slimboyfat

Joined

• started 538 topics
• posted 17,592 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by slimboyfat

• 
  147

  Scientism - Nothing But a Childish Insult?

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it is not uncommon for theists to accuse rational people on this forum of "scientism".. in my opinion it is nothing but a cheap shot from those who know they lack evidence for their beliefs.

  if something like "scientism" actually does exist then i have never encountered it.. here is part of an exchange from another thread - i have brought it here as it was off-topic.... scientism = claim of scientific method being universal and the only valid method of knowledge.

  followers of scientism always demand scientific evidence to anything.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Oh you don't ignore me you insult me at every opportunity. (Like when you appeared on my thread simply to call it "science fiction" and add nothing of substance) So it's not as if you don't post to me, you simply fail to engage on anything of substance.

  It's clear the reason you don't answer my reasonably expressed posts and questions is simply because you have not got any good response to give.

  On this thread you asked if there was any way of arriving at knowledge except scientific method. I explained that there was in the clearest terms possible with examples (such as history) which you ignored. On this thread you have alternated bizarrely between saying you are unaware of any real knowledge outside science (and could anyone point it out) and insisting that you accept other kinds of knowledge and anyone who says otherwise is misrepresenting you. So which is it? I doesn't look like you even know your own mind on the subject. Which is apparently no barrier to you lambasting others for their more thoughtful contributions on the subject.
• 
  16

  Potential New Article for JWFacts: Iglesia Ni Cristo

  by ILoveTTATT2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  paul has allowed me to write up two articles for jwfacts: iglesia ni cristo, and why russell was not a mason.here is my iglesia ni cristo article.

  “we believe that there is only one true god, the father, and no one else besides him”.

  thus, faith alone is not enough.. about baptism.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Interesting, but I leaves me with a lot of questions:

  1. Are there members outside the Philippines? Where and how many? Any in the U.K. For example.

  2. Have JWs and the Iglesia ever discussed or acknowledged each other in literature or otherwise?

  3. How did they arrive at 1914, with the same WT chronology or another method?

  4. When was their best period of growth? JW/BS have been around since nineteenth century, but their growth before 1945 was slow. Is it similar for the Iglesia.

  5. What is the proper short way of referring to them? Iglesia?

  6. What Bible translation do they use? Since the NWT would probably fit their needs better than mainstream translations.

  7. Are they still growing or in decline?

  8. Have they received support or persecution from the government?

  9. Do they have a Memorial celebration?

  10. How does their structure compare with JWs? Elders, circuit overseers, governing body, assemblies, congregations?

  11. Do they preach and how?

  12. Do they use Jehovah's name or say it is important?

  13. Do they teach a paradise?

  14. Do they say the "end is near" now or have any prophecy to back it up?

  15. Are they creationists? Young earth or old earth?

  16. What's thier views on sex and homosexuality?

  17. Is there a big community of former members?

  18. Any good books on the subject by former members or academics?

  19. How many numbers are these questions going to go up to?

  20. What prompted your interest in the subject?

  Maybe you answered some of these already. I only skimmed the material and these questions occurred to me. I realise the group seems a bit obscure and the answers to these questions would probably take some research. I just lay them down as the sorts of questions that occur to me when reading your information.
• 
  147

  Scientism - Nothing But a Childish Insult?

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it is not uncommon for theists to accuse rational people on this forum of "scientism".. in my opinion it is nothing but a cheap shot from those who know they lack evidence for their beliefs.

  if something like "scientism" actually does exist then i have never encountered it.. here is part of an exchange from another thread - i have brought it here as it was off-topic.... scientism = claim of scientific method being universal and the only valid method of knowledge.

  followers of scientism always demand scientific evidence to anything.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  And you shut down dialogue by ignoring relevant responses and questions, instead simply labelling people liars, ignorant and insincere, scattergun fashion, in place of actual responses on substance. My (reasonably stated) question above conspicuously awaits a response, while you're busy lambasting others.
• 
  182

  Words for the Day; please share

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  greetings, word lovers:.

  in my job, i work with words and wrangle them into shape, well, in a manner of speaking.

  one word might be mistaken for another, a word with either a similar or identical sound.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Mumpsimus
• 
  31

  UK Memorial attendances up this year?!

