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Trivia I Was an Atheist

Gentleman007

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I STILL remember that day in the early nineteen-forties when I was just five years old. All the children and their parents in my hometown in central Sweden were invited to a Sunday-school feast. The children were asked to contribute to the program with some form of religious entertainment. Since I played the accordion, when it was my turn I struck up a popular waltz. My audience was not very enthusiastic. Afterward I was told that it was a sin to play such music and that I should feel ashamed.


Many times in my early childhood I was told that it was a sin to do certain things, but nobody told me why. Thus blind fear of God rather than love for him began to fill my heart. This fear made me shun religion, even though religious teaching was a prominent part of regular schooling. During my first years at school the so-called Bible lessons were more like imaginative tales. It was interesting to hear about the miracles of Jesus and his disciples, but I was never convinced that those things really happened.


Time for confirmation came when I was fourteen. It was my first close contact with a State Church priest. The only memory I have of him is that he was irritated, nervous and a chain smoker. Preparation for confirmation was more a matter of routine than an opportunity to establish faith in God and the Bible. On the day of confirmation I was far more excited at being a possessor of a new camera and a new suit than at being a partaker of the Holy Communion.


Belief in God Completely Dissolved


The following years at a senior high school did not strengthen my belief in God. The religious lessons were given by a priest who openly confessed that he did not believe all parts of the Bible, including the creation account. He said that the Bible was written by men, and therefore it should be read with a critical attitude, as one would read any other book. I found the evolution theory taught in biology lessons an acceptable alternative to the Bible’s account of creation. I learned in the study of modern history about the efforts of professed Christian nations to destroy one another. These things influenced me toward an atheistic attitude.


More faith-ruining experiences were to come. After graduating from senior high school, I was called up for military service. The army chaplain explained that war was a necessary evil. He said that a soldier was a servant of God because Jesus said that those who took the sword would perish by the sword, and there must be somebody to wield that other sword. He stressed that war was instituted by God as a means to realize the true religion. I thought: If Christianity is no better than that, I can do without


So that boy who had a disappointing experience at Sunday school grew up to become a young man fully convinced that religion is a fraud, and that modern science eliminates the need for God. I had experienced what many others have, and reacted much the same way as they do. I raised my forefinger and asked, “How could there be an Almighty, all-bountiful God up there when we have so much corruption and wickedness down here?” To me there was only one answer to that question: There is no God!


Marriage and Outlook on Life


This atheistic outlook naturally marked my manner of living. I married a girl with about the same attitude. Since the path from mother’s womb to the grave is so short, we reasoned, “Why not try to get as much as possible out of life while we are still young and vigorous!”


We did not look upon marriage as a very serious institution. We thought that morality must be a personal matter. The two of us could have fun together, but also apart whenever we liked. We thought we were really free. Our whole outlook on life was materialistic, and even my profession was of a materialistic kind. I was a systems analyst at a computer center in Stockholm. We assisted big companies to plan for future financial advancements.


An Unexpected Visitor


Then one spring day in 1963 someone rang our doorbell. I opened the door. A neatly dressed young man modestly introduced himself as a minister, one of Jehovah’s witnesses making calls to stimulate faith in God. My first thought was: “Poor fanatic, you’ve come to the wrong place.” But there was something about him that kept me from closing the door. He did not look like a fanatic. He appeared so normal, so natural, so relaxed. “All right,” I thought, “let me at least show this poor fellow that he has got hold of the wrong end of the stick.”


So I let him in. With my wife listening from the bedroom, I began to vent my indignation concerning God and religion. “How is it possible to believe in God when scientific research and logical reasoning cannot verify him?” I asked. I told him that most of the faith I had met in religion had been a desperate faith, a hypocritical faith, or a faith against better judgment. I showed him that Christianity must have failed, for it had not been able to stop corruption, wars and violence any more than paganism had.


