Posts by Farkel

137

Freedom of Thought and JW Opposers

by dunsscot in

jw
friends

does freedom of thought really obtain in this forum?

are those who have left god's organization and jehovah god himself actually now more open-minded and unbiased?

if those who espouse atheistic thoughts or those who believe every vile utterance spoken against jehovah's people think they are now speaking from some olympian perspective, i beg to differ.

Farkel

dunnscot,

: Does freedom of thought really obtain in this forum?

No. Freedom of thought is obtainable under all and any circumstances. Despite the gains made by science, we can still have freedom of thought even if we are in solitary confinement, or even worse, if we are still dubs. Did you perhaps mean freedom of "expression?" If you did, then here is the place for that. There are limits, but very few and the limits are good ones.

: Are those who have left God's organization and Jehovah God Himself actually now more open-minded and unbiased?

What, exactly is "God's Organization?" Please be specific. There will be a quiz. And by implication you have stated that leaving "God's Organization(tm)" is the same a leaving "Jehovah God Himself." Please show evidence for that assertion.

: If those who espouse atheistic thoughts or those who believe every vile utterance spoken against Jehovah's people think they are now speaking from some Olympian perspective, I beg to differ.

Define "Jehovah's people." Be specific and be willing to hear other points of view. We don't take shit for granted in here. Define "Olympian perspective," vis a vis "vile" utterances "against Jehovah," too. Even more importantly, show specific proof that uttering those so-called "vile utterances" would even bother a God who is so far removed from us all that is pathetic; like our words are going to change HIS day when he won't even do a damn thing to help AIDS victims, for example? (Until he kills 99.99% of the humans on this earth, that is.)

: First, if one mistakenly places too much confidence in his or her own wisdom, he or she unwisely ignores the ancient Greek thinker who taught us to be aware of our ignorance, namely, Socrates.

Right. Read the collective works of the JW Governing Body, Joseph Franklin Rutherford and Charles Taze Russell before you dare go further. I can help you out here and show you that JW leaders are the WORST among humans who "mistakenly place too much confidence in" their "own wisdom" and ended up hurting countless people as a result.

On the otherhand, "apostates" merely point that fact out.

: I think 2 Tim 3:8-9 says it all.

I think Proberbs 14:24,25 says it all. Not to mention Matthew 23:15.

You big dummy. Consider yourself "Farkeled."

Farkel

81

Nourishment for the Spirit

by Maximus in

jw
friends

my observation is that persons who 1) heal/adjust the most rapidly from their jw experience and 2) seem to have the most joy in life are those who read, read, read, in pursuit of what i call nourishment for the spirit.

i've really enjoy the pithy aphorisms you use here, which suggests you've distilled some wisdom from somewhere.

i'm going to ask your help in this thread.

Farkel

Hi Maximus,

I've noted that posters as well as yourself have mentioned books that deal with different stuff than the books that impressed me the most.

You said:

: I'm going to ask your help in this thread. What book or books have you read that have really enlightened or intrigued you? And could you comment on what you gleaned from them? A long list of names and titles is easy; kernels of truth are more rare. Aim for the latter.

"Games People Play" by Dr. Eric Berne

"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand: life is full of dickheads and people who are great and unacknowledged

"Democracy in America" by Alex De Toqueville

"Initiation" by Elisabeth Haich: explains the Bible better than anything I've seen so far.

"Winning Through Intimidation" by Robert Ringer: people will screw you. Get used to it.

"Looking Out for Number One" by Robert Ringer: self-love is not bad. It's actually healthy. As a former dub, I loved this one. Former dubs can understand why.

"Megatrends" by Tom Peters (not sure he wrote this one)

"Chariots of the Gods" by Eric Von Donekan (sp?) Showed me a lot about crackpots and what they can get away with while spouting crap.

"Eaters of the Dead" by Michael Crichten: Showed me that great writing can arise from spoof and fun. And I loved the surprise at the end!

"The Dialogues" by Plato: this showed me that Sacrates could mess up anyone who presented a bad argument, stick his tongue out at them, smile the whole time, treat them like gentlemen and still make their arguments and themselves look like total idiots. I should re-read this one and soon.

Any and everything by Lawerence Saunders: showed me that fiction is not so bad after all. It can be very engrossing when well-written.

"My Young Years" by Arthur Rubenstein: showed me that incredible talent and even genius is not devoid of human foibles and screw-ups. Also showed me that true greatness is admitting follies and mistakes and then moving on to more greatness. I dearly miss that man and his music.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu: showed me that war, business and even everyday life have so much in common that it is scary.

"Tao Te Ching" by Lao-tse (and many others, no doubt): showed me that life is much simpler than I had ever imagined it could be. I keep forgetting that part.

"Shogun" by James Clavell: this was a big epiphany for me. It showed me that our Western way of looking at life and death was only ONE way of looking at life and death. My eyes were probably opened more out of reading that book than they did out of reading a thousand Watchtowers and Awakes!.

"Hawaii" by James A. Michner: awesome history and very revealing about man's inhumanity to man in the name of religion and in the name of God and Christ. Showed me that compassion and forgiveness can come from "pagans" and "heathens" and in fact is more likely to come from them than from those "Christians" who are trying to "save" their happy lives and functioning cultures. As someone who has spent many trips and many months in Hawaii and who has studied their language and culture, this book was very important in my life.

"Carribean" by James A. Michner: showed me that even great authors shoud know when to quit.

There are many more, Max. I've just mentioned a few. The collected works of Alfred E. Neumann should also be mentioned. He was very wise, too. Also, I'm very fond of the collected works of Fred Hall. He alone helps keep me to have some semblance of sanity, or at least to know that if I'm crazy, there are a whole lot worse people out there. Kudos to You Know in that area, too.

