Posts by talesin

233

What is BELIEF ?

by EdenOne in

stemming from the 'absentheism' thread, an old question came to my mind.

what exactly is "belief"?.

is it the same to ask: "do you believe in god?

talesin

Eden

I'm not in this to 'win'. That's what this thread is all about, imho. So, I'll address your comment to me.

Well, are you sure you got your facts right?
"By now, the difference between being an atheist and being an agnostic should be pretty clear and pretty easy to remember. Atheism is about belief, or specifically what you don't believe. Agnosticism is about knowledge, or specifically about what you don't know. An atheist doesn't believe in any gods. An agnostic doesn't know if any gods exist or not. These can be the exact same person, but need not be."
Extracted from atheism.about.com
.. you're welcome.
Eden

Talesin: Actually, it's exactly the opposite.

Like I said, it's all about semantics.

Atheism is our natural state - we are born with no knowledge of any type of deity. Societal and family tradition may teach us that there is a "G*d". There is absolutely NO evidence of a 'supreme' being - none. This is how this atheist sees the equation.

Agnostics have been taught 'religion', and don't really believe it, but are either unsure of what they believe (intellectual honesty) or hedging their bets (emotionally driven, and *wishing* for any easy answer).

Oh, and by the way .... it may be fine for others that you choose to quote some website to make your entire point, but personally, I feel that your arguments lack substance because of it.

tal :sunglasses:

233

What is BELIEF ?

by EdenOne in

stemming from the 'absentheism' thread, an old question came to my mind.

what exactly is "belief"?.

is it the same to ask: "do you believe in god?

talesin

Well, I see this thread is mostly semantics, with little substance.

Interesting, thought, your last comment Eden

Atheism is a position about belief, while agnosticism is a position about knowledge.

Actually, it's exactly the opposite.

Atheists see the LACK OF KNOWLEDGE about any deity .. Believers and agnostics see a POSSIBIITY OF BELIEF.

Thanks for setting that straight.

tal :sunglasses:

233

What is BELIEF ?

by EdenOne in

stemming from the 'absentheism' thread, an old question came to my mind.

what exactly is "belief"?.

is it the same to ask: "do you believe in god?

talesin

wow, 23 pages of hot air and all we have to do is ask the OED. :)

Notes on the quote below:

"Belief" may be defined as a concept that is without proof, especially when spoken of in a religious concept.

BrE /bɪˈliːf/
; NAmE /bɪˈliːf/
[uncountable] belief (in something/somebody) a strong feeling that something/somebody exists or is true; confidence that something/somebody is good or right
I admire his passionate belief in what he is doing.
belief in God/democracy
The incident has shaken my belief (= made me have less confidence) in the police.
[singular, uncountable] belief (that…) an opinion about something; something that you think is true
She acted in the belief that she was doing good.
Contrary to popular belief (= in spite of what people may think), he was not responsible for the tragedy.
There is a general belief that things will soon get better.
[countable, usually plural] something that you believe, especially as part of your religion
religious/political beliefs
A society should be judged on its beliefs and values.
compare disbelief, unbelief

45

Why do we get TTATT and others don't?

by quest81 in

jw
friends

i have thought about how ttatt came full circle for me.

how the connecting the dots was simple and just made sense,.

how silos of information are literally at our fingertips today.. why is it that the ones we love cannot get ttatt?.

talesin

Agreed, OUTLAW.

I notice, from my time here, that many 'born in' folk leave after 20-30-40 years as an adult. That is sad for me. My life was harsher because I left, but I was gone at 18. At least I *had* a life. haha, filled with pitfalls and much learning it was, but at least it was MY choices, and MY consequences. But, I digress...

