joined the site, not that i have much to share.. i'm married to a jw (wife).
i never have been or will be a jw, i honestly hate the wt (not the jws).
being married to a jw, can sometimes make you crazy, i never believed any of the bs.
rebel9,
I just promoted you. Excellent response. Welcome to the forum highline20. There are a lot of smart, caring people on this site, like rebel8, who can help you navigate through this period and maybe, just maybe, reach your wife with the truth about this cult. I'm probably not one of them because my skills in this area are lacking.
bruce malone, an outstanding scientist has absolute scientific proof that evolution is not scientific!.
bruce, a leading researcher for dow chemical for 30 years; he is one of the top 100 inventors eighteen of his inventions raised millions of dollars; and has a b.s.
degree in chemical engineering.
"hey brother wasa, come on back to the meetings.
" (after 10 years) so i respond that the situation with pedophiles is out of hand.
they tell me "we" elders have received tons of training on the subject, its not like it was 10 years ago.
WasAnElderOnce,
Unless you plan on re-joining the cult, I'm with the rest of the posters. There isn't anything good that can result from speaking to these men again. I'm not discounting that there may have been some true concern by these elders, but they were also on a fishing expedition. Wolves in sheep's clothing as it were. But I think you know that.
And their 'training' almost certainly involves more clearly defined administrative protocols and procedures that are designed by the Dark Lords to protect the Dark Tower from liability and nothing more. All of my 'training' when I was an elder was forgettable nonsense. I don't ever recall any of it dealing with truly caring for individual sheep above their own precious hides. If you don't tell these men what they want to hear or give them what they want to see, I think you know how quickly their 'training' will drive them to view you as an enemy deserving of death.
it's to their credit that many modern christians prefer the jesus of the gospels to the god of the old testament.. ot god is an embarrassment.
i am not going to list his multitude of moral crimes here but my personal favourite is his brilliant idea that a girl who is raped must marry her rapist.
it's not his biggest crime but it demonstrates a disregard for human feelings that is beyond the comprehension of every moral person.
pacloc,
I don't know if your irrational, emotional sermon was mean solely for Cofty of if you are including all atheists in your broad brushed rant. I know a lot of atheists; we rarely if ever speak of our lack of belief, because we put it behind us years ago. Every atheist I know arrived at their lack of belief in the same manner: by years if not decades of evaluation, observation, thought, research and contemplation. None of them, including me, have any emotions attached to our atheism. It was a calm, rational, decades long, systematic and methodological approach and conclusion.
Your atheists "angry at god holding our fists to the sky' screech may play well down at the corner fundie church, but it is so far from the truth as to be fantastic.
As Cofty indicates, there is no evidence for your god, and the only 'evidence' presented by you and others reveals a monster un-deserving of our attention much less our worship. He is to be avoided at all costs.
Caleb, I wish you would stick around; I believe you have a lot to offer this site. However, theist discussions, which I avoid, will always center around the lack of evidence of the god of the bible. I appreciate that you brought some insight to the historical evolution of the bible. Some of it I have read and heard, some of it not. Thank you. However, I'm left with one thought, and that is my better understanding of the changes in language, culture and those wacky Hebrews who never said what they meant is additional evidence as to why the bible is nonsensical spin at best and a dangerous, hate filled mess at worst.
In other words, the more I learn about it the more I avoid it. Thank you for adding to the evidence.
born in cambridge, ma to a liberal couple that escaped the conservative south, my parents raised me better than to become a jehovahs witness.
funny thing was they got mixed up in it first.. while that is a story for another time, i myself had to go along as the third of five children in my family.
dads job transferred him to texas and my mom worked fulltime herself, but eventually we found ourselves drinking the kool-aid of ambiguity intolerance and full-fledge belief that the bible was literal fact and that salvation was found only by those who were smart enough to enter the confines of the watchtower.. its weird how many people claim they fear children raised by two gay parents will grow up to be gay.
technically incorrect, but effectively he does .... if we're to believe the genesis account the serpent deceived eve and made her eat of the tree of knowledge.
it all went pear shaped from there on in, although most people believe it was an apple (boom tish).. but anyway .... either it was a literal serpent that could talk on it's own behalf or, as people typically believe, it was satan who was the puppet master and possessing the creature.. the first raises all sorts of questions that contradict the whole bible narrative (another creature that could reason, talk, debate existence and law etc...) so let's go with "the satan theory".. how does got react to his 'perfect' creation immediately being completely imperfect as soon as he takes it out of the box?