I went on like that for quite a while, and when I thought that he had enough to consider me a “hopeless case” and prefer to leave, he just calmly nodded. He told me that he could well understand my opinion and that it was shared by many persons nowadays. That took some of the sting out of my argument, and I could see that this was not the first time he had run into a discussion of this type. So with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism I let him speak.


Christendom Not the Same as Christianity


He told me that we first had to distinguish between true and false worship before we could judge the matter. He said that even if so-called Christianity proved to be false and unreliable, it did not mean that there is no true and reliable Christianity. “There is a great difference between Christendom and Christianity,” he said. “Christianity cannot be condemned by what Christendom says or does.”


Pointing to the distinction between Christendom and true Christianity, he observed: “It is true that Christendom has suppressed people, but not Christianity; that Christendom has waged war, but not Christianity; that Christendom has failed to stop the moral breakdown, but not Christianity. The Bible does not support Christendom. On the contrary, it prophetically condemns Christendom.


“Just consider how Christendom has misrepresented the Lord’s Prayer,” he continued. “She has prayed: ‘Our Father which art in heaven,’ but she has not practiced interracial brotherhood. She has prayed for God’s name to be sanctified, but she has not even acknowledged that God has a name. She has prayed for God’s kingdom to come, but she has patriotically supported her own kingdoms. She has prayed for God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven, but she has sought to carry on her own worldly policy. She has prayed for her daily bread, but how willing has she been to share her abundance of ‘bread’ with starving people? She has asked God to forgive her her debts and sins, but how ready has she been to forgive and forget in her own conflicts with others?”


I certainly noticed that this young man was not smoothing things over, shutting his eyes to facts or twisting things like most other religious persons with whom I had discussed this matter. To be honest, I had to agree on these points as they well reflected my own experiences. But I wasn’t going to become a believer that easily. The mere failure of Christendom did not prove anything about the existence of God. So I raised the question: “How is it possible for modern man to believe in God when scientific research and logical reasoning cannot verify him?”


“That question I would like to take up with you next week,” he said.


His Second Visit


I had nearly forgotten about the whole thing when the Witness called back. With my wife again listening from the bedroom, the discussion began. At the outset I declared my belief in evolution, and I felt backed up by the whole scientific world. However, it seemed as though he had given this considerable thought, for he said that it was important to make some distinctions as far as science is concerned.


“On the one hand,” he said, “there is the science that discovers, observes and describes facts about nature. Such science does not in any way conflict with belief in God as creation’s great Originator. On the other hand, there is the so-called science that interprets and tries to explain the origin of things by means of hypotheses and theories. Such science often denies a Divine Originator. A true Christian believes in exact science, which discovers, observes and describes facts, but he cannot unhesitantly take a hypothesis or a theory for granted, let alone build his outlook on life upon it.”


I had to admit that I had not considered evolution as only a theory, which, of course, it is. But I still felt that it must be a rather probable theory, and I told him so.


Chance or Creation


The Witness then made me agree that if we excluded an Intelligent Originator behind creation, we would have to rely upon chance as the guiding factor in creation. “How probable is chance?” he asked.


“Well, there is something called calculus of probability to solve that problem, “I replied, feeling more on my home ground.


“Yes, and let us take an example of such a calculation,” he said. He picked up a magazine from his briefcase, and read: “Another scientist computed the probability of a single protein molecule (one of the molecules essential for life) arising out of chance. As stated in the book Human Destiny, it would take 10 to the 243d power [1 followed by 243 zeros] billions of years for this to happen! Since scientists estimate the age of the earth to be a few billion years, there would not have been enough time for this to occur!”


He paused to let this sink in thoroughly, and then read on: “The same scientist says: ‘One molecule is of no use. Hundreds of millions of identical ones are necessary . . . If the probability of appearance of a living cell could be expressed mathematically the preceding figures would seem negligible.’”


“If that is so, “I said, “how do you explain that so many scientists believe in evolution?”


“You certainly use the right word when you say they believe in it, because they cannot prove it,” he replied.


