hot off the presses - just some of the latest garbage coming out of brooklyn as found in the 1st study article - repudiate "valueless things" (4/15/08 koolaid edition wt): .
par 17: another example of valueless words is found among the religious leaders of christendom.
these claim to speak in god's name, but most of their utterances are not based on the scriptures, and what they have to say is basically worthless.
THANKS FOR THIS POST!!!
Hi All,
Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I really have the sense that the Borg is running scared because of the internet and sites like this.
There have been a lot of new ones coming to the board lately, so I don't think it is a coincidence that we are seeing them hammering on this.
It wouldn't surprise me to see more articles along the same vein with an even harder line.
Just a thought.
Alex
comments you will not hear at the march 30, 2008 wt study (february 15, 2008, pages 7-11) (walk gods ways).
review comments will be in red.
wt material from today's wt will be in black.
Blondie,
Thanks for resuming your gig. Am I assuming too much to think that your health must be improving? I certainly hope that it is!!!
I have to tip my hat to ya'... I couldn't stomach wading through that imbicilic thinking and reasoning in the Borg's literature the way that you do.
Nevertheless, I am very glad that you do what you do. It is one of the few avenues that I have for keeping abreast of what the Borg is doing and teaching. I live with the eternal hope that some of my old friends will wake up and bail like I did. Your's and others' efforts will be the catalyst if that is ever to happen.
Thanks from the bottom of my (Agnostic, but warm) heart,
Alex
im sure all of us at one time or another witnessed homes that broke our heartshere are a few of mine.
some of the homes i had been invited into out in service really left an impression on me.
call it naive or whatever, it was a real eye opener in some cases.. one in particular that i remember was a poor family with 8 little girls, stair step in age, the oldest no more than 9. this was an rv of the sister i was with.... very nice people, but the living conditions were appalling.
Cas,
Just another thought. Some of the Dubs homes were atrocious. I wouldn't go to some of their homes because I felt like I was going to catch some unspeakable disease.
Also, just to elaborate on my earlier comment, it seems like the Dubs had the most "success" with the real losers in our society, who more often than not have substandard living conditions. I don't think that it is a coincidence that a lame message appeals to lame minds and that it is really inadequate to satisfy strong minds.
Most of the smart people I knew in the Borg were raised in the Borg. There were very few smart people who came to the Borg as adults. The few smart people, whom I can think of, that came to the Borg as adults came to it by marrying "weak" Dubs or became "sham" Dubs so that they could marry a Dub.
Cheers,
Alex
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9259.html
“It was only $607, but I’m a small guy; I could use that,” said Phillips
I bet he's actually owed $587.
That is really funny!!! Thanks!!!
Alex
the norm"... .
anyways, i write this on a laptop during the wt, lol.. ps.
while also sipping coffee (i'm sitting out back) lol.
Hang in there, Cognac. I've read some of your trevails on your other threads, but I don't think I've ever commented. So, here goes.
I don't know what kind of support group/friends you have outside of the Borg, but if you don't have friends outside you should (IMHO) start building some bonds so that you've got some framework to lean on when the inevitable happens (i.e., you are cut off by friends and family in the Borg). Another avenue that you might pursue is to draw close to any family members who are not in the Borg (even if they are a little removed-- like cousins).
Going back to school at a university was a huge help for me. I've made lots of good, ethical, smart friends while I've been attending.
Things get easier with time. It's been ten years for me and I can honestly say that I am at peace.
All the best and good luck,
Alex
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9259.html
My heart's bleeding for her.........
NOT!!!
putting the doctrine aside do you feel it has given you any advantages?
case in point my son posts on university sites and often the topic about the bible.
and god come up.
Like many things in life the Bible's influence on me has been a mix of good (comparatively little and it could have been acquired at far less costly price) and bad (who can put a price on it?).
It was beneficial only to the extent that the Bible echoed the expressions of, what the Greeks refer to as "eternal truths" or "axiomatic truths," which are found in all great philosophies and religions. The Bible's object lessons in its stories and parables and its wisdom for living life in way that is honest, considerate of others, truthful, etc. cannot be discounted.
