behemot
JoinedPosts by behemot
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The dream of all cults
by behemot inhttp://www.inquisitr.com/36336/scientology-calls-for-internet-and-media-censorship-in-australia/.
behemot.
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Teaching the concept of hell
by behemot inhttp://thejakartaglobe.com/home/teacher-allegedly-burns-students-in-hell-lesson/326172.
august 26, 2009. jakarta globe.
teacher allegedly burns students in hell lessona junior high school student in bandung has complained that her religion teacher burned her and fellow students with blown-out matches to teach them about hell, the principal of smp pasundan 7 confirmed on wednesday.
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behemot
http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/teacher-allegedly-burns-students-in-hell-lesson/326172
August 26, 2009
Jakarta Globe
Teacher Allegedly Burns Students in Hell Lesson
A junior high school student in Bandung has complained that her religion teacher burned her and fellow students with blown-out matches to teach them about hell, the principal of SMP Pasundan 7 confirmed on Wednesday.
The alleged incident happened at the school on Tuesday. According to the student, the teacher was explaining the concept of hell and had asked the female class members to gather around while she lit matchsticks.
“She asked each female student to blow out the match and then pressed it on their hands,” said the student, adding that only girls were required to participate. “She said hell is full of women.”
When her turn came, however, she says the teacher pressed the still-hot match on to her left cheek. “She said, ‘Here, feel this. Hell is much hotter.’ ”
The girl’s parents were outraged and reported the incident to principal Erik Sudeni on Wednesday.
Erik, however, defended the teacher. “She didn’t do it on purpose. When she lit the match, the students panicked causing the match to fall from her hand and hit the student’s cheek.” -
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Bukowski, drug addiction and Watchtower
by behemot incame across this quote from charles bukowskis tales of ordinary madness:.
the whole lsd, stp, marijuana, heroin, hashish, prescription cough medicine crowd suffers from the "watchtower" itch: you gotta be with us, man, or you're out, you're dead.
this pitch is a continual and seeming must with those who use the stuff.
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behemot
Came across this quote from Charles Bukowski’s Tales of Ordinary Madness:
The whole LSD, STP, marijuana, heroin, hashish, prescription cough medicine crowd suffers from the "Watchtower" itch: you gotta be with us, man, or you're out, you're dead. This pitch is a continual and seeming MUST with those who use the stuff. It's no wonder they keep getting busted.
Behe
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So what's wrong with being a "Cult"?
by The Berean ini looked up the definition of "cult" on dictionary.com.
definition #1 read as follows "a particular system of religious worship, esp.with reference to its rites and cerimonies.
" that soundeed vanilla enough .... scrolling down to #2, i saw "an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal or thing, esp.
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behemot
What's a cult? It just means not enough people to make a minority. -- Robert Altman, Interview, The Observer, London, April 11, 1981
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evolutionary progression
by John Doe inso, if we came from apelike ancestors, what will we evolve into next, assuming we successfully avert extinction?
are we the apes of tomorrow today?
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behemot
With the progress of genetic engineering, evolution is no longer - at least not only - darwinian. It's "cultural", man made.
Major species’ evolution was from species taking on new chromosomes. Chromosomes are digital information, so when a species takes on a new chromosome, it’s like adding a new DVD full of software to our PC - it instantly changes and improves the capabilities of what we can do. These days, man can do - and direct - such a process: biology has become a nanotechnology (chromosomes are digital information) and it can - and will - be digitally designed and reconstructed.
Of course there are ethical and practical concerns regarding the growing ability of man to interfere with nature (the accuse of "playing God") but there is also a very promising side to the possibility man has for the first time to creatively interfere with nature and not just passively put up with it.
Behemot
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I hear you do not want to learn anything
by behemot ini hear you do not want to learn anything.. i gather from that: you are millionaires.. your future is assured it lies.
bright and clear before you.
your parents.
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behemot
I hear you do not want to learn anything.
I gather from that: you are millionaires.Your future is assured — it lies
bright and clear before you. Your parents
have fixed things so that your feet
will not get bruised on any stones. So you do not need
to learn anything. You can stay
the way you are.
