As the 3 stooges might say, "Soit-un-ly!"
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Posts by Terry
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12A very short short story
by Terry ini wanted to see how short i could make a story and it still would be effective.
you be the judge.
did i succeed?.
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7
Should I stay or should I go?
by olongapo joe inhello all, i love reading all of your experiences, and trials and tribulations ( isn't that very jw'ish)?
while most of my life experiences have almost nothing to do with jw's, as i was never baptized and never believed( in the bible) past the 5th grade, it makes me feel good to contribute a post or two here, i tend to go off on subjects that are probably not very jermaine to the main subject of this site.
i do really enjoy all of your comments and the time and effort simon and the other moderators spend to make this a truly inspiring site.
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Terry
Hard to believe, but it took me from 1979 to about 1995 to finally break my addiction to Watchtower thinking patterns.
I had time to kill in the local Public Library and I wandered into the Philosophy section.
Well, I had zero interest in philosophy. However . . .
I saw a book whose author I recognized and whom I admired.
Mortimer J. Adler had been the fellow behind the Encyclopedia Britannica volumes of THE GREAT BOOKS of the WESTERN WORLD that I adored so much!
Adler had also written, HOW TO READ A BOOK which proved invaluable.So, I thought to myself--let me see what Adler has to say behind this intriguing title:
10 PHILOSOPHICAL MISTAKES
I read the entire book in one hour and immediately went to a bookstore a bought a personal copy for myself!
I re-read it and took notes.
I was on fire!
That book started me on a process of rooting out the philosophical errors buried deep in Watchtower teaching which I would never have detected on my own (without Adler's excellent ideas and concepts stirring in my brain.)
From that moment on, I've been scrubbing my brain of every trace of indoctrination. fallacious reasoning, ideology and false premises.
I highly recommend this book to anybody who has been an intellectual victim of a group such as Jehovah's Witnesses.
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21
NWT...how accurate?
by Theburstbubble ini'm sorry if i'm covering old ground here.
but is the nwt bible a credible translation of the scriptures?
i'm not asking if you believe in the bible or not.
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Terry
Just a SIDEBAR here.
In a court of law, a handwriting expert will testify whether somebody's writing is authentic or not ONLY if an original specimen, called an "exemplar" is available for analysis.
Without an original version, nothing can be determined to the court's satisfaction.
I recall now with amusement the day I discovered the fact there are no originals for the Bible--no exemplars--nothing in the way of "autograph copies" (in other words, in the actual handwriting of the author) in any museum, church, repository, safe, or private collection. There is NOTHING.
Why do I mention this?
The question: HOW ACCURATE IS THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION is a question
without meaning because there are no exemplars for comparison.
There are only approximations of approximations of copies of copies widely divergent with others.
To make a long story short, THERE IS NO THERE THERE. -
12
A very short short story
by Terry ini wanted to see how short i could make a story and it still would be effective.
you be the judge.
did i succeed?.
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Terry
I wanted to see how short I could make a story and it still would be effective. You be the judge. Did I succeed?
____________SPENDING TIME WITH STRANGERS______
He sat on the edge of her bed and wept.
Her head rested on the pale blue pillow. An angelic halo of hair shone illumined by the silver moon.His trembling hand clasped the old woman's slender wrist. Her fragile arms were so carefully arranged across her chest. He choked and sputtered his words.
"Mother, I'm so sorry. I know I've been a disappointment to you. . ."
The young man's words trailed off into a whisper.Outside, the storm scattered deafening splashes against the window panes; rattling as though hell itself were breaking loose.
"I know you don't wah-want me spending time with strangers. . .um wuh- .women. . ."
He stuttered and kept his eyes downcast so as not to confront his mother's face.
" I hoped you wouldn't think. . .I would dis-disobey you. . on purpose."
A flash and thunder punctuated his awkward confession. All at once the rain subsided until the only sound was that of his own sobbing.
Minutes passed.Finally, he lifted his hand and dried his tears and stood to full height beside his mother's bed.
"Don't worry. I won't talk to her--that woman-- again unless it's about business."
He turned toward the door of the musty bedroom and remembered the light switch, flicking it on and wincing at the expression on his mother's face.
"Don't be ang-angry mo-mother. . I'll behave like a gent-gentleman."
He was about to exit the room when he whirled suddenly around. . .
He cocked his ear and the dripping leak next to the hall banister made itself known.
"Wha-what did you say, Mother?"
He listened in the way priests listen for the voice of god."Oh--her. . her name?" He froze in place and forced a twisted smile of nonchalance.
"She said it was Craine. Marian Craine. . . sort of like, um the bird."
He stole a glance at the taxidermied owl he'd given his mom for Mother's Day all those years past.
Silence filled the murky room as he fidgeted and darted his eyes about.
