Posts by Bonsai

114

Why do religious people make claims and then refuse to back them up?

by Viviane in

several times over the past few months i have had conversations, both here and in real life, with religious people making all sorts of interesting and conflicting claims.

i like to know how things work, so generally i will ask questions to net out what i am being told and see if it can be explained and make sense.. for instance, if someone said 2+2=4 and i asked how, there are a variety of ways that could be shown to me, a number line, physical objects being put together, counting on fingers and toes, etc.

indeed, in my personal life, i often have to explain how certain technologies work, sometimes planned, sometimes off the cuff, from a variety of group sizes to a varying degree of technical expertise.

Bonsai

There will always be a place for religion as long as evil continues. Religion is for those who hate the idea of a finite life span. Religion is for those who need an answer (regardless of it being provable or not) as to why evil and suffering exists. Religion provides hope just as a good movie or book can provide hope and inspiration. Yet, more than a book or movie, religion provides that hope for as long as the person embracing it lives. Religion is a friend for many from the cradle to the grave.

Knowing that many people need the "mental drug" we call "faith", religious leaders know they don't have to provide proof behind their claims. The claim is the drug that is sufficient for the average theist.

The Buddhists claim that "shiranu ga hotoke" God (or Buddha) is the unknown around us. This phrase "shiranu ga hotoke" is also used to express that "ignorance is bliss". I feel that that sums religion up perfectly. Yuck.

27

"Your good example is much needed for the young ones the congregation."

by Yondaime in

hey guys n gals, sorry its been such a long time since i've posted.

lately i've been very busy balancing between my school work and cult activities.

since i've been doing pretty well "spiritually"(enough field-circus hours, attending meetings, underlining my literatrash, reading, praying and serving as the mic-master) my coordinator grabbed me to the side after a meeting and talked to me for twenty minutes straight congratulating me about how good i am doing.. then he paused for a good five seconds and got all serious.. then he proceeded to tell me that the young ones in the hall aren't doing too well.

Bonsai

I remember when my parents threatened to kick me out when I turned 18 because i had become inactive( and I was partying too much). The thought of being alone in the world with no skills to pay the bills scared me so much that, not only did I return to meetings, I became a pioneer and then a servant a little over a year later. It's really sad when parents exert that kind of influence on us at such a young age. They use napalm instead of love to light a fire under our ass.

Ganbatte yondaime! Milk your parents for all they are worth until you can live comfortably independent from them.

62

For God/Truth Seekers Only!

by Nicola.threeangelsmessage in

jw
friends

for the past three years, my husband and i have been watching these sermons by remarkable worldwide speakers.

the biblical truths we have learnt from their presentations, in such a short period of time most definitely tip the scales compared to the truth the jw.org led me to believe i had for over 20 plus years of my life.

thanks to these videos, we have now found the truth and the truth is jesus christ (john 14:6).

Bonsai

Clambake,

It's funny, your post reeks of the same prickish moral superiority that you are criticizing. I do this. I do that. I special!

Let's lower the antagonism please.

18

GB Bodyguards

by Socrateswannabe in

i have heard that at the international conventions and even at us headquarters, the governing body travel with entourages or bodyguards.

does anyone know this to be a fact?

if so, why?

Bonsai

My wife told me the highlight of the International convention that she went to in Hawaii was seeing Stephen Lett walking around during intermission. He was escorted by 4 big, burly bodyguards wherever he went. She remembered the excitement as the Samoan room suddenly went hush at lunchtime as Lett walked in (with his four musclemen) went to the platform and announced the silver sword release in Samoan.

45

What bad habits have you picked up since leaving the Borg.

by James Mixon in

jw
friends

i went back to smoking and gambling but the good habits out weigh.

the bad ones, like lying to people.

is't fraud against the law, the practice.

Bonsai

I frekkin curse like a sailor.

