Posts by daniel-p

43

What's the worst you ever experienced while preaching?

by Newborn in

jw
friends

i was once threatened with a rifle.

that was scary...but hey...what didn't we suffer for the good news.

.

daniel-p

Lets see, I was 18 years old, driving the car in service, and we were shot at while driving away from this one house in the country (after we knocked and no one answered)... I floored it down the dirt road and scared my passengers more than the gun shot actually did ricocheting off a rock near our car.

Another time, I was about 16, I went to this door way out in the country (most of our territory was rural), and lo and behold it was some kind of gathering of lesbians. They all gave us the evil eye as their queen came over and started to chew us out with no provocation whatsoever, telling us how she enjoyed oral sex with women, and other things that she thought would shock us.

When I was about 14 I experienced my first dog scare. We were walking toward a house and out of nowhere this huge animal started charging us. I turned and ran, jumped over the fence and hightailed it down the street. Ever since then i was always overly careful with dogs, and never took any chances as others did all the time.

But the worst thing was getting into some big go-round with Born Again Christians, who I think are actually more crazy than JWs, if such a thing can be.

Good times.

151

There's A Ghost At My Place Of Employment

by finallysomepride in

ok some of you will laugh at this, but it's true, there is a spirit that haunts the premises where i work.. it has spoken to me once when i was locking up, it was 1 single word "hello", i looked around and saw nothing, i ignored it, set the alarm locked the door & went home.

other times i have felt something brush passed me as i have entered the building early in the morning.

the experience that got to me most happened the other nite when i was called back to the store by security, as i pulled into the drive way there was a man standing at the rear of the building, in the split second of looking away he dissapeared, there's no way that he could have run off the property in that split second.. what do you think?.

daniel-p

All I'm saying is there are too many people with too many experiences to be able to say the supernatural/paranormal don't exist.

Well, I think that's a perfectly reasonable thing to say. There are too many people with supernatural experiences to say that there is no merit to their experience. However, what exactly, is the value of those experiences? What inferences can we derive from the evidence at hand? We can't say that the supernatural definitely does exist based on those experiences (for reasons discussed above), but we can say that many people have extra-ordinary, hard-to-explain experiences causing trepidation and fear.

151

There's A Ghost At My Place Of Employment

by finallysomepride in

ok some of you will laugh at this, but it's true, there is a spirit that haunts the premises where i work.. it has spoken to me once when i was locking up, it was 1 single word "hello", i looked around and saw nothing, i ignored it, set the alarm locked the door & went home.

other times i have felt something brush passed me as i have entered the building early in the morning.

the experience that got to me most happened the other nite when i was called back to the store by security, as i pulled into the drive way there was a man standing at the rear of the building, in the split second of looking away he dissapeared, there's no way that he could have run off the property in that split second.. what do you think?.

daniel-p

Surely no-one would expect a person simply to take the word of a stranger on such a matter. However suggesting that the person is mad, bad, fraudulent or mentally deficient in some way because their experience doesn't fit with our own isn't really helping.

I don't think I've ever done that. Rather, I meant that in every case where someone has told me personally about a supernatural experience, it seemed as if that person was wanting attention, or wanted to feel special in a way. I wasn't implying that every opersonal claiming such an experience has to be that way.

I do think there is a stigma against collecting verifiable evidence for the supernatural, sort of that "third rail" of science, like cold-fusion. Unfortunately, the field is dominated by quacks and sensationalists (the ones with the TV shows).

151

There's A Ghost At My Place Of Employment

by finallysomepride in

ok some of you will laugh at this, but it's true, there is a spirit that haunts the premises where i work.. it has spoken to me once when i was locking up, it was 1 single word "hello", i looked around and saw nothing, i ignored it, set the alarm locked the door & went home.

other times i have felt something brush passed me as i have entered the building early in the morning.

the experience that got to me most happened the other nite when i was called back to the store by security, as i pulled into the drive way there was a man standing at the rear of the building, in the split second of looking away he dissapeared, there's no way that he could have run off the property in that split second.. what do you think?.

daniel-p

Let's see, danielp said I was a fool, finallyfree gave me a W and said I was stupid, in addition to violating posting guideline #3.
I'm not going to sit here and take all that baloney from a bi-polar emotional wreak and someone who probably prefers birds to women.
Or maybe his last post was a Freudian Slip.
Judge Dread

I don't appreciate you dragging in some other issue I proposed on another thread. Call me a fool back if you want, but using some other unrelated issue as ammo in an argument is just not cool.

ps. what the hell is a "wreak"?

