Posts by StrongHaiku

23

Facing up to the reality of the world

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

since becoming atheist i have been paying more attention to world events and issues.

this is giving me some worry's when i see what's going on.

as a jw i could just dismiss stuff saying "armageddon is coming, jehovah will look after us" etc etc now of course i can't do that.

StrongHaiku

done4good - This is a normal response to existential fear(s).

Very true and you hit the point better than I could have (especially using the "drug" analogy). The existential crisis is a very common and normal and well-studied phenomenon found in atheists (and theists). Unfortunately, we have been conditioned to think that religion/God is the ONLY cure to the discomfort it brings. Had we been taught otherwise, we would be able to cope with the discomfort better, or not even have it at all. I think that the main reason we feel the discomfort is because we were taught/indoctrinated/acculturated to have only religion/God as a coping mechanism to a very common human brain-state. The more we want to live as close to reality as possible, the more we need good tools and coping mechanisms that are based on reality.

For what is worth, when I am in an existential crisis, I try to go "back-to-basics". I try to look inward and remember the basic and simple things that make me happy. I love hard work. I love learning something new. I love ice cream. I love good and crappy movies. I love my girlfriend. It's all good. Sometimes, when the world gets too big, all you can do is try to focus on the small things that make life worthwhile.

12

I wonder are they connected

by mana11 in

i just couldn't help myself... i had to join these images....

StrongHaiku

Come on, guys... Now what's so creepy about a couple of CGI kids fondling some white, pasty, doughy guy? Ok. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit there.

27

Some Watchtower growth projection numbers (5 scenarios)

by Saintbertholdt in

i've been doing some watchtower membership growth projections.

the best, worst and most lightly future scenarios.

i've used the worlds population as a barometer of future watchtower growth.

StrongHaiku

Saintbertholdt - The New World Projection (What if the Watchtower had fantastic growth for the next four decades. There are some reasons why this could conceivably happen...I'm doing the write-up now :)

Intriguing post...Can't wait to see what you come up with.

On a side note: The only thing that comes to my mind that could possibly give the Organization a "fantastic growth for the next four decades" would be for them so set a date for the GT/Armageddon. Historically, that is the only thing I have seen that has almost guaranteed crazy growth.

22

Is it Wrong to Doubt or Even Disagree With the GB? The Watchtower Reasoning....

by freemindfade in

this would be a good one for jw apologist who scream and panic with anyone who feels the moral direction of the wt publishing company has gone astray.

a comment at the bible highlights last night blew my mind, here is the article that was referenced.

btw this account always bothered me, remember when it was in a drama?

StrongHaiku

“He could have asked himself, ‘Why would Jehovah send an angel to someone else with new instructions for me?’ The prophet could have asked Jehovah to clarify the direction, but the Scriptures do not indicate that he did so.”

Based on the above, the only valuable and reliable instruction from Jehovah would be a direct first-person experience as anything else is questionable hearsay. Following that logic, why would anyone listen to any prophet from the bible, Jesus, the GB, or anyone else or even the Bible itself? Which is one of the main reasons I am an atheist.

If you want to leave the JWs just tell the elders that you asked Jehovah if the JWs were a “true prophet/religion” and Jehovah said “no”. And, if they get upset, quote the article and tell them you are following the counsel and don’t want to get eaten by a lion.

23

Facing up to the reality of the world

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

since becoming atheist i have been paying more attention to world events and issues.

this is giving me some worry's when i see what's going on.

as a jw i could just dismiss stuff saying "armageddon is coming, jehovah will look after us" etc etc now of course i can't do that.

StrongHaiku

Great and just beautiful comments from everyone. I would add this...

Being an atheist is about the disbelief to one claim only - i.e. the proposition that God(s) exists. It says nothing about what one should believe, or fight for, or what may be a useful and positive world-view. It is only the beginning of the adventure and A LOT of work. Once one leaves Gods/faith behind, there is much work to be done and the need to create a world-view based on reason and evidence. For me, what helped was learning more about secular humanism, science and nature, social dynamics, politics, etc.

