What is normal depends on who you ask. And what you care about.
Posts by Twitch
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17Do you think theres such a thing as a "normal person"
by londonlady ini was trying to think of all the many many people i've ever met and conculded that none of them could be termed "normal".
some of them might have seemed normal to start with but on further inspection most definatly not!.
in answer to the obvious question no i do not think i'm normal neither, i don't think i would want to be either.
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HOW TO IDENTIFY THE TRUE RELIGION
by Fifth Column injesus said that the true religion would be evident in the lives of the people who practice it.
by their fruits you will recognize them, he said.
every good tree produces fine fruit.
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Twitch
There's a true religion? Really? Who told you that?
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Best EZ 1 Liners to Say to Witnesses?
by LV101 inany suggestions?
attending an invite (strange we're invited but hoping to make it worth my while) but i don't want to suffer big consequences as i've already said enough wrong stuff.
i'm stuck reading hassan's ccmc book (about half way --- just don't have time and not into it).
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Twitch
"Millions Now Living are Dead"
Props to posts and users of unknown origin
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131
Let's Discuss Ray Franz's Books
by Recovery ini have been repeatedly pleaded with to read the books of ray franz in my short stay on this board.
apparently these are all the all-powerful, wt crushing arguments, that lead so many to leave jw's and become ruthless opposers of god's people.
we can discuss any claims/statements/scriptural arguments presented in either of his books, as long as it somehow proves jehovah's witnesses are not god's people.
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Twitch
To hell with Recovery and the OP, it's a waste of time. He/she already had their mind made up, obviously; the thread is just trolling
Those who wish honest and sincere answers do not put limitations on same.
The only decent thing here are the answers given to those who didn't ask for it.
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Twitch
Well, we know that now...:)
So, what is reality, if not the ideas that represent facts we think we know?
Are the ideas less real than the uncertain facts they describe?
Is an old model any less real than a new one?
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
"Newton's laws" are IDEAS, AKA models of reality that exist inside the human mind in an attempt to explain and predict behaviors observed in the "real" World. His laws aren't "real", since ideas aren't physical "things".
Ideas aren't physical things, ok. However, his ideas were/are real enough. Thinking differently won't soften the fall.
They are based on subjective perceptions that MAY be shared, and even accepted as a shared "reality", but whether that represents what they actually ARE is a philosophical debate well beyond the limits of this forum.
Not subjective as per above. There is no doubt of their "shared reality", it's real enough for everyone and everything Newton's laws are a fact within the context of their application, classical physics at the macro level, applicable to all. The fact we have ideas that supercedes this now is expected.
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Twitch
If Newton's rules fail at the micro level, are they real?
They must be, we know about them because someone figured out the math ;)
Has it failed though? In his time, what he discovered was far beyond what was known 500 years before his time. Is it unrealistic to think that 500 yrs after him that now we have knowledge that brings us out of his "dark ages"? What we now consider real is to Newton as what was real then to the dark ages. The fact we didn't know about it didn't make it any less real.
Not much has changed since, we've just dug the rabbit hole a little deeper.
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Twitch
TRUTH according to wiki has two components - facts and reality. The scientific method tries valiantly to put the two together imo. do you guys agree?
What reality exists without facts?
Can facts exist and not be real?
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WT and the Illuminati - truth or fiction?
by SnowQueen ini've been reading around this subject of late and it seems to make a lot of sense.
i'm wondering if anyone is convinced and/or has seen anything that can substantiate or corroborate the 'facts' set out in these arguments.. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/bloodlines/russell.htm.
i was particularly fascinated to read the following:.
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Twitch
A critical requirement of thinking is not to believe everything you hear until it's proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
At one end of the spectrum are the naive and gullible, at the other are the cynics and paranoids. Rationality lies somewhere in between IMO.
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Are we Ex JW's just as cognitively dissonant as we were before?
by chapstick inchallenge me on this.
challenge yourself on this.
can you, personally, handle the truth?.
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Twitch
Can you, personally, handle the truth?
I get goosebumps in anticipation when I hear opening statements like this, lol.
As regard the title and apparent angle, it's the hard sell right outta the gate and for me, that raises a flag (as it should, no pun intended) The implication is that large scale conspiricies are true and that contesting or rejecting these is a failure to objectively assess the situation because one is in a crisis of belief vs facts
To imply that there is a sinister, behind the scenes invisible hand at work whose intent is to enslave and harm the masses is more analogous to witness belief than not IMO. Only the cause is different; the simple greed and corruption of people in power, not an invisible spirit bogeymen. If anything, I think it easier to be seduced by such claims and familiar lines of thinking than to be skeptical of same, especially when is in a vulnerable crisis of belief. There are xjws who dive right into it with fervor and rabidity not unlike that of the most hardcore dub. And to be fair, yes, there are xjw who outright reject said claims/theories with the same passion. And then there are those who don't really give a shite. What is obvious is that only those who voice their opinion are noticed.
Now, I'm not one to paint the world with a rose colored brush by any means. I've no doubt of corruption, greed and plain evil in the world; this is fact. What I personally am skeptical about is the network of people and logistics required to secretly engineer such a colossal lie, such as 911, the moon landings or similar large scale conspiricies. Watergate is a prime example of only a small operation by a handful of professional liars and savage thugs who couldn't even pull off a simple burglary/coverup and when it all began to unravel, those involved deserted the ship like rats interested only in their own survival. Human nature at work that seems at odds with what it would take to keep such a lie alive. The more complex the machine, the more maintainence it needs and the easier it breaks down. This is a "truth"
The way I see it, the believing jw doesn't have CG, just denial or wishful thinking with blinders on. There aren't multiple conflicting truths, only one. CG doesn't really kick in until one questions and doubts, when what is believed is at odds with what one sees, feels or experiences. Change is constant, human nature is not static. When an xjw finds a replacement worldview they're comfortable with, CG in this repect is greatly diminished, if not gone altogether. One has been freed to choose what to believe and once settled, truth has become less absolute and more personal.
And it ain't no crime to have a strong opinion, whether it be for or against the topic at hand, or any for that matter. It's a good thing actually. 911 may be a conspiracy of a gov allowing, even planning to have 3000 of it's middle class registered voters killed, maybe we never landed on the moon, but I don't think so.
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Are we Ex JW's just as cognitively dissonant as we were before?
by chapstick inchallenge me on this.
challenge yourself on this.
can you, personally, handle the truth?.
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Twitch
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, Sulla. A viewpoint you've reiterated many times on this discussion board.
My question is, what does it matter to you, really?
Do you hold a better opinion of those that choose a different faith than yours after exiting?