Bungi Bill

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Posts by Bungi Bill

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  55

  Cults in our Midst

  by Lee Elder in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is related to a comment i made in a previous thread.

  cults exist in many diverse parts of society.

  this includes politics.

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  Bungi Bill

  The more extreme forms of political ideology can and do inspire a level of fanaticism which rivals the worst of the religious forms. (Numerous examples of this were observed in Malaysia’s 12 year battle against the communists, during what was known as the “Malayan Emergency”).

  Not surprisingly perhaps, traces of this same “all or nothing” mentality are often observable even after a person abandons a cult. Speaking for myself, it took some time for the realisation to sink in that things are seldom ever clearly black and white. Instead, you are much more likely to be dealing with various shades of grey. This is particularly the case with politics - where a healthy dose of cynicism is a bloody good place to start from!
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  44

  Has Your JW Background Benefited You In Any Way?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i would like to think there was some good that resulted from our being a witness at one time..

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  Bungi Bill

  It did help me overcome the almost crippling shyness that once affected me. (Not that overcoming this was a pleasant experience!)

  However, for every benefit being a JW brought, there must have been at least 20 disadvantages.
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  11

  How did Christianity Achieve its Position as the World's Largest Religious Grouping?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is little evidence to indicate that there were many christians in the first 2 or 3 centuries of its existence.

  but after the conversion of constantine (or, at least his toleration of christianity) things changed.

  with one notable exception all future emperors promoted christianity.

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  Bungi Bill

  African people caught onto that one quite quickly - particularly the irony of it all.

  A parody of the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” reads

  ”Onward Christian Soldiers, into pagan lands,

  Prayer books in your pockets, rifles in your hands,

  Bring the gladsome tidings, where trade might be done,

  Spread your peaceful Gospel, with the Maxim Gun”.

  Both the point of a Roman sword and the muzzle of Maxim Gun proved to be very effective methods of converting the “heathen.”
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  11

  Zeal vs Fanaticism. What is the difference?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a good friend of ours and i were chatting the other day about the difference between a zealous person and fanatical person.. what is the difference?.

  why is someone praised for being "zealous" , but another person is mocked or condemned for being a "fanatical" person?.

  how would jws be classed?.

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  Bungi Bill

  Be very bloody careful, lest “zeal” turn into fanaticism - particularly when either religion or politics get involved.
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  9

  I Think It’s Great That ExJWs Have Gotten Politically Involved!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  remember when we could never say an opinion regarding politics?

  it’s refreshing to see that we can tell everyone what our political stances are and have no fear of shunning .

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  Bungi Bill

  Giordano,

  You hit the proverbial nail fair on the head there!

  It would seem that the JW “All or Nothing” mentality does take a long time to break from.
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  10

  A conversation with an ultra dub relative

  by joe134cd in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was talking to a very pimi relative the other day.

  despite been ultra orthodox she is a sweet old soul.

  because of this i had to be super careful how i worded things, due to my respect for her and not wanting to upset or get her aposta-dar homing i’m on me.

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  Bungi Bill

  Joe,

  You have a PM
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  46

  Paranormal stuff: is it a cultural thing? Rant ahead

  by Whynot in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  paranormal stuff is common where my family is from it's almost expected.

  native american background, my great grandmother was a witch doctor a damn good one too, my non witness relatives dabble in it.

  so i have seen stuff and experienced stuff.

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  Bungi Bill

  After living and working in Papua New Guinea for many years, I am less inclined to dismiss all such events out of hand as nonsense.

  The ability of many Papua New Guineans to easily locate missing items bordered on the uncanny. If this was “intuition” at work, then it certainly raised the meaning of that term to a whole new level.

  No trickery, definitely no mind-altering drugs involved (I certainly wasn’t taking any!) But whatever was at work, I was more than once grateful for it!
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  226

  Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

  by SecondRateMind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.

  apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.

  luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.

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  Bungi Bill

  A very informative read is to be found in the New York Review of June 7 2012 (www.nybooks.com. 2012/06/07).

  In this, the reviewer (Jared Diamond) examines the work of Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty.” The authors are very much of the opinion that these differences in wealth distribution, country by country, are solely the result of good or bad “institutions”.

  As the reviewer goes on to show, however, when it comes to the question of why nations differ in wealth, “The factors are multiple and diverse”. There is certainly no “silver bullet”! The one advocated by the OP would only serve to drag everybody down to the same level of poverty.

  (I have witnessed this in Papua New Guinea, where the traditional “Wantok” system, when used in a modern industrial society, only serves to impoverish everybody).
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  143

  Good Guys VS Bad Guys: Facts Nobody Wants to KNow

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  facts we don't want to know.

  the purpose of war is to kill humans.. .

  which humans?.

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  Bungi Bill

  When it comes to this sort of thing, I very much doubt if any country is squeaky clean. While Britain didn’t “ invent” concentration camps (that dubious honour fell to Spain in the Cuban War of Independence), it came a very close second in the Second Boer War (1899-1902). If ever there was a “Banker’s War”, that would have had to have been one - being fought for nothing other than the Witwatersrand Goldfields of the Transvaal.

  Also, Britain’s atrocities in its own backyard bear scrutiny. For example, look up on YouTube Peter Watkin’s 1964 documentary “ Culloden”. For another example, look up just about anything you like on the Irish War of Independence (1916-1921).

  No, the “White hats” - “Black hats” business is by no means as clear cut as we might imagine.
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  24

  Younger Witnesses less fanatical or fundamental

  by optimisticskeptic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am a born in jw for over 30 years now and have been in various positions in the organization.

  now i'm guessing most of us recognize that older generations tend to be more fundamental and less reasonable when it comes to their outlook and beliefs.

  i find this to mirror the differences you see outside of the organization as well (older people less tolerant of other religions, newer technology, lgbt, etc.).

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  Bungi Bill

  It does seem to me that those who endure with the JW religion pay lip service to all the demands of the GB, but quietly ignore its more extreme requirements.

  PS: Many thanks to my eldest daughter and my grand-daughter.