cognizant dissident

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Posts by cognizant dissident

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  64

  To the Household of God, Israel, and those who go with...

  by AGuest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ... may you all have peace!.

  there's been such a lot of "ruckus" on the board lately (well, not a lot in comparison to the entire board, but a lot for some of us - lololol!

  ) that i wanted to give you all something that might help you feel a little "lighter"... and remind you of who you are.

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  cognizant dissident

  Shelby:

  I don't know if you realize how judgemental and condescending you come across. You judge whether someone has light or darkness within themselves. You speak as if you know who is being blessed and who isn't. You determine what is an uplifting story or not.

  Some of us didn't find the story that uplifting. That isn't because we don't have compassion for the homeless, or respect for a good deed being done.

  That's because we could see the "darkness" of ego rearing its ugly head in the context of the so called "good" deed. That doesn't mean buying the guy a hamburger wasn't a good deed. It was. Loudly proclaiming it for all the restaurant to hear and bullying the McDonald's employees were not good deeds. Any deed can contain components of both good and evil at the same time.

  The world, people, and their deeds, are not black and white.
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  16

  The Impossibility of Utopia? A Response to Humanism by John Gray

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fcpegej8sg&feature=related.

  although not particularly impressed by the narrator.... i find that john gray, author of "straw dogs" and "black mass" reveals the abject failure of mankind both in the past and inexorably in the future to create a utopia.

  it is especially interesting to me because this is most of what many cults are really all about.

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  cognizant dissident

  I think "Utopia" is a denial of the reality of man's nature and the nature of this world, which is that we are all animals and almost every living creature rips each other apart for food, territory, mates, etc. So in that sense, I agree with Randy.

  However, that being said, I think there are a certain element of humans who have evolved beyond this consciousness (ode to Popper here). They may be in the minority, they may be doomed to destruction by the violent masses. Who knows?

  But as Ak-Jeff said, that does not mean we should just sit around and twiddle our thumbs . If we can conceive of a higher consciousness, of ideals that promote construction and not destruction, for humanity and all the species, and the planet, then, even if we are in the minority, even if we are doomed to failure (and how can we know that ahead of time?) we owe it to ourselves to at least make an effort to bring forth our constructive vision into being.

  The alternative is to join the animals in ripping each other apart. We all have this duality to live with. We all have a choice which "dog" to feed.
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  16

  The Impossibility of Utopia? A Response to Humanism by John Gray

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fcpegej8sg&feature=related.

  although not particularly impressed by the narrator.... i find that john gray, author of "straw dogs" and "black mass" reveals the abject failure of mankind both in the past and inexorably in the future to create a utopia.

  it is especially interesting to me because this is most of what many cults are really all about.

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  cognizant dissident

  I wouldn't take that bet, Randy. I think we are all animals with a very thin veneer of civility and it doesn't take much for us to drop the veneer and follow our primal urges to dominate and destroy.
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  64

  To the Household of God, Israel, and those who go with...

  by AGuest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ... may you all have peace!.

  there's been such a lot of "ruckus" on the board lately (well, not a lot in comparison to the entire board, but a lot for some of us - lololol!

  ) that i wanted to give you all something that might help you feel a little "lighter"... and remind you of who you are.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  cognizant dissident

  Actually, my first thoughts were the same as sixofnine and twitch.

  Some people help the homeless out of compassion for the homeless and some people help the homeless to bolster their own egos and feel good about themselves. The difference is often apparent in the way the person is helped. Quietly without fanfare, with regard to the person's dignity, or loudly, making sure everyone knows "I" am helping this "poor" person, regardless of how embarrassing it might be to the person to put the spotlight on their situation.

