scotoma

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Posts by scotoma

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  13

  Tendencies toward fanaticism

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in a "cause and effect" world detached from logical fallacy we probably would have an enormous drop in fanatical thinking and behavior.. but, we don't.. some of us fall prey to fallacious thinking.

  we fail to sort out the facts.

  we group our "cause" and our "effects" out of synch with actual data.. .

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  scotoma

  Long ago (I was still a believer) my teen age kids, one-by-one, expressed doubts. My wife would jump on them about how "dare they even think that way". I would come to my kids defense. I would "shoosh" my wife and tell her that this was an important passage in their life. They could squelch doubt and become a fanatic or they could decide to develop their thinking ability.

  The only way to get rid of doubt is to be brutally honest about fallacious ideas.

  Fanatics have more doubt than people who think things through. Instead of dealing with their doubt internally they try to punish the external doubters.

  I too, like the phrase "Powerful feelings can be trailer-hitched up to faulty reasoning and hauled off on a trip to Looney Town."
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  6

  Time again for confusing Vitamin B3 with Nisan

  by scotoma in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this really bugs me.

  to hear men advertise their ignorance by talking about "niacin14".

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  scotoma

  This really bugs me. To hear men advertise their ignorance by talking about " Niacin1 4 "
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  111

  Calling all Atheists.

  by mouthy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just had a message from my friend.. told me to tell you all.

  he loves ya!!!!!

  oh you dont know my friend??

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  scotoma

  Mouthy/Grace:

  My reaction wasn't so much to what you said but to the idea that some have that you shouldn't challenge beliefs of old people.

  I never felt you expected special treatment. If it weren't for you I would be one of the oldest people here.

  You might want to try a little "pot" for those aches. It works better than prayer.
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  111

  Calling all Atheists.

  by mouthy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just had a message from my friend.. told me to tell you all.

  he loves ya!!!!!

  oh you dont know my friend??

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  scotoma

  I have learned that old people don't get a free pass for erroneous thinking. JW's and other religious organizations are all run by old people.

  I'm 67 and all the people that taught me the pack of lies that has influenced my life are dead as I also will be.

  Death has a great cleansing effect. Hopefully my great great grandchildren will live in a world free of the influence of old religious story books.
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  61

  New Rumor: Downsizing Circuits/Assemblies

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  heard a new rumor that:.

  the borg is going to phase out big district assemblies - so they can fit 'em in assembly halls.. they will reduce the size of circuits.

  they will synchronize c.o.

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  scotoma

  If this were a post from minimus I would expect some kine of April Foolery.

  Metatron doesn't joke around.
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  36

  Mormons in decline because of the Internet

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  interesting article.

  i've often thought empirically mormons have an even harder sell than jws.

  the watchtower merely falsifies the date of the fall of jerusalem.

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  scotoma

  Zid:

  Scientology. Proof that in less than 50 years, even surrounded by technology, a religion can emerge with die-hard adherents.

  Then, you have the Cult of Steve Jobs and Apple. I will bet money that there will be a religion around him in another 5 years. The priesthood will all be "geniuses" and their official garb will be sandals, jeans and black turtle neck sweatshirts. The greater Job = Jobs
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  36

  Mormons in decline because of the Internet

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  interesting article.

  i've often thought empirically mormons have an even harder sell than jws.

  the watchtower merely falsifies the date of the fall of jerusalem.

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  scotoma

  Central California - Large Hispanic Population - Mormon and JW prey.
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  36

  Mormons in decline because of the Internet

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  interesting article.

  i've often thought empirically mormons have an even harder sell than jws.

  the watchtower merely falsifies the date of the fall of jerusalem.

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  scotoma

  This article is really worth reading. It parallels what has been included in the letter that is supposed to be read after the Special April Talk.

  I especially found this interesting:

  "Maybe since Kirtland, we've never had a period of - I'll call it apostasy, like we're having now," he told the group in Logan.

  Then he outlined how the church was using the technologies that had loosened its grip on the flock to reverse this trend.

  "The church has a very progressive research and information division, with tremendous public opinion surveyors," he said. Among other steps, it has hired an expert in search-engine optimization to raise the profile of the church's own views in a web search.
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  36

  Mormons in decline because of the Internet

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  interesting article.

  i've often thought empirically mormons have an even harder sell than jws.

  the watchtower merely falsifies the date of the fall of jerusalem.

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  scotoma

  Mormons are important proof that mythology can be accepted as a religion by millions in a very short time.

  Christianity is just an early example.

  The people of the eastern shores of the Mediterranean came up with the whole Jewish myth while they languished in Babylon.

  The internet is just a small beach head in the battle for truth. Most people go on the internet to shore up their preferred orientation.
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  21

  16 Pages: "Why Even Bother?"

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the above title was the immediate response of a hyperloyal sister to the news that the mags were going to 16 pages.

  i truly wonder if this move opens the door to the practical end of the "preaching work".

  they could move everything to the internet, get rid of yearly statistics and pretend that things are growing.

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  scotoma

  Metatron:

  If Russell knew that this would be going on for a 100 years after his death it would have just been the Tract Society. A couple tracks and back to the Retail business.