Thanks for posting, Cedars, these are really far out. The representations of Paradise seem to be changing a bit, from the 50's surburban-garden aesthetic to an ultra-ethnic utopia. Some of them have a Mediterranean vibe, and almost everyone is in exotic textiles. Yet Jesus - who was middle eastern - is still lilly white, and is in maniacal glee over organic farming and landscaping. When he hands the reigns over to dad, it's like a CGI bonanza, including 144,000 clones.
mindseye
JoinedPosts by mindseye
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147
Weird "new world" artwork from the 2013 calendar
by cedars inmy mother-in-law has a strange obsession with calendars, and orders the society's calendar each year.
this year's calendar is especially weird.
it features images depicting future events - in particular, the society's vision of the new world order.. i've taken the opportunity to scan some of the images for you all to check out.. please note - there are captions for each of the images, but i don't have the english language version of the calendar so i'd rather just quote the scripture used so as not to reveal which country i'm in.. .
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How the Society Portrays Cultural Diversity
by compound complex inwhat's wrong with this picture?.
the watch tower society claims that its members are united spiritually despite ethnic and cultural diversity; they speak a "pure language.
" an anglo-american religion, whose mother tongue is english, jehovah's witnesses see paradise - in saturated color - as though already "present.
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mindseye
I find the paradise representations to be a paradoxical cross between communist utopian art and the aesthetic of 1950's American Surburbia. I never found it very appealing - give me either rugged wilderness or the buzz of urban life - but not this manicured conformity.
As far as diversity - is it diversity if a culture cannot keep its own religious and philosophical traditions? For instance, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian traditions make up the east. In this 'new system' all cultures are expected to turn in their heritage for a homogeneous American religion.
Thanks for resurrecting this thread, I've read that iconography essay a while back. It's always interesting to get an academic take on Witness culture.
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Is it wrong to stay in?
by confusedteenager ini feel like, i don't believe in the majority of what the gb teaches, but all of my friends and family are invested in this organization and i feel it would be easier on me to just play the part and continue going through the motions then try to leave right now.
is this taking the coward way out?.
i just feel like i wouldn't have much to look forward if i stepped away..
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mindseye
I wouldn't judge anyone for staying in. Everyone has a different situation. What might work for one person might not work for another. But from my experience, it's like being in the mafia: the longer one is in, the more difficult it is to get out. I was fortunate to get out on the ground floor. Others I know were drawn further in: baptism, marriage to a JW, kids, ms or elder status. At each stage it gets harder to leave without profound repercussions. So the question is: what do you want in life? As soon as you figure that out, things will become clearer.
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JWs say it's my fault I didn't go to university ?!
by ekruks inlike many on here, as a jw trying hard to follow the direction of the gb, i listened to the advice to pioneer and trust in jehovah to provide (mat6.33) instead of going to university.
after struggling for ages in low-paid physically-demanding jobs, i decided to become a student (thanks for the encouragement on here guys!).
i tell a jw i wish i had been to university when i was a teenager, and put all that pioneer time into studying hard for a good grade, get a good job, and if i had wound up tired as i am now, at least i would have been paying into a mortgage on a home and pension.
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mindseye
Chaserious wrote: AM3 also gave a talk saying we are pro-education - we are just selective about who does the educating. lol... He also warned that no matter what you major in they force you to take "Philosophy 1 and Philosophy 2" and "then all of a sudden it gets in there and the intellectual gripping of the mind, very hard to recover from," and that he could tell you all kinds of "horror stories" about this kind of thing. After all, only the GB should teach you how to think, not your philosophy class. If anyone is going to be doing "gripping of the mind", it's got to be the GB!
LOL! By "horror stories" he must mean taking a Philosophy class and learning critical thinking. One can also take a comparative religion course to get a balanced view of the world's rich religious traditions, and discover that the superficial 'spirituality' of the witnesses does not stack up. Oh, and a student is also required to take in-depth biology courses that prove evolution (AM3 mentions it made someone an "evolutionist", oooh scary!). AM3 and company are right about one thing - college leads most thoughtful people out of the "truth" - he forgot the part that it also leads to a more fulfilling life (and not just financially)!
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If you don't respect the integrity of WORDS your thoughts are crap
by Terry inthere once was a world--a long time ago when there was no printing press, no computers or newspapers or technology for instant communications.. something extraordinary might happen a few miles away and nobody would find out about it for weeks!.
and the details?
could you trust the details?
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mindseye
“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?”
— Zhuangzi
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TELL US, please, are you Pre or Post--Enlightenment in your thinking?
by Terry inbefore the age of enlightenment the earth was filled with many nations living under vastly differing beliefs about the world.. .
tribes, nations and empires possessed fanciful superstitious beliefs about their own importance in the big picture.. .
religion helped man find a place among fearful gods and demons.
