Couple of clingers in my de-converting

[robvalue]

Nican: It is a sad fact that an awful lot of children are indoctrinated. By that I simply mean they are taught religious beliefs as fact rather than opinion, and are heavily discouraged from questioning them. I remember how you said JWs tend to own beliefs more, so perhaps their version is different, or milder. If you say you weren't indoctrinated, then I wouldn't presume to tell you otherwise. It was an assumption based on experience, and if it was wrong I apologize. When parents do indoctrinate (whether or not yours did) I think that at least most of the time they are doing what they think is right, they aren't willfully trying to mislead or harm their child. It's just that they themselves were most likely indoctrinated, so the cycle continues.

So I didn't mean to tell you that you were indoctrinated, apologies if I upset you. I was explaining what I thought most likely and asking for you to correct me if I'm wrong. It's a process of many degrees of course, not all indoctrination is the same. It can vary from very mild all the way up to violently enforced, and again if you were indoctrinated I wouldn't presume to tell you to what level. The fact that you are looking at your beliefs at all suggests a milder kind, if anything.

You are right, I am blunt in that I just try and state the facts as I see them, rather than sugar coating it. But I never mean to offend, and I'll happily change how I talk to you/others if it's causing any upset. My aim when talking to theists is to help them evaluate their beliefs (if they wish to) and I hope my matter-of-fact perspective may help with that.

Indeed, everyone is subject to all kinds of errors of thinking and I never mean to imply myself or other atheists don't make them. You can always assume that I am aware of this.

As for humans, I don't think they have improved things in general, I think they are the equivalent of a cancer to the planet. We are wrecking it, and have done untold damage to other forms of life. I would prefer we all died out as soon as possible. Humans have increased their own quality of life dramatically, but it comes at a cost. We get better, sometimes, at causing less harm while we are at it. I detest nuclear weapons and wish we didn't have any, same goes for guns. Our ability to create things has not always been tempered by an equal ability to see the dangers. However, I don't think any of this has anything to do with prophecy.