“But their belief must be better founded than your belief in God,” I protested.


“Imagine,” he said, “that the most skilled scientist in the world could handle molecules like a bricklayer handles bricks, and that he only had a pile of protein molecules to work with. Do you believe that he could build a cell of hundreds of millions of such molecules? Could he make it live, grow, propagate and leave to its offspring its own, and only its own, characteristics? You know that he couldn’t.


“But, according to atheistic belief, that which not even the most skilled human intelligence can achieve, occurred by mere chance. How well founded is such a belief? The only conclusion is that those who believe in it must have an extreme desire to believe in one direction, and to refuse to believe in another direction.”


When the young Witness left that night, I did not know what position I would take in the coming discussion. Anyhow, he left the Awake! of April 22, 1963, that he had quoted from, and I decided to read it to see what deficiencies it might contain. However, as I read I became more and more impressed by the logical reasoning in the material, and it really made me do some rethinking.


Man—Wonderfully Made


Our discussions went on week after week. I can still remember when we discussed how wonderfully man is made. It was indeed sobering to consider our human body of billions of living cells constructed in such a fantastic way to cooperate harmoniously in all its parts. And to think, too, of its ability to love, rejoice, think, discover, remember, reproduce and to express its inmost thoughts and feelings by means of the spoken and written word, smiles and tears, song and music and spontaneous or carefully planned actions.


This discussion made me realize what a tremendously vast gulf there is between unconscious life and conscious life, not to mention between a protein molecule and man. It finally created in me a desire to have someone to admire and thank for all this, someone higher than merely what can be seen around us.


A Changed Way of Life


After some time I agreed to study the Bible with the Witness. This, opened up new fields of evidence for the existence of God. The historical accuracy of the Bible, its harmony, its elevated style, the fulfillment of its prophecies and God’s purpose for man and the earth—all this made a deep impression upon me as time passed.


My wife, who so often had eavesdropped in the bedroom, soon began to take part in the study. After a few months we began to attend the meetings at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The time also came when we attended one of their assemblies. Here we met a group of Christians forming a great family of many nationalities, of all ages, of different professions and social backgrounds, but free from dissensions and antagonism. The faith and activity they have in common unite them in a fellowship of which we could hardly have dreamed.


We began to find new meaning in life, increasing its value to us. A wonderful future opened up. Our newfound faith made us dependent upon God, instead of upon ourselves. This dependence became a corrective in our lives, and this has been a real blessing. It has helped us to become mentally and, as a result, physically clean. Our marriage has become more stable, more important to us. We have established full confidence in each other, and feel much better equipped to bring up our little son. Having made over our thinking, and dedicating our lives to Jehovah God, we feel a closeness to God as a real Person.


This is no sentimental idealization built on a desperate faith or a hypocritical faith or a faith against better judgment. It is a reality built on a balanced, genuine and well-founded belief in God. That is why I now can say: I was an atheist, but I will never be one again.—Contributed.
 
pumulot ka na naman sa watchtower website hahaha.


there is no rational position kundi atheism, if you open up your narrow religious mind.

it was base on my experience and studies. i was a former christian faith defender

then sh!tt happened one day i wake up and i realized that
believing in god, worshipping and defending god and my faith is like chasing the wind out of the blue moon
:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
baka naman kasi fake christian yang dinedepend mo dati hehehe. well kung kontento kana dyan, enjoy mo lang ;)
 
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[XX='Gentleman007, c: 195284, m: 631158'][/XX]

at kelan pa naging tunay ang watchtower ahahahaha
how can you defend the bible kung mismo bible sinasabi nyong may sampung libong error
:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

kung babalik ako sa pagiging kristyano kahit ano papasukan ko
maliban na lang dyan sa kulto ni jehovah na sekta mo:ROFLMAO:
 
[XX='stellarium, c: 195343, m: 1525098'][/XX] pinapatawa moko wala ka alam sa organisasyon ng mga saksi kaya wag ka gumagawa ng kwento na mapanira baka hindi mo mapatunayan yang mga sinasabi mo hehehe..
 
