Disillusioned JW

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Posts by Disillusioned JW

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  20

  Would the world be a better place without religion?

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know what you’re gonna say---------everyone has a right to believe whatever they want.. but the question above is not about everyone’s right to believe whatever.. the question is very specific------will the world be a better place----without religion.

  think for a while what the world would be like without any religion.. no conflicts between islam and christianity.. no conflicts between different sects of christianity.

  (example; jehovah’s witnesses vs catholics).

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  Disillusioned JW

  If the world were to become without religion (the kind which claims someone and/or someone supernatural exists), without it being caused by coercion, and as long there were effective checks and balances preventing the existence of totalitarian states/governments, then the world would be a better place. Today some oppressive highly controlling secular ideologies exist which are like religions and which some call secular religions. One is communism, at least in the form practiced in North Korea, in the form that existed in the former U.S.S.R., and perhaps in the form which exists in the People's Republic of China (excluding Taiwan). Those kinds of secular 'religions' would also need to cease to exist if the world were to become entirely without religion and become a better place as a result.

  But there are other ideologies (and/or philosophies or worldviews) which are sometimes called religions which are not dangerous and not controlling, which provide a net benefit to human society. One of those is Secular Humanism, which is now a days sometimes simply called Humanism. But I think even Humanism may have some flaws (at least, some of its ideas are too liberally permissive for me [and some of its ideas in my mind show a lack of appreciation for certain living entities, such as human embryos and livestock, for me for me to feel fully comfortable with Humanism]). [There are however some who call themselves Humanists (or who at least identify with much of the ideas of Humanism) who are pro-life and who are for animal rights; see https://www.prolifehumanists.org/ and https://thehumanist.com/commentary/should-humanism-extend-to-animal-rights/ .]
  

  I think it would be beneficial if institutions continued to exist which teach and promote morals and ethics, provided they don't teach supernaturalism, and provided they encourage critical thinking instead of blindly accepting dogmas. Such institutions could provide parents with information to assist in raising their children to be good, moral, ethical, and sensible people. Such institutions could also help prevent the rising into existence of evil totalitarian governments. Such institutions could also resist current evil totalitarian governments.
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  27

  Spiritually Weak Ones Are Bad Association according to the Governing Body

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after you read the words of jesus in mark 2: 17, you will see that the contrast between the teachings of jesus and the governing body.. .

  you clearly read what's written in the bible, but the society is always twisting and bending scriptures to their benefit.

  here is stephen lett talking about ''spiritually weak'' members and twisting jesus's words teaching on sinners:.

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  Disillusioned JW

  Although 1 Corinthians 15:33 is in the context of those who denied the resurrection I think the verse also rightly applies in a broader sense. That is partly because Paul was quoting a pagan (non-Christian) Greek poet (Menander) when Paul said spoke of bad associations spoiling useful habits. Menander obviously did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, yet he nonetheless wrote of the danger of bad associations.
  

  I think it is very sensible for people to limit their association with those who have much lower standards of morality (and other behaviors) than ourselves. That is especially the case if those with lower standards than us are promoting the lower standards to us.
  

  Likewise, associating greatly with those who are frequently deceptive in their speech (and/or in their writings, including in online blog posts) is dangerous since listening to what they say and /or reading what they write can put us at risk of becoming deceived (and of making bad choices) if we are not very careful.

  It is however good to occasionally listen to those who say (and/or write) things that we currently disagree with, for they might be right in some of those matters. We should use discernment.
  

  In a number of ways, even people within a congregation of a religion which we might think is the correct religion, there can be people who to varying degrees are bad associations. Likewise bad associations can exist in completely nonreligious organizations. Some who are not members of any organization can also be risky to associate with.
  
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  8

  Its only been two months and the Biden admin is falling apart and so is the country

  by mickbobcat in

  1. social
  2. current

  in two months we have a border crisis and president house plant can not even walk up a set of stairs.

  good god we are in trouble.

  thank you libtards.

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  Disillusioned JW

  The stairs the President fell on by the airplane are steeper (have less space to place ones shoes/feet upon) than the stairs in houses, and thus much easier to trip on. News footage has shown that a number of former USA President have also tripped on that kind of stairs.

  I see no evidence of Biden having dementia.
  

