Posts by mindseye

29

Surprising 5 graduate degrees that don't pay off

by Scott77 in

5 graduate degrees that don't pay offby kathryn hawkins bankrate.com .

123456>5 graduate degrees that don't pay offin today's tough job market, many recent college graduates are enrolling in graduate programs to enhance their credentials and gain an edge with hiring managers.

in some cases, the tactic may lead to lucrative job opportunities.

mindseye

Band on the Run wrote: College was supposed to broaden our horizons. Supposedly, it was different from a tech or trade school.

Yes, I agree. My favorite classes were the one's that did not have any direct 'practical' application on my future job, like philosophy, literature, art history, and religion from an anthropological perspective. These classes expanded my worldview and encouraged me to be a lifelong learner.

And I was also grateful for those teachers who pursued degrees in fields that they loved, not just the ones who pursued the big $$$. They usually made the best teachers.

28

Self-Actualization

by frankiespeakin in

while i have come across this term before i never looked up what it meant.

so while reading about what "peak expreiences" are i came across the term again and decide to give wiki a try.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/self-actualization.

self-actualization is a term that has been used in various psychology theories, often in slightly different ways.

mindseye

Very informative posts, frankiespeakin. Maslow's hiearchy of needs was one my favorite concepts from psych class.

Farkel, I can understand the benefits of "doing". But I disagree with " stop trying to figure out stuff and DO something". I think some self-reflection and analysis is good for putting one's life in perspective. Not seminars and pop-psych books, but real psychology, can benefit a person's life.

12

E-Watchman on Unbelievable podcast

by mindseye in

jw
friends

there's this podcast, unbelievable, that i've been listening to.

it's from britian, and usually has debates between atheists and christians, or between christians of varying beliefs.

anyway, the host; justin brierly; has been trying to get a jw on his show for a while, but to no avail.

mindseye

Yeah, the e-watchman is....unbelievable, lol. Second part is up: http://www.premierradio.org.uk/shows/saturday/unbelievable.aspx

The other guest, Tony, is now an orthodox Christian. They have some interesting discussions about the Trinity, 140,000, etc., and Tony has the edge. Where he really corners e-watchman is on the JW concept of Jesus being the archangel Michael (something that always causes a WTF moment).

30

Trinity Brochure

by flamegrilled in

has anybody heard an official reason that the trinity brochure is deceased?.

the gb have been released basically new versions of old brochures with wild abandon, and yet the trinity brochure which has absolutely no equivalent is no longer in print.. why?.

we all know there were dodgy references/quotations therein, but you would think by now the gb would have put some effort into a viable replacement if it were posssible.. nobody seems to be making too much of this as far as i can see.. the trinity brochure was very naughty.

mindseye

Yeah, is it deceased or are they just not pushing it any more?

Besides the mistakes, I imagine Trinitarians seeing JWs stance on the subject as hypocritical. The argument I was taught growing up was that the Trinity was not Bible based; that it was going beyond what the Bible actually said. Yet the Witnesses form all kinds of concepts by going beyond what the Bible actually says (i.e. JW definition of the "faithful and discreet slave", the "144,000" being the "heavenly church", etc.).

12

E-Watchman on Unbelievable podcast

by mindseye in

jw
friends

there's this podcast, unbelievable, that i've been listening to.

it's from britian, and usually has debates between atheists and christians, or between christians of varying beliefs.

anyway, the host; justin brierly; has been trying to get a jw on his show for a while, but to no avail.

mindseye

There's this podcast, Unbelievable, that I've been listening to. It's from Britian, and usually has debates between atheists and Christians, or between Christians of varying beliefs. Anyway, the host; Justin Brierly; has been trying to get a JW on his show for a while, but to no avail. In order to meet the demand for an episode on the Witnesses, Brierly got Robert King (the e-watchman) to argue from the JW perspective, along with a former JW.

It makes for an interesting conversation. The link is here: http://www.premierradio.org.uk/shows/saturday/unbelievable.aspx

It can be downloaded on itunes too. A second part should be coming soon.

Thought everyone would like to know...peace.

27

How have you fared since leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses?

by God_Delusion in

howdy guys and gals!.

personally, my life has been fantastic.

it's like a massive weight has been lifted off of me, especially when it comes to having to go to the meetings.

mindseye

I drifted away pretty young, without getting dunked. It took a while to be completely mentally out. Education helped with that. Honestly, life couldn't be better. Nothing's perfect, of course, but I am very content. I think ex-jws have a special outlook in life, because they appreciate things others often take for granted: having the freedom to learn, exploring authentic spirituality, celebrating holidays, etc.

I do think one's circumstances do effect how good one's post-jw life is. The deeper that you're in, the more difficult the transition. And living with a JW relative or spouse no doubt can make things much more complicated. But it can be done. One of my close friends was a super pioneer, from a hard-core JW family, and got married to a JW girl at a very young age. He eventually got out, got a divorce, and went to college. It was much harder for him than for someone like me, but it was worth it. He couldn't be happier as well.

