Island Man

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Posts by Island Man

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  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

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  Island Man

  "But reality shows that evolution tends toward similar forms all the time. It seems to have a deeps structure."

  That's because the finite nature of the natural world, pre-existing anatomy and the laws of physics mean there are only so many kinds of forms that can be achieved. Natural constraints result in a certain threshold of variety which cannot be surpassed. So you would inevitably find the same functions/forms evolving multiple times.

  As an example, we see legs being used for locomotion in multicelluar organisms but we never see wheels. Pre-existing anatomy - maybe a fixed vascular and neural network - imposes a constraint that makes it virtually impossible for wheels to develop in complex multicelluar organisms
  
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  61

  The Watchtower Org will die.

  by Freeandclear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just reading through some posts and had a startling realization.. the comment that sparked this went something like this: why oh why when i started into this in 1989 did i not research the history of the wtbts?

  etc....... i too was studying and moving towards baptism around that same time.

  i got dunked in dec of 1990.. my thought.

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  Island Man

  I believe growth will slow due to greater exposure of the religion online. But I don't see that killing the org. altogether.

  Watchtower is very good at brainwashing JWs to practice self-censorship by demonizing apostates; by telling them to avoid apostate information; and by telling them negative information on JWs is all lies.

  Sure, many young JWs and pre-JWs will get access to TTATT - those brave enough and rebellious enough to defy Watchtower propaganda. Such ones are typically in the minority. Plus, even when JWs are exposed to TTATT a large percentage of those exposed put up psychological walls of denials and rationalizations so that the TTATT has no real effect beyond inducing a temporary bout of cognitive dissonance.

  So yes online exposure will have an effect on growth but the effect will not be overpowering. Also, once Watchtower notices that online exposure is having a significant effect they will step up on the propaganda warning JWs not to visit questionable sites and not to read negative info. on JWs. They may even return to demonizing the internet as a whole, telling JWs they're only safe visiting the organization's website(s).

  Think of the fact that there's mountains of scientific information online proving evolution and exposing creationism. Does that fact destroy fundamentalist creationists? No. Neither will online exposure of JWs destroy the organization altogether. The worst that will happen is that they will get very few if any members from the non-JW public and their growth will slow to near natural population growth through the baptism of born-in, indoctrinated-from-birth children of JWs.

  Online exposure will not be the factor to put an end to the religion. It would be one of multiple factors.
  
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  29

  Deleware child abuse case major implications

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  follow case it may change judicial comittees

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  Island Man

  Since JWs often boast about being different in that they don't have clergy, why are they now citing clergy-penitent privilege to justify not reporting to the police? Isn't that hypocrisy? I'm interested to see how JWs respond to this.
  
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  27

  What's the purpose of being a JW now?

  by MrTheocratic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  with all the recent changes to this religion, what really is the purpose of being a jw?

  especially for those who have been in and witnessed all the changes and still no sight of the end.

  for these ones in particular (35-55 year olds) they must be in a state of confusion.

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  Island Man

  The only viable purpose in being a JW is to avoid being shunned by JW family - that is if you already are a JW. There is no purpose in becoming a JW.
  
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  375

  This thread is for proof that God exists

  by juandefiero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

  if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

  (1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

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  Island Man

  God does exist . . . but only as a pernicious thought virus in the minds of believers.

  There is no proof for the actual extra-cerebral existence of God. That is why religionists invented the concept of faith.They tell you it's virtuous to be credulous and sinful to be skeptical. Thus they make a virtue out of folly and they demonize wisdom and sound philosophy - and that's how we end up with a world of religious quackery.
  
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  40

  Who Picks The Governing Body?

  by millie210 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hey everyone,.

  just a simple straight forward question on exactly what the process is.

  if a gb member died tomorrow, do the remaining ones choose who gets to be next?.

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  Island Man

  The Governing Body picks new members.

  On a side note, I've been wondering if the creation of the Governing Body was not a measure to avoid ugly power struggles and hostile takeovers that would tend to occur when there's a power vacuum?

  I mean, when there is just one figure calling all the shots and that figure dies there's a vacuum that may result in an ugly fight for power and control of the organization such as happened with Rutherford after the death of C.T. Russel. But when you have a Governing Body, power is shared by a collective so the death of an individual never leaves a power vacuum and a political struggle for control. A Governing Body serves to prevent a scenario where there is a complete power vacuum - a scenario that can only occur if all the members died at the same time.

