i recieved this note from a young person i know personally.
it brought tears to my eyes for someone so young to see things so clearly.
why can't six million others see this simple reality and the need for change?.
Kismet,
I appreciate what you're saying, and maybe it needs to be said.
I do admire the patience and kindness and tolerance of people like Waiting, Larc, and others. Their methods may be more effective with some people ... but sometimes, arrgh!, a jerk needs to know he's being a jerk. Can you tell me that irritating people who put forth illogical arguments in the defence of something abominable don't get under your skin, too?
But, like I said, I generally appreciate what you're saying.
Dedalus
i recieved this note from a young person i know personally.
it brought tears to my eyes for someone so young to see things so clearly.
why can't six million others see this simple reality and the need for change?.
AlanF:
I really liked this part of your response:
You yourself are a fine example of the kind of deadness of soul that it produces -- someone who stands up to defend the disgusting coverup of child molestation -- even after being abused by their pharisaic 'law' against smoking.
"Deadness of soul" -- an excellent phrase.
Kismet:
Waiting as adopted a sort of rhetoric that works for her; others adopt rhetorics that work for them. Wayne has no problem hurling the jibes right back, and given the sneering, know-it-all attitude of his posts, I don't think we need to worry about hurting his feelings.
But I don't think it's just a matter of "hurling insults." I don't see much or any of that going on here. AlanF said that Wayne suffers a "deadness of soul" -- and I guess you could call that an insult, only AF goes on to explain why he applies the term as he does. The insult by itself proves nothing; it's a barb attached to an argument that stands up on its own. In this case, it's practically poetic. And that's a legitimate rhetoric, too.
Dedalus
hang on, folks.
if a) is true then god is arbitrary: anything he says is right, is right.
so you admit that gods decisions are purely arbitrary?.
Well done, Farkel.
Of course, you're completely wrong -- that is, you aren't right. There's a very simple reason, of course: you are vile apostate scum.
But seriously: aren't there any Christian apologists here who want to take a crack at this? Or is it hopeless?
Dedalus, who knows it's hopeless
i recieved this note from a young person i know personally.
it brought tears to my eyes for someone so young to see things so clearly.
why can't six million others see this simple reality and the need for change?.
Wayne
I may stay. You're better than comedy central.Dim bulb, huh. Soooo original.
Yeah, and if I keep practicing, perhaps I can approach the high humor of your posts:
Bring it on so I can cherish the vat [I mean vast]amout of lard, [I mean love] that I have stumbled into.
Fred Hall is Jerry Seinfeld compared to you.
Meanwhile, you've again dodged the point: it's illogical, arrogant, and just plain stupid for you to say that there's hardly any child molestation among Witnesses because you are a psychology student.
Dedalus
i recieved this note from a young person i know personally.
it brought tears to my eyes for someone so young to see things so clearly.
why can't six million others see this simple reality and the need for change?.
Wayne,
Yeah, and Christ never wrote anything except little pictures in sand--shallow flame here my man.
Huh? What the hell is this supposed to mean?
Oh, wait, I forgot. You're an idiot. Idiots rarely understand irony.
Remember, I was responding to what you wrote here:
As a student of psychology, I can affirm that the incidence of true child molestation is extremely low among Jehovah's Witnesses.
So now let me state my point explicitly, so that even a dim bulb like you can get it: The fact that you took some psychology courses does not prove that child molestation rarely occurs in the Organization.
Duh.
As for your semantics with "pedophiles" vs. "true child molesters" -- we get your point, got it a long goddamn time ago: chile molesters may always be pedophiles, but pedophiles aren't always child molesters. Whatever. In the vernacular of this board, however, the two are used much the same way -- probably because we're not a bunch of crooked lawyers trying to get a sex offender saved from justice. But big deal. None of this proves that child molestation only occurs rarely in the Organization. Your insistance on this point is just a semantic banality.
Clear now?
Dedalus, who doesn't believe for a second that you hold a degree in English/Classics
i recieved this note from a young person i know personally.
it brought tears to my eyes for someone so young to see things so clearly.
why can't six million others see this simple reality and the need for change?.
Wayne,
Glad to see you are still participating in this thread. I have a question I hope you can help me with. As a student of psychology, can you tell me where I left the remote control?
Thanks.
Seriously:
There are many people who hav pedophilic tendencies who never engage in child molestation.
This is sort of like saying that someone with homicidal tendencies never kills anyone.
Not that it matters. Your remarks are nothing but a pretentious semantic smokescreen by which you hope to detract from the problem of child molestation in the Organization.
Dedalus, who is made uncomfortable by non-sequiturs and illogical syllogisms that function to preserve pedophilia
i recieved this note from a young person i know personally.
it brought tears to my eyes for someone so young to see things so clearly.
why can't six million others see this simple reality and the need for change?.
As a student of literature, I can affirm that very few Witnesses can actually read.
Dedalus, BA, MA, MFA, PHD, NFL, CBS, ATT, ETC
my wife has just left for the memorial.. just before she went she asked me to come...this was the second year in a row that i declined.
i hated seeing her so sad, i almost agreed to go just to cheer her up but that would betray her in a very real sense.
to go to the memorial would be an admission in her eyes (and other jws) that i still believe deep down that it is the truth.
Last night was actually a sort of anniversary for me and my fiancee. She came to the memorial at my Kingdom Hall last year -- she had been inactive, knew she would never be a Witness again, but she wanted to see me. It was the first time we had seen each other in years. After the non-celebration, we met in the back of the hall, and said, at about the same time, "let's get out of here." It was one of my last meetings.
I was actually surprised not to get invited this year. Oh well. Spent the evening in Harvard Square, had a good time with Foxy, and didn't really think much about the whole thing.
Thanks for the stories, especially Joelbear and REM ...
Dedalus
.........without smacking anyone!!!.
but man!
it was tough!.
Expatbrit, NikL, & others with JW wives,
It sucks to be married to a wonderful woman and to have that acting as a wedge between us. As if keeping a marriage together isn't hard enough.
I just wanted to say that my mother was the most zealous JW I knew -- she would insist that nothing would ever take her away from "Jehovah's organization." She was a pioneer for years; she was used in convention parts, meeting parts; she read each magazine faithfully. Our family was even used in an Awake article, with several quotes from Mom cited in the text.
And then one day her JW world crumbled -- while in field service she was in a car accident, more scared than hurt, and this led to an epiphany: she was living a fake life, serving something she didn't believe in and hadn't believed in for years.
Within a year she was inactive. Looking back now, she can say that she always had doubts about what she was doing, especially after the 1995 "generation" change.
I guess I'm just telling you guys to hang in there. I think Nietzsche said something to the effect that those who proclaim their faith loudly hold it weakly. It could be that your wives harbor doubts they dare not reveal. It could be a matter of time until they crack.
Dedalus
tonight, i would have attended the memorial, if my witness daughter had asked me to go.
during the two previous yearly occasions, i was inactive, but i went with her because it seemed to mean a great deal to her.
she has either given up on me, or the event does not mean what it once did to her.. i was thinking about another memorial, one i would rather celebrate.
Was,
A touching tribute to you mother; thanks for posting it. It's difficult to understand how any compassionate person (or God) could possibly take issue with what you wrote.
Dedalus
