It seems to me that some of the atheists on this site are as close as you can get to evangelical atheists - it might be a legacy of being a Witness - the need to convince others of the superiority of your beliefs. I see myself as an apathetic atheist. I would be overjoyed if my wife left the Witnesses for a main stream church.
Frazzled UBM
JoinedPosts by Frazzled UBM
-
219
An important difference between atheists and true believers
by Hortensia intrue believers, whether christian, muslim or whatever, want to convert you, they want you to believe what they do, and they're willing to go to extremes to make it happen.
atheists don't really care what you believe, and don't go out of their way to convert someone.. http://ow.ly/vn1jz an example of what believers in power do to suppress any difference in thought.
http://ow.ly/vraeo an example of why believers want to suppress different ideas (because they can't win in a fair fight, that's why).
-
-
-
61
How did you tell your spouse you want out of the JW religion?
by leaving_quietly inwhat did you imagine would happen?
did they react the way you expected?
how did you bring it up?.
-
-
Frazzled UBM
BU2B - my experience is similar to that of undercover - I have gradually reduced my wife's concerns about being an 'Opposer' (she threatened leaving on more than one occasion) by putting her and our family first and showing her how much I love her unconditionally for who she is. She goes very infrequently now and even bought my son an Easter Egg and was pleased when I bought her one (it doesn't get much more pagan than that). She hasn't acknowledged that she doesn't believe any more but she is clearly putting our family ahead of the WBTS. So maybe it is time to make the jump and let the allegations and recriminations and threats of leaving (threats are one thing - acting on them is something entirely different) wash over you and show her the love and stick with her no matter what - bloody minded persistence is what is requirred - let her see your love for her is so strong that nothing will deter you. undercover is a good role model. You have two children together that will count for a lot. Do everything you can to avoid talking about whether the kids will be brought up in the Truth and focus on your love for her and the family and how that transcends everything. Good luck Fraz
-
112
Why are JWs so afraid of apostates?
by Magnum inwhy are jws so afraid of apostates?
their view of apostates seems to be out of the realm of the ordinary, the natural.
its as if the words of apostates are supernatual or spiritistic as if apostates are some kind of jedi knights who can slightly wave their hands or twitch their eyes and bring one under a spell.
-
-
Frazzled UBM
There was a good thread on a similar topic last week or the week before that put the proposition that even if the WBTS didn't demonize apostates, Witnesses would shun them anyway because the cognitive dissonance of listening to apostate view points would be too confronting. The emotional commitment to "the Truth" is so great that accepting an apostate view is a denial of the self and a direct emotional attack. I have seen this at first hand when I present facts to my wife that show the Truth is far from that. In demonizing apostates, the WBTS is simply reinforcing the rationalisations the Witnesses have already internalized about why apostate views need be avoided. They are playing what the audience wants to hear. I am heartened to see emeth still hear flying the flag for the WBTS - his cognitive dissonance is so strong he can participate on this website without changing his views - for now. ewmeth - hopefully over time you will start listening to the views expressed here and start to think about them properly.
-
20
Give me some examples of 'good lawyers'.
by LogCon infor some strange reason when i previously asked to give me examples of how evil attorneys are and then reworded to give me examples of evil lawyers, many misinterpreted that i was labeling all lawyers as evil.
i simply asked a question.
i did not state or imply anything.. now, without labeling all lawyers as good, what examples do you have of 'good lawyers'?.
-
-
Frazzled UBM
A lawyer was surfing when a pack of sharks appeared next to him but the lawyer seemed unperturbed and after checking him out the sharks left him alone and swam off. When he got back to the shore, other surfers who had watched from the beach asked him why the sharks didn't attack him. The lawyer replied "Professional courtesy."
I am a lawyer who investigates and takes enforcement action against companies or individuals who engage in conduct that misleads investors or undermines the integrity of financial markets. This serves the function of protecting investors and increasing confidence in financial markets, which in turn encourages investment and stimulates the economy. I like to think that what I do is socially beneficial. I have an intense dislike of scumbag lawyers such as ambulance chasers; lawyers who take superfluos procedural points and deliberately delay and obfuscate; and many divorce lawyers (my ex's lawyer comes to mind) who get rich off other people's misery.
-
138
A farce elder here
by His Excellency injust to share a little about me:.
i was recently appointed an elder, about 6 months ago now, and that is exactly two years after my awakenning, but funny that the appointment came also about 2 years after i had completely lost all faith in god and had been leading a full time anti-jw life .
makes you wonder the role of the holy spirit in the entire nomination or appointment process.. .
-
-
Frazzled UBM
hmmm - there are precedents for people pretending to be part fo the power structure but acting against it for good, e.g. Schindler's list?
H.E. If you could identfiy those with doubts and help them to fade you could do some good...but I think many of us supect the reason why you are doing this is because you enjoy the status and power trip...
-
-
-
Frazzled UBM
Also - most do try to be good people according to their definition (in the sense of being honest - albeit not being intellectually honest- and living cleanly) because they believe they are being watched all the time
-
-
-
Frazzled UBM
They can have a certain naivety about the world which can be disarming and they appear sincere (even though it is misplaced)
-
17
Blood transfusion refused by parents of a 6 month old!!
by outforever inthis was in the paper wednesday - in south africa - durban.
which is quite surprising as our papers usually do not carry stories like this.. this is a prem baby - now 6 months.
the dr's had to obtain a high court order to allow the procedure.. the baby had to have a blood transfusion as it could not absorb the mother's milk and supplements cannot be used because of his tiny body.. the parents refused to give their consent and was on life support so the dr submitted to the court that this was an infringement on the.
-
-
Frazzled UBM
The WBTS should be made to pay the cost of these unnecessary legal proceedings which as was pointed out was simply a way to remove any WBTS imposed guilt ont he parents for allowing the transfusion. Another example of them beign a parasite on worldly society.
-
138
A farce elder here
by His Excellency injust to share a little about me:.
i was recently appointed an elder, about 6 months ago now, and that is exactly two years after my awakenning, but funny that the appointment came also about 2 years after i had completely lost all faith in god and had been leading a full time anti-jw life .
makes you wonder the role of the holy spirit in the entire nomination or appointment process.. .
-
-
Frazzled UBM
hmmm the idea of acting as a fifth column is an interesting one - as others have said, if you can show mercy in JCs and influence the other elders not to abuse their power and you can surreptitiously introduce ideas to cause doubts you can do some good. But I suspect this will be unsustainable over the long term because they will eventually work out what you are up to and negate your influence and it will probably be sole destroying as you will spend a lot of time doing something you have no commitment to. Though if elders and others are reading JWN and come across this thread that may generate extreme paranoia (even more than usual) amongst elders and destroy any semblamnce of trust within the BoE, which in itself may foment unrest.
-
10
Why Jehovah's Witnesses Think They're Better Than Us
by God_Delusion inhello guys and gals!.
have you ever wondered why jehovah's witnesses think they're better than everyone else?.
well, here's pov (point of view) of a jehovah's witness.
-
-
Frazzled UBM
Very nice piece of parody