Posts by GLTirebiter

83

Russell's Pyramidology Originated In Edinburgh Scotland

by cofty in

the edinburgh city observatory sits atop calton hill at the east end of the city centre adjacent to burn's monument, scotland's national monument modelled on the parthenon, and nelson's monument with the time ball that falls at 1pm every day except sundays.. .

the second astronomer royal of edinburgh was charles piazzi smyth (jan. 1819 - feb. 1900).

smyth was a man of many and varied interests including meteorology, producing weather observations that still form an important part of uk climate records to this day.. building on the work of james taylor, smyth became fascinated by the great pyramid of egypt at giza.

GLTirebiter

Russell's dabbling with Pyramidology attracted some attention from a well-known writer. Martin Gardner discusses how cherry-picking the relationships and fudging the measurements ("pyramid inches") can manufacture amazing coincidences at will, how Russel borrowed liberally from Smythe (and further fudged the data to predict 1874, then fudged it again to arrive at 1914).

"Judge J. F. Rutherford, who succeeded Russell after the pastor died in 1916, eventually discarded Pyramidology entirely. Writing in the November 15 and December 1, 1928 issues of The Watchtower and Herald, Rutherford delivered a double-barreled blast against it, and advances many ingenious arguments that the so-called Altar in Egypt was really inspired by Satan for the purpose of misleading the faithful... The sect now discourages the sale and reading of Russell's writings, and although the members still believe the Millennium is about to dawn, no definite dates are set."
"The ability of the mind to fool itself by an unconscious "fudging" on the facts--an overemphasis here and an underemphasis there--is far greater than most people realize. The literature of Pyramidology stands as a permanent and pathetic tribute to that ability."

[NB: originally published in 1952, long before the "Stay alive 'til 75" frenzy]

-- Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (second edition: 1957), Martin Gardner, Dover Publications, p. 182

18

Day One Lowlights

by FedUpJW in

too much crap to keep track of, but a few low lights of day one of the regional convention stuck out.

in no particular time sequence here is some of what i managed to hold down.. tight pants yapped on in the opening part about a three part theme to conventions.

part 1 was in 2016, part 2 is this year, and part 3 is in the works for 2018. i guess the big a isn't coming for a couple more years, at least.. then it was really stressed that all good dubs must always be prepared to "witness" by carrying jay double you, dot org calling cards, and of course wear your id card for the convention at all times, and all places.. next was the strong statement that the purpose of the carts/trolleys is not to place literature, it is to direct people of the public to "our" web site!

GLTirebiter

Then there was another hair-brained illustration about running a race in the Death Valley area of the United States. 14,000 feet elevation change, 116 degree heat. What if you knew you were no good at running that elevation or that heat? Well of course you would run harder so that it would get easier!

It shows they may have heard about the race, but didn't spend ten minutes looking it up and describe it accurately. If you haven't proven yourself able to handle extreme ultra-marathon races, you won't be there (it's an invitation-only event, for good reason). If you did what they describe, pushing hard under the desert sun, you'd be meeting your maker (which is why the Park Service requires the race to start after dusk). They may be crazy to do it, but not suicidal!

52

Gas or Electric Stove

by just fine in

jw
friends

i am getting new appliances.

i have decided on black stainless for the finish.

the house is stubbed for gas and electric for the range.

GLTirebiter

If you have the outside vent and plumbing (or are willing to pay to install them), gas. If not, and the wiring is already in place, electric. Gas needs an outside exhaust vent for safety. And if your gas is propane instead of natural gas, it also needs a floor level vent (because propane sinks--it is heavier than air).

24

If you had the means to kill a terrorist before he detonated would you ?

by Chook in

i mean blow their fucking brains out..

GLTirebiter

I would double tap a head shot.

Yes, especially because the torso may be protected with body armor. Or a thick layer of plastique. Proportionate defense of innocent lives (using force as necessary to end the threat, while not succumbing to rage) is both legitimate and morally demanded of those with the opportunity and means to do so.

19

One of the most defining thing that made me question JW church after 27 years was seeing the funeral discourse outline.

by Chook in

it gave the poor bastard who past away no respect, hardly mentioned anything about the deceased.

yet hijacked the event with cult propaganda..

