Posts by scotoma

29

The Rise Of America's Lunatic Fringe

by metatron in

jw
friends

12 years ago

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-30/rise-americas-lunatic-fringe.

every once in a while, you read an article that really puts it all together (or spot on, as some would say).

ever on the fringe,.

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

I consider myself both open minded and skeptical. Let me explain how I got fooled lately.

I don't like Obama. He is not a leader. He's a law professor. Professors like to profess ie. sound authorative. He knows he's good looking. He knows white people are still under the spell of the perfect Huxtable (Cosby) family image. He's not liberal or progressive. He only wanted to get elected to two terms because that seals his legitimacy.

So I pick up a book about Obama knowing it was written by a conservative with an ax to grind. I like reading things by people I don't agree with.

Then I read this juicy morsel that fit into my personal contempt for Obama. The book says Obama brazenly gave the Queen of England an Ipod loaded with his speeches.

Perfect. This is the Obama I like to hate. So I pass it by my liberal friends who all know that I'm a communist by temperament. I want to show them what the "bougie" liberals are like.

Woe is me. I forgot to fact check the book. I searched on Obama/Ipod/Gift/Queen and found out that she requested an Ipod as a gift because even though she had one already she didn't have one with video capabilities. So the Obama crew gave her an Ipod with movies of her visit to the United States and also a video of her favorite Musical - Oklahoma. Also he installed numerous show tunes. .... and YES he included some of his speeches.

Now I had to call all my liberal friends and tell them I made a mistake. Now I look like a fool. Of course I am a fool. I was fooled. I could have let all this go and not tell my friends. They probably wouldn't even do the research I did to try to verify my statments. But I felt obligated to myself to set this straight for my own self respect.

This is a case where a half truth is worse than a bald face lie. Intuition can usually detect a lie. But a half truth sneaks right in there. I swallowed it down because it confirmed my feelings about Obama.

And that's what goes on with the Lunatics and religionists. They simply want to believe what they already believe because ambiguity is so hard to deal with.

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25

It Appears The Elderly Are More Taken Care Of Then Ever Before By The Elders

by minimus in

jw
friends

12 years ago

i usually find fault with the religion but i must give credit when due.

in the hall my mom is in, they regularly check on her and assign different ones to visit and check on the elderly.. if there's a storm or an extremely cold day, they come by to make sure the elderly have everything they need..

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

So what. They get an eagle badge. Why is eveyone so interested in helping elderly people who are sitting on a pile of cash and live in a 4 bedroom house while their children pay high social security taxes and can't even pull together a down payment for a house.

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55

Were you popular in your congregation or district?

by Emery in

jw
friends

12 years ago

not to start some form of popularity contests here but i was wondering how popular some people were?

how far did your network go in this organization?

this question also pertains to those who are actively fading..

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

More like "notorious"

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29

The Rise Of America's Lunatic Fringe

by metatron in

jw
friends

12 years ago

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-30/rise-americas-lunatic-fringe.

every once in a while, you read an article that really puts it all together (or spot on, as some would say).

ever on the fringe,.

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

They have to quit calling it the Lunatic Fringe. Is it really a "fringe" when half the people believe that stuff.

What do you call religion? It's conventional "lunacy".

It's an inability to weigh evidence.

And it's simple.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Conspiracy theories are really conspiracy excuses.

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60

What is the most valuable thing your mother taught you?

by usualusername in

jw
friends

12 years ago

what is the most valuable thing your mother taught you?.

as an aside was she a witness or not at the time?.

uun .

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

My mother died when I was 7. She taught me the meaning of death and the value of life.

I learned more from her dying than I could have possibly learned from her living.

She was a JW. I had her old publisher record card. I found it in the KH attic. She was getting in 25-30 hours a month back in the early 1950's It said "faithful until death".

I finally threw it away about 20 years ago.

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32

Is the Truth so delicate?

by Socrateswannabe in

jw
friends

12 years ago

the gb brooks no questions or dissention.

their brand of truth seems quite delicate and incapable of standing up to scrutiny.

"the truth is incontrovertible.

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

Truth is what can be successfully defended. Religion relies on dogma to defend its conclusions.

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7

gets stranger with time

by d in

jw
friends

12 years ago

i am noticing that as time goes times on, the jw's become more stranger.

they seem a whole more distant at least to me.they also more depressed at least the older ones i see.. what do you think..

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

The word "appreciate" has now become a buzz word with all the irritation that goes along with "buzzzzzz".

The worse things get the more I hear "appreciate this" and "appreciate that".

I no longer appreciate the "truth", brothers, spiritual paradise, near, around the corner, service, meetings, assemblies, CO visits, the Bible, Bible aids, counsel etc. etc.

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40

Your vs You're....Its vs It's....There vs Their..

by Terry in

jw
friends

12 years ago

writing and speaking is all about communication.. if we are casually engaged the level of precision vanishes.

simple ideas=simplified language.. but, as we attempt to convey accuracy, specificity and numerical precision--what then?

without a clear standard is proper communication headed for extinction?.

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

Damn. Now I'm afraid to write. By the way is there a spell checker on this forum? I copy and paste my posts into my word processor to catch errors.

But someitmes I'm rushed.

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66

Still Waiting For the Governing Body To Explain Their New Light

by Cameron_Don in

jw
friends

12 years ago

regarding the governing bodys new light relative to matthew 24:45-47, anointedjw.org recently said the following:.

this new light certainly poses a problem for the governing body.

perhaps this is another reason why they have not yet published a sober and scriptural xplanation of this new light.

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

There are hundreds of problems with JW interpretations. The only ones they change are those that are at the top of their list.

The fact that they chose to address this particular problem is very interesting. They are essentially saying that the most important thing they have to make clear is that "THEY ARE THE BOSS". This means that they feel their authority is weakening.

Selling properties. Reducing magazine size. Closing and consolidating branch offices are all signs of an organization in decline. We're talking "plant closings" and "layoffs".

All the special schools are aimed at hardening their core followers by making them feel special and indispensable.

The increasing number of partakers at the memorial is also an ominous sign for them. It suggests that this is more than the usual abused housewife who wants to be a Bride of Christ. A lot of the new partakers believe they have a calling or prophetic mission. They represent a challenge to the New governing body. The old governing body didn't claim their anointed status by means of a tortured conflict of choosing life in heaven or life on earth. They weren't presented with that choice. The new governing body members all became "anointed" in connection with a sense of self importance. The new governing body had to go against the stream to claim their anointing. Their motivation was undoubtedly a desire for prominence bolstered by their belief they had some divine role to play in the future of the organization. Of course these motivations are repressed. Instead of facing up to their old thought processes they choose to de-legitimize all the upstarts that might challenge them.

In effect this new interpretation is meant to kill off their rivals for authority.

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52

What is the most out of line / disturbing experience you have seen from Circuit Overseers?

by Poindexter Lionel Humperdique in

jw
friends

12 years ago

i once heard of a circuit overseer blaming a loyal ministerial servant, that served as the accounts servant, of steeling from the contribution boxes, simply because he deposited the congregation funds bi-weekly instead of twice a week.

due to the accusation, the ms was immediately removed without hearing his side of the story.

isn't this rather counter-intuitive and innefficient?

12 years ago

scotoma 12 years ago

I have no problem with people in authority acting like assholes. Once you get over the fact that there is no holy spirit hovering over these people you shouldn't expect their behavior to be unique. Authoritarian bullys are everywhere.

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