Posts by glenster

13

Abuse by Elders - what to do?

by BallyIrish in

who does one appproach for assistance when emotionall and psychology abused by harsh elders?.

glenster

It's not a who you approach but a what: the exit door. Why wait around like
Ray Franz to be thrown out?

21

Psychopaths, atheists and agnostics

by Fernando in

a naughty attention grabbing heading i admit - i'm sorry, just couldn't resist.

obviously we all know atheists and agnostics have nothing in common with psychopaths.

in fact i would hold that atheists and agnostics generally have better functioning consciences than religionists.

glenster

Obviously we all know atheists and agnostics have nothing in common with
Psychopaths."

"In fact I would hold that atheists and agnostics generally have better
functioning consciences than religionists."

I think those ideas simplify things to a leading question. If "psychopath"
is taken to refer to irrationally harming people, neither basic belief in the
basic God concept or definitions of atheist or agnostic stipulate harm. Either
might be psychopaths.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading_question

Even religionist is too general given the growing segment of believers who are
progressive/reform on the points of wanting separation of church and state,
equal rights for women and homosexuals, etc. They might even add that a huge
number of people in the world belong to or finance organized crime and believers
may consider James' "show me your faith by your works" as counting such people
as not of faith.

Here's an example about hard-line Islamists that had even me scratching my
head, if this time enjoying it a bit:

"Hardline Islamists back Aboul Fotouh for Egypt president"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17897055

"Liberal gets Salafi backing in Egypt's presidential poll"

"Salafi group spokesman Abdel Moneim al-Shahat acknowledged a big difference
with Aboul Fotouh over his understanding of verse of the Koran, 'there is no
compulsion in religion,' which he interprets to mean that the state should not
compel people to follow religious rules."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17897055

Some believers and non-believers have entered lists of the great causers of
abominations, the chief psychopaths/harm causers about such things, and many of
either would never want their choice to cause an entry on such a list.
http://necrometrics.com/pre1700a.htm

Causing an entry seems to grow more from believers or non-believers being
'centric or intolerant than actual psychopathy. Not keeping up to speed on the
known things God is possible beyond can be shown in a mistaken fundamentalist
literalist, but also a 'centric non-believer propandizing against believers,
or either furthering the ideas of an Erich von Daniken book or such, as noted by
atheist James Randi:

"Belief in the paranormal is not restricted to persons of lesser intellect
[but] what surprised me in the extreme was to find that an organization com-
prised of the intelligentsia seems overly committed to this brand of nonsense!
The group is known as Mensa... Like a scalpel that is never put to use by a
skilled hand in a good cause, brainpower is often not put to work."
http://www.gpposner.com/Flim_Flam.html

7

OK, let's think about the Jesus and Michael thing. And a question.

by Chariklo in

this post was prompted by musing after responding to a thread by metatron.

hmmm.

one of the watchtower teachings that really struck me right from the start as being without foundation is the whole concept of jesus and michael being one and the same being.. bear with me here.

glenster

What I have on that is on pp.6b-10 of Glenster's Guide to GTJ Brooklyn. Metatron is on p.8.
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn6b.htm
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn7.htm
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn8.htm
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn9.htm
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn10.htm

9

Prayer - Is it a jug of milk?

by cantleave in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jk6ilzaaami#!.

i cant embed this - buggar!!!

!.

glenster

I don't know proof is or isn't for God, including by prayer--I know a choice
whether or not to have faith, a hope for a possible God. One view of prayer is
that the reward given is an afterlife--another article of faith, not a proof.
Comparing God to a carton of milk you know isn't God, or to a unicorn you know
you wouldn't find in the woods, is padding the case for the non-believers stance
as a known, which reminds me more of a literalist padding a case for "proof is"
than anything about faith.