GLTirebiter

The year was 2009. The funeral was for the brother-in-law of my wife's friend. I recall that the elder recited the same obituary I read in the morning paper, word for word and in a near monotone, followed by the Official Standard Funeral Talk. It was as if the elder had never seen the obituary before reading it, let alone that he (presumably) knew and ministered to the person he was talking about. I felt very sad for the brother and sister-in-law of the deceased, because that so-called "Service" (pun intended) showed such disrespect for the dead and his surviving family.

19

FYI: "Leah Remini's Anti-Scientology Documentary on A&E is scorching." Airs Tuesday the 29th, etc.

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

leah remini’s anti-scientology doc: former celeb wrangler admits how tom cruise was “surrounded” and isolated.

http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/11/23/leah-reminis-anti-scientology-doc-former-celeb-wrangler-admits-how-tom-cruise-was-surrounded-and-isolated.

"leah remini’s anti-scientology documentary on a&e is scorching.

GLTirebiter

Why is it that the other cults get so much more air time than the JWs

In the particular case of Dianetics/Scientology, it is because they deliberately seek it out. The Church of Scientology ran paid ads and has their high-profile celebrity converts on the talk show circuit speak up about being Scientologists. Celebrity Witnesses are encouraged to be humble (to some extent, at least); recall the reports that Prince wore disguises when going out in field service.

Compare the number of Average Joe Citizens who know that Travolta, Cruise, Alley, etc. are Scientologists to the number who know that Prince, Michael Jackson, and the Williams sisters were/are Witnesses. Prince was a member of WTBTS, while Cruise is a spokesman for Scientology.

Another possibility is that compared to Scientology, Unification Church, FLDS, Westboro Baptist, Jonestown, Branch Davidians, Heaven's gate, etc. the Witnesses just don't produce many juicy headlines for the tabloid news. Frankly, they are rather boring to outsiders.

15

Elder "D": Catholics No Longer Believe in a Trinity

by Saename in

so in this topic, i mentioned i had a conversation with an elder "d." this elder said that the catholic church admitted the trinity is unscriptural.

i'm pretty sure this is not true.

the doctrine of trinity is the most fundamental belief in the catholic church.

GLTirebiter

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the doctrine of the trinity remains "the central mystery of Christian faith and life." For those who prefer to not click links to the Vatican web site:

232 Christians are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son and the Spirit: "I do." "The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity."
233 Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names, for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity.
234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin".

52

last convention before global attack on witnesses

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

so it's not enough that i'm dealing with post traumatic stress/anxiety and panic attacks all related to my life as a jw (50 years baptized -- i stopped going a couple of months ago) at 3 a.m. i get an email from the other side of the world.

'you have to go to the convention.

bro sanderson says we must watch the news, things are happening.

GLTirebiter

It`s like the Cher "Farewell Tour" on Steroids..

I was thinking more like Keith Richards...there is no good reason either he or the WTBTS should have survived so much self-inflicted damage!

22

I have a theory related to the cult spectrum

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

translating jwfacts into spanish has made me critically analyze pretty much everything paul has written.

i would say paul is right 90%+ of the time.

some things are just things that are outdated, on other occasions, things are partially right and just need to be tweaked.anyhow... one of the articles is "where else would i go"?since i am an atheist, ideally, for me, the answer would be "become at least agnostic, if not atheist, and lead an evidence-based life".

GLTirebiter

Check out the Worldwide Church of God...

That is an unusual case. Their reformation came about when Armstrong's prophecies did not come to pass, and his successors did considerable soul-searching (if you will pardon the pun) and re-assessed their doctrine. They are now a more typical evangelical sect. If they can do it, there may be a glimmer of hope that even the WTBTS could reform itself. Long odds, but it could happen.

Your four-quadrant graph left out the Orthodox churches, who would be far in the upper right corner--more Catholic than the Catholics, so to speak.

41

Want to read a surprising comment/complaint posted on my website about JW's encouraged not to have kids. Who would have thought!

by AndersonsInfo in

http://watchtowerdocuments.org/did-you-know-having-children/#comment-474.

here's the short article found in the "did you know?

" series found on watchtower documents, and, underneath it, is the unusual comment:.

GLTirebiter

If they keep this up, they could go the way of the Shakers: down to a small handful of members, because they believe they must be celibate. Between the lack of born-ins and the ramifications of becoming a convert, it's no wonder they have virtually vanished.