Richard Dawkins once said that a former very successful editor of New Scientist magazine was once asked what their philosophy was, and his reply was that 'our philosophy at New Scientist is this: science is interesting and if you don't agree you can **** off.'
alecholmesthedetective
JoinedPosts by alecholmesthedetective
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23
Every JW should pay attention to Steven Pinker's lecture: A History of Violence
by cognisonance incame across this lecutre (or alternatively you can read the transcript) in a class from yale on moralities of everyday life:.
a history of violence edge master class 2011some excepts:.
"believe it or notand i know most people do notviolence has been in decline over long stretches of time, and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence.".
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alecholmesthedetective
Now I'm going to have to read it. :)
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New Watchtower Article: "Morals Without God?"
by cognisonance in...or rather what you wouldn't find in a watchtower .
morals without god (new york times article).
can we envision a world without god?
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alecholmesthedetective
Also, he hates homosexuals and women.
So no.
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New Watchtower Article: "Morals Without God?"
by cognisonance in...or rather what you wouldn't find in a watchtower .
morals without god (new york times article).
can we envision a world without god?
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alecholmesthedetective
The god of the bible is the worst character to take morals from.
He supports slavery, genocide, rape, and child sacrifice.
So no, thank you.
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39
An important question for active JW's
by Honesty inif you and a fellow jehovah's witness went to a house where the homeowner brought up a watchtower doctrine which you secretly disagree with, would you defend it or tell them what it is you really believe?.
either way you are at a loss.. defending something you disagree with is living a lie and telling a lie.
not defending it and telling the home owner what you really believe makes you an apostate by watchtower society standards.
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alecholmesthedetective
I met an active JW recently. I believe after our meeting he was able to see that there is a life after the WT. I didn't get any answers from him when it came to some questions, such as, 'why do have to pay for mythical Adam and Eve's supposed sin ages before we were born'. All he could tell me about the new promotion of the GB to FDS is that 'there is no contradiction' and obfuscate a little. He admitted, he believes 60%, sometimes 70% of 'new light'. I'll continue here available and willing to talk, providing a contrast to the WT's methods.
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Being an Atheist Is Bad For Your Health
by Space Madness ini stopped believing in god in july 2013. in the first 3 months or so i felt liberated and relieved that i can live my life anyway i wanted without worrying about an invisible being watching my every move.
i also felt slightly superior that i was able to figure out that god isn't real while the majority of mankind continued to be fooled.
atfer the feelings of excitment statrted to wear off, i started to become more depressed and empty.
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alecholmesthedetective
I live in Brazil. Prologos's words are the best description about this country:
People in developping countries have no high expectations, naively believe in the unrealistic promises of the utopian religious teachings, do not expect justice to come in this life, and might feel more comfortable, content than then those having to face the crass competition in the top-earner nations.
The elite here doesn't care so long as their lives go on as usual. This works for them. It is a panem et circenses style of politics.
The vast majority of the population is uneducated, superstitious, and religious. There are many catholics, who also believe in spiritism, and evangelicals. Forbes magazine published a list where a Brazilian evangelical pastor is a BILLIONAIRE, followed by others who are millionaires. They fleece their flocks. A famous pastor was arrested last year due to several charges of rape against church members in church premises and drug trafficking.
The general Brazilian attitude is to just accept things. They protested last year and after the government conceded to not increase 20 cents in the bus fare, the protests died out. Nothing has changed. Public transport continues the same crap it was and so does traffic. The Sao Paulo metro system is woefully lacking. They are still hurrying to finish building more stations for the World Cup but they are still behind schedule. The billions spent are gone and the general problems will continue here. They go back to the time of the foundation of the country. This is why a vastly uneducated population can do little to change them, when the intelligent elite and politicians control and exploit them, whilst deluding them. The evangelical politicians we have in Congress continually denounce homosexuals, women's rights, and liberal values.
So, no. Being in atheist, an antitheist, not only has allowed me to claim my life back from religious oppression as it has helped me to see things with very different eyes. Only weeks ago my sister had a minor surgery and lost a lot of blood, due to my family's JW stance. She is now anemic. I shudder to think what would have happened if this had been a major surgery. In her case, and in that of many others, being a believer is bad for your health and many times lethal. Not only am I much happier, but I can also take my life in the direction I want, having freed myself from the shackles of lies and deception, I can make my own purpose in life, pursue my own goals, and give something back to the world.
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"Deep down inside even they know it is BS." Discuss
by rory-ks innope, 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.
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alecholmesthedetective
Cognitive dissonance.
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21
Short Video - Interviews with Creationists
by cofty inthis 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.".
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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.
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2596
The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday
by cofty inyesterday 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.
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alecholmesthedetective
50 pages on and not a shred of a proper answer to the OP.
2000 years and not a credible answer from theism.
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2596
The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday
by cofty inyesterday 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.
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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.