Oh, the book "From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained" was a very important book in my life, too, but for much different reasons than the ones I just mentioned.

Farkel

21

New to Board

by individual in

jw
friends

new to the board - just saying hello - looking forward to participating!

finally free after 25 years.

Farkel

Individual,

I join the others in welcoming you to the roller-coaster ride of free thinking and speach in the real world.

There ain't no "Which hand would the Society "encourage" me to wipe my butt with in here so I can be "Theocratic" and "please" Jehovah?"

It's more like, "what new lies has the Society stuffed down the throats of their victims, and what can we say about it so folks can see it for what it is?", in here.

It's a bumpy and exciting ride! Enjoy it!

Farkel

10

District Assembly Experience on Volunteering

by AlanF in

jw
friends

i seem to recall that on this summer's district assemblies there is an experience given about a woman who was involved in various voluntary community services, but quit them and became a pioneer.

does anyone remember this?

if so, can anyone provide more solid documentation?.

Farkel

: How old is AlanF, btw?

How old is dirt? Pretty dang old. Alan is older than dirt.

And I'm older than him. Dirt came along after I was born.

I could have used some dirt when I was a kid, but it wasn't around yet. Therefore, Alan and I had crappy childhoods: we never got to eat the stuff and we never had the pleasure of getting muddy.

Farkel

28

Are You 'Unevenly' Yoked?

by AGuest in

jw
friends

may you all have peace!.

in the minds of many bible scholars (the wtbts 'scholars' as well), the term 'belial' means 'without benefit' or 'good for nothing'.

that is incorrect, however.

Farkel

Am I unevenly yoked? Yes.

My observation is "off" your topic and I know it.

I'm married to my right hand. It works, but it ain't the best in life. It plays fair though, and doesn't lie to me nor does it deceive me. Most of all, it doesn't seek to take everything I've worked for, but then again, everything I worked for was taken because I was formerly "unevenly yoked."

That whole concept is stupid: why should any relationship between m/f be thought of as a "yoke?" "Yokes" are for oxen and other beasts-of-burden, but not humans. Human relationships should be glorious and not burdensome. They are.

Then again, I'm just a dummy, and I'm using the "dub" version of the meaning "unevenly yoked." Your version is just as goofy, though.

Farkel
Practical Class

19

Rutherfords burial site...

by TheApostleAK in

jw
friends

to this day some have claimed that rutherford was buried secretly at beth-sarim or beth-shan anyway, even though the society has stated in print that rutherford's remains were sent to brooklyn for burial.. .

i remember/read somewhere that he was buried at staten island, new york.

can anyone confirm that?

Farkel

VM44,

: Details when Beth-Shan was demolished might be in the book,
"Jehovah's Witnesses: Their Monuments to False Prophecy"

I have the book and I've spoken with Ed Gruss the author. He last visited the site in 1997, I believe. He made no mention that it was demolished either in our phone conversations or in his book. When he gets back from vacation, I will get the exact address from him.

Nelly136,

Beth Shan means "House of Security" in Hebrew. This is a fitting name for a home with two bomb shelters, don't you think?

Farkel

13

Map where Beth Sarim is...

by TheApostleAK in

jw
friends

hope this is where it is... http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?bfcat=&pyt=tmap&newfl=use+address+below&addr=4440+braeburn&csz=san+diego%2c+ca+92114&country=us&get%a0map=get+map.

it's about 7ish miles from the coast.

why have a secret compound in a place that would of been one of the first places in america to be invaded by the japs during ww2?.

Farkel

: That could easly could be a goat barn. If I'm right goat barns was made that way.

There was originally a goat barn over one of the two shelters.

How many goat barns have a basement with shelves for supplies like food and a three-foot thick ceiling of concrete, bozo?

Farkel

13

Map where Beth Sarim is...

by TheApostleAK in

jw
friends

hope this is where it is... http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?bfcat=&pyt=tmap&newfl=use+address+below&addr=4440+braeburn&csz=san+diego%2c+ca+92114&country=us&get%a0map=get+map.

it's about 7ish miles from the coast.

why have a secret compound in a place that would of been one of the first places in america to be invaded by the japs during ww2?.

Farkel

: they would of easily. I'm just saying he couldn't have hid there for long cos he would of ran out of food.

You are a pedant's paradise! It's a dang good thing I'm just your average dummy.

Farkel

15

New and amused

by Commie Chris in

jw
friends

i have been lurking here for a few weeks and just registered.

i was briefly a jw - df'd 6 years ago.

my story is posted under personal experiences.

Farkel

Gopher,

: Actually, a rule of the English language says that "you cannot end a sentence with a preposition".

Actually, the rules have changed since we both learned that stuff in the schools we were in.

I know about what I'm speaking of.

In fact I know where today's lauguage is at.

I speak words you can trust by.

And stuff like that is where I'm coming from.

Farkel

13

Map where Beth Sarim is...

by TheApostleAK in

jw
friends

hope this is where it is... http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?bfcat=&pyt=tmap&newfl=use+address+below&addr=4440+braeburn&csz=san+diego%2c+ca+92114&country=us&get%a0map=get+map.

it's about 7ish miles from the coast.

why have a secret compound in a place that would of been one of the first places in america to be invaded by the japs during ww2?.

Farkel

: Theres a difference between being bombed and being invaded.

Are you asserting that either of those two "bomb" shelters wouldn't have protected Da Judge? Do you know anything about either of them? Did you khow that one of them was so hard to find because it took someone who knew how to find a secret lever in a bathroom to pull to open up the door to get to it?

Like it or not, Da Judge had all bases covered. There is hardly any place that can be found to hide in an invasion, and few places that can withstand a heavy bombing. Da Judge had all of those options covered. I have evidence for this. Would you like to see it?

Farkel