scotoma

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Posts by scotoma

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  27

  "Philosophy is disfunctional" - Hallq

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  philosophy is disfunctional.

  http://www.uncrediblehallq.net/2011/07/05/philosophy-is-dysfunctiona/.

  im now convinced that, as an academic discipline, philosophy is dysfunctional.

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  scotoma

  Terry:

  Your Korzybski is showing.
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  33

  Where is Farkle?

  by God_Delusion in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i miss the old fella....

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  scotoma

  I've read most of Farkel's stuff. So, he was a curmudgeon. That's the way he is. He is fiercely independent. Unfortunately we all start out life dependent and end it even more dependent. He gave some significant time in his life to the possibility that JW's had the "truth". And then he rigorously pursued an understanding of the fallacies and tricks people use to deceive themselves. At some point that is a very frustrating path.

  He is a skilled muscian and I hope he can still play. Music is also very logical and probably the ideal outlet for someone of his temperament.

  Good luck Farkel. You need luck NOT prayers. And nothing could make you happier than to see people at their mean spirited best.
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  26

  TWENTY FOURTEEN (2014) proves something if you pay attention...

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from the 2nd century until now christianity has postponed something purported to be the most important of all important happenings.. the coming of the messiah?.

  the jews are waiting on that event.. the coming of christ?.

  christians believe jesus came already.. the 2nd coming of christ?.

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  scotoma

  Terry:

  As a third generation JW stretching back to Russels time I know how "my generation" feels about this. Total frustration. It's the classic western movie scene where the trestle has been blown up and everyone on board knows the train most likely can't stop in time.

  The only thing that could save JW's for a while is something they would identify as "the disgusting thing standing in a holy place".

  That's a nice date independent event that is subject to just about anything you want to paste to it. It has two unknowns which makes it perfect for manipulation.
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  44

  When and how did the GB start cracking down on the dubs social life?

  by highdose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can remember when i was first assimilated, the jw's did alot together, they went to the park together, they had picnics, days out together.. .

  somehow by the 90's this had stopped.

  did i miss somthing?

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  scotoma

  Most of the answers here are from people who were witnesses in the 80's and 90's. I was a witness since 1950. They started clamping down big time in the early 1970's when they thought they were like the Jews ready to enter the promised land (1975) They felt they had to clean everything up. Smoking became a disfellowshipping offence. Necking and petting became a committee matter. Types of movies were censored. Certain sexual acts between married couples were explicitly forbidden. Teen drinking also became a serious offence.

  None of this has really stopped. It just drives the youth away.
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  52

  Would You Refer To Jehovah's Witnesses As A "Christian" Religion?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they regard themselves as "true christians".. do you view them as christians?.

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  scotoma

  They are probably the closest thing to early Christians that you are going to find.

  The only reason for the knee jerk judgements so far is that the presumption is that Christianity is some kind of ideal. It isn't.

  You all forget that Christianity was a Jewish cult. They taught that the end was soon.

  You shouldn't get caught up in a career or getting wealth.

  It was anti-philosphical, anti-scientific, anti-woman.

  They fought over how much they should adhere to the Mosaic Law.

  They condoned slavery. They had an ad-hoc mess of theological teachings that changed depending who was leading them.

  Sometimes they believed Jesus was God sometimes they believed he wasn't.

  They even killed believers who played false to the spirit (or made up false stories like God killing Annanais and Saphira).

  So I would say yes - they certainly are as crazy, ignorant, broke-ass, superstitious as the early Christians.
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  17

  Watchtower on Demon Materialization

  by Marvin Shilmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  watchtower on demon materialization .

  i added a new article to my blog about watchtower teaching on demon materialization.

  my article is titled watchtower on demon materialization and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/06/watchtower-on-demon-materialization.html.

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  scotoma

  I still get a kick out of the Halloween issues.

  "Break Free From Superstition".

  There are no ghosts to be afraid of?

