Hey everyone, Im Anthony
iv just signed myself up on here so i can be able to have conversations on here that are actually interesting lol, so yeah im highly interested in Atheism and religious beliefs, so would be cool to get to know some people on here also :)
Hi and welcome to HAF, Anthony!
I think i should also give my religious background and where im from and what have ya
Im from the UK, northeast end
I was brought up in a Jehovahs Witness family (not that it was a splendid idea of them of course) my mam almost died having me in birth, cos i was like 11 pounds lol, so my dad had to make a decision whether or not to let her have blood while she was in agony, luckily his human morality won him over (just goes to show how human morality can win over a script) lol, but yeah i hated going to the congregations, sooo boring, i usually ended up drawing (which maybe is how i got my art talent from :D) and i had phobias of Armageddon (which was my main fear as a child and growing up), later in 1999 my mam sadly died, mainly due to loss of blood in my birth (i think anyway) she did have some circulation problem i know that, and she loved walking in the moors and places, then one day she slept out in a sleeping bag in the middle of the moors, and it got really cold and she never woke up :(. some years after that i really began to question certain things, some years after that i got into learning about other religions and their beliefs and doctrines, also learned alot about Evolution, started to purchase books by Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, and also Anton LaVey that i found interesting lol
I had a difficult time learning about the Watchtower as a child, i was diagnosed with Semantic Pragmatic Disorder, which is a learning difficulty that affected my studying as a JW and i found myself in trouble from time to time as i couldnt focus properly, but it wasnt until later (quite recently) i dicovered how shocking their doctrines are, not just armageddon and blood transfusions and christmas, but there was ALOT iv learned, and iv learned alot about other religions too and how many doctrines and beliefs damage people and society
Im very into art in general, i like painting and drawing, im a graphic design student waiting to finish :)
Welcome to HAF ;D. Sounds like you've had quite the interesting, eventful, and also painful, life thus far. Hope you find inspiration and solace here.
Quote from: The Black Jester on May 02, 2011, 09:33:40 PM
Welcome to HAF ;D. Sounds like you've had quite the interesting, eventful, and also painful, life thus far. Hope you find inspiration and solace here.
thanx very much, and i hope i will :D
Welcome Lizarda!
Sorry for your loss :(
Morning Anthony
Thank you for taking the time to write that detailed personal introduction, it was interesting and insightful.
Welcome to HAF.
Regards
Chris
Wow, that was quite a read.
I'm a little confused though. Sorry if it is obvious, but how old were you when your mother died?
Quote from: Stevil on May 03, 2011, 08:05:59 AM
Wow, that was quite a read.
I'm a little confused though. Sorry if it is obvious, but how old were you when your mother died?
yeah sorry, i'm not always that good explaining things properly, cos i knew it was gonna be a long message so by the time i finished it, i couldn't be bothered to proof read it haha
i was 11 when she died :(, i'm over it pretty much now of course, i'm 23 now
Quote from: Lizarda on May 03, 2011, 01:18:33 PM
i was 11 when she died :(, i'm over it pretty much now of course, i'm 23 now
My Father died when I was 17, I'm 51 now and still feeling the aftershocks. So don't be too hard on yourself. Losing a parent before you reach adulthood is never something to be dismissed.
Quote from: Tank on May 03, 2011, 01:41:26 PM
Quote from: Lizarda on May 03, 2011, 01:18:33 PM
i was 11 when she died :(, i'm over it pretty much now of course, i'm 23 now
My Father died when I was 17, I'm 51 now and still feeling the aftershocks. So don't be too hard on yourself. Losing a parent before you reach adulthood is never something to be dismissed.
yeah i still feel it sometimes too, though its important that i need to get on with life to cope, but it does catch up with me sometimes
whats interesting is when she was alive, i could tell now looking back, she was haunted by many things of the JW organisation, and i think that made her depressed slightly, so its so unfortunate she had to go through all that trauma when she was alive, but shes still strong to me :)
My wife and I are both children of older parents. As a result we decided to have our children while we were young so we would be fit enough to keep up with them and hopefully they would be grown up before we passed on. It worked as our three kids are grown up and out on their own now and I'm now a granddad!
I find the JW attitude one of the most theistically disturbing and of Christian sects THE most disturbing. If JW practice were the norm my wife would have died giving birth to our twins. The JW attitude to blood transfusions is nothing short of murder in my opinion.
Hello Anthony.
