Posts by slimboyfat

210

Morality Without Deity

by cofty in

one of the most persistent arguments for belief in god centres on the necessity of an ultimate law-giver and epitome of goodness.. a softer version is seen in the genuine concern that a loss of faith will result in a corresponding loss of a moral compass - a more strident argument links the existence of good and evil with proof of the reality of god.

it is often asserted that without god, moral decisions degenerate to nothing more than personal preferences and the victory of "might is right".. i want to succinctly lay out my response as an atheist, and show that a supreme being is not required for objective morality.. it is helpful to distinguish between absolute morality, objective morality and subjective morality.

christian apologists frequently conflate the first two, and secular debaters often fail to point out the difference.. theists who disagree on everything else, are unanimous that god is perfectly good.

slimboyfat

In the case of Siamese twins the separation can come much later still. Are there even cases where brain matter is shared and separation is not possible. Lots of complicated scenarios around personal identity and individuality for sure. But are you saying these situations prove Catholics are wrong to hold that life is sacred from conception?

That because individuality may not always be defined at conception, therefore Catholics are wrong that life is sacred from conception. Have I understood the argument correctly? How does it logically follow?

18

Is it just me ? 2 threads debating page after page with one individual ?

by smiddy in

jw
friends

is it just me who doesnt see the point of this ?

from time to time we see some individual who takes up page after page arguing his or her point of view and it usually ends up with only 2 or 3 individuals who keep the talkfest going with a particular individual and nobodys getting anything out of it .. why bother ?

why get sucked in to such a pointless dialogue ?

slimboyfat

I don't know Steve, you draw up a list of pros and cons and then we can debate your list.

45

What's preventing YOU from stopping meeting attendance?

by nicolaou in

we all 'exit' in our own way and at our own pace but i'm curious, why carry on stuffing yourself into that stiff suit and tie or meeting dress years after you realised the truth about 'the truth'?.

they kept you a prisoner, what's stopping you from leaving now that you have the key to your own cell?.

loved ones?

slimboyfat

nicolaou what was it that convinced you in a couple of months? What sparked it all?

I read a book called Awake to the Watchtower! in 1999 that made me doubt a lot of things. But because its opposition to JWs was framed in religious (evangelical Protestant) terms I tended to investigate scriptural objections rather than ethical problems with JW beliefs that I ultimately decided were more important. It was very gradual for me to reject JW teachings, and there are still some things I keep or am not sure about. I don't have kids and I took my time to stop going to meetings, but I I rarely go now. I am almost as old now as you were when you left. I should have gone about it quicker and I'd be in a better position now.

29

Sam Harris & Jordan Peterson

by azor in

jw
friends

listening to 2 of my current favorite thinkers debate/discussion.

i've been looking forward to this since i found out about it a month ago.

hope some of you get a chance to listen.

slimboyfat

I just wonder why... Sam Harris has to... make a pause after every... four words or so... without apparent regard... for sense or normal... speech patterns.

Peterson amazingly talks some sense here. At least some in this crazy thinkosphere realise that Rorty was a giant of a thinker.

45

What's preventing YOU from stopping meeting attendance?

by nicolaou in

we all 'exit' in our own way and at our own pace but i'm curious, why carry on stuffing yourself into that stiff suit and tie or meeting dress years after you realised the truth about 'the truth'?.

they kept you a prisoner, what's stopping you from leaving now that you have the key to your own cell?.

loved ones?

slimboyfat

My JW friend told me that I'm "bad association" unless I attend at least one meeting a month. So I guess that's my quota now.

23

Anthony Morris III publicly admits that he doesnt enjoy Field Service

by Calebs Airplane in

2pm, january 9, 2010 san juan, puerto rico.... jws from all over the island take turns to use the biggest coliseum in the caribbean (jose miguel agrelot coliseum).

the big event... a brief 2-hour assembly featuring brooklyn bethel celebrities including anthony morris iii.

there had been a lot of excitement building up in the days preceding this event as there were rumors circulating that the society had a very special announcement to make.. after 2 ambiguous talks from 2 bethel speakers, anthony morris iii finally takes the stage and everyone is so thrilled to see him up close or on the big screen behind the stage.

slimboyfat

Actually I remember I was devastated when snow forced the cancellation of the Thursday meeting in 1997. It wrecked my perfect attendance, hadn't missed a single meeting for two years running.

23

Anthony Morris III publicly admits that he doesnt enjoy Field Service

by Calebs Airplane in

2pm, january 9, 2010 san juan, puerto rico.... jws from all over the island take turns to use the biggest coliseum in the caribbean (jose miguel agrelot coliseum).

the big event... a brief 2-hour assembly featuring brooklyn bethel celebrities including anthony morris iii.

there had been a lot of excitement building up in the days preceding this event as there were rumors circulating that the society had a very special announcement to make.. after 2 ambiguous talks from 2 bethel speakers, anthony morris iii finally takes the stage and everyone is so thrilled to see him up close or on the big screen behind the stage.

slimboyfat

And how many enjoy getting up early on a Sunday to hear Morris III talk drivel from the platform? I guess that's yet another thing you've just "got to do" that nobody enjoys.

Jehovah's Witnesses - the religion of boring things you've just got to do.

20

SJW thinking on the right: The lack of agency

by bohm in

jw
friends

the nut-left got a dilemma with islamic terrorism: on one hand their natural instinct is to defend muslims from any (perceived) attack on islam and on the other hand radical islam is shock full of values that are 100% opposed to everything they believe: the nut-left would simply be stoned to death in a country which properly followed sharia law.. how do you fix the cognitive dissonance?

well, the standard script includes the following items:.

first, you don't really defend sharia, at least not in its entirety, but spend time talking about the evils of the west, in particular, israel.

slimboyfat

I can't see a thing wrong with what the first woman said.

The second one appears to be some sort of performance art, quite good.

37

I will only believe in demons if...

by deegee in

jws are known to have an obsession and preoccupation with demons.. this obsession and preoccupation is not without merit given that jesus, his disciples/apostles, and the general public of 1st century ce judea and galilee are reported as believing in the existence of demonic spirits and in the possibility of demon possession of an individual.. exorcism formed a large part of jesus' ministry on earth.

the gospels and the book of acts describe many exorcisms where jesus and his disciples release people from demonic possession.. ___ .

but how do demons get inside a person's brain or body?

slimboyfat

It was a joke because many of your posts begin saying, "just to let everyone know here that I am a Jew". I thought there was a joke to made somewhere, but I had trouble identifying the exact location of the comedy.

Incidentally I have a Jewish name but I don't think I'm actually a Jew. How can I tell?

20

SJW thinking on the right: The lack of agency

by bohm in

jw
friends

the nut-left got a dilemma with islamic terrorism: on one hand their natural instinct is to defend muslims from any (perceived) attack on islam and on the other hand radical islam is shock full of values that are 100% opposed to everything they believe: the nut-left would simply be stoned to death in a country which properly followed sharia law.. how do you fix the cognitive dissonance?

well, the standard script includes the following items:.

first, you don't really defend sharia, at least not in its entirety, but spend time talking about the evils of the west, in particular, israel.

slimboyfat

No they are both wrong I didn't read it carefully, plus there's some sort of sophisticated parody going on in the text that may have escaped me.

I have noticed that whenever anyone uses the phrase "social justice warrior", which is a fairly new one on me, as if it's a real thing, the accompanying argument is invariably garbage.