Posts by Island Man

1

The Kindness of an Atheist

by undercover in

jw
friends

a song lyric i heard the other day, paraphrased:.

nothing is as good as the kindness from an atheistan act of selflessness that never has to be repaid.

interesting thought.

Jesus is quoting as saying: "Happy is he that believes without seeing". I say: "Righteous is he that does good without believing. For if you do good expecting to be rewarded by God, or for fear of punishment, of what credit is it to you? Do not sinners also do good with the expectation of a reward, or to avoid punishment?"

You know that point JWs make about God allowing Job's integrity to be tested, so it can be seen if Job only served God because things were going well with him? Well I believe the point you're making actually raises an even bigger question about worshipers motives in serving God. How is it that Satan never challenged man's integrity on the grounds that humans are only obedient because they look forward to a future reward from God and/or to avoid future punishment/destruction? Isn't that a far bigger and more pertinent issue when it comes to human integrity. You would think that Satan would have addressed that first because the story of Job does not address it, for even while Job was suffering he was still looking forward to future reward for his faithfulness - the resurrection. (See Job 14)

The bible does not in any way address this issue. So what if a rebel accuses God of bribing and scaring humans to be good by promising them future reward or future destruction? How is god going to handle that issue transparently for all creation to see that such accusations are false? I think this is a major moral issue that the bible and JWs have overlooked.

59

Sweet 16 - Happy Birthday to Us !

by Simon in

it's the forum's 16th birthday today!.

amazing that not only have we lasted so long but we're still thriving and growing.. thanks to all the people and often colorful characters who've contributed to the site over the years.

some are still here with us, some have since moved on, but all have touched each others lives in some way along our different journeys.. .

Island Man

Simon's first OP - as far as I can tell - from16 years ago:

Welcome to the newest Jehovah's Witness discussion forum on the Net.
Please register so that you can post to the forum and turn this into a welcoming place for other brothers and sisters online

A little further down the thread Simon writes:

Hi ManofTrueGod
We've had a few introductions from people (on another topic somewhere) but I'm hoping it won't need to become as formal and intimidating to register with as some of the other forums.
It does mean that we only know about people what they will tell us. I think it's more important to go off what people say than who they say they are (after all, imposters will tell us that they are JWs the same as genuine ones will so how can we tell if not by what they say)

Wow! Simon was a died in the wool JW, paranoid about apostates and all! LOL. It's amazing how much we can change in life once we practice intellectual honesty and follow the evidence no matter where it leads.

95

Evolution is a Fact #31 - Ten Questions for Creationists

by cofty in

i thought this would be a good time to pose some questions based on the series so far.. if creationism is true these should be easy.

answers that don't involve copy-paste would be really interesting to read.. ... .

1. since some proteins can be assembled in more ways than there are atoms in the universe why do the sequences of amino acids and bases vary between species in exactly the way evolution predicts?

Island Man

"In answer to all your questions: We do not have all the answers at this time. Perhaps Jehovah will fill us in on the details in the New System. We just need to wait on Jehovah and put faith in what bible says and not be swayed by the satanic propaganda being spouted by worldly scientists."

LOL.

29

Is this a site controlled by atheists?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

under the exterior of being an ex- witness site, is this site simply converting atheism?.

i pose the question, because many come here in distress and insecurity with the realization that the w.t is wrong but still retain a belief in god.

my personal opinion is the threads on god are not challenged by an atheists personal animosity to believers, they are challenged and become confrontational because the atheist wants an elaboration and factual proof to a believers faith.. is this unreasonable?

Island Man

Simon is an atheist, so yeah, this site is controlled by atheists. Atheists rule! Yeah!!

6

The Original Sin - Emperor’s New Suit

by learnaway in

introduction: most religions based on the bible, have been teaching paul’s propagated doctrine for thousands of years which claims that human beings are born with the original sin, inherited from adam, thereby redemption is required.

it is not enough to be described with a few lines of explanation that paul’s doctrine is false, because this examination goes against the faith of the redemption doctrine, which cultivated by tertullian, augustine, calvin; and gave a source of power and enormous wealth for the church for many millennia.

however, hopefully readers could grasp the undeniable truth regarding original sin and redemption..

