Each to their own and may your gods or illusions go with you - it's cold outside
Seconded. All in favour?
Nickolas
JoinedPosts by Nickolas
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32
Medical Cannabis
by mrsjones5 inover the thanksgiving weekend my family and i stayed with a dear friend.
our dear friend partakes of medical cannabis which helps with his depression, insomnia, and panic attacks.
he suggested that my husband should give it a try because it could help relieve his pain and help him to sleep during the night.. so hubby tried it (three nights in a row, about 15 minutes each session), didn't like the scatchy throat he got from inhaling the smoke but he said it helped his pain and he was able to rest.
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Nickolas
Sounds great, dssynergy. I found the same thing. Lifted me right up. It was just after a little more than two years of steady use I had to find another way because it had the effect of magnifying depressive thoughts. But the same kind of thing happens after long term use of alternative prescription drugs if I am not mistaken. My understanding is you're not supposed to stay on Prozac more than 12 months, although a lot of people do anyway. But only because it is man-made vs natural I suspect it may be a more dangerous drug than cannabis. I don't know for sure. I am sure there are many people who have been using cannabis for much longer than I did who always find the effects enjoyable.
You just need to decide that you don't plan to keep doing this drug for the rest of your life, because it has the potential to mess you up a bit. Another side effect I remembered after making my first post in this thread is I had experienced what you might consider lost days while using it. Not blackouts, nothing like that. Marijuana alters time perspective. It can seem like time is dragging while on the high side of the experience but when you come down in a few hours it can almost seem like it was only minutes ago you smoked up. Smoke more than once a day, as many casual users do, parts of the whole day can disappear from your memory in a blurr. You can have confidence in yourself that you will not do anything stupid while high, so there's little concern there. But you should also not do anything you absolutely must remember doing, because if you get stoned enough there is no guarantee you will in fact remember what you did. If you read a book, you may need to reread it later. If you watch a television program you may need to watch it again. I guess you can call that a negative side-effect, although some people actually like getting high and watching the same thing over and over again on TV. Great way to spend your time. Using even just a little alcohol with cannabis accentuates the high and time distortions, so I seldom drank more than a couple of beers while on it. Use it with a lot of alcohol and it can really mess you up. Edit: Which is to say, if you have a bit of an alcohol problem now, I recommend you don't smoke cannabis.
I guess I'm up to $0.04.
edit $0.06. Last one, promise.
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Nickolas
Nice work, Terry. I'll be watching where this one goes.
Just to warn you, though, you could be openning a can of worms. See http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/202623/1/Are-you-In-the-Truth
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Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments
by Nickolas inthere's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.
there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.
that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.
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Nickolas
Thank you kindly, Prodigal Son and OUTLAW. I need scriptural arguments as much as secular and scientific arguments.
I should emphasize that my objective is not to turn my wife into a non-believer. I'm not sure she could handle it, even if I could. She was an Anglican when I married her and that's more than ok with me. Anglicans don't wreck families, far as I know. If Christians can get over the thought of helping out an atheist, I'd be more than happy to hear from them (just don't try to convert me, please.)
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88
Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments
by Nickolas inthere's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.
there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.
that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.
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Nickolas
Thanks, and yes, I have been fighting a losing battle for 33 years and I know how deadly serious and difficult this is. But I for one do not discount the power of calm, logical arguments presented at the right moments in time. What I do know is emotional arguments don't work. Getting angry at patently preposterous positions has the effect of entrenching them. Been there, done that, failed miserably. All I have left is collecting factual knowledge and insights into what makes the WTBTS tick and calmly chipping away, as you suggest, a tiny piece at a time. If that's not going to work, then I will spend the rest of my life unhappy and that prospect does not hold any appeal. I also might be able to help keep people out. I am not about to give up on this.
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32
Medical Cannabis
by mrsjones5 inover the thanksgiving weekend my family and i stayed with a dear friend.
our dear friend partakes of medical cannabis which helps with his depression, insomnia, and panic attacks.
he suggested that my husband should give it a try because it could help relieve his pain and help him to sleep during the night.. so hubby tried it (three nights in a row, about 15 minutes each session), didn't like the scatchy throat he got from inhaling the smoke but he said it helped his pain and he was able to rest.
