Posts by CaptainSchmideo

9

Why I feel that worshiping "God" is a waste of time...

by CaptainSchmideo in

jw
friends

have you ever had a so-called friend who never seemed to be around when you really needed his active, participatory help, but was always good enough to show up after the fact, to lend you his "support" after the event?.

maybe he failed to show up when you needed to move furniture.

did he show up afterward, and praise you for the ability to get it done without his help?

CaptainSchmideo

Have you ever had a so-called friend who never seemed to be around when you really needed his active, participatory help, but was always good enough to show up after the fact, to lend you his "support" after the event?

Maybe he failed to show up when you needed to move furniture. Did he show up afterward, and praise you for the ability to get it done without his help? Maybe you really needed financial help, and he had plenty to aid you with (as a matter of fact, a lot of that money was probably yours, when you contributed to one of his projects or crusades). Was that friend MIA? Did he show up, weeks later, sorry that he wasn't there to help you, but assured you that it was just as well you learned to deal with the situation on your own?

Let's take it to the extreme. Maybe he could have been able to prevent a loved one from dying, either by providing some necessary healing remedy known only to him, or maybe by preventing a child from getting injured or killed by their own immature carelessness or lack of the awareness to danger. How much would you regard their "comfort" to you after the fact?

Meanwhile, you hear all sorts of reports (usually promoted by him, or by spokesmen for him) about how great he is, how powerful and aware of things he is, and how much he loves you and all his other friends. How much regard would you have for him a a person, or as a helper, if you tried to reconcile these promotions with his record? How long would you continue to keep such a person as a "friend?'

This is the kind of test I put toward this so called "Almighty God" that we are supposed to be SO thankful to.

All the time, you hear about how wise he is, how powerful he is, how all-knowing he is, how much he cares for each and every one of us, and what a lover of Justice and Righteousness he is. And how much he comforts us during times of tragedy and loss, helping us "cope" with things that we could not cope with on our own power.

Well, when I read about small children suffering injury and death because of stupid accidents, I get very angry at this so-called Supreme Being. He's all powerful, but he won't lend one Self-Damned hand to rescue an innocent from a painful, tragic death. He's all knowing and all-wise, but allows cures for mother-f#$%ing diseases to remain ceaselessly out of grasp. Meanwhile, he's there to "lend comfort" to greiving families, because he was bloody useless in being there when the tragedy went down. Thanks a pant-load, Your Highness.

Today, in my city, a four year old child, who was being dropped off at his Pre-K class at school, for some reason doubled-back, got in front of the car driven by his father, and was run over. The child is dead. His father's life is forever ruined, racked by guilt for the remainder of his day. Even if he makes peace with this, it will never,ever leave him. The family is suffering a loss that no family should ever, ever have to suffer. This was not the willful killing of a child, this was a dumb, stupid, pointless accident.
Oh, and this happened in the parking lot of a Catholic Church school. This was the door-step of ALMIGHTY, ALL-POWERFUL, ALL-KNOWING, ALL-CARING MAJESTY OF THE UNIVERSE himself, the KING OF ETERNITY that "knows all the hairs on your head" and cares even for the plight of sparrows. It was RIGHT IN FRONT of his F$%^ing house! Where the $@$! was he? Why didn't he use his powers to put a barrier in front of the child, or some kind of messenger to warn the father? Isn't he ALL-POWERFUL? Doesn't he hold the heavens in the palm of his hand? Doesn't he care about the winner of the Super-Bowl? Isn't he GOD????!!!!

And then I read comments from my friends on Facebook about this, prayers offered:"Eternal rest grant him, oh Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him." "I am praying for his family right now." Etc.

"Gee, God, you really screwed the pooch earlier. We really could have used your help when Q.T. ran in front of the car and was killed, but now that you are here, after the fact, can you help us out with a little hug, since that will help SO MUCH with the hell we are going to go through for the rest of our lives?"

