zagor

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Posts by zagor

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  4

  lobster or locust?

  by cameo-d in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  loppestre, corruption of l. locusta "lobster, locust," by influence of o.e.

  loppe "spider," a variant of lobbe.

  trilobite fossils in worcestershire limestone quarries were known colloquially as locusts, which seems to be the generic word for "unidentified arthropod.

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  zagor

  so Egypt was invaded by lobsters? poor bastards!
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  13

  Do JW's EVER admit to being wrong about any topic?

  by gaiagirl in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  witnesses are trained to believe they are right when speaking about the bible and their beliefs, even when reminded that their beliefs have been "adjusted" for "new light".. .

  do jw's you know admit to being wrong on any point, whether or not bible related, or are the "always right" even when shown to be wrong?

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  zagor

  It really takes a stable, secure and above all else mature individual to recognize his own fault let alone admit it. That applies even more for any organization or corporation. When that is lacking you see tendency of those in charge toward micromanaging every single step people under their care are to take and total absence of sense of right that compels them to admit when they are wrong, all they see is need to keep their authority intact no matter what the consequences are.

  Which is precisely what you see among witnesses. In fact, were wtbs an individual rather than an organization and people under its care children (fair assessment considering how average dubs are treated) then wtbs would have ended up either in prison or a nuthouse a long time ago.
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  12

  More BS from the governing body

  by 1914BS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the governing body have got to be insane!!

  about 50,000 jws went to kamloops bc this year and spent an average of $1500 dollars per family for food, accomodation and gas.

  then the governing body acts as if it "fully aware" of that....or are they???.

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  zagor

  After all these years it is actually quite funny to read something like this, their logic is so transparent that I think preschoolers make better excuses than that.
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  11

  Do you believe humans can solve the problems they create?

  by gaiagirl in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wtbts says that "it does not belong to man who is walking to direct his steps", however the genesis account says that god viewed the humans as having "become like us", in other words, like gods.. .

  further, the story regarding the tower of babel indicates that god confused the language because "there is nothing that they have in mind to do that will be unattainable for them".. .

  so, it would seem that human capabilities rival those of god, and god is worried about it.. .

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  zagor

  I think you hit the nail right on the head by pointing out this inconsistency in the bible. The truth is people are constantly going trough transitions and have been throughout the history. For some of those transitions to occur there is a build-up period, which is a necessary part of the process because it helps to galvanize support and commitment for a change.
  In fact it is fair to say that greater change require longer “build-up” time. However, once air, so to speak, becomes saturated with desire to move forward, transition can be both swift and spectacular. These are the periods we call revolutions and I don’t necessarily think of a military conflict but of those times when things happened that forever change our way of living usually for the better. Of course, these can also be times of turmoil as old established systems of doing things get disintegrated.
  The important thing in all of this is to not to get bogged down by transitional turmoil but be ready to go onto the next stage, to ride the wave of events so to speak. Up until now humanity was able to do it every single time, and I would hope we would be more than capable of getting ourselves out of this mess we are in right now as well.
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  11

  Wimps in the new system...

  by White Dove in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been thinking of the trials we go through day to day, big or small.

  we learn and grow from them.

  in the perfect, no hard lessons learned paradise, how are people expected to learn life lessons?

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  zagor

  Good point! In fact, you can see that already in a small scale what their world would be like with WTBS being full of spinless pussies already, who never have courage to say into someone face what they think of them but happily go around to smear someone's good name. Mind you, I think in the end they would destroy that "paradise" if they ever achieved it, with lack of other external "enemies" they would turn against each other; and you already see that in congregation all over the world.

  Funnily enough you hear of "spiritually strong congregations" only in war-tron places or places facing some other prolonged hardship or disaster i.e. facing something else that brings them together. But moment those things are removed you see return to backstabbing, smear campaigns, "witch hunting", with a chronic lack of any sense of responsibility about the way your actions and things you say affect other people around you including your own family.
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  8

  Zeitgeist: Addendum

  by What-A-Coincidence in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912&hl=en.

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  zagor

  What this video proposes is something that people have tried and failed every single time, from say Pythagoras commune to the latest debacle and fall of communism. Utopian society cannot succeed for one simple reason, it works against natural urges of who and what we are as human beings . People love competition, they love earning potential and making of wealth and it is only idealists who think that by shifting our way of thinking something far greater can be achieved. Well it can't. If it was possible someone would have done it already. Only thing you get are few idealist zealots who go around aggressively preaching their version of the "new world" until they get tired of trying or start fighting among themselves when they get delusional, and they do it for one simple reason, they don't know diddly squat how human mind operates. If they did they'd be joining the rest of the world, and perhaps with their own example set higher standards; not by 'destroying' the whole system and starting over.
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  30

  Aren't we as a group smart enough to bring the whole thing down?"

