Or maybe an article about disfellowshipping sounds really horrible when the subject is put in simple words without the ability to use bigger, euphemistic words for the purpose of sugar coating.
Island Man
JoinedPosts by Island Man
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in the april 15th watchtowerstudy ed why is the article about how loving dissfellowshipping is curiously missing from simplified addition ?
by poopie inthoughts
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in the april 15th watchtowerstudy ed why is the article about how loving dissfellowshipping is curiously missing from simplified addition ?
by poopie inthoughts
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Island Man
Perhaps Watchtower plans to send the simplified edition in places like Russia where the authorities are scrutinizing the extremist nature of Watchtower literature. Wanna bet Russia would only get the simplified edition? -
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Russian Court Denounces Jehovah's Witnesses as 'Extremist'-- The Moscow Times Mar. 04 2015
by defender of truth in"a court in southern russia has denounced a local organization of jehovah's witnesses as "extremist" and ordered it disbanded, the interfax news agency reported wednesday, in the latest in a long line of such rulings issued to the religious group in russia.. the group's building and surrounding land will be confiscated by the local government in the town of abinsk, krasnodar region, the court ruled.the group had been distributing publications titled "humanity in search of god" and "what does the bible really teach?
" that were included in the federal list of extremist materials and are banned for distribution in the country, the news report said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/mobile/news/article/russian-court-denounces-jehovah-s-witnesses-as-extremist/517026.html.
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Island Man
"Takes one to know one."
I agree. Governments that are repressive and make use of propaganda, or have done so in the recent past, tend to be very good at spotting the propagandistic and psychologically manipulative nature of JWs. Knowing first hand the power of propaganda, such govts always regard JWs as a threat and so they always give them trouble.
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Methane-Based Life Forms Could Exist on Titan (the giant moon of Saturn), say Scientists
by abiather inliquid water is a requirement for life on earth.
but in other, much colder worlds, life might exist beyond the bounds of water-based chemistry.
cornell chemical engineers and astronomers offer a template for life that could thrive in a harsh, cold world specifically titan, the giant moon of saturn.
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Island Man
Oh God! I committed the unforgivable sin! I accidentally clicked the like link on one of Abiathar's posts on this thread! Please forgive me, all. -
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Wanted: Honest Jehovah's Witnesses.
by Island Man inthis latest video from watchtower examination has a cracking good question that one can ask a jw to induce cognitive dissonance over watchtower's misuse of daniel 4:17. it also highlights one the most damning dishonesties of the watchtower organization.. .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oryf48hqq3e.
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Island Man
This latest video from Watchtower Examination has a cracking good question that one can ask a JW to induce cognitive dissonance over Watchtower's misuse of Daniel 4:17. It also highlights one the most damning dishonesties of the Watchtower organization.
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What would happen if life was found elsewhere?
by HowTheBibleWasCreated insee jws have said time and again jesus died once for all time... a quote from hebrews.
okay rule out humn-like aliens what about animals plants and microbes... i once had a hot fight with an elder when i still believed that here was no reason to doubt alien animals etc.
yet not based on any wt article witnesses reject this often.. lets suppose say in a month microbes are found on ceres (i doubt it will happen but let's roll with it) they are living as much as our cells are and reporduce... okay what would mother say in the magazines when millions of jehovah's witnesses demand to know why jehovah created microbes on a dwarf planet?.
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Island Man
I really don't see such a discovery shaking the faith of JWs. There are already far more damning scientific facts that disprove JW teachings, such as the age of modern humans which is approximately 200,000 years old and not the 6040 years that Watchtower claims. Yet these scientific facts don't do much to shake most indoctrinated JWs because they either:
1. Claim that the scientific findings are in error or are false.
2. Come up with crackpot, pseudoscientific explanations to reconcile scientific findings with the bible.
I think the age of humankind and the mountains of scientific evidence in favor of evolution are actually far more faith-damaging than any discovery of extra terrestrial life, ever will be. Why? Because unlike the origin of species and the age of mankind, the bible is very silent on the subject of extra terrestrial life. There is really no bible verse that one can point to to show that the bible denies the existence of ET life. The bible is as silent on ET life as it is on life in the Americas. So finding ET life, while it would be surprising, really wouldn't do much to shake JWs' faith in the bible or Watchtower.
My guess is that Watchtower would initially deny the finding, saying that scientists have made a mistake or that its just false propaganda by those trying to discredit the special creation of life on earth in favor of propagating the idea that life evolved elsewhere just as it evolved here.
Then after a while - years, or decades - Watchtower would finally get "new light" and say that the bible is really silent on the issue of ET life and that it is a book meant specifically for humans and so it should not surprise us to discover that Jehovah created life on other planets, while the bible is silent on the matter, because the bible is not a science text book yadda yadda yadda . . .
Did you know that the cousins of the JWs - the Seventh Day Adventists - already believe there is extra terrestrial life out there? Yes, Ellen G. White believed there are other unfallen worlds out there! If you ever talk to an SDA ask them their thoughts about the possibility of life out there and see what they say. See if the term "unfallen worlds" (or similar) rolls off their tongue. If the SDAs can believe that, then it shouldn't be hard for JWs to adjust to such a discovery.
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I'm Ready... Thank you
by Garrett inhey guys,.
so, something amazing happened recently.
i recently met with an old and very good friend of mine.