Bollocks.

If God exists, he may as well not exist, for all the good it does his worshipers. He's always a day late and a dollar short.

Personally, I stopped believing in him a long time ago. You are born (no thanks to him), you live your life (no thanks to him) and you die (no help from him there, either). Everything that happens in the duration is a combination of your own actions, inactions, good and bad decisions, genetics, large forces beyond most people's control (like war, peace, weather patterns, asshole warlike leaders, indifferent and greedy corporate policies), and pure, simple, blind, doo-dah luck (good and bad).

I should say apologies to True Believers out there for my vent, but today's news upset me very much. We had something happen in our family years ago that was very similar to this. Our child lived (no thanks to you know who), but the hurt from those events still lives with me to this day. Hearing about this child's death just reopened those emotions all over again. And it doubles my resolve to not waste one more minute, one more penny, one more prayer, to this imaginary, worthless being ever again.

13

The Apostle Paul was taught a Myth !! not the "Truth".

by Phizzy in

the exact chronology of paul's damascene experience cannot be firmly established, but certainly a number of years had passed since the death of jesus.

perhaps only three or four years, maybe more.

we do not have an accurate history of this time.. but, it is evident that by the time paul was converted a cult of jesus was flourishing within judaism, hence his opposition, as it seemed very subversive to his pharisee mind.. what was this cult built upon ?

CaptainSchmideo

Wow!

72

Did you have a bad reaction to flu shot?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

.

thanks for sharing.. coco.

CaptainSchmideo

You know, this year, I think I did. It coincided with a case of shingles, but I don't think shingles make you that sick.

46

War over preparing for WT study

by cookiemaster in

i know that title sounds weird but so is this situation.

with the following information i'm about to desconspire myself a little bit, but i don't really care since i will simply deny it if any of my elders are lurking here.

anyway the situation is the following.

CaptainSchmideo

Oh, god, does this bring back memories.

Once, we went to a group prep study of the Watchtower at the house of one Lloyd Buchanan. That thing went on and on and on and on. And Lloyd was in love with his own voice and his own answers. The WT study is pretty tedious, anyway, but he made it even worse. I learned real quick to avoid those types of sessions in the future.

22

My Son has had two very big University interviews

by CaptainSchmideo in

jw
friends

one for mit last month, and one for princeton tonight.. if i told this to people at my old hall, i am sure the reaction would be the same as if i broke a big, noisy windblast in front of them.. but i have to brag about it to someone, so, i will do it here.. .

we will not know anything about whether he is going to be accepted for a couple of months yet, but, as they say, this $%^# just got real!.

.

CaptainSchmideo

Band on the Run, what did you major in, and what are you doing now?

22

My Son has had two very big University interviews

by CaptainSchmideo in

jw
friends

one for mit last month, and one for princeton tonight.. if i told this to people at my old hall, i am sure the reaction would be the same as if i broke a big, noisy windblast in front of them.. but i have to brag about it to someone, so, i will do it here.. .

we will not know anything about whether he is going to be accepted for a couple of months yet, but, as they say, this $%^# just got real!.

.

CaptainSchmideo

Thanks, he wants to study in the STEM field.

And the news gets better.

This morning, he received an solid offer from one of the local Universities (for which he already was accepted) for a "full-ride" scholarship, which pays all tuition, some fees and room and board, a technology voucher (for a laptop etc), and a study abroad voucher.

Hey, I'M jealous. I think back on the blown opportunities of my youth. I decided long ago that this would not happen to my kids, if I could help it.

22

My Son has had two very big University interviews

by CaptainSchmideo in

jw
friends

one for mit last month, and one for princeton tonight.. if i told this to people at my old hall, i am sure the reaction would be the same as if i broke a big, noisy windblast in front of them.. but i have to brag about it to someone, so, i will do it here.. .

we will not know anything about whether he is going to be accepted for a couple of months yet, but, as they say, this $%^# just got real!.

