Conversations With an Ex-Jehovah's Witness
Virushead Posts For Ex-JWSHumanize Yourself In Four Steps When Evangelists Objectify You
By The Atheist Geek | March 7, 2010
Want to know one thing that many atheists and ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses have in common? Dealing with aggressive evangelists who objectify us (or who want us to play our assigned role in their idealized conversion scenario). Whether they realize it or not, many evangelists tend to pigeonhole others into categories that are easy for them to handle. To them, we cease to be Jim, Rob, or Cindy. We become the generic angry atheist, the generic Witness who was hurt by the Elders, or whatever. And they’ll deal with everyone they’ve lumped in those categories in exactly the same way–even many people they’ve known all their life. This is one of the most annoying and even offensive aspects of aggressive evangelism. It insulates the proselytizer from the convert’s point of view, but makes it impossible for you to have a real conversation with them because they aren’t actually hearing you any more. No one likes to be objectified. How can you turn things around when your closest evangelist starts to objectify you?
Topics: Advice for Atheists, Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, XJW Advice | No Comments »
My Guilty Pleasure: The Babes Of “Charmed”
By The Atheist Geek | March 1, 2010
|
|
There were three geeky chick-power TV shows in the nineties: Xena, Buffy, and Charmed. Which was the best? Hell, you know it’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sorry Xena fans, I just couldn’t get into Xena’s whole killer Frisbee thing. Her war cry (“yee yee yee yee yee…”) just made me laugh the first few times I heard it. Then I wanted her to just stop already. But somewhere between Xena and Buffy, there was good ol’ Charmed. While Buffy ruled with dramatic story telling and Xena was fine if you needed the oil 
changed in your Dodge Caravan, Charmed was the hair twirling, bubble gum popping stepchild of girl-power TV. The stories were two dimensional, but it had Alyssa Milano, and she was neat to stare at. Rose McGowan approaches her level of hotness, but only when her legs at 100% power, like in the beginning of Planet Terror. And then there’s Holly Marie Combs… That’s all I have to say about her.
Hey, I know what you’re thinking: any show that starred three hotties couldn’t be all bad. And you’re right. It wasn’t all bad. In fact, Charmed was frikking hilarious. It wasn’t as hilarious as Knight Rider, but as you know by now, that’s just a physical impossibility.
Truth is that the show’s producers had a secret: they made me enjoy hating Charmed, and since hate is my Prozac, I just kept coming back for more. Ah, the memories. So you should watch it on TNT just like me, where Charmed will live forever. You’ll love hating it too.
Not sold yet? Here are some more reasons to watch Charmed.
Topics: Geek Entertainment, Geek Humor, Geek Review | No Comments »
News and Links for Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses for Haiti
By The Atheist Geek | February 26, 2010
NOTE: After a couple of blizzards during the move, we have finally gotten out of our old place. Thankfully, none of my in-laws came right out and suggested that Jehovah was against the move. (That would not have gone over well with me.) The computer is running now, so off we go!
ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses for Haiti
The recent and devastating earthquake in Haiti needs no introduction. We have all seen the heartbreaking and almost incomprehensible images in the news. I am here to tell you about a movement that is being organized by a number of former Jehovah’s Witnesses from around the world.
RUSSIA: Back to the future for Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Just weeks after Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed their literature as extremist, Jehovah’s Witnesses are encountering at least ten times the level of state harassment across the country as before the ban, their press secretary has estimated to Forum 18 News Service.
Faith complicates mom’s life-or-death decision
Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower Leaving Brooklyn Heights
After 100 years, the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is moving its headquarters out of Brooklyn Heights and up to Warwick, N.Y. “We have submitted a proposal to the Town of Warwick to build a complex there that we’re calling the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses,” Richard Devine told the Brooklyn Eagle Tuesday. “We have started the land use process there.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses and birthdays
This one might be of particular interest to less secular readers, but atheists can get something from it as well. The author is arguing against the Society’s reasoning on avoidance of birthday celebrations. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, this quote might be worth a look:
Without I as an outsider insisting that Jehovah’s Witnesses practise inflexible consistency, I wish they would present the whole context of the ancient statements before damning the innocent and community-building gatherings of others.
Has the Watchtower “Jumped The Shark”?
Hey, no giggling back there!
For those who need a refresher, here is the latest redefinition of “generation” from the 4/15/2010 WT:
NEW BODY OF ELDERS LETTER-JANUARY, 2010
Topics: Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, XJW News and Links | No Comments »
News and Links For Atheists: Ghost Hunting Technology
By The Atheist Geek | February 7, 2010
NOTE: I’ve been trying to move for the past week even while the East Coast has been dealing with an string of blizzards. Yeah, it sucks. And before that I was trying to get everything together for settlement on our place. That’s why I haven’t been posting much. Sorry about that. Too many problems hitting all once.
