betterdaze

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Posts by betterdaze

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  30

  Go ahead, tell me how you really feel - Modern Christian Art

  by jgnat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've stumbled across a most creative artful photography, placing jesus in contemporary scenarios.. http://www.thejourneysproject.com/c-294-fine-christian-art.aspx.

  for a mere $1,000 i too, could have jesus working his makeover in my bedroom.

  ooh, la la.. i am having strong and mixed reactions to this work, and i welcome your input..

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  betterdaze

  
  
  OnStar™, safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible.
• 
  205

  Mother Teresa attacked by Atheist/Anostic group -

  by james_woods in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  while i am no fan of mother teresa after reading some of the revealed facts about her life and work - i thought this was just a little out of the realm of polite conversation (but was interesting):.

  atheist group at dartmouth plans anti mother teresa event.. .

  http://www.campusreform.org/blog/?id=4503.

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  betterdaze

  James, I think it's self-defeating for the more militant of modern atheists to launch organized attacks against entrenched believers' heros, even if those heros are exposed frauds.
  
  Instead of focusing on the many documented negatives, we agnostics would do better to focus on the profound *positives* of post-deity secular living here-and-now in the 21st century, and moving forward.
  
  
  

  How many here would do that? would do the one thing that a leper has the least of, the pleasure of human touch.

  
  
  PSacramento, I love your question. Father Damien! He "won recognition for his ministry to people with leprosy, who had been placed under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine on the island of Moloka'i in the Kingdom of Hawai'i."
  
  Author Robert Louis Stevenson's defense of the man, regardless of Damien's certain human flaws, is well worth a read.
  
  But Mother Teresa? Like the many sad RC nuns my ancestors knew, she was a dysfunctional unit. On overdrive. That wretched witch became drunk on her growing power to deceive the faithful. I regard her in the same "class" as Judge Rutherford: Deliberate Psychopath.
  
  
  Although I no longer count myself amongst "believers," I am willing to give credit where due for selfless acts, for lives given over in service and sacrifice to help others who are doomed not by their own hand, but by circumstances they cannot fix, change or control.
  
  Father Damien appears (to me) to have achieved that as best he could, and if he was able to accomplish so much within the framework of a church that pretty much abandoned him as an individual, well, no one else was stepping up to the plate. The government's penal colony solution was less a solution than a further punishment when you examine the particulars.

  Stevenson was a man after my own heart. He CHOSE not to differentiate. Yet held the naysayers to task, on just the same exact same PERSONAL level that they attacked Damien. When he SAW Damien's miserable lifework, he recognized what it meant to be a human helping humans regardless of church affiliation. I'd like to think that today, I could add "or none at all" to that last sentence: Church affiliation, or none at all.
  
  Damien ran the race, may he rest in peace. There is no doubt in my mind, that he too came full circle to understand that "God" was not there in the end.
  
  Teresa, that hustler and swindler? She figured it out early and knew it all along.
• 
  21

  Now that the Storm is over in the Northeast,

  by ldrnomo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can we hear from any of you that went through it?.

  do you have power yet?.

  are you staying with friends?.

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  betterdaze

  We were well-prepared, and grateful the house is still standing.

  Some of the stories coming in (as we are able to get more news day by day) are truly horrifying. Our hearts go out to those who lost family and homes, businesses, pets.

  The storm is not really "over" for at least half a million of us yet. Day 11, no heat, power or internet access and no given timeframe for when we shall rejoin civilization.

  The only reason this library is open is because it's on the same grid as healthcare and police/fire facilities. Otherwise it's been like Little House on the Prairie.

  Today I see the media's finally addressing lies utility companies have been telling all along. Now it's all the Nor'easter's fault. Um, yeah, whatever. At one point they said 80% of my town was back up when they hadn't even started assessments yet. That was over a week ago.

  All we can do is wait it out, and do what we can to support one another in the meantime.
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  15

  can't make this up

  by pontoon in

  1. social
  2. humour

  so this 70 something yr old brother, ex bethelite, ex spec pioneer, current pioneer with over 50 yrs of full time service is lamenting he might have to step down as an elder because he is computer ignorant.

  i guess the org uses the internet to communicate with elders and having internet access is required of elders.

  anyway he's going to dunkin donuts with his wife and he sees free wifi.

