Oubliette

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Posts by Oubliette

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  73

  Congregation had to relocate Memorial...thanks to me

  by Shepherd Book in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so, the two local congregations were planning to hold their memorial together at 7:30 at the local community center, but they had to make a last-minute change to their own hall, and i'm pretty sure it was because of me.. let me explain.... at work on monday afternoon, a co-worker returned from her lunchbreak and showed me the memorial invitation that was waiitng in her door when she went home for lunch.

  i noticed the sticker on the back indicated the memorial was being held, not at the local hall, but at the community center.

  from a past (non-jw) event i attended there, i knew they didn't allow alcohol (unless you pay for security guards), so i wrote to the center's coordinator:.

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  Oubliette

  It's probably a local ordinance. I know it's required by THE CITY where I live for anyone wishing to use their community center.
  
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  76

  Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.

  i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.

  to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.

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  Oubliette

  OrphanCrow, why did you quote me quoting cantleave?
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  8

  Thought provoking articles / videos

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i came across this site and love it, just full of interesting things to read.

  this one is particularly good about whether we are alone in the universe (as intelligent life) and what different scenarios could play out:.

  http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html.

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  Oubliette

  Very cool! Thanks.

  The Fermi Paradox
  

  My only concern with an article like this is that, although it is peppered with scientific facts, it is primarily speculative in nature.

  Readers that are not scientifically literate will read it and not be able to keep track of what parts are speculation and what are fact based and as a result come away with a mixed-up, hodge-podge of misinformation thinking: it's science.
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  87

  Why people don't believe in God

  by pressman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you want to know why i think people don't believe in god?

  well i believe people don't want to believe in god because they are scared.

  they know that if they finally do gorge the confidence to believe in him, he might discipline them for their skepticism.

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  Oubliette

  DD, loved your analogy about the absentee father and the shotgun indoctrination!
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  87

  Why people don't believe in God

  by pressman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you want to know why i think people don't believe in god?

  well i believe people don't want to believe in god because they are scared.

  they know that if they finally do gorge the confidence to believe in him, he might discipline them for their skepticism.

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  Oubliette

  pressman: oubliette, sorry but sitting down and considering so called evidence is an expression of fear.

  You're right. I was afraid I'd been duped by charlatans into believing lies and was in a religious cult. It took courage to face the facts, examine the evidence and see the truth, the REAL truth, not the fabrications of men.

  Now I have embraced reality and am no longer in fear.
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  87

  Why people don't believe in God

  by pressman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you want to know why i think people don't believe in god?

  well i believe people don't want to believe in god because they are scared.

  they know that if they finally do gorge the confidence to believe in him, he might discipline them for their skepticism.

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  Oubliette

  pressman: God is not something you can see or not see with just facts and evidence. you have to believe. not study, but believe.

  I only believe things because of facts and evidence. Even then I am always open to new facts and evidence which may cause me to re-examine my beliefs. If I was or am wrong, I change my beliefs. This is what rational people do.
  

  pressman: You see, studying so called evidence takes nothing from you to do.

  Clearly, you don't know how to study. Really study is hard work.
  

  pressman: You just open a book and let your eyes twirl.

  Thank you for proving my point!
  

  pressman: Eden one, god, allah, Yahweh. the lord has many names. He loves them all.

  Well, now we know you're not a JW! ... lol
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  87

  Why people don't believe in God

  by pressman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you want to know why i think people don't believe in god?

  well i believe people don't want to believe in god because they are scared.

  they know that if they finally do gorge the confidence to believe in him, he might discipline them for their skepticism.

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  Oubliette

  Pressman: Do you want to know why I think people don't believe in God? Well I believe people don't want to believe in God because they are scared.

  Thank you for sharing what you think, not that I asked. Now it's your turn to allow me to share with you what I have concluded concerning the question of the existence of God:

  There is no God, certainly not of the type portrayed by the Abrahamic religions. The evidence against the existence of such a God is overwhelming and the evidence for is non-existent, just like the God which his proponents claim to worship.

  Fear had nothing to do with me coming to this conclusion. Rather, it was the result of a lifetime (over 5 decades) of intensive and prolonged rational examination of the data on both sides of the issue.

  That being said, I do not consider myself to be an atheist because that would require absolute knowledge. This is something which no one possesses.
  

  Here's one of my favorite quotes on the subject:

  Those who raise questions about the God hypothesis and the soul hypothesis are by no means all atheists. An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such compelling evidence. Because God can be relegated to remote times and places and to ultimate causes, we would have to know a great deal more about the universe than we do to be sure that no such God exists. To be certain of the existence of God and to be certain of the nonexistence of God seem to me to be the confident extremes in a subject so riddled with doubt and uncertainty as to inspire very little confidence indeed. - Conversations with Carl Sagan (2006), edited by Tom Head, p. 70
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  15

  still in .. wishing for a ttatt brother in the hall

  by user100 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the entire hall was invited to a party at a brothers house after the memorial.. actually had conversations with a few people.. two guys that were recently disfellowshipped and since re-instated... would love to see what they really think about the religion.. but have no idea how to bring it up.. .

  my beliefs are quite in the open (i think), i am inactive and do not comment or give talks.. i dont sing, i dont close my eyes during prayers and i dont say amen... funny though.. we were having a conversation, one of the recently re-instated asked me which service group i belong to.. my reply after some thought was... "i have no idea" .. coz seriously.. i had no idea.

  wonder how that went... they all laughed it off including the pioneer drone standing next to me... i am tempted to ask them if they value freedom of speech and if so do they think we have freedom of speech in the jw religion.....

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  Oubliette

  SIAR2: Surprisingly, most here who started to wake up and learnt the TTATT were on outward appearances the "perfect witnesses", many were appointed men, or pioneers!

  That was me. I continued serving as an elder for 6 or 7 years as I gradually became increasingly aware that the WTBTS is a cult.

  The last couple of years I tried to get my family out. When it became clear that I was never going to awaken my now-ex-wife, I tried to get my kids out with me. That didn't work either. Finally I just had to get out by myself for my own sanity.

  I'm still working on reaching my kids, but it's hard as they shun me even though I am not DF'd, simply inactive.
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  35

  Memorial attendance up or down on last year?

  by freddo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as per the title.

  and was the one you attended at an early or late time of the evening.. any partakers?.

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  Oubliette

  Magnum: Also, it still affects millions. I have family members who are in and who think something's wrong with me. In addition, it's an interesting study in psychology/sociology/etc. Some people are interested in following certain sports teams. To me, following the goings-on in JWdom is far more interesting, and it's even enlightening and educational.

  Exactly!
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  76

  Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.

  i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.

  to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.

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  Oubliette

  cantleave: A degree can help open the door, but success once you have stepped through that door depends on many other factors.

  True dat!

  Mostly it depends on persistence and hard work.