Posts by vivalavida

14

June 2011 Watchtower & Poverty (public edition)

by FrankWTower in

i have a part this week about the june awake & watchtower.

after reading some of the paragraphs in the watchtower, i have this opinion to share:.

i really wish the wt would stop trying to teach witnesses about their biased views of history and economic theory.

vivalavida

@Anony Mous - I am sure that they would clap it they were allowed... lol - People really do not pay attention to the details of what you say. They will just assume that you said what you were supposed to say.

@FrankWTower - Yeah, it is not easy. That was the reason I HAD TO RESIGN as an elder. I could not, for example, read and talk from the platform about how other religions hide their pedophiles, proving that they are being controlled by Satan, when I clearly knew that the WTS was doing exactly the same thing payint millions to keep a series of pedophiles cases to hit the courts.

On the other hand, I also know it is not easy to just quit or come out. Let me tell you, once your eyes are open, a pressure builds inside you and the dissonance increases until you HAVE to make a decision. At least that is what happened in my case and now I am outside and I feel great. In the end, actually, it is up to you and your inner self.

VlV

4

All cults thrive when information is scarce. The opposite is true as well / Mormon example

by vivalavida in

jw
friends

just read this interesting article about how the internet or, better said, the abundance of information facilitated by the internet has helped not only jws but also members of other cults, like the mormons, to be able to make "informed" decisions when leaving the faith.. here is the link: why i chucked my mormon faith and became an atheist.

you comments are welcome!.

vlv.

vivalavida

"The True Enlightment", that sounds good and I do agree with you. Alvin Toffler in his book "Revolutionary Wealth" argues that knowledge not only enlightens but, actually, makes society richer. So, we are not only better off mentally and spiritually because of more knowledge and information, we are wealthier!

VlV

4

All cults thrive when information is scarce. The opposite is true as well / Mormon example

by vivalavida in

jw
friends

just read this interesting article about how the internet or, better said, the abundance of information facilitated by the internet has helped not only jws but also members of other cults, like the mormons, to be able to make "informed" decisions when leaving the faith.. here is the link: why i chucked my mormon faith and became an atheist.

you comments are welcome!.

vlv.

vivalavida

Hi all,

Just read this interesting article about how the Internet or, better said, the abundance of information facilitated by the Internet has helped not only JWs but also members of other cults, like the Mormons, to be able to make "informed" decisions when leaving the faith.

Here is the link: Why I chucked my mormon faith and became an atheist

You comments are welcome!

VlV

31

June 15 W/T - "Should Youths Get Baptised?"

by sizemik in

the above mentioned article caught my eye for a couple of reasons .

.. it is obvious to most observers that the children of active jw's provide a potential "large army" and in spite of the attrition rate of jw youths (around 2/3's i believe), it's a resource the borg are keen to maximise.

there tactics appear to be encouraging baptism at an ever younger age.

vivalavida

A Christian mother writes: “Children who are baptized have more reasons to stay away from the bad things of the world.

One of those REASONS being the fear of being expelled and shunned for the rest of their lives. She is certainly right there...

Vivalavida

22

Crazy Is Flirting a Sin? Q & A

by Iamallcool in

christianity -- christian living/is flirting a sinadvertisement.

expert: phillip senn - 10/10/2008.

question.

vivalavida

Can I catch a disease from lusting? How about if I wear a rubber hat? What if I flirt but stop just short of lusting?

Really funny! Love the rubber hat thing!

Vivalavida

15

Is drinking distilled water dangerous?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

some say yes and some say no.

i am confused.

.

vivalavida

I used to drink distilled water on a regular basis.

http://www.nutriscience.com/nutrition/Hydrate-Water-Health.htm

I am a big fan of Dr. Michael Colgan and his books, which make 100% sense to me because they are not only theory, but everything is backed up in practice with athletes that are coached at his colgan institute and their experiences. Here is the way he thinks:

Distilled water, with about 1-14 parts per million contaminants, is rated by the National Science Foundation as the purest source of water. This is the same water you put in your iron and your car battery! It's funny that distilled water has been around forever and is the cheapest, yet most of you do not drink it. In fact, distilled water is all anti-aging specialist Dr Michael Colgan (of the Colgan Institute) will drink. I have trained many athletes that drink one to two gallons of distilled water every day.

