I would just like to throw out the idea again that just because an action may never be found to be a moral "good", does not mean that there are moral absolutes.
Expatbrit
expatbrit
JoinedPosts by expatbrit
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163
Moral absolutes
by Aztec ini keep saying i am going to start a thread on this topic so here goes.... what, if anything, is always morally wrong?
murder, rape, incest?
how much do you think your belief, or lack thereof, in a higher power influences your opinion?.
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55
Should I Convert to Become a MORMON??
by Latte injust thought id share with you.
any tips on dealing with them would be greatly appreciated..thanks!
yesterday, i had two lovely young men at my door - they were mormons.
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expatbrit
Here is a site by one of the more prominent Mormon "apostates" which is well worth checking out: http://geocities.com/packham33/#MORMONISM
You'll find the similarities that loyal Mormons have with the JW's quite unnerving, particularly in the arguments they use about "apostates", information control and why they know that Mormonism is the true religion.
Expatbrit
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66
Part 2 of "Apostate Logical Fallacies"
by logansrun inapostate logical fallacies part 2 of 2
in my first essay on common fallacies former jehovahs witnesses commit in reference to the society i explained the error of generalizing individual witness behavior to that of the entire society.
the other errors i notice (to a certain degree i realize they are my opinions) are related to this, yet somewhat different.
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expatbrit
Rem:
LOL! Pretty good example of why you can never trust anything the Watchtower says. They even fake it when talking about kids dying for their blood policy.
Here's that cover:
Page 2 says:
"In former times thousands of youths died for putting God first. They are still doing it, only today the drama is played out in hospitals and courtrooms, with blood transfusions the issue."
And yet some of the pictures on the cover are of kids who had no medical issue with blood? Well, it's good that at least one of these kids wasn't sacrificed to the Governing Body's ego. On the other hand, it's another blatant example of dishonesty by the Watchtower.
Anyway, thanks for the info!
Expatbrit
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66
Part 2 of "Apostate Logical Fallacies"
by logansrun inapostate logical fallacies part 2 of 2
in my first essay on common fallacies former jehovahs witnesses commit in reference to the society i explained the error of generalizing individual witness behavior to that of the entire society.
the other errors i notice (to a certain degree i realize they are my opinions) are related to this, yet somewhat different.
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expatbrit
Do you believe they do this because they just want them to die? Or do they actually believe they are doing the will of God by having such a policy?
Why is this important? Whichever option is correct, the result is that people die because of the actions of the Governing Body. Last time I checked, using "God told me to do it" isn't a valid defence for causing the death of another person. And cause death they certainly have with their blood transfusion doctrine, which has sent hundreds, probably thousands, of people to the grave who would otherwise have made a recovery. Some of them have even been featured on the cover of the Awak! magazine.
Expatbrit
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90
Spells, Wiccans, and Witchcraft
by SpunkyChick ini just returned home from a nightmarish trip to chicago.
i came in peace, and was shit on by my aunts and a cousin.
what they did was unforgivable.
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expatbrit
Spunky:
Forget about spending all that money on unproven supernatural stuff. Instead, spend it on a 8ft guy with a baseball bat and an unsqueamish attitude toward kneecaps. Satisfaction every time you have to help them out of the wheelchair. No really!
Expatbrit
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26
Just when you think it's safe to go back in the water
by berylblue in...you see northern girl is back "gracing" the boards, and you know it's time to go back into hiding.
the only thing worse than vitriol is specious (and, i might add, poorly phrased, punctuated and misspelled) vitriol, aimed at those least deserving.
i am not in a mood to take her lame, semi-literate attempts to upset everyone here.
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expatbrit
Don't disappear for too long, Rosemarie.
Expatbrit
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66
Part 2 of "Apostate Logical Fallacies"
by logansrun inapostate logical fallacies part 2 of 2
in my first essay on common fallacies former jehovahs witnesses commit in reference to the society i explained the error of generalizing individual witness behavior to that of the entire society.
the other errors i notice (to a certain degree i realize they are my opinions) are related to this, yet somewhat different.
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expatbrit
Hello Bradley:
These were good posts! Very balanced and rational.
That's the good news. Here's where I mildly disagree with you:
You said that just because many Witness teachings are harmful does not mean that every Witness teaching is harmful. I would respond to that with the question "what are Witness teachings?"
The examples you gave of advice on avoiding heart attacks and osteoperosis are not actually Witness teachings. They are merely regurgitations of articles and material from the medical community. They do not originate with the Watchtower, and so technically cannot be classified as Witness teachings. For something to be a Witness teaching, it would seem to me that the teaching would have to be a product of their own research and ideas using primary sources, such as the Bible. Off the top of my head, I would classify the blood doctrine as a Witness teaching. Probably shunning too.
