joelbear

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Posts by joelbear

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  42

  Sci-Fi Fans Only: A.I.

  by Maximus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear tell there are some aficionados out there.. as a young man i secretly loved ray bradbury, isaac asimov, l. sprague decamp, poul anderson, arthur c. clarke and others.

  loved brian aldiss' "super-toys last all summer.".

  when the movie "2001: a space odyssey" premiered, i sneaked into a theater all by myself, and was blown away.

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  joelbear

  I thought AI was a very good movie. I thought it should have been a much darker movie though. Certainly its message was chilling.

  I do think that of the 3 probably outcomes of humanity: 1) a return to a balance with nature, 2) self obliteration through nuclear war or biotechnology accident, 3) a transformation into manmade technological status with only an electronic memory of life, that number 3 is the most probable and it is the one the movie points to.

  I walked out of the movie saying, "Is artificial love the only love that will last?" I think one important point of the movie and maybe its most important point is that man's need to be able to manipulate everything, including creating manmade love, will be his downfall.

  pensive hugs

  Joel
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  45

  Organized religion, no religion, agnostic

  by cnn77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am new here trying to figure my way around...... i would appreciate it if you could say which of these fits you..... 1. still a jw.

  2. if you dont agree with the jw doctrines any longer do you belong to another religious organization now?

  3. are still religious and have no religious affiliation.

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  joelbear

  I am a 6, Other.

  I believe that life is god, that is, that god is that which connects all life together.

  Visit www.joelbear.com/lifeism.htm if interested.

  hugs

  Joel
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  11

  what if???

  by jolly_green_giant in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what if the witnesses do have all the answers?

  what if the big a does come and we all have to answer the 'the man upstairs'?

  what will your arguement be???

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  joelbear

  As far as answering to god, I think I've lived a good life, never hurt anyone intentionally, apologized and was sorry for any hurt or harm I did cause.

  I agree with the other posters that god certainly set up his communications in an ambiguous way.

  I wouldn't be completely dejected that I was wrong. I would love for there to be a peaceful paradise world for people to enjoy, even if I was not among them.

  hugs

  Joel
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  5

  suicide controversy

  by Moxy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ive just heard about a suicide here in toronto, a brother, sounds like a family man.

  i dont know any details but i was kind of disturbed because its apparently a matter of some controversy.

  some feel that they should not attend the funeral since it was a suicide.

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  joelbear

  Witnesses wouldn't want to be motivated by love or empathy but on how their appearance at the funeral would reflect on God's earthly organization.

  shudders.

  As if suicide were a moral choice as opposed to the severest of symptoms of a troubled mind.

  peace to all

  Joel
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  25

  No Nookies In Nero's!

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i must be honest here, one of the main reasons that i chose to depart the jws was so that i could have more sex.

  actually, thats not quite true, when i say have more sex, i really mean to say have sex with more girls.

  it feels so good to be honest, doesnt it?

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  joelbear

  Whoa Nelly,

  I do approve of your tastes, but I wasn't trying to move in on your territory, just giving a compliment. I thought Anton's invitation was very nice. I invited him to the web page just to get to know me better as a friend.

  Besides like Prisca says, he has a girlfriend, so there's no way he could be gay. Just like there are no gay married men, gay football players or gay fraternity boys. :) Just a reminder Prisca, I had about a dozen girlfriends between the ages of 15 and 30. Book? Judge? Cover?

  I appreciate yall's kindness very much. Im just joshing with ya a bit.

  hugs

  Joel
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  76

  Why Are You Here?

  by larc in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the question, "why are you here?

  " is simple enough, and your answer may be straightforward.

  however, when i asked that of myself, i find that my answer is pretty complicated.

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  joelbear

  Larc,

  Thank you for starting this discussion. It has reminded me that there are quality people here who are simply interested in reaching out to those of similar background.

  That is what a discussion board such as this should be about. A safe place to come and share our thoughts.

  Hopefully people who need this and want this won't leave but will keep coming back.

  hugs

  Joel
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  2

  WT July 1, 2001 (Part I)

  by Defender in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the study article of rejoice in the knowledge of jehovah stresses the importance and benefit of gods word that is found in the bible.

  in deed, if jehovahs witnesses are doing anything right, it is the fact that they are turning peoples attention towards the bible and the rewards and treasures that can be had when applying its wise counsel.. if the matter had stopped here, then all is well.

  but that is not the case.. starting in paragraph 7, under the subtitle the light becomes brighter the writer points to jesus efforts in combating jewish traditions and describes how the gospels were added.

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  joelbear

  Defender,

  Yours are among my very favorite posts here.

  I am quite surprised that they are keeping 1914 so prominent, but then again, maybe they really believe they are right about it.

  Tying themselves to one last date of course will eventually date them.

  Its interesting to watch.

  hugs

  Joel
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  25

  No Nookies In Nero's!

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i must be honest here, one of the main reasons that i chose to depart the jws was so that i could have more sex.

  actually, thats not quite true, when i say have more sex, i really mean to say have sex with more girls.

  it feels so good to be honest, doesnt it?

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  joelbear

  Hi Anton,

  Wow, thanks for the friendly invite. Where in California do you live?

  From the small picture of you, I can see why you get so much attention.

  Visit my web page to see more about me. www.joelbear.com

  Thanks again and hugs

  Joel
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  33

  Losing Loved ones to Death While in the Org..

  by Roamingfeline in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did anyone lose beloved family members or friends to death while in the org?

  if so, how did you feel about it once you came out of the cult and figured out that everything you'd been taught about the new system coming soon, and loved ones being resurrected was a big fat lie you'd been spoonfed?

  how did you feel and react to that?.

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  joelbear

  I grieve very strongly when someone dies. I have only lost 3 people who were very very close to me, my grandfather, a friend of mine as a teenager, and the first gay friend I ever made.

  I guess I never really had faith in the resurrection or I wouldn't have felt these losses so hard. But then, my family who are still witnesses grieve pretty hard too.

  hugs

  Joel
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  5

  Imagine

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my favorite song of all time is imagine by john lennon.. what if everyone came to believe that there was no god and no afterlife?

  would people learn to live peacefully together or would they rip each other apart even faster?.

  god has clearly be used throughout history to justify this that or the other political ideology or cultural colonization effort.

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  joelbear

  But what if humanity, for whatever reason, came to the conclusion there was no god. What would be the impact on humanity?

  Would it be good news or horrible news?

  hugs

  Joel