Posts by cofty

33

I'll be speaking at Columbia University next weekend, meetup to follow....

by dubstepped in

so i'll be speaking on a panel as part of the "when rights and religions collide" event next saturday, october 19. if you'd like to attend you can learn more here:https://rightsandreligions.com/.

i'm also going to host a meetup on sunday if any of you are in the nyc area.

i'm still putting the finishing touches on the details but if you'd like to join in and meet myself, my wife, and a few people that listen to the shunned podcast or that are in my facebook group called by the same name shoot me a private message soon.

cofty

I look forward to hearing how it goes.

I also find the similarities with other high-control groups to be fascinating. I am drawn to books by apostates from all sorts of groups.

Good luck with the event and the meet-up.

7

The apostat.es are coming!

by Simon in

forum
links

the new site at www.apostat.es will provide a few free tools to help us reach out to the jehovah's witnesses we still care about.

podcasts can be hosted for free, as can blogs and articles.

you can create your own store to sell your apostate tee shirts, posters calendars etc.. it will show jw's that apostates are normal, healthy folks who simply changed their minds about their former beliefs.

cofty

Thanks for the update. Look forward to seeing it launched.

51

“You know how I know that they're finished out there? The carts.”

by Athanasius in

jw
friends

the watchtower's many legal problems and the jws' use of carts in their preaching work, reminded me of a scene and dialog from the film patton.. in a scene where patton is viewing a battle site the morning after, he says to an aide about the nazis: “you know how i know that they're finished out there?

in my dreams i saw the carts.

they kept buzzing around in my head and i couldn't figure out why.

cofty

PP - I aware of no indications that the WT is moving from cult to mainstream denomination. I do see many signs of the opposite.

The constant ratcheting up of rhetoric about future atacks by security services and armed police is a blatant example.

There is no doubt in my mind that they are heading further along the cult spectrum.

51

“You know how I know that they're finished out there? The carts.”

by Athanasius in

jw
friends

the watchtower's many legal problems and the jws' use of carts in their preaching work, reminded me of a scene and dialog from the film patton.. in a scene where patton is viewing a battle site the morning after, he says to an aide about the nazis: “you know how i know that they're finished out there?

in my dreams i saw the carts.

they kept buzzing around in my head and i couldn't figure out why.

cofty

They will never make the transition from cult to mainstream - if minor - christian denomination as long as they retain the prohibition on blood and the practice of shunning.

If they relax shunning, apostasy will escalate massively.

I think it is more likely they will retreat into an even more hard-line, 'Us verses Them' mentality.

39

Candace Owens interviews Douglas Murray

by LoveUniHateExams in

yeah, so the candace owens show is apparently in london and douglas murray is the person interviewed.. they cover a range of topics that are current and connected to murray's new book (the madness of crowds: gender, race and identity).. i've not got his new book but it seems to be good.

owens and murray both make good points and it's a joy to listen to them together.. enjoy .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4o9yqrby9q.

cofty

if you're an apologist then you'll only be able to point out one of them is worse than the other

It is a mystery why communism gets a free-pass for its sins. I saw a man stood at a table in Princes Street Edinburgh below a Soviet flag, handing out communist propaganda.

Between them Stalin and Mao murdered tens of millions of their own people. Their crimes are astonishing in scale and depravity.

If the man had been stood beneath a swastika he would no doubt have been berated by every passer-by. But I was the only person who stopped to tell the communist apologist what a prick he was.

With the complete failure of communism there was a need to redefine the struggle. The proletariat did not rise up against the bourgeoisie - it joined it. Identity politics is the race to find new imaginary enemies.

39

Candace Owens interviews Douglas Murray

by LoveUniHateExams in

yeah, so the candace owens show is apparently in london and douglas murray is the person interviewed.. they cover a range of topics that are current and connected to murray's new book (the madness of crowds: gender, race and identity).. i've not got his new book but it seems to be good.

owens and murray both make good points and it's a joy to listen to them together.. enjoy .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4o9yqrby9q.

cofty

It's not about changing the definitions of words. That is trivial.

It's about the denial of objective realities.

Postmodernism is a disease.

39

Candace Owens interviews Douglas Murray

by LoveUniHateExams in

yeah, so the candace owens show is apparently in london and douglas murray is the person interviewed.. they cover a range of topics that are current and connected to murray's new book (the madness of crowds: gender, race and identity).. i've not got his new book but it seems to be good.

owens and murray both make good points and it's a joy to listen to them together.. enjoy .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4o9yqrby9q.

cofty

I do think that postmodern instability in gender relations and other kinds of deconstruction are a result of the material conditions of late capitalism. - SBF

How so?

The most active proponents of identity politics are not victims of capitalism, they are over-privileged beneficiaries of it.

39

Candace Owens interviews Douglas Murray

by LoveUniHateExams in

yeah, so the candace owens show is apparently in london and douglas murray is the person interviewed.. they cover a range of topics that are current and connected to murray's new book (the madness of crowds: gender, race and identity).. i've not got his new book but it seems to be good.

owens and murray both make good points and it's a joy to listen to them together.. enjoy .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4o9yqrby9q.

cofty

PP - You are so far off the mark. That was a very disingenuous summary.

39

Candace Owens interviews Douglas Murray

by LoveUniHateExams in

yeah, so the candace owens show is apparently in london and douglas murray is the person interviewed.. they cover a range of topics that are current and connected to murray's new book (the madness of crowds: gender, race and identity).. i've not got his new book but it seems to be good.

owens and murray both make good points and it's a joy to listen to them together.. enjoy .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4o9yqrby9q.

cofty

Really excellent conversation between two intelligent and intellectually honest people.

I look forward to reading Douglas Murray's new book The Madness of Crowds.

One of the key points that came out of the the conversation was the critique of the belief in the 'perfectibility' of humans and of society. This is the foundational error that lay behind communism and every other crazy utopian ideology including the Watchtower. It is a main theme of Pinker's The Blank Slate. If you haven't read it yet do yourself a favour.

39

Candace Owens interviews Douglas Murray

by LoveUniHateExams in

yeah, so the candace owens show is apparently in london and douglas murray is the person interviewed.. they cover a range of topics that are current and connected to murray's new book (the madness of crowds: gender, race and identity).. i've not got his new book but it seems to be good.

owens and murray both make good points and it's a joy to listen to them together.. enjoy .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4o9yqrby9q.

cofty

Thanks. Two of my favourite minds having a chat. Will have a listen later.