Mr Lebowski

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Posts by Mr Lebowski

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  207

  Jehovah's Witnesses Are Under Mind Control

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you were to tell a witness that they were "brainwashed" or that they were "under mind control", they certainly would not rationally accept it.the reason is because witnesses cannot distinguish between mind control and "obeying the faithful and discreet slave".

  it is only after a person stops exposing himself to the subtle mind controlling tactics of the watchtower that a person can see how thoroughly duped they are in their beliefs.

  how might you be able to tell that you are no longer your own person, able to make your own decisions in your life?

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  Mr Lebowski

  1) yes, many arguments have been put forward (keeping up with the discussion on a 14.4 connection in a coffee shop in the sticks made for poor reading and worse composition...got back today, will respond tomorrow).

  2) I am NOT criticizing any of the arguments. Yes, I unfortunately chose to lower myself in my communication...on a thread where many good arguments have been advanced, which I value and respect. To all who have advanced well-structured arguments or asked honest questions, I apologize for lowering the level of discussion.

  3) This apology doesn't apply to minimus, because so far he doesn't fit in those categories...and I could have pointed that out in a more effective manner. Min, sorry that I chose being a smartass over making a difference.

  Min, many on this board, regardless of their position, are genuinely trying to share reasoning and understand other peoples' opinions. I don't get that that's what you're doing... and that's what I should have pointed out.

  Righteousness is righteousness...regardless of where we are standing.

  Jgnat, thanks for holding me to a high standard, I appreciate it. I will respond as soon as I get unpacked and such.

  Peace and pastry,

  El Duderino
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  207

  Jehovah's Witnesses Are Under Mind Control

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you were to tell a witness that they were "brainwashed" or that they were "under mind control", they certainly would not rationally accept it.the reason is because witnesses cannot distinguish between mind control and "obeying the faithful and discreet slave".

  it is only after a person stops exposing himself to the subtle mind controlling tactics of the watchtower that a person can see how thoroughly duped they are in their beliefs.

  how might you be able to tell that you are no longer your own person, able to make your own decisions in your life?

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  Mr Lebowski

  minimus, sneak into your local community college and crash the "Logic 101" class.

  BTW, all, golf course was gorgeous yesterday but my game was ugly...

  In the words of Socrates, who said 'I drank what?'

  El Duderino
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  41

  real life sex sex question

  by NEWWORLDSLACKER in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tonight i posted on hippikons thread about what type of sex are you having ?

  and it got me thinking .....how important is sex to a relationship ?

  what are your thoughts , is it possible to have a stable marriage without it?

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  Mr Lebowski

  Sex drives in males and females vary widely per the individual. As a generalization, men tend towards higher sex drives as a group... but individuals are just that.

  Another reason that both parties ought to be checking the milk before they buy the cow (no bovine comparisons intended, lovely stong female posters... just referring to marriage in general.

  The two aspects of a relationship are compatibility and chemistry... if one's outta whack, the other one ain't gonna make up for it.

  "Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others." Groucho Marx

  The dood, waiting for laundry to dry so he can pack
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  17

  Guilt and Infidelilty

  by lisavegas420 in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  recently a poster shared with us that her father had committed infidelity.

  then 3-5 years later, decides he can no longer live with the guilt and confesses to his wife.

  he alone with his actions turned the entire family upside down.

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  Mr Lebowski

  I hope my directness is accepted in the spirit that it's intended.

  My two cents would be that we're here in this world to deal with the way things are, and if we don't know how things are, we can't do that. If we decide that others cannot deal with reality, and we have to "protect" them, we are really ripping them off from the opportunity to deal with the way things really are.

  If the purpose of my decisions is to minimize upset, then I guess living a lie is preferable. If the purpose of my decisions is "right action" (as the Buddhists say) then I want to be truthful about both good and bad.

  Look, he didn't "ruin things" by being truthful. He probably didn't even ruin things by cheating (not that it helped). WIthout trying to attach blame, it's fair to say that the relationship was not in good shape if it was based on concealing truths, regardless of whose fault it was. Healthy relationships don't result in infidelity - it's a symptom (unless you have a sex addict, which it sounds like you don't). She chose how to respond to his confession, and she had a wide range of choices in how to react. She is responsible for her choices there, not him.

