Posts by Hortensia

2

Internet memes

by yalbmert99 in

hi, i have on my site a collection of memes against the wt and also others promoting atheism.

have a look :.

http://www.watchtowerlies.com/memes_against_the_jehovah_s_witnesses_organization.html.

Hortensia

Oh. I thought this was going to be about Grumpy Cat!

66

Waiting for the JWs to come to my door...

by Hortenzie in

i read about the new tract distribution and thought to myself how should i react, when they come to my door.

finally today, after finishing my morning coffee, i got an idea!

i'll take the tract, look at it, look at them, and with a nice smile rip it up and hand it back to them with :"have a great day!

Hortensia

Hi Hortenzie,

Rip up the tract if you want to, pooh to the naysayers. It is garbage, why not say so to their faces?

They'll just love it -- "persecution!"

A friend of mine tells them, "you can take that shit and get OFF my porch right now."

It takes something happening inside them to get them to wake up, something you most likely can't trigger when they're at your door anyway.

Hortensia

19

BEHOLD! THE GRAND CLIMAX IS AT HAND!

by Brother Mike in

dear friends of jwn,.

the time is now.

it is time to prepare for the "grand climax".

Hortensia

Tongue-in-cheek, I think.

It's a good idea -- get the hell out while the gettin' is good.

52

A Manual for Creating Atheists

by Hortensia in

jw
friends

just received the book, sat down to start reading it.

first chapter has definitions:.

faith:.

Oh yes, I think many people are completely armored and you can't get in with logic and reasoning. I think it takes some other event to open their eyes. I was a completely deluded JW. I cringe now to think of things I used to say and do. It took severe depression and just giving up on everything to get me out of my closed-in world and to get me thinking. I think the same is true of many others. I notice that often what drives people out of the wtbts is some great unfairness that they see or experience. Then they start to think, and start to notice all the other stuff wrong with their previous beliefs.

148

Well it is time for me to say GOODBYE!!!

by mouthy in

it has been nice talking with you.but i seem to upset a few because of my faith.. so have a great christmas.... & be good, i wont be here to send you to your rooms .

i have grown close to many of you.... if i have ever said anything to hurt you sorry!!!!.

when i kick the bucket i am sure "mary" who ssometimes post will let you know.. mouthy grace gough.

Hortensia

I don't get the feeling that you are upsetting anyone -- have you received some mean pms?

I wonder if you're just feeling tired and discouraged in general?

ETA: I agree with cofty -- stick around!

15

Are YOU In A Good Place At This Point In Your Life?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think the longer you're away from the watchtower, the better you feel..

Hortensia

Don't know if I'll ever feel normal, but I'm in a good place in many ways. Basically happy, living modestly and comfortably, feel more secure than at any time in my life, mentally and emotionally much better than at any other time in my life. Over 30 years out of the wtbts.

52

A Manual for Creating Atheists

by Hortensia in

jw
friends

just received the book, sat down to start reading it.

first chapter has definitions:.

faith:.

Hortensia

I finished reading this book and enjoyed it, but I have to say evangelical atheism isn't my style. Nonetheless, the author's point that there is a serious lack of critical thinking in the world is valid. I have tried some of the ideas in this book on neighbors who are true believers in just about anything absurd and have seen cognitive dissonance kick in briefly. That's a good result, I think. I don't want to be the person who challenges EVERY absurd belief or idea out there, but occasionally you just have to say something and this book gives you some ideas about what to say to get people to question their beliefs.

My neighbor who believes in anything visited yesterday. I mentioned the terrible storm in the Phillipines and she said, "well, that's what you get for living on an island." I persisted, mentioning how awful it must be to see your entire life smashed into matchsticks, and what they must be going through right now. She mentioned karma. I just looked at her and she started back pedalling. She doesn't see what good it would do for her to get upset about what people on the other side of the world are going through. She's praying for peace and happiness in her own little part of the world (her words), and that's all she can do. I said, no point in getting upset about what is happening in the Phillipines, but as humans we can't help feeling sorry for their suffering. They are just like us, and we would be suffering terribly if it happened here. She decided to leave about then.

I think the notion of karma excuses people from feeling sorry for others, from feeling empathy or compassion. Like JW doctrines, it teaches people it's OK not to love. They need to think about that. It's a heartless world in many ways, and it's not good for us to just decide the suffering of others is their own fault and they have lessons to learn from it. I'm going to ask her to explain the Buddhist idea of taking on the suffering of others, how exactly do you do that and why?

20

A Handy Guide to Woo and Assorted Superstitions

by cofty in

it's interesting how superstitious people point the finger and laugh at other people's superstitions.. the only honest thing is to reject all of them.

here is a handy checklist to see if you have missed any.

.

Hortensia

Not to say anything negative about your chart, Cofty -- I like the chart.

20

A Handy Guide to Woo and Assorted Superstitions

by cofty in

it's interesting how superstitious people point the finger and laugh at other people's superstitions.. the only honest thing is to reject all of them.

here is a handy checklist to see if you have missed any.

.

Hortensia

I've read a bunch of the research done on acupuncture. Some of it is laughable. For instance, some of the studies I read separate people into three groups -- a control group with no treatment, a group that gets "real" acupuncture on "real" acupuncture points, and a group that gets "sham" acupuncture on "sham" points.

That starts with an unproven assumption -- that acupuncture points exist, have identifiable properties and can be mapped. And an assumption that if the acupuncturiest doesn't exactly needle the correct spot there will be no effect.

And yet, people claim good results from acupuncture. More reliable are studies that have groups of people with similar symptoms, such as back pain, divided into groups that get massage, acupuncture for another group, chiropractic for another group. Even there you have problems removing bias -- how do you make sure the technician does the same thing the same way identically for each person? And the results are pretty subjective, often before and after questionnaires about pain level.

20

A Handy Guide to Woo and Assorted Superstitions

by cofty in

it's interesting how superstitious people point the finger and laugh at other people's superstitions.. the only honest thing is to reject all of them.

here is a handy checklist to see if you have missed any.

.

Hortensia

Well, I have to say a little about reflexology and Rolfing. Of course, the claims they make for reflexology are unscientific and unbelievable, but the massage itself is quite nice and it does relax your foot muscles, make your feet feel better. As for Rolfing, Rolfers have moved on past Ida Rolf. What's wrong with Rolfing isn't the technique itself -- that's actually a very effective massage technique specifically for releasing tension/scar tissue in connective tissue. I did it for years, just calling it connective tissue massage. It's the exagerrated claims these folks make that are bullshit. Also, and you Rolfers out there -- I don't care if you don't like this, Rolfing is the type of massage that causes most injuries. I have met many aggressive Rolfers who think that they know best, that pain is good for you, and that if you have "armoring," you need to have it removed. They give the massage technique a bad name and do unnecessary damage.