Many scholars argue that this is God's century.-Ruby
That is interesting, I have never heard of that before. I think many don't really believe in God but put their trust inot fotune tellers, I find this rather strange too. Kate xx
bible describes atheism as a condition of the heart and is all about seeking what is ephemeral, not acting with insight.
(psalm 14:1, 2) thus it rightly says the whole world is lying in the attraction of what is ephemeral.
(wicked one is not a correct translation.1 john 5:19) thus even believers who pray to god (for material blessings) are actually atheists as they are not trying to be poor in spirit.
Many scholars argue that this is God's century.-Ruby
That is interesting, I have never heard of that before. I think many don't really believe in God but put their trust inot fotune tellers, I find this rather strange too. Kate xx
i was watching a couple videos on youtube earlier and always like to peruse the comments at the bottom of the page.. i'm no sure if this has been discussed recently, but one indivdual made the claim that the societies numbers are massively over inflated, as he/she believes that they include inactive, df'd and da'd in their figures.. does anyone have any information to confirm this or i this just another assumption made without evidence?.
(also has anyone heard from witnessmyfury lately?
i had a pm chat with him a few days ago but not had a reply to my latest msgs.
even if the vast majority of growth comes from born in JW's.-lurkie
Some of these stats are fabricated and unrealistic, there are plenty of teen baptisms, these teens lead double lives and then leave. The motive for publishing numbers reamin the same as always, guilting JWs to do more, more, more, preaching, meetings, study, prayer. It's a way to keep members busy so they can't do anything productive with their lives, but the younger generations are just leaving due to the internet.
I would love to know the ratio of......................... baptism : leaving
These numbers will not be published, it will not acieve what WT wants. Control of information.
Kate xx
this was one of the things that first got me thinking.
i noticed how in books like "draw close to jehovah" they paint god as a loving, warm, just god who does not desire any to die.
i could not love him at all, let alone with my whole heart.
I cannot and will not be pressured into loving anything or anyone under threat of death.- BU2B
I feel the same way, but having said that I am facinated by evolution and creation. I love learning more about the chemical processes and physical chemistry. This love of discovery and grasping evolutionary concepts draws me closer to the Creator, I don't actually believe he is the God of the bible so I do not hold any contept towards him. I believe people made up stories and profess they are from God when in fact they are not.
I also have no expectations that God cares about anyone enough to help them in times of suffering. The God I belive in is very different from the God of the bible.
Kate xx
i was watching a couple videos on youtube earlier and always like to peruse the comments at the bottom of the page.. i'm no sure if this has been discussed recently, but one indivdual made the claim that the societies numbers are massively over inflated, as he/she believes that they include inactive, df'd and da'd in their figures.. does anyone have any information to confirm this or i this just another assumption made without evidence?.
(also has anyone heard from witnessmyfury lately?
i had a pm chat with him a few days ago but not had a reply to my latest msgs.
falsified their hours (especially the pioneers) so i don't have any faith in those figures being correct.-Lurkie
This is a big point, we know all JWs inflate their hours, coount time for coffee breaks and such. Apostates lie so they won't get DF'd, the whole thing is a farce, it's a cult and that's why you can't trust any publisher stats. What you have to think about is the motive for such stats. Why does WT publish stats?
It's to make JWs work harder for the publishing company, to motivate it's members to do more for WT and gain nothing in return. It's a way to motivate JWs to feel good about their dedication to WT.
Kate xx
bible describes atheism as a condition of the heart and is all about seeking what is ephemeral, not acting with insight.
(psalm 14:1, 2) thus it rightly says the whole world is lying in the attraction of what is ephemeral.
(wicked one is not a correct translation.1 john 5:19) thus even believers who pray to god (for material blessings) are actually atheists as they are not trying to be poor in spirit.
Why is the world full of ATHEISTS?- exWTslave
Without reading the whole thread I would like to answer the OP question. There are many believers in the world, without doing a poll of the world I would hazard a guess that atheists are actually in the minority.
As to the question why are some atheist, I personally think it's because they are concrete thinkers and need black and white evidence and proof before they believe anything. Atheists don't beleive in leaps of faith. Faith is something that is backed up by a reasonable amount of evidence and then the leap is made. Athiests think differently, they need proof of everything.
That is my view why there are many atheists in the world today. It's the difference between abstract and concrete thinking IMO.
Kate xx
i'm seeing tons of comments from sad jws on my facebook feed saying that the beloved golden calf jw.org is offline.. what are you seeing when you try it?
*crosses fingers* i wish it could never ever return.. are they getting too much traffic to support?.
work of hackers?
Both phone and laptop working for me. but very different layout. Back to normal dot com. Kate xx
well, i have finally got rid of my baptism cards.
the congratulations cards....the wt ones, the ones with sheep on etc.... all gone.
they dated back to 23/09/2000.. has anyone else "purged" their witness past this way?.
I had a big clearout when I moved, I was wonderful. Kate xx
atheists believe that god should stop the large-scale injustice on earth; if he does'nt, then he does not exist.
jws believe that god will intervene sometime in the last days!.
interestingly, both throw themselves on their own expectation of soemthing god should or will do, yet in fact something god does not have to do.
galaxie, very well put. I see your perspective. However my perspective is the opposite. People that inflict harm are evil, people that have the power to stop harm and don't are evil too. God is niether, but I see your pespective and why you are trying to corner me. Sadly I don't think you see my perspective, but you may.
That is also something that causes suffering, the inability to undestand anothers perspective. If I say it hurts then stop doing it, don't reply with a justification and continue to cause pain.
Kate xx
atheists believe that god should stop the large-scale injustice on earth; if he does'nt, then he does not exist.
jws believe that god will intervene sometime in the last days!.
interestingly, both throw themselves on their own expectation of soemthing god should or will do, yet in fact something god does not have to do.
exWTslave, Dr Len's experiment sounds very interesting if it's real. I personally find it hard to believe apart from the fact that the ward got closed down. How likely is it all these patients have probably re offended and are in different institutions.
I do believe if you treat people with love they are loving back to you.
Thanks for your story
Kate xx
atheists believe that god should stop the large-scale injustice on earth; if he does'nt, then he does not exist.
jws believe that god will intervene sometime in the last days!.
interestingly, both throw themselves on their own expectation of soemthing god should or will do, yet in fact something god does not have to do.
Kate - By definition a theist believes that god is intimately involved in human affairs in every moment. If you dont believe this you are a deist or atheist.-cofty
hahaha!!!! haven't we already established this months ago.
I have never blamed man for natural diasters, that's just silly. I agree many will always die from natural disasters it's a fact of life but, natural disaster are not evil, niether is the creator God. I don't like labelling myelf a deist as my beliefs are unique, but I am certainly not an atheist, or as you put it cofty, I just don't know it. Kate xx