Posts by slimboyfat

41

How to Argue for Creationism

by cofty in

all creationist arguments follow an identical pattern.. first a quick way to remember the format - 'complexity, complexity, complexity; therefore god'.. now a more detailed guide to formulating an argument.. identify some complex feature of the natural world.

a quick google search or nature documentary will quickly provide inspiration.

creationist websites have hundreds of them you can copy-paste without attribution.. do no research at all on what is currently known about the evolutionary history of this feature.

slimboyfat

Emma was not a conventional Christian. She was a Unitarian. We were discussing this in church last Sunday. Unitarianism in the nineteenth century was not as liberal as today, but it still stressed tolerance, reason and personal faith rather than literal reliance on scriptural texts. Emma was troubled by her husband's lack of faith, but perhaps less troubled and more supportive than a conventional Christian might have been.

https://web.archive.org/web/20090225124103/http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/content/view/130/125/

My reason tells me that honest & conscientious doubts cannot be a sin, but I feel it would be a painful void between us. I thank you from my heart for your openness with me & I should dread the feeling that you were concealing your opinions from the fear of giving me pain … my own dear Charley we now do belong to each other & I cannot help being open with you.

13

The anonymity of Jehovah's Witness material

by stuckinarut2 in

is it vital for credibility to have the name of the writer of an article referenced?.

does this allow for honesty and accountability?

does this assist in ensuring that whatever is presented is as factual as possible, or not biased in some way toward the religion's ideas?.

slimboyfat

I think people are naturally more careful about what they write when they need to put their name to it.

The reason Watchtower publications became anonymous upon the death of president Rutherford is purportedly because the new president Knorr didn't write Watchtower material and didn't want this to be known, which it would be if someone else's name appeared on the literature.

Fred Franz is credited with authoring a large amount of Watchtower literature including the NWT and many of the prophetical commentaries and doctrinal tracts of the postwar period, such as Babylon the Great Has Fallen and The Word Who is He According to John.

Some have speculated that Franz also wrote the later books attributed to Rutherford. Technical analysis should now/soon be able to settle that question, as well as the authorship of the Studies in the Scriptures. (Maria Russell claimed she wrote them)

Notable books that were not authored by Fred Franz include the Aid/Insight books, the Commentary on James, Happiness, Life How Did it Get Here? Writers included Ed Dunlap, Raymond Franz, Colin Quackenbush and others.

Lloyd Barry and John Barr are credited with some of the writing in the 1980s and 1990s.

Who took over from them is a bit of a mystery. Among current GB members, Jackson, Sanderson and Splane appear to be the most likely candidates for involvement in the revised NWT and other projects. But GB members perhaps have little time for writing.

Plus Watchtower doesn't actually publish much new material now anyway, do they? Maybe they don't need many writers any more. Even WT study articles are revisions of earlier articles (the latest "avenger of blood" article a case in point).

83

Leaked 2018 Elders Training Video RE: Elders Reviewing Pionieers

by pale.emperor in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhq5viughny&feature=youtu.be.

quite frankly im disturbed at the lack of love and compassion.

especially for the first sister they talk about!.

slimboyfat

I think the main point of the whole exercise is simply to give elders the smug feeling that they've done something extraordinarily wonderful by understanding and applying some (pretty arbitrary) rules correctly.

You can see it all over the middle elder's face, that he really thinks they have scaled the heights of pure wisdom itself by ingeniously deciphering the "correct" solution to each case. They consider it a blessing for the young sister to be relieved of pioneering, plus they feel a warm glow that the decision "upholds the high standards of pioneering", that the rules about the elder taking time off are wise and just, that showing consideration for the older sister is a demonstration of unparalleled compassion, but that in all cases it's absolutely vital to understand and follow the minutiae of the instructions and always consult the circuit overseer when indicated.

They could just as easily have come to completely the opposite solutions: remove elder and old sister as pioneers, and keep younger sister, quote scriptures and make up rules to justify each decision. Like many Watchtower rules they are arbitrary and subject to change.

