Phew. When I saw the topic at first I thought I was found out....
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911]
Posts by JanH
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51Demonic sex
by philo ini'm not being a pervert, really.
i was just wondering whether there was a psychological explanation for why people (women, i think) experience sex, when there's nobody physically there.. there's a lot made of this in dubdom, so i'm thnking there couldbe a connection with the dub 'culture'.. just curious.. philo (honestly, but still a male)
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JanH
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NEW RELIGION! NEED INPUT!
by TR inthis is sort of a take-off of the "what should the wt do" thread.. i need to get together a board of directors and elect a president and officers.
we need to figure out a doctrine, a manifesto, and a set of disciplinary rules.
we need to figure out a way to fund our new movement.
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JanH
vsecret,
I'll be willing to give of myself to the cause no matter what position I'm put in.
Tempting offer...Well, what IS your favourite position?
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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Do JWs think they have a 'religion'?
by Seeker in(rather than continue to allow an existing thread to be hijacked by a different topic, i'm starting this new topic.
it continues an argument between myself and tallyman.
the question is, do jws refer to themselves as having a 'religion' or do they still follow the old rutherford notion of all religions being a 'snare and a racket'.
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JanH
My understanding is that Jehovah's Witnesses are not a religion.
It is totally meaningless to debate whether JWs consider themselves as members of a religion or not before you define what "religion" means.First, define what you think JWs mean when they say "religion", and then you can discuss the question.
It is pretty obvious that if you ask JWs if they are a religion, they will answer "yes". Those who argue they still mean otherwise, will have an explantion problem, IMO.
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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"interfering with a religion"?!
by fodeja inonline scientology critic jailed in canada.
computer engineer keith henson has been arrested in canada,.
where he had planned to file for status as a political refugee after.
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JanH
Seeker,
The JWs are bad, but the Scientologists are far worse.
Indeed. But it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the American legal system is the worst.- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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Society on Documenting Personal Views
by Marvin Shilmer inquestion: does the watchtower society want individual witnesses expressing personal viewpoints about vital religious issues to persons whose intent is to record and document the findings?
the following letter written under the new letterhead from the societys service department documents the answer to this question.
christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses.
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JanH
Patio,
While I agree on all that is said in this thread about WTS basically forbidding personal views, it doesn't differ that much from the government agency that employs me. There are certain people designated to speak to the press.
You're confusing two very different issues. Of course only designated persons can speak authoritatively for the corporation. Naturally, not every 6 million+ JW can speak for the Watchtower Society, neither for the JW religion as a whole. But scholars don't care much about such things. They want individuals to tell them how they personally experience their life as a JW. JWs interviewed will only be expected to tell how they themselves live their lives.So, naturally, you cannot speak for your agency, and even less the state. But you are permitted to speak for yourself. If scholars asked you to tell them if you liked your job, etc, you will certainly be able to do so. If they asked what the agency means about various issues, you could not.
In an authoritarian sect like the JWs, the individual doesn't exist as such. He is merely a tool for the greater Organization. Kill the "old personality" and take on a new one with the suit and tie...
As I said, I did send this around to a few scholars of religion. They found it very amusing and, as I said, extremely naive. "What a mental world!" one said.
It is sad that the WTS thinks its interests are better served by hiding their members' feelings to scholars and the public.
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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Fornication......*blushing*
by d0rkyd00d inas many may know, i'm still a teenager.
i'm not willing to reveal my age, which is one less than 17 or one more than 15. but i just wanted to get your guys' opinion on sex before marriage.
a lot of people here have kinda lost their "watchtower" and biblical standards as i have gathered.
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JanH
Yikes, I can't imagine anyone considering "wait until marriage" a half intelligent answer. Old books may have their places, but for advice about sex, it's hard to imagine any source worse than the Bible.
Who in their right minds would start living with, and even worse, marrying someone before getting to know each other? Sexual incompatibility is a sad discovery after getting married.
Generally, I agree with the other advice here. Sexually transmitted diseases is one concern, pregancy certainly another.
The most important is, I think, what is the right reason for wanting to have sex. Except the obvious, I mean: at your age hormones are raging like hell To not be a virgin anymore, to brag to your mates, are all bad reasons.
The good reasons include having a girlfriend you like being with, and you both develop a strong desire to have sex with each other. When you both want to have sex, that is the right time.
