Posts by Island Man

4

Free DEBATE in Dallas between Bart Ehrman and Dr. Justin Bass Friday 9-18

by Terry in

https://www.facebook.com/events/1666142046937367/.

from ehrman's blog:.

for anyone in the dallas area: on friday (two days!

Island Man

"Free admission. And my arguments will be worth every dime you pay to hear them."

74

That's it! The Jesus stories are most reasonably explained as myth. History makes this obvious.

by Island Man in

a careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that jesus is just another one of several similar myths.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7teoa9ark.

Island Man

"Second Temple era Responsa is older than the New Testament. It takes time for myths to be created and accepted. The idea that a mythological, non-entity so quickly governed such a reaction among Jewish society and continued into the Diaspora before even the Gospels were canonized would have to be demonstrated."

Did you watch the video, CalebInFlorida? The video shows that the Jesus myth started in Judaism and pre-dates first century christianity.

74

That's it! The Jesus stories are most reasonably explained as myth. History makes this obvious.

by Island Man in

a careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that jesus is just another one of several similar myths.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7teoa9ark.

Island Man

"An non-historical figure would not have inspired such complex Jewish rhetoric designed to defend Judaism's stand"

I beg to differ. I posit to you that the mythical Jesus character only needs to be compelling and charismatic and therefore seen as a threat to Judaism so as to inspire a complex response from Judaism.

Think of this fact: Atheists don't believe in god. Yet many atheist scholars have developed arguments and treatises that expose and debunk creationist claims.

So it is not the truthfulness of a character or teaching that determines whether or not it will be responded to but rather the influence and the threat it is perceived as having.

31

counting time

by Sabin in

yesterday jw knocked on my door, i was sitting in the office with the window right next to it, they couldn't see me & i decided not to answer.

they stood there for what seemed ages & as i watched something hit me.

they were here only because they were on the territory.

Island Man

Yes, counting time is an obscene practice. It cheapens what should be a heartfelt expression of love and devotion to God, into a cold, calculating metric. Keeping count encourages comparisons, egotism and boasting. It also encourages perfunctory service for the sake of having numbers to put down on a report. It encourages an attitude of making hours instead of making disciples.

The bible says to serve god whole-souled. But how often have you heard a JW pioneer or aux-pioneer commenting that they've made their quota and so they can take the rest of the month off? Are they really giving their best - or just fulfilling a quota. Remember the story of the widow's mite? Counting time violates all that that story stands for because it causes people to be spiritually measured by the quantity of time they put in rather than the subjective effort they put into their ministry. A "poor widow" secularly employed, struggling single parent publisher could be giving 5 hours of quality service out of their want. But they're seen as less spiritual than a "wealthy" pioneer who is a retiree with lots of time on his hands and able to give 70 hours out of their surplus.

Can you imagine a man keeping a written report of how many kisses and love-makings he gives his wife each month? How romantic do you think that would be? "Oh look, my kisses are down. Honey, could you come here a minute, I need to give you 5 kisses to maintain my monthly average. Muah! muah! muah! muah! muah! There, I've made my quota for the month! That means I don't need to kiss you for the rest of the month..."

75

Lurker trying to gain clarity

by questioningmyfaith in

jw
friends

hello all, i would like to first say that i am basically questioning my faith in god.

i am not negative towards the wt at all.

so honestly i am to concerned with more ad hominem attacks towards the wt because i still love the organization and the people in it.

Island Man

"Why do humans seem to be so unable to rule themselves."

I read in that question, the unstated premise that human society should be problem free, that conditions should be able to be perfect. So let me ask you another question to perhaps highlight that your thinking may be clouded by a false premise that you have accepted without question:

What makes you think that things are supposed to be perfect? Who implanted that idea in your head?

It is only natural and normal for human society to have problems and conflicts to varying degrees given the individual difference that exist from one person to another. Conflict is a normal and natural occurrence. It happens within all other species. Why do you think humans should be exempt?

I will submit to you that the expectation that things should be perfect is borne of religious indoctrination. The JW teaching that man was created perfect in the image of God and problems are the result of man's fall into sin, creates the false idea that the conflicts and problems we face as humans are somehow unnatural and we are a failure as humans if we're unable to permanently end all conflict.

75

Lurker trying to gain clarity

by questioningmyfaith in

jw
friends

hello all, i would like to first say that i am basically questioning my faith in god.

i am not negative towards the wt at all.

so honestly i am to concerned with more ad hominem attacks towards the wt because i still love the organization and the people in it.

Island Man

I don't think belief in god should be predicated on man's ability to govern himself or the dire state of the world. In other words, the problems in the world and or the world's seeming path to self destruction is not a good reason to believe in a god.

There is a logical fallacy called argument from consequences where a person refuses to accept a logical argument simply because they cannot stomach negative implications of the argument if it is true.

Truth does not owe you comfort and hope. Truth can be a bitch. More than 90% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct, and the majority of them went extinct before humans came into being! It is therefore not reasonable to think that the universe somehow owes the human species a successful future. Sure we all want humans to continue forever. But its not wise to let that desire cloud our thinking. Arguing from emotion is not valid thinking.

33

Why isn't demon possession a DF offense?

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

let's review: it's a cult!.

allrighty--got thinking about it in this thread.

isn't it odd that, of all things, that isn't on the list of df offenses?

Island Man

I think they see the demon possessed as being victims rather than sinners. There are too many gospel accounts of Jesus curing demon possessed people, for them to dare treat the demon possessed any harsher than Jesus did. Or maybe I'm giving them too much credit.

74

That's it! The Jesus stories are most reasonably explained as myth. History makes this obvious.

by Island Man in

a careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that jesus is just another one of several similar myths.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7teoa9ark.

Island Man

A careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that Jesus is just another one of several similar myths.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7TEoA9ark

23

"So that we will not be confused with salesmen, it is best not to mention the donation arrangement unless we are asked..."

by Island Man in

"so that we will not be confused with salesmen, it is best not to mention the donation arrangement unless we are asked how our work is financed.".

this damning quote is found on page 1 of the september 2015 our kingdom ministry, the last sentence in the 3rd bullet point under the sub-heading how to do it.

this quote amounts to an implicit admission that the jw practice of mentioning the donation arrangement to householders at the door, makes them look like door to door salesmen.. why would "jehovah's organization" be engaging in a practice that is nothing more than a transparent attempt at undercover soliciting?

Island Man

Wow that's a 180 degree turn.

No, not really. They're only saying this for business territory.

103

Need advice: Intimacy with my wife almost non existint because she considers me an apostate

by goingthruthemotions in

just on of the perks of being an apostate who is married to a branwashed, blinded jw woman.

you know, we have been married for ~27 years....most of which we had nothing to do with the piece of shite cult.

up till the begining of 2014 was when i woke up.

Island Man

Of course, it is also possible that she can't help it. She may have an involuntary aversion to being intimate with you due to Watchtower programming about apostates being "satan's helpers". Watchtower programming may have destroyed her attraction to you, as such attraction may have been significantly rooted in your status as a spiritual man. What woman wants to have sex with a demon?