Island Man

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Posts by Island Man

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  Good information to have when JWs and other bible-thumpers start appealing to the authority of the bible.

  by Island Man in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp5ldeld_0o.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riipk-fxicc.

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  Island Man

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP5LdELd_0o

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiiPK-FXicc
  
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  Anybody have any "REAL" experiences of spirit/demon activity? I'll explain.

  by runForever in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know there is a lot of people on here that will say it is pure make believe but i am interested if anybody has had any real concrete things happen such as something moving or something appearing in the mirror etc.. anything just post it up here even if it wasn't much.

  please give a little context as to the situation..

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  Island Man

  mana11, I can think of one possible explanation for the experience with the dogs howling in a chain sequence.

  Dogs will generally howl in response to any sound that they perceive as being similar to a howl. For example, you may have noticed that dogs will start howling in response to the sound of an ambulance siren. In their dog mind, the ambulance siren sounds like the strange howl of some strange dog. And since dogs are social creatures, when a dog hears a howl it usually howls back in response. So when we put these facts together a very plausible explanation arises for the chain howling phenomenon that you experienced. Here is what could have happened:

  A dog some great distance away at "ground zero" (too far away to be in your hearing) heard the sound of an ambulance siren or some other sound produced by some kind of equipment or machinery. The sound of this equipment or machinery was interpreted by the dog as being the sound or howl produced by a very large and vicious alpha male threatening to attack. Or maybe it was interpreted by the dog as being the sound of an unidentified and unknown horrible creature - perhaps the sound of some now extinct predatory creature that terrorized dogs' ancestors in the past. (A fearful response to the sound of such a creature, leading the dogs to issue a warning howl and take evasive action, would have provided an evolutionary survival advantage and so that trait could have been selected for and passed down to modern dogs.)

  So when this dog at ground zero some great distance away heard the sound it responded in terror with frightful howl. Now because of the social nature of dogs, the next dog within hearing hears this howl and howls in response then the next dog in the hearing of this other dog also hears and response - a domino effect is created and the howl travels from dog to dog all the way from the source sound - which was too far away for you to hear - all the way down to your neighborhood. And the domino effect of the howl gives you the illusion that something is traveling and disturbing each dog when it comes into proximity. In reality though, its just the howling equivalent of a "Mexican wave".
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  The Paranormal

  by Peony in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm interested to know if anyone has been to see a medium/clairvoyant since leaving jw's.

  i must admit now i can make my own choices i seem to have a fascination with it although haven't acted on it as a) am i just jumping into believing another load of rubbish?

  and b) what if it really is the demons pretending to be loved ones!!

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  Island Man

  I haven't but that's because I now know that all the paranormal stuff is really a load of rubbish. No alleged paranormal events or abilities have ever stood up to professional scientific testing and scrutiny.

  It's all charlatanry and exploiting the brain's pattern seeking mechanisms to deceive people. Many natural neurological phenomena are often mistaken for paranormal activity. For example, many people who are unaware of the phenomenon of sleep paralysis interpret the experience as someone putting a curse on them or a demon paralyzing them.

  Credulity + ignorance = belief in the paranormal. Knowledge of how the mind works + critical thinking skills = seeing the paranormal for the bs that it really is.
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  44

  Anybody have any "REAL" experiences of spirit/demon activity? I'll explain.

  by runForever in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know there is a lot of people on here that will say it is pure make believe but i am interested if anybody has had any real concrete things happen such as something moving or something appearing in the mirror etc.. anything just post it up here even if it wasn't much.

  please give a little context as to the situation..

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  Island Man

  Before giving too much weight to anecdotes you need to educate yourself on how the human brain operates, specifically its ability to generate hallucinatory experiences and its ability to distort memories.

  You need to be aware of how the brain of persons with fantasy-prone personalities can often interpret ambiguous, unidentified natural stimuli as supernatural events. You need to be aware of a natural neurological phenomenon known as a waking dream where a person can sometimes have a very life-like dream/hallucination without realizing it.

  Give careful consideration to these:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9izEUt-AFmk
  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzAavWdOa0g

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQLrOLVApCE
  
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  31

  It is possible two new governing body members this year

  by rege brazzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last three years that mark sanderson was apointed(announced)september 1,2012.