151

There's A Ghost At My Place Of Employment

by finallysomepride in

ok some of you will laugh at this, but it's true, there is a spirit that haunts the premises where i work.. it has spoken to me once when i was locking up, it was 1 single word "hello", i looked around and saw nothing, i ignored it, set the alarm locked the door & went home.

other times i have felt something brush passed me as i have entered the building early in the morning.

the experience that got to me most happened the other nite when i was called back to the store by security, as i pulled into the drive way there was a man standing at the rear of the building, in the split second of looking away he dissapeared, there's no way that he could have run off the property in that split second.. what do you think?.

daniel-p

Baba, if you'll read the thread from the begining, you'll see that any amount of healthy skepticism about the afterlife is not tolerated by a few individuals. Certainly not everyone, but just a few. For example, I asked Judge Dread if it was unreasonable for me to not accept personal testimony as evidence that ghosts exist. He has sidestepped answering and instead offered false logic as his rebuttal.

This isn't about the existence of ghosts, demons, the afterlife, or anything like that. It's about being able to maintain a civil discussion based on reason and logic.

In the end, I will say this: While I find stories of ghosts and the supernatural mildly entertaining, I cannot not take them seriously. At least not beyond a certain point of cursory review. Every tall tale I have ever heard personally was told by a person who's judgment and emotional state I questioned, not because they had a supernatural experience, but because of who they were. Most often, they had a desire to feel special, and that they had a special connection with the world around them that others didn't have. This is a fantastical, fairy-tale mentality. Also, the existence of the supernatural would be contrary to virtually every known law of the universe. That's a hefty amount of laws to suspend belief in when considering an afterlife reality. I know that my beliefs and opinions are not going to dissuade those who believe in their own supernatural experience. I'm not sure I'd want to dissuade them in the first place, because I think those who believe in the supernatural, need to believe in the supernatural. Afterall, the most common form of this is with people believing there is a God in the sky that loves them and looks out for them. A lot of people obviously need to believe in that. Someday I may need to believe in it, as well.

110

wife took it pretty well i guess...it's over...

by oompa in

jw
friends

i guess it only took three years, but they were hell in so many ways for both of us...she was not happy and lived in denial as much as possible...i was not happy and lived in a bottle as much as possible and glad that is over for me....but it was one of the saddest things i have ever experienced in my life....as was the visit to my parents before i told her....but yes...she said she kind of expected it...was thinking something was going to happen soon as she noticed i had more and more trouble saying i love you back to her when she said it on the phone at the end of goodbyes...and when i was leaving the house...i had noticed it for over a year and it was killing me..... i told her how sorry i was for changing so much again....and that she still walks on water...and is a great person and so pretty....and that she will be ok because she was happy single before me for many years and had all she needs for that again...her closeness to jehovah and her freinds in the congregation...she is very close to both and will be ok i hope...it was very surreal....very calm...very sad.

my bitterness and disdain for wt rules came through when talking to my parents and i was very open about how i feel as to their upcoming shunning of me, and how it feels to my son since he was just 17....and how the fear of losing them had kept me trying in my marriage for the past few years...dad was firm in his position of future action....mom said they will still always love me...and will still talk to me until i get dfd.....oh how this hurts.....dad said there is a name for people who only live for themselves and deny god but could not think of what it was....i told him i was not living just for myself...that i am a good person and there are values from him and the bible i hope i always have....i cry so hard as i type this and tell you just so you can know how painful this is....i told him i so loved the rule of treating others how you want to be treated and have always done that...even allowing myself to be wronged on so many occasions to keep peace....... he said that was a good rule....i agreed and said it was a big one too....and that while i could do it...treat him the way i would like to be treated...he would not be able to!.......left as i became emotional...big hug from mom, but i just barely put an arm on dad............oompa.

daniel-p

Hey Oomps, sorry to hear of this turmoil... I guess its a necessary part of this transition. You've been preparing yourself for years to lose your wife, but perhaps have not done the same with your parents. I know it's a crushing thing to realize your father doesn't believe in you anymore... doesn't matter if you're 10, 20, or 40 years old.

anyway, hang in there bro... things will get better now that youre in the place where you knew you'd be. You can finally build on what you have instead of knowing youre losing it.