Finally, the young man shrugged diffidently.
He entered the hallway and swiftly skipped down the carpeted staircase toward the front door where he paused and took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling--then proceeded into the humid night toward the motel office.
There were things which must be done.
Mother would be pleased.
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7
A WRITER (me) looks at the "character GOD" from the standpoint of bad writing
by Terry ini pay attention to what other writers write about writing.
writers always have limits--even writers of fiction.. do you choose to live in a world where pigs fly and deuces are wild?
that would be an imaginary world.. do you choose to live in a world where god rules?
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Terry
HOMER is a kind of romantically invented person who is repository identity as the 1st writer attributed to an Epic tale which has lasted for millennia.
Around perhaps 800 B.C.E., stories about Odysseus and the Trojan War had been told around campfires thousands of times before "Homer" took it upon himself to fashion them into a fixed story nailed down by virtue of having been plotted and written specifically without further embellishment.
Once the Hebrews had commerce with non-Jews (carried off to the Big City as it were to Babylonia) and were introduced to new ideas and completely new way of life, they were enriched immeasurably. Upon return to their old homeland, suddenly we are led to believe King Hezekiah simply "found" what existed of their history written down but "lost." Presto! The Old testament. However, it contains duplicate stories which contradict each other!
In his book, WHO WROTE THE BIBLE, author Richard Elliott Friedman goes into detail of just how stitched together the old (pre-Babylon) and new post-Babylon stories actually are.
YOU CAN READ THIS BOOK in PDF form online right now at:
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7
A WRITER (me) looks at the "character GOD" from the standpoint of bad writing
by Terry ini pay attention to what other writers write about writing.
writers always have limits--even writers of fiction.. do you choose to live in a world where pigs fly and deuces are wild?
that would be an imaginary world.. do you choose to live in a world where god rules?
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Terry
I am a writer. I pay attention to what other writers write about writing. Writers always have limits--even writers of fiction.
Do you choose to live in a world where pigs fly and deuces are wild?
That would be an imaginary world.
Do you choose to live in a world where GOD rules? Let's look at this character: God, and see what problems His creators faced.
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A writer cannot write a character who is more intelligent than himself. A writer cannot transcend his own limitations. . The writer cheats by resorting to a fake explanation. Writer's cheat by violating cause and effect!
A writer cannot transcend his own limitations, but a writer can make you believe it anyway.
A good fiction writer helps you relax your bullshit detector a little bit. It is called "suspension of disbelief." A storyteller does this with style.
"Who is this God and why does He do the things He does?"
The character, Moses, asks a similar question of God, when the deity presumes to send Moses to Pharoah of Egypt.
God answers:
"I shall prove to be what I prove to be."
Is that an answer or a deflection?
Bible writers are writing about this world and a Universe they are entirely ignorant of when it comes to facts. So, they make things up.
For one thing, GOD does not have a cause.
The writers simply declare it to be true and move on!
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Logic had not yet been invented by Aristotle until the 4th century B.C.E.
How do Bible writers explain God's superior sense of Justice? They cheat!
Jehovah himself declares:
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” ( Romans 9:15 ). _______________________________________________________________________
You see? God acts on whim. No need to explain further. The writer is off the hook.
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In the real world, contradiction with reality is a signal of non-truth.
A policeman interrogates a suspect and looks for contradictions.
Contradictions are the key to discovering lies. (Fictions)
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----- JEHOVAH an unpredictable being operating without logic.-----
A badly written character acts one way for awhile and suddenly acts opposite without internal harmony or explanation.
We might find such a character requiring LAW in the Old Testament and suddenly operating out of MERCY in the New Testament.
This whimsical character might LOVE mankind one minute and repenting of having created them the next. He might destroy men, women, children, unborn babies, animals, plants in a worldwide flood and then promise not to do it ever again under a rainbow.Israel might be a tribe in the Middle East one era and suddenly become simply a connotation of spirituality.
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As Aristotle says in his Metaphysics: Thus "it is not possible to say truly at the same time that the same thing is and is not a man."
Uh-oh!
In the New Testament, we seem to find Jesus disconnected from such logic.
The Jesus writers vacillate between the real world and the world of fiction. Is Jesus god or man, is he Son and Father simultaneously? The writers botch the job!
Does Jesus practice magic or use supernatural means to bring about miracles? The writers take it for granted by not explaining.
After all, what is a "miracle" but a violation of cause and effect in the physical universe?
The writers simple tell the story as though it were true and all those believing crowds were buying it--so, why should we, the readers be any different?
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The Bible mixes the real world with the make-believe world and there is no effort made to distinguish between the two.
God is a puzzle. Jesus is a Divine mystery. The Holy Spirit is undefined and inexplicable.
What it all comes down to is POOR WRITING!
