yes it has always put a question in my mind.
why the two different classes?
jesus did not teach two different classes of belivers.
The Age of Reason can be found here:
. http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_paine/age_of_reason/
and some more fun reading by Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth:
. http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/twainlfe.htm
or the The Theologian's Nightmare, by Bertrand Russell:
. http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/russell3.htm
. http://www.inquiria.com/russell/theologian.html
. http://nightshade.homepage.dk/nightmare.htm
CPiolo
The worst vice of the fanatic is his sincerity. -- Oscar Wilde
in one or two recent threads i've seen reference to the possibility of a rising number of jw suicides being another of the organization's very dark realities about which it is vigilant in keeping concealed from its pub populace.
is there anyone reasonably informed regarding this?
is there reason to suppose the incidence ratio among jws is any higher than among any peoples/religion?
As the spouse of a depressed JW, it amazes me to see the prevelance of emotional/psychological problems and suicide among members of JWs. I have seen other posts and some of the other material linked to in this thread, but had absolutely no idea the problem was as big as it seems to be. My wife is currently being treated for her problem, but sees absolutely no connection between her depression and her religion. In fact, she switched therapists after her first therapist pushed the religion button a little too hard. (My wife had mentioned that her religious perspective caused problems in our marriage, and the counseler suggested attending a nuetral church together. Obviously, she knew very little about Witness beliefs, although she told me they are listed as a cult by the American Psychiatric Association.)
I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their personal experiences. It has helped me have a clearer picture of how my wife suffers and what some of the root causes are, as well as helping me have a little more compassion for my wife. This is at times difficult. One's patience is taxed enormously living with someone continually negative and depressed, and I often become short-tempered and irritable with her.
Thanks also to larc and lady lee for the insight and source material. Maximus, It's great to see you back and contributing.
CPiolo
the watchtower provides a comment on the writings of aretaeus in the pamphlet how can blood save your life?
(copyright 2000).
in part 2 - titled blood--vital for life, what of using blood as medicine?
Hawkaw:
Thanks for the link. I'm working on the Priestley stuff now and should send it to you within the next couple of days. I do this stuff during my down time at work, so it doesn't always go as quickly as I'd like. And yes send me the Aretaeus stuff and I'll work on it as well.
CPiolo
the watchtower provides a comment on the writings of aretaeus in the pamphlet how can blood save your life?
(copyright 2000).
in part 2 - titled blood--vital for life, what of using blood as medicine?
Hawhaw:
As usual, your research is impecable and thorough. Thanks.
Above you speak of NGO and DPI. Could you fill me in as to what these are?
CPiolo
(waiting to be "dumb" with the wife)
congress is now reviving a proposal killed last year by senator phil gramm, the texas republican who was then chairman of the senate banking committee.
the bill, introduced by the clinton administration, would give the treasury secretary broad power to bar foreign countries and banks from access to the american financial market unless they cooperated with money-laundering investigations.
it was strongly opposed by the banking industry and mr. gramm.. "i was right then and i am right now" in opposing the bill, mr. gramm said yesterday.
And where does the Taliban get their money?
A few months ago, the Bush administration handed the Taliban a subsidy of $43m, in abject gratitude for the assistance of fundamentalism in "the war on drugs".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,555446,00.html
You'll have to cut and paste to properly link to the article.
CPiolo
the swedish paper expressen september 20, 2001.. we were ordered to become americans.
the other night swedish fighter planes patrolled our skies.
according to the defense ministry this was a link in our heightened readiness towards terrorism.
Norm:
Sorry, I should have said the article Norm presented.
CPiolo
the swedish paper expressen september 20, 2001.. we were ordered to become americans.
the other night swedish fighter planes patrolled our skies.
according to the defense ministry this was a link in our heightened readiness towards terrorism.
A European (British) counterpoint to Norm's article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,554291,00.html
CPiolo
P.S. Sorry, but your going to have to cut and paste the address to link directly to the article. I think it has something to do with the commas used in the address.
Edited for P.S.
reading an article in the new york times, i came across a description of the taliban and mullah omar, the man who started the movement:.
isolating the taliban has been easy but ineffective because they insulate themselves.
television is banned.
Wasasister:
My wife, much like your daughter, is a kind, gentle, and loving person, but when it comes to the WT, its beliefs and dogma, she is unbendable. It really is chilling, but it does give one some insight as to how seemingly rational human beings perform such irrational acts, and into the power of religious fervor.
CPiolo
reading an article in the new york times, i came across a description of the taliban and mullah omar, the man who started the movement:.
isolating the taliban has been easy but ineffective because they insulate themselves.
television is banned.
Ginney:
No television, no telephones, no internet. The Taliban controls information, and in so doing, controls the people subject to their role. In this manner it's easy to demonize outsiders or those with a different view of Islam.
Amazing:
You said:
Except for the extremist conduct, these people sound like they would fit well into the JW world.
In my view, both groups are guilty of extremist conduct, it's just a matter of degree. Some Islamic groups actively participate to help God acheive his goal through holy war or jihad, while JWs sit eagerly anticipating a much greater slaughter carried out the the big guy in the sky himself. Some Muslims kill themselves and those of other groups in suicide missions carried out to acheive their goal --a world Islamic theocracy. JWs kill themselves and others of their own group --through their bans on vaccinations and blood transfusions-- in an attempt to please God and be resurrected in Paradise. The Muslim campaigns get more attention because of the large numbers of people killed at the same time, while the JWs don't receive the same scrutiny because those they kill are isolated individual occurences spread throughout the world over a longer period of time. We still don't know the total killed in the WTC destruction, but it will be in the thousands, but how many JWs have given their lives over the years due to the medical advice and prohibitions of the WTB&TS-- Hundreds, thousands? I would bet it's in the thousands. Beyond that are the issues of alternative military service, the covering up of crimes, like pedophilia, the Malawi/Mexico tragedy and so on that have killed, maimed, and done irreperable harm to large numbers of people. Where does extremism seperate itself from non-extremist behavior?
CPiolo
CoolBreeze:
Thanks for the article. I've been reading the Guardian the past couple of days but missed Dawkins article.
Ginny:
I missed the PBS special on bin Laden last week, but too have been reading the website. Your thoughts echo mine as to substituting a few key words into bin Laden's statements and you would have a fine Watchtower article.
CPiolo
