curiouscynic

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Posts by curiouscynic

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  31

  Would you sell your soul for 10 million?

  by jam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a stranger approach you with an offer of 10 million.

  for your soul, would you sign on the dotted line?

  ?.

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  curiouscynic

  I've never seen O Brother Where Art Thou... but I watched New Chapter's clip and it's funny that the guitar player's name is Tommy Johnson. Because they stole Robert Johnson's story of the crossroads... of course... I guess Robert Johnson stole that story from Faust, who stole if from Solomon...

  Incidentally. Anyone ever wonder about Faust and Solomon? Both met a supernatural being who promised them anything they desired. Both asked for knowledge and wisdom. Solomon is praised for his request and is additionally granted wealth and long life. Faust goes to Hell after 25 years... why does Legend vilify one and exalt the other?
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  5

  want any old JW literature ?

  by troubled mind in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  omg i can not believe the amount of literature we accumilated over the years as jw's !

  i threw away two full garbage cans full of bound volumes two yrs ago .a year before that i threw all the loose magazines away .

  i kept one box of my moms really old stuff in the garage .

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  curiouscynic

  I threw TONS of stuff away. Well--many of the magazines I took to the recycler. I had lots of old bound volumes and stuff that I gave to my JW parents to donate to the hall or whatever... I did this to curry favor with my parents, not to disseminate WT info, of course.

  I still have the 2 NWT copies that were mine growing up and a "Reasoning" book [what an ironic title!!]... I think that's it.
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  31

  Would you sell your soul for 10 million?

  by jam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a stranger approach you with an offer of 10 million.

  for your soul, would you sign on the dotted line?

  ?.

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  curiouscynic

  You could have my 21 grams for a lot less than 10 mil. Where does the bidding start?
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  135

  Ouija Board Hysteria

  by Megachusen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i always wondered why jw's were always so afraid of ouija(pronounced as "wee-yaw" not "wee-gee") boards.

  does anyone have any speculation about who started these jw myths?.

  anyone who has actually tried the board and would like to give their opinions are welcome.

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  curiouscynic

  I played with a Oujia board the other day with a friends' kid who has had lots of ghost experiences and believes herself to be a psychic. We used a glow in the board in a darkened room at roughly midnight as this was supposed to be the best circumstances... I had a couple of drinks prior to the experience... She prayed. We began. I felt the little triangle thingy moving a little bit. The girl asked questions. The triangle thingy moved around sometimes seeming to stop on a letter, but it certainly wasn't SPELLING anything. I started asking questions along the lines of "Are the Cowboys going to beat the Giants?" and "Is it a good time to buy stock in Pfizer?" Eventually she got pissed and said that the spirits wouldn't communicate with us because I don't believe and they wouldn't subject themselves to scorn.

  Really? DEAD PEOPLE care what I think?
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  35

  LeavingWT: Why Never Discuss Doctrine?

  by InterestedOne in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  among the various helpful pieces of advice i have read here from leavingwt, i have noticed that he often tells people to never discuss doctrine with a jw.

  i realize that discussing doctrine with a jw can be very frustrating, but i was wondering if there is a more far-reaching and less-obvious reason for this advice.

  like is it related to some peculiar aspect of the jw mind that the average person would not be aware of?.

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  curiouscynic

  Azazel-- My family did accept WTS doctrine as it came down, but they put a great deal of pride in being able to "prove" their beliefs from the scripture. They do not believe that literature from the WTS is inspired and I was never taught that it was. Which is kinda funny because they think what they're reading comes right from the Bible... I mean... they just read it for themselves in black and white, right? But as I began to question the scriptures themselves and increased the intensity of my study in an attempt to prove myself wrong, I discovered that by using the WT as a "tool" to aid in Bible stud,y witnesses were inadvertantly putting all their faith in WTS interpretations.

  Which makes me wonder... If all JWs participated in the weekly bible reading the way they're supposed to... would more of them realize that not everything the WTS teaches is scriptural?

  It doesn't matter if what we are teaching today is wrong, God will correct it in time. Stay in union with the FDS or you will be lost.

  It's not correct doctrine that saves but association with the FDS. --Bob1999

  This is a common Mormon teaching as well. When a doctrine is proven wrong or MUST be overturned because of political pressures [like blacks getting the priesthood in 74-75] the prophet conveniently claims a new revelation. The R&F Mormons are told that the old understanding was a test of their faith. That it is not their job to interpret the teachings of the church and that they will be rewarded in heaven for blindly following church doctrine that they disagree with personally.

