mindseye

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Posts by mindseye

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  11

  Am I seeing my JW life and exit in context?

  by jemba in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while visiting with a workmate the other day i got to thinking.

  my friend has had the lowest of morals of anyone ive ever met.

  she was an illegal drug manufacturer for 20 yrs, jailed 3 times, junkie for 17 years, has been a topless waitress, made porno movies and prostituted herself.

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  mindseye

  Perhaps because of her background, your friend sees the 'stability' of a JW upbringing in a positive light. I also often find that people who 'take a walk on the wild side' often take to the ideal of a strict lifestyle later on in their lives. But they fail to see the destructive side to this sort of life - shunning, absurd standards, repression, etc. It's the other extreme. A middle-way of moderation is the best way, in my experience.

  And after seeing what happens to JWs after they leave - disfellowshipping, broken families, etc. - I can see where resentment is justified. I think forums like this can be very cathartic, and part of the process of eventually moving on. I think the sort of reflection shown in your post is part of the process as well (seeing the big picture!).
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  81

  Lets list everything that has pagan origins!!

  by song19 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a feeling i am going to have to explain to my jw folks why i have decided to allow my children to participate in holidays at school.

  theyll probably be wondering too why i will get together with our non jw family for the holidays.. .

  we know jws avoid holidays because of their pagan origins.

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  mindseye

  mP, sure, democracy in ancient Greece was much different from how we currently practice it. But so was American democracy for a long time, as certain citizens were not allowed to vote for much of its history. My only point is that the origin of democratic thought began in culturally pagan Greece (though in practice earlier forms of democracy developed in India and Mesopotamia).
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  6

  WT magical toys & Republicans Gay marriage, are they the biggest issues?

  by UnConfused in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while not related, it seems that some small issues are being singled out when there are much much bigger fish in need of frying.

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  mindseye

  What about a newly married Gay Republican magical wizard?
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  33

  Sparlock: The Sociology of the former Jehovah’s Witness community

  by Las Malvinas son Argentinas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thewatchtower bible and tract society has unwittingly unleashed quite a viral sensation within the ranks of its former members.

  to summarise what has happened so far:- become jehovahs friend dvd is released.

  it is an animated feature aimed at children with modern computerised graphics.- the antagonist of the relatively brief cartoon is a self-described warrior wizard by the name of sparlock which was obtained by caleb, the young subject of this material.- the unnamed mother in this dvd guilt-trips young caleb into disposing of his sparlock toy.- the video goes viral within the ex-jw community, with youtube videos being posted of the video.

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  mindseye

  With that said, why the extensive overkill and analyses of what is at heart a facile tool of an intellectually bankrupt and widely discredited American religion? Is this some sort of penultimate endeavour that this loosely organised movement we belong to has built up to?

  I think it is a clever counter-weapon, and yes, quite an endeavour! With Sparlock, the org handed the Ex-JW community a powerful meme. The use of it is not only cathartic, but also shows the absurdity of JW doctrine and culture. There have been murmurings of the org pushing for more of a web presence, but this self-destructive act suggests that they may lack the savvy for new media. The Ex-JW community has handled it beautifully, having a lot of fun along the way. I hope we can keep it going!
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  81

  Lets list everything that has pagan origins!!

  by song19 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a feeling i am going to have to explain to my jw folks why i have decided to allow my children to participate in holidays at school.

  theyll probably be wondering too why i will get together with our non jw family for the holidays.. .

  we know jws avoid holidays because of their pagan origins.

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  mindseye

  Some of these may have been mentioned already:

  Democracy is greek on origin (and is the actual form of government that allows JWs to have freedom of religion).

  Christianity: was influenced by mystery cults. Christianity was steeped in the Hellenistic (Greek) culture. 'God-men' were common during the time of Jesus.

  God: The way modern people (even JWs) actually think of 'God' is radically different from the ancient Israelites, and is influenced by Hellenistic culture. To quote wikipedia:

  It was not until the fusion of Platonic and Aristotelian theology with Christianity that the concepts of strict omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence became commonplace.