AUDIO: How Stuff Works-Ghost Hunting Technology
This podcast is told from a skeptic’s viewpoint. The link takes you right to the mp3.
Hear the rumble of Christian hypocrisy
The evangelist who says the Haiti earthquake is retribution for sin is at least true to his religion
That one comes from Richard Dawkins.
It’s idiotic to blame God, the devil, or anything other than geology for the Haitian earthquake.
On a related theme, we have one from Christopher Hitchens. Go Hitch!
Bowling for Atheists: Haiti Proves that Nonbelievers Care Too
On Friday, January 15, I received in email from Richard Dawkins explaining that his Executive Director Elizabeth Cornwell has organized a campaign to raise money on behalf of the victims of the Haitian earthquake-induced tragedy, and he wanted to know if the Skeptics Society would like to participate, which of course I unhesitatingly agreed. The campaign is called Non-Believers Giving Aid and is set up through PayPal. Richard Dawkins has generously offered to cover all the PayPal fees (up to $10,000) and the Skeptics Society got things started off with a bang with a $1000 donation. Within minutes of it’s launch on Saturday morning, tens of thousands of dollars started pouring in as members of the other participating groups (Sam Harris’ The Reason Project, The James Randi Educational Foundation, Atheist United, Atheist Alliance International, and many others) jumped in without hesitation. (All monies go to Doctors without Borders and the International Red Cross—you choose.)
Michael Shermer joins the fray, though on a more positive note. It’s almost as if skeptics can be nice and charitable too. Hmmm… If skepticism had it’s own four horsemen, Shermer would be one of them. (Hmmm. Can you guess who those four horsemen would be?)
Leaked climate change emails scientist ‘hid’ data flaws
A shame something like this had to happen. This is one of the reasons I and others find it so hard to believe the “factual” claims made by creationists and other hard core believers. They often use disinformation to try to bolster their claims. When people figure out a few of their misleading assertions, they start to doubt everything that comes from those sources and feel the need to check them. Some people skip right to the doubting.
As far as I know, the case for climate change is still plenty strong, but now those who don’t want to believe it will use these headlines as an affirmation. Most won’t even bother listening to the fact that life threatening climate changes are still a real concern to scientists and that this is a minor, isolated incident.
And now the antivaxxers’ humiliation is complete
This one’s by Phil Plait. Another candidate for the four horsemen of skepticism? Anyone, I know a few people who are hot on the “don’t get vaccinated” bandwagon. Hope they read this article. There are a lot of links in it to other sources, so this one kinda sums them up. Follow the links if you want more on this.
VIDEO: Loophole Allows Gays To Marry
No comment. You figure it out.
How sad that yet another medium has been given press approval. I could write a post on a different medium or phony psychic every week and never run out of material. This week’s entry into the never-ending cycle of mediums I predicted would be coming (see my post “ESP Boot Camp” of 23 Feb. 2009) is Rebecca Rosen. I will hopefully not catch all the flack I caught two weeks ago when the Internet press release I quoted from was taken down, making the points I tried to make un-verifiable. This time, you can read all about Mrs. Rosen here:
Why Atheists Don’t Turn to Religion When Faced with Death or Disaster
The notion that ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’ isn’t just mistaken, it’s bigoted and ugly; a denial of atheists’ humanity and the reality of our experience with death.
No, really. It’s true. Stop looking at me like that. Oh, just deal with it already!
Word salad lunacy Bible babble blah blah blah
I’ve often noticed a tendency for some people to host a whole gnarly syndrome of denialist symptoms: some people are creationists+HIV denialists+global warming denialists+ant-vaxers+whatever. They stand out in the crowd as hyper-intense paragons of idiocy; I often wonder how they get around at all, since the power of their disbelief is so strong that they probably deny their shoelaces as soon as they get up in the morning, yet at the same time they believe a magic man in the sky will soon make them float up into the air to a rapturous eternal congress of their fellow reality deniers.
I’ve found an amazing example of this syndrome. You’ll be able to recognize the problem from just the title of his blog post:
Creation is an indie movie about Charles Darwin.
Pink Ouija Board Targeting Young Girls Riles Critics – FOXNews.com
I’m not real big on Freethought Radio myself. It seems like more of an acquired taste to me. But they are interviewing Dawkins, which I’m always interested in.
Topics: Atheist News and Links, Secular Atheist | No Comments »
News And Links For Atheists: A God Delusion Video
By The Atheist Geek | January 7, 2010
VIDEO: A God Delusion Video
The God Fraud: Sam Harris responds to Karen Armstrong
Best-selling atheist author Sam Harris pushes back against Karen Armstrong's sympathetic take on religion.
Without God, Without Leader, Harlem Atheists Have Faith in Future
Once a month, Harlem atheists, along with a smattering of outerborough residents, gather at the Adam Clayton Powell State Building on 125th Street to discuss the ubiquitous role of religion in American society. While there’s a revolving door of participants, one constant is the meeting’s diversity: blacks, whites, Muslims, Christians, Jews, everyone is welcome.
