Freethought & Rationalism Archive

crownboy · 11-25-2002, 05:16 PM

Hey, JanH, good to see you posting over here at IIDB

. To the JW leadership, this poster is on par with the world's worst criminals, not because he has actually done anything wrong (that I know of

), but because he has been an outspoken critic and exposer of the religion for years. Absolutely no dissention is allowed as a JW.

I am also a person who grew up in the JW religion, and I can indeed attest to the fact that the Creation book is of the usual dishonest, quote-mining creationist literature genre. The main person who they quote througout the book is a non scientist who they try to pass of as one (the guy barely got a high school diploma), and they even manage to misquote that guy sometimes! You can read a little about him at this talkorigns.org <a href="http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hitching.html" target="_blank">FAQ</a>.

Another good refutation and exposition of the Creation book can be found <a href="http://www.aetheronline.com/mario/Heretic/critical.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.

Indeed, this book book is an utter fraud, but sadly too many JW's (and creationists in general) are taken in by this dishonest nonsense.

gsx1138 · 11-25-2002, 08:03 PM

Ahhhh, the memories. I was raised a JW and remember having to study this book as a child. All of this is accepted as fact. I used to take this stuff seriously

My mother still does and even asks me if I'm going to come back to the Kingdom Hall again. As far as religions go the JW's are small and getting smaller everyday so I guess there is some good in the world.
edited to add: Hey JanH I haven't seen you in awhile. I miss your posts on Jehovahs-witness.com.

[ November 25, 2002: Message edited by: gsx1138 ]

Priapus · 11-26-2002, 08:21 AM

I was also raised a JW but I've always had problems with much of their dogma. Their whole 'don't question this information' is a huge tip-off that the're not being particularly honest, and now it seems outright humorous to me.

I have read the review Jan posted about the "Life How Did It Get Here" book, but I was wondering if anyone had information about their newer book "Creator Who Cares About You". I have read it and it seems to follow pretty much the same formula:

Step1: Misquote and use leading questions to confuse uneducated people. Step2: Use bad illustrations and baseless speculation that will only convince those already committed to theism that there is a god. Step3: Introduce the Watchtower dogma like there is no alternative.

It really only differs because it seems to rely quite heavily on an ammended "irreducibly complex" arguement. I would just really appreciate reading someone's critique of this publication so I can bring out some points to others if anyone knows where I can find one.

Thanks

Jan Haugland · 11-26-2002, 10:42 AM

Crownboy & gsx, good to see you here too. Small world

Priapus, I have read the newer "creator" book but never got around to actually writing anything on it. It is more vague, less "technical" (or should that be quasi-technical) and concentrates more on the usual feel-good arguments of believers.

scigirl · 11-26-2002, 12:08 PM

Jan Haugland, crownboy, gsx1138, Priapus, and anyone else I'm missing,

Welcome to Infidels!!

As a recovering catholic myself, I can relate to dogma flashbacks! Feel free to introduce yourself here at the <a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=43" target="_blank">Welcome Forum</a>.

scigirl

11-26-2002, 12:19 PM

The other day my brother answered my door and was given a copy of The Watchtower: Announcing Jehova's Kingdom.

The cover says "Comfort in a Troubled World" and shows a smiling woman looking at a nuclear blast.

I swear, these people are nuts.

KC · 11-26-2002, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Anderson:
A friend of mine recently gave me this book called, "Life- How did it get here? By Evolution or by Creation?" (long title)

So I've been reading through some of it, trying to keep an open mind (though it is published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society), and I've been sorely dissapointed. I'm about 5 pages in so far.

The UC Berkeley Genetics Dept, in the 1970's, used a quote (as I recall, it was the idea of a plane arising randomly from a junkyard) from this book for an exam question for their General Genetics course. The question was, 'Based upon what you have learned about genetics and evolution this quarter, what is wrong with the above quote?"

Cheers,

KC

Sunfair · 11-26-2002, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by atheist_in_foxhole:
The other day my brother answered my door and was given a copy of The Watchtower: Announcing Jehova's Kingdom.

The cover says "Comfort in a Troubled World" and shows a smiling woman looking at a nuclear blast.

I swear, these people are nuts.

I'm sorry, but that really cracked me up. Does anybody have a picture of that?