  I see no evidence that Kamala Harris was ever a call girl, though I do see evidence that she had an affair with a politician.
  
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  17

  Questions I have about the "Ministry School".

  by Pallbearer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember that jehovah's witnesses used to have a 2-hour, 2-part mid-week meeting which included a 1-hour "ministry school" followed by a 1-hour "service meeting".

  please correct me if i am wrong in any respect but to the best of my memory the ministry school was composed of 4 parts, as follows:.

  part 1: an "instruction talk".

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  Disillusioned JW

  When I was an active JW:

  • The # 3 talk was (or virtually was) a demonstration given by a sister who was assisted by another sister.
  • The #4 talk was virtually always a talk directly to the audience and given by a brother.

  Very shortly after I became baptized while a teenager I started being assigned # 4 talks. I stopped being an active JW before the "Christian Life and Ministry" meeting replaced the Theocratic Ministry School.
  
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  70

  Report Card : How’s President Biden Doing?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i give him an f for falling down on the job..

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  Disillusioned JW

  Magnum, I also do not the appreciate the derogatory remarks that are sometimes made by others. However, unlike you, I detest Trump (while acknowledging that he did some good things as President) - even before he became President, but especially after he began campaigning for the Presidential election of 2016.To me the USA Senate should have convicted Trump of the impeachment charges of incitement and then voted to bar him from all future high office in the USA federal government. To me Trump is largely dishonorable but Joe Biden is honorable. To me Trump is predominantly a liar and Biden is predominately someone who says that which he considers to be true. To me The Truth and being truthful are extremely important and I abhor it when people and organizations lie to me.

  Regarding Harris, when I saw her in the debates for the Democratic Party nomination for President I was impressed with a number of things she said. After it became apparent to me that Sanders would not win the nomination for President and that Warren would not become a VP nominee I then wanted Harris to become the Vice President of the USA. I was also very impressed by what Harris said in her Vice Presidential debate with Pence. That debate of hers showed me that she has a brilliant mind.
  

  I am thoroughly convinced that Biden is truly committed to fighting climate change and that he cares greatly about protecting our planet from the harms of climate change. I believe that Sanders probably convinced Biden of what is needed to fight climate change. I see Biden as being far more in favor of science and of applying scientific knowledge than Trump, including when the scientific knowledge is discouraging (such as how serious Covid-19 is and what needs to be done to fight it). Biden is also getting tough on China, contrary to what Trump said would be the case. [See https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/22/us-china-relations-bidens-team-talks-tough-on-china-.html and https://www.npr.org/2021/02/05/964581463/inside-the-biden-administrations-policy-on-china-and-taiwan .]
  
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  70

  Report Card : How’s President Biden Doing?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i give him an f for falling down on the job..

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  Disillusioned JW

  For over 10 years I voted for Green Party Candidates - especially for President. I noticed that Bernie Sanders in 2020 had a platform very much like the Green Party platforms of various years in this century so I voted for Bernie in the Democratic party primaries in 2016 and in 2020. Biden adopted much of Bernie's platform in regards to protecting the environment and promoting a conversion to green clean energy. After Biden won the Presidential nomination I noticed that the Democratic Party had embraced so much of Bernie's ideas and of the Green Party that I voted for Biden and decided to remain in the Democratic Party (instead of switching back to the Green Party after the election). Environmental issues are greatly important to me. I am very impressed with a number of policy actions of Biden. I am much happier with the Biden presidency than with the former Trump presidency.

  I also notice the following as a result of the Biden administration: that the S & P 500 stock market index reached an all-time high within the last two trading days (which is great for my 401-K retirement plan); my stock trading of green energy companies have me much richer in the past few months than I have ever been in my entire life (so much so that they made up for all my cumulative losses in stock/options trading prior to the presidential election of 2020); that Covid-19 vaccines are becoming rapidly available in USA; that on yesterday the US government reported a huge increase in employment (from payroll numbers reports) for last month; that the USA and Iran appear to be moving towards reaching a new deal regarding nuclear matters (or to having talks about that matter); that a lot of brilliant people (including Harris) are part of the Biden team; I approve of Biden's policy regarding mask wearing and social distancing as part of the effort to reduce the infection rate of Covid-19 and I notice that even per capital reported cases of the flu and the common cold are now lower than in recent prior years; that other developments I like are also happening.