Welcome to HAF. I was very moved by your story, I'm very sorry for your loss. I hope you enjoy it here.
Maria.
Quote from: Tank on May 03, 2011, 02:23:39 PM
I find the JW attitude one of the most theistically disturbing and of Christian sects THE most disturbing. If JW practice were the norm my wife would have died giving birth to our twins. The JW attitude to blood transfusions is nothing short of murder in my opinion.
This is very true, i mean lets simply put it this way, if they are right and God is gonna destroy everyone (other than JW's) at Armageddon, i'd rather die with everyone else than having to cope in a paradise (yes paradise but thats all of the world, no cities, no nothing else) full of JWs and serving a mass murderer!!...now that would be HELL loll
Agreed... I wonder how people can call God loving when even their sacred texts prove he's not loving
Quote from: Maria on May 03, 2011, 02:26:59 PM
Hello Anthony.
Welcome to HAF. I was very moved by your story, I'm very sorry for your loss. I hope you enjoy it here.
Maria.
Thank you dear, i see you have a Manchester football team logo behind you too, if thats what i see lol
Quote from: Zvezdichko on May 03, 2011, 02:52:28 PM
Agreed... I wonder how people can call God loving when even their sacred texts prove he's not loving
it's because most don't read their Bible, they just label themselves a certain category and think they will be safe lol
Quote from: Lizarda on May 03, 2011, 02:52:44 PM
Quote from: Maria on May 03, 2011, 02:26:59 PM
Hello Anthony.
Welcome to HAF. I was very moved by your story, I'm very sorry for your loss. I hope you enjoy it here.
Maria.
Thank you dear, i see you have a Manchester football team logo behind you too, if thats what i see lol
Yes it is. I use that photo in a Christian forum too. The Red Devil gets the god-botherers all excited ;D. Most of them are Americans and aren't familiar with the Manchester United emblem.
Quote from: Maria on May 03, 2011, 04:03:29 PM
Quote from: Lizarda on May 03, 2011, 02:52:44 PM
Quote from: Maria on May 03, 2011, 02:26:59 PM
Yes it is. I use that photo in a Christian forum too. The Red Devil gets the god-botherers all excited ;D. Most of them are Americans and aren't familiar with the Manchester United emblem.
yeah, that's why i love that logo, even though i'm not a fan of football, and its especially an interesting image to use for people who aren't aware of Man United
PHEW!! I'm well relieved now, iv just handed in a whole years Contextual Study file at Uni, i don't feel i'l get a high grade though to be quite honest lol
Welcome to the forum!
Oh Hi Anthony (Lizarda)! I just said hi to you in my post above and now have worked my way down the list and found you here. Welcome! Welcome! What a sad story that you have survived~ but I'm glad that you had the strength to be yourself, and to find your art to be a way to cope. I'd love to see some of your art. What kind do you do? Do you have any images you can attach here for us to see?
I'm looking forward to getting to know you. Peace, Kim (Norbie)
Quote from: Norbie on May 03, 2011, 09:57:14 PM
Oh Hi Anthony (Lizarda)! I just said hi to you in my post above and now have worked my way down the list and found you here. Welcome! Welcome! What a sad story that you have survived~ but I'm glad that you had the strength to be yourself, and to find your art to be a way to cope. I'd love to see some of your art. What kind do you do? Do you have any images you can attach here for us to see?
I'm looking forward to getting to know you. Peace, Kim (Norbie)
"what a sad story that you have survived"? confussed :-[ lol
yes, thank you very much Kim, yes i have a natural talent for art, it kinda runs in the family :) my mam was very into art, so theres no wonder i got it off her hehe :D, and the sort of art im into is dramatic, gothic horror, apocalyptic imagery, iv always been drawn to that since my childhood, guess im naturally a dark horse haha, im not sure how i can clip work on here so far, but i do have facebook (anthony stoker, il add you) there in my art folder, not a great deal in there at the minuite, but have a few paintings that iv done so far, and some digital illustration/pattern work, im currently on a Graphic Design course so im very interested in the illustration part of it :D
Quote from: Lizarda on May 03, 2011, 02:57:02 PM
Quote from: Zvezdichko on May 03, 2011, 02:52:28 PM
Agreed... I wonder how people can call God loving when even their sacred texts prove he's not loving
it's because most don't read their Bible, they just label themselves a certain category and think they will be safe lol
From my discussions with Christians on this forum I think that their epistemic stance is as follows:
God is perfect
God is all loving
They hold this stance above all else.
