Posts by dgp

135

Why get "personal" when discussing a topic?

by Terry in

jw
friends

trading insults happens among kids all the time.. intellectual development hasn't progressed to the point where they can present contrary ideas and opinions with persuasive appeal to reasons, facts and logic.. "i know you are; but what am i?".

"your momma's so fat....".

so, they fall back on childish mocking, provocation and personal attack.. as we grow older and have more education and sophistication our minds should mature---or so you'd think!.

dgp

The title of this post - as everyone knows- is "Why get personal when discussing a topic?" Not for the sake of argument, but for the sake of opinion, this question is correct but is somehow missing one point: sometimes you have to get personal if the topic is very dear or affects you personally.

Just to use a very common example, try asking a survivor from a concentration camp not to get personal about the Nazi. It would be very difficult. Even if the person were to constrain personal thoughts to cold analysis, the person would still be personally involved.

Also, some topics outrage people.

Even so, it is absolutely true that we all should at least strive not to resort to name-calling and discuss the matter at hand, not the person.

I am often very much in disagreement with things that are said here regarding politics towards Latin America. I feel that quite often people do not really understand the issue or see it from a simplistic perspective. So I need to be very much aware of what I do myself to avoid the name-calling and the ad-hominem and et cetera.

Incidentally, because of recent political developments in the region where I live, I realize that we Latin Americans are also simplistic in our opinions about events elsewhere in Latin America - or the English-speaking world, for that matter, which, I am afraid, not many of us really understand either.

127

Introducing Mrs Cedars...

by cedars in

jw
friends

i just thought you should know that mrs cedars has finally taken the plunge and joined the forum.

she was able to log on for the first time yesterday.. though we both "awakened" at different stages, mrs cedars was very supportive and non-judgmental when i first began exploring my beliefs from a critical standpoint.

she is currently in the process of reading crisis of conscience and aquainting herself with some of the facts of witness history that were hitherto unknown.

dgp

Welcome, Mrs. Cedars.

There's a place for you at our common table.

15

The Invisible Victims of Cults - Video

by Lady Lee in

at the icsa conference in montreal jult 4-7 i gave a presentation based on some of the responses to questions i asked on the following threads.. if you are dating or married to a jw: a few questions .

if you and your spouse were both jws but you decided to leave: a few questions .

if you were raised in a home with a jw parent and a non-jw parent: a few questions .

dgp

I can only give an opinion regarding the first group. I find your statements absolutely correct.

38

EARTHSHAKING events will soon occur!

by dgp in

hey!

i just read the watchtower for september 15 and learned that.

momentous events are soon to take place.. .

dgp

How fitting it would be for Christians not to buy a home:

Under Kingdom rule, the desire of
every resident to have his own home
will be fulfilled, for it was prophesied
through Isaiah: “They will certainly
build houses and have occupancy; and
they will certainly plant vineyards and
eat their fruitage.” (Isa. 65:21) Yet, hav-
ing a home of their own is not the only
prospect. After all, some today live in
their own home, a few even in a man-
sion or on a grand estate. But there is al-
ways the worry that the home can be
lost through some financial reverses or
that burglars—or worse—will break in.
How different everything will be un-
der Kingdom rule! The prophet Micah
wrote: “They will actually sit, each one
under his vine and under his fig tree,
and there will be no one making them
tremble.”—Mic. 4:4.

6 With that wonderful prospect in
mind, what should we do? Of course,
all of us need adequate housing. None-
theless, rather than striving to acquire
that dream house now—perhaps going
heavily into debt to do so—would it not
be wise for us to focus on Jehovah’s
promise? Recall what Jesus said of him-
self:“Foxes have dens and birds of heav-
en have roosts, but the Son of man has
nowhere to lay down his head.”(Luke 9:
58) Jesus had the ability and the pow-
er to build or acquire the best house
anyone could possibly have. Why did
he not do so? Clearly, Jesus wanted to
avoid any distraction and entanglement
that would prevent him from putting
the Kingdom first. Can we follow his
example and keep our eye simple—free
of materialistic entanglement and anxi-
ety?

38

EARTHSHAKING events will soon occur!

by dgp in

hey!

i just read the watchtower for september 15 and learned that.

momentous events are soon to take place.. .

dgp

Hey! I just read the Watchtower for September 15 and learned that

Momentous events are soon to take place.

EARTHSHAKING events will soon occur. The fulfillment of Bible prophecies confirms this fact, so we need to keep on the watch.

I'm joining before it's too late!

30

Where does free will end?

by jgnat in

our rights, our justice system, and democracy depends on the concept that we have free will.

this extends all the way to those of us who spurn convention to live an off-beat life.

our constitution (us), charter of rights (canada), do not enshrine convention, they enshrine freedom.

dgp

I'm glad to know that, JGNat. I certainly love it. I think it's one of the books I wouldn't ever want to lose.

29

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 07-08-2012 WT Study (GIFT MARRIAGE)

by blondie in

jw
friends

do you plan to apply in your life?.

the world book encyclopedia: a man and woman.

jw parents are allowed to request a bride price for their daughters..... .

dgp

Jake: Nope, no uneven yoke for her. She married in the Lord. I honestly hope he is a good man.

JGNat: I wouldn't know. I didn't read anything beyond the title. Her biological sister asked me to read something on the web, so I came upon it, and then the witness gave it to me. I sort of thought I could get to know something about her way of thinking, but since things didn't work out.... No, I didn't read it.

6

would many witnesses die if the blood banks ran dry?.....yes!

by Witness 007 in

dgp

...

29

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 07-08-2012 WT Study (GIFT MARRIAGE)

by blondie in

jw
friends

do you plan to apply in your life?.

the world book encyclopedia: a man and woman.

jw parents are allowed to request a bride price for their daughters..... .

dgp

JakeM2012: I laughed when I saw your post. I received that book from the female witness I was interested in. I didn't read one page. It's somewhere at home, collecting dust.

The elder in question was like 18 years my junior. Sorry, but - perhaps unfairly - I didn't think he could teach me anything. Particularly since he was single and the Watchtowerily Correct thing to do was to think he had never had sex before.

30

Where does free will end?

by jgnat in

our rights, our justice system, and democracy depends on the concept that we have free will.

this extends all the way to those of us who spurn convention to live an off-beat life.

our constitution (us), charter of rights (canada), do not enshrine convention, they enshrine freedom.

dgp

So where do high-control groups come in to this? At what point is a person's freedom to choose overriden? Does the same coercive techniques work on everyone? If we are so easily manipulated, must we revisit the foundation of our institutions? Must we be protected from ourselves?

If I'm not mistaken, in one of his books, Steven Hassan states that the problem with cults is that they make you believe things. You are free to believe that Sung Myun Moon is "Father"; but the key point is that you must not be manipulated into believing that. This is a hard point to make to a legislator or a member of any government. I have the feeling that some people would not be able to grasp its true meaning. At least where I live.

I wouldn't like anyone to protect me from myself. I know I am often bad, but I think my "protector" would quickly take control of me.

If so, who would be the arbiter of good association over bad? Would our society end up being constrained by convention rather than by freedom?

I would not define this in terms of good or bad "association". You should be free to associate with anyone you chose. The point is what is right and what is wrong.

For better or worse, the members of Parliament would end up being those who say what is right and what is wrong. There should always be someone free to disagree with them and perfect what they did. They should make laws in the clear understanding that very likely they are wrong.