Posts by dorayakii

Although i don't believe in the Bible as any sort of reliable historic record, and no matter how much i would like to, i have to admit that it is not possible for linguists like myself to "thoroughly trash" the idea of a single language. When 19th century British colonists went to India, they were surprised to find that the Indian languages closely resemmbled the already catalogued Classical Latin, Ancient Greek and the Early Germanic and Slavic tongues. They proceded to start categorising languages worldwide and the work even today is not done.

There are more than 100 language super-families in the world. So that means, 100 different "proto-languages" which are the common ancestors of all studied and recorded modern and historically known languages, but even that relatively small number, (compared to the estimated 6000-8000 identifyable languages in the world) is being reduced every day as common roots between langugaes previously thought to be unrelated, are found. So linguistically it is impossible to prove whether Babel existed or not, and it is almost equally difficult to ascertain whether there was one single language used by a single tribe of hominids and from which all the "proto-languages" emerged, or whether in fact the proto-languages evolved independantly (or were created by a god who wanted to spread abroad a large group of rebellious, tower-building people).

The main problem is that language was already evolved and complex before the age of recorded history, so it takes a genius, code-breaking mind to cross from the period of recorded history into that of pre-history... (may i just add, that proto-languages were more complex in certain ways and less in others, but i won't go into that now, i could write an essay on why the famous section with the Evolution vs. Creation schema is gravely wrong).

As a side note, the largest super-family is the Indo-European family which includes English, French, Spanish German, Hindi, Bengali, Welsh, Irish Gealic, Greek, Czech/Slovak, Russian etc. etc. etc. This language super-family boasts approximately 3 billion speakers worldwide, more than half the worlds inhabitants speak an Indo-European language.

Surprisingly as it may seem, the fact that they belong to a lanuage super-family, shows that these languages all came from one tracable source, as is attested to by the word "bear" (to carry), in many of those langugaes: Gothic "bairan" Old Englsih "beran" Russian "bere-" Old Persian "bara-" Sanskrit "bhara-" Greek "pherein" Latin "ferre"... Surprisingly, most words and roots can be traced like this and a theory of the oldest know form of a language can be reasonanbly surmised. This is called a "proto-language" and there is one for each super-family of languages.

(On a slightly biblical note, the ancient and extinct Hittite language is the oldest recorded Indo-European language. It is interesting to note that the word for "water" in Hittite was "watar" and the word for "to eat", was "ettsa"... )

The second largest super-family is the Sino-Tibetan super-family, which includes Mandarin, Cantonese, all of the Chinese and Tibetan dialects and around 250 other languages and dialects of East Asia.

The Afro-Asiatic Family (Hebrew, Arabic, Berber, Ancient Egyptian and the other Semitic and Cushitic languages), and the Niger-Congo Family (most of sub-Saharan Africa) take up most of the rest of the space on a language families map.

Other language families include the Uralic Family, the Altaic Family, the Malayo-Polynesian Family, the Caucasian Family (not white people, but the mostly muslim inhabitants of the Caucus mountain range), the Dravidian Family (Tamil and other south-east Indian languages), the Austro-Asiatic Family (Aborigine), the Eskimo-Aleut Family and several Native American language superfamilies.

23

Bisexuality Quiz

by JH in

jw
friends

http://www.golivewire.com/forums/viewquiz.cgi?action=624

you are 90% straight and 10% bisexual.. .

out of the 1646 people who have taken this quiz, the average person is 40% bisexual.

dorayakii

You are 40% Straight and 60% Bisexual.

Umm... i don't thin this quiz was designed for 100% Gay people...

155

Whats the dumbest reason youve been counseled?

by avishai in

my friend was counseled for having a bad attitude because he wore white socks w/ his suit.

dorayakii

For having like, 2 hairs on my chin when i was about 16... "You sould shave, its not appropriate to wear a beard in the Kingdom Hall"

For referring to the WTS as "The Society". A few years ago there was something going around that we couldn't say "The Society", anymore, we had to say "The Faithful Slave" or "The Governing Body"

For wearing a hat into the foyer of the Kingdom Hall... I wasn't even baptised yet then, but i was told, "Brothers should take off hats before they enter, only sisters are alowed to wear a hat inside because it shows their submission towards the brothers"

For wearing a different coloured jacket and trousers (pants)on the platform while giving a bible reading. (The jacket was tweed and the trousers were grey)

For wearing concealed silver wrist and neck chains

For going to a public secondary school (umm... aka. "private high-school" for you Americans)

For going to university

For going shopping alone with a sister (A rumour went around that we were courting. I tried all kinds of ways to get out of that one, but i really just wanted to admit it and cry out "I'm gay for Vishnu's sake, why is this a problem" but i obviously couldn't)

For watching The Matrix and LotR and enjoying them.

For having a Windsor-knot on my tie instead of the normal (imho) trashy Four-in-Hand knot. (After the Awake! article "Neckties Then and Now" came out, i reprised my old Windsor knot.)

For saying in my talks that we have the "fantastic privilege of prayer". (apprently the privilege of prayer is not fantastic, it is quite real. I retorted that it was just a figure of speech and that when you say that something is brilliant, it doesnt necessarily mean it it literally shining.)

I also got councilled for saying that the Bible Students showed an"unbelievable level of faith".... (It was believable)

For giving too perfect of an experience on the platform at the Circuit Assembly. (I should have seemed less faithful, so that other kids in the audience could relate to me... The experience was a pig's-trough load of embellished bull$#!+ anyway, lol)

For describing God's "purpose" as a plan in a prayer at the book study.