So when they read a story about god setting two she bears onto a group of children, killing 42 of them, for the crime of teasing a man about his bald head, then I think they maintain the perfect and all loving stance and then try to find a way to interpret or justify the action in a way that is consistent with their stance. e.g. god simply wanted to make an example of them, but once they died god forgave them and gave them eternal happiness in heaven, blah blah...
Hi Anthony~ My husband & I are artists of a sort too. We're musicians. This is a song my husband wrote about what he thinks of the bible and Christians. Right along with the behavior that Stevil describes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEFve-OA40w I hope this link works. If not, try pasting it in your http thing. (sorry I struggle on-line)
Here's the lyrics,
The Bible Geek
Hurricanes and thunder
Miracles and wonders
Bushes burning in the sand
Heavenly conceptions
Immaculate deceptions
Jesus walking like a man
I've heard some people pleading
They don't like bible reading
It makes their eyes grow heavy lids
But you won't find me snoring
'Cause I don't think its boring
The bible is some crazy shit
Famine and destruction
Incest and seduction
Fattened lambs to sacrifice
Fratricidal slaughter
Blood that flows like water
Lordy, ain't the good book nice
Temperamental tyrants
Midgets slaying giants
Children thrown to lion pits
Pestilence, diseases
God does just as he pleases
The bible is some crazy shit
The fears and aspirations
Of every single nation
From creation 'til the end of time
For 1300 pages
The fear and fury rages
But in the end, for some
It works out fine
Redactions and omissions
Harmonized positions
Contradictions syncretized
If you thinking it's confusin'
That's not just an illusion
No, that's exactly by design
So if you're looking for reliable truth
Forget the bible
You will quickly find the facts don't fit
Some might find it grating
But to me it's fascinating
Yeah, the bible is some crazy shit
I encourage you to read it
If you do, you won't believe it
'Cause the bible is really kinda crazy
The bible isn't merely for the weary, weak, and lazy
The bible, hey you are liable
If you read it to just never wanna quit
'Cause the bible is some crazy shit
(c) Eddy Lawrence
Quote from: Norbie on May 04, 2011, 12:50:50 AM
Hi Anthony~ My husband & I are artists of a sort too. We're musicians. This is a song my husband wrote about what he thinks of the bible and Christians. Right along with the behavior that Stevil describes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEFve-OA40w I hope this link works. If not, try pasting it in your http thing. (sorry I struggle on-line)
Here's the lyrics,
The Bible Geek
Hurricanes and thunder
Miracles and wonders
Bushes burning in the sand
Heavenly conceptions
Immaculate deceptions
Jesus walking like a man
I've heard some people pleading
They don't like bible reading
It makes their eyes grow heavy lids
But you won't find me snoring
'Cause I don't think its boring
The bible is some crazy shit
Famine and destruction
Incest and seduction
Fattened lambs to sacrifice
Fratricidal slaughter
Blood that flows like water
Lordy, ain't the good book nice
Temperamental tyrants
Midgets slaying giants
Children thrown to lion pits
Pestilence, diseases
God does just as he pleases
The bible is some crazy shit
The fears and aspirations
Of every single nation
From creation 'til the end of time
For 1300 pages
The fear and fury rages
But in the end, for some
It works out fine
Redactions and omissions
Harmonized positions
Contradictions syncretized
If you thinking it's confusin'
That's not just an illusion
No, that's exactly by design
So if you're looking for reliable truth
Forget the bible
You will quickly find the facts don't fit
Some might find it grating
But to me it's fascinating
Yeah, the bible is some crazy shit
I encourage you to read it
If you do, you won't believe it
'Cause the bible is really kinda crazy
The bible isn't merely for the weary, weak, and lazy
The bible, hey you are liable
If you read it to just never wanna quit
'Cause the bible is some crazy shit
(c) Eddy Lawrence
:O I tell you what, these lyrics are better than Bryian Steeksma's "listen to reason" lyrics hehe
best atheistic lyrics i have ever read!!! :D and i have watched the video, its greaat :D keep this up! i loved it
ok my message to your response has become part of the quote haha, just letting you know incase you get confussed there haha
LOL... I'm usually the confused one. ;) Thanks for enjoying the song. He does write some monster lyrics, if I do say so myself. I'm trying to get him to record for YouTube posts now. I just learned to do it, and he cooperated to do that one. I want him to post more atheist material. But he's hard to pin down on it. He has a whole CD worth of stuff; but he wants to put some other material up. Either way, I'll be happy to get some up there.
