Posts by JeffT

42

My dog just died.

by panhandlegirl in

i just buried my beloved poddle, little brother.

he died suddenly.

i know to most people that is not an important event.

JeffT

I am sorry to hear this. Losing a dog can be rough, I've been through it a couple of times.

5

Cartoon -- conditions of membership

by FatFreek 2005 in

yes, it's a cartoon, but it's not actually funny.. .

the text not suit you?

here's a blank drawing you can use to brew your own.. .

JeffT

I'm too lazy to photoshop the dialog bubble.

"Now that you're baptized kid, the Mickey Mouse ears have to go, they're Satanic."

11

states he is a jehovah's witness near the end of the article.. .. http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/education/2014/12/02/green-helped-shape-ui-public-safety-police-force/19798329/?utm_source=jw+news+and+archive&utm_campaign=47e569bee3-rss_email_campaign&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5caf9e1836-47e569bee3-29185349&ct=t(rss_email_campaign ).

.. .. atlantis.

.

JeffT

I seem to remember that JW's could not take a job that required carryin gun, but its been a long time (I was in 1973-1987). My recollection is that you could be DF'd if it caused a probllem in the congregation. Now here this guy is advocating to public officials that his employees should be armed. I suspect he's the guy that they point to when they want to show people how normal they are. That may change when he's no longer that guy.

13

The tale of Angelo and Dan! Have you heard this one??

by DATA-DOG in

long story, short; angelo was bad, he went to prison.

dan was bad, he went to prison too.

dan became a dub and studied with angelo.

JeffT

People in prison get religion quickly, most of them lose it shortly after they get out and don't need it anymore to convince the parole board that they've rehabilitated themselves.

551

Officer Wilson not indicted in killing of Michael Brown

by Simon in

after a thorough investigation and weighing of the evidence the grand jury has decided not to indict the officer.. the reaction so far seems as predicted - people refuse to accept that the result represents justice despite claims that is what they wanted.. there is now violence and vandalism, including gunshots.

let's hope the police contain the troublemakers.. .

JeffT

Local elections are where things start.

Nobody studies basic civics in this country anymore. The town/city and county councils have far more impact on our day to day lives than people in Washington DC. Looking at election turnouts and voting patterns it seems that people don't understand that. I heard a lot of lamentation about voter turnout in off year elections, and how the Democrats have trouble getting the base to turn out. They need to educate their base if that's true.

This attitude has a direct effect on the lack of viable third parties. Everybody's idea of getting a third party going seems to be to run somebody for President, who promptly loses because nobody's heard of him/her. This needs to start at the local level and cook for ten or twenty years before it can become a national movement.

2

50136 words in 29 days

by JeffT in

jw
friends

just finished a science fiction piece for this years nanowrimo.

i'm tired..

JeffT

Yeah, its a heavy time commitment. But I'm retired, the closest thing to a job is watching over my mother's caregivers. When I get my brain cleared out a little (maybe tomorrow) I'll post a little more about the book.

2

50136 words in 29 days

by JeffT in

jw
friends

just finished a science fiction piece for this years nanowrimo.

i'm tired..

JeffT

Just finished a science fiction piece for this years NaNoWriMo. I'm tired.

3

Greatest College Football Day

by DisArmed in

i don't read too much about sports on the forum.

one of the great things about being out of wally world is enjoying sports without judgement.

i love college football and this, to me is the greatest college football day!

JeffT

Washington State vs Washington is tonight. Great cross-state rivalry, additional fuel on the fire provided by the fact that I went to WSU and two of my three children have degrees from UW, and the third is probably going there next year.

24

do other religions change doctrines like the wt society does?

by sowhatnow in

i just wondered.

i mean ok, the catholic church seems to make 'adjustments' more or less , by accepting previously held prejudices.

against certain things, like gays, or birth control, or rather tolerate it more, but is that a genuine change of doctrine?.

JeffT

Most of those 40K denominations do not disagree on doctrinal matters. The biggest differences concern church governance and style of worship service. It is not uncommon these days for people to switch churches. Doing so does not involve learning new doctrine, mostly people make the decision based on the location of the church and whether or not they like the lead pastor and music.

24

do other religions change doctrines like the wt society does?

by sowhatnow in

i just wondered.

i mean ok, the catholic church seems to make 'adjustments' more or less , by accepting previously held prejudices.

against certain things, like gays, or birth control, or rather tolerate it more, but is that a genuine change of doctrine?.

JeffT

One thing to keep in mind is the difference between doctrine, personal belief, and tradition. The mainstream churches I've attended or studied make clear distinctions between these things.

Doctrine defines really important matters; the nature of God and Christ, salvation, etc. The church I attended for the longest time had cards set out for newcomers to take home with contact numbers and the beliefs to the church on it. The whole thing was the size of a post card.

Mainstream churches generally allow a lot of lattitude for personal beliefs, and recognize that a lot of things they do are "tradition" which is a big word for "we like to do it this way."

The problem JW's have is that their hierarchial system does not allow any room for anything not handed down from on high. Everybody has to think the same way about everything, whether its the nature of God or when its OK to get up and go to the bathroom. They are also incapable of admitting that they made a mistake, which means that everything has to be "new light." Combine that with an organizational structure that encourages elders to throw their weight around and you have constantly changing beliefs, all of which are strictly enforced.