Posts by truth_b

30

How many here turned Athiest or did not and why??

by Witness 007 in

me i slowly came to see religion was a crutch we use to dream of a better "afterlife"....i feel half my life was wasted building an organisation that had no criminal mastermind behind it...just alot of mislead people looking for leadership.

if your still religious explain why..

truth_b_known

There can be no freedom of religion unless there is also freedom from religion.

30

How many here turned Athiest or did not and why??

by Witness 007 in

me i slowly came to see religion was a crutch we use to dream of a better "afterlife"....i feel half my life was wasted building an organisation that had no criminal mastermind behind it...just alot of mislead people looking for leadership.

if your still religious explain why..

truth_b_known

ag·nos·tic

/aɡˈnästik/

noun

a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

a·the·ist

/ˈāTHēəst/

noun

a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.

I follow several atheist YouTubers. The growing consensus among these atheists is to define an atheist as "a persons who does not find sufficient evidence to foster a belief in a god or gods." This is where I find myself. That is to say, "I do not find there is sufficient evidence that there is a god, but if someone finds evidence to the contrary I will have to accept it and adjust my thinking."

When I finally came to the conclusion that Jehovah's Witnesses are not the true religion I became an atheist in a heartbeat. One second I was a believer and the next I was not. I went right to antitheist. Not only did I not believe, I had a general dislike of all religion and actively put religion down. The problem with me was I became nihilistic and that generated a lot of suffering in me and, by me, a lot of suffering in those around me.

I started becoming religious, even Christian, again. However, it didn't take too long and I began to see right through all Judeo-Christian belief. I discovered that a large part of the Bible was myth. Even that which many believe is historical never happened. Not too mention I was disturbed with just how bloodthirsty YHWY is and David praying for YHWY to kill his enemies and grant him victory in battle was the final nail in the coffin for me.

It is hard to believe how many people, educated people, still believe the Jewish mythology of Israel being a special people. That at one time there was a nation of Israel that was enslaved by Egypt and that a man named Moses lead them to freedom after talking to a burning bush. That this nation wandered a desert wilderness for 40 years while making animal sacrifices to atone for their sins. Outside the Bible, there is no historical or archeological evidence that supports this. Even the existence of kings Saul and David are questioned.

If the Old Testament is all a manufactured myth to make a Canaanite tribe feel special after being conquered by the Persians, how can anyone believe in Jesus being the Messiah? Christianity's foundation is the fulfillment of a Jewish Old Testament prophecy. If that prophecy is a myth then Christianity is founded on a myth.

5

Best part from the bible even an atheist loves...could change the world (Ukraine.)

by Witness 007 in

as an atheist i now still love these comments better then anything in shakespeare.

(jesus) "return your sword to its place, for he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword....love your neighbour as yourself.

turn the other cheek.

truth_b_known

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal." - Dhammapada verse 5, Siddhartha Gautama (first Buddha) (483BCE - 400BCE)

13

Ants and Jehovah's Witnesses: The Elite Death Spiral

by Terry in

jw
friends

what creates an elite death spiral?claiming special privileges by virtue of having been selected among others french élite "selection, choice," "chosen person" define the term privilege.

“rights and priorities over and above others” advantage granted, special right or favor granted to a person or group, a right, immunity, benefit, or advantage enjoyed by a person or body of persons beyond the common advantages of other individuals"question: how are the privileges of the elite conferred and by what right are they exercised over others?special knowledge (insight into useful secrets and abilities unknown and unavailable to others).oracle: "a message from a god expressed by divine inspiration through a priest or priestess," in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event.prophet: "person who speaks for god; one who foretells, inspired preacher," "the function of a prophet; inspired utterance; the prediction of future events," test of a claim of special knowledge: what is it?.

conditions: 1. completeness: a. both parties must be honest b. both parties follow the rules2.

truth_b_known

"...If a Cult Religion loses members to Reality it is not counted as a Loss but as proof that prophecy is right: in the last days many will fall away..."

Wow! Talk about the truth about the Truth.

30

Jw's sending me invites and letters, I don't get it.

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

first off, i have made it real clear with jw's my thoughts on being a jw.

i'm out, there is no coming back.. second, i'm on their " do not call list" .. so why now all of a sudden my mailbox is getting bombed 💣 by their memorial invites and letters?.

don't they follow their do not call list?

truth_b_known

As i tore it up--unread--i pondered how much she spends on postage stamps.