Archbishop of Westminster criticises dogmatists
He told Radio 4's Sunday programme: "Public life is not a neutral place.Everybody comes with their set of values and religion has just as much right to be there as anybody else.
This one might be of interest to my ex-Witness readers.
Ditto.
Inferiority & Aggression: Why Do Some Believers Lash Out?
Austin is on a roll!
Passions over 'prosperity gospel': Was Jesus wealthy?
Each Christmas, Christians tell stories about the poor baby Jesus born in a lowly manger because there was no room in the inn.But the Rev. C. Thomas Anderson, senior pastor of the Living Word Bible Church in Mesa, Arizona, preaches a version of the Christmas story that says baby Jesus wasn't so poor after all.
How To Handle Criticism From Friends and Family
How Atheists Can Use Christianity
Christian Story of Jesus's Birth Is a Myth Born of Politics
I could go even further…
Topics: Atheist News and Links, Secular Atheist | No Comments »
Why Jehovah’s Witnesses Think They Have More Freedom Than You Do
By The Atheist Geek | December 31, 2009
|
|
People who are not Jehovah's Witnesses are free to make choices. We can go to church, become atheists (like yours truly), or celebrate any holiday we choose. We can read whatever we like, listen to any music we like, or watch any movie we like. All without fear that an Elder will tap us on the shoulder and haul us before a judicial committee. We can even use our own judgment without consulting a Watchtower Magazine for the Governing Body's take on every major decision we make. Jehovah's Witnesses can't claim any of that with a straight face. Not that it matters. Because they think they have more freedom than you do. Seriously. And they think they're the only ones capable of exercising that freedom fully. How can that be?
It's simple. To Jehovah's Witnesses, the rest of us have made the only choice can make: death. Most of us don't even know we've made that choice. But it's the only option we'll allow ourselves to have. Meanwhile, the Witnesses–bless their little hearts–keep knocking on our doors in an attempt to keep us informed about the alternative. Very few of us are willing to listen, so our choices remain limited to just one: death.
Well, that's how they see it at least. But I digress…
Witnesses have two choices because they're better informed than we are. (At least they think so.) They can choose 1) death, or 2) life everlasting in paradise. In their minds, that's twice as many choices as everyone else. So while pitiful old "worldly people" like you and I can do whatever we'd like with our brief lives, those choices are meaningless because they're only short term. Our lives are finite. Their lives will go on forever and they'll be in paradise too! They've chosen to make that happen by going to meetings, knocking on doors, and obeying the Governing Body. They reaffirm this decision every time they do any of these things instead of something they'd rather do. These are all daily sacrifices, and every sacrifice only increases a Witness's commitment to the Watchtower Society. Every sacrifice is an investment.
So when worldly people accuse them of being a cult or complain that the Watchtower Society is doing all their thinking for them, most Jehovah's Witnesses are happy to just chuckle and deflect our comments with something like: "We can do anything you can do…so long as it isn't wrong." You know the drill. That's the part where they elbow the Witness next to them in the ribs and wink knowingly.
"Man," they say with that wink, "being right sure is awesome. Glad I'm not this poor dope. Aren't you?"
Of course, I can't agree with their view. Anyone else have an opinion worth sharing?
Let's hear it.
Topics: Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, XJW Commentary | 2 Comments »
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Oh, And Merry Christmas Too.
By The Atheist Geek | December 25, 2009
First, I want to wish you all Happy Holidays to annoy anyone who is bothered by the phrase Happy Holidays. Their pointless hate gives me strength. (I'm looking at you, Fox News.) Second, I want to wish everyone who doesn't care which phrase I use a Merry Christmas, '09 style.
My wife and I have been busily trying to move. One deal fell on it's butt cheeks, so we're working on another. Since we pretty much live in a dump, anything short of a cardboard box will be an improvement. Too bad about the first place we tried to buy–it would have made a nice Christmas present. Especially for my wife, who's a Jehovah's Witness. Insert sly laughter here.
I'm also working on some new articles for Austin Cline, atheist extraordinaire, and hoping to see a little movie called "Avatar." You'll know if I saw it because there will be a review right here on Atheist Geek News. Hopefully, it'll suck so I can make fun of it. Alas, the reviews are very good.
For all the ex-Witnesses out there who are celebrating the holiday, have an extra scoop of holiday cheer. Only punch an Elder if he knocks on your door while celebrating the holidays. Make sure to shout "Atheist Geek!" when you do. Maybe an epidemic of busted noses will break out and they'll write an article about me! That'd be neat. It's the only present that could rival a new place to live. Well, there are even better presents, but I'm not sharing what those might be. Insert sideways glance at pics I uploaded to this page.
Once I've moved, I hope to start posting more frequently again.
Peace.
Topics: Announcements | No Comments »
« Previous Entries