Show something like this to a witness and they immediatly will think of the "cry of peace and security", conversly show them something about some new conflict somewhere and they will go to "wars and report of wars".
techdotcom
JoinedPosts by techdotcom
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"the most peaceable era in human existence"
by metatron inthe above is a phrase taken from an article written by steven pinker in the review of this weekends wall street journal.
the title is violence vanquished and presents the thought that human history has been so loaded with tribal violence in particular, that our current era is "the most peaceable era in human existence".. battle deaths and murder generally have declined substantially across centuries to the low level they generally are today.
i admit i am mystified as to why we don't see much more violence and crime at present, in this ugly economy.
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Question for the men
by SafeAtHome ini'd like the input of the guys, maybe some of you who have been married or in a serious relationship for some time.
if you were having an affair and your wife found out about it, would you want her to tell you she knew?
would it serve a purpose, that is, make you end the affair, or on the other hand, push it over the edge to be with the other person?
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techdotcom
While there is a possibility that a relationship can survive without honesty and trust, it's unlikely to do so. So it depends on the induviduals and how they feel like handling it. No right and wrong per say, but I'd be inclined to say she should confront him with what she knows and then they can decide how they want to proceed into the future.
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On A Scale Of 1 to 10 How Much Knowledge Does A Jehovah's Witness Have About Their Religion?
by minimus inyears (many decades) ago, most jws knew what their religion taught.
they could go toe to toe with a minister or priest and make some good points.. i believe today's witness knows little about most of the convoluted teachings and revisions of the "truth".
yesteryear's witnesses got a 9/10.
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techdotcom
Most do not have a comprhensive knowledge of their own doctrine and often believe something contrary to whatever "new light" is out. For instance quite a few totally have missed the generations teaching change and don't really understand that it's different. Almost none could answer, if asked unprepared, about what is acceptable officially for taking blood fractions. Many would still refuse things that are technically ok just to be "safe".....they are trained very well in how not to question, even when the questions would be learning more about what they are supposed to believe. They just go to the meetings and whatever regurgitated "truth" sticks is what they remember, for a while at least.
Its why sweeping changes to doctrine do not cause more unrest and how most do not appreciate just how much the "truth" has changed over the years.
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Since You've Left The Organization Have You Turned Into A "Bad" Boy or Girl?
by minimus inthe witnesses say that if you leave the religion you will become a very vile person.
you will probably get vd.
you will get into drugs and booze, your life will go to hell.. personally, i've been pretty much the same guy although i would now be viewed as a "fornicator".
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techdotcom
The witnesses around here drink like fish. Boozed up gatherings among people who were close friends was common. We party a bit more now but other than some pot on occasion no going crazy with drugs or alchohol, per say. We have gotten a tad more sexual and have experimented with that but done responsibly the VD thing is a mitigated risk.
To be honest though my views on right and wrong did not change much and neither did my wifes. We just no longer have abitrary rules to follow and can determine for ourselves what is bad and good. Make mistakes, certianly but thats a part of life.
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Surprised reaction
by truthseeker1969 inmy brother who attends meetings was at the hall when they were explaining the "generation" new lite.. he said he was stunned when a rumble went through the congo which he said sounded like "oh here we go again" and then laughing.. the brother sittig next to him said 'what next" and after the meeting a lot of people were mad that instead of leaving what they do not know they re-invented it.. elders were being surrounded by people asking them to explain it.. this happened a few weeks ago but there is also alot of anger at the "mentally diseased " comment made by the gb as people view it as an outright attack on family members.
i think i smell trouble.. he is not one who shuns and told the elders that until they show him where jesus said shun then he will continue to talk to me.. one elder told him that if he persists in talking to me then he could be brought before a committe to which he told him "it would be your funeral".
so me thinks they are truly in a panic!.
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techdotcom
I'd be willing to bet that most witnesses could not even explain the new "light" on the generations. Not only that, I'd be willing to be most don't even realize it changed in any meaningful way. They literally think it's no big deal and just an "adjustment" to what they were being taught before. They are asleep and just absorbing without thought. Some things stick, some don't. Most know less about what they really are supposed to believe and how that has changed than your average apostate.