Island Man

According to the Genesis account, Satan never lied to mankind. Their eyes opened just like he said it would. And they did not die in the very day of eating it - just like satan said they would not - contrary to God's claim that they would. Also, because of eating of the fruit, man has the opportunity to go to heaven and live like a god with God, forever! Would man have had that glorious opportunity had Adam and Eve not eaten of the fruit? So Satan's claims turn out to be spot on! It is God's claim that they will die in the very day of eating the fruit, that turned out to be a lie.

I don't believe the writer of Genesis 3 was attempting to portray Satan as a liar. In fact I don't believe the writer of Genesis 3 was even knew about Satan! The first 3 chapters is obviously an ancient creation myth in the tradition of "Just So" fables designed to provide answers to such questions as:

Where did the world and all humans and animals come from?

Why are people ashamed to be naked?

Why do women have painful childbirth?

Why do men have one shorter rib than women?

Why do men dominate women?

Why do we have to work so hard to live?

Why do we die?

Why do serpents not have legs?

The chapters were later coopted and reinterpreted as having deeper symbolic meaning and that's how the serpent came to regarded as being satan or satan's puppet. There is nothing in the text itself to indicate the snake is being manipulated by satan, In fact, the text itself explains the serpent's conversation with Eve by saying that serpents are by nature very wise/crafty. So not only does the writer not give any indication of the snake being manipulated by a higher power, he also give the impression that the snake is acting that way because of its own inherent nature!

15

Which delusion will you choose?

by JW_Rogue in

it occurred to me while at today's wt study that over 100 people were wasting an hour of their life studiously examining the differences between two delusions, paradise earth and the heavenly hope.

everyone made it sound so serious when in reality it means nothing at all.

either choice is wrong and foolish nonsense.. it was mentioned that mark sanderson found his heavenly calling at very young age.

Island Man

Did you notice the way paragraph 10 twisted the meaning of that text from 1 John 2:27? Their explanation of that text is a blatant lie as the words of the text and the context shows. So paragraph 10 is a lie within a delusion.

17

"Don't make mountains out of molehills"

by stephanie61092 in

during the talk today, the speaker said, in reference to apostates, "don't make mountains out of molehills" and "all those who are do good to look up isaiah 43:18.

" to save you trouble, it says: "do not remember the former things, and do not dwell on the past.".

i'd like to see him read that scripture to the victims of the hundreds and hundreds of abuse cases the arc has unveiled from over the past 50 years.

Island Man

When defending their position that theirs is the only true religion, JWs make mountains out of the molehill differences between their religion and other religions very similar to their own. But when called out on their own false teachings and wrongs, JWs turn around and make molehills out of their own mountainous wrongs. They are hypocrites.

10

Evolution is a Fact #31 - Micky Mouse

by GodZoo in

yep folks.. it's established scientific fact that micky mouse is the result of natural selection and colouring pencils... .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow79mksodjs.

Island Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFxu7NEoKC8

29

Is Reading/Writing about Mythologies bad?

by Messhy in

as the topic title says, is reading/writing about mythologies bad?

i read alot of mythologies and enjoy it.

should i stop?.

Island Man

No. I think mythologies are actually a good way to write about sensitive social issues without offending the audience. For example, imagine you're trying to teach Palestinians and Israelis about the need to stop the attacks and reprisals.

If you do a movie about Palestinians and Israelis then one or both sides in the real life conflict might accuse you of supporting the other side and not take your movie seriously at all or take offense at it.

But if you do a mythological story about two alien clans fighting for control of a particular planet ...

So mythology can serve as a means of teaching important lessons that address real-world sensitive issues, without directly referencing the those involved and offending them.

6

Evolution is a Fact #30 - Your Third Eyelid

by cofty in

fish, reptiles, birds and some mammals have an additional eyelid that is called a nictitating membrane.

it is more or less transparent and unlike our eyelids it moves sideways across the eye.

as well as protecting the eye it also helps with cleaning and lubrication.. a falcon diving at 200mph has good reason to want to want a pair of goggles to protect its eyes from insects and debris.

Island Man

And don't forget ring species.