42

Avoid Testing God in Your Heart - transcript of talk from District Convention 2012

by wannabefree in

for those who don't care to listen to the talk but would like to know what was said ... here ya go .... .

avoid testing god in your heart.

imagine the ancient israelites as they were slaves in egypt, under an oppressive pharaoh.. god brought nine plagues on egypt and then announced a tenth; the firstborn would be struck down.. can you imagine the cry that went out in egypt when the firstborn died, including pharaoh's own son?.

mindseye

Wow, so much thought-control embedded in that talk that I don't know where to start. I found this interesting:

Well, some feel that the spiritual food received from Jehovah's Organization is not enough, they need more. And so some have taken it upon themselves to try and provide more. A few have pursued independent group studies of Biblical Hebrew and Greek in order to analyze the accuracy of the New World Translation.

Get a load of that, those that consider themselves Christians would dare to examine how accurate their Bible translation is. The nerve of such people! Of course, anyone who has done such examination knows what the WT is worried about. People who seriously study the Bible, from academics and theologians, believers and unbelievers, liberals and conservatives, agree that the NWT is not a reliable Bible translation (I just heard an evangelical theologian named James White on a podcast discussing Bible translations. He said that "JWs just insert their beliefs into the text.").

A third lesson we can learn from the Israelites is that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, showed disrespect for Jehovah's arrangement and decisions. In fact, they started to feel that nothing that Moses was doing was good enough, so they rejected him. And what was wrong with that? Moses was Jehovah's appointed leader.

In the story, Moses had the burning bush. What does the borg have?

Jehovah's Organization is very clear on this subject, but have we taken a stand, like the world around us, and, reasoned in our minds that that's the only way that we can have a secure future, even if I have to sacrifice my spirituality, higher education is really the way to go?

My spirituality has grown with higher education. All of those great thinkers and poets give greater spiritual food than the 'faithful & discreet.'

We do well to examine our hearts in this regard, this will help us to guard against any critical thinking..

This sort of attitude against critical and 'independent' thinking is what had me out of the door quicker than the Roadrunner. Is 'the truth' so fragile that it cannot stand the light of closer examination?

There is only one official internet website wherein one can find all the information they need to know about Jehovah's Witnesses including the abundance of downloadable publications, and that is jw.org.

LOL.

33

Can we Die After the Thousand Years and Final Test?

by God_Delusion in

howdy guys and gals,.

i am currently researching some material on what watchtower doctrine says with regards to punishments jehovah candish out to us after the thousand year reign and the final test.. my mother (a brilliant woman) always told me that if a human purposefully went against jehovah after the thousand years and the final test, jehovah would instantly put them to death.

is this true?

mindseye

Aussie Oz wrote:

oh the poor JWs

tethered on a short string for eternity

not my idea of paradise thanks!

Yeah, exactly my thoughts when I first heard this growing up. It's more like hell than paradise, where the 'gift' of free will is just enough rope to hang one's self.

35

The End of Biblical Studies?

by slimboyfat in

a while ago i read a book called the end of biblical studies by evangelical turned sceptical academic hector avalos.

i thought it was really interesting perhaps because it mirrors some of the stages i went through as regards how i viewed the bible as i was leaving the witnesses.

at first i still believed the bible was inspired by god but learned to use different methods to interpret it than witness eisegesis.

mindseye

Vidquin wrote:

1) The Bible is the Big Truth. According to Bible Fundamentalists.

2) The Bible is Half Truth, Half Lie. According to most modern Bible Scholars.

3) The Bible is the Big Lie. According to atheists.

These are your choices.

Really? The only choices? What about "none of the above." Once one gets past claims to "truth", one can read the Bible as metaphor, which is where it's real power lies. As far as "truth" goes, it's pretty clear by now that the Bible is hodge podge of mythology, poetry, laws with some debatable history thrown in. I don't think calling much of the Bible mythology invalidates it, mythology can hold rich meaning and be an impetus for spiritual growth.

Also, interesting post, but most of the references that you quote are quite dated and from the conservative side of biblical studies.

35

The End of Biblical Studies?

by slimboyfat in

a while ago i read a book called the end of biblical studies by evangelical turned sceptical academic hector avalos.

i thought it was really interesting perhaps because it mirrors some of the stages i went through as regards how i viewed the bible as i was leaving the witnesses.

at first i still believed the bible was inspired by god but learned to use different methods to interpret it than witness eisegesis.

mindseye

Avalos is relentless. By the end of the book you wonder if there is any reasonable basis for respect for the Bible left.

I found that after the deconstruction of the Bible, I now have an even greater respect for it. I'm less worried about divine command -- there's no need for a moral guidebook telling me when I can take a s*it. I recognize it for what it is: a hodge podge of texts written by the frail yet noble hand of homo-sapien, searching for the numinous and trying to grapple with their tumultuous desert-world. Literary and aesthetic quality varies between texts - but it is most of all RICH, filled with meaning and symbolism deeply imprinted on western consciousness.

I've directed my skeptical gaze at the Bible for a while, now I'm getting a little skeptical of evangelical Christians turned evangelical 'skeptics' pronouncing the end of theology/religion/biblical studies/God etc... (Nietzsche did the same thing long ago, only with more poetry, verve, and vigorous thought).