But having such rules fosters the idea that they belong to a considerate and orderly theocratic system, and they derive their own sense of worth by recognising and respecting the instructions and their own role in implementing them.

14

Why 2017 Was the Best Year in Human History

by pseudoxristos in

jw
friends

i found the following article to be a nice contrast to the jw's gloomy point of view.. why 2017 was the best year in human history.

we all know that the world is going to hell.

given the rising risk of nuclear war with north korea, the paralysis in congress, warfare in yemen and syria, atrocities in myanmar and a president who may be going cuckoo, you might think 2017 was the worst year ever.. but you’d be wrong.

slimboyfat

‘Look! The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, 'When I will send a famine into the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But for hearing the words of Jehovah. They will stagger from sea to sea And from the north to the east. They will rove about searching for the word of Jehovah, but they will not find it.

83

Leaked 2018 Elders Training Video RE: Elders Reviewing Pionieers

by pale.emperor in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhq5viughny&feature=youtu.be.

quite frankly im disturbed at the lack of love and compassion.

especially for the first sister they talk about!.

slimboyfat

Lol, true.

83

Leaked 2018 Elders Training Video RE: Elders Reviewing Pionieers

by pale.emperor in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhq5viughny&feature=youtu.be.

quite frankly im disturbed at the lack of love and compassion.

especially for the first sister they talk about!.

slimboyfat

Oh for crying out loud, sponsored by Ford no doubt.

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

slimboyfat

I got my copy for free. I like it. I’ve got a collection of religious literature. Somewhere.

2

Snow Leopards in China - Some Beautiful images.

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the chinese news agency published these images (and a few more today) they are among the clearest i've seen of these reclusive animals.. the explanatory caption notes: .

photo taken on oct. 22, 2017 shows a snow leopard at three-river-source national park in northwest china's qinghai province.

china is home to between 2,000 and 2,500 snow leopards, which roam across the provincial level regions of xinjiang, tibet, qinghai, gansu, sichuan, yunnan and inner mongolia.

slimboyfat

I saw them in the highland wildlife park. Beautiful animals. I like all kinds of cats. They've got lynx too and Scottish wildcats.

http://www.highlandwildlifepark.org.uk/animals-attractions/animals/snow-leopard/

83

Leaked 2018 Elders Training Video RE: Elders Reviewing Pionieers

by pale.emperor in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhq5viughny&feature=youtu.be.

quite frankly im disturbed at the lack of love and compassion.

especially for the first sister they talk about!.

slimboyfat

What a stupid video. Is this really a good use of anyone's time and effort? What's the glory in being called a "pioneer" anyway? Surely one of the emptiest titles ever devised. I guess it means a lot to sisters, who can't attain any other sort of title in the organisation.

Isn't it a bit odd that one of the elders is treating the other two elders like his students. "Will you read this paragraph and see the direction?" Like he knows all the answers already and needs to lead the other two in the right direction. What if none of them read the instructions carefully?

Then they agreed they didn't want to upset the old sister by suggesting that she stop pioneering. But "out of respect for the letter" they must offer her this option. But they need to talk to the CO first.

Oh man, what a waste of time. It's excruciating. It seems that some elders think this sort of direction is so loving and wise. But aren't there better things they can do with their time than sit around evaluating hours, regulations, allowances, excuses and titles? It's so empty it's depressing.

Just thinking about the time and effort involved in all this nonsense: making the rules in the first place, making the video to illustrate the rules, gathering the elders to watch the video, elders discussing and applying the rules in their congregations, informing the pioneers of their decisions, pioneers begging not to be deleted, elders thinking again, elders consulting Circuit Overseeers, pioneers getting depressed and talking to others about being deleted, elders discussing bad atitudes toward their decisions and directions. And on and on and on: endless empty nonsense. Get a life.

340

Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

slimboyfat

It doesn't seem as if Christadelphians believe all animals were vegetarian before the fall from what I gather.