Lots of good additions here...I particularly would agree with Voltaire and Paine.
d4g
in jw land having such was verboten.
who are some of yours and why?.
1. nikola tesla - greatest inventor ever, and the only one i know of who was a true scientist as well.. 2. elon musk - there is a reason he chose the great inventor's name for his masterpiece work...also has a serious pair.... 3. jim morrison - brilliant and mad poet.. 4. mike krzyzewski - the epitome of success.. 5. maya angelou - brilliant humanistic poet and writer.. 6. albert einstein - do i actually have to qualify this?.
Lots of good additions here...I particularly would agree with Voltaire and Paine.
d4g
in jw land having such was verboten.
who are some of yours and why?.
1. nikola tesla - greatest inventor ever, and the only one i know of who was a true scientist as well.. 2. elon musk - there is a reason he chose the great inventor's name for his masterpiece work...also has a serious pair.... 3. jim morrison - brilliant and mad poet.. 4. mike krzyzewski - the epitome of success.. 5. maya angelou - brilliant humanistic poet and writer.. 6. albert einstein - do i actually have to qualify this?.
Great comments everyone. Many people mentioned are a good deal more altruistic and perhaps better role models in some ways than the examples I given, which is good to see. I drew mine from a more introspective look at how/who influenced me personally, but all is good.
The way I look at this is, humans are all we have to draw any sentient influence from. Oubliette hit the nail on the head with respect to authoritarian groups not approving of such, since they don't want any person or concept threatening their influence. This is the real reason the WT labels such as "creature worship".
Wasa/Rebel8 - Jimmy Carter was a very underrated and under-appreciated president.
d4g
in jw land having such was verboten.
who are some of yours and why?.
1. nikola tesla - greatest inventor ever, and the only one i know of who was a true scientist as well.. 2. elon musk - there is a reason he chose the great inventor's name for his masterpiece work...also has a serious pair.... 3. jim morrison - brilliant and mad poet.. 4. mike krzyzewski - the epitome of success.. 5. maya angelou - brilliant humanistic poet and writer.. 6. albert einstein - do i actually have to qualify this?.
in jw land having such was verboten.
who are some of yours and why?.
1. nikola tesla - greatest inventor ever, and the only one i know of who was a true scientist as well.. 2. elon musk - there is a reason he chose the great inventor's name for his masterpiece work...also has a serious pair.... 3. jim morrison - brilliant and mad poet.. 4. mike krzyzewski - the epitome of success.. 5. maya angelou - brilliant humanistic poet and writer.. 6. albert einstein - do i actually have to qualify this?.
In JW land having such was verboten. Who are some of yours and why?
I will go first:
1. Nikola Tesla - Greatest inventor ever, and the only one I know of who was a true scientist as well.
2. Elon Musk - There is a reason he chose the great inventor's name for his masterpiece work...Also has a serious pair...
3. Jim Morrison - Brilliant and Mad poet.
4. Mike Krzyzewski - The epitome of success.
5. Maya Angelou - Brilliant humanistic poet and writer.
6. Albert Einstein - Do I actually have to qualify this?
d4g
so bethelites are being decreased...bethel homes even sold off.... special pioneers no longer being funded.. magazines getting smaller and published less frequently.. building work stopping or being reduced.. no large conventions and renting of venues.. etc.... so, money is not coming in anymore to cover the "expenses"??.
didnt the first ever watchtower said that when this occurs, it would be evidence of god no longer blessing the activity....
oh, and throughout the years, we have constantly been told that the "growth of the org and the projects such as buildings and contributions" etc were evidence of gods blessing.... .
The current situation causes a lot of cognitive dissonance for sure...
Having said that, people will rationalize their beliefs, and do so vehemently, until such point when it becomes too painful to do so. For most this means either something the organization is doing or done has to negatively directly affect them or their children. Unfortunately, I have found that almost any other relationship is not sufficient to cause enough psychological motivation to wake someone up.
Humans can/do rationalize bullshit much.
d4g
i am inclined to start this thread in response to some comments made in other threads.
i have been coming around these forum for quite some time now so whatever you find in here is not just related to something someone may have said this week.
it can go months back as well.. i have seen many who claim to respect the belief of others but when it comes down to applying it into practice, things take a whole different tune.
I agree with the OP by and large, however this is a discussion forum. Debate is expected and should be encouraged. As some have pointed out, most of us would not even discuss many of these subjects in most other contexts, (our place of employment; a casual social visit; etc.). As long as the debate does not devolve into insult or name calling, it should be encouraged. This is an effective way to get to facts, albeit an indirect one. I personally have learned much over the years here because of this.
On the other hand, I have mixed concerns about the "like" and "dislike" buttons since the they appeared. It seems those who cannot debate properly, or too lazy to debate properly, or simply feel threatened by lines of argument they have no response for, are too quick to hit the "dislike" button. That in of itself weakens their position significantly.
d4g
i know we are all anonymous for our own personal reasons, so i understand if you would rather not say.
but if you don't mind sharing that would be cool.
i currently live in georgia, usa.
Central NJ, (Where Taylor ham turns into pork roll...And Eagles and Giants fans collide on Sundays)
...Or do we just have an identity complex??
d4g
i wanna make a poll here.
how many years do you think the jdub cult will exist as is and what will happen to it?.
i say the growth stops this year and starts to decline.
Children of God - Was that not the cult that original Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer joined?
the following is a paragraph from the new february study watchtower article "learn from jehovah's loyal servants.".
7 a conflict of loyalties may arise when a close relative is disfellowshipped.
for example, a sister named anne [1] received a telephone call from her disfellowshipped mother.
Half banana - "Jehovah" has been promoted insidiously to become a cypher for the GB in the minds of the flock.
And sadly, that is the most effective weapon in their arsenal. Stealthy and insidious enough that the R&F don't notice it.
d4g
i wanna make a poll here.
how many years do you think the jdub cult will exist as is and what will happen to it?.
i say the growth stops this year and starts to decline.
And it is not all about membership numbers...I don't think the society outright lies about its numbers, but its numbers are easily massaged upward. The coercive system used to count members, along with the control tactics involved enables the members themselves to lie about their activity, as well.
The intelligent and successful are slowly leaving, and this exit is increasing in velocity. A membership full of uneducated, desperate folks does not bode well for them long term.
Lastly, society is evolving away from dependency on religion. Pretty much all religions are either being forced to evolve along with society, (meaning becoming more liberal and accepting), or are becoming increasingly hard line in deference to the evolutionary processes. Those of that latter group, (of which the WT certainly is), are alienating themselves from society at large.
d4g