Maybe--just maybe, the reason the Bible is full of contradictions is because all the various writers and storytellers who developed the tales inside just weren't very good.
Maybe Jesus is a mysterious figure because the people telling the story didn't have a clue how to make it clear who or what he really was.Perhaps Agatha Christie could have done a much better job of plotting and revealing.
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7
Should I stay or should I go?
by olongapo joe inhello all, i love reading all of your experiences, and trials and tribulations ( isn't that very jw'ish)?
while most of my life experiences have almost nothing to do with jw's, as i was never baptized and never believed( in the bible) past the 5th grade, it makes me feel good to contribute a post or two here, i tend to go off on subjects that are probably not very jermaine to the main subject of this site.
i do really enjoy all of your comments and the time and effort simon and the other moderators spend to make this a truly inspiring site.
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Terry
What tools does a DUPED person have? Intellectual damage is done once you are indoctrinated.
Your emotional ties to your "spiritual family" form a bias to free thinking.
WHY should you make your life better by first making it worse?
That's the dilemma for the person who will automatically be labeled APOSTATE when they shift loyalty.
Once freed from the authority of the cult, it is a strenuous self-rehabiliation which comes next--as mentioned--with damaged thinking mechanism still in place.
The same mind you had (which got you into Jehovah's Witnesses) is still in place!
You aren't really smarter once you see how you've been duped!
The frying pan-into-the fire scenario must be avoided.
On the rebound, a "believer personality" often bounces into yet another form of bondage.
The abused talks about their own vulnerability aloud. It is like a wounded animal in the forest. The predator smells the meal!
Let's face the facts.
If you are an alcoholic, for example, you cannot drink. Period.
All you can do is take it one day at a time--WITHOUT resorting to alcohol to solve the real internal problems.
Now, apply that same principle to RELIGIOUS ADDICTION.
If you are a GOD-a-HOLIC, you cannot have religious affiliation. Why? because you'll be addicted to HAVING SOMEBODY TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, HOW TO THINK and DEMAND LOYALTY and SERVITUDE from you again.
The Post Traumatic Apostate Syndrome can be described this way.
Whatever mindset you are running away from you adopt again, but in another form.
WHERE IS THE HEALING PERIOD?
How do you suddenly get your rational mind back?
Well, you don't.
People don't become addicts if they are thinking clearly.
People who are healthy don't resort to mind-altering "solutions" because these choices aren't answers.
What is the worst mistake you can make?
FAILURE TO EXAMINE YOUR PREMISES!
Why not set aside a full year completely away from any organization connected with religion?
Investigate slowly. Gain confidence. Get your mind back. Don't talk to people (other than therapists) about your vulnerability.
BEGIN TO QUESTION EVERYTHING.
(What? Why would I question everything?)
You see? Now you're getting it!
Don't take anything for face value. NOTHING.
Test, question, research, and investigate every single premise you hold to be true.
IS THERE AN ABSOLUTE in your life?
Be assured it is your demon!
The one thing you will never question is the thing that is destroying you from inside.
God?
The Bible?
Truth?
Those things can tear you apart. (They probably already did and you won't admit it).
Avoid remaining in that one little box of madness: the Post Traumatic Apostate Syndrome is real.
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34
The Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body are Elitists (Here is why)
by Terry inan "elite" group is one which has special privileges not granted to others.. and obscurantist elite, is a group which hides information by virtue of its own claim to be special and a sole source in dispensing necessary truths.. to wit:.
the gb's elitism shines through in articles such as this:.
“thus the bible is an organizational book and belongs to the christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals , regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the bible .
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Terry
Iown Mylife4 days ago
The thing is that the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is a business! A business with the extra benefits of privileges with which religious organizations clothe themselves, including mind-control to keep members in subjection.
The comparison fits.
Marina
________________Let's be within the same context when we talk about business.
Is there a difference between the NON-PROFIT business and the FOR-PROFIT business?
In the case of The Watchtower, the difference is spectacular!
The "employee" is voluntary!
it is illegal in Texas to work for somebody who doesn't pay you because there is no such thing as CASUAL LABOR in a for-profit business.
The Watchtower not only uses what amounts to slave labor (yes-yes, volunteer) but abuses their workers by the constant threat held over their head of DF-ing and Armageddon should they be ousted 'for cause.'
A for-profit business hires you for a wage and takes out taxes, part of which go toward Social Security.
You'll get none of that from Watchtower.
The bastards at the top of the Jehovah's Witness treadmill don't have oversight by Federal Authority coming in to check their books or grill the Human Resources manager and the recourse to Legal help by outside agencies is laughable and tragic simultaneously.
