well if said that, one thing is for sure he wont remain a atheist.
if he is in heaven..lol.
It is actually quite an uninteresting question for un atheist. An atheist does not believe in a place called heaven nor does he believe in hell. Therefore I wunder who asked the Pope the qeustion? And for what reason? Was it a trap question to snare the pope.....
Bugbear
leaving the university with my degree!.
exams are finished and it's just a matter of days before i walk.. i was certainly stressed about doing this.
i'm older than my classmates and armageddon was sooooo close!
Congratulations Billy, but don´t forget us her, now with your new openings!?
Bugbear
All these questions, made me leave the org. When ask the "higher ranked" JW:s these questions, they generally tell you that you should not think for yourselves. It is like saying to the all the people in your cong. that absolutely musn´t not look into this room, but there is a pink elephant standing in the corner! Some of us must look at that "elephant" others doesn´t dare, becouse of fearing punishment or shunning.
Bugbear
the gb can kiss my ass.. i'm writing "0" on the little slip of paper they pass out.. hey here's a thought:.
you know that "widow's might" stuff they're always talking about?
well i'm pretty dang sure that the lady was giving from the heart not because she filled out some dumba$$ piece of paper pledging two small coins several months previous!.
What if a cong. is doing badly? Will they close the KH and let the members travel to a more profitable KH. They can easily sell your KH, to some speculants who would like a large and well placed building, and thus make it even more profitable. They hava already got it for free from you and all your friends, who vouluntarely have contributed with both labor and money.
Bugbear
look...i am not an atheist.
even so, i have never had one prayer answered my entire life.
the only thing that would even come close was learning ttatt.
Interesting question! But If God answers all these prayers why does he obviously answers all others religions prayer. I mean that there are millions of Muslims that can swore that they have had their prayers answered. That along with Mormons, Catholics, seventh day Methodist and Pentecostal people believers. Is God Schizophrenia? Or maybe it is the human brother or sister him selves or her selves.
Bugbear
i use the word clinging, as i feel that is what i am doing.
as far as my knowledge of science, namely chemistry is concerned, i am satisfied there is evidence of a creator.
i am happy to believe this.
"What's the Harm?"
It looks like this is the very topic. Yes I think it is. A fact is that a waste majority of the world’s population are “believers”. They are believers to some extend! I know some Muslims following muslim haram (or Jewish kosher) or other rules. I also know a few Catholics believe that the pope is Gods lieutenant on earth. In other countries as in northern Europe, Scandinavia, Netherlands or so, it looks like a majority of the people are either pure atheists or just totally ignorant. In fact, in some of these countries only 5% of the pop. Goes to church on a regular basis.
The thing is that when you actually believe that God speaks to you, when you actually hear his voice, and can read his will, you have become obsessed. Your mind is not clear and open.
This goes for religion or even political groups. If you are a communist, or fascist, Marxist or a Pol Pot, believer. Your are capture in the same mind trap, meaning that you are not open for other ideas. Your brain has stocked you into a “cult thinking” , which is very harmful. It could result that you can, if your leaders are Taliban’s, make you carry a bomb into public areas.
You don´t think for yourselves. You are depending on what other people want you to think!
And the other people…. They have their own agendas…
Kate, continue to use your own mind, it is much better then to use others
Bugbear
after knowing ttatt for many years now...i had made up my mind long ago that after 2014, i would no-longer subject myself to the boredom, pain, and frustration of following this cult...the wt...the borg.. so...i made up my mind that since the wtbts/gb makes such a big deal as to the "significance" of the year 1914 and this year 2014, there can be no greater time for me to leave it all behind.
i daydreamed of how awesome and telling it would be if everyone that could ( because i do know that some have personal circumstances of their own, as i did too) would just .... walkout...never to attend/step foot in a kingdom hall from that moment on.. independence day of sorts?
there is too much evidence, too many videos, blogs, books, news reports and lawsuits for me to keep lying to myself.
Its a good decision setting a date for leaving un evel org. But how do you coop with your own conscience. I mean doing the service holding speeches, saying prayor, and all that knowing that you are a lier?
For me I suffered from 4 hearth attacks and a severe depression. This before I realised that I could not longer be associated with a bunch of liers, impostors, and hypocrites.
Bugbear
although i have been out for 8+ years, my recent experiences with this have taught me quite a bit.
i believe most here would claim this is what mind controlled people do when they are in contact with a known "former" believer, so i think some deeper understnding of what is really going on is in order.. i always asked why is the "mind control" so effective and how do the organizations that intiate it, learn how to?
i never really could find a satisfactory answer.
Thanks D4G. Your comment´s has made me understand things better. Your say:
The bottom line is, they cannot help it. Unless they attempt to understand the psychology involved, (which they will not do while still a believer), the response will be the same every time. Few XJWs understand this, a believing JW has little to no chance, thus no chance to correct the behavior.
But how about psychos? Obviously there are a lot of Psychos, in the high ranks of JW:s. There are some studies showing that people like Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin,Pol Pot, Mussolini and other medieval Kings in Europe suffered from the disease, named psychos.
How can we make our friends “still in”, understand that they are ruled by sick people, or just unintelligent? I have a struggle with my wife to make her understand the “evil” of this org. but all in vain. If I try to give her objective facts, she doesn´t even listen to me. She run out the door and don´t come back for hours.
Bugbear
because they don't know what to do and they want to numb the pain .
especially for bornins..
Remember the so called "judge" Rutherford
Bugbear
just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
Emeth
Didn´t the first christians meet in private homes! Or they used wathever they could find to get a roof over their heads.
I´d like to qoute TTATTelder: Its totally a franchise/rental-landlord hybrid business model being rolled out progressively.
Bugbear
