i am working on a paper about the suicide and economic index of happiness, reuters shoots her death, pass my desk, "sh*t , i think" life can be so brutal.
with this in mind, i would like to ask you if you are happy, with your current life, if not are you working towards it?
there is a decent size group of ex-jws and jws who have "checked out of this existence" mentally, and allow shi**y people to screw their brains up.
'Here in Canada, some people die because they can not afford the pharmaceuticals they need. I don't know how this works in the UK, but in Canada, unless you are on welfare or have Health Care Insurance,,, no MONEY = no prescription. PERIOD.'
It's different in the different constituent countries of the UK.
Here in Wales, under the NHS all prescription medicines are free for everyone. ('Free' in the sense they're paid for by general taxation.)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120131141401aaf9wu1.
undecided questionshow me anotherwhat similar features do the "titanic", and the "watchtower bible and tract society" have?the h.m.s.
titanic, was not paying attention to the ice lanes, and..... .
'Titanic' was not an 'HMS' it was an 'RMS'.
british dubs are invited to attend a special convention next summer in dublin , irish republic.
o k, this kind of trip has been done many times before.
however i have never seen such a crude and rigid set of rules that would apply to their own people going on a trip, at their own expense of course.
I pointed out on page 1 of this thread that I thought that the instructions about this Special Assembly may be in breach of anti-discrimination laws both in UK and Ireland. I have researched this a little further and now I am more convinced that this 'advertisement' is unlawful.
Although I am not, never have been, a JW, I am a citizen of the UK and I am prepared to make an official complaint about this. Under the applicable laws it is not necessary to be personally affected by the discrimination to bring a complaint. I have some experience in the realm of law enforcement and preparation of cpourt/legal documents.
I am happy to use my own name/address in the complaint, and I would suggest it be cross-referred to the UK Charity Commissioners.
What I would need to do this would be:
a scan of the full letter about this event
details of the publisher (e.g. is it WTB&TS of UK, or CCOJW somewhere?) - this should, by law, be printed somewhere on the document.
Never having been a JW, I have nothing to lose - and I enjoy a challenge.
british dubs are invited to attend a special convention next summer in dublin , irish republic.
o k, this kind of trip has been done many times before.
however i have never seen such a crude and rigid set of rules that would apply to their own people going on a trip, at their own expense of course.
Paragraph 3 appears to me to potentially be in breach of disability discrimination laws in both UK and Ireland.
EHRC may be interested.
the other day (australia day bbq actually) i somehhow got to discussing jws with some of my wifes extended family.
one of them, quite well educated and academic mentioned she was given a wt (no awake to go with it) when they called.. she commented that as she read some of it, it struck her how it was going on about pedaphiles and homosexuals a lot and secondly how every thing they said was not backed up by any legitimate research nor data, just random % this or that to support the flimsy arguments.. her comment was that this was the most un-academic, poorly written journal she had ever read and without going any further, threw it in the trash!.
the sheeple migh lap up the recycled vomit in that rag, but the public aint fooled.. the family laughed heartily when i informed them of the jw belief that the wt and awake!
Yes, as a never-was JW, I can confirm that my view of WTBTS literature is/was that it was poorly-produced propaganda which did not deserve the time spent to read it.
Reminds me of the old joke where a Brit tourist meets an Aussie who has a sheep tucked under his arm. (This needs an Aussie accent).
Brit: 'Good morning. Are you going to shear that sheep?'
Aussie: 'No, f**k off and find your own'.
apologies if this has been posted before or even discussed.. this ted talk gets at the heart of what atheism is missing and my wife an di discussed this for a long time last night.
in short religion provides a framework for meeting, for ritual, for art, education and sociality.
without this framework atheism can seem lonely harsh and certainly disorganised (the general idea that education and culture can replace the gap may well be true but without a formal structure the route to personal mental fulfillment is somewhat piecemeal and patchwork.
I am an atheist - that is to say I don't believe in (or accept the existence of) a God, or gods, or 'inspired' writings. I do accept that belief in some sort of supernatural beings can bring comfort to people, whether they're 'christians', 'muslims', 'buddhists', or whatever, and I acknowledge and accept that their beliefs are important to them.
I have come to accept that there is no point whatsoever in challenging those who hold 'religious' beliefs - whether it is the Bangkok hooker who lights incense sticks at the shrine at the entrance to a soi where she's going to ply her trade or a pilgrim to Jerusalem who believes that they're going to see a 'holy' site.
There is no reason for me to discuss anything to do with religion with those who practise it. Their religion (whatever it may be) precludes them from exercising rational thougt. Many people who believe in religion seem to me to be able to 'shut off' part of their brain.
I have, in the past, tried to have rational discussions with JWs. I have tried to have rational discussions with members of my family (evangelist fundies). There is no point, it is a waste of my time and theirs. We all smile, mouth platitudes, and walk away to our own lives.
my father, who has alzheimers, is dying now (he's 85).
i saw him today - he weaves in and out.
hasn't recognized me for a long time but was usually glad for the company.
My father died on my birthday (12 July) 2010 after a few years of suffering Alsheimers. I was in Cyprus and didn't see him in his last days, nor did I go to his funeral (for practical reasons).
