Hittman

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Posts by Hittman

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  88

  British Sociologist Predicts Possible Collapse in Jehovah's Witness Numbers

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a newly published article by british sociologist david voas argues jehovah's witnesses may be about to experience a collapse in numbers.

  contrary to claims by american sociologist rodney stark who predicts strong future growth for jehovah's witnesses, voas shows that jehovah's witnesses' efforts at recruiting new members have become increasingly unsuccessful over the past few decades: the rate of increase has steadily declined, and the number of hours each publisher must preach to produce an extra convert has gone up substantially.

  voas suggests a reason for the stagnation may be that there is a natural limit to the number of people in a given population that are susceptible to conversion to sectarian groups like jehovah's witnesses - the 'carrying capacity' of the population, and that the limit has largely been reached.

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  Hittman

  I think it's interesting to note that while many assume the Internet is having a big impact on Witness growth this author does not mention it at all in his analysis of possible reasons for declining rates of growth.
  
  That was the first thing that struck me too. Even the most casual internet user is likely to Google "Jehovah's Witnesses" as soon as the conversion process begins. The Internet is not only the antidote for JWs, but for any other controlling cult.
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  12

  CULT STORIES AT IT'S BEST!!!

  by whereami in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  subject: experience given by bro.

  splane of the governing body at an assembly on oahu.

  in an eastern european country.

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  Hittman

  And where was the mom in all this? Theres been a major earthquake, she does not know where her son is but she is just patiently waiting at home?

  Somebody had to do the dishes.
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  5

  Blood Witness - A Novel

  by Hittman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was a dub i heard a rodney dangerfield joke: "wouldn't it be funny if dracula was a jehovah witness?

  " i thought yeah, it would be.

  then i thought "hey, he got the name wrong.

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  Hittman

  Chapter 5 is now avaiable for your listening pleasure.
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  129

  Why I am an atheist

  by Awakened at Gilead in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  someone (a born-again exjw) on youtube asked me why i was an atheist... i crafted a brief response... it follows:.

  1. religious reason: there is no proof for god outside of the bible.

  once i dropped my belief in the bible, the judeo-christian concept of god fell apart like a house of cards.

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  Hittman

  The CRS quarterly is a peer-reviewed journal…
  Thanks, that's my laugh for the day.
  
  lance you know i want to read this...but damm it is long!...plus i am not quite an atheist yet....could sombody please do a Cliffnotes version?...thanks........oompa
  Sure: http://www.400monkeys.com/God/
  
  You are wearing it. And that goofy cap doesn't help at all. Also, you will never get anywhere with that backpack. You need a nice leather briefcase. You can get one here. You reek of apostate, I can smell it from here. Go shave and sign up for Theocratic Ministry School.
  
  You forgot to add "Hippie!"
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  5

  Blood Witness - A Novel

  by Hittman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was a dub i heard a rodney dangerfield joke: "wouldn't it be funny if dracula was a jehovah witness?

  " i thought yeah, it would be.

  then i thought "hey, he got the name wrong.

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  Hittman

  When I was a Dub I heard a Rodney Dangerfield Joke: "Wouldn't it be funny if Dracula was a Jehovah Witness?" I thought yeah, it would be. Then I thought "hey, he got the name wrong."
  
  Many years after I left the Dubs I looked for a novel about a vampire Jehovah's Witness. I figured it would make for a good story – not just the blood issue, but the cross issue and the eternal life thing. . . but no one had written one.
  
  So I did. I wrote it and polished it, then submitted it to an on-line writers group who tore it apart and pointed out mistakes and helped me turn it into a book I could be proud of.
  
  I sent it off to a few publishers and agents, but never got a bite. (No pun intended.) So it sat on various hard drives for twenty years.
  
  After seeing a few friends have great success with podiobooks I decided to do the same. (A podiobook is a podcast of a novel, with new episodes released regularly. In this case, once a week.)

  High School Senior Chris Chamberlin hates being a Jehovah's Witness, but is trapped in the cult with no way out. He discovers a strange new power that he doesn't understand and can't quite control.
  
  Catherine Nightshade is a 1500 year old vampire. (She's really 1800, but she lies about her age.) She is on the prowl for a new lover.
  
  Together they discover a threat to the very existence of every vampire, and the only solution is to break the One Law that binds them all.

  Blood Witness is a free podiobook available at bloodwitness.com. New episodes are released every Wednesday. You can subscribe to it in iTunes, download it via a standard podcast RSS feed, or listen to it directly on the website.
  
  Note: this is an adult novel, and is not recommended for the squeamish or easily offended. It contains blood, gore, violence, sex, action, humor, and naughty words.
  
  Check it out, and let me know what you think.
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  19

  African-Americans do better on tests after Obama's election

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  the wonderful world of the human psyche.

  yes, we can.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9znf88-n3y&feature=channel.

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  Hittman

  what will happen to them if this president fails miserably?
  
  Don’t you mean when this president fails miserably?
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  12

  If you love google and other search engines...you might want to re-think that?

  by Alpaca in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we have arrived at a time & place where we take access to information for granted.

  easy, right...you type your query into the search engine and bam, you've got 100 gazillion hits on your subject.

  and, most of us are saavy enough to know that a preponderance of the info is total bullshit.

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  Hittman

  Think it can't happen here?
  
  It almost happened in Austraula, but was pulled at the last minute. The excuse, of course, was to protect the chillllllldereeeeeen. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see it happen in the US.
  
  If it does it will first be presented as a protection against kiddie porn. And then, little by little, things will be added to it, like bomb making materials, copyright movies and music, and a little more and a little more. . . .
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  41

  The Internet (what year did you first have access)

  by Ri in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i first had access to the internet in 1994. i thought it was amazing all the information at my fingertips.

  i have no idea what search engine i used before google.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl9wu2kwwsy.

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  Hittman

  In the late 80s, but as noted, it was all text, with rather clumsy search tools. It was more of a novelty than a useful tool.
  
  1995.
  Having an e-mail address was a biggy at the time.
  
  I was running a multi-line BBS, and added internet e-mail to it around then. It was a huge thing, and some people subscribed just for that.
  
  Hm... when was "Prodigy" and txt-only BBS?
  
  And don't forget GEnie. I was a sysop on GEnie, although they called us Round Table leaders back then.
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  20

  property investment in the US

  by Roski in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  much is being made of the recent downturn in property values throughout the us.

  i have read media reports of overseas buyers snapping up property for very little money.

  the most recent article i read was in reference to property in detroit.

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  Hittman

  Here are some Detroit properties you can get a good deal on:

  http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1882089,00.html
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  5

  "The dark ages" religious rulership set us back 1,000 years!!

  by Witness 007 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  imagine if the witnesses ruled the world!

  something like this happened in the dark ages when science was banned by religion and the inqisition.

  anyone coming up with "crazy" theories like the earth revolves aroung the sun faced death and science stalled for nearly 1,000 years.

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  Hittman

  The Romans discovered steam power, but didn't recognize its potential and only used it for toys. Imagine if their empire had lasted and they exploited it. And/or discovered electricity.
  
  Just to expand on 007s observation: Consider how much we've advanced in the past 100 years. The things we take for granted today weren't even the stuff of science fiction 100 years ago. Now try to imagine where we'll be in 500 years. You can't. It's just too mind boggling.
  
  And if it weren't for religion we'd be there now.