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my congregation had around 25 more people at the memorial last night than last year, and the two other congregations i have family in all experienced a similar increase in about 25 more people present.

  umm, i'm surprised, having thought this year would see a memorial decline again.

  and i'm kind of disappointed..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  I think it was down slightly in my hall. Maybe about 90 or so down from over 100. They didn't announce the local attendance as they sometimes do. But it was somewhat amusing that the speaker stated worldwide attendance last year was 200,000,000 instead of 20,000,000. He said it twice and said it was impressive. Two hundred million would be pretty impressive indeed!
• 
  37

  Was it just me or was something different about the memorial last night?

  by kpop in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this was the first memorial that i declined to do any work for the memorial.

  i was assigned as a parking attendant after getting downgraded from doing the sound and had no intention of doing either task but i had to attend for my family and continuation of my fade.

  i sat there last night listening to the talk and couldn't help but shake my head as my brain attempted to process the bs.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Yes, they had pictures on a screen during the talk. A bit strange. Otherwise I liked it.
• 
  51

  To those taking a stand and not attending the Memorial tonight

  by doubtfull1799 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i salute you.

  many of you, like me, are probably under enormous emotional pressure, whether from a lingering false sense of guilt from your indoctrination, whether from "invitations," and assumptions that you'll naturally be coming, or whether from outright emotional blackmail, even begging and pleading.

  i am thinking of you whoever you are, all of you, even though i don't know you in person.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  I took a seat and attended.
• 
  147

  Scientism - Nothing But a Childish Insult?

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it is not uncommon for theists to accuse rational people on this forum of "scientism".. in my opinion it is nothing but a cheap shot from those who know they lack evidence for their beliefs.

  if something like "scientism" actually does exist then i have never encountered it.. here is part of an exchange from another thread - i have brought it here as it was off-topic.... scientism = claim of scientific method being universal and the only valid method of knowledge.

  followers of scientism always demand scientific evidence to anything.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  So basically just maths then?

  Does history count as knowledge? For example.
• 
  3

  US Holocaust Memorial Museum Statement: JW's in Russia

  by darkspilver in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  fyi.

  april 07, 2017. united states holocaust memorial museum expresses deep concern over treatment of jehovah’s witnesses in russia.

  https://www.ushmm.org/information/press/press-releases/museum-statement-on-jehovahs-witnesses-in-russia.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Good for them.
• 
  147

  Scientism - Nothing But a Childish Insult?

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it is not uncommon for theists to accuse rational people on this forum of "scientism".. in my opinion it is nothing but a cheap shot from those who know they lack evidence for their beliefs.

  if something like "scientism" actually does exist then i have never encountered it.. here is part of an exchange from another thread - i have brought it here as it was off-topic.... scientism = claim of scientific method being universal and the only valid method of knowledge.

  followers of scientism always demand scientific evidence to anything.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  Saethydd thanks for an actual response. You've largely opted for the "they are not real knowledge" option. Apart from sociology, which describe as a science. I think you could only really maintain that sociology is a science by stripping out many qualitative approaches that are commonly viewed as being key parts of sociology: discourse analysis, semiotics, ethnography, action research and so on. Sociology isn't a branch of psychology. "Margin of error" in sociology is a term that's only applicable to some quantitative approaches of the discipline.

  The problem with the proposition that science offers "knowledge" whereas other disciplines only deliver "beliefs" is twofold. On the one hand it ignores the fact that science is empirical and is therefore based on inductive reasoning. And inductive reasoning cannot deliver definitive "knowledge" since its propositions are always provisional and by definition vulnerable to future disconfirmation. The other problem is the idea that different subjective approaches to knowledge don't count as knowledge presents an impoverished and unworkable view of the world.

  Newtonian physics may be wrong in some particulars for example, but in many practical situations we'd be glad to use it rather than guessing.

  Similarly history may not always deliver reliable results, but in the face of Holocaust deniers we'd be glad to rely on its approach to knowledge than abandon any sort of knowledge about the past.

  Science and non-science approaches to knowledge turn out not to be all that different after all. They all rely on unprovable assumptions (in the case of science, induction), they are all subject to theoretical developments, and they are all only as good as the practical uses to which they can be put.