Posts by Disillusioned JW

41

Have you been vaccinated? Have you had any side effects?

by LoveUniHateExams in

jw
friends

hi all.. i'm 42 years old.

i have had two jabs of the oxford-astrazeneca vaccine.. after my first jab i experienced flu-like symptoms - shivering, wanted to lie down in a dark room, etc.. i experienced no side effects after my second shot.. how about you?.

how many jabs have you had?.

Disillusioned JW

I am now wondering if I should have avoided taking the Covid-19 vaccine (I took two doses of Moderna's mRNA style vaccine). That is because I have noticed a number of damaged looking blood vessels in my legs. This is damage that I never saw prior to taking the vaccine (at least if I ever did see similar damage in the past it eventually went away) and thus I now wonder if the vaccine was a contributing factor (though not the only factor, since I know some other things I did made it difficult for my legs). I prefer not to mention the things I did which made matters difficult for my legs, other than to say I have a job which requires me to stand the entire time I am working and some shoes I have been wearing for the prior two months have damaged heels.

When I took the first dose the needle prick was more painful than I expected. Within a couple of hours I developed soreness in my arm and it lasted for 24 hours. I never had soreness as intense as that from flu vaccines nor from other injections.

When I took the second dose the pain from needle prick was very mild (like what I expected the prick from the first dose would be like). I told the Dr./pharmacist (who injected me at a pharmacy inside Costco) that this injection was far less painful than the first. He said the needles used this time are different than some used before for the vaccine. I asked since that is the case, is this vaccine produced by a different manufacturer than the first one. He gave me a look of disapproval. Maybe he though I meant that maybe the vaccine was not really Moderna's this time. But what I meant was maybe Moderna had a third-party company fill the vaccine vials (or needles?) for them (or manufacture the vaccine on behalf of Moderna) and maybe that company was different than whichever company filled (or manufactured) the ones for my first dose. The pain in my arm that I experienced from the second dose was more painful than which I experienced from the first dose and the pain lasted 36 hours. I had both injections take place in the same arm.

Please watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sIWb9GTbbE and at least the first few minutes of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiwsv51Il4k (I didn't watch all of the latter video). For an opposing viewpoint please read https://www.aap.com.au/no-evidence-to-support-claim-mrna-vaccines-cause-clots/ .

20

Urgent Message from American Atheists regarding the need to get the Covid-19 vaccine!

by Disillusioned JW in

the following is an urgent email message (except i deleted mention of my name and links which might include information about me,) i received from american atheists regarding the need to get the covid-19 vaccine.. ".

for months, we've thought that vaccine rates have been incredibly strong among our community..

for example, a pew poll in march found that 90% of atheist respondents indicated they'd already received the first vaccine dose or would "definitely" or "probably" seek the shot..

Disillusioned JW

I am now wondering if I should have avoided taking the Covid-19 vaccine (Moderna's mRNA style vaccine). That is because I have noticed a number of damaged looking blood vessels in my legs. This is damage that I never saw prior to taking the vaccine and thus I now wonder if the vaccine was a contributing factor (though not the only factor, since I know some other things I did made it difficult for my legs).

11

Looking to learn

by kimmy in

sorry if i shouldn't be posting this, i am not jw however i have had past experiences with jw's and was learning a lot about the religion, in hopes to convert one day.

it all ended suddenly and i guess i feel guilty for not learning more, i would get scared at the thought of bible studies and discussions in case it brought back memories.

i was looking for any advice on the best ways i can find out more please.

Disillusioned JW

Hi kimmy, besides reading the information sources that the others mentioned (and considering the other counsel they gave), I also recommend reading the very old literature of the WT. Doing so can help you see how extensively the WT has taught false teachings. Most of the very old books and other very old literature can be read at http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/ .

I don't recommend letting a JW conduct a Bible study with you and I don't recommend attending meetings of the JWs. That is because WT led Bible studies would likely hinder you from thinking critically about the WT literature and its religion. (Some of the WT's literature even tells JWs to not think critically about what is taught in the WT literature; they discourage JWs from looking for possible flaws in the WT's teachings.) When reading quotes in the WT if you find yourself thinking the quote is accurate and not misleading (unless you already knew for certain the ideas were true before reading the WT literature), then I urge you to look up the sources of the quotes and to read the context in the sources. Very often the WT uses quotes in a very misleading and improper way, and very often their quotes leave out facts and theories (mentioned in the sources the quotes came from) which refute the claims the WT is making. I notice that a lot when the WT quotes scientists regarding the topic of evolution.

I also encourage you to to consider the possibility that much of the Bible's claims (especially claims about God and the supernatural) are false. I also encourage you to consider the possibility that no personal God/god exists (even if a deistic creator god exists). In regards to these matters I encourage you to read books written by atheistic scientists and ex-Christian atheists which present evidence and arguments against belief in Christianity, the Bible, and God. The following are some specific book recommendations in this regard.

- Thomas Paine's book (in three parts) called The Age of Reason (it is in the public domain and can be read online). His arguments for deism are outdated (at least from an atheistic scientific point of view), but most of his arguments against the Bible and Christianity are very good.

- Ingersoll the Magnificent: To which Has Been Added a Special Arrangement of Some Gems from Ingersoll for Inspiration, Wisdom, and Courage

- Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity (Revised & Expanded), by John W. Loftus, and please read other books written and edited by him which promote atheism and which show problems with Christianity and the Bible.

