Mad Sweeney

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Posts by Mad Sweeney

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  159

  CHOICE may be a mere illusion. FREE WILL a trick of the mind's ego

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  things are what they are.. everything acts according to its nature.. nothing escapes its own nature.. we cannot be other than what we are and our "choices" follow our nature.. consequently, can we not say correctly that free choice is merely our ignorance of the fact that all our actions and choices are predetermined by our nature?.

  1. if you are offered either a handful of dog poop or a cold dove bar---is your "choice" really much of a choice?

  2. offer a heterosexual male a night with a hot chick or a hot dude...is the outcome really "choice"?

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  Mad Sweeney

  If we FULLY KNEW everything that makes us tick, would we not see our day to day activity (except in the case of accidents) as foreordained to certain extent?

  Putting it that way (use of terms such as "if" and "to certain extent" and "would we not see"), yes, absolutely.

  But decisions are based on probabilities more than absolutes. There may have been a 98% chance that I'd wear the clothes I'm wearing today, but if so, there was always that 2% chance that I'd have somehow ended up wearing something else. I believe there are currents in the universe that we flow along with for the most part, but there are always those black swan events that make life interesting.

  And speaking of making life interesting, if the premise is correct that there is barely any free will, if any at all, wouldn't that make the "ignorance is bliss" cliche' appropriate? Isn't it the fact, then, that we DON'T know what's going to happen, that makes life interesting for many?
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  15

  Sociology of the Cult Family

  by bluecanary in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is the first draft of a project i'm working on for my sociology of the family class.

  thought you guys might enjoy reading it.

  i would like to credit quentin for the jc image.

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  Mad Sweeney

  What level is this class at? If it is a senior level or higher (graduate or postgraduate), then the use of humor is probably not going to help your grade (though it is well appreciated here! ). If it is an underclassman level course, and you don't think the teacher will have a problem with some injected humor, then go for it.

  One thing I would nitpick about is when you state that probably 75% of dubs don't know about the mediator doctrine, I wouldn't use the number 75%. I'd change it to the word "most.

  I'll read it more closely when I have time and post some more feedback if I can.
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  35

  What would you do if this site was shut down?

  by dissed in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  although, unlikely, but what if jwn was shut down?

  you came here and you got a message like....."the wts has seized this site".

  where would you go for solid jw information and support?.

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  Mad Sweeney

  I would post on jehovahswitnessrecovery.org a lot more. Moxie rocks!
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  31

  What I've found here

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i originally came here to find proof that the witnesses don't have the truth.

  i was so afraid of being destroyed at armagedon.. i didn't really find the convincing proof i was looking for.. what i did find, however, is the love and total acceptance that i hadn't felt before.

  to me, that's more important..

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  Mad Sweeney

  "But it's coming SOON!"
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  14

  Amazes me how elders act.....

  by LoriJis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  most of you know that my husband (iron hill) and i have been trying to do the fade from the witnesses....here's the update!

  my husband's ex wife who is disfellowshipped decides all of a sudden that she wants to get reinstated - i guess cuz we decided not to go anymore - and the guilt of their daughters dying in armageddon is killing her.

  but anyway, she asked us if we would be ok with her coming and taking the girls to the meetings on the weekends that are ours.....my husband denied.

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  Mad Sweeney

  It shouldn't be surprising but it still shocks me, too, to see how the congregation really works.
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  31

  What I've found here

  by paul from cleveland in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i originally came here to find proof that the witnesses don't have the truth.

  i was so afraid of being destroyed at armagedon.. i didn't really find the convincing proof i was looking for.. what i did find, however, is the love and total acceptance that i hadn't felt before.

  to me, that's more important..

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  Mad Sweeney

  You may not have found the proof here but surely you've found great suggestions on where to find it. Any of Terry or Leolaia's posts, jwfacts.com, Ray Franz's books, and the list goes on.

  This forum is more for discussion ABOUT those proofs, as well as support and camaraderie, than it is about distributing those proofs.

  And yes, the support and camaraderie are as important, if not more so, than the intellectual proofs. You really only need the intellectual proofs if you plan to use them to help explain to others. Otherwise, it is good enough to just KNOW that the WT is a con that has outlived its original artists without needing to be able to explain why.
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  34

  Robert King

  by PublishingCult in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  greetings, this is my first post here on jwn .

  i came across mr. king's youtube channel, ewatchamacallitman.com, and i was speechless and ill at the same time.. .

  i went to his website and tried to do some reading, but my head started hurting and my vision blurred.

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  Mad Sweeney

  I'm not sure about the percentage, to be honest, because it's kind of a fuzzy area and "letting go" and "moving on" are similar but not exactly synonymous. But reading some of his stuff, it doesn't look like he's let go of a lot of the WT doctrine and since he's still "hanging on" to some, he hasn't "let go" of it. That's my take. It's just a matter of opinion anyway. No big deal.
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  30

  Introducing myself

  by crazy2try in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi all, i am new to the forum and recently left the witnesses.

  i was excited to see this site and enjoyed reading a lot of the posts.

  it is nice to read so many of the same thoughts and feelings that i have had over the years.

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  Mad Sweeney

  Welcome to both of you, crazy2try and beccaslife.

  beccaslife, do not worry about the things your JW family say. They're indoctrinated to say those things; it isn't their fault. They are trained to use guilt, fear, and threats to coerce people. "God (who is the personification of love) is going to kill your kids." They can say such things with a straight face and not ever think once of how impossible that statement is, let alone blasphemous to god and hateful toward you.

  There's a lot of good support here. Also check out all the other great sites on the net (are we allowed to post links?): jwrecovery magazine, Jehovah's Witnese Recovery, freeminds, jwfacts, and many more, including some excellent youtubes. Just google.
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  4

  I should be in hospital this thursday

  by finallysomepride in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  but i won't be, the brisbane hospital called to say that they were postponing until 22 april, what a bummer these kidney stones are a real pain in the....

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  Mad Sweeney

  They're making you wait over a month with kidney stones? In the US, my dad had kidney stones, went to the emergency room and they took care of it that same day. Sorry you're having to suffer.

  At least you don't need to hear, "don't worry, the new system is coming soon," or "why don't you come out in service with me tomorrow; it will get your mind off of it."

  We're thinking of you. Hope they can at least prescribe somthing for the pain.
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  87

  Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 03-21-10 WT Study (REAL CHRISTIANS)

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  christ's true followers (5).

  true christians (3).

  (matt.

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  Mad Sweeney

  1- Jesus told all how to identify those truly following him ( "fruitage"}

  Which is completely misrepresented in the VERY FIRST SENTENCE of the article RENDERING ANY AND ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WORTHLESS BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON THE INITIAL LIE.

  I explained it in a post above. Apparently you either didn't read it or chose to ignore it.

  By the way, what is a supposedly faithful JW like yourself doing disobeying the organization by coming to a site like this? Disobeying, that's what.