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  Island Man

  The annual meeting should be interesting this year . . . relatively speaking, of course.
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  Debating evolution, intelligent design and cosmology with a JW

  by Thestumbler83 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  ive been having an email exchange with a jw family member and the discussion seem to have become a bit heated and im not quite sure why.

  i dont think ive said anything obviously offensive and ive been very careful with my wording.

  but i think im sometimes a bit tone deaf with these things.

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  Island Man

  "your last email seems to suggest that I am ‘unable to explain the (basis) for my beliefs in simple terms’."

  There may be a hidden fallacy here. Have you ever heard JWs say something along the lines of: "the truth is simple"? He might be discounting your explanations based on this fallacy that truth has to be simple and your explanations are not as simple as that provided by the bible and Watchtower.

  The problem is that how simple your explanation seems to him largely depends on how educated he is on scientific matters. Respectfully tell him that his ignorance on scientific matters is perhaps at the root of him finding your explanations to be not simple. Also, reality does not owe us simple explanations. The reality of the origins of physical existence may indeed be quite incomprehensible and counter-intuitive to the human mind but that doesn't make it any less real or truthful. Just because the bible offers an explanation that he can understand, does not necessarily make it correct. Truth does not have to be comprehensible to the human mind. It only has to be scientifically provable.

  When gauging the credibility of a truth claim, more important than simplicity, is the claim's scientific plausibility. Highly implausible claims, however simple, are still less likely to be true than complex claims that are scientifically plausible.
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  44

  WE NEED MORE MONEY! (Letter sent to Mexico re: JW Broadcasting of May 2015).

  by avaddohn94 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i don't know if they're making similar arrangements in other parts of the world but below you will find the letter (and the translation attempt) they're sending to all the congregations in mexico and central america asking them to modify their september 21 and september 28 service meeting programs.. after watching jackson's gold apple watch and lett's pinky ring one can only assume they are a bunch of brazen, shameless and greedy bastards!.

  the letter has already been uploaded at the spanish forum and you can find it if you click here or see the attached picture.. the translation "attempt" is as follows:.

  august 1, 2015. to all congregations.

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  Island Man

  Is this service meeting viewing only going to be done in Mexico, or will it be done worldwide. The letter is addressed "to all congregations" and I see no indications from the contents that it is limited to Mexico.
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  When is a commandment ever worded with "IF"?

  by Israel Ricky Gonzales in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  acts 15:28 for the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things: 29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.

  if you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper.

  good health to you!.

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  Island Man

  The part that starts with "if", is not the command, but merely a statement that the christian will prosper if he obeys the command. The command is the part that starts with "keep abstaining from..."

  The use of "if" in the context that it was used does not imply that the command isn't mandatory. It only implies that a christian who fails to obey will not prosper.

  By way of an illustration, If a bank robber comes up to a teller and points a gun at her head and commands her to hand over money then says: "If you carefully obey my instructions it will go well for you", would you take that statement as meaning the teller doesn't have to obey the robber; that the robber isn't all that serious about her obeying his instructions?

  Notice also that the if statement isn't limited to the question of blood. It also applies to fornication. Do you think its fair to say that abstaining from fornication isn't a necessary thing for christians? The phrase "carefully keep yourselves from" suggests that obeying is important.

  Don't focus on the word "if" in isolation. Carefully consider the context of how it is being used.
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  34

  The origin of the name and masthead illustration of The Watchtower

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thanks to the great "watchtower history" blog with historical information about the pre- and early bible students years, i became today aware of the origine of the name the watchtower and the masthead illustration in front of the old magazines.. in c.t.

  russell's younger days, his mother and other relatives died and were buried on the family plot at the allegheny cemetery.. it must have been a defining moment voor the young ctr.

  look at his inspiration to choose the name and masthead of his magazine.

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  Island Man

  If my memory is correct I remember seeing some information about there actually being an older Catholic or Anglican publication called the Watchtower.
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  11

  Watchtower can cite their sources after all

  by wannaexit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as far as i can remember watchtower has been notorious for not citing their sources in their literature.

  the most they will do is to cite their in house, long living expert by the name of scholar.

  after 40 + years all i've ever read is the mantra "one scholar says" ad nauseum.

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  Island Man

  The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.

  Nice quote.