Posts by SweetBabyCheezits

44

If you could choose one book to suggest to a JW...

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

i'm sure this isn't an uncommon question but i'll ask anyway.. suppose you had the chance to suggest one book, essay, article, or other writing with the goal of helping a loved one wake up... which one would it be?.

bear in mind the goal is to subvert the programmed hair-trigger defenses that cause a complete shutdown of critical thinking.

this automatically excludes anything that would directly place the wt society or its history in a negative light.

SweetBabyCheezits

Lemme just put this out there, too. This guy knows I'm DF'd for apostasy but he also knows I wasn't spreading my views outside of questioning my parents and discussing the issues with him. He knows my wife and I were sincere in our desire to find truth. We haven't talked to him at all since the announcement in October but I also haven't really tried.

That said, I decided to start dropping like a monthly email to him. The email consists only of a subject line, no body or other content. Yesterday, I sent one with "The Milgram Experiment" as the subject line - that's it. My hope is that he will Google it since I've said nothing else. Then I'm hoping he'll try to figure out the correlation from my perspective.

Really, I'm hoping to just leave some breadcrumbs for him to pickup but if I could find a book that has no direct relation to JWs or the org, I might be able to "place" it with him. The key, I believe, is subtlety since we all know how cult programming works to protect cherished beliefs.

44

If you could choose one book to suggest to a JW...

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

i'm sure this isn't an uncommon question but i'll ask anyway.. suppose you had the chance to suggest one book, essay, article, or other writing with the goal of helping a loved one wake up... which one would it be?.

bear in mind the goal is to subvert the programmed hair-trigger defenses that cause a complete shutdown of critical thinking.

this automatically excludes anything that would directly place the wt society or its history in a negative light.

SweetBabyCheezits

Excellent suggestions and thank you all for the comments. Please keep them coming! I may go with the book that wins the survey here.

True, WB & Zoiks as LWT and others have said, the most damning information about the WT Society rolled off its own presses.

D, I enjoyed The God Delusion but I think it would be too much for him this early. I'm talking baby steps. But thanks for your input, nonetheless!

A question about the Hassan books: Did anyone read his stuff when they were devout? I'm concerned the title alone would trip his defense mechanism but I've heard so many great reviews about it that it might be worth the risk. I just don't want to shut him down completely.

The Jon Krakauer book sounds awesome, too, but is there a chance the murder segment might cause a break in the parallel for him? I need him to draw from the similarities, ie, Mormons who have strong, happy families, and develop good qualities.

I had not even heard of Mistakes Were Made but the Amazon summary sounded pretty intriguing. I'll add that one to the list.

63

Christians afraid of Carl Sagan?

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

in looking for a particular reference to carl sagan's the demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark, i stumbled across this website:.

http://www.crossroad.to/q&a/science/sagan.htm.

it appears the page was created as a rebuttal against carl's book.

SweetBabyCheezits

In looking for a particular reference to Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, I stumbled across this website:

http://www.crossroad.to/Q&A/Science/sagan.htm

It appears the page was created as a rebuttal against Carl's book. I read a few comments and found this one particularly interesting.

Question 2: My daughter got back from her first day back in school, and I found out that one of the books that she is required to read for her high school science class is Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. After reading only a single chapter in class, I have noticed that she has started to question many things such as the existence of Witchcraft and Demons and the reliability of the Bible. Could you send me information about this book and ways to fight against its pull since I am afraid to read it for myself?

Afraid? Really? He's teaching critical thinking skills.

It reminds me of something else Mr. Sagan once said:

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. The bamboozle has captured us. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."

44

If you could choose one book to suggest to a JW...

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

i'm sure this isn't an uncommon question but i'll ask anyway.. suppose you had the chance to suggest one book, essay, article, or other writing with the goal of helping a loved one wake up... which one would it be?.

bear in mind the goal is to subvert the programmed hair-trigger defenses that cause a complete shutdown of critical thinking.

this automatically excludes anything that would directly place the wt society or its history in a negative light.

SweetBabyCheezits

I'm sure this isn't an uncommon question but I'll ask anyway.

Suppose you had the chance to suggest ONE book, essay, article, or other writing with the goal of helping a loved one wake up... which one would it be?

Bear in mind the goal is to subvert the programmed hair-trigger defenses that cause a complete shutdown of critical thinking. This automatically excludes anything that would directly place the WT Society or its history in a negative light. No Ray Franz, Don Cameron, etc.... But books that are based on high control groups, analagous to the org., are fine.

What say you?

