Terry

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Posts by Terry

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  26

  Just How Serious IS Depression . . . ?

  by Corvin in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  how serious is depression related to your jw upbringing, association and/or disfellowshipment?

  should this kind (or any other kind) of depression that lingers long after the wt smoke clears go untreated?

  how have you successfully dealt with your depression?.

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  Terry

  My depression took a very strange form. It was pointed out to me by others (on more than one occasion) that I had a "monthly" problem!

  I would suddenly shift mental gears and become angry. My anger was hair-trigger. I would become hyper aware of slights from others. I would challenge, verbally, anyone for anything.

  And the worst part? I had a persistent semi-compulsion to smash my head in the wall! Yes. I just wanted to hurt myself.

  If this were a TV advert, right now the soothing music would begin......

  One day, I was told by a friend to try St.John's Wort. I looked it up and researched the effects of this so-called "natural" remedy for depression. (Black widow spiders and heart-attacks are natural too, I complained).

  After determining it would not kill me outright I began taking the St.John's Wort in pill form. I experimented with dosage and with brand names.

  IT WORKED!

  That is, the possibly placebo effect worked. I don't know if it was the pills or the expectation.

  I reasoned about it this way.

  When I tried several brands, only one of those brands worked. Would this be the case with a placebo? Also, if I didn't take two pills I had no response. If I discontinued the pills it would come back suddenly: the anger.

  After about two years on the St.John's Wort I went off of it again. The depression was pemanently gone.

  There were no side effect issues. No reduction in sexual desire or potency. Nobody was murdered. No smashed head.

  I mention this for what it is worth. Tests on people taking the St.John's Wort are inconclusive. It could very well BE a placebo. But, perhaps the kind of depression and the brain chemistry have more to do with it than that. I don't know.

  But, I've been depression free now for a long time.

  More power to any of you who succeed like I have.

  Terry
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  13

  FALSIFYING your religious beliefs: an important tool

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  news.

  published online: 06 august 2004; | doi:10.1038/news040802-19 science secret of grand masters revealed .

  mark peplow .

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  Terry

  I love Carl Sagan.

  My friend, Johnny, who is still with the JW's once commented to me that he had read Asimov's Guide to the Bible. (This was in response to my lamenting he never read anything but Watchtower books).

  "Weren't you amazed at how much he agrees with the Society on things?" he asked me.

  I had read the Asimov guide too, but, I had the entirely opposite view! The Asimov book refuted dozens of things the Society teaches.

  It was then I realised he was able to filter from consciousness anything that refuted his belief!

  Astonishing.
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  31

  I Could Care Less.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the correct expression is i couldn't care less.. the idea is that you are trying to inpart total disinterest in what your opponent is trying to say.

  so, you are so disinterested that you say i couldn't care less!

  it's impossible for me to care any less because i'm already at maximum non caring.

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  Terry

  If two things look exactly alike it is as though you are standing in front of a mirror. It is a "split image" the splitting image is identical. If not, then, how about this: when, in the days of old, a mirror was made of polished metal you had to spit on a cloth and rub it to make the image clear. That made it a spit image or clear image.

  The most worthless, inane, superflous (like my adjectives) and overwrought sentence you will ever hear spoken or written is this:

  It goes without saying.

  Immediately this is followed by the very thing which one should go without!

  An expression I use to hear alot in school was: "You're nuts".

  I would always reply: "What about them?"

  Terry
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  19

  What are some of the similarities between Mormonism and the J.W. cult?

  by hubert in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am doing some research on mormons, along with the watchtower org., and i'm looking for similar beliefs between the two.. i found a few, (i think), like:.

  both believe in shunning.. both use the term "apostate".. both have "end time " predictions.... mormons = generation of 1832.. does anyone know of any other similarities?

  thanks.... hubert

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  Terry

  The Mormon religion at least started with some great Sci-Fi writing! An angel with golden plates written in Egyptian heiroglyphs, special glasses that, when you put them on, automatically translate for you! Wow! Great stuff.

