I forgot add. You said folks like myself belittle the believers. Do a search of my posts and find one example. I thought I had covered this ground before.
Posts by larc
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23Ex JW Author To Speak
by Kenneson inon august 1, roy milton, author of truth or consequences, is due to speak at vineyard christian fellowship in downey, california.
he was a jw for some 30 years and this book tells about his journey in and out of the religion.
anyone living in that area interested in his story might like to attend and offer moral support.
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23
Ex JW Author To Speak
by Kenneson inon august 1, roy milton, author of truth or consequences, is due to speak at vineyard christian fellowship in downey, california.
he was a jw for some 30 years and this book tells about his journey in and out of the religion.
anyone living in that area interested in his story might like to attend and offer moral support.
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larc
Kenneson, you say that trying to change a Christians belief is not the point. I thought that, that was the point that you made. I simply responded to your premis. Am I right or wrong? I asked for quotes from the many like myself who post here. If you can give an example of your original statements, I will be very surprised. It was not beside the point originally. I responded simply and directly to your assertion. Hey you brought up the subject, not me. I simply responded to what you said, because I disagreed and explained why. It was not "beside the point" at the time. So, why has it become beside the point now? I just think you are blowing me off. That is not Christian of you. ............................................................................................ Regarding Mr. Milton, I don't know him, so I don't know if I should repect him or not. Who are the "they" that you refer to, who castigate him. Are any here on this forumn. If so, who are they? ............................................................................................ I don't juge people on their beliefs. Rather, I judge them on their behavior. I have several friends who are Christians. One in particular is one of my best friends. He has a PhD in communications, and a master's degree (obtained after his PhD) in theology. When I worked with him he created two jobs for himself, caplain of the college and onbudsman. He is a very fine man.
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7
Is it unfair to be skeptical of JW literature?
by TD inwhy do many here take such a dim view of the integrity and quality of research of witness publications?
what have they done to deserve this?
consider one example: as proof that we are living in a time of unprecedented earthquake frequency the awake!
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larc
Tom, you are not the worst writer in the world. I am the worst reader.
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20
building a house, cost?
by jwbot injwbot's dream house
i want that house.
after doing the budget, mike and i could put a down payment on a house loan.
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larc
Like some others, I would prefer a pre-existing home. Building a home is very time consuming and things can go wrong with the contractor and subcontractors. Also, the interior features require a myriad of decisions. I would prefer a house that is in place and I can decide if I like the layout, the interior features, and the lanscaping. If there are features I don't like, can these be updated at a low cost? If you do decide to buy such a house, make sure an inspector has reviewed it, and the house is "up to code". Also, some home owners will provide homeowner's insurance to cover andy major problem that developes in the first year after your purchase. ............................................................................................ As far as financing goes, I would save up the 20% you mentioned, but I would try to get a loan for zero to 10%. I would put the rest of the money in an account to ONLY be used for emergency home repairs or to use during months where you have trouble meeting the house payment, because of unexpected expenses. Having this buffer is a good idea, but only if you have the discipline not to use this money for other purposes.
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38
What First Stumbled You?
by glitter inwhat was the very first thing that "stumbled" you?
mine was: i was about 5 or 6 years old and of course i used to find it really hard to find things in my bible at meetings (couldn't find the books quick enough before they moved onto the next paragraph and used to get frustrated).
i had the idea to make little tabs for the edges of the pages so i could tell where the books were - so i asked mum to help me neatly write out the book names on tiny slips of paper and tape them inside.
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larc
I am amazed at those of you who developed doubts in childhood. Mine did not develope until I was in my late teens. This was percipitated by reading the very old literature of Russell and Rutherford. What a eye opener that was. I was not stumbled by people. I attended a nice congregation, where folks got along. I was sorry to leave them, but I could not live a lie, when I came to know so much about the history of failed prophecy and silly teachings.
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7
Is it unfair to be skeptical of JW literature?
by TD inwhy do many here take such a dim view of the integrity and quality of research of witness publications?
what have they done to deserve this?
consider one example: as proof that we are living in a time of unprecedented earthquake frequency the awake!
