Posts by Grout

57

divining rods work

by zerubberballz in

jw
friends

it's a funny ol' world.

a month ago i was mucking about with some thick fencing wire and i suddenly got the idea to bend a couple of pieces into a set of divining rods like i've seen old nutters doing on tv.

so i cut two sections of wire about 2' long and bent the ends 4" at 90 degrees to form old fashioned diving rods (twitching sticks are made of yew or hickory or something .. don't know what, if anything aboriginies used).

Grout

I don't know who this "Stephanus" is, so he's probably not me. My real name is right there in my signature.

As for my attitude ... well, I have no patience for those who can't even do a little basic research. Don't you hate it when people spread urban legends because they can't even bother to check for the story in urban legend archives like http://snopes.com ? I do. And the whole dowsing delusion is just another such urban legend.

Don't you think that any scientist would LOVE to be able to attach his name to proof of a genuinely new natural phenomenon? The fact that people have been claiming to dowse for decades (centuries?) yet no such proof has been forthcoming is evidence enough for me to dismiss the possibility of its truth as negligible.

Now maybe you have plenty of time to waste on fairy tales. But I already gave a few decades to the JW fairy tale, and now I'll have no more truck with them.

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

57

divining rods work

by zerubberballz in

jw
friends

it's a funny ol' world.

a month ago i was mucking about with some thick fencing wire and i suddenly got the idea to bend a couple of pieces into a set of divining rods like i've seen old nutters doing on tv.

so i cut two sections of wire about 2' long and bent the ends 4" at 90 degrees to form old fashioned diving rods (twitching sticks are made of yew or hickory or something .. don't know what, if anything aboriginies used).

Grout

Zerrub: By challenging me to disprove your assertions, you've committed a logical fallacy:

ARGUMENT FROM IGNORANCE
"A logical fallacy where something is assumed to be true because it hasn't been proven false, or vice versa."
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=Argument%20From%20Ignorance

I think I have a good case for an ad hominem in the "what are you afraid of" bit, but your argument from ignorance is so blatant that it's plenty to deflate your unsubstantiated assertions.

PS: Logical Fallacies list:
http://mozai.com/philosophy/logic_fallacies.html

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

57

divining rods work

by zerubberballz in

jw
friends

it's a funny ol' world.

a month ago i was mucking about with some thick fencing wire and i suddenly got the idea to bend a couple of pieces into a set of divining rods like i've seen old nutters doing on tv.

so i cut two sections of wire about 2' long and bent the ends 4" at 90 degrees to form old fashioned diving rods (twitching sticks are made of yew or hickory or something .. don't know what, if anything aboriginies used).

Grout

If divining rods worked, they'd work under double-blind tests with control groups and careful, objective observation.

<p>When that happens, let me know.

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

34

My last meeting as an elder

by Lee Elder in

jw
friends

the thread on judicial committes reminded me of my last meeting.

as a jw elder.

a major rift had developed on the body of elders.

Grout

Lee, you're not alone. I'm personally acquainted with two kind-hearted and intelligent elders in the Tampa area who got pushed out by hard-liners ... especially a retired former CO ... who got fed up with their 'irrelevant' intelligence and compassion.

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

2

How early christianity was viewed by outsiders

by bboyneko in

this is interesting: .

back in the days of early rome, the numbers of christians were increasing daily and the jews couldn't understand why these christians were no longer jews.

christians presented a problem to the roman empire.

Grout

Celcus rocks:

Let no one educated, no one wise, no one sensible draw near. For these abilities are thought by us to be evils. But as for anyone ignorant, anyone stupid, anyone uneducated, anyone who is a child, let him come boldly.

Yeah, baby. Tell it. Testify!

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

5

Questions on WTBTS abortion teachings

by Skimmer in

granted that the wtbts is, in general, anti-abortion.

interestingly, i can't find a reference to it in the _pay attention_ elders' manual, although tobacco and breast caressing are worthy of mention as being offensive.. i have encountered reports that the official wtbts abortion teaching includes the idea that an unborn child who dies as a result of abortion or miscarriage is considered not to be eligible for a resurrection in paradise earth, let alone a residence in heaven.. isn't this more than a little inconsistent with the wtbts "body equals soul" teaching?

if an unborn child is not considered human and is so denied a future, then why is a jw female punished (by being disfellowshipped, i assume) if she has an abortion?.

Grout

IIRC, to the WT's professional gnat-filterers, the body must breathe ("the breath of life") to be a living soul. Something about how the Hebrew word for "soul" is suggestive of breathing. Fetuses, no matter how advanced, don't breathe.

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

5

**FREETHINKING, HONESTY and WTBS

by MacHislopp in

jw
friends

recently i came across an.

interesting study/research article and i .

would like to share with you the following :.

Grout

Get real, man. WTS is all about concentrating power in the hands of a few, not spreading it out to be shared by all. You might as well preach to Saddam Hussein about the virtues of tolerance.

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

12

"Who Wrote The Bible?"

by Grout in

the book "who wrote the bible?

" by richard friedman is the best single source i've found for explaining the origins of the torah.

the "documentary hypothesis", now almost universally accepted, posits that the "five books of moses" were in fact written by at least four people as late as the return from exile.

Grout

Yeru: Deuteronomy reflects the sensibilities of a much later time than do the other four books. I hardly think Deuteronomy contains any of the primitive material.

36

Only J.w's will survive the big A

by toddy in

jw
friends

my question is,if it is true that only j.w's will survive then surely everybody on the planet should at least get the option of becoming a witness,but there are people living in remote parts of the world who rarely come into contact with civilisation,im pretty sure there are still small tribes of people living in some rainforest who haven't even been discovered yet,where do theses people fit in,do they just perish like the rest of us?.

sorry if this is a daft question,been on the guinness all night!

Grout

If preaching skill makes a difference, then people may live or die depending on how eloquent a given JW is on a given morning. That's not just.

If preaching skill makes no difference, and all righteous are guaranteed to hear what they need to hear.... well, then, what's the rush? Kick back and enjoy your weekend!

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

13

Why Nazis Won't Save the Watchtower

by metatron in

jw
friends

yep, here we go again --- yet another article about a .

witness surviving nazi persecution (awake dec.22, 01).

the society seems obsessed with nazis - i would think.

Grout

Nazis are useful rhetorical targets because no one of consequence sticks up for them (and rightly so).

There's a rule on Usenet called Godwin's Law. It states that as a thread grows, the chance of someone mentioning Hitler or the Nazis approaches certainty. Also, whoever first brings them up is deemed to have lost the argument; and the thread ends immediately.

--
Chip Salzenberg: Free-Floating Agent of Chaos