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Nickolas
While I support the legalisation if not decriminalisation of cannabis, I might put forward a couple of small cautionary notes from personal experience. It can become a daily habit - I guess it does become a daily habit if used medically, but I used it recreationally, mostly daily. When I used it I enjoyed it very much, even though I used small quantities. An ounce would last me a couple of months. But there were things about it that I did not like by the time I gave it up. Mostly, it made me paranoid, it sometimes got my head wrapped around depressing thoughts and it sapped my ambition. I was content to sit in front of the TV, take a couple of tokes and watch Kung Fu reruns (now I'm dating myself, for sure) while munching on potato chips and sucking back a couple beers or cola. I also found myself doing it in the morning sometimes and that had the usual result of writing off the entire day. It was hard to get things done. You also do not under any circumstance want to operate machines for a few hours after using it because it distorts reality. For me, cannabis was a double edged sword. It altered my perceptions considerably and, I think, beneficially. I gleened insights into things I would not otherwise have seen. But it also made me stupid. It wrecks concentration and makes one prone to mistakes. The stone wears off, so the aforementioned effects are mostly temporary - mostly, but not entirely, because THC builds up to serum levels in the bloodstream. The more often you toke, the more it builds in your bloodstream and some of the negative aspects of the drug stay with you in the background until you are off it for several weeks. I can still sometimes recognise a heavy user, even when he isn't high.
Just to emphasize, mrsjones, I am not anti-cannabis. Cannabis is a lot safer than many prescription drugs in use, so it should not be discounted, but it is easy to abuse. What is different for me than when I was younger is I now have the self control of an older man. If I find myself in a health situation that might benefit from its use, I will use it again. Like any other drug it affects different people different ways. Most people can handle it, some cannot. You just need to be a little circumspect.
My $0.02
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88
Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments
by Nickolas inthere's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.
there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.
that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.
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Nickolas
Let's just say I'm not as defeatist as you are, OUTLAW. Maybe less pessimistic is more like it.
You know my story by now. My wife's a Witness, I am an atheist. A year ago my wife's nephew was df'ed and now her family is permanently split into two factions. The Watchtower has broken apart her family. The same can happen to mine, since one of my children is also a Witness and the other two are not.
If someone invades my home I will perceive him to be a threat to my family and I will defend them and myself with all the hate and fury I can muster. While for almost 33 years I viewed the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society as just a negative influence on my life, I now perceive it to be threat to my family. The game has changed. I have the choice between keeping my mouth shut or preparing for the showdown that must inevitably come. You were a Witness once, and you broke free. I'd appreciate it if you helped me out.
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88
Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments
by Nickolas inthere's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.
there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.
that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.
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Nickolas
I concur, designs and OTWO. What I have seen for myself are eyes glazing over when solid, incontrovertable argument is presented. Some people just don't want to or are unable to hear what you have to say. Some do, and it is for those I have the greatest hope. However, those who have not yet made the giant leap of faith and joined the Society and are still searching for answers are perhaps those best served by what I am talking about.
According to the Society's own records, there was a net loss of around 52,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in 1977-78. When you add in the new people who joined during that time period to offset the loss, the number of baptised Jehovah's witnesses who disassociated is likely in the hundreds of thousands. This was the effect of the 1975 fiasco. Interestingly, the number of publishers increased by 406,000 in the years 1974 and 1975, testimony to how effective the pre-1975-Armageddon recruitment drive was. And we all know that once you are in, you are in.
The point I am trying to make is, some people will have the mental fortitude to leave if presented with hard reality. Better still, many more who have not yet been indoctrinated will not join. If the Watchtower will not be brought down by defections from within, it will be brought down by attrition. I'm ok with either dynamic.
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88
Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments
by Nickolas inthere's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.
there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.
that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.
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Nickolas
There's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing Christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics. There is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted Jehovah's Witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal. That small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is The Watchtower is built on a foundation of clay. The fact that it remains standing and apparently solid either belies that perspective or underscores the iron grip the Society has upon its adherents. But everything one takes away from the foundation of the Watchtower, every closely held belief, doctrine or position that is shown to be in error, weakens its credibility and paves the way for good, honest people within to leave.
Conversation in here has a tendency to polarise around belief and non-belief. I guess that's pretty much inevitable and its not necessarilty a bad thing. Lights go on sometimes on both sides. It's only destructive when it gets personal which, unfortunately, does happen all too often.
I am soliciting insightful conversation on debunking the Watchtower. There are some things that are slam dunks in my estimation - the vegetarianism of antideluvian animals and the age of man, for a couple of examples. Others require a more thoughtful argument, like the scriptural prohibition on blood.
Are there others?
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"Are you In the Truth?"
by Nickolas ini can't remember the last time i was asked that question because it has been many years.
nor do i remember my response to the questioner but it no doubt contributed to not being asked the question since.
are you in the truth?
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Nickolas
Let's just let this thread die a natural death, like it should have on page 6 after Gladiator's post. Time to move on.