Posts by gravedancer

6

Going to heaven and all that

by OlderTom in

jw
friends

i've asked many times but still can't get an answer.. all these billions of people who are going to heaven.. where is it?.

what you gonna do all day?.

how long before an eternity will seem like an eternity and you gonna get bored sh!tless?.

Are Flamers & Atheists More Mature Than JW's?

by Englishman in

jw
friends

are ex-jws, flamers, agnostics and atheists more advanced spiritually and emotionally than fully-active jws?.

this is how m.scott-peck describes the 4 basic stages of spiritual development.

personally i can relate to stage 3 quite comfortably, but if i talk to a witness who may be a very devout and religious person i often feel as though this person is dragging me back into a lower stage, generally stage 2. what do you think?.

gravedancer

speaking personally....

I don't have a spiritual bone in my body (except the one that jumps up and says "BOO" every now and then I guess). Even though i was raised as a JW I have never had any connection my whole life.

As a youngster I would think all the people praying were just talking to themselves and everytime I had to pray it felt so stupid. I think I always expected more from God than what we had to deliver.

So as far as me becoming mystic or spiritual - I don't see it happening. If it does I will look up this post and let you know.

25

Are Flamers & Atheists More Mature Than JW's?

by Englishman in

jw
friends

are ex-jws, flamers, agnostics and atheists more advanced spiritually and emotionally than fully-active jws?.

this is how m.scott-peck describes the 4 basic stages of spiritual development.

personally i can relate to stage 3 quite comfortably, but if i talk to a witness who may be a very devout and religious person i often feel as though this person is dragging me back into a lower stage, generally stage 2. what do you think?.

gravedancer

Englishman,

I appreciate your posts but take issue with this one. As an atheist who seeks proof I ask you for your basis that the sequence of development you opine has any statistically provable basis.

Or is it just your opinion?

Thanks
GD

76

Tina - Put up, or shut up!

by Amazing in

jw
friends

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=18103&site=3.

regards,tina edited by - tina on 28 june 2001 6:52:50 http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=7500&site=3.

gravedancer

please guys stop this.....please it's not making anyone feel any better.

Why don't you all just pick on me instead.

I am a dumb ugly fuck-face!@!!!!!!

27

Atheists are a cult

by gravedancer in

jw
friends

i have seen that statement quite a bit in the past few days.. why do people believe that's true?

gravedancer

Heathen,

Please don't take offense so quickly. I know you are going to think I am pulling a Clinton here but let's look at definitions. There is a dictionary definition - which you cited. Then there is an explanatory definition - which I used (one accepted by experts in the field).

Let's look up the definition of a word in the dictionary. "Golf - A game played on a large outdoor course with a series of 9 or 18 holes spaced far apart, the object being to propel a small, hard ball with the use of various clubs into each hole with as few strokes as possible."

If an alien from space came down and read that dictionary definition from the dictionary do you think she would know what the REAL definition of golf is? Or would they be better served by consulting a golf pro to find out what goldf is about?

Of course if people have used the term "cult" as just a way of saying people that follow or believe certain atheist experts are members of a collective - therefore a cult that makes atheism a cult....go ahead and make me an honorary cult member. That makes the boy scouts a cult, it makes every group a cult...if that the definition you want to play by I am a member of many cults.

On the other hand if you look at the aspects of mind control and fear (which are some of the strongest facets in identifying cults) then we are in for a different ball game.

Gotta run...I have a tee time!!!

27

Atheists are a cult

by gravedancer in

jw
friends

i have seen that statement quite a bit in the past few days.. why do people believe that's true?

gravedancer

ak Mr Farkel,

that is NOT my definition. that is the definition others would put on it. I prefer to look at the fear and mind control aspects of cult definition - therefore my atheism is excluded.

27

Atheists are a cult

by gravedancer in

jw
friends

i have seen that statement quite a bit in the past few days.. why do people believe that's true?

gravedancer

wb 5 Gospels - good to c U

One thing about me - I am inherently lazy. I can afford to be - after all I am a very selfish atheist. So sometimes I am slow in responding.

When someone feels as though they are living "under the power" or "living for the will" of God they almost become less accountable. It's easy to turn around and say "it's God's will".

When you become a selfish person like me (in large part because I am now an atheist) you realize you get one shot at life, make the most of it and live like there is no tomorrow (plan for tomorrow but don't live for tomorrow at all). I have overcome my prior issues such as procrastination and lethargy. I wake up every day now and I want to have fun and I want to achieve 110% for that day. I have no hope for the future - so I have to get my kicks out of today.

That's just a small taste...if you are interested I will respond further...but right now I feel selfish and think I will go and see what food I can steal...

27

Atheists are a cult

by gravedancer in

jw
friends

i have seen that statement quite a bit in the past few days.. why do people believe that's true?

gravedancer

Perry,

Your thread centered on the notion that "there is no escape from religion.

I dealt with this question in a thread I started here:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=22556&site=3
...While I concede that athiesm is just as logically valid a position as theism, I have always wondered why it's promoters usually avoid provocative discussion of its effects on society and the individual

Oh Perry, who answered your thread first? I did. I grant that the response was short but here it is:

There is a consequential difference between theists and atheists.

Did you respond to that? No. But then you come and spout stuff like I just quoted above. The gist of my reply is simple and alludes directly to why atheism's "promoters usually avoid provocative discussion of its effects on society and the individual."

You also state something that clearly shows you do not know me at all:

It is so obvious, gravedancer, that your anger (justified) at the WBTS has seriously left you wide open to having marketers of other ideologies do a brain scrambling number on you once again.

Perry, if you knew me at all you would know that I am one of the people who are NOT angry at the WTBS. I take full responsibility for the direction of my life. In fact that ties in very closely to the fact that I am an atheist now. I have no "god" to live for and not "priest" to perform blowjobs on. I am a follower of Gravedancer and a worshipper of gravedancer....I am an utterly selfish person and proud of that fact (go ahead and twist this now - it will be fun to watch).

Perry, do you accept the definition of the word cult as postulated by West & Langone. I hope so because I look forward to discussing the effects of religion on peoples lives vs the effects of atheism on people's lives. I propose that as soon as we have clearly defined what a cult is that we get into that discussion.

Perhaps we can find an "ideal" which is acceptable to both of us coming out of the discussion?

27

Atheists are a cult

by gravedancer in

jw
friends

i have seen that statement quite a bit in the past few days.. why do people believe that's true?

gravedancer

Perry - my other thread was totally different to this one...

This one deals with atheists, the other dealt with religious people.

You think there is a difference? Some comments on the board prompted me to post this thread - not yours. It is apparent that the word "cult" needs a common definition. All kinds of semantics are being played with it as you can see from stuff like Proplog and Amazing and others are posting.

You want to add stuff with substance kewl...I know you can.

101

What happened to politeness?

by Seeker in

jw
friends

twice in the past week, from two different posters, i have been called an "asshole.

" in both cases, the person made an assumption about me based on something that was said in a thread.

in both cases, i responded by saying i disagreed with their characterization and explained why.

gravedancer

It is ironic that an id like "schizo" is suspended and deactivated (just because others don't really know who it was) but this type of fucked up shit is allowed to go on for months.

While I tended to get frustrated with "schizo" because I never knew who it was never did I see "schizo" cuss at others. While this is not intended as a defense of "schizo" it is interesting that this shit is tolerated. You can cuss and tell each other to "eat shit and die" or "shut the fuck up" as long as you are well known.

I know I am tramping on risky ground because lots of people here will find this post unpopular but if there is anything NON-FACTUAL about this post I will apologize profusely.