Posts by Island Man

24

OMG....the watchtardedness of the CLAM. ( Cult Lies and Manipulation )

by DATA-DOG in

as we all know, the clam reeks of propaganda and lunacy (sniff...sniff...mmmmm...smells like the gb's meeting room.

what did dubs glean from the clam that washed ashore this week?

according to the book of ezra, jeehoober is so fearful of competition, that he banishes wives and even small children.

Island Man

The CLAM is infecting the minds of JWs with AIDS (Acquired Intellectual Deficiency Syndrome)

90

Evolution Hole #1 - Origin of Life

by shadow in

disclaimer: my graduate degree is in business, not science so i'm writing as a layman in this field.

yes, i know that someone is going to say that evolution does not encompass this topic and should be sectioned off under abiogenesis.

i'm not trying to argue semantics here but it seems like a case of avoiding an uncomfortable subject.

Evolution Hole #1 - Origin of Life

by shadow in

disclaimer: my graduate degree is in business, not science so i'm writing as a layman in this field.

yes, i know that someone is going to say that evolution does not encompass this topic and should be sectioned off under abiogenesis.

i'm not trying to argue semantics here but it seems like a case of avoiding an uncomfortable subject.

The origin of life - abiogenesis - has nothing to do with the change in the gene pool over time, observed in populations of living species. Evolution has nothing to do with, and does not attempt in any way to address the question of the origin of life. You're conflating two different subjects together.

What you've done is as silly as someone trying to deny that it is possible to ride a bicycle and arguing that the biggest hole to the theory that it is possible to ride a bicycle is scientists inability to explain scientifically, the forces that keep a moving bicycle upright.

It's also like someone denying that a John Doe is human because they can't determine his origin - who his parents are. How foolish!

Presenting the lack of a definitive explanation for the origin of life as being a hole in the theory of evolution, only reveals a massive gaping hole in the OP's knowledge and/or intellectual honesty.

And bringing in the subject of the evolution of the universe is tantamount to the fallacy of equivocation. The word evolution as used of the universe is completely different to biological evolution. Biological evolution has to do with reproduction and genetics. The evolution of the universe has nothing to do with reproduction and passing on traits. The only thing they have in common is the common spelling of the world evolution. So just because the origin of the universe might be relevant to the subject of the universe's evolution does not mean that the origin of life has to be relevant to the subject of the evolution of life.

19

My wife made a very wordly comment the other night

by Clambake in

my wife who is currently on maternity leave made a comment about luck she was to leave in canada because we get 52 weeks maternity at basically 40,000 per year.

she is not originally from canada coming from a country with basically no maternity leave.

i told her to make sure she doesn't say anything like that at kh.

Island Man

The bible tells christians to pray for the ruling secular authorities so that they(the christians) can continue to have a peaceable environment to practice their godly devotion. When was the last time you heard a JW brother praying for the secular authorities? You can ask her something like that.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

Island Man

Clambake: I came to this board to for tips .. get my wife to escape this evil cult.

cofty: Teach her about the evidence for evolution.

That's exactly how I escaped from this evil cult, Clambake! I learned about evolution from the viewpoint of the scientists and came to realize that Watchtower's arguments against evolution consisted of dishonesty, ignorance and fallacies.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

Island Man

At least have the originally to offer some personal insight or opinion or give us the readers digest version. Please think before you post because you are boring me. Stuff like this is like being in an assembly.

I am merely posting an interesting lecture that I saw. I am not professing to offer it as my own material so your statement telling me that I should "at least have the originality to ..." is wholly unwarranted. If you find stimulating intellectual discussions involving history and science to be boring then no one is forcing you to view the video. You can go to another thread that interests you. When you're watching television and happen upon a channel that has a program that you consider to be boring, do you call up the channel and complain or do you switch to another channel? You know who would call up the channel and complain? If a program on evolution was playing, an insecure theist who doesn't want to be confronted with facts that disprove his belief system - that is who might go out of his way to call up and complain. Is that why you're complaining about my thread - because you are insecure in your beliefs and don't like threads that present information and logic that expose your beliefs as false?

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

Island Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ2kGJk4Jo4

25

All shunning soon to end

by poopie in

jw
friends

this is just a first step clapping.

it's like the fed one quarter bases point at a time.

