july 4th is not only the date americans celebrate independence, but it's the date of thomas jefferson's death.. i think it would be appropriate, not only for this day, but for this forum, to share a couple of thoughts contained in the virginia statute for religious freedom, drafted by thomas jefferson in 1777. this statute serves as a precurser to the first amendment of the u.s. constitution.
first regarding the nature of truth: ".
.truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:" (emphasis mine.).
There is a statue of Jefferson in front of a public building (court house?) in Louisville, Kentucky (in Jefferson County). On the base is a quotation that goes something like this: The human mind was created free, and no attempts to control it will ever be effective. (paraphrased)
Does anyone know the actual, full quotatiion? I was very impressed by it, but now can't recall the whole thing.
after lunch i will be the guy nail gunning the plywood letters to the top part of the stage.
so when i get to the word truth, i am going to mutter "bullshit, bullshit, bullshit....etc" the whole time i'm nailing the letters, obviously very quietly to myself.
;-) that way when i am listening to the bs tomorrow, i can smile to myself knowing the letters have been properly christened!
You're very brave to post this whilst in the middle of such "Theocratic activity." Best wishes.
at the moment the usa has around 2 million people in prison.. along with that you have some crazy prison sentences.. .
thug shot at police 19 times.
hit an officer on shoulder.. 122 years.. .
The situation is sick. The guy who killed Polly Klaas should have been locked up for good. Others are in for many years because they were carrying around some marijuana.
On the topic of stealing food and Les Miserables, I once worked for an attorney who had a client accused of food stamp fraud. This poor woman was a single parent working for minimum wage and supporting her child as well as her mother, and, somehow, she managed to get "too many" food stamps?! I was appalled!
in the latest installment in the life of little caleb from the wtbts, we find caleb learning some very important words.
before you answer that, look below at this still from the video at 1:43".
what is it that you think little caleb is doing?
If I were Caleb's mom, my issue with him would be about not retrieving the ball he was playing with before coming inside, but I would only insist that he go retrieve the ball and leave Jehovah out of it. I don't think Jehovah cares that a child wastes his parents' money on toys he doesn't keep track of.
I've noticed that if the adults around a child say "please" and "thank you," the child is likely to say it as well. Dr. Laura says it is beneficial for children to believe in God, but I doubt that she means a god who watches his every move to see if he slips up in some minute detail.
i was thinking if i acted a little off but not too far off the elders would tell me i'm not welcome in the door to door work.
i wonder if this would work.
there is a watchtower or awake article somewhere saying that a mentally ill person may be excused from the meetings and field service if his illness affected others.
Thanks, Lois. Nathan was on an old forum where I used to post called H2O (Hourglass2 Outpost). His humor has always been the sharpest! Once I did a list of superlative posters, and I gave him the award for Funniest Poster.
...totally freak out and drop something if your child fails to say "please.".
http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/please-thank-you/.
the woman is clearly a nervous wreck, and very easily offended.. if this is her reaction to caleb forgetting his manners, i shudder to think how she will cope if she ever finds him doing drugs.. .
This scenario reminds me of poor Andrea Yates. She had four children for whom she cooked, cleaned did laundry and home schooled. She also had a "Christian" husband to please. She was so afraid that her children would fall into "sin" that she killed them in order to "save" them. Poor kids! Poor Andrea! She has to live with this horrendous act for the rest of her life.
At least Andrea's kids probably got birthday presents and parties, but the poor JW kids don't even get that.
Heartbreaking. Caleb is going to need major therapy.
just a thought, do the gb actually beleive they are gods chosen reps and truly beleive this crap or are they just in it for the power and the authority.
Obviously, they are bat crap crazy! There's no telling what they really think. I believe that in Orwell's 1984, the members of the Inner Party did know it was all b*llsh*t. GB are Inner Party in the JW universe, so who knows?
i was thinking if i acted a little off but not too far off the elders would tell me i'm not welcome in the door to door work.
i wonder if this would work.
there is a watchtower or awake article somewhere saying that a mentally ill person may be excused from the meetings and field service if his illness affected others.
Wow, hoser! You got some great suggestions here. If you do partake at the Memorial, be sure to do a few jerking motions and utter a few oaths before getting the bread into your mouth. Also spill a bit of the wine on the person next to you (if they're not wearing an Armani suit) or on yourself. Nathan's idea of Tourette's combined with flipper's idea of partaking are things you should do short-term just for fun. Then go out there and have a great life!
ive had many single sisters (even the hot ones that horny brothers like to circle around during intermissions at assemblies/conventions) come to me recently asking if im single, what my spiritual goals are and how high in the ranks i am.
i just tell them that im not interested in relationships at the moment and that my focus is on other things.
they usually get the message and leave me alone.. but i lie.. .
You could just go for coffee or a drink. Be honest about your situation (and, if you are, you can only go out with "worldly" girls) and tell them you are hanging back until you can be mentally free. I think most young women would find that endearing and sweet.
and it makes me sick.
i mean, i watch this big, black woman on youtube sing with this incredible voice and all i think is sadness cause i feel like she abuses her kids.
that's so awful.
Thanks for that great song, Hortensia.
Prejudice is a part of human experience. We have all had experiences and indoctrination that makes us prejudiced in one way or another. As a woman and as a physically challenged person, I have experienced prejudice. As a white Appalachian American, I have been taught prejudice. As Dr. Laura would say, "It's just a feeling." As long as you don't act on it, you're fine. Meanwhile, you can try to reprogram yourself.
