Myths

by rocketman 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  rocketman

  Last night, ABC TV's 20/20 aired a one-hour segment entitled "Lies, Myths, and Downright Stupidity", hosted by John Stossel. The intent of the program was to prove that certain commonly held beliefs (such as the myth that exposure to cold makes one catch a cold) are untrue.

  Listed as the number one myth was: "Life Is Getting Worse", a look at the common notion that the world has continually become worse as a place to live. Evidence was presented that debunks this claim, such as:

  - Life spans have increased markedly druing the past century, especially in the US. On average, Americans live 30 years longer than they did just a century or so ago.

  - Pollution of rivers has decreased, largely due to use of and advancements in sewage treatment.

  - Pollution of the air has decreased over the past few decades.

  - Many killer diseases have been eradicated

  - Medical care has improved dramatically

  - Crime has been on the decrease generally since the mid-1980s

  The program brought to mind some of my experiences with the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, in which I was active for 30 years. For example, on one occasion a few years back I was at a door giving a 'presentation' (Witness-speak for a short sermon) to a householder, and I was making the assertion, as Witnesses are taught, that the world was a bad place that was getting worse. The woman's reply was "yes, but there's much good in the world". I brushed aside her optimism and again claimed that the world was a bad place with insurmountable problems. Again, the woman countered with her belief that there was a lot of good in the world. We went back and forth on the topic for a few minutes, and I kept trying to prove her wrong but to no avail because, as I look back on it, she wasn't wrong. But as all of Jehovah's Witnesses are continually taught (conditioned could be a better word for it) to believe, I simply could not entertain her suggestion that things were not as bad as the Witnesses had portrayed them.

  The Witnesses aren't the only group that paint such a bleak picture of the world. Also, there are indeed some large problems that mankind still must grapple with. But the tendency to close one's mind off to the possibilty that things are actually getting better is a classic trait of religious doomsayers, and the simple fact is that the evidence may simply not support their claims after all.
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  Puternut

  I saw the same show. And admitedly, I have stood in the same shoes on the perhaps same doorsteps. If you are programmed to think that the world looks like a toilet bowl, and compare that with the pretty pictures in the publications about the 'clean' new world, yes this is not the place to be. But I have seen some pretty dirty things going on in the organization and my eyes have been opened to some ugly things. And if you think for a moment how God could possibly bless that, you are mistaken.

  The show made a good point. It's not as bleak as some may make it. There IS a lot of good happening. And things ARE being resolved. And there IS life outside of the organization. I think I just flushed the toilet on that group.
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  Sassy

  Hey Rocketman......where have you been! Missed ya.
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  petespal2002

  I mentioned this to my husband and he said no matter how good things are we're all going to die so whats there to be happy about?
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  seven006

  Just as when ancient myth and the religions that grew from them used fear to gather followers, the same goes on today. Religion has to instill a need for itself and it does that by creating a safe haven for evil, that they themselves have defined. You cannot identify good unless you first identify evil. All religions do this. One of my favorite quotes from Nietzsche is: The Christian resolve to find the world ugly and evil has made the world ugly and evil. That quote can apply to all religion.

  In the book The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell expands on this concept and goes on to explain how early spiritual myths have this common thread. Modern marketing also uses this same technique very effectively. Create a need, sell a product. If the average westerner checks in their closets, basements, attics and garages, they will see how this technique of creating a need and selling a product works very effectively. This concept keeps church doors open, religious books and paraphernalia on the shelves of their gullible customers and some of the most expensive real-estate in the world occupied.

  This message is brought to you by, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna and a host of other gods and prophets. They, and those who claim to represent them, thank you for your patronage.

  Dave
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  Mary

  Hey Rocketman! Glad to see you're still here!

  I have to admit that I'm somewhat of a pessimist on this topic......Somehow, I think the human race IS going downhill, not uphill. I tend to think that things are in fact, getting worse, not better. Pedophilia seems to be rampant anymore. I saw something on Larry King Live the other night about a middle aged couple that babysat children with disabilities and that the husband raped a 4 year old with spinabiphita (not sure how that's spelled), while his sick, twisted wife videotaped it. I was (naturally) disgusted and filled with rage at these scumbags. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. While we've certainly progressed in the way of science and discovery, have we really progressed when it comes to common decency and "natural affection"?? Kids shooting up schools before turning the guns on themselves, terrorists blowing themselves up and trying to take as many innocent people with them as possible, corruption in Big Business like Enron, Worldcom, corruption in government itself.

  I dunno. Maybe it's just the media that reports all this stuff now, so that we're bombared with it, but it seems to me that no one wants to take responsibility for anything anymore, nor do they want to suffer any negative consequences for their actions. People are greedy, greedy, greedy, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of self discipline or responsibility for more and more people. People either don't discipline their kids at all, or they go overboard and beat the living hell out of them. Kids grow up without their parents and look to trashy people like Britney Spears and Madonna as role models.

  Is it just me? Am I just looking at the negative side? Anyone else feel like this??
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  shotgun

  I saw the show too....my wife kept saying I don't agree with that, I don't agree with that, I don't agree with that.

  Good show..I did agree with that.
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  DanTheMan

  The rapidly spreading mind-disease called Radical Islam may put an end to it all.

  Dan, open-your-eyes-this-world-is-going-down-like-the-Titanic class
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  freedom96

  The reality is, that now we have internet, and tv to broadcast live from scenes from around the world. Now every one of us are "in the know" about what is going on.

  500 years ago when thousands were killed in an earthquake in some far away land, very few if any found out about it.

  Just because we all hear about it now on a timely basis, does not in itself make things worse.

  The fact is that now there are more people on earth living than ever before. Statistics will go up if you look at the numbers, but in a lot of areas, such as crime, the actual percentage is less.

  There have always been famines, war, earthquakes, etc.

  I happen to think overall, we are living in a great place.
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  Sentinel

  (((Rocketman)))

  Great and positive post. I didn't get to see that program, but thanks for sharing the information.

  Nice to see you here. When we don't "see" you, we realize you must be busy living life, and that's great!

  /<