Posts by scotoma

140

Is the Universe Conscious?

by still thinking in

jw
friends

does the universe have a collective consciousness?.

at the sub nuclear level of reality...we are all one.

at the core basis of the universe is a single universal field of intelligence.

scotoma

Watched the video. Made myself watch it out of courtesy to this thread.

I cannot talk with people who think like that video.

There is a market for that kind of stuff obviously.

People love big empty spaces that they can fill with their imaginations.

There ARE differences. Even the video ends with the appeal "together we can make a difference".

The real message of that video is that NO-THING-MATTERS.

Also sick of the hypnotic trance-inducing tone of the "experts" voice.

You induce trance by softly repeating things that sound sensible but are really nonsense. "Feel yourself sinking into a hole that is everything and at the same time nothing. And as you sink deeper you feel at this deepest level a glow of warmth that could propel you to dizzying heights where you float on a cushion of feeling. blah blah. At the count of 5 you will awake feeling renewed."

261

Evolution is Crap, there I said it!

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

ok i started another thread and every one jumped on me because i was trying to take the theory of evolution out of the mix and most here seem to believe in it so i will just say it.

the theory of major evolution is crap!

the theory is falling apart.

scotoma

Cofty,

"Because this is a support forum for JWs. Creationism is a fundamental doctrine of the Watchtower. A doctrine that many ex-JWs are still stuck with."

Too bad Ray Franz isn't still alive. Do you think you could have convinced him that evolution is true.

The real problem is with ex JW's persistent irrational belief in the Bible. And even if you take the Bible out of the mix there are still a truck load of ex JW's that believe in some exotic wuwu - even reincarnation etc.

54

Is This Site As Active As It Was In The Past?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i'm just curious if jwn is as busy as it was even a year or two ago?

.

sometimes it seems this place buzzes and other times, not so much....but maybe it's all in my head..

scotoma

Search the subject of "declining forum posts". It's a problem just about everywhere.

Social network sites have taken a big slice of forum activity.

Content is precious and hard to produce. Those who can produce readable and engaging content start their own blogs and get their own following.

It's no fun to take time to write a post and watch it disappear over the time horizon.

Feedback on individual posts are essential to prevent serious posters from drifting away.

Forums need to use some of the simple techniques that facebook uses. Everything on the internet is subject to evolution.

Facebook will inevitably lose it's hold. There will be a resurgence of discussion boards as various formats merge their tools.

Simon is right where he needs to be.

261

Evolution is Crap, there I said it!

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

ok i started another thread and every one jumped on me because i was trying to take the theory of evolution out of the mix and most here seem to believe in it so i will just say it.

the theory of major evolution is crap!

the theory is falling apart.

scotoma

I don't understand why those who believe in evolution even get involved in these casual discussions about creation vs. evolution.

If you don't believe in god you must understand that life is too short to be wasted with people who are also going to die whether they believe in god or not.

It seems to be a profound waste of time.

If you are a scientist studying life origins just go about your business.

Public policy is an important arena for discussing these things and they are often settled in court.

The only ones with skin in these discussions are the god believers. They want to save souls and they feel that they are saving their own souls by defending their god.

What is the motive for ordinary people who love science to engage in these ignorant discussions.

You can go anywhere on the internet and find long involved threads that just rehash the same stuff. How many times do you need to see the musical Oklahoma?

Meanwhile vacines are saving lives. Asteroids are being tracked. Global climate is being monitored. Bumble Bee mortality is being investigated. Genomes are being mapped. Causes of disease are being verified along with cures.

If people in the United States and the Muslim world don't think that science is important then India, China and Europe will thrive and the countries that stifle scientific research will disappear.

There is an old Russian aphorism: "The parade passes and the dogs bark."

261

Evolution is Crap, there I said it!

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

ok i started another thread and every one jumped on me because i was trying to take the theory of evolution out of the mix and most here seem to believe in it so i will just say it.

the theory of major evolution is crap!

the theory is falling apart.

scotoma

So, Crazy Guy, you don't like living in big cities.

You love football.

You drive an SUV.

Those damn chem trails drive you buggy.

Vaccinations are an evil plot by the illuminati.