Jan Haugland · 11-26-2002, 01:32 PM

Thanks for the welcome scigirl. I posted a brief intro

11-26-2002, 02:17 PM

In addition to what appears to be a nuclear blast, there's also a terrorist with a gun and the smoking remnants of a skyscraper (WTC?).

But the JW woman is still grinning from ear to ear. After all, Jehova is watching over her!

11-25-2002, 08:03 PM	#22
gsx1138 Regular Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Bremerton, Washington Posts: 379	Ahhhh, the memories. I was raised a JW and remember having to study this book as a child. All of this is accepted as fact. I used to take this stuff seriously My mother still does and even asks me if I'm going to come back to the Kingdom Hall again. As far as religions go the JW's are small and getting smaller everyday so I guess there is some good in the world. edited to add: Hey JanH I haven't seen you in awhile. I miss your posts on Jehovahs-witness.com. [ November 25, 2002: Message edited by: gsx1138 ]</p>

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

11-25-2002, 05:16 PM	#21
crownboy Regular Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: NYC, New York Posts: 114	Hey, JanH, good to see you posting over here at IIDB . To the JW leadership, this poster is on par with the world's worst criminals, not because he has actually done anything wrong (that I know of ), but because he has been an outspoken critic and exposer of the religion for years. Absolutely no dissention is allowed as a JW. I am also a person who grew up in the JW religion, and I can indeed attest to the fact that the Creation book is of the usual dishonest, quote-mining creationist literature genre. The main person who they quote througout the book is a non scientist who they try to pass of as one (the guy barely got a high school diploma), and they even manage to misquote that guy sometimes! You can read a little about him at this talkorigns.org <a href="http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hitching.html" target="_blank">FAQ</a>. Another good refutation and exposition of the Creation book can be found <a href="http://www.aetheronline.com/mario/Heretic/critical.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. Indeed, this book book is an utter fraud, but sadly too many JW's (and creationists in general) are taken in by this dishonest nonsense.

11-26-2002, 08:21 AM	#23
Priapus Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Springfield MO Posts: 25	I was also raised a JW but I've always had problems with much of their dogma. Their whole 'don't question this information' is a huge tip-off that the're not being particularly honest, and now it seems outright humorous to me. I have read the review Jan posted about the "Life How Did It Get Here" book, but I was wondering if anyone had information about their newer book "Creator Who Cares About You". I have read it and it seems to follow pretty much the same formula: Step1: Misquote and use leading questions to confuse uneducated people. Step2: Use bad illustrations and baseless speculation that will only convince those already committed to theism that there is a god. Step3: Introduce the Watchtower dogma like there is no alternative. It really only differs because it seems to rely quite heavily on an ammended "irreducibly complex" arguement. I would just really appreciate reading someone's critique of this publication so I can bring out some points to others if anyone knows where I can find one. Thanks

11-26-2002, 10:42 AM	#24
Jan Haugland Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 70	Crownboy & gsx, good to see you here too. Small world Priapus, I have read the newer "creator" book but never got around to actually writing anything on it. It is more vague, less "technical" (or should that be quasi-technical) and concentrates more on the usual feel-good arguments of believers.

11-26-2002, 12:08 PM	#25
scigirl Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Seattle Posts: 4,261	Jan Haugland, crownboy, gsx1138, Priapus, and anyone else I'm missing, Welcome to Infidels!! As a recovering catholic myself, I can relate to dogma flashbacks! Feel free to introduce yourself here at the <a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=43" target="_blank">Welcome Forum</a>. scigirl

11-26-2002, 12:19 PM	#26
atheist_in_foxhole Guest Posts: n/a	The other day my brother answered my door and was given a copy of The Watchtower: Announcing Jehova's Kingdom. The cover says "Comfort in a Troubled World" and shows a smiling woman looking at a nuclear blast. I swear, these people are nuts.

11-26-2002, 01:32 PM	#29
Jan Haugland Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 70	Thanks for the welcome scigirl. I posted a brief intro

11-26-2002, 02:17 PM	#30
atheist_in_foxhole Guest Posts: n/a	In addition to what appears to be a nuclear blast, there's also a terrorist with a gun and the smoking remnants of a skyscraper (WTC?). But the JW woman is still grinning from ear to ear. After all, Jehova is watching over her!

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.