Posts by ringo5

31

How do you know Satan didn't write the Bible?

by seattleniceguy in

jw
friends

the standard christian story on the bible is that god wrote it to let us humans know what's going on, lay down some rules, and tell us how to get saved from our pitiful state.

as everyone knows, i don't buy any portion of this.

but i have a question for the believers.

ringo5

"Because hadrons experience strong force"

heh,heh, he said hadrons, heh,heh

44

Do any of us really want the truth?

by Qcmbr in

i've been reading some essays concerning disagreement online that got me thinking - i won't even attempt to do them justice but to share some ideas that struck home to me.

we spend most of the time here sharing ideas and thoughts often in response to other posts and as arguements to invalidate or re-colour what someone else said.

there is an implicit drive behind each thread to somehow approximate a 'truth' from the many different viewpoints - almost like a collective conscience ('the forum') weighing and then selecting or rejecting the mood of the thread and as we share in the posts we add just a little weight and influence to its direction.

ringo5

I really just don't want any more lies...

44

Do any of us really want the truth?

by Qcmbr in

i've been reading some essays concerning disagreement online that got me thinking - i won't even attempt to do them justice but to share some ideas that struck home to me.

we spend most of the time here sharing ideas and thoughts often in response to other posts and as arguements to invalidate or re-colour what someone else said.

there is an implicit drive behind each thread to somehow approximate a 'truth' from the many different viewpoints - almost like a collective conscience ('the forum') weighing and then selecting or rejecting the mood of the thread and as we share in the posts we add just a little weight and influence to its direction.

ringo5

Another pitfall in the search for truth-

generalizing

i.e. "OK I've rambled a bit here but just remember that when we think we are arguing logically we are actually illogically applying bias to our own belief systems rather than always looking for truth"

1

Christian email fraud

by ringo5 in

here's a copy fo an email i recieved recently.

are these scammers thinking christians are by definitian more gullible or naive?

just thought it was a new slant on email fraud... .

ringo5

Here's a copy fo an email I recieved recently. Are these scammers thinking christians are by definitian more gullible or naive?
Just thought it was a new slant on email fraud...

Beloved In Christ,
Beloved In Christ,Dearest
one.Calvary greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, I am Evang.Faith Nwachukwu I am 70years old,
am suffering from long time liver problem.From all
indications, my condition is serious and according to
my doctor it is quite obvious that I may not survive
the sickness,although as a christain,I beleive God,
and I know that I will not die,I will leave to declare
the glory of God. My late Husband and my only son was
killed during the Ogoni Crisis and I am presently
Leaving alone.Our Lord Jesus Christ is my comforter.My
late Husband was very wealthy we have a lot of
properties including Shares and houses.After the death
of my Husband,I made up my mind to travel abroad to
leave the rest of my life and continue to do the work
of God as a missionary.I called our lawyer and I
instructed him to sell all my Husband properties and
shares to enable me raise some money to conitue my
mission.The lawyer sold the Shares and some of the
properties and I was able toraise the sum of
($10.3,000,000.00(Ten Million Three Hundred Thousand
US Dollars)The fund is in cash,for the safety of the
fund till am able to travel out,I packaged the fund in
consignments deposited it with a Security
Company.Presently,all the documents concerning the
consignments are with my lawyer.Now that my sickness
has gone to this stage,I am scared and I want the fund
to be used for the work of God all over the world. I
have prayed and I told God to direct me to an honest
person who will receive this fund and utilise it for
things that will glorify the name of God After my
prayers,I searched the internet,I found your email
address and I decided to contact you.Please if you are
interested in using this fund for the work of
God,please send to me your private phone and fax
number full names and address to enable me give it to
my lawyer for immediate arrangement with the security
company on how the consignments that contained the
fund will be delivered to you.You can reply with this
email address [email protected]

23

Is what we believe to be real.....really real?

by gumby in

if your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color, pink.

if you stare at the black + in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

now, concentrate on the black + in the center of the picture.

ringo5

Gumby I just tried this and it works... Cool!

Therefore if you become embarrassed wearing a pink shirt just run around in a circle quickly and people will think you are actually wearing a green shirt!
Additional research project for you....

56

I NEED YOUR INPUT ON THIS ASAP..

by Mary in

jw
friends

ok, i got a call tonight from an old friend i knew years ago when i lived in another city.

i haven't seen him for 18 years although we have had occassional contact.

he's coming in to toronto next week and wants to know if we can get together to catch up.

ringo5

Hi Mary.. I would have to agree with freedomlover, as I had a similar experience with getting in touch with an old friend who was already out, unbeknownst to me, and I was having doubts of my own. Sure glad we talked, he was a big help in getting over much of the dubdum.

