Posts by PrimateDave

27

The Ghost Dance and the Slaughter at Wounded Knee

by frankiespeakin in

jw
friends

the peaceful ghost dance started by by desparate indians hoping for freedom, from the the greedy white man and his government caught on and was adopted by many tribes which frightened the us government that an uprising was in the making which was brought to an abrut end in the slaughter at wounded knee i have collected several renditions:.

i did not know then how much was ended.

when i look back now from this high hill of my old age, i can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered along the crooked gulch as plain as when i saw them with eyes still young.

PrimateDave

Frankie, for what it's worth, the atrocities committed against the native cultures by those of European descent was not just an "American" problem. The United States is just a part of five thousand year old Empire culture which is based on certain premises. David C. Korten, in his book The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, discusses the imperial roots of the United States and its gradual progress towards fulfilling the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence. The struggle for rights is well documented in Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

Dave

78

Have you ever faked a service report?

by Orgull in

it's only my third day here so, go easy on me.

lol.. seriously, my new doubts have made it harder and harder to go in service.

a few months ago, when a new month rolled around, i realized that i hadn't actually gone in service at all the previous month.

PrimateDave

Yes, I did a lot of faking in my last few years. Once, when I moved, I checked with the secretary in the former congregation about whether I had maybe "forgotten" to turn in field service at any time during the previous year. It seems that I had, so I did what any good Publisher would and turned in some "time" for those months. I wonder how many congregation secretaries are wise to this practice.

Well, now I guess it was par for the course. They gave me a fake hope based on a fake religion. So, I faked my efforts to promote it.

Dave

12

WHO REALLY WAS PHARAOH WHO DROWNED IN RED SEA?

by badboy in

jw
friends

pursuing the israelites.. tuthmosis iii/ivn.

amenhotep iii/iv.

ramesses 1/ii/iii.

PrimateDave

Isn't it kind of funny that Moses, who supposedly wrote the book of Exodus, never said the name of the Pharaoh? I mean, really, Moses was raised in the royal family, right? Even though he was away for forty years, he should have known some of the people on his return.

Unless, of course, Moses didn't write Exodus. After all, how many plot holes and inconsistencies does it take to realize that these twice baked tales were written by several authors? They couldn't even agree on when Aaron died. Or the name of Moses' father-in-law.

I will go so far as to say that no Pharaoh ever died in the Red Sea. The whole story of the Exodus, if not a complete fabrication, is greatly exaggerated. No archaeological evidence exists for the Exodus, at least not on a scale involving a couple million people and their livestock in the time frame specified. We don't know what, if anything, actually happened. The stories that make up the Bible make poor history and very poor religion. Enjoy it as the product of human cultural evolution, nothing more.

Dave

20

What do you think about disassociating?

by esw1966 in

jw
friends

i have left my old congregation 2 years ago.

i have left jw teaching 1 1/2 years.

i like being true to my beliefs.

PrimateDave

I haven't read the other replies, yet. I will just give my experience for what it is worth.

I DA'd myself last year by simply telling the PO in the congregation that I didn't want to be a JW anymore. I didn't give any reasons. I told him that it was not due to any problem with any individual(s) in the local congregation. At first I was going to write a short letter, but now I could care less.

I then emailed my family and told them that I no longer considered myself one of JWs (I've been one all my life.). I made a point of saying that my decision was not negotiable. There was nothing to talk about to change my mind. Discussion was out of the question unless they were willing to read from my reading list that I gave them.

I also said that I knew I could be shunned, but that tactic wasn't going to work on me. Besides, I said, I could have pretended to be one of JWs. How honest would that be? Wouldn't they rather that I be honest with them, instead of lying to them constantly? No, I respected them too much for that.

Well, they still call and email. I'm glad for that. I do get tired of the constant JWness of the things they talk about. It's always assembly this and Bible study that. I'm so glad I'm out, but I think they're in for life.

Dave

80

Music Fans!! Once again I Ask, What's Your Top 10 Favorite Albums?

by flipper in

jw
friends

hello gang!

didn't think i'd let you off easy did you?

this one might really make us dig into our personal archives!

