Island Man

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Posts by Island Man

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  160

  Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

  by Perry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  Island Man

  "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

  Maybe it is physically impossible for nothing to exist - for there to ever be absolutely nothing. Maybe existence is the fundamental pillar of reality itself.
  
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  37

  Jehovah Witness vs Jehovah's Witness

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  being brought up as a jehovah's witness means you are so used to the term that you rarely stop to think about it.. one thing i've noticed is that people unfamiliar with the religion will say "jehovah witness" (no 's) instead which i always found a bit grating.. but watching the us election, something struck me.

  people are often referred to as "trump supporters", not "trump's supporters" and so on.

  thinking about other things, people would say they were "united fan's", not "united's fans" and so on.. it seems weird that a group would refer to themselves as though it was someone else talking about them (in the 3rd person, if i have that right).. what do you think?

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  Island Man

  "I am a trump supporter" is correct because trump is the object of the support. But saying "I am a Jehovah witness" is incorrect because Jehovah is not the object of the witnessing - JWs don't witness Jehovah.
  
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  37

  Jehovah Witness vs Jehovah's Witness

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  being brought up as a jehovah's witness means you are so used to the term that you rarely stop to think about it.. one thing i've noticed is that people unfamiliar with the religion will say "jehovah witness" (no 's) instead which i always found a bit grating.. but watching the us election, something struck me.

  people are often referred to as "trump supporters", not "trump's supporters" and so on.

  thinking about other things, people would say they were "united fan's", not "united's fans" and so on.. it seems weird that a group would refer to themselves as though it was someone else talking about them (in the 3rd person, if i have that right).. what do you think?

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  Island Man

  Think too of how the term witness is used in the court. They don't say so-and-so is a prosecution witness. They say so-and-so is a witness for the prosecution because the prosecution is not the object of the act of witnessing in the same way that Trump is the object of people's support.
  
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  37

  Jehovah Witness vs Jehovah's Witness

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  being brought up as a jehovah's witness means you are so used to the term that you rarely stop to think about it.. one thing i've noticed is that people unfamiliar with the religion will say "jehovah witness" (no 's) instead which i always found a bit grating.. but watching the us election, something struck me.

  people are often referred to as "trump supporters", not "trump's supporters" and so on.

  thinking about other things, people would say they were "united fan's", not "united's fans" and so on.. it seems weird that a group would refer to themselves as though it was someone else talking about them (in the 3rd person, if i have that right).. what do you think?

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  Island Man

  Linguistically speaking the term "Jehovah's Witnesses" is a plural name used only for referring to the religion as a whole. It is not proper English to say "I am a Jehovah's Witness". The correct way is to say: "I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses"
  
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  37

  Jehovah Witness vs Jehovah's Witness

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  being brought up as a jehovah's witness means you are so used to the term that you rarely stop to think about it.. one thing i've noticed is that people unfamiliar with the religion will say "jehovah witness" (no 's) instead which i always found a bit grating.. but watching the us election, something struck me.

  people are often referred to as "trump supporters", not "trump's supporters" and so on.

  thinking about other things, people would say they were "united fan's", not "united's fans" and so on.. it seems weird that a group would refer to themselves as though it was someone else talking about them (in the 3rd person, if i have that right).. what do you think?

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  Island Man

  I think "Trump supporters" and "Trump's supporters" are actually two different things, linguistically speaking. The first case involves using the name Trump as an "object adjective". However in the latter case Trump is being used as a "possessive adjective". There's a clear difference between the two, albeit a somewhat subtle.

  The term "Jehovah's Witnesses" tells you who they are witnesses for. But the term "Jehovah Witness" means what exactly? Unlike the Trump example, "Jehovah" is not being used as "an objective adjective" in this case because JWs don't actually witness Jehovah - Jehovah is not the object of the action of Witnessing in the way that Trump is the object of the action of supporting. The object of the witnessing is the message they're preaching. Jehovah is the person about whom they witness - not what they witness. It's very subtle, but there's a difference.
  
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  24

  Why it's a waste of time talking to JW's

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i believe it to be a waste of time talking to, reasoning with, jw's if you expect any kind of quick result.. many of us when we first wake up think that 'coz ttatt is blindingly obvious to us, it will soon get through to our jw loved ones.. this simply isn't so for a couple of important reasons.

  the first is that, if someone believes something is true, or the truth, to them it really is, without doubt, true.

  so whatever you say must be wrong somehow.. the second problem is that jw's simply do not have to use, or pay any attention to facts and logic.

