Posts by konceptual99

24

The Jehovah’s Witness bagged themselves a Big One when they got Professor Raj Kalaria, to speak about his belief

by Watchtower-Free in

uk scientist helps christian cult to promote creationism.

the jehovah’s witness bagged themselves a big one when they got professor raj kalaria, above, to speak about his belief in creationism in a new video posted online by the cult.. keralia is currently a deputy director of the newcastle centre for brain ageing and vitality, newcastle, and a professor of neuropathology at newcastle university, uk.. when ex-jehovah’s witness lloyd evans, who runs jwsurvey, discovered that an april 2016 jw broadcasting episode featured keralia, he decided to:.

reach out to newcastle university to find out whether it endorses the academic’s stance on evolution, and found myself in a rather frustrating email exchange with helen rae, the media relations manager at the university’s faculty of medical sciences .. after much to-ing and fro-ing, an official statement was finally forthcoming ….

konceptual99

What is incredibly frustrating about content like this is that there is zero detail on exactly what it was that changed the minds of these people. What aspect of their research demonstrated to them that the majority view was flawed and the creation narrative had merit? Have they found something that debunked the debunked or have they simply fallen into the same traps countless others have?

I respect the view that perhaps some things could be perceived to be too complex to evolve and that one may not accept the hypothesis or theories associated with that specific subject. The question you have to ask, however, is how that individual subject fits in with the rest of the narrative. If that one small aspect of science causes you to consider an intelligent designer then what are the implications? How does that fit with the rest of science? How does it fit with what one observes about humanity? Are you going to believe in some fairly nebulous concept of an intelligent designer with little influence now or are you going to conclude that there is a God who genuinely cares about people and is about to prove it by killing billions of them so a limited few can cuddle lions?

I really want to know what the slam dunk proof that evolution is completely wrong is. I really want to know why it's not plastered all over the JW.ORG website as a massive middle finger to entire scientific community. It might be the one thing that reverses my complete loss of faith and belief.

18

Todays WT about young people not following the bad example of their parents

by konceptual99 in

so the wt today had some paragraphs that told young people they could make their own stand for da troof.... 2 since we live in a fierce, loveless world, it is no surprise that many children have to grow up without the benefit of loving, protective parents.

(2 tim.

3:1-5) many christians today come from painful family backgrounds, but they have built close friendships with jehovah.

konceptual99

Thanks George. I'd not thought to check there. I did think there was something more recent but must be mistaken

18

Todays WT about young people not following the bad example of their parents

by konceptual99 in

so the wt today had some paragraphs that told young people they could make their own stand for da troof.... 2 since we live in a fierce, loveless world, it is no surprise that many children have to grow up without the benefit of loving, protective parents.

(2 tim.

3:1-5) many christians today come from painful family backgrounds, but they have built close friendships with jehovah.

konceptual99

Good comments.

I was wanting to try and contrast specifically with what the org has said about the death of children at the big A but can't find the reference. I am sure is there that says something about Jehovah being able to see into their hearts and knowing they will be evil when they grow up.

20

Any here who didn't rebel as a teenager and were a goody two shoes instead?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

when i was a teenager in the borg i was a dyed in the wool, goody two shoes, squeaky clean,"spiritual " sister.

alot of my peers around me were rebelling and going off the rails but not me.

i was constantly praised for this and even felt a little smug about it ha!.

konceptual99

I was pretty good. I got drunk, listened to whatever music I wanted and mucked about but never smoked or had sex. I never pioneered but was pretty serious about da troof. My dad was an elder and I did think about the impact actions I may do would have on him.

Even though I think I took it all way too seriously and could have got away with a lot more, I am also grateful that I didn't get into real trouble, perhaps with getting too serious too quickly with the wrong girl, getting into drugs or ending up doing something that hurt someone else or was criminal.

I did end up getting married to a real gem of a lady who remains my best friend and to a certain extent have da troof to thank for that.

