agonus

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Posts by agonus

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  28

  What Do You Wish You Had Again From The Good Old Days?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wish i could go back to the days when gas was a cheap 26 cents per gallon and people didn't have to lock their doors at night.. is there anything you miss about the good old days?

  ?.

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  agonus

  I'm with OC on this one. "Of all the things I've lost... I miss my mind the most."
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  46

  Apostates Shut the door of everlasting life in Men's Faces

  by mankkeli in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was discussing with an elder today, and as usual the conversation drifted towards apostates and their line of reasoning, he angrily looked into my eyes with the scriptures in his hand and told me:.

  (1) that apostates are destructive peddlers who shut the door of everlasting life on people as they are very sure they have no portion in there.

  he quoted matt 23:13- 13 woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!

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  agonus

  IIRC, the scribes and Pharisees were pretty suspicious of "apostates" as well, particularly that one Jewish carpenter whose name eludes me at the moment...

  How can "apostates" shut the door to everlasting life when only God has the power to open or close it in the first place?

  Where we spend eternity is not our call to make. Only the Almighty can give that gift, and only the Almighty can take it away.

  Religions can f--- you up pretty bad in THIS life, however...
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  150

  How many people watched "The Princess and the Frog?"

  by garyneal in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  how many christians?.

  how many jehovah's witnesses?.

  what do you all think of it?.

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  agonus

  For Witnesses, the struggle of "Good vs Evil" has always been a virtual approximation of "Us vs. Them", though of course they don't view it that way.

  For me, the bottom line of the religion has long since ceased to be an issue of good vs. evil and has devolved into simple "compliance vs. non-compliance". Even as Holocaust survivors, the enormity of a Holocaust-level good vs. evil morailty issue has been reduced BY the WT for them to a simple "Jehovah's sovereignty" formula.

  But, you know, if pat answers to complex issues work for you, then the org is where to turn for sure.

  Didn't turn out so well for most of us here, I think.
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  17

  YouTube: Ask Sam Harris Anything #2

  by leavingwt in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qx_d4tdmz0.

  the full video is an hour long.

  specific topics are found at the times below.

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  agonus

  I don't think I'll ever be fully comfortable telling my kids (or anyone else for that matter) what happens when we die for sure, until I'm fully convinced that I either am or have been actually deceased. Maybe one day I'll have a(n) NDA scenario where I'm declared clinically dead then come back to life, then I'll relate any details I can recall. Until then I have to admit I simply don't know with any degree of certainty.

  But I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that it's impossible that there is nothing beyond this current material existence. I mean, against all odds and reason, we're here NOW... aren't we?

  Who's to say it can't happen again in some form or another? Not me.

  Until then, I try to remain open to possibilities. Call it cautious optimism.

  I mean, heck, why not?
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  150

  How many people watched "The Princess and the Frog?"

  by garyneal in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  how many christians?.

  how many jehovah's witnesses?.

  what do you all think of it?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  agonus

  I would have to concur that the Crescent City may not have been the best choice of locales.
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  17

  YouTube: Ask Sam Harris Anything #2

  by leavingwt in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qx_d4tdmz0.

  the full video is an hour long.

  specific topics are found at the times below.

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  agonus

  Why, then, does the scientific community tend to be somewhat hostile and dismissive toward the acknowledged "unknown", i.e. anything remotely paranormal? Isn't that stuff usually pretty hastily dismissed by Randi types? And I'm not talking about "God" necessarily.
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  61

  Is There ANY Religion That You Would Feel Comfortable Being A Member Of?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know that most of us here despise the witness religion.

  are you soured on all all religions?.

