Island Man

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Posts by Island Man

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  14

  Opening the Eyes of JWs Wasting Their Lives Away in Prisons Because of...Nothing

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is there any practical way to let these people see the light?

  has anything been already done to get the valuable information they need to them?

  if yes, what has been the outcome?.

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  Island Man

  In my opinion, some JWs are actually better off not knowing TTATT. They include:

  ~ Elderly JW parents who let their child die by refusing them a blood transfusion. Such persons would be utterly devastated to know they essentially killed their child for a lie.

  ~ Very sheltered adolescent JWs who are curbing rebellious, self-destructive tendencies, due to Watchtower indoctrination. Such persons are prone to go over-the-top, living very reckless lifestyles of drug abuse and sexual promiscuity once they find out that Watchtower is a lie.

  Let me revise my statement. It's not that these people don't deserve to know TTATT. It's just that you have to be very careful in how you share TTATT with them and offer them help to counteract the devastating psychological or behavioral ills that may result when the Watchtower mental shackles are taken off.
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  14

  Opening the Eyes of JWs Wasting Their Lives Away in Prisons Because of...Nothing

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is there any practical way to let these people see the light?

  has anything been already done to get the valuable information they need to them?

  if yes, what has been the outcome?.

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  Island Man

  I think sharing TTATT with those in prison could be a bit risky as in it could potentially do more harm than good to the individual.

  It's one thing to find out that you've been misled by Watchtower and having the freedom to escape most of the ills that have resulted. But its quite another thing if you can't escape the greatest ill that has resulted from it - imprisonment.

  For many JWs in prison, the misguided faith born of Watchtower indoctrination is a source of great strength helping them to cope with their difficult circumstances. To learn that they're in prison for a lie could utterly devastate them and lead to a mental breakdown or deep depression resulting in suicide.

  Also, the very fact that such ones are suffering because of loyalty to Watchtower, actually makes it more difficult to reach them. Psychologically, humans don't like know that their sacrifices have been in vain; so when presented with proof that that is the case they tend to resist such evidence and continue in denial.

  The reasoning is something like this: "I didn't spend all this money or go through all this trouble for nothing. My money and suffering is not going down the drain! It has to be true! I refuse to accept that it isn't true!"
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  34

  Pick your belief system

  by Giordano in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i think we've all noticed a ton of newbe's these past months.

  one part of escaping or thinking about escaping the jw's is coming to terms with what you believe now and/or what direction you are leaning towards.. here is a site that has a quick quiz that may be of some worth or just for fun.

  i took it when i first signed on here and the results surprised me because it was pretty accurate.. you don't have to sign up for anything and when you finish you will get a percentage answer on 20 major belief systems.

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  Island Man

  My results (top 3):

  1. 100% Secular Humanist

  2. 82% Non-Theist

  3. 82% Unitarian Universalism

  Oh, and I'm 0% Jehovah's Witness. LOL.
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  9

  new bethel application question are you a racist?

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  will the gb finally admit there is systemic racism at the highest levels of the organization.

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  Island Man

  I remember reading an application form to go away to the MTS that asks the applicant his race. Why is such information needed?
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  18

  in the april 15th watchtowerstudy ed why is the article about how loving dissfellowshipping is curiously missing from simplified addition ?

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thoughts

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  Island Man

  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.
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  18

  in the april 15th watchtowerstudy ed why is the article about how loving dissfellowshipping is curiously missing from simplified addition ?

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thoughts

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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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  13

  Russian Court Denounces Jehovah's Witnesses as 'Extremist'-- The Moscow Times Mar. 04 2015

  by defender of truth in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  "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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  47

  Methane-Based Life Forms Could Exist on Titan (the giant moon of Saturn), say Scientists

  by abiather in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  liquid 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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  3

  Wanted: Honest Jehovah's Witnesses.

  by Island Man in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  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.. .

  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.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OryF48hqq3E
  
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  20

  What would happen if life was found elsewhere?

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  see 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.