Francois

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Posts by Francois

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  4

  Prisca's Post/Joel's Response

  by Francois in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  prisca posts that the nitpickin' posts are suckin' up all the space, attention, time, etc.

  here.. joel says we're sinking to the lowest common denominator.

  and seems ready to throw in the towel.. that would be a shame.. if we're really going to be self-regulating, we could always pull the fat out of the fire here by refusing to be baited by the trolls, the "playground bullies" of the board, the so-called active jws spoiling for a fight, and anything else that serves to disturb our domestic tranquility.

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  Francois

  Count on Joel. I think he is of the Public Conscience Class .

  My $0.02
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  11

  HLC Documents Wanted!

  by Kent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i need english hlc documents!

  i would like to get documents on the hlc and anything related to the hospital nazi patrols.

  i am fully aware they have at least 2 other committees, working with the same stuff - and i am naturally interested in anything related to these committees.

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  Francois

  What the hell is the HLC?

  Please! Spell out the first use in any post.

  My $0.02
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  53

  American / European Incomprehension.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  reading through some of the posts re the mcveigh debate, it's obvious that there is a huge divide between the usa and europe over many issues, in particular with reference to the way that society should deal with deviants.. i think that there is a lot of other cultural differences between our societies, and i'm just wondering if this is why the wtbts has had a far higher "conversion factor" in the usa than in europe.. some of the phraseology contained in the watchtower magazines is incomprehensible to europeans.

  i remember that words that are in common usage now, were, when first used in the wt, totally baffling.. the expression "no way" wasn't in common use until years after the wt featured it, like wise with "points up", also "right on" meant nothing to anyone.

  indeed, many return visits to placed magazine householders resulted in them asking a bewildered dub for an explanation of these then strange terms.

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  Francois

  Idiom - The language peculiar to a people, or to a district, community, class, or country.

  Now you're going to blame Americans for speaking in their own idiom? There are advertisments over here for Aussie products that contain a small idiomatic "dictionary" so we can understand 'em. Same for stuff from Brittan. There are many, many Americans I'm sad to report, that think that "Foster's" really is Australian for "beer."

  Blaming a people for not noticing their own idiom is like blaming a fish for not noticing the water.

  Time for you to knock off the American bashing.

  Francois

  My $0.02
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  4

  Prisca's Post/Joel's Response

  by Francois in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  prisca posts that the nitpickin' posts are suckin' up all the space, attention, time, etc.

  here.. joel says we're sinking to the lowest common denominator.

  and seems ready to throw in the towel.. that would be a shame.. if we're really going to be self-regulating, we could always pull the fat out of the fire here by refusing to be baited by the trolls, the "playground bullies" of the board, the so-called active jws spoiling for a fight, and anything else that serves to disturb our domestic tranquility.

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  Francois

  Prisca posts that the nitpickin' posts are suckin' up all the space, attention, time, etc. here.

  Joel says we're sinking to the lowest common denominator. And seems ready to throw in the towel.

  That would be a shame.

  If we're really going to be self-regulating, we could always pull the fat out of the fire here by refusing to be baited by the trolls, the "playground bullies" of the board, the so-called active JWs spoiling for a fight, and anything else that serves to disturb our domestic tranquility. Refuse to be baited. Refuse to respond. Change the tone to a higher note.

  We could, you know.

  Just an idea.

  Francois

  My $0.02
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  10

  Right to "Sow the Seeds of Doubt"?

  by JanH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from time to time exjws may face the question of whether they should do anything to cause doubts in the minds of their jw family or friends.

  many argue that these people are happier where they are, inside the organization, and that becoming an "apostate" would cause too many problems to them.

  in other words, perhaps "ignorance is bliss.".

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  Francois

  Yep, there is a certain similarity between all cults and all people who join cults; it's in their very makeup.

  Is it right to sow seeds of doubt? I submit it was certainly right to sow seeds of doubt about the validity of the Nazi religion, the cult of Hitler. And there is a certain resemblence in the violence he did to the Jews and the violence visited upon the "apostates" done by the Borg.

  I have a friend who did much better as a JW than he has done out. It gave his life some structure and provided him with limits. Since he left, he's damn near drunk himself to death, and engaged in all sorts of other destructive behaviors. But I think his example is rare.

