Posts by fulltimestudent

26

Buddhism Anyone?

by LaurenM in

so, i have recently been delving in buddhism and i must say it all makes sense!

like, the philosophies and ideas are what i've always believed but could never put a name to.

for example, they don't believe in god, they teach acceptance of all faiths, that peace can be achieved - not by changing other people - but by changing yourself, that everyone has goodness in themselves, that happiness can be gained internally (not externally as a gift from god), and that life is temporary so we should enjoy it!

fulltimestudent

Cofty: There might be elements of it's teachings that appeal to you but it does not make sense.
Do you really believe that you will be reincarnated and that your actions in this life will determine whether you will be a cow or a flea in the next?

Now let me ask a question, if when you die, there is no longer an 'you,' then what is there to re-incarnate? Well the correct answer in at least some Buddhist schools is that there is a 'trace' that can be re-incarnated, but your going to be rather bloody lucky to find a Buddhist that can explain a 'trace' to you.

So yeah! there's some appealing ideas in Buddhism and lot of misconceptions also. I like going to Buddhist temples but sadly, it has as much bullsh*t in it as Christianity has, and as Bonsai pointed out as many sects.

Every time Buddhism moved to another country, it changed. In China, it became totally overwritten by Chinese thought, which is called Chan buddhism. When Chan eventually moved to Japan, it became Zen buddhism, which is popular in the USA.

The two main streams of Buddhist thought are the Theravada school in Sri Llanka and S.E. Asia and the Mahayana in East Asia (including the Tibetan form).

The original (Gautama) Buddha, has multiplied to many others who may all have their own paradises. Many scholars suggest that in some way Jesus was influenced by Buddhist missionaries. That's difficult to prove, but as I've come to appreciate, Judaism was affected by many other lines of thinking, and is not and was never, a line of pure worship existing through the milleniums.

36

How many here believed, down deep in your heart that the end would come in 1975?

by James Mixon in

i was straddling the fence on that one, just in case they were right.

i don't recall.

telling anyone this is your last chance.

fulltimestudent

Hah! I confess to some doubt. I had read very carefully, Freddy's thoughts in (I think) Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God , and noted his careful hedging, but felt I should trust my "Christian brothers."

My fears were confirmed in 1975 itself, when around August or September of that year, Nathan Knorr and Freddy Franz himself came to Australia and Sydney elders were asked to attend a meeting at the Greenacre Assembly Hall.

Nathan was a sick man (from cancer) at this time, but I noted a tone of irritation in his voice, when he introduced Freddy to speak, by saying that there was no longer enough time left in 1975 for all the things that Brother Franz says must happen before Armageddon, to happen. Therefore Armageddon was unlikely to be coming in 1975.

Worse, the following year, they sent Doug Held*, a Canadian who had been a former Branch overseer in Australia out here to firm up our faith (haha). Doug did that by telling us that Armageddon was likely to be 20 years away, this confirming the growing suspicion that I, like millions, even billions of others had been had by history's biggest confidence trickster, i.e. the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself (according to a man who'd never knew or heard him) said:

27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.(NIV)

Who is meant by the personal pronoun 'you' Jesus used when preaching that day. Why, the people who were listening to him that day, of course.

Jesus believed and taught that Armageddon (as the church later called it) was going to happen right there in his day.

That's why the whole Christian thingie, (not just the jws) is an enormous con trick.

Jesus believed with all his heart, we believed with all our hearts, but it is all bullsh*t.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ps: Doug Held came from the Canadian branch. Gossip is that he was one of the geogeous looking young men who Percy Chapman (the longtime Canadian branch overseer) collected around him, and whom he liked to take out to expensive dinners at fashionable restuarants.

