Posts by Island Man

150

I'm getting baptized

by BlackWolf in

jw
friends

i know i've started similar topics before but this time i'm serious.

my parents have been constantly pressuring me and after yesterday's watchtower study they asked me if i was going to be baptized this summer... and i said yes.

i probably should have thought about it more before making a final decision, but they're pretty much forcing me to do it anyway.

Island Man

Thank you all for your advice. I know you mean well but its too late to go back now, I've already told them I'm going to do it.

No, it's not too late. You have to go through questions with the elders. You can just flunk the questions so that the elders say you're not ready yet. Better yet, you can make it known to the elders that you're only getting baptized to please your parents because they're pressuring you. Then the elders will say you're not qualified and you'll be off the hook. Your parents can't blame you if you fail to qualify due to the fact that they are the ones pushing and pressuring you.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

Island Man

Doesn't imply a Causer? What kind of a beginning doesn't have a cause?

Perry, the only beginnings you have experience with are beginnings within time and space. You have no experience with beginnings outside of time and space. So I'm not sure that it's logical to assume that beginnings outside of time and space require a cause the same as beginnings within time and space.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

Island Man

A. Imagining things coming into existence without a cause
B. Imagining a first cause existing beyond our cause and effect (space/time) universe

It is actually more plausible to consider that the universe in some state, always existed. The expansion of space does not necessarily point to an origin of the existence of the universe. It only proves that the universe in its current state is expanding. It is possible that the singularity from which the universe expanded is eternal. Maybe the universe oscillates between expanding and contracting back to its singularity only to expand again.

It is far more plausible that the eternal source of the universe is a very natural and very simple entity than the complex, super-intelligent being that you are putting forward. So saying that there must be an eternally pre-existing first cause does not naturally and logically lead to the idea that that first cause is a complex, super-intelligent person. A very simple non-intelligent, non-conscious, inanimate entity is far more plausible. Have you heard of Occam's Razor?

171

RC 2016 Leaks & Releases

by wifibandit in

in an effort to reduce the number of posts, this year i will try to add links to this post.

now, on with the leaks & releases!

first up.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nzvwhflss4.

Island Man

Are there Zombies outside

Yeah its The Path meets The Walking Dead. LOL.

55

Here's a view on homosexuality for you...

by konceptual99 in

...right from a pro-jw site in response to a post about the relative seriousness of homosexuality.

all you can do is reason from the scriptures, which you appear to have done.

homosexuality is as serious as bestiality, or adultery and fornication.

Island Man

All you can do is reason from the scriptures, which you appear to have done. Homosexuality is as serious as bestiality, or adultery and fornication. Actually, the Bible describes homosexuality as a greater sin than adultery or fornication. The reasoning is that the desire for same-sex intercourse is one "contrary to nature" according to Romans 1:24. At least with heterosexual fornication the wrong doers are acting in harmony with the natural desire for the opposite sex.

Homosexuality is not comparable to bestiality because bestiality is a form of abuse since, unlike 2 consenting adult humans, animals aren't able to give consent to humans.

Saying that homosexuality is as serious as adultery, is like saying that heterosexuality is as serious as adultery. Adultery is the wrong of a married person (whether homosexual or heterosexual) having sex with someone other than their legally married spouse(s) (whether gay or straight).

Fornication is just sex outside of marriage - again it applies both to gays and straights.

Same-sex intercourse is only "contrary to nature" for heterosexuals - the same way that heterosexual intercourse is "contrary to nature" for homosexuals.

15

When will they start spying on tablets/iPads at meetings?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

following on from a similar post, the use of tablets/ipads at the meetings is a life saver to many a bored or mentally out jw.

i'm sure the borg must know the potential for surfing the net or reading other books instead of reading the meeting material during the meeting?.

at what point are they going to start policing this?

Island Man

I agree with Divergent. It makes more sense that they would seek to limit WI-FI access in some way before resorting to spying. They would probably make it so that you can only access their official websites with the Kingdom Hall wifi.

44

Letter # 1 to the Governing Body of Jehovah's witnesses

by WITNESS-FOR-WATCHTOWER-REFORM in

here is my first letter i posted to the governing body.

i also hope that brothers on the writing committee who may be lurking on this site (and have some clout) read my letter and bring in change to this very flawed policy around confession of sins.. enjoy.

the governing body of jehovah’s witnesses.

Island Man

There's just one small problem with your letter: Its tone isn't submissive enough. It contains no GB ass-kissing. You write to them as if you think they're your brothers. You have to write to them as if you think they're your lords - that's the kind of tone your letter has to have. Anything short of that and you'll be seen as being tactless, impertinent and disregarding their authority, etc.

11

Watchtower State

by nelim in

i was watching a documentary from last week about saudi arabia.

there are many human rights violations going on, supported from islam ideology.

apparently is(is) is an off-shoot of saudi society.

Island Man

It would be called Jethekis (from: Jehovah's Theocratic Kingdom State. pronounced: JEH-tuh-kiss; rhymes with masochist)

lol.

38

Loyalty? Today's WT The RC. It's a fix!

by Slidin Fast in

today's wt has the below scripture as it's theme.

friday of the rc has the same as it's theme.

the silver nwt is alone in using the word loyalty in this verse.

Island Man

Outlaw: They could put a Picture of this Garden Gnome on the Front of Their Bible..

JWs wouldn`t care..

JW: "Jehovah caused the faithful slave to put that picture there for a reason. Jehovah is using that picture to sift his people. Those with a pure heart can clearly see that the picture is illustrating how the skin of an elderly man in paradise has been restored fresher than in youth. The skin on the buttock is usually very prone to wrinkling so this is why the man is showing his buttock to show that even his buttock is smooth and youthful, how much more so the rest of his skin. But those with a murmuring, fault-finding attitude like the faithless Jews in the days of Moses, will find fault with the Slave's depiction and they will use it as an excuse to say bad things about the Slave and leave Jehovah's organization. Jehovah knows what he's doing. We should always have the attitude of loyally going along with whatever the slave publishes even if it may not seem practical or strategic from a human standpoint. Jehovah knows better than we do."

17

Bible Reading Assignment This Week is About THE LEVIATHAN

by xjwsrock in

a brother went on stage and read .

job 41:1-26. jehovah is straight up talking to job about a fire-breathing dragon in this passage.

it was surreal to hear this read without as much as a raised eyebrow in the audience.. here it is: (mind you this is almighty god talking one-on-one with job).

Island Man

JWs falsely give credence to the idea that the Leviathan described in Job is a crocodile. But anyone reading that passage of scripture can clearly see that it's not describing a mere crocodile.

Are crocodiles invulnerable to harpoons and fishing spears? (Job 41:7)

Does fire and smoke come out of the mouth of a crocodile? (Job 41:19-21)

Are crocodiles invulnerable to swords and spears? (Job 41:26)

Job 41 is very obviously not describing a mere crocodile. The description given is of an animal that is dragon-like (fire-breathing). I believe it's possible that Leviathan is the Hebrew version of the dragon. Yes, the bible does speak of the dragon as if it were an actual animal. That bible writers believed in dragons, is clearly seen from Job 41 as well as the book of Revelation where the dragon is used as a metaphor for satan. Metaphors are drawn from real life so the fact that Revelation uses the dragon as a metaphor for satan must mean that its writer believes dragons are real.

But Watchtower and many christians don't dare admit this troubling and embarrassing reality about the bible - that it implicitly teaches the existence of mythical creatures.