don't know if anyone else caught this subtle but malicious photo from the 12/13/15 wt study article.. not sure how to post pictures here, but the photo is on the website's copy of the article, just below paragraph 12:.
http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20151015/give-us-more-faith/.
note the 3 pictures in sequence tell a "story":.
WT does not place anything in their photos, (worthy of notice), without a reason. The dog being shown in the first picture, and absent in the latter ones tells the story indeed, as does the sad look of anticipated loss in the child's body language.
Manipulative, cold, uncaring, bastards.
d4g (It took me a day to cool off and comment on this one...)
i don't know whether to laugh or weep.
us town rejects solar panels amid fears they 'suck up all the energy from the sun'...... jane mann, a retired science teacher, said she was concerned the panels would prevent plants in the area from photosynthesizing, stopping them from growing.
ms mann said she had seen areas near solar panels where plants are brown and dead because they did not get enough sunlight.
Not unless you attend an expensive, private research university...
d4g
been catching up on some jw reading and found a gem in the november study wt in the first article, paragraph #11:.
yet, you might look beyond the obvious and ask yourself, does my child enjoy the ministry or only the breaks?
if you discern that the ministry could be more interesting or more rewarding for your children, set goals with them.
On in WT land would a fake smile like that be considered a good thing. I have seen a more believable smile on a used car salesman.
d4g
in this age of violence with the san bernardino and france massacres sometimes it's good to reflect on the wise words of the peace advocates among us who proposed a better solution in bringing a more civil society to our universe.
john lennon, martin luther king jr. - people who stood up for equal rights and world peace and denounced violence and war - no matter how that violence occurs.
please feel free to comment on stories of john lennon on this thread and feel free to post any you tubes of his music that you may have enjoyed through the years.
Great thread...not much to add.
Yes, the man made personal mistakes, and that is the point. We all do/did. What he believed in was greater than what most humans are capable of doing by themselves as individuals, but in aggregate is the very thing that allows humanity to advance.
R.I.P. John
Jason
paul knew that torah with all its rituals and sacrifices did not originate with god (jeremiah 7:22; 8:8), hence he warned christians to guard against deceptive philosophy that would take them back to torah.
(colossians 2:8 compare 2:11, 16, 17) in view of the over-all view of the bible, there is no excuse to use the word philosophy with any negative connotation.
jws built their stand on philosophy based on this wrong (negative) use of the word philosophy found in colossians 2:8.. the greek word philosophi a means love of wisdom.
As an anecdote, this is a direct quote I received from a, (very intelligent), JW friend in an email two years ago:
"A 19th-century German poet said “Philosophy and religion are irreconcilable.” Philosophy is based on human experience and puts human interests foremost. True religion is based upon divine revelation. First and foremost, it revolves around the interests of our Creator, not around the 'topics that are of greatest concern to man'".
This quote exists nowhere other than WT literature to my knowledge, and true to WT form, does not cite the source. The context behind her quoting this to me was an exchange we had that raised her cognitive dissonance to levels she obviously could not handle.
JWs don't even understand what philosophy is, even the intelligent ones.
d4g
all religion is flawed because its led by man.
jw is not bad religon if it changed some of its doctrines and thoughts.
if it didnt "shun" members and "worldly people.
What JWdaughter said.
d4g
i've found it interesting that- imho- most of the politically vocal ex-jw's at this website seem to lean left.
i'm personally pretty centered- right on some issues, left on others, but overall have a pretty cynical view of all political/religious leaders.
i find it somewhat ironic that people who leave such a dogmatic group like the witnesses become so politically dogmatic.
kaik - So, my experience on JWN is that people have not only right-wing view, but they are extremely defensive when they get challenged or even when you slightly disagreed with them. To them, everyone else is wrong and only their political stance was right.
Emotional responses are typically the product of ignorance.
d4g
born to be conned - new york times.
when people want to believe what they want to believe, david sullivan, a professional cult infiltrator, told the commonwealth club of california, a public affairs forum, in july 2010, they are very hard to dissuade.
and the reason it happens (and often happens to the most intelligent people) is that human nature is wired toward creating meaning out of meaninglessness..
People have a strong innate desire to make sense of the world. Which is why they choose to believe something that on the surface provides them the answer to this immensely complex field of subject matter. People are often committed to the KISS principle and believe a simple answer is best, even when it does not answer everything upon closer examination, or simply fails. This the first point as to why people choose to believe nonsense.
The second point the article brings out is that of self-preservation. No one likes to admit they have been duped, especially when it means giving up point #1.This is when cognitive dissonance hits, and they run away from its painful effects.
I have experienced this firsthand when dealing with intelligent JWs. Lack of intelligence is not the problem. These points sum up the issue well.
This article should be moved to the "best of" section, if it still exists.
d4g
born to be conned - new york times.
when people want to believe what they want to believe, david sullivan, a professional cult infiltrator, told the commonwealth club of california, a public affairs forum, in july 2010, they are very hard to dissuade.
and the reason it happens (and often happens to the most intelligent people) is that human nature is wired toward creating meaning out of meaninglessness..
Good article, typical of NYT. Pegs human nature precisely.
d4g
did any of you guys disregard the wt recommendations and pursue a career.
if you answer "yes": was your journey easy?
are you happy with the end result?
"High" education? Well that is a different subject entirely, I think...;-)
As for higher education? Yes, I went to uni despite the org.'s message not to, (pre-1992, before they "softened" their view).
No, it was not always easy. Not so much because of JW lack of support, however. I had two dear JW friends that gave me support to go. I am forever grateful for that. Most of the difficulty was actually my own apprehension about going to begin with, ironically.
Yes it has been beneficial, beyond my dreams, almost 25 years later. I also recently completed an advanced degree in my field.
d4g