There is no evidence that Doug was ever involved in M2M sexual activity, but Percy may have had the hots for him and liked to have him around

3

USA National debt hits 18 trillion dollars

by fulltimestudent in

three weeks ago, the citizens in beijing, china paraded tiananmen square, celebrating the milestone with hugs, jubilant cheers, and singing.

over 600,000 chinese citizens assembled in tiananmen square to watch the u.s. debt clock mounted above the forbidden city reach the landmark sum of $18 trillion dollars.. you could stay home and watch it on tv, but its much more exciting to be here with people from all over the country to celebrate this momentous day, said beijing resident xiao bu, noting that he always arrives in the early morning to stake out a good location in the square every time americas debt rises by another trillion.. i remember my father taking me to see the $5 trillion mark so long ago, and now im bringing my own children here to take part in the festivities.

its really a special part of our nations culture.. while most revelers left shortly after the rollover, an estimated 100,000 reportedly decided to just wait around in the square until the clock struck $19 trillion.. at the moment, the u.s national debt had decreased by a small amount since the rollover, amounting to just under 18 trillion dollars in debt.. in 2008, the u.s standard debt clock that towered new york city had reached 10 trillion.

fulltimestudent

Three weeks ago, the citizens in Beijing, China paraded Tiananmen Square, celebrating the milestone with hugs, jubilant cheers, and singing. Over 600,000 Chinese citizens assembled in Tiananmen Square to watch the U.S. debt clock mounted above the Forbidden City reach the landmark sum of $18 trillion dollars.

“You could stay home and watch it on TV, but it’s much more exciting to be here with people from all over the country to celebrate this momentous day,” said Beijing resident Xiao Bu, noting that he always arrives in the early morning to stake out a good location in the square every time America’s debt rises by another trillion.

“I remember my father taking me to see the $5 trillion mark so long ago, and now I’m bringing my own children here to take part in the festivities. It’s really a special part of our nation’s culture.”

While most revelers left shortly after the rollover, an estimated 100,000 reportedly decided to just wait around in the square until the clock struck $19 trillion.

At the moment, the U.S national debt had decreased by a small amount since the rollover, amounting to just under 18 trillion dollars in debt.

In 2008, the U.S standard debt clock that towered New York City had reached 10 trillion. A new debt-clock was constructed shortly, due to the fact that the clock had run out of digits! 6 years later, in 2014, the U.S debt clock is displaying nearly twice that amount.

http://anonhq.com/u-s-18-trillion-dollars-debt/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

Interestingly, even though I read the internet based, English editions, of Chinese newspapers every day, I do not recall seeing mention of this moment of social interest.

Faith flops in a heap of bull-crap - A presentation demonstrating how impossible it is to logically believe in a global flood.

by fulltimestudent in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ohxqtmoec

fulltimestudent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4OhXQTMOEc

20

Social changes- 50% of British youth think they may be a 'little' bit gay

by fulltimestudent in

this is an amazing social change, and bring humans closer to reality.. from the independent - a british newpaper.

a survey reports:.

read the full story at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/yougov-poll-homosexuality-half-young-people-10458032.html.

fulltimestudent

Gotta love the way that Lily Rose Depp (daughter of u know who) expressed herself on her sexuality:

She is quoted in today's issue of the UK Independent, as saying that she 'does not identify as completely heterosexual.'

link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/lily-rose-depp-does-not-identify-as-completely-heterosexual-in-lgbtq-campaign-10469113.html

3

My Capstone Essay-

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

i've had approval for the topic of my capstone essay (which is supposed to demonstrate how far i've travelled in my years of study.. after some negotiation, the unit convenor has approved the topic as: "an investigation of hellenic influences on representations of divinity in daniel 7.".

he was kind enough to suggest that i may find some interesting thoughts in this book, the human and divine in history: herodotus and the book of daniel by paul miskanen.. some may recognise the topic as similar to a thread i started some four months ago, "polytheism in the book of daniel, a late second temple religious document.

that thread* had some interesting reactions, it was based on an idea in a book by jewish scholar, daniel boyarin called, the jewish gospels: the story of the jewish christ.

fulltimestudent

Half banana: I will look forward to a summary of your essay (if not the whole thing!). I think the choice is excellent, an area I would love to investigate in depth myself.