  C.T.Russell had his pyramid gizmo; but, it was not at all original to him. He was just suckered in by it and returned the favor to other hapless rubes.

  Mormon's have mysterious rituals they get to observe at the temple with secret dramas portrayed to them as hermetic knowledge. They get special underwear too!

  JW's have the weird Lord's Supper ritual that only the special anointed can "partake" of. How they know they are anointed is all goofy double talk.

  Mormons can be in politics and JW's had to go to prison rather than serve their country.

  Mormons minister as missionaries for 2 years; but, JW's have the dork-to-door work a lifetime.

  One similarity that comes to mind is this. Mormon's have their own bible substitute: The Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price. JW's have the NWTranslation. All the aforementioned are mostly works of fiction.

  Mormon's have a support structure for the rank and file. JW's have nothing.

  Mormon's receive "revelations" from their governing body. So do JW's but it is very mysterious what the process is. New Light comes from somewhere/somehow but it is never explained. Mormon's come right out and call it prophecy. JW's, always proved wrong, call themselves latter day "prophets" but always put the word in quotation marks !

  When I was an active Pioneer as a JW the toughest debates I ever had were with Mormons. They were sharp! Indoctrination in the Mormon church is every bit as good as among JWs.

  Terry
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  21

  Is Jesus the Same Jehovah of the Hebrew text????

  by JT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  http://www.fundamentalbiblechurch.org/foundation/fbccitiesofrefuge.htm

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  Terry

  Little toe opined:Terry:And that would be one opinion...

  Jesus was completely unimportant in his day to everybody but a tiny splinter group of Messianic Jews.

  Yup about a dozen or so, by all accounts.

  The usual bluff and bluster about discounting him due to there being few external sources is a bit of a distraction. Don't we have to establish that the person we are discussing really existed?The gospel accounts are secular sources in their own right. How so, pray tell? How do you verify this statement?

  You don't have to take the Bible as the word of God or even believe in God, to be content accepting that there was a historical Jesus. The difference between Jesus and, say, Moby Dick, is demonstrated how, then?

  In sidestepping the question you're comparing Apples and Pork Chops, since the question refers to the internal harmonies of a document that doesn't rely on external sources at all. The Bible did not fall out of the sky intact, did it? How do you, then, define:EXTERNAL?
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  31

  I Could Care Less.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the correct expression is i couldn't care less.. the idea is that you are trying to inpart total disinterest in what your opponent is trying to say.

  so, you are so disinterested that you say i couldn't care less!

  it's impossible for me to care any less because i'm already at maximum non caring.

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  Terry

  I put this on par with the expression that everybody says wrong:

  "you can't have your cake and eat it too."

  Well, of course you can!! I can't eat it unless I first have it, can I?

  What they intend to say is this:

  "You can't eat your cake and (still) have it too."

  Also, another pet peeve.

  "It is the exception that proves the rule."

  What is wrong is that the word "prove" is misunderstood as "proof" or "evidence" instead of in the sense of "a testing ground for soundness".

  Makes a difference, no? (It is the exception that __tests__the rule.)

  Terry
• 
  17

  WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? Are you?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  methinks i pushed the topic button a wee tad too early!

  here is what i meant to say.

  if nobody else is responsible, then, are you?

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  Terry

  Methinks I pushed the topic button a wee tad too early!

  Here is what I meant to say.

  If nobody else is responsible, then, are you?

  If you listen to the admonition of the Watchtower Society and the Governing Body and you fear the consequences of not obeying them, are you responsible for your actions--or, are they?

  If a gun is put to your head and you are forced to act; that is called coercion. What you do you will not be legally liable for under fear of death.

  How is it any different if we obey the WT on pain of death? If the threat is real to us it is the same as having a gun pointed.

  The WT governing body obeys (their perceived) orders from God and they view themselves as slaves. To be a slave is not a volunteer position! Anyone acting under life/death compulsion is coerced.