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mindseye
Howabout neither? I suppose I would fall on the more 'liberal' end of your scale. The Enlightenment brought many good things, but a shadow as well. No need to disregard the intellect for the spiritual/Being, or vice-versa. Unfortunately, Western thought often falls into this dualism. My suggestion for wayfarers is to read some existentialism for a critical stance towards 'post-Enlightenment thinking' (Sartre, Heidegger, Camus) ... then it might be a good idea to venture Eastward ...
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spirituality and religion - what are the differences?
by soft+gentle intrying to understand the differences.
started this topic on the xjwsforchrist forum as well and would like to ask jwn posters the same question.
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mindseye
Spirit comes from the latin word for breath. I think of it as 'being' - that which you cannot see, touch, or hear, but which animates existence. Someone who is spiritual is someone who cares about more than just material existence. Spirituality can pertain not only to a religious tradition, but to art, literature, or philosophy. Atheists such as Nietzsche can be described as spiritual.
I would describe religion as a cultural construct that systemizes spiritual beliefs. One of the words religion derives from, ligare, means to bind, or connect. So a religion binds the mythology, symbols, rituals, and ethics that make up a belief system, and it also binds the people who ascribe to that system. A religion also usually has a clergy or other mode of authority that serve to transmit a tradition to lay followers. Like all social institutions, religions are subject to corruption and other human foibles - which is why many people now describe themselves as 'spiritual' rather than 'religious.'
I had the antipathy that many feel towards religion. But then I took a class in college that looked at religion from an anthropological perspective. It gave me a strange new respect for religion. The rituals, mythology, and other aspects of religion that many of us find silly actually go back to our paleolithic ancestors. And though we may be enamoured with this new narrative we call 'progress', these prehistoric people had a reverence and respect for their world that we can learn a lot from. The world was a spirit - a 'thou' instead of an 'it'. Aspects in many religions connect us back to this sacred perspective.
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I Believe Catholicism And Its Trappings Are Silly, Strange & Weird!!!
by minimus inmy italian friend loves going to the "feasts" that occur in italy, boston or nyc.
these feasts feature a "saint" with dollar bills pinned around her and they parade the saint in a long procession and chant "viva (whomever)".
they are quite serious about this and are proud to talk about the past generations of observers who appreciated the events.
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mindseye
Most of the Catholics I know that critisize the church because of child abuse are EX Catholics
Might just be the ones that I know, liberal-minded Catholics who identify with the theology and tradition but disagree on many issues. And I'm not defending Catholicism as a whole, I know much is screwed up about it (which is why I never plan on being one). I just see some intellectual flexibility within the tradition that is not found in much more 'fundamentalist' religions.
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I Believe Catholicism And Its Trappings Are Silly, Strange & Weird!!!
by minimus inmy italian friend loves going to the "feasts" that occur in italy, boston or nyc.
these feasts feature a "saint" with dollar bills pinned around her and they parade the saint in a long procession and chant "viva (whomever)".
they are quite serious about this and are proud to talk about the past generations of observers who appreciated the events.
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mindseye
Diest - Sure, Catholicism throughout history has brought much scorn upon itself. But one difference I notice between individual Catholics and JWs is the intellectual freedom to criticize their organization on a number of issues. There's Gay Catholics, pro-choice Catholics, and a number of other Catholics who hold positions contrary to the church. Another telling example is sex-abuse scandals - I've heard many Catholics strongly criticize their church on this matter, whereas most JWs tend to ignore the issue in their religion.
finally awake - I can understand how you could have your view after your experience. I find that there is usually not a direct correlation between morals and religion.
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306
I Believe Catholicism And Its Trappings Are Silly, Strange & Weird!!!
by minimus inmy italian friend loves going to the "feasts" that occur in italy, boston or nyc.
these feasts feature a "saint" with dollar bills pinned around her and they parade the saint in a long procession and chant "viva (whomever)".
they are quite serious about this and are proud to talk about the past generations of observers who appreciated the events.
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mindseye
Though not Catholic by a long shot, I dig Catholicism on an aesthetic level. The rich history, iconography and rituals are cool. And I dig the Eastern/Greek Orthodox Church even more. They have better incense, rituals, and iconography without the legalism of the Catholic church. But despite what the pope says, many Catholics don't give a $%&*. Catholicism is much more of a cultural thing among the Catholics I know. It's something most JWs don't identify with at all, because they are disconnected by the richness of ancient tradition and culture. It's all 'reasoning from the scriptures' to them.