Posts by return of parakeet

7

This Year's "Millstone Awards." A gala event.

by return of parakeet in

luke 17:2 -- "it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.".

what exdub, when he/she was a dub, has not been "stumbled" by their loving fellow dubs?

according to wts doctrine, those who cause others to stumble in their faith deserve death.

return of parakeet

Luke 17:2 -- " It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. "

What exdub, when he/she was a dub, has NOT been "stumbled" by their loving fellow dubs? According to WTS doctrine, those who cause others to stumble in their faith deserve death. I've read some outstanding accounts here of upright, true-blue dubs who stumbled others (and often kicked them for good measure) without missing a second's worth of sleep.

Even though they'll be punished (according to their own doctrine), that level of callousness deserves to be held up and admired for all to see right now. This thread is designed to be the Academy Awards for dubs who never gave a damn about those in their care.

The categories: Best Dub Stumbler - Parents. Best Dub Stumbler - Elders. Best Dub Stumbler - Friends. Other categories will be created as needed.

Formal attire only.

This year, I nominate my mother to receive The Millstone Award for the Best Dub Stumbler in the Parents category. She set a superb example of intolerance and abuse for me and my sibs. She was more terrible to me than Jehovah himself. I lived in constant fear of her judgement, which was swift and severe.

Any other nominations?

(Note: This is my thread. I pick the winners. )

63

Sparlock is helping Mormons

by cedars in

check out this awesome video - part 7 in a series where a mormon uses the witnesses as a proxy to figure out why his own faith is wrong.. sparlock, hassan's bite model, and even the 2013 "human apostates" convention talk all make cameos.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmesmlhydru.

.

cedars.

return of parakeet

Cold Steel: " But I can't imagine that any atheist could be happy in the prospect of an eternal night."

I suppose it's a failure of imagination on your part to imagine an atheist could be happy, even though I am happy. To me, the prospect of eternal night is more attractive than the prospect of eternal life, which is probably a failure of imagination on my part.

CS: "On the one hand, the cure to anyone's troubles is only a gunshot away, but on the other, to go to sleep every night and wake up every morning thinking that this is all there is. "

I don't know for a fact that this is all there is, but even if it is, that knowledge makes life all the more precious and to throw it away would be a terrible waste.

CS: "... you go further in being openly contemptuous of what I believe and label it as 'mind control.' "

I was not being contemptuous. I do think forcing religious doctrine onto children constitutes mind control. I know how that affects a child. It was done to me.

CS: "In short, it's better to be tolerant and open. Many atheists would seize control of children from parents and use the state to ensure that no mind control is exercised."

I don't know of ANY atheists that endorse such an abominable action. That doesn't mean there aren't any, but if there are, they certainly do not represent all atheists.

But many believers would like to force all children to believe as they do by bringing prayer and Bible study back into the public schools. To me, that constitutes depriving children of their right to use their minds and make their own choices.

This Buddhist parable may help you understand my point of view:

"There once was a Buddhist monk who practiced his meditation by walking in the forest each morning. On one clear crisp morning, the monk heard a rustling in the leaves and looked up to see a large tiger watching him from a distance. Sensing that the tiger was about to attack, the monk started running as fast as he could, only to come to a clearing and a high cliff. Not seeing any other way to go, the monk grasped a large vine running partly down the side of the cliff, and began to climb down it just as the tiger arrived. So there the monk was hanging, grasping the narrow end of a vine, with a snarling tiger above him, and a long deadly fall beneath him. To make matters worse, a mouse appeared and to began gnaw on the vine, just above him, but out of his reach. Just then, the monk noticed a wild strawberry plant growing from the side of the cliff, with one plump red strawberry on it. He reached out, picked the berry, put it in his mouth and thought to himself, 'This strawberry. How delicious it is!'”

The "now" matters most to me, not a future "maybe."

12

Know your place..

by The Quiet One in

this weeks watchtower study contains an image that depicts the hierarchy of the org, with the picture showing god and the angels, followed by the governing body directly underneath heaven.. and the rest descending further away from it.. (check the following link, my description isn't the best.

) "the earthly part of jehovahs organization includes: 1.the governing body 2.branch committees 3.travelling overseers 4.bodies of elders 5.congregations 6.individual publishers very subtle.. http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20130415/do-not-tire-out/.

return of parakeet

Superb, Blondie. You've rewritten and condensed Dante's "Divine Comedy" ala the WTS.

Most of us here are pretty far down in the pit, eh?

63

Sparlock is helping Mormons

by cedars in

check out this awesome video - part 7 in a series where a mormon uses the witnesses as a proxy to figure out why his own faith is wrong.. sparlock, hassan's bite model, and even the 2013 "human apostates" convention talk all make cameos.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmesmlhydru.

.

cedars.

return of parakeet

Cold Steel: "Is teaching people that they must live by certain standards to gain eternal life mind control?"