56

Question for atheists and nonbelievers

by pressman in

i profess to teach the truth to you all and get you to all to think and believe.

believing in christ through his words and not through evil religious cults, like hoj and jw, can and will save you.

do you all realize that every time you are victorious and receive something of value through your hard work and sweat, it was our holy god who blessed you.

Bonsai

Yeah, I should have dumbed down my question for him. Where was God when Haiti happened? Where was God when Christians raped, pillaged, crucified others in his name around the globe for the last 1,900 years? Dinosaurs died out. Neanderthals died out. What proof is there that God gives a shat about whether modernus homo sapiens die out or not? Where was God when Samantha got bit and died from as viper bite as she was taking an innocent stroll through the forest? Where was God when poor, innocent, god-fearing Jackie got eaten by an alligator? Why do mosquito bites and tick bites cause disease and death? Why is everything in the universe trying to kill us? Why Perryman? Where is the love buddy?

56

Question for atheists and nonbelievers

by pressman in

i profess to teach the truth to you all and get you to all to think and believe.

believing in christ through his words and not through evil religious cults, like hoj and jw, can and will save you.

do you all realize that every time you are victorious and receive something of value through your hard work and sweat, it was our holy god who blessed you.

Bonsai

Pressman, where was god when the great tsunami of 04' struck and killed a quarter million people. Where was he during the great China earthquake a few years back that flattened elementary schools and squished innocent children like bugs. Where was your Great God during the Touhoku earthquake that sent a tsunami to wipe out coastal towns as if they had never existedz? JWs died. Babies and children died horrifically. Where was your God Pressman? Your God, the only one in this universe WHO KNEW what was going to happen... Where was he you arrogant, condescending know-it-all? Where was the divine warning? I'm waiting for the answer and will no doubt be kept waiting to my grave when I die an old old man.

32

Conventions, Kingdom Halls, Relief Funds, and Other Financial Scams and Schemes of Jehovah’s Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

a few seconds ago this hit the net todayhttp://jwvictims.org/conventions-kingdom-halls-relief-funds-and-other-financial-scams-and-schemes-of-jehovahs-witnesses/.

conventions, kingdom halls, relief funds, and other financial scams and schemes of jehovahs witnesses.

jehovahs witnesses often note that at their meetings (like church services), they dont pass a collection plate.

Bonsai

Very informative article. My former congregation sold their Kingdom Hall because the building was getting too expensive to keep up repairs. They were planning to build a smaller building on a smaller property. Then the new donation arrangement went into effect. They had to turn over the several hundred thousand in their funds to head quarters. Now they will have to make a new loan, starting from scratch, (which will be paid indefinitely) by members who are already paying donations to the neighboring congregation that they are sharing with. The irony is the neighboring congregation was well along into paying off the loan that they had made to pay for their new hall built over a decade ago. Now their loan also starts from scratch and has to be paid indefinitely from here on out. So, where oh where, did the money built up by two congregations( over 500,000$) go? I still can't wrap my head around it.

14

Where did the Buzz go?

by snugglebunny in

jw
friends

i recently came across the very first kingdom song i ever heard.

twickenham, 1955. i was just a kid then of course, but i do recall the "buzz" that seemed to permeate everything, not dis-similar to that of an international rugby match.

people were smiling while singing their hearts out, the lunch-time queues for the cafeteria full of old friends getting re-aquainted, young lads and lasses eyeing one another and blushing furiously, sessions 2 untl 4 then 7 until 9.30 giving folk plenty of time to socialise.. where did it all go wrong?.

Bonsai

I remember when the quick builds were fun as well. It was exciting for the locals to be a part of it even if they didn't have any particularly useful skills. Now it's all regulated and business-like.

33

Is door to door activity over?

by badcompany in

jw
friends

just curious about others experience.

i've been living just a few miles from a kingdom hall for 9 years.

i've been called on 0 times.

Bonsai

Pulled into my driveway today and what do I see? 3 well-dressed witnesses looking at me! They were canvasing the neighborhood (yet again) and looked for an excuse to stop on by and see if I've grown a third eye or something. So hard to play nice. Sigh.