Posts by torn in two son

39

HELP ME REPAIR THE WORLD

by Terry in

let's roll up our collective sleeves and repair the world!.

world repair is a central idea of judaism, after all.

you leave this world a little better than how you found it.. most of us spend our lives busy with our own self.

I've always thought that we're moving too fast. As a whole. Science is starting to mess with forces that have risks far beyond most people's comfort zones. Genetic Engineering has led to spread of new diseases, using WAAAAY too much energy has contributed to the *cringe* global warming crisis, the study of dark matter, smashing particles, bending physics, manipulating time...it's getting out of hand. I think the scientists and mathematicians of the world need to catch up with themselves and fix the problems they started first, before we go trying to peek into the idea of parallel universes.

http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0210072

Definitley worth a read, the download is free. So, I think we should stop trying to get ourselves into messes, and clean up the ones we've already made. Then, maybe, maybe, with enough research we can continue smashing particles together.

Torn

32

Is THIS the best of all POSSIBLE worlds?

by Terry in

is this the best of all possible worlds?.

if it isn't, wouldn't that be the best possible proof that a benevolent and all-powerful deity had nothing to do with creating it?.

if a loving and benevolent creator was going to create a world--why make one with a built-in self-destruct mechanism??.

torn in two son

Animals did not live forever, so Adam would have seen animals dying.

We know this? Supposedly Adam and Eve were in a Paradise much like the JW's are waiting for now, without sickness and death. If this is true, then they still would not have witnessed a death.

Then again, let's say animals did die then as they do now. Because it is unclear of the time passed from the placement of animals and man, and the time of the eating of the fruit, we cannot say with full certainty animals could have died yet. Who knows, I could be wrong, animals are animals right?

Torn

11

Mind Control Cults

by TJ - iAmCleared2Land in

jw
friends

a non-jw pilot friend of mine who doesn't know i was a jw sent me this, with the title "mind control made easy!".

it was eerie to watch this and recognize the similarities.

it could be useful in helping a current jw who has doubts "get out", as it is not produced by an ex-jw.

torn in two son

Wow. That was a bit terrifying - especially the singing. Not only did they look menacing, it was ominously similar to the "meetings" we have twice a week! Not to mention the briefcases, how we all wear similar clothes, are pyschologically isolated, have an us vs. them attitude...It's remarkable how we don't realize how ridiculous this all is sooner.

Torn

24

Childhood Baptism

by torn in two son in

today, one of the few jw friends that i'm close to got baptized.. i always knew he was a little more into it than i was, but i thought that with high school coming for him (i'm a year older than he is), maybe it would open his eyes a little, and he would see the world differently.

with little contact with him because of seperate schools for the past year, i didn't find out the news until just before our convention started.

when he told me, i had this singular moment of panic and deflation, but i gave the guy a big hug and squeaked out a "congratulations" knowing he's two hours from shooting himself in the foot.

torn in two son

OnTheWayOut, slow burn by a slow fade. I've got too much family in the Organization to just rip the band-aid off and say, "I'VE HAD ENOUGH - I'M LEAVING!" Maybe one day, when fake service time becomes no service time and flaky meeting attendance becomes none at all, they'll make the announcement. Really though, when they make those announcements, there's this hush of silence for a moment, a couple whispers, a bit more of silence and the meeting goes on. A few months of talking about it (if you were popular) and then most people have forgotten you by then. Most friends in the JW circle I don't really care about losing (he was part of a small group of exceptions), it's just the family I don't want to lose. I'd like to be able to play the little loophole of "not baptized and left? well...he's not disfellowshipped!"