Yup, I'll at least post key points and arguments

It is a critical area of study capable of busting anyone's trust in the divinity of scripture.

I agree HB. The JW view of scripture (and, most fundy churches) cannot be sustained once you see that the chain of inspiration that they claim exists, does not exist.

So much of adventist and therefore JW belief comes from Daniel and the facts as you have mentioned about the Persian and the Hellenic world is very germane to the development of messianic belief.

Part of the topic will be to test that possibility and compare it to both Egyptian and Iranian sources. As far as Hellenic influence is concerned. Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian (playwright). Think about this quote from his play Eumenides, I'm not claiming any great spiritual knowledge of him, but note the language he used.

" ... I, as a prophet, cannot lie. Never from my prophetic shrine have I said anything of city, man or woman But what my father (Zeus) has commanded me. This plea of mine must override all othres, Since it accords with our great father's will."

Aeschylus was born around 525BCE, withing a couple of hundred years, Greeks ruled over Palestine and Greek colonies were established in Galilee and other Palestinian provinces. Think of the affect this likely had on young Jewish men.

Relics of a nearly forgotten (cold) war.

by fulltimestudent in

a recent bbc feature has some fascinating images of forgotten (nearly) structures built during the glory (sort of) days of the soviet union.. on those pages you can see the world's largest diesel powered submarine and a strange looking amphibian built for anti-submarine warfare.. http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150819-restricted-areas-eerie-relics-of-a-forgotten-russia.

and .

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/soviet-unions-bartini-beriev-vva-14-plane-2015-1.

fulltimestudent

A recent BBC feature has some fascinating images of forgotten (nearly) structures built during the glory (sort of) days of the Soviet Union.

On those pages you can see the world's largest diesel powered submarine and a strange looking amphibian built for anti-submarine warfare.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150819-restricted-areas-eerie-relics-of-a-forgotten-russia

and

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/soviet-unions-bartini-beriev-vva-14-plane-2015-1

3

My Capstone Essay-

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

i've had approval for the topic of my capstone essay (which is supposed to demonstrate how far i've travelled in my years of study.. after some negotiation, the unit convenor has approved the topic as: "an investigation of hellenic influences on representations of divinity in daniel 7.".

he was kind enough to suggest that i may find some interesting thoughts in this book, the human and divine in history: herodotus and the book of daniel by paul miskanen.. some may recognise the topic as similar to a thread i started some four months ago, "polytheism in the book of daniel, a late second temple religious document.

that thread* had some interesting reactions, it was based on an idea in a book by jewish scholar, daniel boyarin called, the jewish gospels: the story of the jewish christ.

fulltimestudent

I've had approval for the topic of my capstone essay (which is supposed to demonstrate how far I've travelled in my years of study.

After some negotiation, the Unit convenor has approved the topic as: "An investigation of Hellenic influences on representations of divinity in Daniel 7."

He was kind enough to suggest that I may find some interesting thoughts in this book, The Human and Divine in History: Herodotus and the Book of Daniel by Paul Miskanen.

Some may recognise the topic as similar to a thread I started some four months ago, "Polytheism in the Book of Daniel, a late second temple religious document."

That thread* had some interesting reactions, it was based on an idea in a book by Jewish scholar, Daniel Boyarin called, The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ. In which he called into question the idea that Second Temple Judaism was solely and exclusively monotheistic.

In this essay I propose to investigate the source of this polytheism that we see in Daniel 7, Boyarin argues that it was native to Judaism, a kind of hangover from Canaanite days. I will investigate alternative influences ranging from Egyptian Judaism to Iranian ideas, which arrived in Jewish thinking during the exile, but also from the influence of Babylonian Jews who did not return to Jerusalem, before finally examining how deeply Hellenism had infiltrated the Judaism of that period, so that what we see in Daniel 7 is a Messianism re-told with Hellenistic overtones.