Do I wish I saw TTATT much earlier? Of course. But I am happy that being good early on has not meant a lot of pain and getting hitched to the wrong person. Naturally it's impossible to say what could have been but aside from the pain of trying to extricate myself from the WT I can't complain.

18

Todays WT about young people not following the bad example of their parents

by konceptual99 in

so the wt today had some paragraphs that told young people they could make their own stand for da troof.... 2 since we live in a fierce, loveless world, it is no surprise that many children have to grow up without the benefit of loving, protective parents.

(2 tim.

3:1-5) many christians today come from painful family backgrounds, but they have built close friendships with jehovah.

konceptual99

So the WT today had some paragraphs that told young people they could make their own stand for da troof...

2 Since we live in a fierce, loveless world, it is no surprise that many children have to grow up without the benefit of loving, protective parents. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) Many Christians today come from painful family backgrounds, but they have built close friendships with Jehovah. Like Hezekiah, they show that a person’s past does not have to determine his future. God has dignified us with the gift of free will, and it is our privilege to use that gift to hold fast to Jehovah and to bring him honor and glory, as Hezekiah did.

So how does this compare to how Jehovah will treat millions of children at Armageddon?

I seem to recall there is something in the publications that says something along the lines of Jehovah knowing they are going to be like their parents, very similar "reasoning" used about the kids that got eaten by the bear.

Does anyone else recall this, or even better, have a reference? I've been looking but cannot find it.

17

The real reason so many witnesses end up here....

by stuckinarut2 in

why do so many witnesses end up coming to forums like this?.

no doubt it is because of the fact that the society disallows any form of sincere questioning of teachings or doctrines or history etc.... if there was open discussion allowed - free of repercussions and punishment, then no one would feel stifled.

if genuine concerns could be raised, then no one would feel smothered or unable to share thoughts... then in turn many would not leave.... but due to the high control, authoritarian culture the society has created, many feel trapped, and end up searching outside of official channels...and leaving the society.....

konceptual99

Why? If there is nothing true about the religion then there is no point.

17

The real reason so many witnesses end up here....

by stuckinarut2 in

why do so many witnesses end up coming to forums like this?.

no doubt it is because of the fact that the society disallows any form of sincere questioning of teachings or doctrines or history etc.... if there was open discussion allowed - free of repercussions and punishment, then no one would feel stifled.

if genuine concerns could be raised, then no one would feel smothered or unable to share thoughts... then in turn many would not leave.... but due to the high control, authoritarian culture the society has created, many feel trapped, and end up searching outside of official channels...and leaving the society.....

konceptual99

Exactly. Try and have a genuine debate on JWTalk and see where that gets you.

26

WTBTS vs. Islam

by kairos in

jw
friends

the articles and meeting parts have been missing something all along, as far as i can see.. jws are taught to demonize all 'worldly' ( not jws) organizations, individuals and religions as having no value only to be destroyed by god at 'harm-you-gettin'-( armageddon ).. why do they not mention islam?no scathing denouncements?.

the only publication i really remember, was the "mankind's search for god" book that touched on the beliefs and practices of muslims.. why do you think this is the case?.

konceptual99

Maybe so as not to draw attention to the fact that there is almost zero chance of any of the billion+ Muslim population of the world hearing da troof....

22

What do Muslims Really Think - UK Documentary

by cofty in

channel 4 have commissioned a study into attitudes among british muslims.. the documentary starts in an hour from now at 10pm.

if you watch it live or on 4od please share your thoughts.. unlike many other surveys of muslim opinion, which have predominantly been done by phone or online, icm used face-to-face, in-home research to question a representative sample of 1,000 muslims across great britain.

icm also used a “control sample” to compare what british muslims thought with the rest of the british population.. at the top-line level, the survey suggests that a mainstream british muslim majority have similar values and attitudes to the wider british public on issues such as support for british institutions and a feeling of belonging to britain.. but looking deeper into the results, a chasm develops between those muslims surveyed and the wider population on attitudes to liberal values on issues such as gender equality, homosexuality and issues relating to freedom of expression.

konceptual99

I generally agree with all you say BluesBrother but the issues with Islam is not purely a clash of cultures with the West. It's not all right wing extremism and left wing smugness. There is, as has been pointed out by LUHE, a major problem with different factions within Islam all thinking they are the best Muslims there is and resorting to violence to prove it.