In the U.S. we can write on the outside of a piece of mail received something like "Wrong Address - Return to Sender" and the US Postal Service delivers it back to the return address. I know they are using their local Kingdom Hall for the return address, but I still think it is a great opportunity.

On the front of the letter write "Wrong Address - Return to Sender".

On the back of the envelop you have a whole blank space to write whatever you want. For example -

"Google: Australian Royal Commission and Jehovah's Witnesses"

"This household does not accept mail from groups that protect child sexual abusers"

"108 years since 1914 and still no Armageddon"

"Can you explain an Overlapping Generation?"

"J F Rutherford told me religion is a snare and a racket"

"If the end is so close, why did you stop going to meetings for 2 years?"

"How many non-participating observers were with Jesus when he passed the wine & bread?"

21

The senseless ''non partakers'' Jesus Memorial

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

matthew 26: 18-20 .

18 he said: “go into the city to so-and-so and say to him, ‘the teacher says: “my appointed time is near; i will celebrate the passover with my disciples at your home.19 so the disciples did as jesus instructed them and prepared for the passover.20 when evening came, he was reclining at the table with the 12 disciples.. only jesus and his 12 disciples were present at the passover .if jesus wanted observers, he would of had some sit down at his last meal and requested that they be present that day and future passovers.

why does the wts feel that observers ( non partakers ) need to attend the yearly memorial?

truth_b_known

The ritual Jesus started, if he ever existed, and every ritual held thereafter never had persons present who we believers, but non-participants. Therefor Jehovah's Witnesses' Memorial is a new ritual that is based on Jesus' ritual, but not Jesus' ritual. It is a deviation and thus invalid.

35

Refuting the Alleged Evidence of Jesus' Resurrection

by truth_b_known in

in the past few months there have been a few debates on this site over alleged evidence of the resurrection of jesus.

this can be a hot topic as most would agree that without the resurrection of jesus there would be no christianity.

i am not so sure of that, but i am more sure that dr. gary habermas' minimal facts approach to the resurrection has no evidentiary basis.. here is a 22 minute video on the topic.

truth_b_known

Thanks for bringing my attention to Philo of Alexandria. Interesting. It looks like there were at least 2 sects of Christianity existing during the time of Paul writing the Epistles. One sect says the Jesus of the Gospels are an allegory to which Paul refutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7TEoA9ark

35

Refuting the Alleged Evidence of Jesus' Resurrection

by truth_b_known in

in the past few months there have been a few debates on this site over alleged evidence of the resurrection of jesus.

this can be a hot topic as most would agree that without the resurrection of jesus there would be no christianity.

i am not so sure of that, but i am more sure that dr. gary habermas' minimal facts approach to the resurrection has no evidentiary basis.. here is a 22 minute video on the topic.

truth_b_known

1. Roman historian Tacitus (Annals 15.44), c. 100AD.
Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome

[Tacitus wrote] at a time when Christians themselves had come to believe that Jesus had suffered under Pilate. There are three reasons for holding that Tacitus is here simply repeating what Christians had told him. First, he gives Pilate a title, procurator [without saying procurator of what! FRZ], which was current only from the second half of the first century. Had he consulted archives which recorded earlier events, he would surely have found Pilate there designated by his correct title, prefect. Second, Tacitus does not name the executed man Jesus, but uses the title Christ (Messiah) as if it were a proper name. But he could hardly have found in archives a statement such as “the Messiah was executed this morning.” Third, hostile to Christianity as he was, he was surely glad to accept from Christians their own view that Christianity was of recent origin, since the Roman authorities were prepared to tolerate only ancient cults. - G.A. Wells The Historical Evidence for Jesus; p.16

2. Jewish historian Josephus (Antiquities 18.3), c. 90AD.
Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man...a doer of wonderful works—a teacher. when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

No loyal Pharisee would say Jesus had been the Messiah.
Josephus did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah, i.e., as “the Christ.”
The text does not appear in earlier manuscripts of Antiquities of the Jews and is believed to be a forgery.

“Enough of the writings of the authors named in the foregoing list remains to form a library. Yet in this mass of Jewish and Pagan literature, aside from two forged passages in the works of a Jewish author, and two disputed passages in the works of Roman writers, there is to be found no mention of Jesus Christ.” John E. Remsburg, The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidence of His Existence

The writes referred to by Remsburg who lived during or within a century of 30CE -