Not sure how well I'm going to handle this. But its challenging and in line with my Libran instincts (haha)

* http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/208020001/polytheism-book-daniel-late-second-temple-religious-document

20

Social changes- 50% of British youth think they may be a 'little' bit gay

by fulltimestudent in

this is an amazing social change, and bring humans closer to reality.. from the independent - a british newpaper.

a survey reports:.

read the full story at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/yougov-poll-homosexuality-half-young-people-10458032.html.

fulltimestudent

Umm! Posters like that can be annoying, however in the case of the poster DJS and cantleave are referring to, this topic is so disturbing to them that I suggest something very deep is an issue in their deepest psyche. Therefore I recommend being kind to them, as we don't really know who they are, or what is going on in their lives, or the extent to which their lives have been damaged by Christian ideology,

The issue of same sex attraction clearly causes some people great anguish. Why else would we see the terrible crimes that some homophobes have committed, or the violent, excessive language that is sometimes posted. I'm not sure precisely why that is the case, but think it likely, that since a satisfying sex life has much greater importance in our lives than Christian ideology allows, that the internal psychological rifts brought about by Christian attitudes to same sex attraction causes an emotional state approaching hysteria.

I recall an idea perhaps originating with Michel Foucault. That the causes of hysteria (i.e. exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement ) are to be found in the disorders of a person's pscyo-sexual life.

I cant claim an expert knowledge of Foucault's ideas, but can see where the idea (which I just attempted to express) may take us.

20

Social changes- 50% of British youth think they may be a 'little' bit gay

by fulltimestudent in

this is an amazing social change, and bring humans closer to reality.. from the independent - a british newpaper.

a survey reports:.

read the full story at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/yougov-poll-homosexuality-half-young-people-10458032.html.

fulltimestudent

snugglebunny: It's probably true of early teens. Back in the day many of my school mates would indulge in same sex relationships, however it was generally regarded as a "make do" stop-gap until a willing female was encountered.
JW boys were no different. Although we were aware that sexual intercourse resulted in disfellowshipping, it didn't occur to anyone that same-sex play was any more serious than masturbation. The WT only talked about fornication, little else.

Grin!!! - Interesting point, snugglebunny! My gayxjw friend once belonged to a gayxjw group (I think it was called 'Common Bond" or something like that). The members used to swap experiences, and quite a few stories emerged (he says) of future circuit overseers and missionaries, at least allowing another young man to perform oral sex on them. (Bill Clinton's defense was a common concept).

A former Aussie branch overseer told me once that the branch had to send two young men who roomed together home, because they had fallen in love with each other and started having sex together.

I also know of two young Aussie missionaries assigned to Cambodia (thus on their own - i.e. no organisation around them) who 'fell in love with each other.'

That story has a sad ending. One of these men fell sick and died of some infection. With little money, the surviving guy had to dispose of the body of his friend (lover) by the usual method in Cambodia, cremation. He did not have enough money to buy sufficient wood for the fire, so not only had to build the funeral pyre, place his lover on it, and set the pyre on fire. Maybe because he lacked the skill to build the pyre correctly, but more likely because he had not bought enough wood, the body kept slipping out of the fire, and he had to keep pushing it back into the fire. Unsurprisingly, he had an emotional breakdown and returned to Aust. A representative from the Hongkong branch went to Cambodia to end the lease on the (so-called) 'home,' and found some incriminating evidence of their relationship. Confronted in Australia the surviving young man confessed.

And, recently the Percy Chapman story emerged again. I meant to post some much greater detail that has been published online, but did not get around to it.

It all demonstrates the essential truth of the initial report I posted. Human sexuality is not as black and white as the gay/straight dichotomy suggests, or the male/female dichotomy suggests.

Left to themselves without the evil of Christian teachings on human sexuality, humans will (as LoveUniHateExams hopes) cross and re-cross gender lines, in both their sexual and romantic experiences.