Posts by scratchme1010

210

Morality Without Deity

by cofty in

one of the most persistent arguments for belief in god centres on the necessity of an ultimate law-giver and epitome of goodness.. a softer version is seen in the genuine concern that a loss of faith will result in a corresponding loss of a moral compass - a more strident argument links the existence of good and evil with proof of the reality of god.

it is often asserted that without god, moral decisions degenerate to nothing more than personal preferences and the victory of "might is right".. i want to succinctly lay out my response as an atheist, and show that a supreme being is not required for objective morality.. it is helpful to distinguish between absolute morality, objective morality and subjective morality.

christian apologists frequently conflate the first two, and secular debaters often fail to point out the difference.. theists who disagree on everything else, are unanimous that god is perfectly good.

scratchme1010

Great post, cofty. I think that you are laying out many interesting points about morality and believing in a deity. What find I interesting is that the same exclusive association with morals and a "God" adds to the challenge of making believers value what we atheists contribute, considering that since the very first moment we're seen as amoral people, non-believers, etc., and therefore, we are perceived as all kinds of things except, well, right.

Adding to the difficulty of some people holding on to their believes and trying to make their deity be perfect is the fact that many believers have made many important life decisions based on such set of morals, based on those believes. Their investment is high. Furthermore, they fear losing the only thing that they believe is the only source of happiness, structure, education, and community.

It was great reading your post.

7

dewayne dedmon: center for san antonio spurs, grew up a JW.

by nowwhat? in

i was watching the cavaliers- spurs game last night and the announcers mentioned how dedmonds mom was a devout jw.

and she wouldn't allow her son to play high school basketball because it would take away from service to the church.

so fortunately he turned 18 for his senior year , so he didn't need parental consent to play.

scratchme1010

Great inspiration.

29

Smelly WATCHTOWERS

by Zoos in

in 1967 i had the misfortune of being born with a watchtower stuck in my ass.

it took 45 years for me to realize, "hey!

there's a watchtower stuck in my ass!

scratchme1010

How long did it take you?

I really really hope you're talking figuratively!

I was born in too, in 1965.My mother started Bible studies a year or so prior. My father became a JW when I was about 8 or 9.

By the time I was 23 I was officially gone (or the WT was out of my ass, using your figurative speak), but I started the process of leaving at 20. It was a three year process of planning, evading getting dfed, lying to them about everything, and becoming less and less dependent on them. I also enrolled in college.

Never looked back, and the idiots I left behind stayed smelling the stinky Watchtower that came out of my ass.

15

Attitude in Kingdom Hall vs. in church

by Yesu Kristo Bwana Wangu in

so, today i went to a different church than the jw's for the first time in over three years.. it is a protestant african church.

my first thoughts: for people who are 'trapped in babylon the great (according to watchtower) these people really seem genuingly happy and sincere in their adoration for god.

what a freedom compared to the witnesses!

scratchme1010

Do other people have the same thoughts?

I have similar thoughts but not exactly the same as you describe. I have seen people truly, genuinely happy and fulfilled by becoming members of a church. However, what I have learned from my experience in life (I celebrated my 30th anniversary of being your age), I know that many people join and become happy because the church gives them a lot of things in addition to answers to questions that people most commonly have regarding God, the bible, etc. They look for a community they can belong to, for a healthy way of socializing, to find people who share the same values for friendships or for romantic purposes, and many others.

Those are as valid reasons to become part of those churches, which is the main difference between many good organized churches and religious denominations a high demand, controlling groups like the WT (and others). If you notice, the leadership of those organizations are accessible, open, and socialize with their members as much as any member of their church.

The biggest difference however, is the fact that in many of those churches you don't feel a lot of pressure if you decide to leave, if you ask questions, if you question your faith (or theirs), even if you don't believe everything they say many of them are ok with it. Not so with the WT.

14

JW guilty on all accounts & bond revoked for sexual abuse in FL

by LevelThePlayingField in

this news article has a news video inside it straight from the station.

finally the judge doesn't hold back.. http://wjla.com/news/nation-world/jehovah-witness-teachers-aide-sex-scandal-guilty-on-all-counts.

scratchme1010

Can you imagine that girl living eternally next to that piece of --it? Some paradise.

38

I spoke to 2 Jobos on a cart but I refused to discuss religion

by punkofnice in

i was in a good mood yesterday (makes a bloody change, i hear you say).

i was meeting an old buddy for a meal.

he was never a jobo.

scratchme1010

punkofnice, it's interesting that you mention the black and white thinking. Actually, even the fact that they force people to call something using a name they choose, those two things are actual signs of them being a harmful organization.

I have read a few books on spiritual abuse, and the black and white mentality is the number one manipulative tool used to spiritually and mentally abuse people.

Indeed, life is fragile, short and precious. It's very sad seeing it wasted in that nonsense, especially those who believe that they have to spend it all preparing for the next.

70

Pseudo history in Watchtower today 😂

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

gorby went to the kh for family reasons today.. and landed right away middle in a pseudo history watchtower article.

just that aspect of the jw belief he is so sensative about.. so 1918 and 1919 are changed with one mark of a pencil.

the argument of change was in the past the argument of the doctrine.

scratchme1010

So I had to laugh nearly loud when they anounced the theme of next weeks gathering: "do you believe in God or science?". I looked into the KH and I knew the answer all ready.

Great ending.

58

Women's March on Washington

by azor in

jw
friends

my support is with the marchers in washington and around the country today.

i was raised through my formative years by my mother and sister while my father was out of the picture.

they gave me the compassion i have today.

scratchme1010

...It is hard for the left to win: The right elects Donald Trump and somehow the left gets blamed...

That's the very definition of the right.

48

Dose Wt really have that much cash.

by joe134cd in

i realize that wt has got a wind fall of cash through various means.

so my question is in the greater scheme of things is it really that much.

for example let's say with all their real estate and cash on hand they are worth about $20 billion dollars.

scratchme1010

...What am I missing here
I just don't understand
It's like everyone is under a spell,...

Nobody is under a spell. That's what indoctrination and brainwashing is all about.

Please understand that accepting that they are lying about this means accepting that they are lying about other things, which means accepting that they have been fooled, which means that accepting that many have made a great deal of important life decisions based on their lies, which is too much for them to accept and handle, hence, they rather choose to believe the nonsense or pretend to do so. (I know, I too hate run on sentences).

36

How do JW's determine a person is anointed?

by thinker11 in

i've always wondered about this.

when a person believes they made a spiritual connection with god and proclaims themselves as anointed, how do they determine whether this person is anointed or not.

does a group of elders look at the person's spiritual resume and check off the person's pioneer stats, bible knowledge, attendance, work ethic, personality, etc and then believe in the person if they have a good track record?

scratchme1010

I'm thinking if the person seems sane and is considered spiritually strong, they would usually believe the person is anointed.

My experience is that JWs tend to stay out of it altogether. They tend not to ask too many questions about people who claim to be anointed, nor do they question it. They feel uncomfortable questioning anything in the first place. They pretend to be ok with it and carry on with their JW duties.