  COERCE:

  to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

  At what point can we be said to be personally responsible?
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  21

  Is Jesus the Same Jehovah of the Hebrew text????

  by JT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  http://www.fundamentalbiblechurch.org/foundation/fbccitiesofrefuge.htm

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  Terry

  I would reframe the question.

  Instead of asking "Is Jesus the same as Jehovah of the Hebrew text"?

  I'd ask, "Was there an historical Jesus?"

  Until I started reading into history and scholarly investigations from secular professors I simply assumed it was all fairly obvious that the answer was "YES!"

  But, an honest and in depth investigation does not turn up anything much but an infinitesimal hearsay.

  The two historians most often cited who are supposed to verify Jesus actual historical existence are Flavius Josephus and Tacitus.

  Not true!

  Have you ever looked into this? The "mentions" made by Josephus are in passing and concern an afterthought. They mention followers of a Christus or Messiah.

  Both Tacitus and Josephus agree on three points.

  1.There was a Jesus movement.

  2.The death of the leader stopped it.

  3.It started up again.

  And that is all we have, folks! The rest is hearsay.

  Even the mentions in Josephus are called into question by scholars. The words appear to be insertions by "latter day hands".

  Jesus was completely unimportant in his day to everybody but a tiny splinter group of Messianic Jews.

  The writings of Paul and his invention of what we call Christianity are what the world follows. Jesus never wrote anything. Ask yourself "why?"

  All we have is what is purported to be writings by people with first hand knowledge. But, this is as true of Joseph Smith and Mormonism and much easier to access historically.

  The evidence is that the New Testament is the result of politically motivated power brokers in the Roman Empire who needed agreement among a people for political powerbase purposes. The folktales, wonder-worker stories, Jesus myths and tall-tales of indigenous believers is a large body of "just-so" stories. These were examined and edited and whipped into shape by the same people who gave us all the other false nonsense that became the world's version of Christianity. The Bible Canon is a political, hand's-on product of people you wouldn't invite into your home if you met them today. Much of what contemporary historians such as Eusebius tell us immediately identify these bible-shapers/editors/redactors as horrible sycophants. They spent an inordinate amount of time kissing the Roman Emperor's ass to avoid persecutions. I implore everyone interested in what is historically true (as opposed to the same old fairy tale view of the bible as a god-inspired super book) to go to your Public Library and find the writings I speak of.

  Stop by a Barnes and Noble and take a look at any of several books:

  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/pagels.html

  http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/maccoby2.htm

  http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?0345391691
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  42

  Since JWs Never Helped Anyone But Themselves, What Do You Do 4 People?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we, as witnesses were taught to believe that our giving the "truth" to people was the most important gift we could give!

  forget about giving money to charities or helping any other group out----we needed to give them the "real life".

  do you find yourself giving back to the community or to others now that you're out?

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  Terry

  My wife and I sponsor local youths who come from homes where they are in physical danger and have to be removed and raised by the State.

  These kids are deeply scarred inside and have huge trust issues. When you volunteer you spend time with them taking them to your house or out to a museum, etc. The idea is to treat them, along with other members of your own family, as a "normal" person.

  The sad part is, when they reach a certain age they usually transition into dangerous people. Almost invariably this happens. The rage is too overwhelming.

  But, we try. My wife and I only hope that, if they get through the acting-out part of life, they may remember somebody once believed they were worth something.

  Terry
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  25

  Only possible things happen. Is free choice an illusion?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  things are what they are.. everything acts according to its nature.. nothing escapes its own nature.. we cannot be other than what we are and our "choices" follow our nature.. consequently, can we not say correctly that free choice is merely our ignorance of the fact that all our actions and choices are predetermined by our nature?.

  example: if i offer you dog piss or a dove bar is that really a choice?.

  only possible things happen.

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  Terry

  http://reason.com/rb/rb021903.shtml

  A mini-synopsis of a book I read about the "choice" in our nature.

  Daniel Dennet's book FREEDOM EVOLVES is the source.

  Terry