Jehovah's Witnesses

[Full Circle]

Dude, as I read your post my heartbeat jumped, I started getting angry and all I could think of was this is child abuse! And people out there are doing this everyday to their kids...and then they wonder why we get so pissed off at their God and their teachings.

The very first time I posted to this website I asked how do you all quiet the inner turmoil? I'm glad to see you redirect it into something positive.

Shunning...Jesus H. Fucking Christ!

In the ordinary moral universe the good will do the best they can, the worst will do the worst they can, but if you want to make good people do wicked things, you need religion. - Steven Weinberg

[cjs]

Misanthropik, sorry for the shit you're going through. I don't know how people justify shunning their own family because of a disagreement. How they see that as moral or good instead of the cruelty it is, I don't know. I have a Pentecostal brother, and we know that we are each other's only sibling, and that this is more important than our religious belief or lack thereof. I can't imagine turning my back on my 16-year-old son or family members. And they say we atheists have no morals...

[morondog]

(02-02-2013 11:16 AM)cjs Wrote:  And they say we atheists have no morals...

Well, I don't got no *murals* - maybe just a misunderstanding over spelling ?

[Full Circle]

(02-02-2013 11:16 AM)cjs Wrote:  Misanthropik, sorry for the shit you're going through. I don't know how people justify shunning their own family because of a disagreement. How they see that as moral or good instead of the cruelty it is, I don't know. I have a Pentecostal brother, and we know that we are each other's only sibling, and that this is more important than our religious belief or lack thereof. I can't imagine turning my back on my 16-year-old son or family members. And they say we atheists have no morals...

I've read here frequently that atheists are accused of having no moral compass and yet here I am, leading a productive and loving life without the need for a celestial carrot or a stick to induce me to do so. Am I the only exception? Am I the opposite embodiment of the "No true Scotsman" argument (he is good so he really has never been a true atheist)? I assure you I am. From what I can gather on this forum I am simply the rule and not the exception. I just don't think they can see us well from so high up in their pulpits.

No morals...ha! While they go around shunning and guilt-tripping and turning their backs on their loved ones why don't they go ahead and kiss my ass.

Just venting a bit, Misanthropiks story just burns me, too close to home.

*edit

[cjs]

You're not the only godless one leading a productive life and staying (mostly) out of trouble, FC. I point this out to theist friends after they use, I think, the argument from utility, you know the one where they think that religion holds the thin line between civility and chaos because they are the arbiters of morality (you philosophy gurus correct me if I'm wrong on that argument type). This is the place where they say I just need to have faith and at that point I'm supposed to, even if I am not convinced of its truth, do the Pascal's wager deal, which to me is impossible.

But I digress. Misanthropik's story and your vent. I agree that if emotional abuse and shunning are what you have to endure, they do not make me want to be any part of it (aside from the whole lack of evidence thing).