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More on Saturday's drama: Endo-symbiotic theory mentioned not once but twice
by sir82 ini don't want to give a full synopsis of saturday's drama, for fear of inducing stupor among this thread's readers, but.... .
the drama deals with a jw family with 3 kids, 2 of whom are in various stages of rebellion against all things jw.. the older brother is one of the "rebels", while the younger brother is a thoroughly annoying piece of brown-nosing crapola, completely buying into the jw mindset.. anyways, the younger brother is asking the older brother about why he doesn't want to attend the family study any more.. the older kid's rambling answer touches on something along the lines of "i'm learning things in school about how life really came here.
it's not as simple as you think!".
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techdotcom
Even when I really was trying to buy the bullshit, I always dreaded when they would talk about science at all. Science was always a subject I gravitated toward and I read ALOT of outside material on the subject. Anyone who has any interest and ability to understand science is just gonna be going WTF when they are sitting at a convention or kindom hall and the speaker spouts something off trying to sound smart....friggan makes my head hurt.
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A Shot Out to the Vid That Got Me Out!
by Diest ini had not been to meetings in a long time, but i still had lingering guilt over what happens if the big a comes when i am out.
i found this video on youtube, which put the first nail in the coffin for the wt.
the posters on this site put in the final 32 nails and put the wt in hades for me.
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techdotcom
Yeah, what is really sad about the whole deal with qouting out of context and making leading statments is that if you read very carefully, paying attention to exactly what is said, they never say that the archaologist supported their 607 date. But witnesses are so well trained to NOT really think about what they are reading in a critical way that it never even occurs to them.
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Preventing a minor child from being baptized if you are their parent
by RayPublisher inthere may be no way legally for me to stop this, but it is a worry since i "woke up" to the truth about the truth a couple years ago.. now my young kids (9 and 11) are heading in that direction at the urging of their mother.
i am still inside and trying to do a fade (for family/friend reasons) but sometimes i wonder if leaving would be smarter in the long run for them.
any thoughts or strategies are welcome.. .
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techdotcom
Obeying god as ruler rather than men is a weak out on her part for going against your headship. The witnesses are commanded and to follow the direction of "Gods organization on earth" (threw up a little in my mouth typing that) and so by their own logic she would be following god by respecting his arrangement. Now, that being said.....pulling that headship crap on anything but the most subservient of wives is a good way to start the fireworks and make your job harder, not easier.
But the argument about how Jesus himself waited so long before presenting himself for babtism worked pretty well on my wife, as well as most witnesses really don't agree on how young kids are being "encouraged" to get babtized. All it takes is some reenforcement on this basic instinct to sway her on your side in this. But it will take gentle and continuous reminders over time. The social pressure in the org for children to make this step is enormous, to the point of the publications lauding 9 year olds who are "showing their dedication to Jehovah"......sick and innapropriate but there ya go.
More than likely she really agree's in principle with you on the babtism thing but to make any real statement to that fact is an admission that something isn't right. She may ,however, let you get away with putting the brakes on the babtism thing if handled carefully. Good luck, I well know how scary facing that prospect is, seeing your children on the verge of being sucked in. Stay strong, stay smart, maybe eventually you can help your wife see the "truth" for what it is too.
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Ultimately, Are You Happy That The "Truth" Is Nonexistent?
by minimus inunless you're still searching for "the truth", are you happy to know this "truth" is not even out there?.
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techdotcom
I was never able to take comfort in certainty, a personality flaw to be sure. I have always been a bit jealous of those who could believe, seemingly with their whole mind and soul, something that they could not possibly be so sure of.
That being said, I could not, after opening my eyes, ever choose to be blind agian. I cannot bask in the false comfort of faith even if life is so uncomfortably mysterious. I find joy in learning new things and thoughts, and will never be as ignorantly happy as those who can just believe....and I'm good with that.
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Could a Cult personality be someone's Authentic Personality
by cantleave inwe all know theory, that a cult personality masks the authentic.
but after reading some of the cult indoctrinated posters here , i am beginning to think that they are showing their authentic personalities.. they don't appear to show any true human emotion or demonstrate any independant thinking ability, ony what they are told feel and think by the cult.
is it possible that some people are born to be cult members in order to survive?.
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techdotcom
My thoughts are that a persons true personality can not come from outside control. While a person born in, or just naturally disposed to being subservient might seem to be naturally in the mind-set of the religion, I think it's closer to the truth that they just never had a chance to develop naturally into who they could have been. Removed from the outside influence of the controlling JW's they can begin to grow into a real person and that would be their real personality.
All of us who were born in experience this sudden and painfully late growth into real adulthood when we throw away the false belief. For some recovery and growth is faster than others, and some never fully become themselves, always remaining somewhat stunted emotionally and socially.
At least that is the way it seems to me so far.