Given that approach, it could very well be said that there is a high probability that the vast majority of "Witness" teachings are indeed harmful. Hence the statements such as "I wont trust anything the Watchtower says." I've said that myself, and it's true. When I read an article on how to avoid heart attacks, I compare it with what I've read in bona fide medical publications. If it agrees, then I trust that information, but only because I have it confirmed from a reliable source other than the Watchtower. If, on the other hand, the Watchtower makes a medical comment and I can't confirm it from other sources, then you bet your bibby I'm not going to trust it!
One other point is that places such as this discussion board dwelling overwhelmingly on the negative does provide an overall balance, since all the Watchtower publications and active JW's do is present the apparent good of that organization. If sources like this do not fill in the negative aspect, the information available on the Watchtower will be skewed misleadingly to the positive.
Expatbrit
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163
Moral absolutes
by Aztec ini keep saying i am going to start a thread on this topic so here goes.... what, if anything, is always morally wrong?
murder, rape, incest?
how much do you think your belief, or lack thereof, in a higher power influences your opinion?.
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expatbrit
Another way of viewing moral relativism, part from the idea that there is no action that is always right or wrong, is simply to say that each instance of an action must be viewed in its surrounding context when making a moral judgement about it. This is reflected in the legal principle of "extenuating circumstances", which is a practical application of moral relativism. It may be that, for a given action X, there never arises an instance where it may be considered morally good. Nevertheless, the possibility always remains that such an instance could occur, and therefore context must always be taken into account in every occurence of action X.
For instance, take the action of killing another human being. We give this action various labels of moral gradation, depending on the judgement we've made, for example murder, manslaughter, execution, self-defence. These are all different labels for the same action. The context in which the action was committed determines which label is used.
Often, the commandment in the Bible "thou shalt not kill" is used as an example of absolute morality. But really it is nothing of the kind. God utters this supposed absolute piece of morality, but then both He and His followers promptly blow it away by slaughtering thousands, using various justifications e.g. they worshipped Molech etc. The God of the Bible is therefore morally relativistic.
One response to this is that the command "thou shalt not kill" actually means "thou shalt not murder." But this is merely another way of saying "thou shalt not kill wrongly"; again this is an exercise of moral relativism, since context determines whether the action of killing is wrong or not. This is also why saying "murder is an absolute wrong" is rather a meaningless statement, since what you really saying is that a killing which is judged as being relativistically wrong is absolutely wrong. Remember, murder is not an action, it is one of a number of labels given to an action.
This explains the great variance in moral judgements on killing. For example, some people believe that capital punishment is murder and therefore morally wrong, others believe that it is justified and morally right. This is a good demonstration that there is no known moral absolute to the action of killing a human. Everyone makes their own moral judgements based on context. The question then becomes, what shapes a person's perception of the context?
Expatbrit
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U.S. Women Like Brit Men Better
by GinnyTosken inthis just in from the globe weekly tabloid of july 29, 2003:.
it's not just stars like gwyneth paltrow, madonna, gillian anderson, liv tyler, and gwen stefani--british guys are many american gals' cup of tea.. "british men are more articulate, mature, and sophisticated," says cary cooper, a university of manchester (england) psychologist, who isn't entirely biased since he was born in hollywood and has citizenship of both the u.s. and the u.k. he adds that british men are better listeners and pay more attention to their women, while u.s. men are too juvenile.. "british men also invest more in a relationship and are more emotional," cooper says.. "american men are good at talking about emotion, but really that's all it is, talk.".
speaking of talk, might those sexy accents have something to do with it?.
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expatbrit
They all want the same thing....beer.
Terrifyingly perceptive, Robyn.
Expatbrit
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'Dark Secrets: Inside Bohemian Grove'
by sf inhttp://www.infowars.com/bg1.html
"alex jones has blown bohemian grove wide open!
" john sergeant, world of wonder, uk channel 4
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expatbrit
DARK SECRETS: INSIDE MERRY OLD ENGLAND
Since 1605, the English Populace Has Held Secret Meetings in the Ancient Village Commons of Middle England. Members of the so-called "English" Include Former Prime Ministers Disraeli, Canning and Pitt. The Blair Family Maintains a Strong Involvement. Each Year at 15 Baldrick Lane, Cheam, Members of This All-English "Club" Don Green, Black and Brown Wellies and Conduct an Occult Ritual Wherein They Let Off Fireworks, Sacrificing a Human Being in Effigy to What They Call the "Bonfire Night."
Now, for the First Time in History, an Outsider Has Infiltrated 15 Baldrick Lane with a Hidden Digital Video Camera and Caught the Ritual on Tape. That Man is Alex Jones, the Exclusive Digital Video is Just Part of His Shocking New Documentary:see the hideous footage of Aunt Madge and the hotdog!
tremble in fear as Uncle Ron tangles a sparkler in his beard!
gasp when you see the shocking truth about cousin Tracy and the Milkman!
This Documentary will Shake your View of the World to the Core! That's why We Had To use so Many Capitals! Be Afraid of The Great English Conspiracy To Rule The World Through Screamers and Bangers!