Phantom Stranger

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Posts by Phantom Stranger

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  40

  California Supreme Court and Religious Freedom

  by Yerusalyim in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  monday the california supreme court ruled that private religious charities with employees must offer birth control along with their medical prescription benefits, even though doing so violates religious principle.

  comments on free exercise?

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  Phantom Stranger

  Give Caesar's things to Caesar, but God's things to God.

  Never thought that would come in handy, but...
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  74

  Why does it have to be gay "marriage?"

  by spiritwalker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know this a hot topic, but i had some thinking on it i wanted to discuss.

  to begin, i have nothing against a gay man or lesbian woman and consider many to be friends.

  i would also like to express from the beginning in plain thought, "i think gay unions should be legal and do not see why it matters.".

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  Phantom Stranger

  Marriage used to mean one man, many/several women, where the man was the absolute head of the house and the women had no rights.

  Then it meant one man, one woman, but the woman still had no rights to speak of, including participation or representation in government.

  Then it meant one man, one woman, but the woman had some rights, but the woman couldn't leave the relationship short of being widowed.

  Eventually it meant one man, one woman, with each accepting certain legal responsibilities if the partnership was dissolved.

  How does the first one mean the same thing as the last? They're totally different states! They only have the same name by convenience!
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  40

  California Supreme Court and Religious Freedom

  by Yerusalyim in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  monday the california supreme court ruled that private religious charities with employees must offer birth control along with their medical prescription benefits, even though doing so violates religious principle.

  comments on free exercise?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  Phantom Stranger

  You know, that's one of the most "victim-y" statements I ever heard. "Look what you made me do!"

  If the Catholic Charities feel so strongly about what benefits they cannot offer employees, they need to re-organize their corporate structure to get around this, or change their health plan (probably what will happen - $5 says they go with a medical savings account for drug benefits). Going out of business indicates a real lack of commitment, totally out of alignment with their history and the history of their work in the US.

  If CC makes that decision to stop offering services, then shame on CC for choosing to hurt those people. There are many choices short of that.
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  23

  When we die....

  by desib77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so what really happens to us when we die?

  i know this is probably something most people have some sort of opinion on but i just have no idea.

  i've had paradise ingrained in me and now that i'm putting that possibility aside i'm curious.

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  Phantom Stranger

  Go rent the movie "Defending Your Life". It's as good a POV as any...
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  23

  When we die....

  by desib77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so what really happens to us when we die?

  i know this is probably something most people have some sort of opinion on but i just have no idea.

  i've had paradise ingrained in me and now that i'm putting that possibility aside i'm curious.

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  Phantom Stranger

  Every day men crucify themselves between two thieves - the regrets of yesterday, and the fears of tomorrow. Benjamin Disraeli.
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  51

  Liberal Equals Ex-JW

  by patio34 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  something i've noticed on this board is that there seem to be many more liberal-left types than conservative-right types.

  what do you think of my following theories?

  in the 70s, many converts to jw-dom were influenced by the anti-establishment philosophy and anti-viet nam war.

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  Phantom Stranger

  bttt
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  23

  When we die....

  by desib77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so what really happens to us when we die?

  i know this is probably something most people have some sort of opinion on but i just have no idea.

  i've had paradise ingrained in me and now that i'm putting that possibility aside i'm curious.

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  Phantom Stranger

  This is a topic where you can have lots of theories... and you have no data at all. None. Zip. It's the opinion-to-bunghole ratio situation - everyone has one and most of them stink.

  So what's your purpose? To reduce the stress of the unknown future? IMO, you're better off learning coping techniques than trying to unscrew the inscrutable.
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  35

  Phone / Email Relationships

  by Nosferatu in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  okay, my turn!.

  so, you met this hottie online, and got her email address.

  you're thinking, "wow!

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  Phantom Stranger

  Exchanged two or three e-mails, I gave her my phone number, on the first phone call we arranged our first meeting over drinks.

  And that's the formula that I recommend to everybody :)
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  23

  When we die....

  by desib77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so what really happens to us when we die?

  i know this is probably something most people have some sort of opinion on but i just have no idea.

  i've had paradise ingrained in me and now that i'm putting that possibility aside i'm curious.

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  2. 
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  Phantom Stranger

  What I had ingrained into me is that I'm dead. That's what we were taught - no?

  So I've simply continued with that as my baseline, figuring that anything else is gravy.
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  35

  Phone / Email Relationships

  by Nosferatu in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  okay, my turn!.

  so, you met this hottie online, and got her email address.

  you're thinking, "wow!

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  Phantom Stranger

  I am very much against Internet dating... but I am very much for Internet personals.

  As a way to meet people, it's great! As a way to get to know people, it sucks!

  Correspondence carries the flaw I mentioned earlier... a fatal flaw, imho. But as the saying says, do what you can, not what you should :)