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@stellarium..pinapatawa moko wala ka alam sa organisasyon ng mga saksi kaya wag ka gumagawa ng kwento na mapanira baka hindi mo mapatunayan yang mga sinasabi mo hehehe..


matatawa ka talaga, kahit sino matatawa sa kagunggungan ng kulto nyong may sayad.

kanino publication to? wag mo sabihin pasugo o kay quibuloy to.
mga gonggong na watchtower :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

50,000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO CULT OF RUSSELL WITNESSES
@ATTACH..type="full"]933982[/ATTACH]

@ATTACH..type="full"]933983[/ATTACH]
 

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matatawa ka talaga, kahit sino matatawa sa kagunggungan ng kulto nyong may sayad.

kanino publication to? wag mo sabihin pasugo o kay quibuloy to.
mga gonggong na watchtower :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

50,000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO CULT OF RUSSELL WITNESSES
View attachment 933982

View attachment 933983
Totoo naman sinabi dyan madami talaga maling salita sa kingjames version na wala sa original manuscript.. palibhasa kasi banat ka banat wala naman laman 😉
 
matatawa ka talaga, kahit sino matatawa sa kagunggungan ng kulto nyong may sayad.

kanino publication to? wag mo sabihin pasugo o kay quibuloy to.
mga gonggong na watchtower :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

50,000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO CULT OF RUSSELL WITNESSES
View attachment 933982

View attachment 933983
Nakakaintindi ka ba ng English pogi? Nakakatawa kasi naka highlight pa talaga yung "proof" mo kuno na ang bible ay may 50,000 errors talaga at sinabi kamo ng JWs? Sablay naman yung "proof" mo. King James Version ang tinutukoy jan. Pwede mo unawain muna yung reference mo bago ka mag accuse, claim, at gumawa ng kwento. Hindi yung banat ka agad ng banat :)

Actually, na-realized ko na yung alibi niyo para hindi maniwala sa bible at sa Diyos ay NAPAKABABAW talaga, kasi ang dali niyo mapaniwala e. So called "matatalino" pero hindi nagre-research? Example ng maling translation sa king james na ginagamit niyo para "proof" kuno na mali ang bible... "unicorn". Dahil lang ginamit ng kjv yung translation na yan e naniwala na kayong tinuturo nga yan ng bible? Tapos ipapangalandakan niyo yan sa mga tao? Eh a bit of research lang madali namang unawain na mali yung kjv jan e. Hayst.

Ganyan ba ang style ng "research" at "thinking" para maging atheist at magmukang so called "matalino"? Naalala ko tuloy yung isang post sa fb na nakita ko. Totoo e hehehe ;)
dumb.png
 

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Nakakaintindi ka ba ng English pogi? Nakakatawa kasi naka highlight pa talaga yung "proof" mo kuno na ang bible ay may 50,000 errors talaga eh sablay naman yung "proof" mo. Pwede mo unawain muna yung reference mo bago ka mag accuse, claim, at gumawa ng kwento. Hindi yung banat ka agad ng banat ;)
Ewan ko nga ba dyan brow kay pogi kung totoo man pogi yan.. di naman inaano eh hehehe
 
Ewan ko nga ba dyan brow kay pogi kung totoo man pogi yan.. di naman inaano eh hehehe
Maniniwala na sana kong may 50k errors ang bible na sinabi ng Watchtower e na proof "umano" ni pogi. Kaso naalala ko yung quote na nakita ko... "What the dumb doesn't understand, he criticizes. What the wise doesn't understand, he studies." Niyahaha :p
 
Maniniwala na sana kong may 50k errors ang bible na sinabi ng Watchtower e na proof "umano" ni pogi. Kaso naalala ko yung quote na nakita ko... "What the dumb doesn't understand, he criticizes. What the wise doesn't understand, he studies." Niyahaha :p
Hahanap na nga lang ng ibabanat sablay pa hahaha.
 
