RE: Couple of clingers in my de-converting
May 7, 2015 at 9:28 pm
(This post was last modified: May 7, 2015 at 9:33 pm by Won2blv.)
(May 7, 2015 at 1:42 am)robvalue Wrote: 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.
You didn't offend me at all. I just believe that atheist can be the pot calling the kettle black sometimes. With you I don't find this as a huge problem because you actually engage with people.
(May 7, 2015 at 10:54 am)Aractus Wrote: This is the problem with policy action on climate change.
Climate scientist Judith Curry testified before the US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology just last month and said that the USA's ambitious goal to cut CO2 emissions by 28% by 2025 would only cool the planet by 0.03 degrees Celsius by 2100; and that if they reduce their emissions by 80% by 2050 it will only cool the planet by 0.1 degrees Celsius by 2100. The numbers she quoted are from here (well the first one is anyway).
http://youtu.be/rce5CeKOC0c
The comment she makes on cholesterol is 100% correct. There used to be a consensus that it was bad; it is in fact one of the most vital chemicals in the human body and is found in all of our living cells.
This is all interesting. I'll say what our politicians say, "I'm not a scientist." But one thing that you have made me more entrenched in believing is this, humans can skew things how they want. Really for any position. And as far the trinity thing, it would not make sense for what JW's believe to be lock in step with most religions. Because we believe most religions to be false and spread false religious ideas. So for me, that is something that would be a point for JW's, being in the minority that is. But I'm still pretty skeptical on what I believe at the moment... I am going to find out more on this climate change thing. It seems like some of your points are pretty valid but some of those links too, are set up by climate change deniers. So I want to read more into the context of the facts
