Posts by cedars

38

Everyone has an opinion

by sizemik in

jw
friends

in the modern world everybody wants to be "politcally correct".

but what they feel others want to hear.. in a way .

it's a kind of deception.. well .

Hm, as with everything in life, I feel there's a balance to be struck. TBH, I couldn't help but find his remarks strangely humerous (is that really bad?!), but I agree that they were totally out of order, and I would never condone torture under any circumstances - neither would I call someone of any race a "camel shagger" or a "rag head" just because of the part of the world they come from. It's easy to say that torture is a good thing under certain circumstances until you find yourself the one being tortured for a cause you fervently believe in. Then I'm sure even Don Cherry would feel differently.

I think there is a place for political correctness, especially on public media and TV etc, but I also feel that (as with anything in life) it is easy to go far. There is a very delicate balancing act to achieve. As Nickolas has observed, Mr Cherry has made a career out of flagrantly trespassing the wrong side of that barrier, but that doesn't make his words or his actions commendable.

10

Gilead graduate, circa 2001

by stillin in

i overheard two elders referring to a gilead school grad who has gone apostate, big time.

they were talking about a website and i didn't want to look too curious.

anybody know anything here?.

cedars

I think the one in question has a beard, if that's worth anything?!!

10

Gilead graduate, circa 2001

by stillin in

i overheard two elders referring to a gilead school grad who has gone apostate, big time.

they were talking about a website and i didn't want to look too curious.

anybody know anything here?.

cedars

Check YouTube - he's posted a few videos on there...

122

"Mentally Diseased" are confirmed as offensive words of hate crime. Help needed, please.

by Amelia Ashton in

my youngest is studying law.

browsing through one of her books i came across a chapter freedom of association.

it covers the well known categories, colour, race, religion, sexuality etc.

cedars

FYI - here was my initial response to your criticism of my advice to Amelia. People can judge for themselves whether I was overreacting or simply expressing mild offense at your claim, and a desire to put the record straight.

Nickolas, yes you are chiming in too late, and no I don't think that people who don't believe in Jesus Christ are mentally diseased. Please withdraw that extremely ill-advised and distasteful comment. I was merely giving Amelia a way of explaining to the police the meaning of the word apostate.

What is it with you?

Your refusal to back down and decision to patronise me for being a newbie is what has dragged this on more than anything...

Also, I note you have only been on here for 11 months yourself - does the extra 10 months entitle you to belittle anyone who has just joined?

Well, you have been on here for only a little over a month. You need to be patient.

122

"Mentally Diseased" are confirmed as offensive words of hate crime. Help needed, please.

by Amelia Ashton in

my youngest is studying law.

browsing through one of her books i came across a chapter freedom of association.

it covers the well known categories, colour, race, religion, sexuality etc.

cedars

Nickolas - to 'paraphrase' your latest post, since apparently paraphrasing is all the rage now on JWnet...

"I've been here ages you pathetic little creationist maggot, and when I leap to a conclusion that is unfathomably beyond the intended meaning of your post, you will bend over and take it like a man. Only I am allowed to answer back when people take offense at my posts, YOU must remain quiet and speak when you are spoken to, because you are a newbie and nobody is interested in what you have to say."

Point taken Nickolas, I apologise for getting my knickers twisted, for taking umbrage, for name calling and for being sarcastic. You are right, I am a simple stupid fairy-believing village idiot, and I could never possibly attain to the higher plain of intellectual existance that you inhabit, along with Richard Dawkins. Please ignore all of my posts from before, and direct any further messages to me via PM. Your humble servant, Cedars

18

My trouble

by bushido8000 in

jw
friends

i have been facing a small dilemma for some years now.

i have been in the truth since i was 5 years old.

after experiencing some troubles with man-made rules (non-scriptural, told me that i absolutely could not join my small school's football team) in the kingdom hall when i was about 16, i stopped going to take a step back and look at what was going on.

cedars

bushido8000 - it seems that you are at a crossroads in your life, and being so young, you really do have your life ahead of you. It would be good to make the right decision now. I am 32, 10 years down 'the road' from you, and although there were many benefits to my being involved in the organisation over the past 10 years (including meeting my lovely wife), that does not take away from the many negatives that come with the organisation. You also need to think not just of yourself, but of future generations that will follow you.