- God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist "... is a 2007 New York Times bestseller by scientist Victor J. Stenger ..."

- God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion by scientist Victor J. Stenger

- Sense and Goodness Without God: A Defense of Metaphysical Naturalism, by Richard Carrier who "is a philosopher and historian with a Ph.D. in ancient history"

- Humanism As A Philosophy (later called The Philosophy of Humanism). The Second Edition of that book, bearing the copyright date of 1949, can be read at https://archive.org/details/humanismasphilos00lamo .

If you are not convinced that biological evolution is a fact, then I encourage you to read scientific books and scientific articles by scientists which provide evidence for evolution. They include books which which disprove the specific arguments of creationists and of proponents of intelligent design.

The books are available at various public libraries. If your local library doesn't have the books, you can request library to obtain them from other libraries by interlibrary loan (such as through WorldCat.org).

33

What’s Your Prediction For Covid & Its Consequences?

by minimus in

jw
friends

will we close down again?

will we be masked forever?

will we be required to get vaccinated over and over again?

Disillusioned JW

Regarding one county in Oregon, USA, see Multnomah County officials reinstate mask mandate - OPB . One of the things it says the following. "The new mask mandate was announced Monday in a press conference with Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury. It is the first county in Oregon to require masks since the state mandate was lifted on June 30. ... Violators could face a warning or a fine up to a $1,000. Multnomah County joins a growing number of counties across the country requiring masks to stop the spread of the more contagious, more aggressive delta variant."

Regarding the entire state of Oregon see Gov. Kate Brown shares details about Oregon’s new indoor mask mandate as COVID hospitalizations break records: Watch - oregonlive.com and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown outlines details of new indoor mask mandate - OPB .

5

A suggestion to improve the site's search engine

by Disillusioned JW in

i wish the search engine of this site would gain the added feature of being able to search for exact phrases (such as by using quote marks around phrases).

that way i could find specific information on this site much more easily.

if a such a feature was available, then this site would be much more useful in finding relevant old posts..

Disillusioned JW

punkofnice, do you mean of liking or disliking entire threads, or of just the specific posts in the threads that they marked as "Like" or "Dislike"?

32

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 4-30-2017 WT Study (WHO IS LEADING) IN PARTS

by blondie in

jw
friends

blondie’s comments you will not hear at the april 30, 2017 wt study (february 2017) (who is leading).

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-february-2017/who-is-leading-gods-people-today/ .

excellent general website: www.jwfacts.com .

Disillusioned JW

smiddy3, when any Bible commentator (such as of 'Christendom', not just JWs) or any minister (or pastor, elder, priest, deacon, or preacher) of any church gives his/her/their explanation/interpretation of a prophecy in the Bible, does that mean all of them are prophesying and acting as a prophet? If it does, then how can people effectively teach the Bible's prophecies without putting themselves at risk of being a false prophet?

15

Crisis of Conscience Update Status

by blondie in

jw
friends

http://www.commentarypress.com/copyright/.

Disillusioned JW

The website at http://www.commentarypress.com/copyright/ redirects to https://nulifepress.com/copyright/ (maybe because Franz is no longer alive). Regarding the latter website my internet browser says "The owner of nulifepress.com has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website."

21

Millions now living will never die (orginally "may" never die) was the WTS lying

by blondie in

jw
friends

this was first said in 1918 and adjusted to "will never die" in 1920. of course, the wts taught that the anointed had to die to go to heaven; but there was no great crowd teaching then, so they were talking about all non-anointed people on earth.

the wts members were known as bible students then and had been expecting the end in 1914 and it was adjusted.

one date that was stressed at that time was 1925. so i think they idea was that people living in 1918 would be alive to see the end in 1925, which of course did not happen.

Disillusioned JW

Why does the illustration on the cover of the (paperback?) Millions Now Living Will Never Die book/booklet depict a butt naked man? That same illustration is on the cover of the first issue of the WT's "Golden Age" and "Consolation" magazines (see pages 88, 163, and 724 of the Proclaimers book and see http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/goldenage/ga1919.html ). A hardcover book, called Government, by Rutherford has a different butt naked man embossed on its cover (see http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/government/govtitles.html ). Why are such the case? Does it have something to do with the message of the resurrection or of becoming like the formerly perfect man Adam (according to Genesis)?

32

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 4-30-2017 WT Study (WHO IS LEADING) IN PARTS

by blondie in

jw
friends

blondie’s comments you will not hear at the april 30, 2017 wt study (february 2017) (who is leading).

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-february-2017/who-is-leading-gods-people-today/ .

excellent general website: www.jwfacts.com .

Disillusioned JW

I hope Blondie starts making posts to this site again.

32

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 4-30-2017 WT Study (WHO IS LEADING) IN PARTS

by blondie in

jw
friends

blondie’s comments you will not hear at the april 30, 2017 wt study (february 2017) (who is leading).

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-february-2017/who-is-leading-gods-people-today/ .

excellent general website: www.jwfacts.com .

Disillusioned JW

I think it is surprising that the WT study book called JEREMIAH on pages 166-167 says "God’s people today are not prophets", since the WT book (copyright in 2006) called JEHOVAH'S DAY on page 166 (in a caption) says 'From the early part of the 20th century down to our day, God's people have been "prophesying" '.