The "proof isn't" stance ironically has more in common with the "proof is"
stance then a characterization or criticism of faith. (The Fred Titanich
article of a recent post is similar. Reading that, I kept thinking of the same
sort of rebuttals I'd think of reading a JWs brochure of "proofs" against
evolution or such--too many for a brief post.)

For the non-belief stance, I recommend the stance that faith is a hope for a
possible God beyond the known and one prefers to just stick to the known--short,
simple, and clear. For the belief stance, "How to Think about God," Mortimer
Adler. Otherwise, that believers and non-believers get along like people do
over different subjective reactions to the objective math of music.

21

Psychopaths, atheists and agnostics

by Fernando in

a naughty attention grabbing heading i admit - i'm sorry, just couldn't resist.

obviously we all know atheists and agnostics have nothing in common with psychopaths.

in fact i would hold that atheists and agnostics generally have better functioning consciences than religionists.

glenster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopath

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fVrholQnLY

29

questions that defy JW logic No bible needed just a working brain

by thecrushed in

even before awakening from the mind control my mind would plague me with doctrine defying logic.

i'd like to share some of my self explanatory questions here.

every time i'd ask jw's these questions they would give me bs answers like we will have to wait on jehovah to tell us in the new system or some other lamo thinking stopper.

glenster

The JWs teach a literal Noah flood. Problems with that are at the next link.
I don't remember the Watchtower referring to the spread of animals afterward--I
think they leave the reader to imagine a miracle of God. They may still use
dubious sources to leave the impression that evidence supports the literal flood
idea:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_geology

I'd recommend How to Think About God, Mortimer Adler, which includes that the
intelligent design idea doesn't work as proof of God, but I think that's what
the Watchtower teaches. I don't think they'd deny dinosaurs and the age of the
Earth, etc., but they use dubious reference sources to attack evolution and
support intelligent design as if needed to support the God idea.

The God concept only requires perfection in certain abilities--it doesn't re-
quire that He provided perfection in life or all-beneficence (no viruses, etc.)
or we'd all live in heavenly circumstances forever. The Bible God clearly shows
likes and dislikes so isn't all-beneficent. The Watchtower acknowledges that in
its way although with conservative interpretations and an afterlife promise
made the most narrow by the Watchtowers' methods to affect exclusiveness:
http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/article_01.htm

I think the Watchtower leaves the reader to imagine an Earth lasting forever
the same way as for the spread of animals after a literal flood--due to a mira-
cle of God.

88

The Tower of Babel - Languages: Isn't this story unhinged?

by james_woods in

besides the obvious fact that it is historically ridiculous - can anybody make any sense out of this story?.

god was somehow afraid that man was developing too much technology?

just because they were building a tower?.

glenster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_babel#Genre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_of_origins

7

Stupid People Awards

by sizemik in

this is so stupid .

i feel no remorse for laughing .

stupid people awards.

glenster

Warning: the second Extreme.... video above shows the example of Jon-Erik
Hexum, which I didn't realize till I'd posted it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon-Erik_Hexum#Death

7

Stupid People Awards

by sizemik in

this is so stupid .

i feel no remorse for laughing .

stupid people awards.

glenster

Warning--no fake examples:
Extreme Idiots Compilation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsamwOs2slI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SXLffvBpTY
1 Hour of Fails Huge Compilation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAVp_pGjNy8

7

Stupid People Awards

by sizemik in

this is so stupid .

i feel no remorse for laughing .

stupid people awards.

glenster

http://www.darwinawards.com/
http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Awards

Warning--actual DA winner of 2010 (the century?) displays what not to do if you miss an elevator:
http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2010-08.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwOy_V7TXKI

Mix of actual and fake examples and mere accidents/stupid stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQT_4ED6sZQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J1IRBM5Aqc

The end of this one shows why you shouldn't use a lighter to see if there's fuel left in a tanker truck.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6ir85_darwin-award-dimwits-4-a-dimwit-for_fun

http://www.trutv.com/shows/worlds-dumbest/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TruTV