Should some difficulties nevertheless arise — since the times,
so I hear, are uncertain —
you have got your Leaders, who will tell you exactly
what you have to do so things will go well for you.
They have consulted the ones
who know the truths
that are valid for all time
and the prescriptions that always work.
With so many who are for you
you do not need to lift a finger.
Of course, if things were different,
you would have to learn.(Bertolt Brecht)
This poem, especially the second part, reminded me of the JWs ... their blindly relying on others for direction, lack of critical thinking and of real learning (not the parody of studying they are administered).
Behe
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Italy: conventions baptisms stats
by behemot incompare:.
rome, "divine victory" international convention august 1973:.
attendance 57.000; baptised 3366. rome, "teachers of god's word" international convention august 2001:.
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behemot
OldHippie,
If a youngster or someone else has completed the questions and is ready for baptism and wants to be baptised at the international convention, is that OK?
Can't answer this question, in my experience (I was an elder half of your years) it never happened. I agree that in pre-75 years baptism procedure was way less strict than it became later on.
However, in the particular case of the Rome 1973 convention, I'm pretty sure the candidates were all local. I was there and, as far as I remember, the candidates were only one huge group (not split in different language-groups) and the baptismal talk was given only in Italian and not translated in any other language (which would obviously have been the case if there were foreign candidates). At the 2001 convention (I was still there) the baptismal talk was given also in other languages for candidates coming from the local foreign speaking field. Can't tell what happened last weekend but I guess it was something similar. The news report talks about 70 of the 338 baptised being "foreigners" but most likely this still refers to candidates coming from the Italian foreign speaking field.
In any case, willyloman sums it up nicely (and I agree):
No matter how you parse these numbers, 300-and-some baptisms with 70,000 in attendance is way under the old "norm."
Behemot
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Italy: conventions baptisms stats
by behemot incompare:.
rome, "divine victory" international convention august 1973:.
attendance 57.000; baptised 3366. rome, "teachers of god's word" international convention august 2001:.
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behemot
OldHippie,
do your best as you wish, but maybe I should clarify that all baptised in international conventions are usually local candidates. The well-known WT policy concerning visiting delegates to international conventions abroad requires that they are baptised and in good standing with the local congregations. Unbaptised ones are not approved to travel as delegates (with the possible ecception of minor children travelling with their parents). So the distance/age factors of visiting delegations does not have any bearing on the figures.
Behe
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Italy: conventions baptisms stats
by behemot incompare:.
rome, "divine victory" international convention august 1973:.
attendance 57.000; baptised 3366. rome, "teachers of god's word" international convention august 2001:.
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behemot
Nelly136:
The stats mentioned above do not mirror the whole country situation, but refer only to one single convention. What I wanted to highlight is the lowering attendance/baptisms ratio.
OldHippie:
I agree the procedure you're suggesting would yield more precise data. However, I still think that "selecting one convention or one type of convention and their baptisms" does tell us something: granted, conventions with international visitors delegates may have a lower attendance/baptisms ratio compared to ordinary local conventions, but the three conventions selected above remaincomparable as they are all international. And, for that matter, the percentage of foreign visitors was certainly greater at the 1973 int'l convention - which had, nevertheless, the higher attendance/baptisms ratio - than in the most recent ones (given that at the time Italy had only some 36000 publishers). Of course, we shouldn't neglect the fact that those pre-1975 years were "special" ... people expected the end to come in a couple years time and would line up like crazy to get plunged in and thus be spared.
Behe
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Italy: conventions baptisms stats
by behemot incompare:.
rome, "divine victory" international convention august 1973:.
attendance 57.000; baptised 3366. rome, "teachers of god's word" international convention august 2001:.
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behemot
Steve,
the attendance stats are not meaningful in themselves (in 1973 the Rome convention was the only one in the country; this year there were several conventions) ... more interesting and suggestive of a remarkable drop in new recruitments is the attendance/baptisms ratio:
in 1973: 3366/57000 (5,90%)
in 2001: 626/80000 (0,78%)
in 2009: 338/70000 (0,48%)
Behemot