Yep, i had this one as well... Jehovah doesnt need to plan, he has everything worked out already.

So i asked, "then why is there a book called the Divine Plan of the Ages?"...

The elder said, "how did you know about that book?"...

i said, "umm.. its mentionned in the Proclaimers book"...

he said, "oh, ok, anyway, that term was changed when the Faithful Slave came to a scriptural realisation that Jehovah does not plan anything, he merely purposes. You shouldn't really say that Jehovah 'plans'"...

That got me right confused, lol, i'd never heard the word "purpose" used as a verb... (I purpose to go on holiday this year)

yummby Jehovahs people are the happiest people on earth, you are not reflecting that quality"

Sparks: 11:Telling a householder the Awake! magazines are simular to Readers Digest

LOOOOOOL

111

Rename That Magazine!

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

attention apostates!

i'm sick, and i'm bored!!!

that means fun for all of us!.

dorayakii

For the angels one:
"Overcrowding in Heaven -- Is There a Solution?"
Dave

I dunno why this one made me laugh so much, i decided to make a proper version of it...

alt

60

Pictures- Just for fun

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

i was just browsing through my files, and came across a few cool / neat / weird photos i thought i'd share.

these are from my trip to bethel in mid-april of last year.. .

there i was, right outside hq.

dorayakii

I never knew that "Read Watchtower and Awake!" occupied a higher position than "Read God's Word the Holy Bible Daily"!

Just shows what they put as most important.

23

Do Black people have a monopoly on rhythm?

by LDH in

jw
friends

ok i will admit to creating a horrible thread title just to get you to look!

of course black people don't have a monopoly on rhythm.

i just wanted to brag (a little late but still) that my daughter's high school won the percussion high honors trophy at western band championships in november in long beach.

dorayakii

Congrats to your daughter, I agree she's in heaven, those are some good looking boys she's with there

As for whether black people have the monopoly on rhythm, I can sing really well but i can't dance to save my life... Rhythm in one but not in the other, how strange... far from a monopoly i'd say

31

Are kilts considered proper meeting or assembly attire in the UK?

by avishai in

dorayakii

I think i'd look rather fetching in my families tartan.

alt

(My paternal great-great grandfather was a caucasian from Scotland, just in case you were wondering)

Would be interesting to find out about some of the traditional dress of some of my other ancestors...

46

What was your first Apostasy?

by Dune in

jw
friends

i'm re-reading 1984 and the similarities between the wtbs and the "party" astound me, but anyway, it made me think of the time when i started to get doubts (thoughtcrime).. i remember once at this book study a sister commented about the 1914 and was reciting it's historical accuracy.

anyway, she went on to mention that the demons were probably learning everything about biblical prophecies from the wtbs.

i was 13 at the time but the comment made me cringe, i was thinking "why would superior beings need humans to interpret the bible for them?

dorayakii

My first doubts crept up during the family study. I first started to think in 1993 at the age of 10 when we were discussing the time when Jehovah killed Uzzah for merely touching the Ark of the Covenant. I said that it seemed unfair and that i didnt understand why Jehovah had done that, the answer that my Father gave me was insufficient, but i just used double-think to blot it out from my mind... from then on, i started noticing discrepancies between scriptures and injustices on the part of Jehovah but i became an expert user of double-think.

Around about the same time (9/10), i began to notice that i was gay, but didnt know how to articulate my feelings at the time. When i realised that my feelings were what they were going on about all the time, i entered into a long period of guilt. The guilt never really went away until i was 18. After that, i finally realised that being gay was not something to be ashamed of, it was not something that i could control, and therefore its not worthy of guilt.

In 1999, at the age of 15, when my school first got the internet, i tried to look for the Watchtower website, but typed it in wrong. I panicked when i saw the amount of "apostate" JW websites. However, i never was confident enough to look at them. Between 15 and 18 i felt terrible pangs of guilt and my double-think-o-meter went off the scale... My "faith" was really weak at that point, so in Dec 2001, having just turned 18, i decided to get baptised to "protect" myself...

It was the biggest mistake of my life, because in early 2002 i built up the courage to access "apostate" material on the internet. It wasthe killing blow to wipe all traces of WT belief from me. I learned about the 1975 scandal, the false 607 doctrine and the UN-NGO scandal and they all became nails in the coffin. The beginning of 2002 was a turning point for me. Even though it wasn't until late 2003 that i ceased to believe in God and the Bible, i eliminated all thoughts of "what if the WatchTower really IS the Truth?". In September 2002 i started my University degree and by the end of the year i had entered my first "serious" relationship...

43

Email from Stephen Bates regarding Quotes website

by IT Support in

i received this email from stephen bates, journalist on the guardian (london) newspaper, a few hours ago:

dear ken,.

a few months ago you emailed me about the watchtower suing a canadian website.

dorayakii

I recieved a similar email from Steven Bates as well today. I was about to start a new thread, good thing i spotted this one first.

Subject : Re: WatchTower sues [Quotes] for $100,000+

Dear Stephen, A few months ago you kindly emailed me about the Watchtower's litigation against the Canadian website. I have followed the story from afar and an account will, I hope, be running on the Guardian's international website: www.newsunlimited.co.uk within the next day or two. Thank you for telling me about the original story.

Best wishes,

Steve Bates

How kind of him to reply, after such a long while. He's a great guy and a brilliant reporter, he even went so far as to write me an individual email, with slightly different wording than IT's email...