  If you have something better with which to replace the Borg and its fanciful teachings, I think sowing seeds of doubt is fair game. If not, then springing someone out (who needs it) and leaving them hanging can't be a loving thing to do. Of course, having something to offer instead becomes key, and then you're really doing a service in my view.

  ft

  My $0.02
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  53

  American / European Incomprehension.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  reading through some of the posts re the mcveigh debate, it's obvious that there is a huge divide between the usa and europe over many issues, in particular with reference to the way that society should deal with deviants.. i think that there is a lot of other cultural differences between our societies, and i'm just wondering if this is why the wtbts has had a far higher "conversion factor" in the usa than in europe.. some of the phraseology contained in the watchtower magazines is incomprehensible to europeans.

  i remember that words that are in common usage now, were, when first used in the wt, totally baffling.. the expression "no way" wasn't in common use until years after the wt featured it, like wise with "points up", also "right on" meant nothing to anyone.

  indeed, many return visits to placed magazine householders resulted in them asking a bewildered dub for an explanation of these then strange terms.

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  Francois

  Yes, there does seem to be something raw and unabashed about the way we Yanks go about things. There especiallly seems to be almost, well, worship of the empirical. Not to say it doesn't have its place, but abandonment of the intuitive, reflective, meditative approach can't be doing us much good.

  My $0.02
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  6

  They march like ants...

  by biblexaminer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this song is meant to be sung with the music from "the ants go marching one by one".

  they march like ants from door to door.

  hurah... hurah.

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  Francois

  Apostate songbook! What an idea!! We could even use the theme from various items of classical music without attribution so we could be like the Borg who inspired that kinda intellectual theft.

  There was another technique I used in service as well. I'm sure I'm not the only one. I would go to the door and pretend to rind the bell. Even when there wasn't one. I'd wait, Oh, ten seconds, leave a back issue of the Awake (of which I had an inexhaustable supply) and then I was outta there. Everyone benefitted. The householder who had seen me come up the walk was puzzled, but relieved. I was relieved that I didn't actually have to attempt to justify my miserable presence on someone's front porch peddling the latest excrescence from the Brooklyn Borg. The fanatic who brought us out into the territory benefitted since we were working his territory for him. And the Borg benefitted since I'd actually gotten rid of another of its inexcuseable magazines.

  Reminded me of the scene in Star Wars VI, where C3PO used a very similar technique at the door to Jabba the Hut's Palace. When I first saw that scene, I was indeed ROTFLMAO.

  Francois

  My $0.02
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  12

  The Iceman and the Flood

  by Thirdson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a number of posts this week drew attention to the pseudo-science of the watchtower organization.

  in recent years the wts has not fared much better and clinging to fundamentalist ideas about the age of man, the idea that all of genesis is true only causes problems and serious questions.. i have previously posted thoughts on an archeological find and i thought id mention it again.

  the case was the 1991 discovery of the frozen corpse of an ancient man in the italian alps.

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  Francois

  Very good information, good read. Many thanks.

  I haven't been keeping up with the Borg for these last 25 years or so in any detail. I remember that even back then they attacked out-of-date problems with C14 dating. That is, they brought up issues with it and negative comments about it that were no longer current, having been resolved by advances in the technique. But of course it's easier to attack out of date information.

  So, with regard to the iceman and the dating of his life, are the JWs still using their standard objections to C14; objections to problems that no longer exist in the technique?

  Francois

  My $0.02
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  22

  When things started to "fall off"

  by comment in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking about this in several areas today.. 1) district conventions and house-to-house work.

  if you were a witness for a long time, you probably remember a time when going to the conventions seemed perfectly "normal" to you: it was absolutely "the thing" to sit in a sports arena all day listening to bible talks and counsel from men in suits.. but at some point, did you ever start to feel like you were participating in a cultural relic, so to speak?.

  as in, "here it is, the 1990's, and the society is still using fundamentally the same old format they've been using all century long.

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  Francois

  Don'cha just wish you could have back each and every moment, each second, you spent peddling that damn worthless literature? And all that mind-numbing time spent sitting in a stale-smelling kingdom hall with your fanny going to sleep on one cheek or the other?

  I've gotta quit recalling all that wasted time. I'm getting depressed.

  ft

  My $0.02
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  8

  Thanks Tallyman, for the Mighty K!

  by TR in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just want to let you know i appreciate you bringing to our attention the mighty k!

  k is a wonderful letter.

  it brings to mind a kakophony of sounds that delight the senses.

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  Francois

  "...the impending civil lawsuit against YK."

  What civil lawsuit? I have obviously missed something. What is?

  Franc

  My $0.02