Perhaps another way to ask the questions is whether some people have more of a natural inclination to scepticism. This could be a result of a number of factors which could be either in the ahrd wiring or accumulated after birth (the tired old nature vs nurture argument) so intelligence of a particular variety (curiosity or an interest in finding out answers for oneself rather than waiting to be told) and disposition (dependence/independence) could result from environmental factors such as birth position (only children or first children may tend to be more dependent and accepting of parental authority than later born children).
Frazzled UBM
JoinedPosts by Frazzled UBM
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Is skepticism genetic?
by donny inis skepticism genetic?.
a few days ago i was listening to seth andrews podcast the thinking atheist , in particular the episode entitled clash from the past in which seth debated his former boss from seths christian radio host days.
before seth eve evolved into atheism, he was a radio show host on tulsas premier christian radio station kxoj 100.9 fm.
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Does the WBTS encourage circumcision?
by Frazzled UBM inmy wife is determined that my son will get circumcised when he is 10 or 11. i tell her that if she wanted him circumcised she should have done it when he was born and that it will be his choice and if he says no i will support him all the way.
one thinkg i am not sure of is whether she is so adamant about this because the wbts requires or encourages it or because it is a cultrual practice int eh philippines (certainly leaving it until 10 or 11 seems to be a filipino thing.
so my question is more directed at the practice of circumcision rather than the age at which it is done..
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Frazzled UBM
Thanks all, especially Blondie for your links, I am much clearer on the issue now (the WBTS does not explicit endorse the prctice but thinks it is a good idea) and remain determined that my son can decide for himself when he reaches that age with the knowledge that it is not necessary for any particular reason - it's just it is the done thing in the Philippines and if he wants to feel solidarity with his cousins and uncles (as a coming of age ritual it may have some vlue) and as long as it is done safely and as painlessly as possible and he wants to get it done then fine.
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Does the WBTS encourage circumcision?
by Frazzled UBM inmy wife is determined that my son will get circumcised when he is 10 or 11. i tell her that if she wanted him circumcised she should have done it when he was born and that it will be his choice and if he says no i will support him all the way.
one thinkg i am not sure of is whether she is so adamant about this because the wbts requires or encourages it or because it is a cultrual practice int eh philippines (certainly leaving it until 10 or 11 seems to be a filipino thing.
so my question is more directed at the practice of circumcision rather than the age at which it is done..
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Frazzled UBM
My wife is determined that my son will get circumcised when he is 10 or 11. I tell her that if she wanted him circumcised she should have done it when he was born and that it will be his choice and if he says no I will support him all the way. One thinkg I am not sure of is whether she is so adamant about this because the WBTS requires or encourages it or because it is a cultrual practice int eh Philippines (certainly leaving it until 10 or 11 seems to be a Filipino thing. so my question is more directed at the practice of circumcision rather than the age at which it is done.
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YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH!!
by The Searcher in"all of our teachings are based on the bible, not on the writings of some religious leader in the united states.
"1 thessalonians 2:13. http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/not-a-sect/.
all of the teachings (i counted 8) which have been reversed in the july 15th watchtower were based on the bible???????????.
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Frazzled UBM
Yes that would be very helpful - pretty pretty please.
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Why are the moms so attached to religion?
by ILoveTTATT inplease don't take this the wrong way, i would love it for women to comment on this thread because i just can't understand something!!.
here's the pattern i see:.
mostly guys in here.. if the guys are married, their wives usually stay a jw, or it takes 3 times as much time to convince a woman to leave than a man.. if the guys have a jw father, the father is open-minded and can be more easily persuaded to leave.
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Frazzled UBM
BU2B - you are in a very similar position to me. My wife's reasoning is very similar to yours and she will not question whether the GB and the WTBS are who they claim to be. She is alos a born-in. I share your frustration - my head is now flat from constantly banging it against the wall. Frazzled
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Does your Theology Align with Reality?
by cofty inthesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.
however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.
sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.
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Frazzled UBM
Wow this thread is getting dull
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Frazzled UBM
While there are minority sects and cults that are clearly worse and extremist ends of Islam that are worse (but the Jihadists are not truly Muslims as their actions renounce some fundamental Islamic principles), as far as established religion goes, and given the number of adherrents and the size of the organisation it fits that bill and was included in a US study of established religions, on some measures it is the worst. That US study found that it had the least educated lowest income believers of any established religion and the greatest level of intolerance of other religions. Even the Mormons fared better.
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Does your Theology Align with Reality?
by cofty inthesits are fond of reminding us that science cannot prove there is no god, and in this they are correct.
however, science should not be dismissed so lightly by anybody who values a faith that is more than a mere fantasy.. theologians like john shelby spong have shown the intellectual honesty to embrace the truths that science has discovered and adapted their religious beliefs to take account of reality.
sadly many theists lack the courage to do likewise.
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Frazzled UBM
Does Science involve faith? Faith in the scientific process, faith in the truth of a particular scientific paradigm until it is overturned by a new scientific paradigm?
Cofty - as an Atheist and Rationalist I am with you but I think we also need to challenge ourselves and our assumptions. And if faith is not harmful and it promotes well-being, happiness and ethical behaviour - who are we to condemn it?
Science does not have all the answers because there are limits to the ability of the scientific method to generate absolute truth - what happens after we die in a spiritual sense is one of those. While science suggest that the essence of a person ceases to exist when the body ceases to function, can we really be certain of that? Medical Science has not yet worked out exactly how the brain and body interact - one's mental state and will may be critical to whether someone becomes ill and how quickly they recover - bloody mindedness is correlated to longevity but we don't know exactly why.
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my first post and some questions
by wallievase inthis is my first post after deciding to finally open an account here after months of 'lurking'.. a couple of issues i want to address-.
i have issues with people who go from being a witness to losing all faith in god or the bible which seems to be the case with some members of this site.
i just don't think you can let any religion change how you view god or the bible.. second-i don't feel the gb are bad people, i think most witnesses including them are misguided by something that has been drilled into their heads since they were little and are actually sincere people.
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Frazzled UBM
Narcissistic Supply - to put it another way - would you have held the Soviet Politburo responsible for sending political prisoners to Gulags? Just asking.
Frazzled
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Why are the moms so attached to religion?
by ILoveTTATT inplease don't take this the wrong way, i would love it for women to comment on this thread because i just can't understand something!!.
here's the pattern i see:.
mostly guys in here.. if the guys are married, their wives usually stay a jw, or it takes 3 times as much time to convince a woman to leave than a man.. if the guys have a jw father, the father is open-minded and can be more easily persuaded to leave.
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Frazzled UBM
I have also been thinking about this one. I had JW knock on the door and as always invited him and his young offsider in and offered them water and had a chat. So he was doing his sales speil and I was tyring to set him straight on a few things and starting talking about how mysogynistic the organistion is and his response was but if that were the case why are the vast majority of Wintesses women. My response was because they are self-loathing but on reflection I don't think that is the answer. I think the answer is that one of the strongest methods the WBTS uses to get and hold on to members is soical and emotional manipulation - making you feel bad if you say or do the wrong thing etc. and I suspect that women are perhaps a bit more susceptible to this than men. I thnk this is an extension of what jgnat refers to as 'connectness' - what the WBTS does is manipulate that need for connectness.