However, I would be a little cautious if you are trying to fade. If you're not sure you could be subtle enough when broaching the subject and he was a super dub as you suspect, it could spell disaster...

If it was me and it was someone I had a lot in common with besides the truf then I would try it.... good luck!

58

Are you honest when you say your age?

by JH in

jw
friends

i know people who don't say their real age, like take off 2 or 3 years.... my mom looks younger than her age, so she sometimes took off a few years.

gee, i'm just the opposite, i rather say my real age, and wait for a compliment saying "hey you look good for your age".

how about you, do you ever lie on your age?

ringo5

There seems to be some confusion among the honest hearted friends here concerning this issue.

So it behooves us to research these questions that come up, so "as to all think in the same oneness of mind".

Questions from Readers - 1960 Watchtower June 1

• From time to time letters are received asking whether a certain circumstance would justify making an exception to the Christian’s obligation to tell the truth. In reply to these the following is given:

God’s Word commands: “Speak truth each of you with his neighbor.” (Eph. 4:25) This command, however, does not mean that we should tell everyone who asks us all he wants to know. We must tell the truth to one who is entitled to know, but if one is not so entitled we may be evasive. But we may not tell a falsehood.

Thus a sister should tell the truth about her age for the purpose of having correct information on her publisher’s record card, as that comes under the purvue of right to know. Fear to do so is a sign of vanity and immaturity. Nor may this particular information be kept from a prospective mate if that one thinks it important enough to ask. Such a one would also have a right to know. So it would depend upon the circumstances whether one may be evasive about one’s age or not.

15

RANT: Desultory ramblings of a frustrated cult member

by dorayakii in

jw
friends

after almost a year of living abroad, away from my parents and away from anything even remotely watchtower related, having allowed myself to not worry about these silly little things (yet convincing my parents that i was still going); now that i've been back for about 6 weeks, i feel that i have to put on a double effort to cover over things that i've said or done, and avoid using "suspect" words or phrases like "cheers" or "good luck".

its driving me crazy at the moment, and 10 times more than it was doing before i moved out.

today, i had a mini panic attack at having told a "worldly" friend of mine "good luck".

ringo5

You Might this thread helpful...

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/94962/1.ashx

30

Update to my meeting with an elder

by Goldminer in

.

first of all,sorry for being so late with my update.my wife got up at 8 am this morning so i didn't have the opportunity to be alone for a while.. as for the meeting last night,the elder was very civil,actually commended me for writing my questions down.he never made threaths,asked me if i read apostate material or if i still considered myself a jw.. we started with the 607 question.he will not believe any research beyond the wt's but said he'd do more research on it(all wt) so i guess that will go no where.he believes that ctr got it right by using the bible so i told him if it was figured out 130 years ago,it should be very simple to explain today.the only time he looked stunned was when i showed him from the wt that they once believed that jesus' presence began in 1874.he said he had never read that and tried to walk around it even when i asked him if jehovah wanted his people to believe something that wasn't true.. we beat around a few other questions with nothing concrete coming out of it.he did take my list home with him and said he'd look at them more carefully to get some scriptural answers.i also got the feeling that my wife got a spiritual boost from his visit which was very disheartening to me.anyways,i'm going to work on this 607 thing and see how things go.my wife asked me if i felt like we got somewhere and i said no.beibg told that something is the truth just because the wt says so just doesn't convince me anymore.. i'm attaching my questions,hopefully they show up here.thanks everybody,i feel really down,like i'm wasting my time.i've been wanting to run from this religion for years and here i am still fighting to prove my points.. goldminer.

p.s.-question files won't load-sorry.

ringo5

The only time he looked stunned was when I showed him from the WT that they once believed that Jesus' presence began in 1874

116

A Customer really pissed me off yesterday at work: SHE WANTS TO PRAY for me

by Terry in

i work in a bookstore that specializes in buying its goods directly from the public second-hand and reselling them at half price.. .

it is a large chain of 83 stores in 8 states and does about 100 million a year.. .

i'm in charge of the religion and the philosophy sections.. .

ringo5

This kind of crap makes me mad too, and I wasn't sure why until you explained it very well.

And it would burn me further to think that she is going to relate her encouraging experience to her bible-thumpin brethren and be commended for her boldness of speech...