Posts by alecholmesthedetective

38

"Deep down inside even they know it is BS." Discuss

by rory-ks in

nope, bungi bill's interesting statement from this post didn't take, so i'll start its own.. from my own experience, i hated the field ministry.

it might just be because of the kind of character i am, whatever, i never was able to overcome that feeling of dread every time i went door-to-door.

i felt aware of how much people disliked having strangers cold-calling trying to sell them something.

alecholmesthedetective

Cognitive dissonance.

21

Short Video - Interviews with Creationists

by cofty in

this short video demonstrates how faith is impervious to facts.. the contributers are honest about their beliefs but so badly deceived about reality it is quite depressing.

spot the canards - some of them are jaw-dropping.. pastor peter laruffa exudes, "if somewhere within the bible, i were to find a passage that said two plus two equals five, i wouldn't question what i'm reading in the bible.

i would believe it, accept it as true, and then do my best to work it out and understand it.".

alecholmesthedetective

I'm looking forward to asking believers/JWs questions regarding your 2004 Tsunami thread, Cofty, whenever they come with their spiel on god, the bible and science. I've been keeping a low profile but family and friends won't leave me alone.

You know, if they just had their faith and didn't bother us with it, didn't try to get it preached in schools, didn't try to change laws because of it, were not bigoted and treated those who do not share their beliefs with respect, I'd be perfectly happy to keep my atheism to myself. But they don't. Every day I have to hear it on TV, the street, the bus: how god is great and how I need him and I'm instantly reminded of 2004 tsunami, to begin with.

It's 2014 and I won't have it anymore. I want a world where the pastors in that video have no credibility at all, where they can't teach their garbage to our children, where everyone has access to science, and philosophy, and freedom of speech and freedom of thought.

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

alecholmesthedetective

50 pages on and not a shred of a proper answer to the OP.

2000 years and not a credible answer from theism.

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

alecholmesthedetective

This thread is definitely not worthless and it would be disingenuous to suggest that.

If a point is invalid, it will be exposed as such. If it is valid it's only beneficial to have it reaffirmed. That's why debates like this are important.

What kept us in a cult was a suppression of critical thinking. Threads like this show how important it is that we not only know what we believe but why we believe it.

Believing in things without evidence or pretending to know things we don't know is an unreliable method to base our knowledge and by extension our lives on. So many better choices can be made, and so much more quality can be brought into our lives too, by an evidence-based worldview and reason.

This is the best way to advance our species and our world.

258

i wish more churches would preach truth like this

by unstopableravens in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncehcvrvgq.

alecholmesthedetective

Also, in Mark 11:24 , Jesus tells his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer , believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Sure yeah

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

alecholmesthedetective

" Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"

Epicurus

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

alecholmesthedetective

since Christ's resurrection, he decided to refrain from being the type of interventionist God he had been before - EdenOne

So how do you account for all the deaths from earthquakes and tsunamis prior to 33AD? - cofty

I hope you never thank god for your food or ask for healing or anything else. That would be hypocritical - cofty

Especially since 33 AD, in Eden's worldview.

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

alecholmesthedetective

Issues for explaining the existence of god/s:

The problem of evil.

The problem of myths, like the bible.

The exponential growth of knowledge about the natural world/the universe, confining god/s to gaps.

The fact that we don't need them for morality and meaning.

57

A Clean Slate When You Die ??

by Perry in

for the one who has died has been acquitted from his sin.

- romans 6:7 (nwt).

i got a chance to witness to my dad scripture for scripture for one whole hour over the holidays.

alecholmesthedetective

36

Asked my christian co-workers.....

by DS211 in

alecholmesthedetective

My hypothesis on why there is so much atheism among ex-JWs is that for many of us it took considerable courage and critical-thinking skills to see the error in our beliefs. Many, but not all, have the fortitude to apply the same skills to belief in god and inspired boks.

Same.

Critical thinking was applied to the beliefs of others but not our own.