PrimateDave

Alphabetically:

Agalloch Ashes Against the Grain
Jon Anderson Olias of Sunhillow
Harold Budd/Brian Eno The Pearl
Carpenters Singles 1969-1981
Brian Eno Another Green World
Brian Eno with Daniel Lanois & Roger Eno Apollo Atmospheres and Soundtracks
Roger Eno with Kate St. John The Familiar
King Crimson Red
Opeth Ghost Reveries
R.E.M. Out of Time
Talking Heads Naked
Yes The Yes Album
Yes Going for the One

Okay, so there are thirteen, and I could have easily added lots more.

Dave

45

I had no idea there were people who felt like me

by Orgull in

i've recently begun challenging my beliefs.

all my beliefs, including those ingrained in me as one raised "in the truth".. a few years ago i sought therapy for chronic depression and my treatment was remarkably successful.

as a side effect, things that used to "work" for me no longer fit with the new emotional pathways and strengths i was developing.

PrimateDave

Welcome to the board Orgull.

Now that you've dared to post on a forbidden message board, will you take the next step and read the book Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz, the former Governing Body member who was disfellowshipped?

Keep on digging and you'll see how deep the rabbit hole goes!

Dave

45

Theodore Jaracz was the keynote speaker at my convention...

by under_believer in

jw
friends

we just had our convention at the memorial colosseum in portland, or.

good old teddyj was our keynote speaker.

i can tell you right now that the ol' boy's still alive and kicking.

PrimateDave

UB, thanks for the recap! Long prayers that preach at the audience were always my pet peeve when I was a dub. I'm supposed to get a recording from a family member of the ass-embly. Should I listen to it?

Dave

13

Dreams of KH, Assemblies, etc.

by monophonic in

jw
friends

so, i attend more meetings than most jws with all the dreams i continue to have regarding the meetings and assemblies..

usually the dreams aren't nightmares, but i'm supposed to give a talk and i'm given what i'm supposed to say and i tell the brothers there's no way i'm getting up there and giving the talk unless i can go off the outline..

most of the time, the dreams bleed into other areas of my life, like last night i was at the assembly and i saw this supposed life-long 'friend'....

PrimateDave

Yes, same weird dreams here. And I get the same attitude. Why am I here? And I wind up arguing with my family about why it's not the "true religion." And sometimes I realize that I'm in my underpants, and I can't figure out how I got to the KH in just my tighty whities. (Yes, I sleep in briefs.)

Dave

17

Can The Dead Be Brought Back To Life?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

can the dead be brought back to life?...there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.-acts 14:15. .

an article published by the bbc, sparks some controversy about dying or near death experiences.. the article goes on to state that individuals who were clinically dead were brought back to life.

individuals who past on to the "afterlife" claimed: "it was beautiful, one of the most wonderful.

PrimateDave

That is a very poorly written article. Lot's of presumption, little science. Note how they presumed that there was no brain activity. Unless you've got someone in an MRI machine, how can you really know when the brain stops functioning after blood flow stops? And there is no mention of the people who have been resusitated with brain damage resulting in mental retardation and physical impairments due to brain damage. Is there any part of our thought process that is not dependent on the brain? Neither science nor religion has yet to answer this.

Miracle Max: [Lifts and drops the arm of the dead Westley] I've seen worse.

Miracle Max: He probably owes you money huh? I'll ask him.

Inigo Montoya: He's dead. He can't talk.

Miracle Max: Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do.

Inigo Montoya: What's that?

Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.

- from "The Princess Bride"

Dave

69

Any videogamers here?

by R.F. in

this is my #1 hobby.

i have a ps2, psp, and xbox.

i was mainly an xbox kind of guy until they completely abandoned it soon after the 360 was released.

PrimateDave

I used to play a lot more than I do now. The next game on my list, and it's a short list, is Final Fantasy 12. At some point in the future I know I'll play Zelda: Twilight Princess. Silent Hill 5 is also on my list for next year. Still, virtual reality is no replacement for a real life.

Dave