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  betterdaze

  Overheard at a quirky little film fest of independent shorts: Youtube pronounced,
  
  You: To Be
  
  
  

  I volunteer for a program that reaches out to the elderly and helps them get computer training, if they want that. We help them develop any skill they would like to pursue.

  
  
  LisaRose
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  42

  A cautionary tale... the extremely beautiful sister and the worldly guy at the office

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-flmy8ltada.

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  cedars.

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  betterdaze

  
  
  Jesus engages a "worldly" Samaritan "down on the job":

  Gimme me a drink, then make me a sammich, woman!

  Parasitic Bethelite Brother Herd should be reminded that he wouldn't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of,
  if it weren't for the generous donations of Witnesses like Sister Hottie who actually earn a living and pay taxes, too.
• 
  630

  SAD news about OOMPA......

  by redredrose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  our friend, oompa, has passed away.

  just recieved the news a couple of hours ago, and have almost no details.

  it happened today or yesterday, he took his own life.

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  betterdaze

  
  
  Peace to Eric and
  those who loved him.
• 
  3

  A letter writting campaign to current JW's

  by Aaron Eldridge in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i thought there was something on this site recently about a letter writting campaign that helped over 40 witnesses leave the org, but i cannot find anything here.

  i searched all the related sites but again found nothing.

  i am starting to question if i dreamt the whole thing up.

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  betterdaze

  A PRACTICAL campaign to inform educate and PERHAPS assist in releasing YOUR FAMILY and friends Would you support it
  
  The POSTCARD thread Please get involved
• 
  17

  Free online courses from accredited schools... Your opinion

  by MC RubberMallet in

  1. social
  2. current

  https://www.coursera.org/.

  though you won't be accredited, what do you think of this program?.

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  betterdaze

  A fairly comprehensive list for those who are interested:

  12 Dozen Places To Educate Yourself Online For Free
• 
  10

  Republicans won’t let guns within 7 miles of convention . . .

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  but want to allow them everywhere else!.

  hmmm .

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  betterdaze

  St. Petersburg's ordinance establishes a 7.4-square-mile Event Zone that encompasses a large area around Tropicana Field, where the RNC welcome party will take place, and reaches to Tampa Bay. On Aug. 26, the day of the big party, the ordinance bars the possession of a range of items in the Event Zone that can be used as weapons or as defensive shields against police (except, absurdly due to state law, loaded guns when the owner has a concealed weapons permit). Among other items, the ordinance prohibits fragile containers, umbrellas with metal tips, light bulbs and any container with liquid except for small bottles of prepackaged soft drinks or water. These items sound pretty innocuous, but past protesters have used them to cause trouble.
  
  Balance rights, safety during RNC party
  
  * * *
  
  Ironically, city ordinances cannot trump Florida state handgun laws, so those with the proper permits will be allowed to carry concealed handguns into the event zone.
  
  At Tampa convention, protesters can carry guns, but not puppets
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  24

  Anyone watch "Grimm" ?

  by Glander in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i have never seen an episode but my wife loves the show.

  we just heard today that our 18 yr. old granddaughter will be an extra in an episode filming now.

  guess i'll have to watch it.

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  betterdaze

  Excellent show for ex-JWs! The protagonist lives and battles with the burdens of an inherited secret world tied up in ancient myths no normal, modern person would believe or even begin to understand.
  
  
  Last night's episode could be been taken from the tribal Bible: Family breaks away from backward, inbred clan. Virgin daughter is kidnapped "back into the pack" for a disgusting, incestuous fertility ritual …
  
  But not before they disembowel a bloody tubful of innocent animals first. I mean, what belief system would be complete without a pile of bloody dead animals, or women owned and abused by male relatives?
  
  
  Your daddy brought shame down on us when he took your mama and you away.
  
  What are you going to do to me?
  
  We're gonna take back into the pack.
  
  
  * * *
  
  I remember when your mother went through this too. She didn't learn. You don't turn your back on your family or your traditions.
  
  The world you ran away to doesn't understand what you are. It's the pack that protects you.