Yes. It's a form of operant conditioning -- punishing unacceptable behavior and reinforcing acceptable behavior to achieve obedience and conformity. It's the carrot-and-stick school of learning. The kid behaves because he wants the reward or fears the punishment, not because it's the right thing to do.

You asked earlier that if parents don't believe, what is left to teach their children. I taught my son that love and kindness to others and to oneself is its own reward. I didn't need the help of a fictitious deity to teach him right from wrong. He graduated from university, has a well-paying job to support his own family now, owns his own home, and loves his son (my grandson) to death.

What is your opinion of my parenting? What is your opinion of my son's parenting?

69

Atheism and the delusion of meaning

by Laika in

jw
friends

in the movie annie hall, written by woody allen, as a young boy, alvy's mother, takes him to see a doctor as he appears to be dealing with some kind of depression.

when the doctor asks alvy what's up, alvy explains that he just found out the universe is expanding, everything will spread out and go cold and die, therefore nothing he does matters, so he is not going to do anything anymore.

most people might see this as a joke, but i think woody is trying to make a serious point.. the point here is about meaning.

return of parakeet

ADCMS: " Sounds delicious! Join me? "

Sure! If there is an afterlife, there are worse ways to go than marinara. With parmesan added, of course.

73

The Watchtower Writers need to answer this question "Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history!"

by ÁrbolesdeArabia in

how come the watchtower will not side with christendom and address a topic like the following?

what if christendom had allowed islam to spread it's plunder into europe without a fight and great force?

i direct your attention to islam spreading not as a distraction, but to ask the question most atheist have asked me when we talk of this subject.

return of parakeet

Perry: " There has never been a historical society observed that did not have some kind of religion. It is natural for man to seek guidance from a higher power. "

You're begging the question by assuming that there is a higher power. Read and follow the rules of logical debate. It would be more accurate to say (although not necessarily true) that "it is natural for man to believe that he needs to seek guidance from a higher power."

HI, SCOOTER!

69

Atheism and the delusion of meaning

by Laika in

jw
friends

in the movie annie hall, written by woody allen, as a young boy, alvy's mother, takes him to see a doctor as he appears to be dealing with some kind of depression.

when the doctor asks alvy what's up, alvy explains that he just found out the universe is expanding, everything will spread out and go cold and die, therefore nothing he does matters, so he is not going to do anything anymore.

most people might see this as a joke, but i think woody is trying to make a serious point.. the point here is about meaning.

return of parakeet

ADCMS: " Believing in the FSM is silly.

I converted to the Reformed Church of Alfredo. "

APOSTATE!!!! In the afterlife, you will boil in marinara for eternity!

69

Atheism and the delusion of meaning

by Laika in

jw
friends

in the movie annie hall, written by woody allen, as a young boy, alvy's mother, takes him to see a doctor as he appears to be dealing with some kind of depression.

when the doctor asks alvy what's up, alvy explains that he just found out the universe is expanding, everything will spread out and go cold and die, therefore nothing he does matters, so he is not going to do anything anymore.

most people might see this as a joke, but i think woody is trying to make a serious point.. the point here is about meaning.

return of parakeet

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'

-- Percy Bysshe Shelley

69

Atheism and the delusion of meaning

by Laika in

jw
friends

in the movie annie hall, written by woody allen, as a young boy, alvy's mother, takes him to see a doctor as he appears to be dealing with some kind of depression.

when the doctor asks alvy what's up, alvy explains that he just found out the universe is expanding, everything will spread out and go cold and die, therefore nothing he does matters, so he is not going to do anything anymore.

most people might see this as a joke, but i think woody is trying to make a serious point.. the point here is about meaning.

return of parakeet

So to be an atheist then, you must be a nihilist... You are just a series of random events, you are no more valuable than a dog turd.

I don't ever want to hear believers attack atheists again for being "rabid" in their "beliefs." You people have cornered the market on insults. I just commented on another thread in which the OP wrote that atheism is behind all mass murders.

Excuse me now, while this dog turd cleans her guns before another jolly night of spree killing.

This is the song I sing while I gun down everyone I see:

"I'm in love, I'm in love with Attilla the Hun, Attilla the Hun, Attilla the Hun.

We'll pillage a village and kill everyone. I'm in love with Attilla the Hun!"

73

The Watchtower Writers need to answer this question "Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history!"

by ÁrbolesdeArabia in

how come the watchtower will not side with christendom and address a topic like the following?

what if christendom had allowed islam to spread it's plunder into europe without a fight and great force?

i direct your attention to islam spreading not as a distraction, but to ask the question most atheist have asked me when we talk of this subject.

return of parakeet

"Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history."

And the religious people on this site wonder why atheists sometimes come on a bit too aggressive for their taste.

What does your statement have to do with the WTS?