why on earth would his life story be in the watchtower ? is this hero worship a new feature in the cult now ?
It seems to be more and more part of their program these days.
d4g
am3rd life story is in may 15th 2015 study wt.. after reading, he sounds very mental unstable.
i know you guys will be saying "yeah, obviously he is"...but we don't have any concrete evidence saying he has a mental condition.. has anyone ever dug a little deeper, perhaps try to find some people who would have known him from the army?
i mean, he probably doesn't know that many people, he was only serving for a year for christs sake.
why on earth would his life story be in the watchtower ? is this hero worship a new feature in the cult now ?
It seems to be more and more part of their program these days.
d4g
during the long debate on the question of gay marriage, there have been many competing answers to the question of, "how many people are gay?".
a very anti-gay christian minister in sydney, the reverend fred nile, (who is also a member of the state parliament) claims that the percentage is as low as 1%.. some university (u.of new south wales) research in sydney has suggested 5%, but the authors of the study cautioned that there was a problem in the fact that an unknown number of respondents would likely not admit to being gay.. there are other problems in asking the question.
for example, what does being gay mean?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_Reports
The Kinsey Reports, (studies of sexual behavior in the 1950s), indicated about 10% of the male population at the time of the tests. I believe recent findings show similar numbers.
Of course these tests were derided at the time by the religious right. They still are today...go figure.
In a small engineering group in a previous company I worked for, out of ~20 engineers 3 were openly gay, so although only working with a small sample size, the findings seem to corroborate.
d4g
here are a couple of ways that come to mind:.
-- suppose a married gay couple, or even one of the partners, starts studying the bible with jws and decides he wants to baptized?
would the jws require him to get a divorce?
The first scenario would only exist on paper. There are not many converts at all these days, and doubt many of the gay community would ever convert. I think what is more interesting about that one is what is says about the organization's self-declared "universal" reach by implication...
The second scenario is no different with or without marriage: DF if they have sex.
d4g
here is a change of pace, what was the nicest thing a jw has ever done for you or you have seen done?
it wasn't all bad all the time!
Sometimes your wit is beyond my comprehension...Or, maybe I am just a bit slowwwww sometimes.
in the 60's and 70's when i became a mindless cult follower there.
were gathering for the elite and they would get sh---t face, i mean down right.
drunk.
Yep, booze and prescription drugs are the accepted drugs of choice in JW land...I grew up in an alcoholic JW family myself, and definitely drank too much myself alongside many JW friends that did the same. I attribute the AD use mostly to the depressing lifestyle that ones leads as a JW. I was there, and quit those cold turkey when I left 10 years ago.
Of course not all JW were like this, but there seemed to be two extremes, those that drank heavily, and the teetotalers. Living and growing up on the east coast, I saw more of the former. I also lived in the Midwest during college, and much more of the latter was what was seen in public, (even weddings had no booze). I was a bit surprised at that, but the conservative culture there permeated everything, not only attitudes about drinking, but many other things we considered normal on the east coast as well. However, there were always smaller "private" groups that did whatever they wanted. You just had to be in the know.
These days a glass of wine or two or a hit of the MJ are enough to assuage any need to relax. Far more moderate and healthier since leaving JW.
d4g
the children of one of yesterday's shooting have told the media that they have already forgiven the killer for what he did.. dylaan roof has not apologised for what he did.
he hates black people and probably regrets not killing even more.. what does it really mean to forgive?.
if the legal system asked the victims relatives what they want done next would they ask for dylaan to go free and unpunished?.
Forgiveness is about self-preservation more than anything else. It likely is a big reason why religion has the draw for many that it does, as religion usually builds this concept into its dogma. All part and parcel with a predefined moral code, so many look for in religious systems. It works great until it doesn't.
There is a difference between "forgiveness", and accepting things and moving on. The latter requires a level of self-actualization that most people do not have, so forgiveness comforts them.
I prefer to accept the damage and move on.
Oh, and society has no use for people like Dylann Roof.
d4g
here is a change of pace, what was the nicest thing a jw has ever done for you or you have seen done?
it wasn't all bad all the time!
They lose their moral compass. How else could anyone accept a system that believes shunning and allowing one's children to die for lack of a blood transfusion are good things? Only people that trade in their conscience to some degree for whatever consolation it brings them would do such things. They key is to what degree. Some are worse than others, but all are affected.
Not sure how you left, but I know it took some personal hard knocks for me to wake up. I consider myself lucky because of that.
d4g
here is a change of pace, what was the nicest thing a jw has ever done for you or you have seen done?
it wasn't all bad all the time!
Sparrowdown - The nicest thing a JW ever did?
That JW would be me. Me being nice to other JWs who didn't deserve it.
Truly, pearls before swine.
Keep in mind that system dehumanizes people, (like all extreme religions). I know I am a better person since leaving. Most of us probably are. Just a bit of a reality check I try to give myself sometimes.
d4g
here is a change of pace, what was the nicest thing a jw has ever done for you or you have seen done?
it wasn't all bad all the time!
I have mentioned this many times before. I have two dear JW friends that I owe both my education and career to. I would pay them back with anything they needed if it ever comes to it, even though I am still shunned by one of them. That one even allowed me to live in her house during a difficult period with my parents, when I started college. I will never forget that. I view them as better people than any family I ever had growing up, JW or not.
Were it not for the way the organization dehumanizes beautiful people like the ones I mention above, I would not be on this site still. While I would love to see the WT crash and burn, all I really want is those folks mentioned above, out.
d4g
zeal has always been a valued word in the jw arsenal.
even if you don't see it in your own local congregation, you keep hearing about it.
"zeal this" and "zeal that".
Ugh... I hate that word. It's as old fashioned as "vigor & vim."
Actually, in almost all other contexts I can think of, "zeal" has a negative connotation, almost always associated with extremism.
Only in the backwards world of WT could "zeal" be a good thing.
d4g