title pretty much explains it all.
lots of people are getting married at midnight tonight.. what do you guys think?
maybe if anyone gets called on by a jw this weekend you can ask them what they think about it.. im just glad because it shows that religion doesn't define our conscience, that basic human decency can prevail over time and hopefully, these types of gradual but big changes will be present in the wts too in the future .
Glad the law passed,
JustHuman, your point about the end of the human race is ridiculous and was addressed very thoroughly a few months ago on a similar post. Think man. Gays want children. Gays have children. There are lots of ways this can occur. The human race is safe. Do some research. It isn't rational to worry about what consenting adults do. I couldn't care less, and gays have as much right to legalize relationships as straights or bi's or transgenders. I think I covered all of it.
Was,
And FYI, you average 2455 posts per year. I average about 450 posts per year. If I'm being mean to theists I'm certainly wasting a lot of opportunities. And Was, I know a helluva lot about a helluva lot, not to sound arrogant. If my goal was to win a lot of arguments or show how smart I am, 1.2 posts per day won't accomplish much. This "arrogant' poster humbly stays out of theist/JW posts and observes other posts, learning from them, when he isn't a SME or can't provide meaningiful input. You might try that some time; it will help you with Cofty.
Wasblind,
IMHO, anyone who has left a high control organization such as the JWs who, more than a few years after exiting, continues to pine away about all things JWesque and very closely adheres to the mindset and teachings that trapped them in that failed belief system in the first place is sad. I try to save my criticism for those who attempt to hijack non-theist posts or simply contaminate them with their theist mantras while providing absolutely nothing to the discussion. They deserve exactly what their narcissistic sorry rear ends get in those instances. You are like others on this site; anyone who pokes into a topic for no other reason that to narcissistically contaminate it or belittle others deserves flames, including atheists who invade clearly theist discssions. But you criticize (usually the atheists) for being rude or arrogant, even when the atheists behave themselves and simply dis-member the arguments. The real arrogance, in many of these instances, is coming from the theists who shouldn't be in the discussion in the first place, some doing so simply out of narcissism, look at me and what I know reasons.
As I have pointed out many times, over 90% of all of the topics posted on this site are very specifically theist and JW to which no self-respecting atheist should ever enter. And yet when a topic spills over into the entire group or is specific to discussion with non-theists or science related, the theists whine about the mean old atheists. Geesh. You all gots over 90 % of the posts to have your coffee talk, hug a tree, sing kumbaya group hug a big purple dinosaur happy fam-i-leeee. Be realistic and quit frreaking whining about the 5-10 % of the posts that require facts. Grow up. Or a pair. I don't care which.
And do I think that ex-JWs are sad who have wallowed around in theism when they could have been living life to the full, getting an education or at least learning more about the great big world outside of the Borg and their make beleive friends?????? Abso-freaking-lutely. Some of the crap that comes off of the fingertips of some posters would annoy god, if she existed.
jehovah's witnesses have always been a fringe, anti-intellectual movement, almost by definition.
there is nothing new about faddish health concerns, attitudes that ignore history and science or even beliefs that defy common sense ( false prophecy for what, 130+ years?).
however, there are two differences with jw's of the past that will prove critical for the survival of the organization today.. 1) poor financial conditions - in the past, it was possible to hold all sorts of nonsensical beliefs and still be a functional member of the human race, generally.
TTAT,
It is almost a certainty they have been cooking the books for a long time. Lies, damn lies and statistics. They can change the definition of a publisher to someone who gives KH talks (I mean after all aren't there 'wordly' people or unbaptized people in the audience?) and never tell anyone if they wish. It is whatever they wish it to be. There reason for existence is the 'urgency' of the generation or overlapping generation or whatever, which drives reporting time, keeping the cong clean, marking others, judging others and generally creating a draconian loveless rules and task based borganization devoid of anyting remotely resembling true love or brotherhood.
They will rot. Change is not within them.
The Malysians announced today that future pilots will receive a psychological test before hiring. Just as expected. But nothing about current pilots. Look for lots of other procedural and technological changes with this one. The scenarios some of you have developed, just like the general who thinks it's in Pakistan, may be inaccurate or even delusional, but they will drive technical changes to eliminate such possibilities in the future.
Minimus I think I understand your point about 'expecting,' being the almost Buddhist that I am. But Cofty and Snare have excellent points; if they have a history of helping others to change their minds, and they have, they can rightfully expect that to continue. You are holding on too tightly to your point of view. I came on this site an atheist but have learned a lot from Cofty, Snare and others. But I also know quite well why I post, which should be an OP on its own.
I post to get others to learn to think. My two favorite roles in life are father and professor/mentor, and I have had a lot of success in both. My greatest success in each of those is getting my children and students and those I mentor to learn how to analyze and think, seeking both (all) sides of an issue before forming opiniions, removing emotion as much as possible from a decision and seeking out the best and latest data that was obtained at the highest level (scientified method).
If the ex-JWs on this site would simply learn how to think and when to make decisions and form opinions (dear god NOT at feeling, believing, thinking and one sided shallow based 'knowledge") they would be healthier and more successful. And most likely atheists. Many come on this forum to keep up the JW-ight crap, I mean nonsense, I mean KH stuff, by discussing theist/JW stuff YEARS after thier exit from the Borg. Or they come on to preach or get filled up by sharing their knowledge of all things theist/bible/jesus because that's the only thing they can find personal satisfaction in. I find that sad. And nauseating. If I can help even ONE of those learn to break free from that trap I will be happy.
the pilots and crew of the missing plane, was something wrong with all of them?.
sylvia.
SS,
Where do you get your information? The Malyasians and our own FBI (flew his at home flight controller to the U.S. to search the harddrive) cannot find anything that implicates either pilot or anyone on the plane. There has been so much mis-information on this story that no rational thinking person would definitively say anything about it. And Snow/Sylvia, try to stop being reactionary. Look at the data. Analyze it. Could it be terrorism? Of course it hasn't been ruled out but the scenario of flying for hours into the ocean doesn't play as a terrorist scenario. The same is true for a pilot gone bad. Could you build scenarios around either? Yes, but they would strain credibility.
No one kows what occurred, but to make leaps of gradiosity is simply silly. Let's let the data guide us.
Alpha,
The lack of an emergency distress is the primary thing that bothers me, but experts have indicated that is well within reason if they experienced a fire that overwhelmed them and the equipment. Like you I have some lingering thoughts, but the matter in total -if it occurred as they are now saying - seems to support an unintentional event.
In one of my first posts on this subject I indicated that satellite data would play a vital role. I find it interesting that, even after the data suggests it crashed into the Indian Ocean, a retired U.S. general believes it landed in Pakistan. So if they don't find the plane it will likely turn into an Amelia Earhart story or fodder for a terrorist movie - or two. Based on the latest information, I would agree with Cofty (dammit Cofty, be wrong once!!!).
A lot of technological and procedural changes with airline flights/planes will come out of this event, regardless of the findings as to the cause.
i'm sure most of you have read bits and pieces of my story throughout the last year being on this site.
i've decided as a human being, and as an adult, i'm going to make the decision on whether to stay with the jw religion or leave it.
i of course have many doubts about the organization which has lead me to do research.
Mike,
Excellent. Good luck to you!!! Life is a lot of fun. Live it.
