tetrapod.sapien

Joined

• started 47 topics
• posted 4,979 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by tetrapod.sapien

• 
  19

  Watchtower says you're SELFISH!!!

  by zack in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  last week's wt study was on selfishness.

  ostensibly, on living as a christian and being self sacrificing.

  we know that you're going to college and we don't want you to.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  Witnesses are now going back to college and encouraging their kids to do the same. That never used to be allowed. Now that it is mearly 'frowned on' to get a four year degree and pursue a career, people are taking the chance and doing it. Afterall, look where mom and dad are.

  amen jeanniebeanz! i am aware of the study from last week, and i refuse to feel guilty because i am going back to school and looking after myself. it's so warped to be made to feel guilty about bettering one's self. it worked on our parents, so it is powerful. i would say it is selfish to have put the WTS work before ones future, and family's future.

  i am so happy we live in this age where we have a tool like the internet. it is a powerful counterfource to that mentality of the borg. if it was not for the internet, i might have just become like my parents too!
• 
  32

  Do you ever wish you were a Moron?

  by GetBusyLiving in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is your bullsh*t meter always cranked up to overdrive these days?

  i'm a happy enough guy but i find i get somewhat irritated reading of the faith people have in their belief systems, even outside of the dubs.

  i'm not trying to be condecending with this post at all.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  Is your bullsh*t meter always cranked up to overdrive these days?

  hey GBL. totally. since leaving the dubs, my defenses are way up. it's almost unhealthy. but at the same time, i do not want to be taken for a ride again, ever! i have become a skeptic of pretty much everything. perhaps someday i will lighten up, but for now, i am still in war mode...teeth clenched.

  I'm a happy enough guy but I find I get somewhat irritated reading of the faith people have in their belief systems, even outside of the dubs. I'm not trying to be condecending with this post at all. What I'm saying is if you can't really put faith in a God based on evidence is it worth it just to create one in your mind to use as a crutch? And how does one go about doing this?

  IMHO, i do not think it is worth it to create ones own mythology as a crutch. that's how cults and religions get started! someone apostasizes from one older faith, starts creating a framework of belief beyond their own conciousness, makes his/her own meme to spread, and next thing we know is there are a bunch of people running around calling it the "one true" religion. again, IMO, i think that if we are going to progress as a civilization, we need to shed belief in the supernatural for a naturalistic world view.
• 
  54

  What "religion" type do you follow?

  by FreedomFrog in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi, i'm on my "spiritual search so i want to see what "religion"/non religion you choose and why.

  for example: are you christian?

  pagan?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  Agnostic is ones that believe in what feels right...right? Is that the correct definition?

  So, if *I'm* "angostic" I do/do not believe in Jesus...or I do/do not believe in an after life. Depending what feels "right" to that particular person and maybe at that particular point of time. Am I correct?

  not quite. agnostics basically feel that it is pretty much impossible to know what the 100% truth of certain phenomenon is, for example the existence of God. they really are neutral and most i have met are very open minded to whatever evidence supports itself. it is a very honest position, as it is pretty much impossible to prove the existence of god(s) either way 100%. i respect the agnostics very much. i fall, however, one small step further in disbelief to what is termed "weak atheism". not that we are "weak" in our beliefs, but that unlike strong atheists who positively assert "that there is/are no god(s)", weak atheists only assert a "lack of a belief in god(s)"...basically because there is a lack of credible evidence for their existence. science really helped me to see that the gaps that a god fills becomes smaller and smaller as time passes and we become smarter as a species, IMHO. if god does exist, and he presents positive evidence as to his existence, then i would become a believer immediately! so there you have it. it's not a religion per-say that i subscribe to, but simply the neutral position of a lack of belief.
• 
  5

  Future Phobia?

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are you preoccupied with the future?

  what will tomorrow bring?

  what does my future hold?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  yes. now that i am no longer a dub, i have *real* future phobia to a degree. i think it is a result of "knowing" what the future held for so many years as a JW, and now being in the position that i have no idea at all what the future holds. i am trying to break out of this psychology because i know it is not healthy or normal, and i think i may be able to someday.

  the energy crisis we are about to enter really scares me too. it could turn really bad. but then again, it might be resolved peacefully. but there are no easy answers like the ones the org provides it's members. it is scary that so much of what i will experience in the coming years is not really controlled by me. it is controlled by governemnts, economies and populations.
• 
  2

  ghost caught walking on mars

  by Pleasuredome in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/113334main_1114050279_5705-2_dd_enhanced_459-a462r1.gif

  just joking, but thought it was intersting.

  here's some more info.... http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/dust-devil-4.html

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  ah HA!! yet another natural phenomenon explained naturally by rational minded folks. the 21st century is great!
• 
  24

  Is your former congregation still attracting converts?

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  29 regular pioneers and still losing ground.....thanks to the internet...he he he.
• 
  89

  What are some weird things that you do?

  by love11 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  everyone has their own idiosyncrises, mine is- .

  when i get a new book, i'll open it up to the middle of the book and stick my nose in the binding for about ten seconds, and smell how the glue, ink, and fresh paper smell.

  ahhhh i love that smell.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  • when i was a kid, i was obsessed with the thought that there were invisible strings crossing all doorways. as i walked through i would "untangle" myself as i continued into the next room. i occasonally still catch myself doing this...ocassionally.
  • i love to debate in my head with people i am not crazy about. i usually choose a subject i am very confident with, and categorically destroy their positions (which i make up of course).
  • i used to feel emtionally compelled to knock on peoples doors on saturday mornings to share a bible truth with them, but i stopped doing that a while back now. way too weird. neighbors thought i was crazy!
• 
  20

  Are You/ Were You Careful To Follow Rules??

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when we were in the organization, i noticed that some persons wanted rules.

  needed them!

  there are people in society that also feel secure when they have stricter rules than not.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  i agree. traffic by-laws: fine. golden rule: great. but the more esoteric or complex a situation, the more flexibility i crave. i especially enjoy breaking intellectual rules in pursuit of some form of truth. i have always bristled against authority, and when in the org, i tried to steer clear of as many elders, MS's, CO's and pioneers as possible because i craved flexibility. what a place for a libertarian to be! an org that thinks everything is black and white, good and evil, yes or no. no grey areas. no wonder i was depressed in the org!
• 
  30

  Did You Have A Lot of "Friends" In The Organization?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  were you associated with regularly?

  did you have many friends?

  were you the life of the party?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  this is a good question.

  i had one or two close friends that i considered to be comrades of sorts, above religion or worldview. not so. i had hundreds of aquaintances, but as i went through my 20's, i became less and less social as i found fewer and fewer people that i respected. so no, i did not have a lot of friends. but such is life in my opinion. most people. from what i can gather, only go through life with a few close friends, one of which is often their mate. :)
• 
  7

  ex-JW experiences JW "love"

  by tetrapod.sapien in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of my ex-best friends am i over reacting and just being "touchy" and should not send the reply in anger?

  it is really worse than death.

  he happened to stumble on 3 john vs. 13 & 14 (the same scripture you had wrote on your care package to me for costa rica).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  many thanks to everyone who responded here. your advice is really good, and i really appriciate other people who "get it", and yet don't hold back from saying what they think is right. after re-reading my response this morning, i was like: "whoa. take a pill pod-boy." i was pretty angry, and like you all said, venting. a reactionary response rarely does any good. so no, i will not be replying at all to his letter, but it felt good to write it, and even better to hear what you had to say about it. thanks for the space to vent Simon, and everyone.

  cheerio!