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  Island Man

  I disagree. I think it can seem like a waste of time if you have unrealistic expectations.

  Sharing TTATT with JWs does have a deep impression on them even though they may not show it outwardly or act on it immediately. Seeds of reason are planted which may spring up and grow years later when the circumstances are right. It is those seeds that may make the difference in helping a JW to exit when (s)he faces a crisis of faith or adversity brought on by the organization itself.

  TTATT is not a block that brakes the camel's back. It's just bales of straw that weigh down the camel's back one step closer to its breaking point.
  
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  21

  Picture of Stephen Lett in 1976!

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://macsdowell.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/1976-9-17-new-bethelites.jpg.

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  Island Man

  I agree with jookbeard, it doesn't look like him at all.
  
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  61

  Demon possesion, bunch of crap or?

  by raven in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've been using the forum to vent and post a lot more frequently lately as a venting purpose & way to obtain peace of mind with the craziness i've been going through recently as i fade away form the org.

  anyways today i'm sitting here at work and thinking to myself about demons... ok i know this sounds crazy but has anyone else out there been traumatized by the thought of demons?

  i had a dream the other night, just flat out spooky and i woke and couldn't help but feeling it may have been evil ole' satan and his demons at it again.. i don't want to believe that, (trying not to, & just brushing it under the rug so to speak) but have any of you out there been talked up about demons?

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  Island Man

  Meh Crofty,

  There might be an alternate dimension that bleeds into this one at times. Who knows for certain?

  
  

  Meh Lieu,

  There might be an invisible pink elephant floating around in your room at times. Who knows for certain? LOL
  
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  61

  Demon possesion, bunch of crap or?

  by raven in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've been using the forum to vent and post a lot more frequently lately as a venting purpose & way to obtain peace of mind with the craziness i've been going through recently as i fade away form the org.

  anyways today i'm sitting here at work and thinking to myself about demons... ok i know this sounds crazy but has anyone else out there been traumatized by the thought of demons?

  i had a dream the other night, just flat out spooky and i woke and couldn't help but feeling it may have been evil ole' satan and his demons at it again.. i don't want to believe that, (trying not to, & just brushing it under the rug so to speak) but have any of you out there been talked up about demons?

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  Island Man

  I think demon possession is superstitious rubbish thought up by ancient people who were unable to explain mental illnesses. Remember, there was a time when people did not know that the brain is responsible for our thoughts and actions. They thought that there was a separate inanimate being inhabiting the body - a "ghost in the machine", if you will.

  So when presented with mental people who were having auditory hallucinations and split personality disorders, and behaving violently or irrationally, they would naturally think that there must be another "ghost in the machine" - that the person's body is possessed.

  However, by the time science finally figured out the brain's role in thought, action and mental illness, the idea of demons and demon-possession had already taken firm hold in religions and had become inextricably entwined with religious beliefs and the sacred writings they're based on. So people still held on to the superstitious idea of demons and demon possession even though science had already provided an answer for behavior of those said to be possessed.

  So I believe that ignorance of the brain's functioning and malfunctioning led to the development of the idea of possession by spirits. And once this idea became a part of sacred religious beliefs and texts, loyalty to these said sacred religious beliefs preserved and perpetuated this false idea of demon possession long after science has presented a reasonable and logical explanation.
  
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  16

  CHILD BAPTISM

  by megabyte_vijay in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it is strange to read the last week watchtower that encouraging child/teenagers' baptism.

  even jesus was baptised as his 30. jws encouraging marriages at an older age.

  but why they are encouraging children to get baptised.

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  Island Man

  I found it very funny that they used Ephesians 4:14 in a study article seeking to justify child baptism. The text says:

  So we should no longer be children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching+ by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in deceptive schemes

  Do you see it? The text likens immature, gullible christians to children. If the bible would use children as a metaphor for the spiritual immaturity that christians are to avoid then how could they be saying that children are mature enough to make such a responsible, life-shaping decision? How can they be saying that children are mature enough and are making the decision of baptism of their own full volition and aren't merely being 'tossed by waves and carried by the wind of influence' of their parents and other adults that they look up to?

  They are utterly blind to use that text in their study article and not see the contrary implications of it.