Posts by Heaven

i recently enjoyed this series of yale lectures on youtube about the hebrew bible.. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plfbxb0kkaycq2hf6jlccdn6z47ysyxscw.

i really liked the woman doing them and she had a lot of knowledge.

it does seem quite rare to have such university lectures available.

Heaven

Thank you for sharing this cobweb... I will add it to my list for viewing.

I think it's fascinating to compare what we have been told about the Bible versus actual origins and history. Many Christians haven't even read the Bible. Most of us have been maneuvered through this book by the religions we were/are a part of.

One big truth for me was discovering that this book is really a compilation of different writings by different authors, written over a period of 1000+ years and that NOT ONE author ever met Jesus.

Another one is Bart Ehrman's work on the comparative analysis of the 4 gospels. These 4 books form a large part of the Christian belief system. They were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They were not written at the time the events occurred, but much later. And they contradict one another, so much so, that you come away with the conclusion that much of the foundation for the Christian religion is false.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNn7b_kz9dM

56

What TV shows were forbidden in your JW household?

by Funchback in

in the u.s., three's company was not allowed.

it was explained to me that it was an immoral show because a man and women lived together and no one was married.

the sister who gave this observation was a family friend and we were newbies to the religion.. at least i somehow managed to watch the benny hill show undetected..

Heaven

MarkofCane said: Happy Days, that was a great show, The Fonz, 'hey', My mom would say he was a man slut. lol

MoC... 'man slut' ... yep, this is exactly the reason we were forbidden to watch it.

Funny enough, we were ok to watch Star Trek (the original series).

56

What TV shows were forbidden in your JW household?

by Funchback in

in the u.s., three's company was not allowed.

it was explained to me that it was an immoral show because a man and women lived together and no one was married.

the sister who gave this observation was a family friend and we were newbies to the religion.. at least i somehow managed to watch the benny hill show undetected..

Heaven

Happy Days.

56

Why Do Intelligent People Believe in God?

by cantleave in

jw
friends

one of the most common thing thrown at atheists is - lots of intelligent people believe in god.

this darkmatter 2525's video is an excellent explanation as to why very logical people possess religious belief systems.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y201qzddzbg.

Heaven

I think many intelligent people believe because that is how they were raised and they have not yet been educated or had an experience that challenges that belief. For others, it is because belief offers them something that they have not found in the real world. For a certain time, belief can be comforting. But with no evidence to back it up, it is delusion and ultimately, creates disillusionment and distrust. I think it is difficult to go through life without something challenging your beliefs. For me, that began around the age of 10 due to the 1970s Ethiopian drought and famine.

Personally, I find it difficult to believe when what is claimed is not backed up by fact, evidence, or reality. To make a claim and then have something occur in opposition to that claim means, the claim is false. To continue to believe after this is intellectual dishonesty.

144

Got in a bad wreck.....uuugh

by brandnew in

jw
friends

just happy to be alive....can barely move ☺.. a girl who just got her license , and a new suv....thought it might be cool to pass the person in front of her....at a curve......on a two way road!!!!!😠😠😠.

very mad puppy.

Heaven

brandnew, so glad you weren't more seriously injured. You will be sore for some time. A former neighbour of mine had a bike accident years ago and had to have his knee rebuilt. He still walks with a bit of a limp and as he gets older, it gets more and more stiff.

Can your bike be repaired?

162

Do you still believe in God?

by FormerlySandL in

i never thought i would admit it, but i don't.

i might superstitiously have some kind of doubt but digging a bit deeper in my heart i really don't believe in god.

as a human i could never just sit and watch people be tortured, live years of abuse, suffer from illness and disabilities and all the other awful things people have to endure day after day without doing something about it.

Heaven

Acts said: Well Heaven, as any child who cries at having a painful operation comes to realise, there is usually a reason.
What if the child were determined to hate his father who sent him for chemo? Even a child could understand that, in the longer term, there was a good reason.
There's a reason for our Heavenly Father's inaction too, but it seems people would rather enjoy their hatred than consider they might be mistaken.

Willful negligence is not a painful operation. It is willingly and completely ignoring the problem. The one sure way to make a problem worse is to take no action and just ignore it. The JWs do this with their 'Pray More + Wait on Jehovah' advice. This a formula for failure.

Acts said: I know its painful to revisit the seat of disppointment - but children manage it. They are made upset, they cry, they go into a lonely corner,... but they don't build a barrier, they don't say "never again". They wipe their eyes, they try again - perhaps because they're too young and vulnerable and they don't know how to build a shell for themselves - and there is too much in the world that they feel is out there for them to waste blocking out what they do not yet understand. Its only as we get stronger that we feel we can isolate ourselves - but that strength keeps out many things.

Being left without the necessities of life is not a 'seat of disappointment' nor a painful operation. One does not get 'stronger' in this scenario, but weaker and sicker until one dies. This is a sure fire recipe for an agonizingly tortuous death.

The 'Heavenly Father', as described in the Bible, is not an example of ethics or morals to emulate. He pitted 2 brothers against one another. He setup a system of perpetuating the human species via incest. He encouraged the murder of children. He agrees with slavery. He demands a raped woman must marry her rapist. He created evil. He is the god of war.

His authorities justify their actions using the factually inaccurate, contradictory Bible as a foundation for their made up doctrines and dogma. They perpetuate lies and browbeating, particularly the one that if we don't believe the way they believe, we will be judged and, if found unworthy, punished. In the ancient past, punishment was doled out in a number of gruesomely, horrific ways. In our modern world, some religions still perform these kinds of barbaric rituals. For others, it's the threat of torture in the afterworld that is made to coerce people into believing, without any evidence, lies as truth. For JWs, it is the threat of not living forever on paradise Earth. Some religions, like the JWs, coerce people into performing tasks for their organization without compensation. Religion is abuse, oppression, and slavery. They get this from God's word, the Bible. To espouse these virtues is psychopathic and evil.

162

Do you still believe in God?

by FormerlySandL in

i never thought i would admit it, but i don't.

i might superstitiously have some kind of doubt but digging a bit deeper in my heart i really don't believe in god.

as a human i could never just sit and watch people be tortured, live years of abuse, suffer from illness and disabilities and all the other awful things people have to endure day after day without doing something about it.

Heaven

The issue of theodicy was the beginning of the end of God for me. I was 10 and the Ethiopian drought and famine of the 1970s was raging, killing 100s of thousands of people. Apparently God hates Ethiopia as this area seems to be regularly hit with this kind of suffering.

Religions claim God is loving and just but words are only words. Reality does not measure up to these claims. It is deeds, behaviours, and actions that speak as do the lack of these. There is no normal human father on the face of this Earth that would not do all within his power to see that his children are cared for, that they receive the necessities of life - nourishment, love, shelter, clothing, medical care, education, and support. Any father who does not look after his children when he has the power to do so is negligent and delinquent - simply put, evil.

This quote by Sam Harris is worth considering:

12

The soldiers on guard at Jesus tomb didn't become believers, why in the hell not?

by James Mixon in

you are on guard at jesus sealed tomb.

all of a sudden a great earthquake occurs and an angel.

wearing a dazzling outfit descends from above like lightning and this angel single handedly rolls away.

Heaven

Ask yourself what is more feasible? That the laws of nature are suspended or someone greatly exaggerated this story.

Jesus' tomb was empty. It is quite likely that his family had his body removed before the 3 days was up so that the tomb and body would not be desecrated. The guards probably helped them. There was no 'dazzling angel'.