(he's like 0 for 4 ... satan, serpent, woman, man ... all break his rules).
Hold Me,
As I mentioned to Caleb, it wasn't an attack. I thought it was cute that, based on the fact that he joined immediately after you, had essentially an identical number of posts as you, and had essentially an identical viewpoint on an OP you both responded to in just the 5th day on the site is all more than a bit of a coincidence. I apologized to him if he took it the wrong way; I am apologizing to you if you took it the wrong way. That both of you are over-reacting in this small matter probably makes some lurkers think that I was hitting a bit close to home. Even if I am, it is of no consequence to me or anyone else and certainly not to any OP. Continuing to angst about it suggests it is of consequence to you. There. Are you now happy? I have explained myself twice and apologized twice. Is that enough?
An ad hominem attack wasn't necessary. Your circular reasoning, which I've heard before, requires one to swallow a whole lot of stuff. That Satan as a Serpent is a story or metaphor ultimately removes the very reason the Christ was necessary and utterly negates a whole lot of very important bible stuff from beginning to end and a lot in the middle. Either the entire biblical premise is fantasy or none of it is fantasy. You are free to choose; I've been on both sides of the issue and the only one that makes sense is where I currently reside.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/187163/getting-my-ged-can-go-college.
i started this topic 5 years ago letting everyone know i had decide to get my ged and go to college in hopes of getting an education so that i could have a career instead of just a job.
i wanted fulfillment and a future, not just another job that has no really future in it.
noni,
Excellent. I am very proud of you. I took a similar path after my Borg experience. I understand the joy.
technically incorrect, but effectively he does .... if we're to believe the genesis account the serpent deceived eve and made her eat of the tree of knowledge.
it all went pear shaped from there on in, although most people believe it was an apple (boom tish).. but anyway .... either it was a literal serpent that could talk on it's own behalf or, as people typically believe, it was satan who was the puppet master and possessing the creature.. the first raises all sorts of questions that contradict the whole bible narrative (another creature that could reason, talk, debate existence and law etc...) so let's go with "the satan theory".. how does got react to his 'perfect' creation immediately being completely imperfect as soon as he takes it out of the box?
(he's like 0 for 4 ... satan, serpent, woman, man ... all break his rules).
Caleb,
If you took it that way I apologize. I meant it in exactly the manner I described. Welcome to the forum. I really don't get involved with theist/scripture discussions, so I will back away and let others respond. Again, welcome and all apologies.
technically incorrect, but effectively he does .... if we're to believe the genesis account the serpent deceived eve and made her eat of the tree of knowledge.
it all went pear shaped from there on in, although most people believe it was an apple (boom tish).. but anyway .... either it was a literal serpent that could talk on it's own behalf or, as people typically believe, it was satan who was the puppet master and possessing the creature.. the first raises all sorts of questions that contradict the whole bible narrative (another creature that could reason, talk, debate existence and law etc...) so let's go with "the satan theory".. how does got react to his 'perfect' creation immediately being completely imperfect as soon as he takes it out of the box?
(he's like 0 for 4 ... satan, serpent, woman, man ... all break his rules).
I haven't made a character attack. You both joined at the same time and you fully support Hold Me's views. I find that more than coincidental, but other than being adorable is anything but an attack. I did state that your circular reasoning was nauseating me, which it is. I have yet to attack your character. Only your arguments.
I find your spin about Satan circular, specious, and insulting to my intelligence. I have read that spin before and rejected it for the same reasons. It's all made up or none of it is made up. I choose the former, for all of the reasons you will find on similar OPs as well as this one. It comes across as Jesus and his Magical Mystery Tour, minus the rock stars that would make it interesting.
technically incorrect, but effectively he does .... if we're to believe the genesis account the serpent deceived eve and made her eat of the tree of knowledge.
it all went pear shaped from there on in, although most people believe it was an apple (boom tish).. but anyway .... either it was a literal serpent that could talk on it's own behalf or, as people typically believe, it was satan who was the puppet master and possessing the creature.. the first raises all sorts of questions that contradict the whole bible narrative (another creature that could reason, talk, debate existence and law etc...) so let's go with "the satan theory".. how does got react to his 'perfect' creation immediately being completely imperfect as soon as he takes it out of the box?
(he's like 0 for 4 ... satan, serpent, woman, man ... all break his rules).
Caleb,
Because I think you and Hold Me, Thrill Me are a couple. That's why. And I think it's sweet of you to support her comments.