Torn

52

"When armageddon happens, I want to be able to SEE the people dying"

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

said to myself & others by a jw elder.. i always recall this as a sort of .

when this elder was pressed on the matter, he replied that it was because of all the years of laughing & sneering & mocking that he had put up with, quoting the scripture that goes along the lines of 'where is this promised presence of his'.. i realise now that this person is not loving.

and yet, i would hear similar sentiments from others such as 'just wait until the end' or 'i wonder if they'll be saying that when jesus comes with his big sword'.. even as a jw pioneer, the thought of such a thing happening to people repulsed me.

torn in two son

Armageddon is a touchy subject in the JW circle. Not quite, the actual happening of Armageddon, but the massive degree of people who will die then. At least, who should die then, according to the JW's. The idea that everyone WILL die at Armageddon (except JW's) makes most JDubs quiver a bit. They like justifying it saying that whoever finds the truth will be saved, but really, that just means they're hopping on the wagon with the JDubs straight into the face of the end of the world. Unfortunately, while the idea of all that death is sickening to most of us (apparently that elder is anxious for it to happen), JW's have the one line that can get them out of discussing it any further. It will always be better than any rebuttle.

"Well, ultimately, the choice is Jehovah's."

"Everyone's gonna die except JDubs." "Well in the end, it's Jehovah's choice." "But he only likes Jehovah's Witnesses?" "Well, if people are getting the truth, they should be saved." "Getting the truth, studying, to be a Jehovah's Witness?" "Yes." "So they will survive?" "Yes." "So what you're saying is only JW's and their affiliates will be saved?" "Well, ultimately, the choice is Jehovah's." Repeat.

Armageddon, no matter how tender it may be, JDubs have that cushy buffer to make it sound nicer. There really is no winning with them.

Torn

32

Is THIS the best of all POSSIBLE worlds?

by Terry in

is this the best of all possible worlds?.

if it isn't, wouldn't that be the best possible proof that a benevolent and all-powerful deity had nothing to do with creating it?.

if a loving and benevolent creator was going to create a world--why make one with a built-in self-destruct mechanism??.

torn in two son

Terry you're right - man has to test his machines. Maybe then, God has to test his creations? Perhaps God had to decide between whether or not he wanted humans as we are now, able to think for themselves and function, or humans, with a limit. Humans that can do everything we can now, but are 100% sure of the certainty of God, and that it is undisputiable fact that God exsits. Perhaps God wants a test between the two types of humans, to decide which he favors. After all, our lives compared to a deity like God is insignificant. Our lives are unimportant to him, only for the results of the test at hand. So could this world be only a test? For a God that would be no problem to create.

Considering Adam, Eve and our bullshit detector: you're right there too. Adam was simply making a rational desicion. "Be this lowly human, or be a God, knowing good and bad, with all the power in the world?" The choice seems pretty obvious. Of course, the consequence, to us, seems horrible, death, and death to the rest of the human race. Although, like Mark Twain wrote in Letters From The Earth, Adam was not given a sample death. He didn't know what a death would result in, what it would look like, smell like. Death, was just, a thing, an inconvience. "Oh, don't worry about it Eve, it's just death, a bit like the mosquitos by the river over there." So for all the power in the world, they get a little sting in the arm or bruise on the heel. They didn't know better, if I was in Adam's postion, I would've eaten the fruit too.

Torn

12

Solving The World's Problems in 30 Minutes

by torn in two son in

jw
friends

i do not have many teachers that i admire.

(with the exception of a female eighth grade level english/history teacher, but that's another story).

no, today i'm talking of a different exception.

torn in two son

Nope, no Terry here. Just good 'ol Torn In Two. "Heaven", I know I've heard of Permaculture before, I just never knew what it was called until then. Thanks, cool video, it shows a lot of potential so far as lowering CO2 levels, cooling (and feeding!) the Earth, but I don't understand how Permaculture will solve an energy crisis and snap us into a matriarchal society. PM if you've got more on Permaculture and the energy crisis. "MMXIV", well I fully understand your idea, but I'm pretty sure we have something similar happening already. Charles Darwin on Natural Selection has given us the "Darwin Award", and more people are winning them each year. Unfortunately religion trods along, and as "the real life" said, it retards not only knowing yourself, but also opening your mind to new ideas and accepting that past information could be irrelevant now. New Light from the GB doesn't count. "Looking4Peace", naw, i'm not too bright, only a lowly freshman, my brain doesn't fully work quite yet. "the real life", I do agree, knowing yourself as someone different from the norm moves us as a species along instead of forcing yourself into a mold. With more people theorizing and questioning the world around us, we may come to a solution.