Island Man

They could allow people to disassociate without automatic shunning and issue a new policy telling members that only if a disassociated one started speaking critically of the organization or its teachings should they cut off all association with such ones and inform the elders [who would then make some kind of announcement at the next midweek meeting that will serve to indicate to JWs in the congregations that the person should be shunned]. That way JWs who want to leave get to leave and keep their family, as long as they keep their mouth shut about TTATT. And the organization gets to protect the JW sheeple from hearing TTATT from apostates by teaching JWs to initiate shunning the first time such ones start being critical.

25

All shunning soon to end

by poopie in

jw
friends

this is just a first step clapping.

it's like the fed one quarter bases point at a time.

Island Man

What if ....

They revoked the policy of shunning disassociated ones to let all the awake JWs leave the organization so that they're left only with zealous, true-believing JWs, then 3 or 4 years later they issue "new light" reinstating the shunning process for those who disassociate and apply it retroactively to all who disassociated when they relaxed the policy. Then 3 or 4 years later they again issue new light revoking the policy of shunning disassociated ones. So it's a flip flop of no shun - shun - no shun.

Why would they do such a thing? They get to have their cake and eat it too. How so? First of all they get rid of all the current secretly disloyal JWs which would reduce their numbers a bit - but I doubt it would be cut by more than 10%. This drop in numbers will give Watchtower an excuse to cut spending and beg for more money - to a greater proportion than the drop in numbers actually justify. They would actually take in more money because awake JWs aren't contributing money to Watchtower anyway and are actually costing them money by having to print meeting materials for them. So allowing secretly dissenting JWs to leave helps their bottom line and gives them an excuse to further cut output and hoard more money.

Secondly when they reinstate the shunning process a few years later this serves to dissuade too many JWs from leaving the organization. It's like blood letting in the old days. You make a cut to drain out some blood but you don't want too much blood draining out or the person will die. But this does something else that's very important: It teaches JWs that just because Watchtower stops shunning today doesn't mean it's safe to disassociate because there's no guarantee they won't reinstate the process tomorrow only to have you being shunned by family unexpectedly.

Once this psychological effect has been achieved they can then finally permanently disband the policy of shunning those who disassociate with little fear that most JWs will disassociate. Then they can say to the media and the courts that members are free to leave at anytime and they don't practice shunning. See how that all works?

And if at any time in the future they find too many are disassociating they only need to temporarily reinstate the shunning process to control the situation. Or maybe they would issue some new policy to sniff out the reason why a JW wants to disassociate and if it has anything to do with the JW disbelieving the organization or its teachings then they would DF the person for apostasy before the disassociate. In other words it would become more difficult to disassociate, in that you'd have to prove to a committee that you're not an apostate in order for them to accept your disassociation and not DF you for apostasy.

54

"Even if it isn't the truth, it's still the best way to live"

by Simon in

have you heard that old chestnut?

i have.. typically it's the last resort when you have dismantled a jws beliefs and they have no way of defending them.

they know they are beat so they come out with that one.. its effectively an admission that you are right and they have no argument but they are still going to attend meetings because they like the social club.. what a lame way to defend your faith..

Island Man

"Even if it isn't the truth, it's still the best way to live"

OMG! I have heard that verbatim from the mouth of an elder, no less!

But it's a lie! And you can use their own bible to show them it's a lie. You just have to tell them about that scripture in 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul says that if the dead are not to be raised up then Christians are most to be pitied. Paul's statement is an implicit admission that living as a christian is definitely miserable way of life filled with hardship and sacrifice and is only worth it if the hope they look forward to is true. So if it's not true then it's not the best way of life. Paul also said that Christians must enter into the kingdom by many tribulations. Best way of life even if it isn't the truth, my ass!

I can think of better ways of living that don't involve shunning my relatives just because they no longer share my religious beliefs.

I can think of better ways of living than refusing lifesaving blood transfusions for myself or my infant child.

I can think of better ways of living than refusing my child a higher education even if I could afford it.

I can think of better ways of living than judging and mistrusting everyone around you just because they don't share your religious beliefs.

I can think of better ways of living than not marrying the person you're truly attracted to and love, just because they're not of the same religion as you.

I can think of better ways of living than wasting most or all of my free time slaving in the hot sun for a haughty, deceitful, hypocritical, manipulative, judgmental, misogynistic, false-prophesying, religious cult.