Posts by Midget-Sasquatch

28

DID ANY ELDERS HAVE THEIR HANDS IN THE KH TILL?

by badboy in

jw
friends

any takers?

Midget-Sasquatch

It's easy to pocket $$$$$$$$ while doing the collection process.

Not really. When I was accounts servant the instructions were that I had to have another brother come along with me in collecting and I'd make 2 copies of the receipts slip. The other brother would have the job of giving that to the Secretary...so one couldn't fudge the numbers later on....the two brothers would have to be in on it. But then I didn't have liberty to pick who I wanted to collect with me either. I was assigned 3 brothers I could use. Not that I'd steal. My beef with them is that they were "yes" men and suck-ups. Most dubs are very honest in this regard. In fact its more often the case that elders have to pony up money when the congregation falls behind in its bills. We're not allowed to use any cash money contributed to the WWW or the KHB Fund to cover the hall's expenses.

8

The evolution of my mind

by kwintestal in

when i look back at the last 10 years of my life it's amazing the different changes that has taken place mentally.

10 years ago i was very much a jw, but struggling as a late teen, trying to balance my youthful desire to have a good time with my desire to please god.

it was a tough battle, sometimes god won, other times he didn't, but when it was all said and done i thought god and i were cool with each other.. then i became a husband and a father, trying to keep up with the extra responsibilities that were upon me.

Midget-Sasquatch

And any changes in belief that you make will reflect what you've genuinely learned or experienced as actual....thats the best part of being free from the whims of cult-leaders like the GB or from fundies like that pastor you mentioned...you're not following other people's baseless delusion.

To further insights

16

Transformers - The Movie

by Jourles in

the new teaser trailer is out.

you can watch it here.. i admit i was a transformers kid.

that cartoon kicked ass.

Midget-Sasquatch

That trailer sent me back about 2 decades. I think I'll actually see it at the theatre instead of waiting for the video release. :)

I loved those toys! I had some of the first generation ones as well as a couple of dinobots and later on toys like the arielbots and the combaticons.

19

What is your favorite comic book heroes and villains?

by 5go in

batman :hero.

dr doom :villain.

deadpool :anti hero.

Midget-Sasquatch

Favourite Villain:Magneto (a bit too Nietchean for me, but very persuasive in many of his views)

Favourite Hero:Spiderman (mostly from the earlier storylines - balancing power with responsibilities)

123

Out of Mythic into Rational consciousness, the EX-JW Journey

by jst2laws in

i have been absent much for almost a year, reading, learning and breaking out of boxes, figuratively.

i'm hoping that sharing some thoughts and asking some questions might be fun, and maybe helpful for a few.

have you wondered how two people can look at the same information, go through the same experience as you, perhaps even be party to the same conversation yet come away with an entirely different perception?

Midget-Sasquatch

This quote first:

What was not rational about our WT experience is not that the arguments of the WT were totally irrational, but that we set aside rationality in choosing what data to include and who to trust for accurate information. Believing the GB spoke for God was a myth. Those in the mythical level WANT to believe God speaks to them and will trust the message without question. When we begin to question the message we are at least becoming more rational about the source of truth.

Second quote (wow...alot of meaning succinctly but also poetically put):

Science (through perception and interpretation, hence ever open to doubt and reinterpretation) is concerned with what is. That there is, is a certainty. Perhaps the only one. But it is not a what. Hence it is not scientific and not even thinkable, except through the admitted inaccuracy of poetical metaphors. Like, the murmur of a spring in the night.

And because of the possible differences in interpretation and experiences, its very important for people in science to use agreed upon definitions and terminology. So as Terry and Six already stressed, the language needs to be as explicit and as specific as possible for us to reliably build upon each other's interactions with our surroundings. But as LittleToe and Narkissos point out, fundamentally we're all modelling whats external to us. I optimistically believe though that science is doing a great job of bringing those models closer to that is.

123

Out of Mythic into Rational consciousness, the EX-JW Journey

by jst2laws in

i have been absent much for almost a year, reading, learning and breaking out of boxes, figuratively.

i'm hoping that sharing some thoughts and asking some questions might be fun, and maybe helpful for a few.

have you wondered how two people can look at the same information, go through the same experience as you, perhaps even be party to the same conversation yet come away with an entirely different perception?

Midget-Sasquatch

Terry and Six,

Let me say that I completely agree with you that the inputs we perceive as colour and as sound are objectively real. And as I understand it, our neurological apparatus that senses (rods & cones, cilia), transmits and collates those inputs are the same (normally) for most of us. So our perceptions should generally be constructed the same.

Yet there are times when I do not immediately hear a sound (that would be within my range of hearing) or even see something that was in my field of view. You both may be there, and say "hey are you deaf/blind?"