86

Are you a fader, Df'd, DA'd, or Still In?

by brotherdan in

i thought this would be an interesting poll that would show everyone the backgrounds of all of us when we left, if we have.. for myself, i am not df'd, but i am attempting a fade.

i still go to some meetings with the wife to help with kids, but that's it.

no commenting or field service.. what about everyone else?.

SweetBabyCheezits

african GB Member said...

Still in. Go out on FS(with an average of 11 hours for the past six months), go to every meeting and commenting.

So when exactly did you get reinstated after you were supposedly DF'd in September?

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198823/1/ITS-OVER-I-JUST-GOT-DFd

I think someone's full of pseudologia fantastica.

27

What's Your Worst/Best Quality About You?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i'd say my worst is sometimes i don't like to deal with important things and don't unless necessary.. my best quality (and there are so many that this may be difficult.

what aboutchoo?.

SweetBabyCheezits

Best: I know when to quit

Worst: I never finish anyth

EDIT - Worst: Haven't quite figured out how to use irony.

118

"Look it wasn't a global flood.."

by Qcmbr in

i've heard the statement from bible apologists so many times that the global flood story of genesis was not a global flood but was probably a local flood.

this seems problematic.. this directly disagrees with the bible.

everywhere the bible internally references a global flood of worldwide scale (i'll throw in matthew 24:39 as a nt example and genesis 6:17 as a ot example.

SweetBabyCheezits

I respect belief in an inerrant Bible very much. It takes quite a lot of courage.

It takes quite a bit of courage to wear a banana hammock to the waterpark but it doesn't mean I respect the guy who does it.

And what happens when that "proof" changes? When new things are discovered? When things that you thought were "proof" are proven false?

science is not god and it can be proven wrong

Thankfully, science makes no claims to being God. If anything it is humble. Not the scientists, per se, but the method, which IS science. It thrives on scrutiny. Science is progressive specifically because it must face the truth when theories are refuted by sufficient evidence... and move on.

Many religionists, on the other hand, choose to reject evidence that conflicts with their presuppositions as long as they can. When that's no longer possible, it may become necessary to twist beliefs to fit a square peg through a round hole. (See JW "generations" teaching or new earth creationist explanations for dinosaurs.)

And if I reject the Bible I can't be like the others that move on to some other sort of spirituality.

Then you should be able to empathize with those who drop the WT and, soon thereafter, their belief in Holy Writings as well.

Annnnd there goes my goal of not getting involved in these kinds of debates this year. [facepalm]

21

Where Is Nickolas and SweetBabyCheezits ???????

by wasblind in

jw
friends

.

SweetBabyCheezits

ML, I wish I was being productive. I just pour my time into new sinks. Looking for my 2011 ambition still.

Nothing really to report on our post-JW homefront. We've softened up a bit and now allow my parents to see the kids. In turn, my mom actually talks to me on the phone to make plans to see them and, while we don't make small talk, she doesn't restrict herself to a monotone anymore. But if I ask questions about their health or how my brother's family is doing, the reply is very succinct... maybe a sentence or two. Still, it's progress.

I swallowed my pride when I realized my parents are almost in their 70s and they gave up the will to think for themselves when they were kids. If I look at it like a disease of the mind, it helps. It's just not possible for them to be empathetic with me but I can be empathetic with them.

So that's about it! Boring, I know.

WB, thanks again for the thoughtfulness. If anything exciting happens in post-JW-land for us, I'll drop back in. Otherwise, I'll mostly just lurk here and there to see what sassyness you come up with next.

21

Where Is Nickolas and SweetBabyCheezits ???????

by wasblind in

jw
friends

.

SweetBabyCheezits

Hello, my dear brothers and sisters in the forum of the JW-damned. Thank you, WB and Tammy, for being so observant and caring. Good to see you're both still active non-publishers! :-D Hope all is well.

I'm still here - just been lurking off and on, trying to conserve time a bit this year. Looking back over last year, I got caught up in debates that left me with a time deficit and nothing more. This year I'm hoping to do more listening/learning in life and less talking.

On a side note, NVL may have been abrasive to some folks but I thoroughly enjoyed his posts and felt he brought a good measure of reason to the table. He will be missed.

Take care, all!

56

THE MOST THRILLING MOMENT of your life.....?

by Terry in

jw
friends

here is the most thrilling moment of my life.. i got to meet my film composer heroes john barry and miklos rosza at the beverly hills writer's guild theater for a seminar on filmmusic.. i was 30 years old at the time and going through my "you look like clint eastwood" stage.

(i'm trying to explain my crazy hair!).

i chatted with them and got them to sign my albums.. what was your most thrilling moment?.

SweetBabyCheezits

I'm gonna say.... being born. I don't remember it but, c'mon, that's gotta rank pretty high.