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Island Man
Because you have nothing to lose, you have an opportunity to share TTATT with other JWs in your congregation. If I were in your position, here's what I would do:
I would do up a very friendly letter/email making it the least confrontational as possible and use it to tell all the JWs in my hall that I love them and wish them all the best but I cannot in good conscience continue to have my name associated with the Watchtower organization because of certain indisputable facts that have come to my attention.
Then I would proceed to very mildly explain several of the most damning and undeniable bits of TTATT, supported with quotes from the bible, Watchtower publications, official Watchtower letters/documents, court transcripts, and/or other evidences. I would share things like: Watchtower's official policies geared at covering up incidents of child abuse from others in the congregation and the police; Watchtower's history of false prophecies and presuming to speak in the name of God things he did not say; Shunning disassociated ones who commit no gross sins; examples of glaring dishonesty and misquotes in Watchtower literature; etc
It's very important however to word it as mildly as possible, making it, not so much an attack on the organization as much as an explanation of why my conscience, personally, does not sit well with it.
I would state that my reason for telling them this information is not to try to pull them away from the organization but to prempt any rumors that may result from the elders announcing "[My name] is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses" without informing the congregation how or why this is so, leading many in the congregation to speculate and foment vicious rumors that tarnish my reputation.
Then I would end the letter by saying that I love them as individuals regardless of their religous beliefs and do not wish to let a difference of conscience on religous matters be a basis for ending my friendship with them as I think friendship is not something you throw away over a difference of conscience on the matter of religion; but I understand and forgive them if they feel pressured by Watchtower rules, to shun me over the matter of simply not wanting to be associated with the Watchtower organization.
I would send this letter/email to as many JWs in my hall as possible, except for the elders. If it's an email I would send it out about 1 week before sending in my DA letter to the elders. That way I let the rank and file know the details before the elders - my way of turning the table on the Watchtower's policy of having elders keep the details of JCs private from the rank and file JWs, when an individual only DAd. Yes, I would go out with a bang and I would also make it known to as many as possible that I have not been disfellowshipped for some sin but left on my own volition because of the unbearable stench of Watchtower! But that's just me.
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Why are extraterrestrials pictured in ugly form in movies?
by abiather inhumans have produced many movies on extraterrestrials.
yet all of them are shown in ugly form.
why cant we depict an et more beautiful/handsome than humans.
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Island Man
Abiathar, there are two important reasons why humans cannot depict a being more beautiful than themselves:
1. Human imagination is actually limited - limited by human experience. We simply cannot imagine what we have never experienced. Every image that you can imagine is constructed of elements that you have already seen. Human imagination basically takes elements from our memory and re-arranges them and morphs them to produce a new arrangement of those elements.
2. Beauty is a very species-subjective "sense". Seeing others of the same species as being the most beautiful of beings is likely a natural consequence of, or contributor to, our evolution as a social species. Seeing others of the same species as beautiful helps to foster attraction and cooperation between members of the same species. We don't see the human form/face as the most beautiful because of it truly being objectively the most beautiful, being divinely created. No. The brains of social creatures evolve to perceive members of its own species as being the most beautiful. I'm willing to bet that chimpanzees see other chimpanzees as being more beautiful than humans.
So you're right, we cannot conceive of a being more beautiful than ourselves. But that's only because of the highly subjective, species-specific nature of the quality of perception we call beauty. The moment a form begins to deviate too much from the human form we no longer perceive it as beautiful. Beauty is a perception based on the wiring of the brain. It is not an objective reality that exists outside of human perception. So it is not that a more beautiful being cannot exist. It's just that our brains wired with a bias to perceive others of the same species as most beautiful and the same is probably true for many other species (they too are wired to see members of their own respective species as most beautiful)
So you cannot objectively compare the beauty of different species because each species perceives beauty with an inherent, inescapable bias based on criteria specific to its own species. You can only compare beauty within a species. So the idea of humans not being able to portray a being more beautiful than themselves is a non-starter. It's actually not very different than asking: "Why can't we conceptualize a physical being that is more human-like in appearance than humans?" Or "Why can't we imagine a color that is redder than red; greener than green; bluer than blue, etc?" LOL.
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It's all about appearances
by tamagotchi inso far i've managed to keep service time to a minimum and i don't put my hand up to comment at the meetings and already certain ones are distancing themselves or not talking to me at all, i have to laugh!.
i wonder if they think i've commited a serious sin well sorry to burst their bubble i haven't, well not yet anyway lol.. i find it funny everything is measured on what they see, but yet i have too but my faith in 8 guys who i don't know or have never met, too stand a chance of everlasting life.. there was a part in the watchtower this afternoon saying we should be thankful we are 1 in 1000 of people in the world who have accurate knowledge, give me a break..
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Island Man
"I wonder if they think I've commited a serious sin well sorry to burst their bubble I haven't, well not yet anyway lol."
Oh but you have committed the most evil of sins: You've posted information that is critical of Jehovah's organization - and on an "apostate website", no less! LOL
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Why are we so hard on JW's??
by James Mixon ini was thinking about this last night.
what would happen if.
someone new check out this site, what would they think?.
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Island Man
But I think people are hard on JWs because, when indoctrinated by Watchtower, JWs start to exhibit the same stubborn, arrogant, dishonest tendencies as the organization.