pumulot ka na naman sa watchtower website hahaha.


there is no rational position kundi atheism, if you open up your narrow religious mind.

it was base on my experience and studies. i was a former christian faith defender

then sh!tt happened one day i wake up and i realized that
believing in god, worshipping and defending god and my faith is like chasing the wind out of the blue moon
:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
Kung humble ka lang, pwede mo matutuhan kung ano talaga ang tinuturo ng bible pogi. Hindi ibig sabihin na isa kang naniniwala sa Diyos dati at "christian" ka e sapat na yun. Hindi ibig sabihin na "based on your experience and studies" ay sapat na yun. si Pablo isang defender din ng paniniwala ng jews pero mali yung paniniwala niya. Ganon lang yun. Hindi lahat ng kaalaman ay totoo. Meron lang tunay (1 Timoteo 2:3,4). Kailangan mo lang hanapin. Hindi mo makikita ang sagot sa atheism dahil kung matalino ka talaga at sinasabi mong "open minded" ka, mas nakakatawang maniwala na everyting came from nothing. Anyway, kung masaya ka naman sa alam mo at kuntento ka na, sige lang enjoy ka lang jan :)
 
Sa totoo lang nakakaawa ka heheheh
Totoo naman sinabi dyan madami talaga maling salita sa kingjames version na wala sa original manuscript.. palibhasa kasi banat ka banat wala naman laman 😉


ikaw ang kaawa awa dami mong palusot.
:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

sinasabi mo bang mangmang ang magazine nyo na tulad mo

50,000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE

WAG MO GAWING 50,000 ERRORS IN KING JAMES BIBLE


at alin ang bible na sinasabi mo tama ang new world translations?
🤣🤣
 
Nakakaintindi ka ba ng English pogi? Nakakatawa kasi naka highlight pa talaga yung "proof" mo kuno na ang bible ay may 50,000 errors talaga at sinabi kamo ng JWs? Sablay naman yung "proof" mo. King James Version ang tinutukoy jan. Pwede mo unawain muna yung reference mo bago ka mag accuse, claim, at gumawa ng kwento. Hindi yung banat ka agad ng banat :)

Actually, na-realized ko na yung alibi niyo para hindi maniwala sa bible at sa Diyos ay NAPAKABABAW talaga, kasi ang dali niyo mapaniwala e. So called "matatalino" pero hindi nagre-research? Example ng maling translation sa king james na ginagamit niyo para "proof" kuno na mali ang bible... "unicorn". Dahil lang ginamit ng kjv yung translation na yan e naniwala na kayong tinuturo nga yan ng bible? Tapos ipapangalandakan niyo yan sa mga tao? Eh a bit of research lang madali namang unawain na mali yung kjv jan e. Hayst.

Ganyan ba ang style ng "research" at "thinking" para maging atheist at magmukang so called "matalino"? Naalala ko tuloy yung isang post sa fb na nakita ko. Totoo e hehehe ;)
View attachment 934145

sablay talaga ang bible mo at sang ayon naman ako sa malinaw naman nakalagay dyan


50,000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE
not 50,000 ERRORS IN THE KJV

o aminin mo ang magazine nyo ang sablay
dalawa lang pamimilian mo
 
Kung humble ka lang, pwede mo matutuhan kung ano talaga ang tinuturo ng bible pogi. Hindi ibig sabihin na isa kang naniniwala sa Diyos dati at "christian" ka e sapat na yun. Hindi ibig sabihin na "based on your experience and studies" ay sapat na yun. si Pablo isang defender din ng paniniwala ng jews pero mali yung paniniwala niya. Ganon lang yun. Hindi lahat ng kaalaman ay totoo. Meron lang tunay (1 Timoteo 2:3,4). Kailangan mo lang hanapin. Hindi mo makikita ang sagot sa atheism dahil kung matalino ka talaga at sinasabi mong "open minded" ka, mas nakakatawang maniwala na everyting came from nothing. Anyway, kung masaya ka naman sa alam mo at kuntento ka na, sige lang enjoy ka lang jan :)

