Posts by donkey

34

Disunity among Apostates.

by refiners fire in

jw
friends

you know, in the year and a half ive been here i have certainly noticed that personal conflict flourishes among the apostate/ ex dub major players (and not so major players.

) consider the irrepairable conflict between our simon and herr steinhaug and his band of norwegian major players.

consider the relatively recent bill bowen war on this board.

donkey

Welcome to the free world where disunity is allowed and individual thought can exist and it can be freely criticized.

I have no desire to ever be part of group-think group again - even if it is a rallying call against a bad cause. I will gladly lend (and have in the past) financial or intellectual support to causes I believe in but I cannot stand idly by and be consumed into a collective. Call it selfish (I subscribe to the virtue of selfishness) but to me, my individual freedom is greater than any cause. If a cause is enhanced by me exercising my freedom and lending some support to the cause - that's fine. The relative perspective needs to be maintained though.

Jack

36

Not all JWs are paedophiles!

by Brummie in

i read some reports (infact the majority) and they seem to imply all jws are paedophiles!

seldom do they draw the distinction between the majority (who are not peds) and the few who are.

perhaps we need to be more balanced when we comment on these things...dont cha think?.

donkey

Do you know which of the 6 million JWs worldwide are among the 23,720 child molesters on record at WTS headquarters? Brooklyn knows. The bodies of elders know

And we think the number 23,720 is accurate? Why? Or do we just take unsubstantiated numbers as doctrine - just like we believed whatever we were told.

The number could be 2,370 or 237,200....or 23.720...or some other number - how do you know what it is? Anyone ever wonderd why it is a specifc number but a round one (a low probability combination)?

I agree the proven and the accused pedophiles should be turned over to the cops...I just question unsubstantiated claims that make references to specifics.

Jack

9

Do you, or don't you?

by Cassiline in

jw
friends

i've been thinking about this lately.

you are aquainted with someone and you both are comfortable in the relationship.

i can't call you all the best of buddies but better then aquaintences and not best friends.. .

donkey

Cassi,

I would always tell the person.

Jack

16

Trouble dealing with life as an ex-JW

by YellowLab in

jw
friends

i'm interested in finding out if anyone here who is an ex-dub has taken or still takes prescription anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication to deal with feelings of inadequacy and inexperience with life outside of the wts, relationship problems, stress/anger, low self-esteem, etc.. i still suffer with self-esteem/image problems as well as stress with life in general after leaving the wts.

i often feel alone and inexperienced when dealing with life's problems, and often find it difficult to handle conflict/disagreements with loved ones when they arise.

i feel these occurrences are a personal attack on myself.. i just started attending counseling to deal with these problems, and it was mentioned that an anti-depressant may help.

donkey

I often feel alone and inexperienced when dealing with life's problems, and often find it difficult to handle conflict/disagreements with loved ones when they arise

I hide it pretty well but I suffer from the same problem. It's tough to make it through each day when you feel as if you have no one in the world but yourself. Those who "leave" but find themselves in a position where they are between a rock and a hard place (like being married to an active JW with kids who will not accept "worldly friends" in their house whereas the person leaving wants nothing to do with JW's) can have one of the most meaningless frustrating existences out there.

Jack

153

Has your life gotten better as an athiest/agnostic?

by StinkyPantz in

this quote got me thinking:if you pray sincerely and admit you are a sinner and accept christ as your savior you can have the holy spirit come into your life.. .

i used to do this everyday.

when i was being abused, i used to pray incessantly for god to help me.

donkey

Maybe I'm mis-reading everything, but I'm getting the impression that you atheists think we Christians are a bunch of dumb, irrational, un-educated hillbillies.

Do you think the Nazi' followers (average people) were rational? I don't.

Were they educated? Many were.

Were they dumb? Not all of them.

So let's re-construct this then. Let's look at what people have been taught about snakes. By far the majority of people (in the past close to 100%) are terrified of snakes. Why is that? In reality most snakes are not harmful. But people have perpetuated notions about their danger for generations. This is a form of education - even if it is incorrect. By studying FACTS one learns the truth and realizes that what you were educated with is/was not logical (ie. IRRATIONAL).

What is totally dumb is the refusal to examine FACT and the refusal to base one's most important decisions on life on unsubstantiated tradition. The tradition is "educated" into the students by teaching/culture and parental influence. This does not make it accurate does it?

One thing JW's claimed was they were "in the TRUTH". So why not actually seek the TRUTH - something which is provable and rational. People who believed the earth was flat were just as ardent, sincere and convinced of their beliefs...if some brave individuals had not refused to simply accept the popular belief...we would all still be at the mercy of Atlas.

As an atheist, one who does not believe (Alan is an Atheist too), I am probably one of those who might be described as "intolerant" of and/or "rude" to believers. The description is probably true - I confess. How tolerant would you be if everyone around you believed the tooth fairy was real? I know that question sounds intolerant...but then ask yourself - can you convince me that the tooth fairy is not God?

Jack

60

Does God exist outside of Time?

by D wiltshire in

does god exist out side of our dimension of time?.

our view of time has changed over the centuries.

for the longest time,.

donkey

You need to believe so much just to ask that question.

Let's analyze why. "Does God exist outside of time?"

When we say God exists - what do we mean? Do we mean that there is a God vs there is no god? Or do we mean God is real, he just domiciles in a different place? Do humans exist outside of time? What is existence? It's an easy word definition but a harder conceptual one.

Did God invent time? What is time? Do you mean the relative motion of planetary bodies?

Like I said...the question assumes so much understanding before I can even think about possible answers.

If God created time then did hsi creation envelop himself? We know that believers claim God lives in heaven - right? Did God create heaven and then move into it? What was his prior place of abode? Wha makes heaven preferable to where he lived previously? Running water? Better school system? Less traffic? Forgive the sarcasm - but as humans we have invented this concept/thing called "God". We then endeavor to relate this "God" to human terms so that we can convinve others of how real our "friend" is. Many will turn around and say "God is beyond human comprehension". The coput answer!! If that's true then how do you even know he exists? The answer - he exists for one reason only that I can discern: he exists because YOU want him to.

Functionally decomposed,
Jack

24

Some Black Muslim Beliefs

by MrMoe in

i have a new job, and there is a young girl who has a desk located near mine.

she is muslim and wears a head covering, and today i had the chance to talk to her.

she brought up her religion when i asked her why she didn't have any photos on her desk etc... she explained it was due to the fact any pictures or other objects of living beings was against her religion as it was considered idoitry.

donkey

When will the world grow up? When will people start behaving like humans?

We have a better chance when humans quit believing in in non-human imaginary friends and using the belief in the imaginary friends to justify bullshift!!

Donkeyshift...not bullshift....YEAH!!!!

Jack

50