I am commonly asked about the mineral content of distilled water. It is a commonly held belief that distilled water leeches minerals from your bones and teeth because of osmotic pressure. This is a myth made up by smart marketers of spring and mineral water to increase sales! Any basic college text will reassure you that the human system does not work that way. If it did, your cells would be at the mercy of all the varying osmotic gradients created in your gut by every meal you eat. Remember too that the purpose of drinking water is hydration, not to supply minerals. You obtain minerals from food and supplementation. Distilled water is absolutely pure and clean and is the best source of water you can put into your body.

A lot has to do with the origin of the minerals. Water contains inorganic minerals that come from rocks that the water comes in contact with. Our bodies, however, cannot use these inorganic minerals. It needs organic minerals, like the ones ocurring in plants and/or meat. These are the ones absorbed by the body and used by our cells. In his book "Optimum Sports Nutrition" he gives a very good explanation of how it is not chemically possible for water to have an isolated effect in our bodies, because water is not by itself in it. The leaching minerals belief comes from experiments done "outside" of the body.

For more information, check also this article: http://www.academyofnaturalhealing.com/articles/distill.html

I do however have concerns with the plastic in which the distilled water is normally sold. I do think that it's is not prepared to package things for human consumption (normally distilled water is sold for car batteries and irons) and might contain carcinogens and who knows what other contaminants, so I was more worried about that, than the water itself and therefore stopped drinking it. I would however, if I could afford it, get a home water distiller device and would drink home distilled water with absolutely no worries.

Just my 2 cents

Vivalavida

54

Does the Watchtower contain photo's of the Devil

by jwfacts in

i have not been able to find any photo's of satan the devil in the watchtower.

there are photo's of the serpent with eve, satan's hand offering kingdoms to jesus and a shadowy cloaked figure speaking to jesus on the mountain.

apart from that i cannot locate any of a proper looking devil.

vivalavida

Yes, I remember that clearly as well... but don't remember the publication either...

85

Leolaia: Where is your story?

by pirata in

jw
friends

i looked through your posts but couldn't find your life story.

have you written it?.

i would love to read your progression from/through jw to avid scholar :).

vivalavida

Thanks Leolaia... your posts are always very instructive, now we definitely know why!

Vivalavida

40

Mind Control

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

so i've been reading stephen hassan's book on mind control and he made an interesting point that made me think about myself.

he asks the question, "what makes some people just walk out of cults on their own, while others require much harsher measures from others to get them out?".

most of you know that i was thoroughly indoctrinated as a jw.

vivalavida

Great video, very clarifying!

40

Mind Control

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

so i've been reading stephen hassan's book on mind control and he made an interesting point that made me think about myself.

he asks the question, "what makes some people just walk out of cults on their own, while others require much harsher measures from others to get them out?".

most of you know that i was thoroughly indoctrinated as a jw.

vivalavida

I do believe it all starts with how CURIOUS you are. At least that is what happened in my case.

Yes, I believed it all, I wanted to do everything they ask for BUT, I was highly curious about other things. Then this curiousity impelled me to listen to external sources, for example, I did go ahead and bought the Personal Power II tapes from Tony Robbins and listening to him, a lot of stuff came up that made me stop and think. He talks about having a purpose in life and how he and lots others have that purpose and it works for them and they are happy.

When I heard that, I knew for a fact that expresions like: " Our close relationship with Jehovah makes us the happiest people on earth. " are not necessarily true. There are people out there that use other methods to achieve the same that JWs achieve. I remember saying that if the bible was the user's manual for the human, Tony's ideas were like a service manual for humans. Then I thouhgt, but he's not inspired.

However, it required years before I allowed my curiosity to get the best of me and go onto 'apostate' websites. After the child abuse debacle and the article in the "Our Kingdom Ministry" from Sept. 2007 (I think) where the GB stated that they didn't condone people investigating and that one should NOT check on their translation work, a huge WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY TRYING TO HIDE thought popped up in my mind. My curiosity won overhand and in a couple of months I was DA'd myself.

So, I do believe that external influences help, but I also think that one has to have a level of curiosity that pushes one to want to know more.

Vivalavida