wag mo ko turuan sa bible, at d ako sa kalabasa watch tower theological seminary nag aral ng bible study na tulad ng pinag aralan mo

hindi mo mahahanap ang kasagutan sa bible dahil meron yang 50,000 errors magazine mo nag sabi nyan at hindi ako

and if you want some i can provide many failed verses of your bible
same as many failed prophecies of your jehovah cult🤣🤔
 
ikaw ang kaawa awa dami mong palusot.
:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

sinasabi mo bang mangmang ang magazine nyo na tulad mo

50,000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE

WAG MO GAWING 50,000 ERRORS IN KING JAMES BIBLE


at alin ang bible na sinasabi mo tama ang new world translations?
🤣🤣
KAWAWA ka naman stellarium. Siguro bago ka magmarunong jan, yung READING COMPREHENSION mo muna ang unahin mong i improve lalo na kung magke-claim at mag a accuse ka. 50k errors kamo ang errors sa bible? Hehe. Haist. Anyway, yung sagot mo palang na yan ay proof na yung alam mo ay mali-mali, lalo na sa kung ano-anong kwento mo tungkol sa aming JWs. Kala mo naman maaasar mo kami sa ganyang banat mo e sa totoo lang nakakatawa yung sagot mong yan e, halatang di mo naiintindihan mismo yung binasa mo at sinasabi.

Di ka na kailangan pag-aksayahan ng oras kasi di mo naman pala kailangan ng tulong e. Clearly, yung alam mo sa bible ay sapaw, kaya paano mo ko mapapaniwala sa mga sinasabi mo? 🤦‍♂️😅

Again, unahin mo munang i-improve yung reading comprehension mo. Pag nagawa mo na yan, saka kita pag-aksayahan ng oras :)
 
wala na nasabi si Gentleman007
🤣🤣

so for the sake of argumentation, lets acept for a while
na ang ang tinutukoy nga dyan ay ang KJV which ang paniniwala nyo ay full of errors kamo

so answer me, ano ang translation, version ng bible ang walang error?

ACTUALLY YOU DONT NEED TO ANSWER
DAHIL ALAM KO NA KUNG ANO ISASAGOT MO: NEW WORLD TRANSLATION
the bible of your cult. 🤣🤣


NGAYON ETO ANG TANONG:
ANO ANG KALAGAYAN NI JESUS SANG AYON SA NEW WORLD TRANSLATION NYO??

YAN NA LNG MUNA SURIIN NATIN KUNG TALAGA ANG NWT AY UMAAYON SA DOKTRINA NG
KULTO NYO
 
wala na nasabi si Gentleman007
🤣🤣

so for the sake of argumentation, lets acept for a while
na ang ang tinutukoy nga dyan ay ang KJV which ang paniniwala nyo ay full of errors kamo

so answer me, ano ang translation, version ng bible ang walang error?

ACTUALLY YOU DONT NEED TO ANSWER
DAHIL ALAM KO NA KUNG ANO ISASAGOT MO: NEW WORLD TRANSLATION
the bible of your cult. 🤣🤣


NGAYON ETO ANG TANONG:
ANO ANG KALAGAYAN NI JESUS SANG AYON SA NEW WORLD TRANSLATION NYO??

YAN NA LNG MUNA SURIIN NATIN KUNG TALAGA ANG NWT AY UMAAYON SA DOKTRINA NG
KULTO NYO
Pogi, di ka na kailangan pag-aksayahan ng oras. Let's accept for a while kamo na ang tinutukoy ay yung KJV? Ehehehe tinatanong mo talaga yan? Hindi dahil binanggit sa Watchtower yung "50k errors" e pangkalahatan na yan na ganon nga ang bible. Reading comprehension pogi paki-improve.
 

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