  Whew! They're just hideous superhuman deeemins.
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  11

  JHouser's full story: Disfellowshipping: How It Can Effect Your Life

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this is used by permission, and was up last week or so in parts.

  this is the whole story.. disfellowshipping: how it can effect your life.

  http://www.freeminds.org/life-stories/rank-file/disfellowshipping-how-it-can-effect-your-life.html.

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  scotoma

  Even though people make the mistake of using the word "effect" where they should use "affect" it could be appropriate in this case. His life finally became "effective" after being disfellowshipped.
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  9

  Watchtower — Ectoplasm!!!

  by Marvin Shilmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  watchtower ectoplasm!!!

  today i uploaded a new article showing watchtowers scientific evidence that ectoplasm is manifest demonic activity.

  watchtower says its so.

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  scotoma

  Yeah! As a witness kid in the 50's the ectoplasm thing sure was convincing. It was "material" evidence after all. Humans love this supernatural crap.

  What gets me is how persistent this stuff is. If you asked an old witness what ectoplasm is they would repeat exactly what the Watchtower said. So, how come the watchtower has never explained that this trickery on the part of spiritualists has now been scientifically debunked. Apparrently, the "truth" is what JW's believe and doesn't have to be connected with reality at all.

  Even worse. Recently on this very discussion board it was pointed out that Jung was in the same class of spiritualists as Sylvia Browne. Jung channeled "entities" and yes he was one of the "scientists" who fell for the scam where spirit mediums produced ectoplasm and suddenly weighed less.

  The trouble with some empiricists is that they think they can't be fooled.

  Yet some XJW's fall for this. It makes you think that people who want magic are going to find magic.

  I never wanted magic. I can't stand fiction. And I feel my brain was crippled by the Watchtower version of the infectious meme we like to call religion.
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  8

  'The Great Submission', Masculinity, and Future Elders

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i will, in this post attempt to filter my thoughts thru the prism of political correctness and thereby cause no offense to anybody.

  if i fail, i ask that the "jury disregard those comments" ( laughable if a judge says it because it underlines what was said).. since the watchtower allows nothing but ( a veneer) of male domination, it faces a bleak future because of the decline of masculinity in general society.

  they abhor the idea of any 'sunday school' or more and so are not training young men to be fathers, husbands or just men generally.. i once went to a 'get together' - so called because the term 'party' might create offense - and noticed young brothers together with (hot) young sisters..................................................discussing shoes !!!!.

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  scotoma

  In JW land women don't count.

  Have you ever seen a sister taking attendance.
• 
  15

  JW teenagers party's

  by bigmac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i fondly remember my teenage days as a jw--back in the 1960's.. circuit assemblies-in birmingham, england uk.

  after the sunday afternoon god-fest there was usually a party--somewhere--in the evening.. one of the lads--his parents were care-takers (janitors?

  ) of an office block in the city centre.

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  scotoma

  I'm not saying that the use of the word "elder" caused the severe rule-making regime. But, it marked the institution of a larger organizational police force that felt responsible to monitor the lives and habits of others. They used the word "overseer" as the title of choice before 1971 and it was most often applied to the top dog. If you look in the index they continue to use the title overseer along with elder. This has been a period of obsession with organizational structure.

  The old structure was based on ability at public speaking. Usually the permanent overseer was one of the best speakers (teachers) in the congregation. If you wanted to be on top of the hierarchy you had to be a good public speaker. So, the underlings worked hard at teaching with a view that they might get moved into the overseers position in some congregation. There used to be a lot of shuffling of talent with brothers being sent to congregations where good speakers were needed.

  When they watered down this requirement it simultaneously changed the nature of the primary business of "teaching" to "policing". The way to get more authority became a game of "gotcha". You gained notoriety by being a strong adherent to "policy". This is also why the quality of discourse has become so boring. Meetings lack speakers with spark. It's like listening to Officer Krupke talk about the dangers of drugs.