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  agonus

  The thing about "Atheistic Satanism" is, if you want to get rid of superstition and false notions, why invoke the name of "Satan" in the first place, any more than "God", "Jesus", "Jehovah", "Christ", etc.? I mean, why attach yourself to that mode of thinking if there's no supernatural being(s) and the Bible is bunk? Just call yourselves "atheists" and be done with it. And I'm sorry, but the Baphomet sigil still looks, I dunno, creepy, even if it don't mean nuthin'. Why not a nice smiley face or something instead of the whole angry-goat-in-a-circle thing? Actually, smiley faces can be a little creepy too... OK, then, how about The Atheistic Church of Humanity, with a little stick person. There you go. And I'm still not big into vengeance. Justice, sure. Vengeance? No, not really. Still has a bit of a taste of barbarism, IMHO, which they claim to be against. And doesn't the whole philosophy smack of "solipsism"? You know, the whole self-interest/Objectivist... er...

  ...yeah, you're right, just start the First Church of Agonus and call it a day. I need to take my meds and get some sleep.
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  41

  Article-"News analysis: Inside the Brooklyn Bridge Park deal" - “The Jehovah’s Witnesses have been the immense beneficiaries”

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/32/dtg_bridgeparkdealmain_2011_08_12_bk.html.

  august 11, 2011 news analysis: inside the brooklyn bridge park dealby kate briqueletthe brooklyn paper its the billion-dollar boondoggle!the jehovahs witnesses are poised to make out like moneylenders in the temple under the just-signed deal that allows the city to fund brooklyn bridge parks annual upkeep with tax revenues from the groups properties, a brooklyn paper analysis reveals.. the deal calls for the watchtower bible and tract societys holdings in brooklyn heights and dumbo to be rezoned for residential use a change that real-estate experts believe will send the value of the societys properties well north of $1 billion.. if they put them on the market now, theyll be sold very quickly, said downtown real-estate broker chris havens.. the deal between mayor bloomberg and state officials will reduce the amount of luxury condos inside brooklyn bridge park by capturing property taxes from the watchtower properties after they are sold.

  the money will be diverted from the city general fund to pay for maintaining the world-class park at the foot of two wealthy neighborhoods and that has green advocates seeing red.. tax money is supposed to go into the citys general fund and its being diverted to one park, said geoffrey croft, founder of watchdog group new york city park advocates.

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  agonus

  By the way, the thread title is a bit misleading. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society are the immense beneficiaries. Jehovah's Witnesses are the ones who lose out the most. As always.
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  41

  Article-"News analysis: Inside the Brooklyn Bridge Park deal" - “The Jehovah’s Witnesses have been the immense beneficiaries”

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/32/dtg_bridgeparkdealmain_2011_08_12_bk.html.

  august 11, 2011 news analysis: inside the brooklyn bridge park dealby kate briqueletthe brooklyn paper its the billion-dollar boondoggle!the jehovahs witnesses are poised to make out like moneylenders in the temple under the just-signed deal that allows the city to fund brooklyn bridge parks annual upkeep with tax revenues from the groups properties, a brooklyn paper analysis reveals.. the deal calls for the watchtower bible and tract societys holdings in brooklyn heights and dumbo to be rezoned for residential use a change that real-estate experts believe will send the value of the societys properties well north of $1 billion.. if they put them on the market now, theyll be sold very quickly, said downtown real-estate broker chris havens.. the deal between mayor bloomberg and state officials will reduce the amount of luxury condos inside brooklyn bridge park by capturing property taxes from the watchtower properties after they are sold.

  the money will be diverted from the city general fund to pay for maintaining the world-class park at the foot of two wealthy neighborhoods and that has green advocates seeing red.. tax money is supposed to go into the citys general fund and its being diverted to one park, said geoffrey croft, founder of watchdog group new york city park advocates.

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  agonus

  Nah, just divvy up the $1 billion amongst the main source of growth, the few thousand preteens that got dunked this year, and put it into a college fund for each of them. That should be at least enough for each of them to get an Ivy League education, right? Who knows, maybe one could become a Rhodes Scholar candidate and potentially the next Fred Franz.
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  150

  How many people watched "The Princess and the Frog?"

  by garyneal in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  how many christians?.

  how many jehovah's witnesses?.

  what do you all think of it?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  agonus

  The characterization of guys with green skin was a little stereotypical, I have to admit.

  Ribbit.