Couple of clingers in my de-converting

[Cato]

Really, there are other subjects that you could go on about that or more subjective, like the internet. An awesome tool that has connected the whole earth but also in my opinion has made humans more insular to beliefs that are not their own.

Religious indoctrination/brainwashing is the cause of the insularity you mention, not the internet.

[robvalue]

Right. Without indoctrination, you wouldn't be at all interested or worried about what the Bible has to say. It's just a book.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Really, there are other subjects that you could go on about that or more subjective, like the internet. An awesome tool that has connected the whole earth but also in my opinion has made humans more insular to beliefs that are not their own.

Religious indoctrination/brainwashing is the cause of the insularity you mention, not the internet.

... and the internet is counteracting that by helping nonbelievers share their views without fear of discrimination.

[Jericho]

Right. Without indoctrination, you wouldn't be at all interested or worried about what the Bible has to say. It's just a book.

A very intricate and fantastical fairy tale book, at that.

[Alex K]

It is true that the web makes it easier for people to select information channels which reinforce their existing beliefs. It also allows those with fringe beliefs to find like-minded individuals and groups. Make of that what you will...

[Won2blv]

Right. Without indoctrination, you wouldn't be at all interested or worried about what the Bible has to say. It's just a book.

Thanks again for being a rational person on these forums... you have to understand that from my point of view some atheist on these forums argue out of ignorance on these subjects as much as any bible thumper can about a subject like evolution. I lost count of the straw man arguments and red herrings that have been cast when I state my current beliefs. For me, to just say that the bible is just a book of fairy tales, myths, and lores is just an excuse for not knowing it or understanding it. And coming from the perspective of someone that has only read it with that presupposition, you're just not going to read it in an objective way. 

So, please humor me with this. Or is it humour where you're from  Lets suppose for the sake of argument that the bible from genesis 3 to revelation 22 is all about how mankind, with the nudging of satan, decided that they knew better than god and didn't need or trust him as their one and only sovereign ruler. And so now, mankind as a puppet of satan has tried for millennia to rule themselves. Trying out all sorts of governments. Slowly learning of new technology and science. Until it all has culminated to a point in history where it is so clearly about to crumble into disarray. Then that is when god steps in and undoes all the wrong that has been caused by satan and the humans that chose not to follow god as the one and only god and we all live happily ever after on a paradise earth. 

So that is a super short version of what I think almost every JW will tell you is the whole point of the bible. So some calculations were made and the guy who kickstarted JW's thought the end would come in 1914. In case you didn't notice, it didn't. But we don't venerate him as a prophet or anyone so special. But I really don't want to get caught up in the minutia... JW's believe that around 1914 satan was cast out of heaven and sent to earth where he is hot with anger knowing that his time is short. (Revelation 12:9) So no matter what the exact years was, we can see that in the last 100 years things have gone from bad to worse. And its all man made. I read a UN report about global warming and it summed up by saying that global warming would cause wars, food shortages, pestilences, etc. I know that we have experienced all of those things for years but scientist say that this could wipe humans off the earth.

And the cherry on top in the U.S. is that the religious right are in the fore front of denying climate change. This planet is like their welcome mat to heaven that you just wipe your feet on. But that goes back to another post where I mentioned the bible describes false religion as a prostitute that will eventually be destroyed by the worlds kingdoms. So one point for JW's right? We believe and hope for the day religion will be destroyed... just not ours  

[Aractus]

The world hasn't gotten worse in the last 100 years at all.

Watch this (the Earth's population will stabilise at 10 billion):

http://youtu.be/ezVk1ahRF78

And this:

http://youtu.be/BPt8ElTQMIg

Which is a visualisation of the ever increasing global wealth and health.

[Thumpalumpacus]

It's been my experience that the average atheist has a much better knowledge of the Bible than the average Christian.

This was backed up by a couple of studies in the last few years, if I remember correctly.

[KevinM1]

Meh, doomsaying is up there with prostitution on the list of humanity's most popular and long lasting professions.