In this country there is insufficient evidence of a real ground swell of opinion amongst Muslims that marginalises any form of extremism. This might be a problem of reporting in the mainstream media but I am no convinced this is that case.

Imagine what would happen if any Witness stood up and said they disagreed with (a) the WT stance on homosexuality and (b) that Jehovah was about to kill billions of people. Immediate DFing. You can wrap the truth up in as much cotton wool as you like but to remain a Witness there is only so far you go before you have to make a choice as to which side of the fence you stand.

The same is true with Islam. I commend any Muslim who speaks out against violence and intolerance but there is very little evidence of a small majority, let alone a vast majority, of Muslims in this country being prepared to take a stand that puts them in direct opposition to the core tenets of their religion. If they did they would become apostates - precisely the justification for Asad Shah's murder.

Violent, extremist enforcement of religious beliefs left Christianity some time ago because the majority stopped caring about the rules. Less people cared about enforcing social controls that reflected religious views on morality. This is not happening within the world of Islam just as it's not happening within the JW community. If no one was shunned for living together or having a different view on something then no one would bother being a Witness.

The world would be a better place if everyone bound by some religious concept of right and wrong just stopped caring about it.

22

What do Muslims Really Think - UK Documentary

by cofty in

channel 4 have commissioned a study into attitudes among british muslims.. the documentary starts in an hour from now at 10pm.

if you watch it live or on 4od please share your thoughts.. unlike many other surveys of muslim opinion, which have predominantly been done by phone or online, icm used face-to-face, in-home research to question a representative sample of 1,000 muslims across great britain.

icm also used a “control sample” to compare what british muslims thought with the rest of the british population.. at the top-line level, the survey suggests that a mainstream british muslim majority have similar values and attitudes to the wider british public on issues such as support for british institutions and a feeling of belonging to britain.. but looking deeper into the results, a chasm develops between those muslims surveyed and the wider population on attitudes to liberal values on issues such as gender equality, homosexuality and issues relating to freedom of expression.

konceptual99

The documentary reflects my experience of working with seemingly secular and reasonable Muslims. It's just like how as was as a Witness.

No issues are made about anything until the one thing that pushes a button such as homosexuality. As a Witness everything is fine and dandy until pushed on views on homosexuality. Despite trying to sweeten the pill with "it's the action not the person" blah blah blah the fundamental truth is that you cannot reconcile being a Witness with any kind of tolerance of homosexuality as that is what has been programmed into you.

Ultimately, most practising Muslims have exactly the same constraints to their tolerance. At some point their faith means they have to make a choice between accepting homosexuality or remaining loyal to the tenets of their faith. When pressed, every Muslim I have spoken to has had to accept their tolerance of homosexuality is relative.

When it comes to jihad, terrorism, violence and so on then, whilst it's fair to say there is further greying of the boundaries, when it comes down to a black and white, yes/no answer very few Muslims can condemn without question as the requirement to establish Islam at the cost of any who refuse to believe is written into the Koran.

The same is true when a Witness tries to explain the destruction of billions at Armageddon. However they try to sugar coat the pill with "it's all up to God", "we don't decide", "many will be resurrected" and so on, the facts are undeniable and cannot be mitigated by any Witness.

Witnesses and Muslims in our society are afforded the luxury of not really having to make black and white choices on these subjects right now. The real question is what happens when they are forced to make the choices, are forced to face up to the raw issues at hand raised by their faith. Then what? The outright shunning of any who do not meet the mark in a Witness world tells the real story. The fact that highly violent and oppressive regimes like ISIS are able to rise up and establish control in large areas suggests that the moderate voice is not the winner in a black and white world and that tells a story too.