I'm happy to see the exodus of the 'baby-boomer' generations of JWS (yeah, think of yourself as that, instead of the 1975 generation - "baby boomer" is a phrase that 'normalizes' your experience ,,,) and to tell the truth - our parents' generation was MORE susceptible to the JWS because of their WWII experience, fear of nuclear warfare,. etc., so we Boomers need to recognize that - it's part of our healing. Be happy and proud that YOU could recognize TTATT. xxoo

So, that strays a bit from the OP, but hoping it contributes to the dialogue.

t :sunglasses:

45

Why do we get TTATT and others don't?

by quest81 in

jw
friends

i have thought about how ttatt came full circle for me.

how the connecting the dots was simple and just made sense,.

how silos of information are literally at our fingertips today.. why is it that the ones we love cannot get ttatt?.

talesin

Again, CD theory explains why many people continue to hold on to beliefs that are demonstrably wrong.

This is true, and one reason why I think 'born-in' people can have a harder time accepting TTATT, even when they know it consciously.

Their CD is so great that they are unable or unwilling to embrace the concept that they have been taught to believe in a LIE.

I compare it to "The American Dream" - virtually a whole culture who believe that if you work hard, get an education and keep your nose clean, that you are guaranteed success. AHAHA! That is CD on a large scale - and, as with the JWS, the American people have had this concept pounded into their heads since birth.

6

Cropping the Side of My Post

by BluesBrother in

yesterday i posted a topic :.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/209140001/watchtower-june-15-2015-misleading-reference-past-statement.

the right side of the post was chopped off, in my computer anyway , using google chrome.

talesin

I get the concept = easy.

But as an artist who can use my pc as a tool, but does not have the knowledge of a PC junkie, or expert,

How do I change that url to my chosen text? How do I save it on here........ etc.

Don't forget -- this is your field. Especially when dealing with folks who may have been computer illiterate before joining this forum, it MAY be helpful to spell things like this out.........

Step ... by PAINFUL .... STEP.

Please, and thank you!

21

1 Meeting for each of your fingers ? ? ?

by william draper in

anybody remember how this became a doctrine , years ago , we were at the meetings so that out fingers would be learning something .

..

talesin

Thanks, William Draper. It was way past the time I left, and explains why this is all new to me. xx

19

World becoming more religious not less

by Stealth in

this is bad news for the evolution of humankind.

even worse, islam is the fastest growing religion.

http://www.livescience.com/50370-worlds-religious-population-will-grow.html?cmpid=nl_ls_weekly_2015-04-03 .

talesin

Technological illiteracy, combined with fear of *nothing* ......... ie, ideas like terrorism, poverty, hunger - ie, these are concepts .......... there is no WAR that will cure these ills, only a sea change of the world view.

44

Hounded to his Death

by Slidin Fast in

http://www.thanetgazette.co.uk/inquest-concludes-dad-died-margate-night-went/story-26272711-detail/story.html.

this story makes me ill with rage.

this man's crime?

talesin

Grreat Teacher, Agreed! I thought of that as well .. hmmm, who reported him? Obviously another JW who was surfing that site! It's all so moronic and high-school at the same time. Thing is, it ruins lives. haha, I can bear witness! :P

xo

tal :sunglasses:

19

World becoming more religious not less

by Stealth in

this is bad news for the evolution of humankind.

even worse, islam is the fastest growing religion.

http://www.livescience.com/50370-worlds-religious-population-will-grow.html?cmpid=nl_ls_weekly_2015-04-03 .

talesin

This is a momentary blip ......... people turn to religion when they are oppressed - HELLO!

We in NA and Europe, and other 'lucky' countries, have no concept of the suffering, the poverty, experienced in other places. These people will turn to religion to ease their suffering.

If we DO evolve, and start solving problems like world hunger, and greed, and people can be HAPPY and WELL FED,,, then religion will disappear from the planet. There would be no need for a G*d if people were happy in their lives, had enough to enjoy living, satisfying work, etc.

Once we get past political/cultural and financial ideologies, and start treating each other as equals, there will be NO NEED for religion or any other fantastical belief systems.