Your favorite song is "Gimme that ol' time Religion"

35

JW Middle Schoolers vs Non JW Middle Schoolers - what was your middle/high school experience?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

i'm a secondary school teacher and i've spent a lot of time at school this year since i've left jws simply observing student dynamics.

i do a lot of playground duty and have the opportunity to observe the kids at play and in the classroom.

i've especially had the opportunity to observe middle school kids, that is, kids between 12 and 15 in my state.. my observations of these 'worldly' children are:.

scotoma

I think over-strictness became a problem with JW's at the point that they thought the end was coming in 1975.

The whole organization thought they were marching into the promised land in military order - like the Israelites in the exodous.

Everything was tightened up. Even the new smoking rules were instituted in the context of purifying the congregation for God's approval just before armageddon.

The article that launched the no-smoking rules was titled: Keeping God’s Congregation Clean in the Time of His Judgment

THE TIME FOR DIVINE JUDICIAL DECISIONS

26 These rulings with regard to spiritual and moral matters of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah may appear to some to be very strict. But this represents no effort to act in an arbitrary, dictatorial manner. The strictness really proceeds from God, who expresses himself through his written Word. In view of the time in which this generation of mankind is living, it is the time for careful attention to cleanness of conduct by those who desire to please God and to enter into his approaching righteous new order.

That article came out in June 1973. That was 40 years ago when they expected the outbreak of the Great Tribulation even before the end of the 6000 years in 1975. From that point on JW's went crazy. The leadership in local congregations was expanded from one overseer to many overseers. This meant that every Tom, Dick and Harry could now qualify as local governors and to do so they had to have "theocratic" children. Basement parties were over. Congregation picnics started to disappear. Responsibiity in the congregation from mike handlers and attendance takers to litterature clerks were stepping stones to ELDERSHIP and any evidence of deviance had to be monitored and punished.

After all, with armageddon so near everything became a life and death matter.

58

What do you think happens when we die?

by cognac in

jw
friends

i'm trying to figure it out.

if we are just dead then there is no point to anything i do.

i'd like to hope our energy goes somewhere... but, i'd like to examine what somebody presents as proof....

scotoma

Some parts of the Bible really get it right...

Eccl. 9:4,5

4For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

I never could figure out how you can reconcile the rest of the Bible with these verses.

Life after death is the great cosmic delusion. It's a lie.

All living things want to keep the circle going because that's the definition of life. But once you get off the metabolic path you are less than history.

Paradise is a world without violent death from murder and warfare. We owe it to our progeny to make progress toward a peaceful earth.

The fringe benefits from a warless world would be food for all, relief from various diseases and a humane exit when you are tired of it all.

Science hasn't come up with a shred of evidence that there is anything beyond the chilling description from Ecclesiastes.

Basically our excrement is the most useful thing we give back to the planet.

50

Question for the married guys

by TweetieBird in

jw
friends

is it possible to be friends with a woman, text her, call her, etc and not be physically attracted to her?.

scotoma

I have 3 very close female friends.

My wife and two daughters. That's about as much conversation as I can handle.

Before my daughters became adults I had several female friends that I would talk with on a regular basis.

Friendships sometimes are higher maintenance than a romantic attachment.

38

whats the point of this site?

by new hope and happiness in

jw
friends

i hope and think to inform and educate, to save lifes and be a refuge to those lost and confused.. i like las58 his crazy and sometimes makes deep points, so i like the diverse expression of members and freedom of voice.... but i hate the internet and how it takes your identity away...facebook and path for example i think exist only to extract every bit of information of who i am and then i am turned in a target for advertisers...worse they want all the details of my friends...now i think the world would be better with out advertising but i am wearing a shirt advertising a bank and a toyota cars and now i am selling toyota cars with this post.. damn you advertisers, you destroy all that is sacred ...even this site has advertising.....if we could abort advertising would the world be a better place?.

scotoma

Advertising - flowers advertise. They put out amazing smells and colorful blossoms to get birds and bees to polinate. - Advertising.

Males and Females of most species advertise with pheromones and secondary sex characteristics.

Competition is what produces advertising.

If there were no competition there would be no advertising.

"cum one cum all"

51

Family is drawing the line in the sand

by dissonance_resolved in

jw
friends

so my family has obviously been noticing over the past several months that i've been missing meetings and fs.

i've had excuses sometimes, but not others, so my parents are definitely getting that this is more than a long bout of illnesses or fatigue.

i just received an email invitation to join them in service this weekend.

scotoma

Pull the plug. Start wearing the "do not reactivate bracelet" .

Take the feeding tube out of your mouth.