  It's like a building being ruled as unsafe by the inspector and having signs posted out front...it was unsafe before, but now everyone knows about it.

  Love and doughnuts,

  The Dood
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  17

  what is the # 1 reason people join the JW's ??? what attracts people ???

  by run dont walk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  being brought up in the borg, i always envied my friends that did not have to go in service, go to meetings, and waste their weekends away, i have never really been able to understand why someone would join the jw's unless they were born (forced) into it.

  aside from maybe coming from an abusive lifestyle or relationship, or had serious drug/alcohol problems, this i could understand how the religion helped them get back on track.

  so why do people join ???

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  Mr Lebowski

  "...door-to-door preaching is a good way to spread the word of God to the people..."

  Jesus H. Christ on a popsicle stick, you never have been a JW, have you? :) It sucks a@@!

  If that statement were true, Kirby would be number one in vacuums, and Fuller Brush would be in the Fortune 500.

  My observations of those who join as adults is that they come from backgrounds where affection and appreciation are rare, and they like the easily-navigated social system that provides both if you play by the rules. Often they come from homes where there are no rules, where random abuse or such is common, and any set of rules looks good, especially if it provides a way to "earn" "brotherly love" (which of course cannot be earned, only freely given).

  I agree with the statement that it's not about the theology, it's about the relationships.
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  32

  Our own personal growth and leaving

  by Mr Lebowski in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  first, the tee-up: many on this board are former jws.

  former jws fall into two categories:.

  1) those who consciously chose out, perhaps as an intellectual position, perhaps as an emotional reaction to some event, maybe while in the throes of some existential crisis.. 2) those who blew it, and got busted for (cue music) breakin the law, breakin' the law, breakin' the law.

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  Mr Lebowski

  put a hat and glasses on it, man, but it's still a potato.

  By taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing over it, he is superior.
  - Francis Bacon

  Living well is the best revenge.
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  32

  Our own personal growth and leaving

  by Mr Lebowski in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  first, the tee-up: many on this board are former jws.

  former jws fall into two categories:.

  1) those who consciously chose out, perhaps as an intellectual position, perhaps as an emotional reaction to some event, maybe while in the throes of some existential crisis.. 2) those who blew it, and got busted for (cue music) breakin the law, breakin' the law, breakin' the law.

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  Mr Lebowski

  Revenge, at first though sweet,
  Bitter ere long back on itself recoils.
  - John Milton, Paradise Lost
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  28

  Will you ever meet God or Jesus?

  by freedom96 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know this is bound to open up a lot of topics here, especially those who want to make clear their opinion that god does not exist.. that being said, this is for those who do believe in god.. .

  do you believe in a heaven, and if so, when you get there, in your opinion, will you ever personally walk up to god or jesus and talk to them face to face?.

  as i left the witnesses, i have gotten a better understanding of the bible, and my personal belief is that we do have a heavenly hope.

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  Mr Lebowski

  So what you're doing, basically, is polling Christian beleivers on a site populated with many former JW's to see what their interpretation of the afterlife is?

  If you're gonna exclude me, why not exclude anyone who is accepting a mainstream interpretation (Catholics, etc.) and only include those who make up their own have a uniquely personal interpretation?
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  24

  Anxieties ??? what was yours while you were a JW ???

  by run dont walk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  was there anything in particular that made your stomach turn upside down in knots while you were a jw ?????.

  armageddon ???.

  giving talks ???.

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  Mr Lebowski

  Being a guy, I got to actually do public speaking when I gave talks (instead of participating in those dreadful skits they stuck the chicks with :) and I loved giving talks... in fact I still love public speaking to this day (although the general public seems to fear it more than death).

  I was also very afraid of meeting school friends in service.

  I was afraid of how my mom would treat me if I didn't constantly impress her with how faithful I was. (Getting hit across the back of the legs with a Hot Wheels track should be proof of telekinesis).
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  46

  Can "Born-Into-Its" Ever Be Happy?

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just wondering....take a 40 year old male ('cos he's an ex-elder!

  ) who's been born a dub.

  he becomes disenchanted with dubdom and eventually decides to leave.

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  Mr Lebowski

  Gosh, I think the semantic content of your post is great, but can you be more of an ass@&($ about hows you say it??

  Righteousness is a pain in the neck, no matter what religion you are, or were.