cobweb
JoinedPosts by cobweb
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6
Is it wrong to celebrate New Year?
by cobweb inlol, just kidding.. have a happy new year everyone!!!!.
https://youtu.be/b3kd1uplpxw.
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10
My wife and I are hooked on European series screening on SBS TV
by smiddy inwhether they be norwegian ,danish ,french or whatever , having sub-titles doesnt bother us as their usually is a mix of english dialogue as well.. some examples : tracked ,the tunnell ,the bridge ,dicte ,borgen ,just to name a few.another one i`m watching now about the middle east the name just escapes right now .. anybody else watching these shows ?.
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cobweb
Love all the Killing, bridge, borgan stuff. There was also an icelandic drama called Trapped on bbc4 about 6 months ago, set in a small fishing port. It got cut off by weather and there were murders etc. Very good.
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FYI: "Leah Remini's Anti-Scientology Documentary on A&E is scorching." Airs Tuesday the 29th, etc.
by AndersonsInfo inleah remini’s anti-scientology doc: former celeb wrangler admits how tom cruise was “surrounded” and isolated.
http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/11/23/leah-reminis-anti-scientology-doc-former-celeb-wrangler-admits-how-tom-cruise-was-surrounded-and-isolated.
"leah remini’s anti-scientology documentary on a&e is scorching.
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cobweb
I'm loving this show. Leah Remini is so passionate it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up sometimes, like when she talks about fighting for your family at the start of each episode. I've seen 6 episodes now including the q&a episode. I have heard awake witnesses using this show to get their jw partner to see the similarities and maybe wake them up too. Seems like a good idea as although the Scientologists take it to another level, the similarities are very much there. Information control, disfellowshipping, apostasy, believing they are doing something that will save the world etc.
It is interesting that so many high level people have left in the last 10 years or so. More than in the JWs. It used to seem like people were just too scared to speak up against Scientology and for good reason, but with so many books, films, and now this tv show coming out, it seems like they are becoming more vulnerable. Its hard to imagine that Scientology is going to do anything other than die a death after so much brutally negative publicity. Not necessarily from current members leaving but from noone joining.
While there is no similar 8 part Leah Remini tv show to deal with the JW organisation, there is an ever expanding ex-jw presence on the internet creating forums, youtube channels etc which will also be having a big effect, particularly on the young.
Gotta Love Leah Remini. Never heard of her as an actress but she is fearless, articulate and passionate. Its a powerful combination.
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47
Have you ever known a holocaust denier? How did you feel about them?
by Esse quam videri ini sometimes did work for a lovely old couple who at times needed repairs done around their home.
my wife and myself spent time with them, having tea and crackers from time to time.
one day the husband and myself got into a conversation and he clearly showed himself to be a holocaust denier.
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cobweb
It is amazing to me that with the internet and availability of information, fringe ideas still exist.
The internet has made it worse in some ways. Wheras previously there was a lone cooky person, now that person can meet other people with the same idea and become an echo chamber or someone can get influenced into believing that weird idea by means of the social power of communicating with many others who accept it. Getting together with likeminded people can be a power for good and bad.
Having ready access to accurate information doesn't have any impact on conspiracy theorists. Their impulse is that mainstream truth is a lie - accepted facts are rejected out of hand, and they will believe anything that backs up what they want to believe.
Holocaust denial, Climate change denial, evolution denial. They all are coming together now and its because of unwillingness to accept evidence and fact. JWs have the same mentality and have a conspiracy theory too. The devil is out to get them and they can't trust anyone in the world who might be affected by him.
edited to add:
I blame it partly on the widespread acceptance of religious thinking. As a Christian its okay to put faith over fact and evidence. Its esteemed. With that tendency established its a hop skip and a jump to transplant that to other areas.
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47
Have you ever known a holocaust denier? How did you feel about them?
by Esse quam videri ini sometimes did work for a lovely old couple who at times needed repairs done around their home.
my wife and myself spent time with them, having tea and crackers from time to time.
one day the husband and myself got into a conversation and he clearly showed himself to be a holocaust denier.
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cobweb
If you type into Google search 'did the Holocaust happen' the top result comess from Stormfront with headline 'Top 10 reasons the Holocaust didn' t happen. I just tried it.
Read this Guardian article about it:
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10
2 words for truth in Russian, for wt writers too?
by prologos inny times article: "--- 2 words for truth in russian,--" pravda, the malleable truth, and istina, the unchangeable cosmic reality.
it looks like wt writers like that, or think like that.
wt is constantly changing the surface truth, but can not change the underlying reality, no matter how many groups they overlap.
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cobweb
In the current era of 'Post Truth', the Org fits in very well.
They say : "Don't research" ; "The Truth changes" ; "Reality is whatever we say it is".
