Posts by bluecanary

so if it is correct to say that humor was stamped out in nazi germany, that does not mean that people were not in good spirits, or anything of that sort, but something much deeper and more important".

bluecanary

Good question.

I was unaware of this bit of history. Thanks for posting this.

51

I had to make a decision

by journey-on in

jw
friends

when i first faded from jws, i didn't know for sure whether it was the truth or not.

being raised in it, it is not so easy to abandon the years of indoctrination.

then, one day i decided: sh*t or get off the pot.

bluecanary

I was shocked out of it by treatment from the elders and bethel. It took me a few days to get over the shock. It seemed to happen very quickly that I realized there was no way this could be God's organization. But I had the idea that they were generally a good religion that followed the Bible more closely than others; just that they didn't have God's backing which was imperative to make it worthwhile. It wasn't until I came here a year later that I learned they were full of crap.

19

Another reason why the WTS warns JWs off the "net

by Lady Lee in

we know the wts says not going on the internet is for their protection.

yea yea i know.

we all know they just don't want jws to read all the real truth about the wts.. but what if there is another reason?

bluecanary

Plus there's all the vile, hate-filled and obscene speech Witnesses spew on the internet when they're not wearing suits and standing in front of a door next to an elder. Really makes them look good.

34

I Got My G.E.D.!!

by palmtree67 in

bluecanary

Congratulations!

I'm the smartest of the stupid people!!

If you weren't in a different country, I'd have to fight you for the title.

37

Lack of education does not = stupid.

by bluecanary in

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[endif] in combatting cult mind control, steve hassan writes:.

in principle, i am against banning cults from college campuses unless they expressly violate rules of conduct that every student organization is expected to follow.

bluecanary

I don't think Steve Hassan's idea is possible

I agree. I think cult groups would do whatever they could to stop it. The government will never admit that mind control exists because then they would be accountable if someone accused them of it. I think that leaders realize that it's in their best interests for the masses to NOT have critical thinking skills.

37

Lack of education does not = stupid.

by bluecanary in

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[endif] in combatting cult mind control, steve hassan writes:.

in principle, i am against banning cults from college campuses unless they expressly violate rules of conduct that every student organization is expected to follow.

bluecanary

Steve2, I agree that a lot of anti-witness literature is unconvincing. I find that people who have never been witnesses don’t know how to argue against it as effectively as people who’ve been there. If the high schools would even teach critical thinking skills (some probably do; mine didn’t) that would help.

Farkel, I agree with everything you say. I just wanted to draw attention to the distinction between lack of knowledge and lack of ability to have knowledge. There’s a difference between people with little education and people with low intelligence. The former circumstance can be rectified. It’s harder to compensate for the latter.

Parakeet, I see what you’re saying and I didn’t mean it about people using stupid in that sense. This was directed to those comments which are purposefully trying to put people down for believing in the WTS. I was dragged in from early childhood and I bought it. My mother feels stupid for buying it in her early 20s. We both had to be really shaken out of it.

But I did believe it and I think I am a smart person. I always had the best grades in school (ok, my school system sucked, so that’s not saying a lot) and I always considered myself a rational thinker in the b0rg. I told someone once that I was a JW because it was the only religion that made sense to me. Turns out I didn’t have all the information and hadn’t been trained to properly use my reasoning faculties.

Flipper, Amen! That’s exactly what I liked about being a Witness. Having all the answers.

10

Need help with letter on Blood

by wobble in

i am thinking of sending a letter to the ethics committee of the british medical association with reference to their guidance to doctors etc.

and the treatment,or non-treatment of jw's with blood.. it seems to me that they just look at the persons mental ability to make a decision,and then respect it, my argument will be that capability alone is not enough,they need to know that the person has been given enough information to make a reasoned decision.. for instance, if someone refused a treatment on medical grounds,having only heard the negatives about such treatment, and none of the positives, would they feel happy in respecting that persons view?

is it ethical?or should not some attempt be made to educate the person fully,if they reject after that i would say then respecting their decision is ethical.. when it comes to a person rejecting treatment on religious grounds,does not the same rule of ethics apply ?

bluecanary

Wobble, are you suggesting that the decision to not accept blood should be taken out of people's hands or merely that they should be thoroughly informed but still able to make that decision? I'm in favor of the latter.

44

Let's start our own governing body

by bluecanary in

jw
friends

inspired by dt's topic but meant to be entirely humorous.

let's nominate members to our own governing body.

they can each be head of their own department.

bluecanary

Mastodon, you can be head of the dept. of Star Wars only if I can have a personal tie fighter.