  The GB also serves to preserve the status quo and prevent, or at least deter, radical changes from happening. The collective has to agree for any changes to occur and the collective will tend to appoint only those they trust to preserve the status quo. And even if they appoint a rogue, he is only one person and his rogue ideas will be voted down by the collective.

  This kind of setup means it is likely that there are lot of secret "lobbying" and behind the scenes dealing and bargaining and quid pro quos among members of the GB to establish majority consensus to get changes agreed on. "You support me on this proposed doctrinal change that I'll table at the next meeting and I'll support your idea to raise the stipends for you and all the members of your committee..."
  
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  27

  For those of us creationists who don't know anything about evolution

  by truth doubter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  cofty- perhaps you would like to teach us the "first thing about evolution".. truth doubter .

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  Island Man

  There was a time when I believed evolution was just a theory - just conjecture - and there was no real evidence to support it but that it was all just a matter of scientists having a biased, naturalistic interpretation of the fossil record.

  That was when I believed what was written in the pages of Watchtower literature on the subject. That was when I really didn't understand the subject of evolution beyond just the simplest layman's notion of the subject. That was when I had done no independent research into the subject from actual scientific sources on the subject.

  When I finally did independent research and discovered how utterly erroneous and dishonest the claims and arguments in Watchtower literature are, I was floored. Watchtower publications - and other creationist sources - very often quote scientific sources on the subject so out of context as to be guilty of deception!

  Right now you might not believe evolution. It might seem strange and counter-intuitive to you - even impossible. But from personal experience I can tell you that such feelings are based on ignorance of the subject coupled with incorrect notions likely picked up from creationist sources. Forget about whether or not you believe it. Just do your own independent research on the subject from scientific sources that educate on the subject (not creationist sources). Your goal in such research should be to understand the subject and see what evidence is being used to support it. After you do such research and understand it, you can decide then whether or not you believe it. If you still don't believe it, then at least you would have a better understanding of it and would avoid the false reasoning and misinformation that creationists use to argue against it.
  
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  27

  For those of us creationists who don't know anything about evolution

  by truth doubter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  cofty- perhaps you would like to teach us the "first thing about evolution".. truth doubter .

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  Island Man

  2. Evolution has nothing to do with the origin of life. Evolution is about how the gene pool of populations of species changes over time. A lack of explanation of the origin of life in no way refutes or casts doubt on the theory evolution because the theory of evolution does not attempt to address or explain that issue.

  One of the first clues that a creationist source gives of its ignorance of the subject of evolution or its dishonesty in attempting to refute it, is when it seeks to conflate and confuse the subject of evolution with the subject of the origin of life.

  The Watchtower publication title: LIfe - How did it get here by evolution or by creation? is an example of monumental scientific ignorance and/or dishonesty - if not stupidity.
  
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  27

  For those of us creationists who don't know anything about evolution

  by truth doubter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  cofty- perhaps you would like to teach us the "first thing about evolution".. truth doubter .

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  Island Man

  1. Evolution isn't "just a theory".

  Evolution is a scientific theory. A scientific theory is not the same thing as just a theory or conjecture in everyday speech. A scientific theory is a detailed model or explanation of a scientific phenomenon based on supporting facts and evidence. It is not conjecture.
  
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  162

  Do you still believe in God?

  by FormerlySandL in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i never thought i would admit it, but i don't.

  i might superstitiously have some kind of doubt but digging a bit deeper in my heart i really don't believe in god.

  as a human i could never just sit and watch people be tortured, live years of abuse, suffer from illness and disabilities and all the other awful things people have to endure day after day without doing something about it.

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  Island Man

  "I can show you why God does not - and cannot - intervene in badness. Would that make a difference to you? If so, you have my PMs - just contact me."

  Why not just share your idea publicly on the forum for all to see? Is it because you don't want your idea being scrutinized and proven to be false or without merit?

  There is no justifiable excuse for an all-powerful God who is supposed to be the epitome of love to sit by and allow all manner of atrocities and sufferings to be committed without intervening. Any attempt to excuse such behavior is simply the epitome of shameless, heartless, sycophantic apologetics!