Prophecies are written intentionally vague, often referencing things that humanity has recorded since we could record things.  Stuff falling from the skies, lakes of fire, destroyed cities, fields of the dead.  Christianity doesn't have the patent on talking about, or portending, such things.  And the thing about religion is that in order to make believers think it's right, it needs to show it can predict things.  That's religion 101.  Whatever a "I have god on my Facebook friends list" prophet says needs to happen.  So, they pick a place (sometimes described through generic metaphor), pick a time (almost always in metaphor), and some vanilla descriptions of humanity dying because we pissed off whatever god we're talking about.  And, naturally, only true believers survive in some manner.

And like the broken clock they are, sometimes things do kinda sorta if you squint and buy into whatever the prophet/preacher is saying match up to some of the criteria laid out in the intentionally vague prophecies.  And when that happens, those in charge jump up and yell, "See?!  Just like it says in the Bible/Qu'ran/Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual! <twitch, sweat, spittle>"  And you're supposed to feel both energized and afraid - energized because you think you have legitimate proof that your faith is correct, afraid because it means bad shit is coming down the pike - because you're taught to feel those things since the day of your birth.

But, it's all a lie.  By every metric, we're living in the safest, happiest era ever on our planet.  Yes, fracking, nuclear arsenals, and climate change included.  People are living longer than ever.  Despite idiotic soccer moms who give Jenny McCarthy way too much attention, a lot of preventable diseases are getting, for all intents and purposes, eradicated.  More people are literate than ever before.  Access to clean water and shelter is improving by leaps and bounds.  Access to information is spreading like wildfire thanks to the internet.  We're developing cheap prosthetics, and prosthetics that can send feeling back to the wearer.  This is our golden age, and so long as we're vigilant and stop people from wanting to dumb us down (vote Democrat in 2016), chances are things will get even better in the long run.

Moreover, the notions of the Christian god and satan simply don't hold up to scrutiny.  Like prophecies, they're intentionally vague, where the believer must fill in the gaps to make sense of it all.  That creates the 'personal' relationship with god.  You're literally talking, praying, believing in your own imaginary construct.  Why do I say that?  Because there are ~44,000 different sects of Christian, and they all differ on the fundamentals - the nature of the triune god, how god judges people and why, the nature of hell, and so on.  You're a JW.  We have at least one Catholic here, at least one Southern Baptist, and some others who could probably be safely labeled as non-denominational, and none of you have come up with a consistent, coherent description of the basic foundations of your religion.  You all believe in your version of god, which is different than anyone else's.  I bet that even within your own congregation/parish/whatever that you'll find disagreements among your brethren on the basics.

And even beyond that, god and satan are nonsensical.  You have an evil that god lets fuck around with his creation.  They fight and bicker, but the creator of all things seems content on just letting him be a prick.  Then again, god in his infinite wisdom, creates people that he would know are destined for hell, yet lets them live, die, and undergo eternal torture anyway.  And the idea that these two epic, divine powers actually give a shit about you, on this little mud ball that, universally speaking, is probably the size of, what, a proton?  Electron?  Is a very special and deranged kind of hubris.

So, no, we're not living in the midst of a prophecy.  Because prophecies aren't real, much like the Christian god, the Muslim god, the Hindu gods, etc.

[IATIA]

So, TLDR how can I feel confident that what is going on with humans is not a right on track of biblical prophecy but really just business as usual?

All prophecies are unpredictable.  One could make any vague prophecy and eventually circumstances will come about to suggest that it is coming true.  In the bible, the prophecy for the coming of the saviour said that he would be named Emmanuel and yet never was. Twisting and contorting facts to suggest that a prophecy has come true is the name of the game.  Even the Nostradamus prophecies have failed to predict anything.  They have only been able to vaguely and symbolically apply the 'prophecies' after the fact.  The earth is supposed to be destroyed by fire, think the Pompeians saw the "end of days"?