Markfromcali

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Posts by Markfromcali

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  29

  JWs--cult or am i just bitter?

  by sinamongurl in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after reading many experiences and comments on the board, i have begun to have questions.

  questions that i really didnt know i until i read them.

  as a recently df'd person, i am still struggling with whether jws are really a cult or is it just that im bitter for being torn away from the only thing that i knew, where i had friends that i thought loved me.

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  Markfromcali

  As some others have implied in their posts, whether the JWs are a cult and whether you are bitter are two different things, though certainly connected. But even if you are bitter, that doesn't mean the JWs can't be a cult.

  In fact, I would point out that the fact people are so enmeshed and can't really distinguish themselves as their own person is one of the indicators that it is a cult. This is why we call it the Borg, after the Star Trek race that assimilates people into one big machine hive-mind. In a healthy relationship with a group, the person is autonomous and at the same time part of a united group. This is also why there is disfellowshipping, if one was not so dependent on the group it would be a joke, or atleast nowhere near as devastating as it is. Also taken into consideration the whole "no part of the world" stuff where they essentially shuns everyone that's not a JW, (so that you can't be part of another group and get support from them) you got a pretty clear picture of whats going on. This whole set of circumstances fosters an immature psychology dependent on the group.
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  52

  Do you believe in psychics?

  by Oh Jebus, Save Me From Your Followers! in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi there everyone, just wanted to see if any of you believe in any psychics or paranormal activity.

  i know that as a jw we are taught that any ghosts are demons and any psychic activities are demonized.

  would love to hear any feedback and or any pesonal experiences you have had and if you believe they are all demons, or if there is a difference between good and bad spirits.

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  Markfromcali

  Ok I'm gonna tie in another point here.. What if psychic ability is actually hindered by belief, including your belief in psychic ability?

  Now that I've got your attention, let me explain. The thing is belief is limiting in general, if you really believed something that shapes your world view and such. On the other hand, if there is certain phenomena that exists or if you actually had access to some kind of ability - which would imply you can pretty much do it at will - you wouldn't need to have this solidified thought to believe in. Those thoughts come from a gross state of consciousness.

  So the one principle here that most of us can agree with is the matter of having a free mind, regardless of the views on this particular issue. It just goes to reason that a free mind works more efficiently and is able to realize its full potential, where as belief - while useful for the sake of organizing an making sense of the world - is ultimately limiting. I'll even go so far as to say you can have beliefs but be free from them, just treat it as a functional necessity rather than your reality - because thats what it is, a function of your mind.
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  11

  Cat-faced women

  by onacruse in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just one example of wts misogyny:.

  vindication 2 (1932) pp.

  ?the young men of aven and of pibeseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity.?

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  Markfromcali

  Down with Catwoman, yay Batman!
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  67

  Why is it cool to make fun of blonds, but not black people?

  by Satanus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  discuss.

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  Markfromcali

  And usually blonde jokes are reserved for women right - you all see the preview for the movie White Chicks?
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  6

  An interesting article I found....

  by GenericMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here's an article by nicholas rescher, professor of philosophy at the university of pittsburgh.

  its titled on faith and belief.

  i stumbled across it while browsing the internet for articles.

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  Markfromcali

  By heavy stuff, you mean fancy language?
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  52

  Do you believe in psychics?

  by Oh Jebus, Save Me From Your Followers! in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi there everyone, just wanted to see if any of you believe in any psychics or paranormal activity.

  i know that as a jw we are taught that any ghosts are demons and any psychic activities are demonized.

  would love to hear any feedback and or any pesonal experiences you have had and if you believe they are all demons, or if there is a difference between good and bad spirits.

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  Markfromcali

  "Do you believe in psychics... In a young girl's heart"
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  32

  When do the nightmares end?

  by EyeDrEvil in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just a question for the board's input.... background information:.

  my wife, raised in a jw home, very popular elder as her father, living through the entire 1975 thing ("honey don't worry about passing 7th grade.

  next year will be the new system..."), but beat up for years by the mind-control and spiritual abuse by the wts.... she has recently officially da'd from the society this spring, had her first birthday party ever (a huge blast of a great time!).

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  Markfromcali

  Speaking of the movie, I loved the part where his roommate tells him about some prestigious award and he turns around and goes: "Patch Adams, Emerson Elementary. I once drew a picture of a rabbit that got 2 gold stars."
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  32

  When do the nightmares end?

  by EyeDrEvil in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just a question for the board's input.... background information:.

  my wife, raised in a jw home, very popular elder as her father, living through the entire 1975 thing ("honey don't worry about passing 7th grade.

  next year will be the new system..."), but beat up for years by the mind-control and spiritual abuse by the wts.... she has recently officially da'd from the society this spring, had her first birthday party ever (a huge blast of a great time!).

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  Markfromcali

  I see Sally. You know how the Borg had the saying millions now living will never die, but we might rightly say millions now dying will never live. There is a story of a zen master who was about to die, and it was customary to write a death poem, but he didn't write one. When one of his students asked about this, he said: "Hasn't my life been enough of a death poem for you?"

  Life isn't to be preserved, its to be lived. You get a sense of what I'm saying? It doesn't matter if this isn't totally clear and logical. Sometimes it takes a lot just to get the basic sense across, if I got that far then that's enough.
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  32

  When do the nightmares end?

  by EyeDrEvil in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just a question for the board's input.... background information:.

  my wife, raised in a jw home, very popular elder as her father, living through the entire 1975 thing ("honey don't worry about passing 7th grade.

  next year will be the new system..."), but beat up for years by the mind-control and spiritual abuse by the wts.... she has recently officially da'd from the society this spring, had her first birthday party ever (a huge blast of a great time!).

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  Markfromcali

  I am afraid to leave the dead alone

  You don't leave them alone ..? What do you do with them?
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  14

  Just out of curiousity...

  by thedarknesswithin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is this forum official?

  i found it in a search result, but there appears to be in no way connected to watchtower.org.

  so i was just wondering if this was the real deal or just a jw forum doing it own thing?

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  Markfromcali

  Thanks anyway though, but as I said before i was just a bored soul with an internet connection and an interest in religion and philosophy.

  Hmm, what will you do when you get bored with those? At first I was going to include the statement about Buddhism and Wicca in the quote, but I think this is more direct..