Very nicely done!!!
The only urgency the article inspires is that of wanting friends and family released from the clutches of a destructive doomsday cult! If the Governing Body of the WTS is the "generation" then it truly is a wicked generation.
LittleToe
JoinedPosts by LittleToe
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Has anyone disassociated themselves in public at the KH?
by Awakened at Gilead ini read of someone on this site that gave a public talk and disassociated himself at the end of the talk.
has anyone here da'd by giving a comment at a meeting?????.
it would be kinda cool with the big generation light coming up to just raise my hand, say i don't believe it, and be done with it.
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LittleToe
This past year I've barely been able to get on the Board, but folks keep me informed as to who is doing what and when. I check my PMs from time to time and will endeavor to keep an eye on this thread as I'm able.
DAing is not for everyone, with the main question being whether you like your pain quick or slow...
I'd be happy to answer any questions about the efficacy of such an approach.
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Supernaturalism and reason.
by Narkissos inreading one more time (on the umpteenth thread about the 70 weeks of daniel, into which i'm not going again) the idea that "anti-supercalifragilnaturalistic bias" ruin the unbelievers' (or misbelievers') exegesis of bible texts, and readily admitting to such... bias, i have one very general and simple question which might be worth its own thread.. here it is:.
once you admit such thing as the "supernatural", .
on what grounds can you assess anything.
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LittleToe
Nothing is impossible, nothing is certain. I can apply my limited reason to what I think is likely, but I'm probably in error to a greater or lesser margin in that as well. Meanwhile I might as well get out there on that tightrope of life because there's no other way of getting from this side of the big top to the other...
"Life is a journey... might as well be pleasant to the other travellers, as it goes a lot slower when everyone is grumpy!"
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Which is More Important: Doctrinal Correctness or Unity?
by Olin Moyles Ghost inlately i have done a lot of thinking about the inevitable discussions i will have with family and friends about my (and their) beliefs.
i have begun running through some hypothetical conversations in my mind.
today, i thought of a particular line of reasoning and would like to hear any comments/criticism from the board.
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LittleToe
p.s. - It is pointless isn't it.
Yes, I'm afraid it is.
Until an individual is faced with the issue that is their personal "deal-breaker" you can probably argue until you are blue in the face with little result. Kudos for trying, though. Keep chipping away...
As for them deeming you an apostate - JWs have been conditioned to become increasingly sensitive to abherant views. Getting tarred with that title is all too easy. Good luck with dodging that particular mind-closer!
Its no fun having family trapped in the bOrg {{{hugs}}}
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Which is More Important: Doctrinal Correctness or Unity?
by Olin Moyles Ghost inlately i have done a lot of thinking about the inevitable discussions i will have with family and friends about my (and their) beliefs.
i have begun running through some hypothetical conversations in my mind.
today, i thought of a particular line of reasoning and would like to hear any comments/criticism from the board.
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LittleToe
Good argument. However standing back from the whole JW issue I would state that neither is as important as "love".(1Cor.13:13).
Augustine is often quoted as saying: "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, love". I kinda like that!
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LittleToe
Things I can't see but believe in:
- I believe in the wind. What tool would you use to objectively measure its existence and when was it developed?
- I believe in oxygen. What tool would you use to objectively measure its existence and when was it developed?
- I believe in radio waves. What tool would you use to objectively measure their existence and when was it developed?
- I believe in "God". What tool might eventually be used to objectively measure "its" existence and when will it be developed?
Every age has a sub-conscious narcissistic belief that it has reached the pinnacle of understanding, even though it would publically acknowledge the reality of its ignorance. It's usually only some form of bigotry that causes someone to totally preclude the "possibility" that some future invention might shatter their cherished paradigm.
As for the so-called "God's Master Plan" - people have been inventing those for millenia! It seems a poor excuse to blame God for the work of those who merely claim to be His minions
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The Jesus bed connection.
by alanejackson inthis holiday, think and remember.
before the word sleep became part of our vocabulary, the word dead was used, meaning not conscious.
the word dead covered all the conditions for being found not conscious.
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LittleToe
A curse on all your futons!!!
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Self Deceit and Faith.
by hillary_step inthis thread is inspired by a comment made on another thread, but i thought it would make an interesting discussion.. self deceit is described as a "misconception that is favorable to the person who holds it".
my premise is that faith is a form of self-deceit - lying to oneself.. so, i would ask of the "faithful" the following questions and would request that they be read carefully to ensure no that there is no misunderstanding of purpose.. 1) in what way is faith not self-deception?.
2) is a person who has faith in a god that you do not believe in, say for example siva, practicing a form of self-deception?.
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LittleToe
Is that like the riddle of a dead man in the middle of a snowy field, with no footprints to or from the body?
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Ooops, forgot to mention the parachute, my bad!
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Free will- Divine blackmail?
by nvrgnbk indivine blackmail .
free will in the theistic worldview.
when confronted with the problem of evil - i.e., why a loving god allows pain and suffering to exist - theists of the western traditions often invoke the "free will" defense, that god wanted us to be truly free and that such freedom necessitates evil; we must have the option to either choose him or reject him.
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LittleToe
Those who espouse a pure "free-will" doctrine are usually in one Armenian camp or another. Calvinists acknowledge a dichotomy between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.
While I ascribe to some of the rudiments of panentheism, I also acknowledge that we have a tendency to anthropomorphise our surroundings. "Him" may not be entirely accurate, but its a useful mental placeholder for a concept relating to "something" bigger than merely ourselves.
When you let go of the egoic self-delusion, what observes?
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Self Deceit and Faith.
by hillary_step inthis thread is inspired by a comment made on another thread, but i thought it would make an interesting discussion.. self deceit is described as a "misconception that is favorable to the person who holds it".
my premise is that faith is a form of self-deceit - lying to oneself.. so, i would ask of the "faithful" the following questions and would request that they be read carefully to ensure no that there is no misunderstanding of purpose.. 1) in what way is faith not self-deception?.
2) is a person who has faith in a god that you do not believe in, say for example siva, practicing a form of self-deception?.
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LittleToe
Superfine:LOL - always having fun, my friend. Laughter makes the world go round... and then you die!
Burn:
I'm not attacking your core beliefs, but to be scientific about it you are starting with a rake of assumptions before leading yourself off towards a pre-determined outcome. Each and any of the steps that you iterate might be false. God may not care, may not interfere with human affairs, may not have given any direction to sentient life at all. Each of these are assumptions and beliefs based on whatever you hold as true or have faith in. I happen to agree with some of your conclusions, but I have to simultaneously confess that the line of reasoning is weak.I would suggest that the whole point of this thread is likely sat upon that foundation - the fact that many people (and in context, specifically those holding to the tenets of one religion or other) use weak reasoning based on "facts" that have a subjective weight often only meaningful to the individual making the argument. Part of the delusion is in believing that others see the world the same way are we do, when the realitiy is more akin to us all having our own individual filters and interpretations.
Whether we "believe" or not, we are all subject to a similar delusion. Recognising it is only a portion of the answer.