Posts by Georgiegirl

64

COME TO MY PARTY!!!!

by palmtree67 in

jw
friends

.

it's a party for intolerant and/or hateful bigots!!!.

oh, yeah, and alice is pouting in the corner.. .

Georgiegirl

Aw man. I went to bed and missed the party! Can I come next time? I'll make us matching Aposta-Hateful-Bigot t-shirts!

125

Religion and Cults

by alice.in.wonderland in

i've heard certain people here refer to jehovah's witnesses as a mind-control cult, high-control cult; theories perpetrated for how long i don't know, but at least since the days of ray franz.

i had spent nearly forty years as a full time representative, serving at every level of the organizational structure.

the last fifteen years i had spent at the international headquarters, and the final nine of those as a member of the worldwide governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

Georgiegirl

Ah...anger. A step beyond blind denial. This is a good sign, everyone. :)

125

Religion and Cults

by alice.in.wonderland in

i've heard certain people here refer to jehovah's witnesses as a mind-control cult, high-control cult; theories perpetrated for how long i don't know, but at least since the days of ray franz.

i had spent nearly forty years as a full time representative, serving at every level of the organizational structure.

the last fifteen years i had spent at the international headquarters, and the final nine of those as a member of the worldwide governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

Georgiegirl

Oh for heaven's sake. What was your point in this thread?

125

Religion and Cults

by alice.in.wonderland in

i've heard certain people here refer to jehovah's witnesses as a mind-control cult, high-control cult; theories perpetrated for how long i don't know, but at least since the days of ray franz.

i had spent nearly forty years as a full time representative, serving at every level of the organizational structure.

the last fifteen years i had spent at the international headquarters, and the final nine of those as a member of the worldwide governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

Laughing at you all. I was going to make a serious comment along the lines of the info about Robert Lifton's criteria, but you beat me to it. Also, that is only ONE definition of a cult; a group can have no ties to "christianity" whatsoever to be considered a cult.

However -seriously - these cuts and pastes are hard to read. No way to tell what, if any, comments and observations you are personally making - and the two subjects aren't really related at all, so without out any explanation that makes it even harder. What IS your point and/or question, AIW?

8

Cognitive Dissonance: The Engine of Self-justification

by Georgiegirl in

jw
friends

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=12125926.

mistakes were made (but not by me) end class="storytitle" .

end class="captionwrap" end id="featuredcommentsmain12126640" cognitive dissonance: the engine of self-justification.

Georgiegirl

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12125926

Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)

Mistakes Were Made Book Cover

Cognitive Dissonance: The Engine of Self-justification

Sorry - don't know how to get all the text on here - but book about cognitive dissonance - looks really interesting - anyone read it?

17

JW from London calls TV show.

by iknowall558 in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdbonvka85s&feature=related.

Georgiegirl

(winces) Wow. That was really sad and painful. Poor thing. And telling the guy he doesn't know Greek??? Classic.

82

God, Gays & Evangelicals

by alice.in.wonderland in

while participating on this website (one of the only three places i've discussed religion online) i asked a question:.

i've observed quite a few posts and comments here about religious intolerance toward gay men and women (i'm quoting), the terror and murder of homosexuals instigated by christians.

the religion i was raised in was in agreement with the bible based view that alternative lifestyles are immoral but they never instigated any hateful rhetoric toward gay men or women.

Georgiegirl

I gotta hand it to you, AIW. You either have the biggest set of cojones ever or you just love to stir up controversy.

(runs to get popcorn, sits back and waits)

21

Witnesses "can't take the heat"

by Olin Moyles Ghost in

jw
friends

have you ever heard a witness say something like "why do apostates have to keep talking about the wts/jw faith?

why don't they just go on with their lives?

if they've found something better, why don't they just focus on that instead of us?

Georgiegirl

Agreed.

Another thought is that, as JWs, we were told constantly that if we had information that could save people's lives, we had an obligation to share it. So - now that we can see the "truth" for what it really is, why would we do any less? ;)

Funny how it doesn't seem to work both ways.

21

what is best to use to help my kids out? What does a teenager need to hear?

by Aussie Oz in

jw
friends

now that i have secured more time with my children and i have established my interest in the religious side of their lives i wonder what is best next.. what sort of material is best to use to get them thinking?

i want to get them thinking.. what sort of real truths matter to teens in the jws these days?.

i know that they dont beleive everything, such as shunning and that worldly people are all bad.

Georgiegirl

I would show by example. Get them involved in a volunteer work they enjoy and look forward too (zoos in your area? hospice?). Anything that exposes them to "good works" being done because we are always taught that non-JWs are not loving and don't care about others. See if you can get them involved in some kind of youth group (not church-related b/c that will freak them out) - but some kind of group where they can make real friends and can associate with them.

Making your time with them all about questioning beliefs can be wearisome for a teenager. (not that you're doing that - I've watched your story for some time now and am cheering you on from afar - just a comment)

8

Using Wikipedia to Quote Sources

by Georgiegirl in

recently, i've seen alot of posts using cut-n-pastes from wikipedia.

.now, i love wikipedia - but - for those of you who may not be aware - wikipedia is not a credible source.

we aren't allowed to use it as a reference for any paper in university, and anyone who wants to be taken seriously as a scholar and researcher would lose all credibility by using wikipedia as a direct reference.. wikipedia is user-created - which means i can create a wiki on any subject i choose (whether i know anything about it or not).

Georgiegirl

Recently, I've seen alot of posts using cut-n-pastes from wikipedia. . .now, I love wikipedia - BUT - for those of you who may NOT be aware - wikipedia is not a credible source. We aren't allowed to use it as a reference for any paper in university, and anyone who wants to be taken seriously as a scholar and researcher would lose all credibility by using wikipedia as a direct reference.

Wikipedia is user-created - which means I can create a wiki on any subject I choose (whether I know anything about it or not). Others can edit whatever I come up (whether they know anything about it or not). It's been the subject of lawsuits because information posted on it has been wrong, inflammatory, and slanderous - yet re-posted in the media as actual fact.

Wikipedia is a great place to start b/c a credible wiki will list original sources at the bottom - but check out the original sources and do your research from there. That way you have a better chance of knowing the information is accurately quoted and portrayed as originally intended (kind of like when you check the original sources on the Creation book and you find out the "quotes" are not as they were originally written)!

Seeing wikipedia used as a primary source discredits the "research". Of course, a cut and paste without any thoughtful commentary does the same thing, but that's not the point here.