scotoma

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Posts by scotoma

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  14

  If Somethingbad

  by minimus in

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  scotoma

  When I feel like praying I know I've reached the point psychologists call the "impasse".

  Instead of praying I just tell myself that there doesn't seem to be much more I can do and then do some deep breathing.

  I find something I like to do to distract me.

  Once you create enough tension and acknowledge the impasse - take a little break - a lot of creative solutions start streaming. You start making an inventory of your assets.

  That's just how the mind works.

  And if no solutions seem viable. I just tell myself "tough-shit".

  So how is that any different from praying.
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  32

  Why does it matter?

  by tenyearsafter in

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  i have been on this forum for a number of years now, and one thing that seems to be a persisting theme is the "battle" between atheists and believers.. what i have not understood is the extent to which the supporters of either side engage in showing their position to be the correct one...and in turn debunking and demeaning the opposing position, or in many cases, insulting the intelligence of the holder of opposing belief.

  i guess the simple question is, why?

  does it really matter, or cause harm to be a supporter of either side of the coin?

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  scotoma

  Appartently atheists can be dogmatic too - just like fundamentalists.

  The battle between any ideology isn't really won or lost on presentation of information. It's deeper.

  If an atheist spends too much time trying to convince others it might be that he is trying to convince himself.

  If anyone is interested in the deeper aspects of this debate take the time to read:

  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unique-everybody-else/201309/dogmatism-and-openness-experience-in-the-non-religious
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  56

  They are really begging for money again..

  by XBEHERE in

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  sorry i don't know how to post the actual letter but here is the text of it.

  lol.

  christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses 2821 route 22, patterson, ny 12563-2237 phone: (845) 306-1100.

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  scotoma

  Why are they asking for money from people who were told not to go to college, told to refuse promotions, told to refuse overtime etc.
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  13

  Shutdown, christening, Obamacare, AGM, phhht

  by Hortensia in

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  what i want to know is, what is your favorite kind of apple?.

  today i ate an aurora, a variety i haven't seen before.

  big yellow apple, sweet and crisp with a good apple flavor, but no tartness.

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  scotoma

  Don't forget they're in the Rose family. And smell wonderful when blooming.
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  20

  How I miss the 'Truth' of my youth....

  by gingerbread in

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  my family moved from the city to the country.. part of the reason for the relocation was to move 'to where the need was greater'.

  i loved our new home - i was free to roam the woods and fields, enjoy the wildlife, work in our garden and feed the chickens.

  i had new friends in our new congregation.

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  scotoma

  The love of the greater number IN THE CONGREGATION has cooled off.

  At least that's how some would bend this narrative.
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  19

  WATCHTOWER HOAXES on the spectrum of mendacity

  by Terry in

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  the word hoax is thought to be derived from the magician's utterance of silly "hocus-pocus" so-called magic incantation.. this is jibberish, of course--a fake latin-sounding phrase mimmicking the priest's words in catholic mass changing wine into the "actual" blood of christ.. yeah.. only a conscious attempt to deceive separates a hoax from an otherwise mistake or urban myth.. according to folklorist jan brunvand, a 'hoax tends to indicate "relatively complex and large-scale fabrications" and includes deceptions that go beyond the merely playful and "cause material loss or harm to the victim".brunvand, jan h. (1998).

  american folklore: an encyclopedia.

  taylor & francis.

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  scotoma

  Don't blame the Watchtower. Blame the Bible.

  Jesus treated epileptics and deaf people like they were demon possessed.

  What about the cleansing of lepers. It sounds like any magic ritual.

  Leviticus 14:49-53 (Read this like a line from Harry Potter)

  New International Version (NIV)

  49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. 50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. 51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop,the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. 53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

  If you accept that as part of Jehovah's PERFECT LAW it can only go down hill from there.
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  17

  Does he look like Nathan Knorr? little bit?

  by Iamallcool in

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  scotoma

  My mother used to tell me about a "brother" who left the organization after Knorr became president because Knorr used to make beer with a bunch of bethelites during prohibition.

  I think they called it Bethel-Lite.
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  10

  Is dis-fellowshipping a sociopathic practice? At least one expert thinks so.

  by Rufus T. Firefly in

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  we do not burn people at the stake any more.

  but how far removed are we from that dark ages ritual when we tear families apart through the misuse of disfellowshipping by misapplying scriptures such as 1 corinthians 5:11 and 2 john 9-11?

  with that thought in mind, please consider the following:.

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  scotoma

  The "mentally diseased" attitude is definitely hate speech intended to dehumanize people that disagree with a groups viewpoint.

  Why can't they just let people leave? Why do they punish all the relatives too.

  They say "Don't let your family get between you and your worship of Jehovah"

  Likewise you shouldn't let an affiliation with an organization get between you and your responsibility to family members.
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  10

  Is dis-fellowshipping a sociopathic practice? At least one expert thinks so.

  by Rufus T. Firefly in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we do not burn people at the stake any more.

  but how far removed are we from that dark ages ritual when we tear families apart through the misuse of disfellowshipping by misapplying scriptures such as 1 corinthians 5:11 and 2 john 9-11?

  with that thought in mind, please consider the following:.

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  scotoma

  I say kill all those pretentious sociopaths. They are the thing that's holding us back.

  Exclusion is part of group formation.

  Groups of people automatically create a boundary separating those on the inside from those who are on the outside.

  The rules of exclusion function at the same time as the definition of social boundary.

  On a larger national level you want to maximize opportunity for everyone as a matter of policy.

  But at the social level any group that doesn't feel I have anything of value to contribute to them probably isn't a good group for me.

  When choosing up sides in gym class I was always the last one. I was assigned as a matter of default. The funny thing is that it didn't bother me. I hated sports.
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  32

  They Need War Now

  by metatron in

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  http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/26/israel-issues-warning-to-iran-over-nuclear-bomb-report/?intcmp=latestnews.

  there have been similar headlines on usa today and the drudgereport.. they need ww3 and they need it now.. the israelis understand what will likely happen if peace with iran breaks out.

  there will be a movement towards eliminating all nuclear weapons in the middle east and the intensification of declaring 'apartheid' as regards the palestinians.. in other words, the practical end of israel as a zionist state.. in addition, there are senators who lust for war (lindsay graham, etc) they realize that the fog of war would move the us towards becoming a full police state, eliminating what's left of the bill of rights and distracting the whole nation from its failing economy.. i think it's too late for a phony false flag attack - to blame iran for some made-up terrorist attack.

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  scotoma

  As soon as there is talk about aliens the conversations stop.

  And I can understand why.

  Ordinarily people are pragmatic and are looking for information that is actionable. We want information that is practical.

  At this point even if you personally saw a UFO and were personally convinced that it was a UFO - what can you do with that information.

  The aliens aren't talking. They aren't telling us what they are up to. They aren't helping our arthritis or allergies.

  Until they communicate to us exactly what they plan to do it doesn't change our lives at all.

  You could have a close relative who is one of the richest people on earth and if they don't seek you out it means nothing.

  That's why confirming evidence of aliens fades quickly.

  We all have too much on our plate.

  At best we put it in the same category of ho hum well that's interesting. The tallest mountain on earth is under water- ho hum that's interesting. A 10,000 ton asteroid may hit the earth in 80 years - that might be interesting if I live that long.