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i realize that i was stuck believing in jw almost all my life.

  and that each person has to see the light for themselves.. but it was partly the hypocrisy, partly the internet, partly my brother, ex-jw, and partly thinking on my own that did it.. there are smart enough people on the board, is there anything we can do to bring the whole jw thing down?.

  there must me some way, some thing, we can do.

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  zagor

  I think you underestimate the hold WTS has on many people. Its power comes from rank and file actually believing WTS and GB are authority so attacking then directly would just strengthen R&F resolve as they would interpret that as "the sign of the last days" hence "being persecuted for their beliefs".

  Only way forward it to chip it away slowly like a corrosion showing logic they cannot argue against. Which is why closing site of this magnitude in my opinion only works for them...
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  1

  Internet is good for your brain cells ..

  by zagor in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/15/google-ageing-research.

  could googling actually be good for you?

  that is the conclusion drawn by researchers who believe that searching the internet could improve brain function at least among older people.

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  zagor

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/15/google-ageing-research

  Could Googling actually be good for you? That is the conclusion drawn by researchers who believe that searching the internet could improve brain function – at least among older people. A team from the Center on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that searching the web can stimulate the brain more than other activities such as reading a book.

  In a study to be published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, the researchers say they examined the neurological activity of adults aged between 55 and 76 as they conducted a number of tasks. The study took two groups of older people, one picked for their knowledge of the internet, the other for being less technologically adept. The participants were then placed inside an MRI scanner and asked to take part in a series of activities including reading books and performing internet searches.

  While both groups saw overall brain activity increase during the tasks, the internet-based assignments created a greater burst of activity in the web-savvy users. In particular, the researchers said, they stimulated areas of the brain linked to decision making and reasoning – producing up to twice as much activity as their technologically challenged counterparts.

  Although the study group was small – just 24 subjects – lead researcher Professor Gary Small said he believed the findings showed that engaging with technology could have important benefits for mental fitness. "The study results are encouraging: emerging computerised technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults," he said. "Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function."

  Some technological gizmos aimed at older people have come in for criticism – particularly "brain training" games, which make explicit claims about helping keep the mind young by guiding users through mental gymnastics. The craze led to millions of Japanese adults buying video game systems in order to play quizzes and logic puzzles. Since then heavy marketing from companies like Nintendo – which has used famous faces such as Julie Walters, Chris Tarrant and Johnny Ball – has encouraged millions of British adults to follow suit.

  Elsewhere search engines such as Google have been accused of presiding over a dumbing down of information. Internet critic Nicholas Carr claimed websites were reducing levels of concentration and encouraging flighty behaviour. That opinion was reflected by research showing that readers of academic texts on the web often engage in so-called "horizontal skimming" – reading a small portion and then heading off somewhere else. But Small said that his study showed using technology could have positive affects on the mind.

  "There's so much interest in exercising our minds as we age," he said. "One result of this study is that these technologies are not all bad. They may be good in keeping our brains active."
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  33

  Hyperventilating here - please hold my cyber hand

  by Dagney in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am filling out my first voter registration application.

  i''ll be fine.

  but i feel like i need a drink.

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  zagor

  yup, I'd drink to that. Just do it, you'll see there's really not much to it anyway
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  46

  Did you ever go in field service after realizing it was not the truth?

  by Samuel Thorsen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i did not, but i did fs when i had seriuos doubts and i thougt some householders had pretty good arguments some times, but i could not admit it of course.. and i did fs for a long time after i realized the magazines was very very poor.

  i still remember my very last hour from door to door.

  geee that was torture, i hatet myself and hoped no one was at home.. do you remember your last fs hour?

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  zagor

  No I think I stopped way sooner, purely because I felt sick doing because of everything else going on in the background, something was screaming in me to stop. But it was only few years later that enormity of their deception really caught up with me. By then I was already out in every way.

  For one thing though that experience enabled me to talk to people of any pervasion or opinion with no reservations, which was really useful later particularly in business. So all in all, I’d say I only learned from the experience. I don’t 'regret' it as such. I guess you could say you get that something in you, called “being able to sell ice to Eskimos” lol
  So it really depends on individual what impact it can have on you.