes of Voltaire, Nietzsche, and Ayn Rand are even better. Are they convincing? That is for each to decide.

28

Why atheism?

by Skimmer in

jw
friends

on varieties of atheism:.

can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

Skimmer

I restate my claim that atheism or agnosticism is a choice, or a personal decision. I think it is rare that it is forced upon someone and is instead a response occurring in adulthood. Sometimes the response is because of "weighing the mass of evidence" and I suppose that is a valid answer. But it is not a specific answer. The same answer phrase is also used by any number of persons who have chosen theism.

I do not think the term "atheism" is one of denigration. It is only a label. The same is true of agnosticism.

I am not particularly upset if some decide for atheism or agnosticism. But I am interested in their reasoning. Aside from the problem of evil, what are their arguments?

28

Why atheism?

by Skimmer in

jw
friends

on varieties of atheism:.

can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

Skimmer

On varieties of atheism:

Can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists? Absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of God (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation. The question of why people choose atheism is interesting to me from both a psychological and theological standpoint.

One thing that is interesting about atheism is that it usually is a choice and not something that is commonly incurred from one's parents. I think that there are several probable motivational factors and more than one may exist for any particular person.

Perhaps the most common reason for choosing atheism is not a personal conviction that God doesn't exist, but rather a negative reaction against religious practices one observed (or was forced into) as a youth. I am not surprised at all that many exJWs became atheists. I wonder if many of these people are really atheists, but rather "areligionists" and are more closer to agnosticism than atheism.

Another cause for a choice of atheism is the Problem of Evil. Also known as the Problem of Pain (C. S. Lewis) and the Problem of Disorder. The existence of evil is, as described in the _Handbook of Christian Apologetics_, "the only apparent proof of atheism". And while I know the theist answer to this (I am a Roman Catholic), I have yet to come across a simple, easily phrased answer.

Another reason for choice of atheism is the fear that theism may be true, complete with a promise or threat of judgment in the afterlife. Likewise, a fear of no survival of death could lead to theism. But is either fear a justification of belief or disbelief?

Maybe more than a few people, perhaps those who could not be accused of having a low opinion of their personal intellectual talents, are atheists because, in their view, many or most theists are stupid, low-class, and gullible.

I wonder how many "strong" atheists are out there. By this I mean those that have examined the evidence and arguments and are convinced beyond all doubt that God does not exist or cannot exist. I know the the late Isaac Asimov was one of these and he was an intelligent, well-read author, but I think he was wrong.

Likewise, how many "strong" agnostics are out there? Here, a strong agnostic is one who claims that we cannot decide the question. I think that the late Carl Sagan was one of these. It is arguable that Albert Einstein was close to this position when he suggested that "the Good Lord" was "infinitely subtle".

Are you an atheist? If so, could you share your reasoning with the readership?