I just happened to look and read about the Minimus news. It is always sad for me to learn that a person from this community has passed. For good or bad, I consider it a loss to our common raison d'etre. I have no idea how to find out how, if any, my interaction with Minimus comprised. But, whatever that was, I'm still sad he's not here. He must have left a mark on me.
Posts by Etude
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58No more Questions from MINIMUS
by was a new boy inminimus former jw, prolific poster on jwn died.. minimus.
joined 19 years ago.
started 4,139 topics.
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40
Liberal vs. Conservative mental health study - what do you make of it?
by Brock Talon ina pew study from 2020 (but one i just now came upon myself) reported that the more liberal you are, the more likely you are to have a mental health condition.
the worst suffering group are white females, ages 18-29 where over 56% have admitted to be described by their own doctors as having a mental health condition.
conservative females of the same age group suffer at less than half that number (27%).. while women tend to have more mental health problems than men (don't be mad at me for saying it, this is what the study reports) it is notable that liberal men have a higher percentage of mental health conditions than conservative women in the same age group.
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Etude
Brock Talon: I didn't say conservatives are assholes. I said some conservatives are assholes. There are many good conservatives. I don't understand why so many people insist on making opinions an all or nothing issue. And, your polls regarding what they contribute and how much is very much subject to what they contribute to. I didn't see any indication that they contribute more to causes supporting the poor or disenfranchised. I do have some indication that they would be more religiously conservative and would contribute to anti-abortion causes than most liberals, even though the god of the OT Bible doesn't shit about children, let alone fetuses.
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Liberal vs. Conservative mental health study - what do you make of it?
by Brock Talon ina pew study from 2020 (but one i just now came upon myself) reported that the more liberal you are, the more likely you are to have a mental health condition.
the worst suffering group are white females, ages 18-29 where over 56% have admitted to be described by their own doctors as having a mental health condition.
conservative females of the same age group suffer at less than half that number (27%).. while women tend to have more mental health problems than men (don't be mad at me for saying it, this is what the study reports) it is notable that liberal men have a higher percentage of mental health conditions than conservative women in the same age group.
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Etude
I'm sensing that many conservatives are assholes. Period.
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Liberal vs. Conservative mental health study - what do you make of it?
by Brock Talon ina pew study from 2020 (but one i just now came upon myself) reported that the more liberal you are, the more likely you are to have a mental health condition.
the worst suffering group are white females, ages 18-29 where over 56% have admitted to be described by their own doctors as having a mental health condition.
conservative females of the same age group suffer at less than half that number (27%).. while women tend to have more mental health problems than men (don't be mad at me for saying it, this is what the study reports) it is notable that liberal men have a higher percentage of mental health conditions than conservative women in the same age group.
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Etude
A few years ago a study funded by the Pew Research center asked: "Why Are Conservatives Happier Than Liberals?" The question was based on polls conducted and directed at individuals who identified themselves as either Conservatives or Liberals. The study that led to the findings was conducted by Jaime L. Napier and John T. Jost. The conclusion or reason why they asserted this is -- Rationalization of Inequalities. The term implies a justification system based on meritocracy.
In other words, conservatives have uncomplicated and non-stressful ways of explaining away social and economic inequalities because they believe the "haves" achieved what they have based on hard work, talent or personal achievement, while the "have nots" simply didn't work hard enough. In that belief system, there is full justification for keeping and perpetuating a status quo as well as the ideal that if you work hard enough (no matter what) you can achieve whatever you want to be without outside help.
The contrasting ideas between rationalization based on meritocracy and the way of worrying about social inequalities present differing cognitive styles that may explain the increased relative happiness of conservative individuals and be a cause for the unhappiness of others who are considered liberal. So, while defining a conservative cognitive style as one that is uncomplicated and unambiguous and a liberal cognitive style as one that tends to speculate more and prolong the implications of social and economic issues, the latter seems to cause more stress to the bearer while trying to resolve social inequalities. The study concludes that "inequality takes a greater psychological toll on liberals than on conservatives, apparently because liberals lack ideological rationalizations that would help them frame inequality in a positive (or at least neutral) light."
So this can indeed present fertile ground for the people who worry about social inequalities and are frustrated at the insensitivity of some conservatives.
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Vaccine Deaths
by Sea Breeze init is reported that in the usa, 30 people are dying per day after receiving the corona vaccine.
anyone else hear about this?
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Etude
Who is the "it" that is reporting those deaths? I've never read or heard that from any reliable sources. Perhaps 30 people have died so far, but not 30 per day. A good deal of those that died had underlying conditions.