Does it make any difference that the GB are held up as charismatic leaders or that they can change any policy at any time without having to ask their constituency if they like it or not? OF COURSE. It makes them Titans rather than CEO's.The silly and wrong-headed tax exemptions relieve these "leaders" of accountability in so many ways which give them a free hand at their whimsical work of making the world in their own imaginary image.
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162
Do you still believe in God?
by FormerlySandL ini never thought i would admit it, but i don't.
i might superstitiously have some kind of doubt but digging a bit deeper in my heart i really don't believe in god.
as a human i could never just sit and watch people be tortured, live years of abuse, suffer from illness and disabilities and all the other awful things people have to endure day after day without doing something about it.
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Terry
Explorers searched for the Fountain of Youth, the Lost City of Gold, and the Garden of Eden. Metaphysicians practiced alchemy and sought to turn lead into gold. Ancient Greeks tried to square the circle using only a protractor and straightedge. . . and failed, one and all.
The unreal, the imaginary, and the impossible aren't known in advance. Seeking to disprove or improve is a magnificent ambition. The difference between the explorers, the Scientists, and the theorists. . . and True-Believers who knock on your door with waste paper disguised as Truth is this:
One group of people TESTS their dreams and ambitions against reality.
The other group--hunkers down and defends every silly, disproved lie as though it was the gold in Ft. Knox.
It's a remarkable difference between minds: intellectual honesty is all too rare among "spiritual people." In fact, "Spirit-led" people tend to despise logic, reason, and individuality as though it were a curse. Not all, mind you, just enough to curdle the milk of human kindness.
I think it must be a faulty switch between being able to visualize actual things and a subcategory of imagining non-existing things. If those alternate paths were CLEARLY MARKED in your mind, you'd never stray off into the yellow brick road of wishful thinking. But--I would hypothesize--a hiccup occurs and we get confused between our epiglottis and our doohickey
BELIEF is a strong conviction based on NO evidence. You just want it because it feels good to imagine you could have it.
No harm--no foul.
Except . . . just possibly . . .by confusing the path between ACTUAL and IMAGINARY, we damage our ability to reach conclusions which harmonize with reality.
In my view (an opinion, mind you) "belief" is a bad habit not unlike picking your nose and eating the boogers. It's sort of like bad manners.
Why "bad" manners?
Because the rest of your rational friends have to waste their time dealing with all that nonsense without hurting your feelings or setting you off on a rant.
Delusional friends can be a real pain in the assYour mileage may vary, of course.
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87
What is your "INTUITION" about THE SECRET "law of attraction"?
by Terry inever hear somebody say, "trust your gut..."?.
or, like obe wan kenobe: "trust your feelings...."?.
have you ever followed that "little voice" that whispers to you that you should or should not do something?.
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Terry
This Topic dates back 6 years!
I've had time to reflect on various aspects of the information and opinions offered in that span of time.
A religious person, such as a Christian, instead of asking "the Universe" for something, asks God, like a child making a wish before their birthday cake. Christians are reassured God wants to be asked and they are chided with the cautionary, "The reason you don't receive is that you don't ask. Keep on asking!" However, we all know good and well there is a catch to it. Most of the time your dog dies anyway, you don't win the Lottery, that cute redhead doesn't fall in love with you, and you don't get a perfect score on your test at school. We've been confidently assured: "You didn't have enough Faith."
I've no problem with this little game because I spent hours with a Magic 8-Ball when I was a kid, asking it "Yes" or "No" questions and reading the triangular answers like they really meant something.Others spend a certain amount of time consulting astrology charts or buying those Lotto tickets because there is tickle of a thrill connected to the rationale of an unreasoning belief something comes from nothing.
Explorers searched for the Fountain of Youth, the Lost City of Gold, and the Garden of Eden. Metaphysicians practiced alchemy and sought to turn lead into gold. Ancient Greeks tried to square the circle using only a protractor and straightedge.
Ahh, human belief!
I think it must be a faulting switch between being able to visualize actual things and a subcategory of imagining non-existing things. If those alternate paths were CLEARLY MARKED in your mind, you'd never stray off into the yellow brick road of wishful thinking. But--I would hypothesize--a hiccup occurs and we get confused between our epiglottis and our doohickey:)
BELIEF is a strong conviction based on NO evidence. You just want it because it feels good to imagine you could have it.
No harm--no foul.
Except . . . just possibly . . .by confusing the path between ACTUAL and IMAGINARY, we damage our ability to reach conclusions which harmonize with reality.
In my view (an opinion, mind you) "belief" is a bad habit not unlike picking your nose and eating the boogers. It's sort of like bad manners.
Why "bad" manners? Because the rest of your rational friends have to waste their time dealing with all that nonsense without hurting your feelings or setting you off on a rant.
Delusional friends can be a real pain in the ass :)Your mileage may vary, of course.
Cheers!