I think this "losing virginity so it has to be all right" concern is mostly a girl thing. Surely, it means a lot at the time to "have done it". But a slightly cumbersome and embarrasing first sexual experience doeasn't really mean much after some time. If you and your partner trust each other, you can have lots of great time together, sexually and otherwise.
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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Homosexuals and Evolution
by patio34 inon monday past, the la times health section had an article on homosexuality, especially the traits visible in young toddlers.
it also delved into possible causes of homosexuality and the latest research and theories.. there was an interesting comment in the article something like "it's a peculiarity in evolution that homosexuality occurs because it precludes procreation.
" in evolution, whoever produces the most offspring are the ones who pass on their genes.
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JanH
Skeptic,
I read that evolutionists believe that homosexuality had/has a survival advantage for the human race as a whole. The male was usually the hunter, and men hunted in groups. Homosexuality helped bond some of these groups together, and so these men worked more effectively together as a unit. Hence, there was a survival advantage to homosexuality. Hence, more of the groups that contained homosexuals survived than those who did not.
Uh oh. This is a a "group selection" argument. Do the math, and you'll see it does not work. If the individual's fitness is reduced by a gene, it does not help one whim if it improves group survival. The gene will still be deleted. Group selection-thinking is not popular among geneticists. If it ever had any role, it is pretty neglible.I also think the theory is a bit speculative. I don't really see how a few gays among a group of male hunter gatherers helps them bond together. It could just as well work the other way.
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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Homosexuals and Evolution
by patio34 inon monday past, the la times health section had an article on homosexuality, especially the traits visible in young toddlers.
it also delved into possible causes of homosexuality and the latest research and theories.. there was an interesting comment in the article something like "it's a peculiarity in evolution that homosexuality occurs because it precludes procreation.
" in evolution, whoever produces the most offspring are the ones who pass on their genes.
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JanH
Abaddon,
Being gay does NOT mean you are less likely to have children, and historically never has, unless you don't want children, and not wanting children has NOTHING to do with being gay or not.
Quite a few gay couples would love to have kids, and if there was less prejudice against the idea of gay parents there would be more.What further proof do you need that homosexuality and having kids are NOT LINKED? Many homosexuals today would love to be parents.
That is obviously true.Also, since many gays are insecure about their preferences, especially in early years, it is no surprise they end up in a relationship with one of the opposite sex, and having children. Hence, they produce offspring.
However, it is still a valid point. If a homosexual is just a tiny bit less likely to produce children, then a so-called "gay gene" would have tended to become less prevalent for each successive generation, resulting in it disappearing alltogether. And I don't think that is such an unlikely idea, considering that for men especially, the sex drive is arguably more important than a desire to have children in actually producing them. Just a tiny bit lower birth rate for offspring of gays would have deleted the "gay gene" long time ago. If this is true, no such thing exists, and that is my position. (I thought of one counter argument: If a gene "for being gay" also had another quality, that might offset this effect.)
I wonder if anyone actually bothered to do research on this question: does gays tend to have more, fewer or as many children as straight people?
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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Society on Documenting Personal Views
by Marvin Shilmer inquestion: does the watchtower society want individual witnesses expressing personal viewpoints about vital religious issues to persons whose intent is to record and document the findings?
the following letter written under the new letterhead from the societys service department documents the answer to this question.
christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses.
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JanH
Thanks for sharing this, Marvin. Good to have you on the board.
What strikes me is the extremely naive ideas the WTS has about how academic researchers will approach the congregations. While it is certainly true that there have been a fair share of lazy people in humanities/social sciences departments, any scholars skilled in sociology or anthropology will easily look through such attempts at presenting glossy magazines instead of hard facts.
I will forward this to a number of people I studied with, and my professor. I am sure this will amuse them greatly
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911] -
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Face/Pyramids on Mars! What do you think?
by qwerty inthe things you look into without the wt cynical mind behind every thought.. [ http://www.geocities.com/area51/6683/cydonia-face.html].
qwerty .
justa surfin!
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JanH
Tally,
The crop circles were pranks. It has been explained. Those two guys started it, many copycats followed. Very simple. Of course UFOlogists can't ever admit being fooled so easily.
I think it is extremely likely that there is life other places in the universe. It is very likely to be intelligent life elsewhere.
If they were here, we should know. If they came, I find it somewhat more likely that organizations like NASA or US Air Force would see them first, and not rednecks from the US midwest.
The UsGivt/NASA coverup theories are just another version of the usual conspiracy nut theories we all heard before.... an American hobby sorta.
- Jan
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Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911]