I'd suggest looking at it from another perspective. For most JWs, the religion is where people go who want to shut their brains off, forget any worldly ambitions they had, and just join a club that makes them feel secure. So if you start talking to a JW who is not showing evidence that they are willing to examine the facts, then you just find a way to politely end the conversation. Their manner of responding has already told you what you needed to know, which is, "I'm all set, thanks, I want to stay in this religion."
Apognophos
JoinedPosts by Apognophos
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Why Talking to Jehovah's Witnesses is Hard.
by runForever inwhen we are talking to a jehovah's witness we might think we are talking facts with them but we are not.
they are looking through a lense.
of assumed facts they have already concluded as true.
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From 1 to 10, how do you rate the value of the Internet in your awakening?
by Hidden-Window inas we all know, the internet is a real game-changer in allowing us to know the truth about the watch tower and its history.
i always had doubts and it was the internet that presented me with the ever-growing number of individuals who were going through a similar struggle.. i give the internet a 9 in my awakening.
what about you?.
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Apognophos
I have to say 9. 2 of those points go to Wikipedia for providing me with general information that helped me fill in the gaps in my Watchtarded knowledge base, and the remaining 7 go to JWfacts. The remaining 1 non-Internet point goes to all the science fiction I read growing up.
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Why Do Atheists Struggle So Much Against God Who Supposedly Doesn't Exist?
by Perry inan athist made this casual statememt on another thread:.
this would suggest to me that there are at least some atheists that do have consistant beliefs.. .
as an atheist, how could he possibly trust the reason that suggests this to himself?
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Apognophos
Here's how a dialogue, for lack of a better term, with a theist typically goes.
You forgot the part where most of the posters in the thread gang up on the theist with insults like "delusional", "nonsense", "irrational", "fairy tale" -- well, I don't need to keep quoting this very thread, you can read it for yourself. After all the mockery directed at the Christian and blasphemy against the God they worship, we usually come to the part when the atheists start feigning outrage over some inoffensive remark by a Christian poster.
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Period of time from crack to avalanche
by NeverKnew ini know, people are very different and have different levels of holds to the organization, but i'm insanely curious about how long an exposure to ttatt may marinate before culminating into an action to research further.. from your earliest memory of a planted seed due to an event, challenge from another person, accidental website hit... whatever... (the crack) to the time the ttatt became a reality, (the avalanche), how much time expired?.
i guess we have to remember that everyone here is a success story and that for many, it may be never.. .
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Apognophos
I think it was about a year from when I had my first major TTATT moment, based on personal reflection, to when I fully learned TTATT. Before that, I'd had little doubts for years, but I think most JWs do. It's just that they spackle over those cracks with platitudes like "waiting on Jehovah" and never have the guts to look more closely into the problems of the org.
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Governing Body new Branch letter begging for donations !
by ToesUp ini just want the governing body to know how "happified" i am today.
keep sending those branch letters to the congregation(s) about sending your donations in.
not only did you humiliate the rank and file with your tony morris tight pants talk but now you are begging the same people you humiliated for money.
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Apognophos
I agree. But it's in keeping with the general tendency around here to catastrophize every minor event in Watchtower Land.
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Why Do Atheists Struggle So Much Against God Who Supposedly Doesn't Exist?
by Perry inan athist made this casual statememt on another thread:.
this would suggest to me that there are at least some atheists that do have consistant beliefs.. .
as an atheist, how could he possibly trust the reason that suggests this to himself?
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Apognophos
Believers imo base their knowledge of theism on ancient hearsay and disputable uncorroborated myth from far less knowledgeable people.
But galaxie, how could two millenniums' worth of people who believed in Jesus, and several millenniums' worth of believers in God, be wrong? You can't argue with numbers like that.
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Why Do Atheists Struggle So Much Against God Who Supposedly Doesn't Exist?
by Perry inan athist made this casual statememt on another thread:.
this would suggest to me that there are at least some atheists that do have consistant beliefs.. .
as an atheist, how could he possibly trust the reason that suggests this to himself?
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Apognophos
Twitch will have to answer for himself, but my personal answer to your questions, JWIQ, would be that they left because they were tired of getting jumped on every time they expressed their faith in any general, non-argumentative manner. The only way to get a bigger rise out of the members here is to post as a Watchtower apologist.
The reason why people are so quick to claim Perry won't be back is because he does this all the time. Folks like Perry and QC only come here to post-and-run because they have given up on the faithless heathens here and are only looking to influence anyone who might be on the fence and can still be saved. In all fairness, it takes a while to have a debate, and not all of us have that time (I spend more time here than I should). And certain posters here have no objective other than to wear down the person they are debating.
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I'm sitting here listening to a JW try to recruit somebody
by Terry ini'm at starbucks .
just outside in the courtyard.. i'm trembling.
my hands are shaking.. wow!.
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Apognophos
I don't see any reason why this kid can't seek out a new religion after fully grasping TTATT. I don't think he needs to be physically pushed towards a church in order to have that as an option in his life. I would only be concerned if Terry were insisting that, as a necessary part of TTATT, he also adopt an atheistic stance. Ultimately if this guy has a religious leaning, I think he will find a new faith for himself.
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Governing Body new Branch letter begging for donations !
by ToesUp ini just want the governing body to know how "happified" i am today.
keep sending those branch letters to the congregation(s) about sending your donations in.
not only did you humiliate the rank and file with your tony morris tight pants talk but now you are begging the same people you humiliated for money.
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Apognophos
Heh, I think you're over-thinking it, committeechairman. They're just drawing attention to all the building work being done and hinting that contributions will be needed for it. It has to be phrased in an indirect manner because they refuse to outright ask for money, lest the ghost of C.T. Russell come back to haunt them with his words about soliciting funds.
I appreciate your point about the the foolishness of ceasing the use of people's homes for meetings. But there's nothing stopping them from re-instituting it if they see a need. I've been saying for a while that it's impossible for the religion to actually go belly-up because, even if they could not afford to rent or build facilities some day, they could just go "hardcore first century" and hold all meetings in private homes. Certainly, though, that doesn't seem to be the direction they're going. With all the investments in Kingdom Halls, particularly wiring them for streaming video broadcasts, they are committing further to long-term use of the KHs.
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Apognophos
Ha, funny. But yes, these heads are not all painted in the same style, in the same light, and do not seem to be standing on the same ground at the same angle. It's disconcerting to look at. I wonder if we can find all these faces in prior publications.