22

I helped save someone's life today.

by QuestioningEverything in

jw
friends

while at work today, a man in the office next to me had a heart attack.

the office staff were yelling for someone who knew cpr.

i thought to myself,' i know cpr'.

daniel-p

151

There's A Ghost At My Place Of Employment

by finallysomepride in

ok some of you will laugh at this, but it's true, there is a spirit that haunts the premises where i work.. it has spoken to me once when i was locking up, it was 1 single word "hello", i looked around and saw nothing, i ignored it, set the alarm locked the door & went home.

other times i have felt something brush passed me as i have entered the building early in the morning.

the experience that got to me most happened the other nite when i was called back to the store by security, as i pulled into the drive way there was a man standing at the rear of the building, in the split second of looking away he dissapeared, there's no way that he could have run off the property in that split second.. what do you think?.

daniel-p

I'm not "totally disregarding everyone who claims to have seen a ghost," just asking for objective, verifiable evidence.
So if someone tells you 'I saw this, I got this on video, and I recorded this' is that good enough, or did they have to be in a laboratory under "controlled conditions"?
Judge Dread

From wikipedia: The logical fallacy of false dilemma (also called false dichotomy, the either-or fallacy) involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are other options. Closely related are failing to consider a range of options and the tendency to think in extremes, called black-and-white thinking. Strictly speaking, the prefix "di" in "dilemma" means "two". When a list of more than two choices is offered, but there are other choices not mentioned, then the fallacy is called the fallacy of false choice, or the fallacy of exhaustive hypotheses.

151

There's A Ghost At My Place Of Employment

by finallysomepride in

ok some of you will laugh at this, but it's true, there is a spirit that haunts the premises where i work.. it has spoken to me once when i was locking up, it was 1 single word "hello", i looked around and saw nothing, i ignored it, set the alarm locked the door & went home.

other times i have felt something brush passed me as i have entered the building early in the morning.

the experience that got to me most happened the other nite when i was called back to the store by security, as i pulled into the drive way there was a man standing at the rear of the building, in the split second of looking away he dissapeared, there's no way that he could have run off the property in that split second.. what do you think?.

daniel-p

All right, dp, let me LOL with you.
Anyway, I have found that people are very reluctant to share their "paranormal" experiences, because they are afraid of being ridiculed.

Aww, too bad.

Should you believe my personal testimony? Should you believe any posters on this site who claim to have had this type of experience? Should you believe Loretta Lynn? Should you believe your co-worker? Your neighbor? How the hell should I know?

My question was whether personal testimony should be enough for me to believe in ghosts, or whether its reasonable for me to withhold believing in ghosts simply because other people say they've had paranormal experiences. And once again, you refuse to answer.

What I DO know is this: You cannot totally disregard everyone who claims to have seen a ghost, seen something move by itself, etc. Whoever you choose to believe, or disbelieve, is up to you. After all, you were not there when it happened.
Judge Dread

You're qualifying your ridiculous and illogical statements. I'm not "totally disregarding everyone who claims to have seen a ghost," just asking for objective, verifiable evidence. In your world, that's too much to ask, and amounts to ridicule to those who've had supernatural experiences.

151

There's A Ghost At My Place Of Employment

by finallysomepride in

ok some of you will laugh at this, but it's true, there is a spirit that haunts the premises where i work.. it has spoken to me once when i was locking up, it was 1 single word "hello", i looked around and saw nothing, i ignored it, set the alarm locked the door & went home.

other times i have felt something brush passed me as i have entered the building early in the morning.

the experience that got to me most happened the other nite when i was called back to the store by security, as i pulled into the drive way there was a man standing at the rear of the building, in the split second of looking away he dissapeared, there's no way that he could have run off the property in that split second.. what do you think?.

daniel-p

Would you take a drug that had not been tested, but just had a bunch of unverifiable claims as to its effectiveness?
We are not talking about drugs.

No we're not. That was meant to illustrate the same principles. Sometimes this is referred to as an "example."

By the way, personal testimony sends people to prison, every day.
Judge Dread

But we're not talking about prison! lol.... Did I catch you using an example? But seriously, should personal testimony be enough for me to believe in ghosts? Yes or no?