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Is old Watchtower literature being preserved by any particular entity?
by Etude ini read a recent post from mickbobcat about how expensive some of the old watchtower literature for sale is.
is there a group or entity that is working to digitize or somehow preserve the old literature, giving others the ability to research them?.
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Etude
I read a recent post from mickbobcat about how expensive some of the old Watchtower literature for sale is. Is there a group or entity that is working to digitize or somehow preserve the old literature, giving others the ability to research them?
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Since Myself and our sons left the JW cult, My wife has been M.I.A has a mom and wife
by goingthruthemotions ini would like to get some feed back from pomo's who's spouse is still pimi.
since myself and our son's left the jw cult.
my wife has been m.i.a has a mom and a wife.
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Etude
goingthruthemotions:
You certainly find yourself in a difficult situation. Nevertheless, from my perspective, you and your sons made the right decision to leave. If you are comfortable with that decision, then that opens up other possibilities for you.
Still, some facts remain true to me. Primarily is the one that, people rarely change overnight. There must be some fundamental insecurity or issue in your wife that have caused these developments. It may have been there for a long time and only manifested itself due to a change in life. You mention that she changed about the time you got "involved" (2008). Then, it got worse by 2013 when you left. She must be going through some personal struggle, even if she's not aware of it. That's typical of many people in the religion but very difficult for some to recognize it depending on their emotional fortitude and makeup.
While it may seem that since you and the boys left she would be more isolated, the false support she receives from the JWs may sustain her against you for a while. That may depend on how empathetic the "brothers" are, which is not very reliable. It may take some time for a new development. Think about her condition and about what you describe as she became more mean towards you and your sons. Emotionally, that is not simple to explain.
Hang on to your resolve. After leaving the Borg, the world has a greater range of possibilities for you. Seize them!
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Etude
Hmm... I can't seem to find where that citation came from. Do you know, I mean where it came from?
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The importance of being Satan or the Devil
by Etude inwhile the word "satan" appears in many translations of the old and new testament, it is much more common in the n.t., with only a few mentions in the o.t.
the word "devil" seems almost exclusively used in the n.t., at least in the few versions i checked.
this may have something to do with the word origin, satan v devil.
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Etude
While the word "Satan" appears in many translations of the Old and New Testament, it is much more common in the N.T., with only a few mentions in the O.T. The word "Devil" seems almost exclusively used in the N.T., at least in the few versions I checked. This may have something to do with the word origin, Satan v Devil. But it says something more about the entity either word represents, the fact that in spite of its larger volume, the O.T. mentions Satan (the adversary) by name very few times, with the exception of the book of Job. (1 Chronicles 21:1;Job Chaps. 1 and 2; Zechariah 3:1,2)
It seems to me that, considering the numerous writers of the O.T., Satan was not an important entity, having to explain what the Israelites did as a nation. There's obviously more emphasis to Satan in the N.T. This struck me while reading about the influence of Zoroastrianism on Jewish beliefs (monotheism, the devil, dualism [soul], heaven and hell), that the concept of the evil one does not permeate the O.T. In a way, neither does the idea of dualism or hell in the Hebraic writings.
Nevertheless, it goes to show that monotheism was not an original construct for the Jews since Zoroastrianism can date as far back as 2,000 years BCE. Does anyone else have some insight into this?
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The importance of being Satan or the Devil
by Etude inwhile the word "satan" appears in many translations of the old and new testament, it is much more common in the n.t., with only a few mentions in the o.t.
the word "devil" seems almost exclusively used in the n.t., at least in the few versions i checked.
this may have something to do with the word origin, satan v devil.
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Etude
While the word "Satan" appears in many translations of the Old and New Testament, it is much more common in the N.T., with only a few mentions in the O.T. The word "Devil" seems almost exclusively used in the N.T., at least in the few versions I checked. This may have something to do with the word origin, Satan v Devil. But it says something more about the entity either word represents, the fact that in spite of its larger volume, the O.T. mentions Satan (the adversary) by name very few times, with the exception of the book of Job. (1 Chronicles 21:1;Job Chaps. 1 and 2; Zechariah 3:1,2)
It seems to me that, considering the numerous writers of the O.T., Satan was not an important entity, having to explain what the Israelites did as a nation. There's obviously more emphasis to Satan in the N.T. This struck me while reading about the influence of Zoroastrianism on Jewish beliefs (monotheism, the devil, dualism [soul], heaven and hell), that the concept of the evil one does not permeate the O.T. In a way, neither does the idea of dualism or hell in the Hebraic writings.
Nevertheless, it goes to show that monotheism was not an original construct for the Jews since Zoroastrianism can date as far back as 2,000 years BCE. Does anyone else have some insight into this?