  "With JWs, in particular, they've been slowly indoctrinated and constantly reminded that they cannot trust (1) their own thinking ability and (2) their hearts. Stop and ponder how dangerous such a state of mind really is. What is the end result? An army of robots, many quite intelligent, waiting for the next command. Further, the WT environment constantly prepares them to outside influences, such as apostates. They are warned that the Devil (which is anything outside WT) is trying to mislead and destroy them." --leavingWT

  This is probably the most concise, informative and accurate statement I've read since I've been here. Thank you.
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  33

  Any Dylan fans?

  by Dagney in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is pretty cool.. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/amnesty-international-unveils-bob-dylan-tribute-in-honor-of-its-50th-anniversary-20111210 .

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  curiouscynic

  and the DA said he was the one who did the deed. And the all-white jury agreed...

  Hurricane is one of my all time favorites.
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  28

  Being Transgendered

  by mariemcg in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi my name is marie.

  i was brought up in the truth from birth being born xy.

  i went through torture as a child being born this way and apearing female in every way, even wearing boy clothes.. at the age of 15 years old decided that going through the amendment of my gender identity was a must and sought medical adv at the earliest oppertunity... this lead to me being thrown out of my home at the tender age of 15.... as time past they accepted me as their daughter a few months later.. thanks to jehovah as i was getting involved in a lot of bad things to keep a roof over my head.. at the age of 20 they paid for my surgery for which i've never looked back from and feel so much more comfortable with my body and myself.. i'm quite sure if i'd remained as my birth sex that i would not be here now writing this.. i started going back to the meetings shortly after having surgery and was met with some love and predjudice to the extent of which toilet i should be using and what clothes i should be wearing.... i've started to study again but am afraid of being stumbled again in regards to going to the meetings... after a lot of prayer and considering scriptures like -.

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  curiouscynic

  www.gravatar.com

  make sure you use the email address that you used when you registered on this site.
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  28

  Being Transgendered

  by mariemcg in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi my name is marie.

  i was brought up in the truth from birth being born xy.

  i went through torture as a child being born this way and apearing female in every way, even wearing boy clothes.. at the age of 15 years old decided that going through the amendment of my gender identity was a must and sought medical adv at the earliest oppertunity... this lead to me being thrown out of my home at the tender age of 15.... as time past they accepted me as their daughter a few months later.. thanks to jehovah as i was getting involved in a lot of bad things to keep a roof over my head.. at the age of 20 they paid for my surgery for which i've never looked back from and feel so much more comfortable with my body and myself.. i'm quite sure if i'd remained as my birth sex that i would not be here now writing this.. i started going back to the meetings shortly after having surgery and was met with some love and predjudice to the extent of which toilet i should be using and what clothes i should be wearing.... i've started to study again but am afraid of being stumbled again in regards to going to the meetings... after a lot of prayer and considering scriptures like -.

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  curiouscynic

  Marie-- welcome. I'm new here as well. There are definitely some really decent, genuine folks on this forum. I hope you're able to find some of the support you're looking for.

  Bear with me, I'll get to a relevant point eventually... Think about when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:24 says that Jehovah placed a flaming sword blocking access to the garden. Would you imagine that the image of a flaming sword would have any impact on Adam and Eve who had never seen an implement of violence? They would have had no idea what a sword looked like or what it was used for. Placing an ACTUAL SWORD would have meant God offered Adam a blueprint for creating implements of human destruction. Since it's hard to believe that a God of love would do such a thing, that seems unlikely. Today, we obviously know what swords are and what they're used for, but the use of a flaming sword doesn't resonate with a modern audience either. I've always thought this was evidence that the scriptures, even if inspired, were written with a specific, ancient audience in mind. An audience familiar with swords, their design and purpose.

  If the bible was written to be understood by an ancient audience, it certainly can't deal effectively with issues involving modern science and medicine.

  Focus on scriptures that you know apply to you. Mark 12:29-31 Love your god and love your neighbor. John 13:35, By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. And don't sweat the small stuff.
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  8

  Christopher Hitchens: Trial of the Will

  by leavingwt in

  1. social
  2. current

  not an easy read.

  reviewing familiar principles and maxims in the face of mortal illness, christopher hitchens has found one of them increasingly ridiculous: whatever doesnt kill me makes me stronger.

  "i am typing this having just had an injection to try to reduce the pain in my arms, hands, and fingers.

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  curiouscynic

  I'm a huge fan of Hitchens, both as a journalist and an amateur philosopher. I specifically liked...

  "I do, still, try to nurture that little flame of curiosity and defiance: willing to play out the string to the end and wishing to be spared nothing that properly belongs to a life span."
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  37

  They all look alike now.

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  funny the way our minds unwind and refocus after leaving a high control religion.. when i first left the jdubs i saw them more closely to what the entire world sees them i suppose, but not truly clearly at those early stages.

  they still looked to me to be 'good people' but misguided.

  as time went on, though the misguided feature remained, the 'good people' supposition faded.

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  curiouscynic

  You mean... "The assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities, though not beheld?" Hebrews... something.

  Wow... some stuff just sticks with you, huh? I can't believe I can STILL rattle that off.