It was pitiful to see my Dad in his last few years. He was always very sharp mentally (he loved to do algebra problems as a hobby) but once my Mum died a few years before he just 'switched off' and became mentally and physically incapable. He was brought up with a strong christian belief (PB not JW) but to be honest I'm not quite sure just how much he really believed it (WWII experiences and losing his first wife at 25 must have dented his faith). I hope, for his sake, he did.
Two years before he died my two brothers and I went to see him in the nursing home (it wasn't in the UK and took some coordination). We took with us a photo album compiled of all the old photos we could get hold of and spent hours going through it with him. It was a depressing experience - there wasn't much there.
By coincidence, the afternoon we visited the nursing home was the afternoon the local vicar came to hold a 'service'. By further coincidence, he was a Welshman from the area my Dad grew up. My last 'real' memory of my Dad was that afternoon, his three sons holding his hand (he was in a wheelchair) as we sang old Welsh hymn tunes. I thought I saw him smile but I can't be sure. That was the last time I saw him.
I am an atheist, but I hope my Dad died clinging to his beliefs - otherwise so much of his life would have been wasted. I think he looked forward to an eternal life straight after death and if that sustained him, good for him. I don't know how he reconciled in his mind (but I bet this had been on his mind for man, many years) the question of whether he would be his first wife and true love, or with my mother, his second wife. Perhaps this was one of the questions best not pondered too long.
periodtgreen, you have my sympathy. I said goodbye to my Dad a couple of years before he died. Even then, he wasn't the Dad I knew and even then I chose to remember him as he had been. Be thankful for the good memories - they will outlive the bad.
Regards.
i thought it would be interesting and informative to create the following survey.. please cut and paste it in the 'post' section and type in your reply under each question.. .
let the survey begin 10 questions.
1.rate on a scale from 1-10 the postive impact (10 being absolutely positive) of jehovahs-witness.net on your life.. .
1.Rate on a scale from 1-10 the postive impact (10 being Absolutely Positive) of Jehovahs-Witness.net on your life.
10 - a useful source of information in two main ways. First, the very informed academic discussions (with checkable sources) from which I have learned a great deal. Second, the personal experiences which have reinforced my belief that JWs are a sick and evil cult. More generally, a reinforcement of my view that most people are humane, 'good', empathetic and open-minded.
2.Rate on a scale from 1-10 the negative impact of Jehovah's-Witness.net on your life.
0 - no downside as long as one learns to avoid the posts of the obvious nutcases and fundie rednecks.
3. When you are in close proximity to Jehovah's Witnesses what actual, palpable emotion do you feel?
Sympathy, frustration because I know that there is no point in even trying to discuss anything rationally, sadness at wasted lives.
4.On a scale from 1-10 (10 being Absolute confidence) how confident are you that the Bible is an actual source of Divine Truth?
0.
5.Current active believing Jehovah's Witnesses, if approached the right way, under ideal conditions can be convinced to question their own beliefs.
True or False? (Remember, this is YOUR opinion.)
n/a
6.Which best describes how you feel about youor current position on religious matters?
A. I am depressed, confused, ambivalent and afraid
B. I am actively investigating as objectively as possible.
C. I don't think anybody has any supernatural revelation. It is all self-delusion.
D. I have mixed-feelings. Some days I believe. Some days I don't. I'm actively praying.
C
7.Name three writers who have done the most to get your attention and cause you to question IF you are right. (Any authors)
Hugh Schonfield
Authors of the NT
Richard Dawkins
8.What is your greatest personal fear?
I don't have any fears I can think of
9.What is your greatest person source of Joy?
My son, my daughter, my grandaughters (2.5 and 2 months) and my pending grandson (- 9 weeks)
10.If you could wave a magic wand and go back to any year of your life, any age, any place, any time---what would it be and why?
Impossible to specify one, but all involve girls/women. Surprisingly, (my) youth is not necessarily a factor.
Special optional bonus question: What Topics are you sick of? What topics would your like to see covered more?
I find all topics of some interest - even the nutcase ones because it shows what out there.
could we discuss our reaction to bertrand russell's quote below?.
if i were asked to prove that zeus and poseidon and hera and the rest of the olympians do not exist, i should be at a loss to find conclusive arguments.
an agnostic may think the christian god as improbable as the olympians; in that case, he is, for practical purposes, at one with the atheists.. .
Knowsnothing: While WTBTS may now accept that 'life came about millions of years ago', the few publications I have seen recently still say that Adam was created 6,000 or so years ago. They don't trumpet it for obvious reasons.
Fudging about with the length of days etc. seems a bit dishonest to me. As far as I'm concerned anyone can believe what they like as long as it doesn't affect other people, but it seems to me that if they claim to have the 'unchanging and eternal truth' they should stick to it or admit they were wrong. 'New light' is just a weaselly cop-out IMHO. A core tenet of science is the acceptance that no-one knows it all and that there must always be an acceptance that a currently accepted hypothesis may be shown to be wrong and thus discarded. Seems more honest to me.
The Richard Dawkins Foundation site has a lot of very reliable stuff from expert sources and is worth a look.
Fresh Prince: As I understand it the claims to 'virgin birth' were far more common-place than many modern christians understand. They think it is unique to their religion but history shows the truth to be very different. It seems to have been a fairly common feature claimed for Egyptian, Greek and Roman gods, amongst others, and some writers have suggested that Saul/Paul included it in his view of the new religion to endow it with some 'credibility' to potential converts at that time.