Although a beer doesn't hurt either! :D

Torn

24

Childhood Baptism

by torn in two son in

today, one of the few jw friends that i'm close to got baptized.. i always knew he was a little more into it than i was, but i thought that with high school coming for him (i'm a year older than he is), maybe it would open his eyes a little, and he would see the world differently.

with little contact with him because of seperate schools for the past year, i didn't find out the news until just before our convention started.

when he told me, i had this singular moment of panic and deflation, but i gave the guy a big hug and squeaked out a "congratulations" knowing he's two hours from shooting himself in the foot.

torn in two son

Oh, I've asked him about Mr. Christ getting baptized at 30 long before I knew of the impending doom of his own baptism. His answer was what was to be expected from a zealous JDub (something that has almost nothing to do with the conversation at hand):

"Times were different then, baptism was rarer and so getting baptized later was acceptable."

So when more people join, it means you have to get baptized sooner? How do those two factors have anything to do with one another? Well whatever, I suppose it's his choice. Snoozer, you asked what the benefits are from being baptized. Well...if you're real excited about JW-ism, (which you'd have to be to get baptized) then you can become a ministerial servant, an elder, a P.O., a C.O., a D.O., and maybe even rise to the top and reach GB status! Of course though, JW's will only allow any of this "climbing the spirtual ladder" if you have a penis. If not, well then there isn't much else you can do then when you weren't baptized. I honestly don't get baptism, if you're a JDub and zealous, but not quite comfortable with baptism, what's going to keep you from being destroyed? There really is no point unless you want to climb higher in the Organization, assuming you're male.

Torn

25

Post YOUR obvious Prophecy for the future...if correct you can join my Governing Body!!

by Witness 007 in

why don't you have a go at an obvious prophecy!

jesus said increased wars, earthqaukes, pestilence {obvious prophecies} but here are mine.. 1. verily i say interest rates will rise and fall like "the sea of mankind.".

2. there shall be riots and turmoil after soccer matches...see that you are not terrified, for these things must take place...".

torn in two son

oops! that's what happens when you try acting smart - you mess something up -

Stay Alive Until '75.

Torn

(prayerful consideration and counsel from my father has led me to sign off as 'Torn' so as not to evoke a misogynistic attitude. Anyone who may have been offended, please know I fully agree with the equality of women and men alike)

12

Solving The World's Problems in 30 Minutes

by torn in two son in

jw
friends

i do not have many teachers that i admire.

(with the exception of a female eighth grade level english/history teacher, but that's another story).

no, today i'm talking of a different exception.

torn in two son

I do not have many teachers that I admire. (With the exception of a female eighth grade level english/history teacher, but that's another story). No, today I'm talking of a different exception. My Biology teacher. He's mad-scientist material, very passionate about science; and it's one field I may very well end up in. Last week him and I had a thirty minute conversation, while everyone else was doing bookwork, about physics, the building blocks of nature, the web of time and space, and man messing with the environment around us. With the blinders of JW-ism gone, your mind is allowed to run free with philosophy and abstract/critical thinking of the world around you. My private music teacher and I had a similar conversation, talking about God, the beginning of life, morality, religious extremists, and global warming. With two thirty minute conversations, with different people on different occasions, we solved the world's problems singlehandedly. I may be getting ahead of myself. Anyways, we seemed to get the hang of it pretty well and I'd like to open it up to you. How do you guyses and girlses solve the world's problems?

T.I.T.S.