  I am however concerned of the large number people very recently coming into the USA through the southern border of the USA.
  
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  7

  Not talking about Easter but shouldn't jw's be giving a public talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus this time of the year?

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after all we do know the date when this occurred unlike his birth.

  isn't this the foundation of the christian faith?

  and the biggest event in mankind's history?

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  Disillusioned JW

  In your mind does their annual Memorial talk qualify? They gave such a talk last Saturday.
  
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  28

  The Wwatchtower turning into a real laughing Stock

  by Overrated in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the years watchtower has turned into a real joke in the world scene.

  with the lawsuits, downsizing and decreasing numbers.

  what they use to be is gone and they will never recover the numbers they once had.

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  Disillusioned JW

  Sometimes I watch a portion of the video on JW Broadcasting of a GB member giving a talk and I notice how excessive the facial expressions and body language are and it gives me the impression he is an actor reading a talk that someone else wrote for him. On other times the words spoken by the GB member are not at all impressive either, in which case I think he wrote that talk he gave. I think the WT should go back to hiding the GB (at least some of them) from the public's eyes. I sometimes think that probably none of the articles in the WT literature are written by the GB (or at least not written by some of the GB) since it is hard for me to imagine that all of the GB members have enough writing skills and intelligence and education to write them.
  
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  8

  Suicide rates jump 50% amongst young people number one cause.

  by Yomama in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  social isolation.

  unloving shunning..

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  Disillusioned JW

  minimus, though possibly none of the following are the source to the claim of "Suicide rates jump 50% amongst young people number one cause" they do seem to have basically the same message. They are:

  - https://www.wsj.com/articles/youth-suicide-rate-rises-56-in-decade-cdc-says-11571284861

  - https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/suicides-homicides-rise-young-people-n1067786

  The NBC article says in the part the following;

  'No one knows exactly why the suicide rates are rising among the young. But experts have theories. Chief among them is the heavy use of social media among children, teens and young adults.

  Dr. Igor Galynker believes social media plays an important role, especially for girls. “It’s known that girls are bullied online more than boys,” said Galynker, a professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine and director of the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Suicide Research Laboratory in New York City.

  What’s more, studies have shown that the amount of screen time “is associated with increased rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation,” Galynker said.

  Bullying isn’t the only destructive factor, said Caroline Oppenheimer, a suicide researcher and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.

  “We know that the teenage brain is very sensitive to peer feedback and social valuation and now with social media you can check your social status 24/7: how many followers you have, how many comments your post has gotten and how many likes,” Oppenheimer said. “We know both girls and boys are heavily invested in monitoring social media. They get distressed when they don’t get a lot of likes or positive feedback.”

  Not all teens are harmed by negative feedback on social media, Oppenheimer said: “It’s the vulnerable ones who are very sensitive to social evaluation.” '

  - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/youth-suicide-rates-are-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s

  The PBS article says in part "Between 2000 and 2007, the suicide rate among youth ages 10 to 24 hovered around 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people. Then, the rate curved upward, reaching a rate of 10.6 deaths per 100,000 by 2017 — a 56-percent increase in less than two decades."
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  8

  Suicide rates jump 50% amongst young people number one cause.

  by Yomama in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  social isolation.

  unloving shunning..

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  Disillusioned JW

  The topic thread's title of 'Suicide rates jump 50% amongst young people number one cause" does not single out JWs, but instead sounds like a general news headline of articles I have read. I am thus approaching this thread from that broader topic, rather than one related spefically to the effects of shunning.

  I am puzzled why suicide rates have increased so dramatically among young people. Some articles seem to suggest that it is because so many young people today are non-religious and don't believe a god (any kind of god) exists, but I don't see why being non-religious and not believing a god exists would have that effect for so many people and lead to them committing suicide. Yes it means that they would not believe a god would come to their aid and solve their problems, but many seem to become so depressed from thinking that there is no purpose/meaning in life.

  For me, disbelief in the existence of God (or a god) is empowering and it means that if there was no predetermined purpose/meaning assigned to me by a god/creator, then it gives me the freedom to decide for myself what my purpose will be and what meaning I want to get out of life. For me that is a relief and a pleasant/nice idea.