Having said that, the great harm done by teaching little kids that the Bible is a factual account of the history of the world and an accurate representation of how humans fit into some grand scheme is the epitome of dishonesty. Unfortunately, I fell for it as so many others have. The Bible has been applied as the ultimate mental prison to generations of humans. The same is true for the Koran.
Anything that shackles people unjustly and so completely is evil.
Thanks for enduring a little rant, here.
Cheers to all,
Alex
i am curious about who (after leaving) went on to other religions vs. lost faith completely.
once i started questioning the wt society, i began to question everything.
as jw's we are taught from childhood up that other religions are false - so it seems easy, after elliminating the last one, to be rid of religion altogether.. .
Hey there L & R,
Welcome to the board.
I went through a very similar transformation. What really helped me the most was going back to school shortly after making the big exit. The Borg's oppressive attitude toward knowledge and education made me crazy and I was thirsty for as much knowledge as I could consume. I majored in geology and got my BS in 2004. Now I am nearly finished with a masters in geology and a law degree, but the geology education means the most to me. Geology and astronomy are the two sciences that deal with the concept of "deep time" -- 100s of millions to billions of years.
You simply cannot think about those vast expanses of time without questioning everything about where humans came from and where we fit into the evolutionary history of the earth. I too am not an atheist, but rather I consider myself an agnostic. My experience with the hard sciences has taught me to apply the scientific method to evaluate things. Nothing in science is ever really "proven" but, instead things sit on a continuum between false and true. As science progresses and hypotheses and theories are tested they are pushed toward one end of the continuum or the other.
On the faith continuum, with 0 = "no doubt/full faith" and 100 = "complete doubt/no faith," I am probably at about 99.5. I can't go to 100 because I feel that is just as presumptuous as the person who is at the other end of the continuum with full faith. On the other hand, I don't really don't expect anything to draw me below 99.5, but I am always open to ideas.
When I was going through my transformation from Dub to Agnostic it was a very scary experience. Almost like stepping off of a cliff in the dark and not knowing where I was going to end up. However, I can honestly say now that I have the greatest calm and peace of mind I have ever had.
Good luck, you are well on the way to an enriched life.
All the best,
Alex
if an alien visited earth in the 1600's he would find a culture deeply rooted in religion with little scientific knowledge.
if we travelled to other planets in 2080 will we find jehoovers witnesses??
or some other form of religion...or will they be scientific and logical....will we still be religious in 1,000 years due to scientific breakthroughs in the last 100 years?
Interesting contemplations!!!
The subject raises some interesting questions. For example, is religion a psychic experience that occurs in evolution when brains get to be a certain size? If so, it is interesting that there are a number of species on the planet that have much larger brains than we do (elephants and whales, etc.) that don't seem to express themselves religiously. Maybe the tendency toward religiosity in humans is just a quirk of evolution?
What says that religion must be developed as part of the social response of sentient beings?
I agree with Satanus that religion is just a hold over from our ancient past when mystical, supernatural explanations had to suffice for phenomena that could not be explained any other way with the limited mental tools that early humans possessed. The curious thing is that we seem to have stalled, in the evolutionary sense, when it comes to using reason and rationality to define reality. On the other hand, the rise of logic and reason (let's be generous and say that it started with the Greek philosophers) has only taken place in an evolutionary blink. Maybe, if humans get their act together and avoid destroying the planet, evolution will eventually bring us to a point that religion will recede into obscurity as just a phase that our species experienced in our development.
Cheers,
Alex
an interesting saying i heard the other day .
that the mind balks at accepting knowledge of great and irrevocable loss, though it be true.
it had me ponder how / why people make themselves stay as jws, and why "apostates" are such "bad association".
Good thread!!!
I'm no expert, but I believe that psychology attempts to explain the phenomenon with the concept of cogintive dissonance.
It goes something like this: If the mind is presented with evidence that conflicts with its construct of reality (that would be too frightening to abandon) it will do what ever it takes to harmonize the conflicting evidence rather than adjust the construct of reality in accordance with the evidence.
Just a thought.
Cheers,
Alex
