Are there any substitutes for having inner peace?

that was very dull and this whole thread seems to be a excuse to preach your version of god.I'm far happier now I've settled in my own mind that god doesn't exist. I have many friends who were Witnesses who are much happier now they are not banging on doors on a sunday morning trying to hawk the watch tower.Our inner peace seems to suit us just fine.

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You should rethink your approach to life, for one thing I have learned, you can count on trouble coming your way soon or later.

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That's projection and incorrect - I know many many good people who have has horrible lifes and many bad bad people who have had a great time. it's totally random. When my grandfather died, he commented on how trouble free his life was (and also that we should chuck the corpse on a skip and spend the money on a party).

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3-6. Increased Religious Faith
It is probably an exaggeration to say that there are "no atheists in the foxhole," but many soldiers and civilians do find that danger, and especially the unpredictable danger of modern war, stimulates a new or stronger need for faith in God.

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becomes

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It is probably an exaggeration to say that there are "no atheists in the foxhole," but many soldiers and civilians do find that danger, and especially the unpredictable danger of modern war, stimulates a new or stronger need for faith in God. If this is fused with a sense of purpose in fulfilling God's will, it may lead to living a better life, increased dedication to duty, and attempting to make the world better in spite of the horrors and evils seen in war. In some cultures and religions, acceptance of God's will, fatalism, faith in the afterlife, or the reward for dying in a holy cause may also contribute to exceptional bravery and disregard for death. However, such faith does not always promote good tactical common sense. It can lead to unproductive loss of life unless guided by sound leadership.

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And more importantly Atheists find the military a very hostile place so tend to keep it to themselves.Page Not Found - Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers | Military Association of Atheists & FreethinkersThis message has been edited by Charles Knight, 09-Jul-2005 09:33 AM

I had sex with two witnesses once? is that the same thing?they seem to get some measure of peace - or that could have been the booze.

Deleted - cannot be bothered to carry this one on.This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 11-Jul-2005 06:28 PM

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For many of the Bible prophecies we have independent historical confirmation of the fulfillment taking place,

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Like the generation who would see the end of the world? How's that one going? still altering the message every so often?Your cult is no different from any of the others.

Ah the unchanging word of god.If I needed a blood transfusion in 1956 - could I have one?What about Sept 1958?What about 1961?Of all the christian deathcults, the Witnesses seems both the most deluded and deceiving.If anyone wants to know how JWs like to look after their children, i suggest they read the following transcript (it's quite harrowing in parts).http://news.bbc.co.uk/...transcripts/transcript_14_07_02.txt

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GIRL: Witness statement at Selkirk's Police Office. Over the years since I was 11 until I was 15 my dad
had done things to me that he shouldn't have done like rub my breasts, finger me and try to have sex with
me. I remember when we were in Perth we were staying in a tent. He started to touch me and he made me touch him, and he made me put his penis in my mouth and things like that.

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POWYS: Were you scared?

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GIRL: Terrified! There was one thing my dad told me, if I ever told anyone about this he would break me apart.

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POWYS: For years she kept quiet, but one Sunday, after a meeting at the Kingdom Hall, she asked to see church elders. She needed their help.

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GIRL: And I just told them everything that happened.

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POWYS: Did they tell you that this was serious, that you should go to the police, that they would go to the police for you?

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GIRL: No, they didn't tell me anything like that. They didn't make any mention of the police.

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POWYS: They said they'd deal with it.

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GIRL: Yes. After that they called my father in, and they had a very, very long chat with him. Then eventually they came out and we went home and that was the end of it.

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Even worse the church keeps a secret database of people it knows or suspects are abusing children.

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BOWEN: I was contacted by sources within the church. I was given a figure of over 20,000. Two different sources came back to me and said that number is actually more specific and gave me a figure of
23,720. They told me that they had accessed the internal database and that figure was based on child molesters in the USA, Canada and Europe, and that's the figure that they were given.

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This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 19-Jul-2005 06:41 PMThis message has been edited by Charles Knight, 19-Jul-2005 06:42 PM

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Rebellious children have only themselves to blame for emotional pain of the discipline they receive.

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What about children who are sexually abused and then watch as your cult covers it up (your database of sexual offenders that you decide to keep internal?)?What do they deserve ? Where is the inner peace for them?I asked my friends who had escaped this sick cult about the matter and they both,independently, knew of incidents that the cult tried to cover up (one of which is still being investigated by the police).This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 28-Jul-2005 03:31 AM

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Of all the religions JW's surely stand out as having a high, if not higher than most, level of inner peace.

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A cult that breaks up families, systematically works to cover up the sexual abuse of children. If that's inner peace - you can keep it.And frankly when I read your post, it looks like a beachhead tactic to me.

You are entirely correct - the more I look into this cult, the more horrific it appears to be. It seems there is a quite well established "survivors" (and there is no other word for it) network by me and I have talked to some of it's members. It's not pleasant stuff.Those encounters and my further investigations on the net have affected my judgement on related matters.I'll lurk for a bit on this one I think....

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You've asserted and demonstrated that a higher level of peace would in fact stem from a peace that involved a hope. Therefore, a belief in God would constitute a higher level of inner peace than a lack thereof. Jehovah's Witnesses clearly believe in God.

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WRONG - he's made those assumptions and claims, he has failed to prove a single one

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2) You've asserted and demonstrated through evidence of resolve in the face of death that Jehovah's Witnesses have an extremely high level of inner peace. Other religions don't have the "tested and passed" trademark of JW's, which is certainly worth something.

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That's pretty darn successful if you ask me.

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WRONG - he's made those assumptions and claims, he has failed to prove a single one. He's made some rather insulting claims that JWs are the only ones that stand up for their fellow man - claims that have been rubbished.

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Bottom line is, I think you've proven your point, atleast satisfactorily.

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Well you are the only one - nobody else agrees with that stance.Nice attempt at a beachhead but you've played your cards a bit soon and you need to work on the language a bit - it doesn't quite ring true.This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 04-Aug-2005 04:36 AMThis message has been edited by Charles Knight, 04-Aug-2005 04:37 AM

No it's because many of the people on here have a strange problem were they pretend they cannot see things that they don't like.So what is your religious viewpoint? Christian, JW, Atheist?

Ah... of course... not an attempt at a beachhead at all.(for those wondering a beachhead works as follows - one member of a cult will make various suggestions, then someone appearing to be netural will appear and say "gosh I'm netural but what you are saying makes an awful lot of sense - could you tell us more/you've proved your case convincely". It works in the same way as the planted member of the audience at a magic show).

and to compare - we therefore need a similar situation - when your breathen rounded up in a similar manner, none of them became guards or informers?By the way, remind me, what did the Watchtower 1934 yearbook says about the jews?ABE: actually even a quick google reveals lots of interesting material about the position and actions of JWs in WW2 - if we head down this road (as "proof" of inner peace, this could get quite interesting.....)This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 04-Aug-2005 07:57 PM

Before I proceed -Is it agreed that one of the central "evidences" is how the JWs behaved in Nazi germany (so we are saying 1930s-end of war)?If I can demonstrate that they did, in fact, not behave (as a group*) as claimed then we can dismiss that element of the claim?(BTW - as Watson seems to have failed in his objective, don't be surprised if someone else turns up, only posts on this thread and is equally "gosh you are so right!")This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 05-Aug-2005 04:29 AM