I just sent you a friend request on Facebook. It will be my same avatar... the raccoon face. Well, I either sent it to you, or some other poor Anthony Stoker~ who will now be in therapy thinking he has a stalker.
I'm looking forward to seeing your art!
Peace, Kim
Welcome. ;D
Quotethe sort of art im into is dramatic, gothic horror, apocalyptic imagery
I think we're going to get on with each other.
Quote from: Norbie on May 04, 2011, 01:27:04 AM
LOL... I'm usually the confused one. ;) Thanks for enjoying the song. He does write some monster lyrics, if I do say so myself. I'm trying to get him to record for YouTube posts now. I just learned to do it, and he cooperated to do that one. I want him to post more atheist material. But he's hard to pin down on it. He has a whole CD worth of stuff; but he wants to put some other material up. Either way, I'll be happy to get some up there.
I just sent you a friend request on Facebook. It will be my same avatar... the raccoon face. Well, I either sent it to you, or some other poor Anthony Stoker~ who will now be in therapy thinking he has a stalker.
I'm looking forward to seeing your art!
Peace, Kim
yeah sorry, i never got a request from you :(, you must of sent to the wrong one haha, the avatar i have of me here is my display image :) and interestingly you should say that "or some other poor anthony stoker" because its likely you might of sent a request to my uncle who has the same name, its possible haha
Quote from: Melmoth on May 04, 2011, 03:49:22 PM
Welcome. ;D
Quotethe sort of art im into is dramatic, gothic horror, apocalyptic imagery
I think we're going to get on with each other.
Indeed we shall :D i might see if i can attatch some work on here at some point, i want to scan them first though cos the images i have of them is from my phone, and they look blaa lol
Nice to meet you Lizarda! Not sure I can properly say 'Welcome' as I'm new here as well.
I've not had much experience with JW's in my lifetime, except for a few door conversations. Perhaps folks here will think it ironic when I say that both JWs and Mormons confound me in their beliefs. But, there it is. Granted, those two groups fall outside of mainstream Christianity as it is.
Quote from: TeresaBenedictaI've not had much experience with JW's in my lifetime, except for a few door conversations. Perhaps folks here will think it ironic when I say that both JWs and Mormons confound me in their beliefs. But, there it is. Granted, those two groups fall outside of mainstream Christianity as it is.
In the same way that the flavourless plastic squares they put in burgers fall outside the bounds of mainstream cheese.
Quote from: Melmoth on May 05, 2011, 01:37:57 AM
In the same way that the flavourless plastic squares they put in burgers fall outside the bounds of mainstream cheese.
Interesting comparison. But true enough!
Quote from: TeresaBenedicta on May 04, 2011, 08:07:30 PM
Nice to meet you Lizarda! Not sure I can properly say 'Welcome' as I'm new here as well.
I've not had much experience with JW's in my lifetime, except for a few door conversations. Perhaps folks here will think it ironic when I say that both JWs and Mormons confound me in their beliefs. But, there it is. Granted, those two groups fall outside of mainstream Christianity as it is.
I think thats why they hide from mainsteam popularity, cos they don't want their beliefs to get noticed, they are more like vampires, secretly sucking their way through neighbourhoods, but what i find funny is that they would always aim at someone who hasn't thought about religion at all, or who are agnostic, but they wouldnt try an atheist, christian or catholic
Quote from: Lizarda on May 05, 2011, 07:56:23 PM
I think thats why they hide from mainsteam popularity, cos they don't want their beliefs to get noticed, they are more like vampires, secretly sucking their way through neighbourhoods, but what i find funny is that they would always aim at someone who hasn't thought about religion at all, or who are agnostic, but they wouldnt try an atheist, christian or catholic
You know, that's an interesting point. I remember having two conversations with JW's, both occurring at the county fair (they had booth up there). The first was after I 'quit' being an atheist (for lack of a better phrase) but before I had chosen a church. They were very interesting in talking with me. The second encounter was after I had become Catholic... and they barely spoke with me at all. They wanted me out of their booth as quickly as possible.
Just a personal anecdote.
yeah exactly! from the amount of stories iv looked up about them, they seem to be covering something....is this uncommon at all? haha
Welcome! :D