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larc
Sorry TD, I misread part of your post. You point out that the quote used WT sources in order claim the truth of the earth quake situation. Surely, the auther was lazy and promoted something not true by using WT literature.
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23
Ex JW Author To Speak
by Kenneson inon august 1, roy milton, author of truth or consequences, is due to speak at vineyard christian fellowship in downey, california.
he was a jw for some 30 years and this book tells about his journey in and out of the religion.
anyone living in that area interested in his story might like to attend and offer moral support.
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larc
Well, I see I have two of you who disagree with me. As I said before, I don't care what you believe, nor do I have any desire to change what you believe. Having observed others of my belief system here on the forumn, I can not recall one instance where there was an attempt to talk someone out of their beliefs. If there are some examples contrary to what I say, please provide them for me. ............................................................................................ One of you brought up moral relativism. Why? I did not state my moral values. I doubt that they are much different than yours.
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Is it unfair to be skeptical of JW literature?
by TD inwhy do many here take such a dim view of the integrity and quality of research of witness publications?
what have they done to deserve this?
consider one example: as proof that we are living in a time of unprecedented earthquake frequency the awake!
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larc
TD, you should read, The Sign of The Last Days -When? by Carl Olof Jonsson. His book is very detailed and scholarly, and he draws far different conclusions than are found in the quotes you provide. To get a balanced view should read his work. He devotes 41 pages of his book to the subject of earthquakes. I thing you will find his work to be much more complete that what you have provided us. ............................................................................................ Regarding WT research, as a researcher myself, I find it to be very shoddy, indeed. They do not provide references to their quotes. Sometimes they do not even provide a name for the person they quote, so it is impossible to determine the context of the quote. They have been known to take quotes out of context and distort the meaning of the quote. They have been known to take two quotes that are pages apart in a docuement and put them side by side. This is very deceiving indeed, and shows a lack of professional ethics. This latter point has been discussed here before and examples have been given. Yes, in terms of WT so called scholarship, let the buyer beware. ............................................................................................ No, I am not being unfair at all. I am simply stating the facts as someone who understands research and the standards of scholarship. I think I have explained what they have done to deserve this.
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34
Neutrality....
by PriestessLizzie ini've been reading this forum for a while now and finally decided to join.
i left the "truth" about 7 years ago for reasons i am not ready to go into at this time- mainly because i dont have the time to explain them at the moment.
though i do not believe entirely what the witnesses teach, i am surprised to see such anger and hatred towards them.
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larc
I agree that all religions, all groups for that matter demand some degree of conformity to the group. Sometimes the move to conformity is done without much awareness on the person's part. This is the case with Groupthink. Members all eventualy think alike. This does have some positive benefits. Members have good feelings about the group. They have high espredecor (sp?). They believe that their group is right and they may feel that their group is better than others. Is this mind control. I think not. It is an automatic process. Mind control implies that their is a concerted effort on the part of the group to "change people's minds. This is not the case with groupthink. ............................................................................................ Cassi, you said that you still had emotional reactions to things you learned as a child. Proplog mentioned the psychological construct of field independence. The opposite is field dependence. These people are more suseptable to influence and the effect of influence. I maintain that what ever is learned can be unlearned. I don't know the best way for you to do this, but it can be done. Perhaps, a good therapist could help you in this area.
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23
Ex JW Author To Speak
by Kenneson inon august 1, roy milton, author of truth or consequences, is due to speak at vineyard christian fellowship in downey, california.
he was a jw for some 30 years and this book tells about his journey in and out of the religion.
anyone living in that area interested in his story might like to attend and offer moral support.
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larc
Kenneson, I think you have us atheists and agnostics all wrong. We have no interest in changing anyone's bliefs. w We really don't care what you believe. After all, we believe that what you believe won't change anything, so why should we try to change you? We hope you have much happiness in your beliefs. Now, if you want to say something stupid like, Noah and the flood were literaly true, we will respond.