  Some interesting reading:

  Hellenistic philosophy and Christianity

  Christianity and Paganism
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  170

  Simple answer, please! Scientifically explain the origin of life coming from nothing!

  by Silent_Scream in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  scientific method asserts nothing living can come from something non-living.

  science is observable, science is reproducible.

  a living thing coming from non-living matter has never been observed nor reproduced.. therefore, it takes faith in an unknown process to believe that that's exactly what happened in the beginning, with no evidence!.

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  mindseye

  Pig wrote: You could also ask "what is god" if he is simply everything in existence, then he exists.

  This is how I see "God", as a sort of underlying dynamic of the universe. Sort of like the Chinese concept of the Tao.

  The bible explaination of god is childish and stupid and should not be considered a valid was to look at how the earth got here.

  Yahweh was a cultural construct of the ancient Israelites. Most ancient cultures had their gods and creation myths, it was a matter of survival. I don't think the Israelites were stupid, their conception of God fit their cultural context of a patriarchal desert war tribe well. It worked towards political and social ends.

  I think these 'God' constructs are a way of pointing to something bigger, sort of like the finger pointing at the moon. The reality of 'God' is beyond words. I don't think we have to cling on to the creation myth in order to keep God. But many can't get over the image of God as a sort of giant male ceramics maker.
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  9

  You have to admit, Watchtower Productions have come a long way...

  by exwhyzee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  but they still present their message in a very one sided, unrealistic and propaganda like manner.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzfu_vcwqso.

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  mindseye

  lisaBObeesa wrote: They were so frightend by what was happening to the young people around them...by so frightened by the 60's...

  Yeah, the 60's freaked a lot of people out. It was so much cultural change in such a short time. I can imagine a lot of people being attracted to the JWs around that time.

  The video, whether one agrees with the message or not, was at least relevant to the time. Sure, it was appealing to peoples' fears in order to win converts, but at least it resonated. Now they have Sparlock and Mom mumbling "Satan."
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  9

  You have to admit, Watchtower Productions have come a long way...

  by exwhyzee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  but they still present their message in a very one sided, unrealistic and propaganda like manner.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzfu_vcwqso.

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  mindseye

  It's a bunch of simplistic religious moralizing (I agree with the 'worldly' girl in part 4: "Puritanical"). Still, there is a certain naturalness in the presentation that is lacking in current WT productions. Today's dramas and DVDs are so detached, with robotic characters and contrived situations, I can't imagine anyone relating to them. The production values might have improved, but in my estimation the content has actually regressed. The Sparlock incident is the perfect example.
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  9

  Has anybody read "A Universe from Nothing..."

  by Dagney in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.amazon.com/universe-nothing-there-something-rather/dp/145162445x/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=utf8&qid=1338398025&sr=1-1 .

  i was wondering if anybody has read this.

  tia .

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  mindseye

  I haven't read it, but now I want to. I put it on my Amazon wish list. Thanks Dagney.
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  28

  Why Do Introvert Elders Even Bother, What's Their Game?

  by Bubblegum Apotheosis in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  something that has troubled me for some time, why do introvert personalities reach out for the office of overseer?.

  this personality does not help with shepherding the flock (other brothers pick up their slack, their too shy for judicial committes), they are not upbuidling for the brothers and sisters (their long lost stuttering problem resurfaces when asked to call m.i.a.

  congregation memebers) and they are useless for widows and orphans (i can't help little father-less davie, my online role playing games are all time consuming!

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  mindseye

  Yeah, let me echo what other posters have pointed out, introversion does not equal shyness. Also, someone who dislikes people is a misanthrope, not necessarily an introvert. An introvert is just someone who gets energy from being alone, versus the extrovert who receives energy from other people.

  As far as the elder question, the introvert elders and MSs that I knew were actually good servants. They seemed to actually care about those in the conregation in a genuine way. Some were very intelligent, and seemed to more inquisitive about doctrine rather than just blindly following it. I could imagine many of them wising up and leaving, if given the right circumstances.

  Personally speaking, as an introvert myself, being a JW was very draining. I never aspired to be an elder or MS or anything else for that matter. I tried to avoid field service whenever possible, and did not like giving talks. I would be willing to bet that most that leave are introverts, just because the extroverted nature of the religion.