I have ONE piece of advice for you, and that is this. Please PLEASE read the book "Crisis of Conscience" by Raymond Franz. If you go to www.scribd.com and type in "crisis of conscience" you can read it for free in PDF format. It is NOT the kind of "apostate poison" that you might expect. If you are dubious, just read the foreword to the book, and ask yourself "was this written by a bitter man with an axe to grind against the organisation he left behind?". You will find that it isn't like that at all. Ray Franz was a former member of the Governing Body and saw for himself how the organisation operates from the very top. You WILL find it eye-opening, and it may even shock you, but it is important that you take your next few steps carefully and with as much information at your disposal as possible, because the decision you make will impact not only on your life, but the life of your children and maybe even your grandchildren.

If you need any more advice, please PM me and I would be only too pleased to help in any way I can. I am a former MTS graduate, so I know alot about the organisation, both positive and negative.

27

Census / online survey idea - thoughts please...

by cedars in

i've been thinking about the recent developments in the uk following the "apostates = mentally diseased" article in the july 15th edition of the watchtower.

to provide a bit more background, a forum member named amelia has recently had a meeting with uk police officers who subsequently took a copy of the article for their records.

they agreed that the content could potentially incite people to hatred against disaffected witnesses, and the copy is now on file with the uk police in case there are any future incidents of hateful acts against "apostates", including violence or even stalking.. i am working on a press release to make the public more aware of the idealogical oppression being meted out by the society on those who oppose them, both inside and outside the organization.

cedars

I'm just doing something I swore I'd never do, which is bumping my own thread.

My reason for doing it is that I have received a PM supporting the idea, so obviously I'm not alone in thinking we need some way of "quantifying" the number of witnesses who disagree with the Society's policies.

If you think it's a good idea, or have any suggestions that would turn it into a good idea, I am anxious to hear from you. Obviously, if it's not a good idea, please let me know why! If you are good with websites etc, then I am also anxious to hear from you.

122

"Mentally Diseased" are confirmed as offensive words of hate crime. Help needed, please.

by Amelia Ashton in

my youngest is studying law.

browsing through one of her books i came across a chapter freedom of association.

it covers the well known categories, colour, race, religion, sexuality etc.

cedars

Having read and re-read my earlier advice to Amelia, I would just like to offer an apology to ANYBODY who interpreted my advice as being an attempt at labelling atheists or non-believers in Christ "mentally-diseased". I would have thought it obvious that this was not the intended meaning, but I apologise to any who may have genuinely reached that conclusion.

I maintain that the comments from Nickolas were openly provocative and inflammatory. If he had genuinely taken offence at the way I worded my advice, then surely a better way to approach the matter would have been to adopt a more conciliatory tone, i.e. "Cedars - I'm sure you're not suggesting, in your advice to Amelia, that those who don't believe in Christ are mentally diseased?"

122

"Mentally Diseased" are confirmed as offensive words of hate crime. Help needed, please.

by Amelia Ashton in

my youngest is studying law.

browsing through one of her books i came across a chapter freedom of association.

it covers the well known categories, colour, race, religion, sexuality etc.

cedars

Erbie, well said!

If I may, the fact that we are all anti Watchtower somewhat places us all on the same side, right?

I certainly used to think that, and that should indeed be the case. However it would seem that there are those among us who are hell-bent on creating schisms between the creationists and atheists on JWnet. Quite what their ultimate agenda is, I have no idea. In my opinion, we should all be on the same side. Whatever your personal beliefs, both the views of atheists and christians alike are equally valid.

122

"Mentally Diseased" are confirmed as offensive words of hate crime. Help needed, please.

by Amelia Ashton in

my youngest is studying law.

browsing through one of her books i came across a chapter freedom of association.

it covers the well known categories, colour, race, religion, sexuality etc.

cedars

I agree Little Imp - NOBODY should have their mental faculties brought into question just for having differing beliefs, whether they may be Christian, Agnostic, Atheist or Hindu. Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs, and I believe that passionately. To be told I believe otherwise by somebody who doesn't even know me I would regard as an insult.

What I can't understand is how my efforts to help someone reason with the police (without the luxury of knowing what her current beliefs were at the time of writing) could possibly be interpreted as adopting the kind of hateful rhetoric that is used by the same Society that I have been systematically condemning with my threads over the past month. It defies belief. Even then, I don't think Nickolas is "mentally diseased" at all, merely ignorant and prone to jumping to conclusions based on very few facts. His approach seems to be characteristic of people like Dawkins (who he probably worships) who belittle Creationists as being "believers in fairies".