All of which means Truth doesn't matter.
They denegrate facts.
I have been hearing the term gaslighting in relation to politics a lot and didn't know what it meant. I had to look it up. Its the same as what the witness do.
The Organisation should not be called 'The Truth' but 'The Post Truth'.
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Question for those that have been Disfellowshiped for apostasy VS succesfully fading
by NikL inthere are quite a few here who have been disfellowshipped for apostasy.. then there are those that have successfully faded.. why the different outcome?
are the ones that got df more out spoken?
or does the discrepancy lie with the elders?.
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cobweb
If the reason you give for not going to meetings are connected to doctrine, jw history etc, then elders will deal with you on that basis. First they will try to make you see that whatever issue you have is not a problem. If you don't accept this then you get the 'do you believe this is god's organisation' type questions. Thats the road to being df for apostasy.
A safer road to take is one that doesn't connect to doubt over doctrine. You believe its the truth but..... Illness, depression etc. I'm sure there must be other things too that would work. They then have no grounds to see you as a spiritual danger.
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cobweb
If they were ever to do accurate re-enactments of the biblical attrocities - genocides, stonings etc, on their jw broadcast videos, they would have to give them 18 certificates.
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8
You Need to Heal
by TheLiberator init has been awhile since i posted.
but i wanted to say a few things that may help those recovering from the watchtower, especially if you have just discovered ttatt.
it is with humility that i come here to express these thoughts.
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cobweb
Not sure if I have got your point here - But I am interested in what you have raised.
Just a question.....If you intend to embrace theses previously "missed things" like Xmas/ Birthdays/ Halloween/ Valentines etc etc are you not simply taking up in the boxes of the originators and inventors of these above things all over again? They too are / were in boxes of belief systems - So like the little Russian Matryoshka Dolls you are still inside one of them who is still in another etc etc etc.?What matters is that these are opportunities to enjoy life and bring people together in a positive way. Most of the big celebrations, no matter where you live on the planet have a basis in the passing of the seasons. The rebirth of the sun, the harvest etc, have celebrations attached to them. Naturally, when people believed in supernatural forces they would associate these natural events with the gods. So if you want to think of the origins of everything you will find this.
I went to a great Diwali celebration once in India where they threw around fireworks in a rather alarming way, but everyone enjoyed themselves. This is called The Festival of Light and is it associated with the darkest time of year where a light festival acts to challenge the darkness. There are gods associated with it. It is a fun time and enjoyed by all besides those who want a good night's sleep.
Or what about the Hindu Holi festival which is again, a seasonally based celebration of rebirth and spring. They throw around brightly coloured paint at each other which I imagine could be fun. Again Gods are attached but, these are the same seasonal celebrations that exist everywhere. In Thailand they have Songkran - which i was lucky enough to go to - where they have massive water fights everywhere and everyone is carrying water pistols and buckets. It is basically the same thing as Holi and happens at a similar time of year to mark the same event. rebirth. They have different religious beliefs associated with it.
My point is, why does it matter? These events and celebrations - in the west, it is Christmas and Easter - simply serve the same function as other festivals elsewhere. They bring people together, make them happy. They serve a certain ritual service in marking the passing of seasons. Yes, if you go back far enough there were primitive superstitious people who associated gods with the natural events. If you go back a bit further there would probably be different gods still. But why should that bother us now? Just accept it as an opportunity for joy - there's no need to overthink it. Partake in the rituals as they stand - its not important where they came from, any more than knowing the origin of the wedding ring. If you want to throw off all pagan influence then you'd have to get rid of the calendar too as all the months of the year have pagan associations.
The OP is correct. It is great you have the opportunity to enjoy these times you missed with grandchildren and I am sure you will find it healing.
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15
A Brother refusing to pray?
by HereIgo ini remember there was a brother in my congregation while i was in who would comment at all meetings but if asked to pray at a meeting or meeting for service he would always politely refuse.
i always found it odd, i assumed as a young bro, that a bro was kind of obligated to pray if asked.
knowing what i know now, it could have been a guilty conscience or maybe he just wanted to be lowkey.
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cobweb
Just after i got baptised, the presiding overseer came up to me in the meeting break as i was coming back from the bathroom. He asked me if i would like to say the closing prayer. I said, thanks but no i'd rather not. I didn't explain, i just smiled and said 'i'd rather not'. It was just nerves. I didn't really think too much about it. I never got asked again, but that suited me and i wasn't fussed. I wasn't one for reaching out although i did auxiliary pioneer.
I did other things, read the watchtower, mics, took service groups, said prayer at the group study. But it seemed like saying no to saying the prayer at the hall that one time was enough to not be asked again. I expect they thought it was a snub to me but i was happy about it.