What I found was that there is a lot of bad in the world AND a lot of good in the world. And, I found that I could look at the bad things and, instead of running for a "security blanket" like a child, act like an adult and engage to help others and affect change. Regardless, I will take reality over fantasy any day of the week and twice on Sunday. As far as I know, this is the one life I do have and, even at its worst, it is pretty damned good.

41

July 19th Watchtower Summary. Insanity

by Lemonp in

just got back from the wt study and it overall was just so blindingly biased and leading.. i had to read it from the platform too, i hope they couldn't see the confounded look on my face as i read this craziness out!.

first we consider the faith of abel, enoch, noah, abraham, isaac and jacob, and moses.. all of these people are held up as sterling examples of blind faith, with the article pointedly saying that their imaginations sustained their faith in gods promises for them.

no mention anywhere at all that all of these characters saw and talked to angels, spoke to god himself, saw and performed miracles, or any of the other feats experienced by these characters.

StrongHaiku

Vidiot - Sounds like The Secret.

LOL! Brilliant. So true. The bread-and-butter of religion is "wish-craft" - i.e. the idea that one can manifest an idea into reality through sheer will and/or "faith". The demonstrably bad idea that if one thinks of it, it can be so. That all you need to do is have "faith" (i.e. believe despite lack of evidence for, or the evidence against, the belief). Anyone else see the problem with this? Anyone else notice this is what EVERY religion/belief system requires? Anyone else see why "faith" is not a path to reality and truth?

On a side note, to me, "The Secret" (and stuff like it) is just"faith" dressed up in a pseudoscience lab coat (and glasses) to make it look respectable.

21

People who study for years ??

by Clambake in

in my cong ( my wives cong.

) there is a lady who attends every meeting , minus the field service just like a regular dub.

it just seems odd she has not taken the dip yet.

StrongHaiku

When I was in there were lots of people that never took the dip and stayed "studying" for years for a number of reasons already pointed out by previous posters. I do recall about 30 years ago or so the pressure from elders and COs and DOs and the Organization to get these people to either commit OR drop them. I recall getting pressure from elders to drop some studies if they had not committed after 6 months. The idea being that we were close to the end and we needed to spend energy on other people, and if they didn't "get it" in 6 months they never would.

32

Jesus Christ explains the particle used in my cosmology theory using parables in the bible.

by Aleon in

i wrote a cosmology theory using an expanding particle shaped as a perfect sphere.

in the bible jesus christ speaks of this particle in his parables.

this is good news!.

StrongHaiku

Aleon, I was about to respond to you and point out a number of problems with how you responded to my suggestion to get your works peer reviewed. However, Viviane already hit the points better than I could have.

32

Jesus Christ explains the particle used in my cosmology theory using parables in the bible.

by Aleon in

i wrote a cosmology theory using an expanding particle shaped as a perfect sphere.

in the bible jesus christ speaks of this particle in his parables.

this is good news!.

StrongHaiku

I read your article. You should so totally submit that for peer review to the scientific community and publishing. No, really. Seriously. If you have a theory that could upend what we know about cosmology, without needing mathematics, and clarifies all phenomena without the need to learn the cosmology theory, definitely submit it for peer review to the scientific community. If I was sitting on a possible answer to some of the greatest mysteries (and maybe pick up about 1/2 dozen Nobel Prizes in the process) I would not hesitate one minute. And, if you don't want fame, the benefits to mankind would be immense.

At the very least, if your quest is for truth and intellectual integrity, scientific peer review will help you determine if your theory and ideas are sound and have merit...or not.

Aleon - Einstein's theory of relativity also is a logical deduction. They cannot actually proof it.

Both Special and General relativity have been well-tested and validated by experiments and observations.

30

If you could do anything publicly to get JWs out

by cognac in

jw
friends

and money wasn't an issue, what would it be?

StrongHaiku

cha ching beat me to it on the hacking idea. Although, you may be able to get it done for free if the Organization draws the attention and ire of "Anonymous" or some other hacktivist group. One can dream...

One idea that came to mind was a "Mission Impossible"-like operation where we would plant some agents in various strategic positions. Possibly even within the GB. They would then say crazy things, go off-script, protect criminals, double down on draconian policies, and generally undermine the JW's credibility to the point of waking some people up. But, come to think of it, maybe we don't need to do that as they seem to be doing a fine job of that already.