And then sheepishly, I'd have my attention drawn to it. My perception would have changed. I'm not doubting the concreteness of the underlying reality. My perception of it though, is a construct that can vary because the inputs may be filtered differently from one moment to the next.

123

Out of Mythic into Rational consciousness, the EX-JW Journey

by jst2laws in

i have been absent much for almost a year, reading, learning and breaking out of boxes, figuratively.

i'm hoping that sharing some thoughts and asking some questions might be fun, and maybe helpful for a few.

have you wondered how two people can look at the same information, go through the same experience as you, perhaps even be party to the same conversation yet come away with an entirely different perception?

Midget-Sasquatch

It is not the eye which interprets wavelengths it is struck by; it is the mind that interprets them. Science cannot read minds.
In other words, all that was proven by the results of the test to which kid-A referred was that at the same wave lengths people identify the same color labels, the degree of agreement between the subjects' interpretted perceptions cannot yet be tested scientifically. The results seem objective, but they are based on false (or at least subjective) premises.

Interesting point AuldSoul. I didn't major in neurosciences, but I would think that the cortical regions involved, the neural networks proccessing the input, collating it and how they perform those operations, are also basically the same among individuals. So I would expect most people to have very similar perceptions of physical reality if they were subjected to the same course of stimuli.

Without having that commonality of perceived reality (to borrow from HS), I don't think we could have come very far technologically (it would have been difficult to share learned observations, patterns etc).

I agree with you though that perception is not exactly the same for all of us. Actually, not even to ourselves at times. If you first stuck your hand into a bucket of water that was 15 degrees celsius, it wouldn't feel all that cold or warm to you. But if you then stuck your hand into an ice-cold pale of water for about a minute then back into that bucket of water that was 15 deg celsius, it would sure feel much warmer to you this time round. I know this effect occurs because the sensors are not gaging absolute temperatures but changes in state - the point still stands though- that perception can be subjective.

Rationally then, I'd have to say its difficult for any of us to ever say we have an absolute and objective grasp of reality. We'd have to concede that our perceptions and mental constructs may need to, or will change.

I liked Narkissos' analogy of rationality and mythical thinking being our legs in our journey. Rational thought is very important and I think the ancients were able to be just as rational in thinking as we moderns are. Just consider the mathematics and the physical principles that they already knew back then. A also think the mythical has worht. They are mental constructs generated to account for some intuitively perceived reality. They were interesting ways of describing realities about human interactions with one another and nature in lieu of the data that more advanced technology has now provided for us. I still think the mythical element is useful today in conveying insights about human nature in ways that can be appreciated and grasped by people of any intellectual level or cultural background.

62

Blondie!---Get well soon message!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

blondie will probably hit me with a pie for posting this, but she hasn't been feeling well for a few days and i just thought we would let her know we are hoping she feels better soon!

(could you make that blueberry?).

and to all the friends out there that are not feeling well.

Midget-Sasquatch

Get well soon Blondie.

20

THE WAY IN IS THE WAY OUT

by Terry in

jw
friends

i got in officially in november of 1963 when i was baptised at the cleburne, texas assembly.

judicial committee cut me loose.. the way in consisted of having jehovah's witnesses demonstrate to me that there was considerable false information and hypocricy in christendom.

i lost confidence in what i had been told, taught and believed.. today, i believe that is also the way out of jehovah's witnesses!.

Midget-Sasquatch

Terry

In your case, hypocrisy of other religions made you turn to the dubs. For another poster it was discovering the poor support for some doctrines/beliefs. It makes total sense that seeing those very same elements in the dubs would also trigger your leaving them.

I think the key here, then, is that you both were able to see them because of your striving for intellectual honesty and not completely suppressing your critical thinking. I'd say those two components together are the vehicle and the road out of Dubstown.

24

MIL says thousands of babies found under ancient Catholic Church!

by bluesapphire in

jw
friends

anyone heard about this?

i haven't found any info about it.. my mil took advantage of my being in costa rica by inviting my husband out for dinner with the sole purpose of trying to get him to go back to the meetings.

she's afraid to take me on so she would never do this in my presence.

Midget-Sasquatch

You can pretty much see from many of the posts that this isn't a strictly JW urban legend. My father talked about trying to find a rumoured hidden tunnel between a church and a convent in his home town of Sparanisa. Its where the priests and the nuns would hook up and where they'd bury the illegitimate babies.

I'd say that the reality is very close to what Leoleia offered with a bit of the legend mixed in....its originally an infant cemetary...that conveniently also offered a site for a few nuns and priests to bury any unhealthy illegitimate babies they had, that soon died.