  My son is manager at a Mcdonalds in an area full of homeless drug addicts. Many are banned form the lobby and for very good reasons! Assault, harrassment, stealing, vandalism, drugs in the bathroom, sex in the bathroom. They still hang around outside though. That customer was out of line, imo. He has no right to usurp the restaurant's policy when he doesn't know why they made it. If he was that concerned about feeding the man, he could have gone in, got his meal quietly, and brought it to him outside in a to go bag. He was looking to make a loud statement about himself, imo.
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  45

  Any 'Humanists' here?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  care to share your particular weltanschauung ?.

  how do you approach life in general?

  how do you convey to others your opines on life, love and laughter?.

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  cognizant dissident

  JT! You old bastard! Where the hell you been all this time? I've missed you.

  I see time has only made you wiser, if a little more lazy and sloshed? Just another thing we have in common. I've also been told I'm kind and lazy so by an unscientific sample of one, you are proved correct once again.

  By the way, I'm single now, so you can finally ask me to marry you!

  Cog
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  139

  Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

  i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

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  cognizant dissident

  That's because the placebo effect has been quantifiably measured, whereas homeopathy...not so much.
• 
  139

  Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

  i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

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  cognizant dissident

  Good points Caedes

  It occurs to me that this focus on making narrrow definitions of atheism and faith and belief only serve the purpose of providing red herrings away from the actual logical arguments.

  Even if we concede to the narrow definitions of atheism provided by believers, the end result is the same: Theists believe in something (God) for which there is no credible evidence. Atheists don't believe in something (God) for which there is no credible evidence. Now which scenario is more logical and makes more sense to you?

  All of the wordplay in the world cannot change the simplicity of those facts.
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  284

  To new Christians on JWN

  by brotherdan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to make a few comments to those of you that have recently begun to question or have already left the wt and made their way onto this site.

  this site is a great resource to learn how others are coping with leaving the organization and moving on into a fulfilling life.. i wanted to write this post because i think reading something like this would've been helpful to me to understand where a lot of people that comment on this site are coming from.

  you are going to hear from a wide range of people that have moved on to a diverse range of beliefs.

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  cognizant dissident

  I am more content and happy in the last 4 years as an atheist than I ever was in my 40 as a JW.
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  139

  Atheist believe there is no God? Yes we do, strongly!

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there seem to have been a strong increase in entymological arguments lately, more precisely regarding the term atheist.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198111/1/lets-settle-this-for-once-and-for-all-is-atheism-a-belief-a-non-belief-or-an-anti-belief.

  i have reread the thread and i think i see where it goes very wrong.

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  cognizant dissident

  I am left with the thought: is that really all you have to say?

  And yet even that proves to be too much!

  Wobble: I'm fast turning into someone who doesn't give a shit myself, because, created or not created, it doesn't seem to be having a big effect on my life or death as opposed to my hard work and the choices I make.

  Someone who doesn't give a shit: Constipationist? acrapist? retentionist?
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  45

  Any 'Humanists' here?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  care to share your particular weltanschauung ?.

  how do you approach life in general?

  how do you convey to others your opines on life, love and laughter?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cognizant dissident

  I think I can agree with all of those tenets of Humanism. Sign me up!

  I don't find anything particularly egocentric about those beliefs. They certainly did not say that the freedom of the individual human is the highest value. I think there was an acknowledgement of the interconnectedness of humans with other species and the planet and that are futures are intertwined.

  Randy: that was an interesting article on science. I agree, the bias of the researcher can never be fully removed from that which is researched, that is why scientific methods must have methods of measurement that are falsifiable and repeatable and why they are subject to peer review. While humans may never be able to achieve 100% detachment in their rational and reasoning, I don't think scientist claim that they do, or that they are without ego. However, the scientific method of analysis is an attempt to remove bias, and draw rational conclusions about our world through measurable evidence. Just because it cannot guarantee to accomplish this 100%, is no reason to abandon the method and go backwards, basing our decisions on anecdotal evidence and superstition.

  The scientific method is still superior to what preceded it and until a better method of drawing conclusions comes along, it makes sense to use it and try to improve upon it.