Apognophos

Joined

• started 43 topics
• posted 4,400 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Apognophos

• 
  13

  Do God and Jesus have free will? No they do not. Proven in this thread.

  by Comatose in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does god have free will?

  does god have free will?

  why couldn't they be like him in that they had free will but just wouldn't or couldn't be bad?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Isn't this just a more erudite way of asking, "Can God make a rock so heavy that even He can't lift it?"
• 
  45

  Just stumped 2 Elders! Lol

  by El_Guapo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am currently on a business trip for a trade show in another city.

  as i'm walking to the convention center, i run into 2 jw's preaching.

  one is about mid 60s the other probably mid 30's.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Where do you go when you're in street work

  Dunkin' Donuts ;)

  Nice story, but you still have 12 minutes to give that sucker some paragraphs, El_Guapo :) Well, I enjoyed it anyway.
• 
  188

  A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a manual for creating atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith--but for talking them out of it.

  peter boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

  - amazon.... "boghossian has provided an indispensible chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating america today.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Militant atheists like cofty have simply decided that all religion is the enemy, that it stifles free thought and scientific inquiry. Never mind whether someone is an open-minded universalist unitarian, a dogmatic orthodox, or a new-agey spiritualist who likes to read about science. I'm reminded of Witnesses I knew who were previously Catholics and never missed an opportunity to make a negative comment about their former religion, as if it was worse than any other false religion.
• 
  188

  A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a manual for creating atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith--but for talking them out of it.

  peter boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

  - amazon.... "boghossian has provided an indispensible chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating america today.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Thus you can simply view belief in God as a way of maintaining a model of desired behavior.

  That doesn't work. Prisons are full of religious people.

  Everywhere is full of religious people, what's your point?
• 
  10

  AGM "The Governing Body appeared so human, I enjoyed them taking the time to speak to us!"

  by AuntConnie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a higher education is of no value when you allow yourself to slowly be baked in to the cult.

  the remarks above came from a sister who has a college degree in social science and biology and loved logic and critical thinking.

  we at jwn sometimes assume a higher education might help people see through the smoke and mirrors which did not happen in this case.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Interesting, and sad. I know of a scientist who was atheist most of his life, and embraced the "truth" late in life for reasons I still don't understand. He could see the lies behind his parents' religion when he was a child, but eventually he became a full-on Witness and elder (company man) decades later.

  I agree with rmt1 that this probably happens because people have an innate desire to believe in something greater than themselves, and to believe in superstitions for comfort. Eventually their life hits a bump in the road and they decide they'd rather take the blue pill and believe in something nicer for a change.

  I'll just add that perhaps this woman felt that she herself was not good enough of a person, and admired the way Witnesses behaved. I think a lot of people buy into the facade that JWs present, seeming like saintly Christians (and some of them honestly are better at things like turning the other cheek than the average Christian). This might have been the kind of "evidence" that persuaded this woman that the JWs were right and that concepts like critical thinking and evolution had to be abandoned -- because they would prevent her from becoming the kind of person she wanted to be.
• 
  223

  Comprehensive NWT Comparison Project (calling all technically skilled members)

  by Apognophos in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  is anyone aware if this project is already being done by someone?

  if not, perhaps we can brainstorm how to go about this, now that the pdf for the revised nwt is out.

  a couple initial impressions:.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Cool. Maybe you could put it on sendspace and PM me the link?
• 
  55

  Marriage In The New World

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  okay, here's the issue.

  some people, even some jws, believe that in the new world they will be reunited with their spouses.

  jesus, however, said that in the resurrection there would be no marriage or giving in marriage.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Hmmm...that’s a new one on me. Is this Jehovah's Witness doctrine?

  Oh yes. The three people who the Society have been most consistently confident about not getting a resurrection are Adam, Eve, and Judas Iscariot. Adam and Eve won't get a resurrection (so they teach) because they were perfect when they sinned, thus they have no excuse. Being perfect, they were not in need of a ransom and thus it does not apply to them. Judas, of course, sinned against the holy spirit.
• 
  188

  A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a manual for creating atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith--but for talking them out of it.

  peter boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

  - amazon.... "boghossian has provided an indispensible chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating america today.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  cofty, people intrinsically need someone to look up to as a model. It's our fate as social animals. So if they believe that God is love or they admire the example they feel was set by Jesus and want to imitate the kinder aspects of them, I think it actually helps them to be a better person. It's been demonstrated in a scientific study that people behave better when they believe they are being watched. Thus you can simply view belief in God as a way of maintaining a model of desired behavior.
• 
  188

  A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a manual for creating atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith--but for talking them out of it.

  peter boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

  - amazon.... "boghossian has provided an indispensible chart book for all of us who must navigate the rising sea of magical thinking that is inundating america today.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Believing in God is fine with me if it goes no further than believing in things like love and compassion towards all people. When you start believing that there's a specific "truth" possessed by one person or group, that's where the door opens to all kinds of nonsense that harms the believer or the people he thinks are not as enlightened as him.
• 
  223

  Comprehensive NWT Comparison Project (calling all technically skilled members)

  by Apognophos in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  is anyone aware if this project is already being done by someone?

  if not, perhaps we can brainstorm how to go about this, now that the pdf for the revised nwt is out.

  a couple initial impressions:.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Apognophos

  Just a reminder, in case you missed my post, I would like to have a chance to play around with the verses if you have outputted them as text files.