.

CaptainSchmideo

One for MIT last month, and one for Princeton tonight.

If I told this to people at my old hall, I am sure the reaction would be the same as if I broke a big, noisy windblast in front of them.

But I have to brag about it to someone, so, I will do it here.

We will not know anything about whether he is going to be accepted for a couple of months yet, but, as they say, this $%^# just got real!

78

Can you prove Jesus existed outside of Bible (so called) evidence?

by punkofnice in

i thought i'd done a thread on this before but can't find it.. so.

did jesus actually exist?.

without using the bible i'd like to see obvious proof..

CaptainSchmideo

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

8

Would you rather buy an exspensive Jacket or a 50 inch T.V?

by new hope and happiness in

i chose the jacket....

CaptainSchmideo

A less expensive jacket would be just as warm as an expensive jacket. You can't wear a jacket all the time. But a 50" tv provide hours of entertainment that everyone in the house could enjoy, and guest besides. You don't get to share that much happiness with a flash jacket.

8

Are Neck Ties going to be a thing of the past for field service?

by Atlantis in

.

are neck ties no longer needed in field service?check out the top photo on jw.org!..petra

CaptainSchmideo

This reminded me of an Awake article from 1996:

*** g96 5/8 p. 31 Who Invented the Necktie? ***

Who Invented the Necktie?

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN GERMANY

AROUND the world some 600 million men wear them regularly. In Germany the average man owns about 20 neckties. Many a man has wondered with some irritation, while putting on a necktie, ‘Whose idea was this, anyway?’ Where did the tie originate?

Steenkerke, a town in Belgium, claims the honor of having “invented” the necktie. In 1692, English forces made a surprise attack on French troops stationed there. According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, “the [French] officers had no time to dress correctly. But without ado, they tied their uniform scarves around the neck with a loose knot and pushed the ends through the buttonholes of their jacket. Voilà, the birth of the necktie in its original form.”

However, the soldiers’ fashion novelty was not exactly unprecedented. Experts on the history of neckties point out that centuries earlier, warriors for the Chinese emperor Cheng (Shih Huang Ti) wore a scarflike cloth folded around the neck, indicating their rank.

Perhaps the most famous, though, were the scarves worn by Croatians fighting for King Louis XIV of France. During a victory parade in Paris, the French were so taken by the Croatians’ scarves that they called them cravates, from Cravate, a Croat, and began wearing the scarves as well. “From then on,” writes the aforementioned newspaper, “there was no stopping necktie fashions, although the soldiers in Steenkerke were the first to make the scarf into a knotted tie.”

During the French Revolution (1789-99), a man would indicate his political inclination by the color of the “croat,” or scarf, around his neck. In the 19th century, elegant European society “discovered” this form of attire. It was then that the cravat was elevated from the military and political arena and entered the wardrobe of the male population at large. Today the necktie is more than accepted in many societies worldwide; in certain settings, it is even mandatory.

Then, there was a response in the "letters" column a few weeks later:

*** g97 2/8 p. 30 From Our Readers ***

J. P. A., Brazil

Neckties Thank you so much for the article “Who Invented the Necktie?” (May 8, 1996) As a minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I have worn a necktie in 90-degree [30°C]-plus heat while engaging in the door-to-door preaching work. I have often theorized that the necktie must have been invented by some cruel 13th-century inquisitor who in order to wring a confession from a heretic threatened him with either the rack, thumbscrews, being boiled in oil, or wearing a necktie on a summer afternoon.

W. B., United States

Some may feel that wearing a tie is torture in any weather. Commendably, though, in cultures where a necktie is considered proper attire, Jehovah’s Witnesses generally put up with the inconvenience of wearing a tie while engaging in the ministry and while attending Christian meetings.—ED.

I was really amazed that 1) Someone would subtly criticize the necktie policy by writing such a letter, and 2) That the Awake editors actually published the letter.